Seventh Mark (Part 1 +2)

by W. J. May

  “Has he tried something on you?” The smirk disappeared.

  “Not with me. He just is… I don’t even know what word to use… he definitely isn’t the monogamous type.”

  Michael sat back. “Neither is Tatiana.”

  “I bet she would be if he canned his flirting act.”

  “They’re both players. She bates and plays just like him. They even have competitions against each other.”

  “What?” I threw my hands up in the air. “Just keep Grace away from his understudy. That’s whacked.”

  “Point noted. Just so you know our Siorghra doesn’t work like that. You…You can’t just give it to a total stranger and expect there to be a link. It can’t be forced.” Michael checked his watch. “We’ll have to shorten our outdoor time into a walk to the back door of the house. They’re waiting for us, according to Grace. Caleb just wanted to see if you figured anything else from the book. Shall we go?”

  Inside the big house, I peaked around the living room. Most of the furniture was gone, the carpet had fresh vacuum lines on it, and a fresh, clean smell filled the air. I poked Michael and started to giggle. He put his fingers to his lips and shook his head. Sobering, I nodded. It may be funny, but I wasn’t about to push my luck and laugh at Caleb to his face.

  Caleb, Sarah, and Grace were sitting in the office, talking quietly. Out of the corner of my eye, I checked Caleb. He sat typing something on a laptop, reading glasses on the tip of his nose. He appeared calm and relaxed. The living room episode erased from the room and him as well.

  “Are Seth and Tatiana coming tonight?” Michael asked.

  “If I need them.” Caleb closed the laptop, his lips pressed in a tight line.

  “If Tatiana’s right and these Grollics are just a bunch of rogues, they’ve no idea who they're up against. This’ll be over before it begins,” Sarah said.

  “Possibly, but there’s something unique with this pack. They are all secretive. How is it we were unable to find them quicker? This has never been a problem before. We’ve been here three years and Grace says Damon has been here since she started school.”

  “Young Grollics are dense,” Sarah said. “Maybe they knew nothing and only began making mistakes when they found us out.”

  “Like approaching a human and pretty much telling her what we are?” Michael shook his head. “Damon’s made all the proper mistakes of a newborn Grollic… and an idiot.”

  Caleb scoffed. “Stop acting like a love-sick boy. Use your head and start thinking properly.”

  Michael’s shouldered stiffened. He walked toward Caleb. “What bothers you? That the Grollics are planning an attack and we didn’t realize? Or that they might not be chasing you? That’s obvious. If they were after you, they would’ve attacked your labs or offices or something related to you. No young pack would come after you unless they had a death wish. Even the young ones know they don’t stand a chance against the mighty Caleb.”

  Caleb stood and kicked his chair with the back of his foot in one motion. It crashed against the wall behind him and smashed into pieces. The rip of the leather and shattering of wood made me jump. Just barely fast enough. I dove to the side, between the desk and another chair.

  He sprang at Michael and lifted him by the throat midair. Both men’s eyes burned sapphire blue. Caleb threw Michael across the room as if he weighed nothing.

  Michael hit a book case. The antique wood broke and books slid down the cracked shelves and tumbled onto the floor. Michael went instantly to his feet and fixed his shirt. He calmly walked back to where Caleb stood and held his hand up to stop Caleb from grabbing him again. “Stop it! Are you angry with me, or the truth I’m spewing? We all know it’s not about you this time.” Michael glanced at me, Grace and then glared at Caleb. “It has something to do with Grace and me.”

  Caleb threw his hands up in the air. “Or possibly Rouge, an innocent girl who simply found a book by chance?”

  My jaw dropped. Me? Nah, impossible.

  Caleb snarled and pointed. “Something about her is unsettling.” He straightened, instantly calm. “Do not risk everything you have for a mere child, Michael. It is unbecoming of you, and I expect a lot more. You are to lead this Coven one day. It is time you act as what you are – not some weak being.”

  Michael jabbed a finger at Caleb. “I know what I am and who I’m expected to become! I may be your understudy, but I AM NOT YOU. Don’t ever take your frustrations out on me again. Next time, I’ll fight back. That is something neither of us would want…especially you, old man.” Michael’s eyes changed to a darker shade of blue, but he appeared in full control of himself.

  I blinked, realizing he was stronger than Caleb, in more ways than one. He purposely hadn’t fought back.

  No one said a word and no one breathed. The tension in the room was so thick I struggled to grasp the smallest of breaths to avoid passing out. I tried to inhale really quietly, but my heart was beating so fast I needed more air. Everyone’s head swung in my direction as I gasped. I shrunk closer to the door and tried to steady my heart rate. Needing more, but embarrassed to make another noise I tried to inhale through my nose. “I-I gotta g-go.” I didn’t want to be in this room any longer.

  Without finishing, I darted out the office door. I kept my eyes on the floor and into the living room. Shivering and not moving fast enough, I couldn’t get the image of Caleb’s face so full of malice. I barged straight into someone heading toward the office. He grunted, stumbled and then dropped to the floor.

  Seth.

  “I'm sor—” I stopped when I realized he didn’t try to move. He just lay flat on his back. “Holy crap,” I whispered. Dark bruises covered his face, and a large cut on his forehead. His clothes had been clawed and everything he wore seemed deep red in color.

  I gasped, not sure if the blood was his or someone else’s. It seeped into the white carpet on the living room floor. I knelt down beside him and lifted his head in my lap. “What the heck happened to you?” There was a gouge on his right shoulder where his shirt had been torn away. I put my hand against it to stop some of the bleeding. Thank goodness I’d listened to a bit of first aid during class.

  “Sw-wee…t-t-tiee…” Seth opened his eyes and stared unfocused at me.

  His eyes were brown, not their usual bright blue color.

  I did something I had never done in my entire life. I screamed.

  Michael raced out of the office before my scream finished. He took one look at Seth and began shouting orders.

  “Sarah. Ice.” He squatted down by Seth. “Grace get gloves… for all of us.” Sarah and Grace disappeared into the kitchen. The freezer door opened and frozen things crashed to the floor.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked. “He’s hotter than boiling water.”

  Michael’s head snapped in my direction. “Rouge, get away from him RIGHT NOW!! If he’s delirious he could kill you without realizing.”

  I fell back against the wall, too stunned to say or do anything else.

  “He’s been bit.” Michael’s hand pressed against Seth’s forehead. “We’re not going to be able to cool him off fast enough.”

  “What happened?” Caleb rushed from his office.

  “Seth’s been attacked.” Sarah ran in with a pail of ice and dumped it onto Seth.

  He jumped and tried to sit up. “Tat…I’m not gone.” He coughed, spitting blood onto the floor. “Th-They came at us –”

  Grace ran in with a pile of snow in her arms. She dumped it over Seth’s head. The snow sizzled and popped as it melted at a rapid rate against his skin.

  “How’s this going to help?” My whole body shook. “Shouldn’t we get him to a hospital or call nine-one-one?”

  “No.” Michael continued to pack ice and, using another pile of snow Grace had brought, he packed it around Seth. “His body’s fighting the poison on his skin.”

  Seth struggled to sit up, only to be pushed back down by Caleb’s boot. “I-I’ve n-n-not been b-bit,” he stut
tered, his voice hoarse and cracked.

  “Michael,” I whispered. “His eyes…” I couldn’t stop staring at their muddy brown color.

  “It’ll be okay, Rouge,” Michael whispered. “Our eyes turn back to their natural color, when we’re dying.”

  “He’s fighting it.” Grace dumped more snow on him.

  Caleb bent down and pulled back Seth’s eyelid to show a blue pupil rolling left to right.

  I dropped my gaze and stared at the wound on Seth’s shoulder where I’d applied pressure. No blood seeped though, so I crawled closer to double check. His shirt was torn and soaked red, but no cut on his skin. I ran my hand over his shoulder and couldn’t even find a scar. He coughed, making me jump.

  “Feeling better?” Michael sat down on the ground beside Seth.

  Seth moaned and rolled to his side. “I need a bloody drink. And a woman, maybe three.”

  “You’re definitely feeling better.”

  Caleb crouched down. “Where’s Tatiana?”

  Seth pushed himself into a sitting position, his arms around his knees, fingers clasped. He said nothing for a long time. He heaved a deep sigh. “Grollics attacked by the cabin. Surprised us. One went after Tatiana before we even had a chance to see the ambush. She got bit. Fatally.” His head dropped between his knees. “It happened so fast… I killed the bastard who got her, but they surrounded me after I threw him off.”

  Michael put his hand on Seth’s shoulder.

  “The one who b-bit Tat… he went straight for her throat. She didn’t even have time to pull him off. She didn’t stand a chance.” He shook his head. “She’s gone.”

  “And the Grollic?” Caleb’s foot tapped against the wet carpet.

  Seth straightened. “He wasn’t the Alpha, but was one of the older ones. He didn’t even seem surprised when I killed him. Like he knew he’d sacrificed himself. He kept mumbling that we had no idea.” Seth closed his eyes, paused and opened them when he began speaking again. “I’d have preferred to take my time with the bastard and thoroughly question him, but five more circled me.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. Tatiana gone? It just didn’t seem possible.

  “Caleb, those boys know how to fight. They fight like in the olden days. No weapons – just brute strength and power.”

  “Like in the beginning?” Caleb’s brows rose high, his forehead showing wrinkles I’d never noticed before.

  “Yes! But most of them were young. Not long changed with raw strength, but old tactics. They were scared to bite me, afraid they might be infected, like they didn’t know. That was my advantage and what kept me alive. They couldn't finish, and when I was bleeding so bad, they were scared to have my blood touch them. They figured I was pretty much dead so they took off.”

  “Did you go after them?”

  Seth stared at Caleb. “No. I dragged my near-dead body back here so I could warn you.”

  “You were lucky then. What about the Alpha?”

  I blinked in surprise. Caleb didn’t rule with an iron fist, he had an iron heart.

  “No Alpha.” Seth shook his head. “He’d have known how to kill me. I think he sent the elder who I killed in his stead. Like I said, these are a new breed, they’re young but different. With some new kind of knowledge from the old days.” Seth slowly stood and looked to Caleb and then Michael. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out two Siorghra necklaces. He separated them and stared at the one in his right hand for a long moment. He sighed long and sad, then tossed the one in his left hand to Caleb.

  “Keep that in a safe place for me. I’m not sure I’ll need it again, but if I do, I’ll know where to find it.”

  Caleb said nothing. He gave a curt nod and walked back into his office. Seth stared at the remaining Siorghra in his hand. Slowly he took the top off the pendant and closed his eyes as he drank the contents. He kissed the empty pendant. “I’ll miss you… He straightened and muttered, “So much for being immortal.” Making a fist around the Siorghra, he crushed the necklace into a fine powder in his bare hands.

  “Come.” Sarah put her arm around his shoulder. “Let’s put the powder out in the wind.”

  Seth followed her and Grace out of the room to the front door.

  Michael quietly walked over to me and held me tight. His warm lips grazed the top of my head. I leaned my body into his for support. It had been a crazy night – too much for my human eyes.

  Chapter 19

  Beams of sunlight poured through the windows, shooting tiny rainbows on every wall in the room. I stretched, my mood brightening at the sign of the sun that had been hiding for what seemed like forever. Sitting, the corners of my mouth pulled down at the amount of snow on the ground. At least the new layer hides the dirty snow, and the bright blue sky meant the sun will do its job. It’s going to be a good day.

  Michael stirred beside me and rolled so his head rested on my pillow and his body curved around me. My hand reached out to let my fingers sink into the thick blonde hair and enjoy its softness. He looked like his Greek god-self and I suddenly felt self-conscious. After raising himself up on an elbow, he leaned over and kissed me.

  “Hmm. Mornin’.” I couldn’t stop my eyes from wandering down his bare torso – all that smooth, tanned skin over lean, taut muscles.

  He raised an eyebrow and grinned. “Want me to put a shirt on?”

  No! Maybe. “Do you need to head back to the house and check on Seth? I need a shower and grab breakfast. I can meet you over there.” I knew he had a lot on his mind, and I was sure he wanted to talk to Caleb.

  “I can wait.” He looked like he meant what he said, but he also seemed like he wanted to go.

  “Go. You don’t need me tagging along.” I needed a bit of on-my-own time as well. “You must have important things to discuss. You're Caleb’s understudy.” Long before I even existed. “He needs you.”

  He sighed. “I guess you’re right. Caleb’s probably wearing a path in the carpet of his office. He was quite out of sorts last night.” He stood and strolled over to a duffle bag I hadn’t noticed laying by the bathroom.

  “Does that… happen often?”

  He shrugged. “Patience isn’t his strong point. I pushed the wrong buttons and I know better.” He disappeared into the bathroom.

  I bit my tongue to hold back my thoughts. You shouldn’t be taking the blame. Caleb needs someone to put him in his place, and not just with words... I blinked in surprise at my own thoughts, but couldn’t stop them. And Michael’s the only one who could do it. I forced myself to sit and stare out the window, willing my brain to stop.

  Ten minutes later, Michael came out of the bathroom dressed and with a quick peck to my cheek, he headed out the door.

  The pool house felt suddenly empty with him gone, so I got up, made the bed and then hopped into the shower. I stood under the jet stream of hot water and closed my eyes.

  How did Liza get the Grollic book? She’d closed shop and headed south for the winter so I’d get no answers from her till spring. Another thought bothered me about the book: why would Grollics write a book about their weakness, add anatomy and diagram it all? I couldn’t imagine Caleb having a book like this written on his kind. If it ever fell into the wrong hands… I shivered at the possible unknown danger Michael could become vulnerable to.

  I grabbed the shower handle and slammed it off. Too bad I can’t read the rest of the book. Maybe it would explained why or give more insight into who bloomin’ wrote it.

  I stepped out of the shower too frustrated to dry off properly or blow dry my hair. I dressed quickly and shoved my hair into a bun.

  Michael must have come back while I was in the bathroom. By the door was a red winter coat and a quick scrawled note. Grace found this in her closet. See you soon, M

  Outside, I zipped my new coat and followed a newly shovelled path, courtesy of Michael, to the house. Even with the sun shining, I had to pull my coat tightly around me and quicken my step. I should have gone back to the pool
house to grab a hat to cover my wet head, but I couldn’t be bothered. By the time I got to the back door, my hair had frozen in the bun.

  As I stepped into the quiet, empty kitchen, I strained to catch any conversation going on in the living room. Nothing. They were probably all in the study. Sound-proofing walls. I hung my coat on the back of a chair and put my shoes beside Michael’s. Grace appeared in the doorway, hands in the pockets of her jeans. Her green top seemed to make her eyes an even brighter blue.

  “Want some coffee?” She walked toward the counter. “I think Michael just made a pot.”

  I hesitated. “Umm… No thanks.”

  She raised her eyebrows.

  Ah, screw it. “Michael makes the most terrible coffee. It tastes like tar.” I grimaced still remembering the taste from the last time.

  Grace tried to suppress a giggle but with no success. She went and got fresh coffee out of the cupboard. Without saying a word, she handed me the container and then emptied the three-quarter full pot into the sink, and refilled it with fresh water. “You know, Michael was a terrible cook when we were alive. My mother and I never let him in the kitchen. One year, he tried catching, killing and cooking a turkey for Easter.”

  “I don’t even want to imagine. Poor bird.”

  “Poor us.” Grace grabbed her stomach and pretended to gag.

  Glancing around the room, and leaning over to sneak a peek into the living room, I stopped short. “What happened?”

  All the furniture had been pushed to one corner and stacked on top of each other. The original old pine boards reflected off the floor, emphasizing the missing white carpet.

  “We couldn’t get all of Seth’s blood out, and it drove Sarah crazy. She pulled it up last night and left about half an hour ago to buy a new one. Knowing her, she’ll haggle with some sales guy and have everything in before dinner.”

  “How's Seth doing?” I kicked myself for not asking about him first.

  “Physically he’s completely fine. Like nothing happened. Emotionally, he’s a mess without Tatiana, but you know how Seth acts… he keeps going on about being able to play the field and enjoy some – and multiple – female company for a change. Just his way of covering up, I guess. He mentioned his understudy may come down tomorrow after the meeting.