Eternal Changes (Mikah)

by Tiffany Berry

  Jaymes shook his head. The girl wasn’t going to have it easy if Ophelia had her way. It was survival of the fittest among his people. You learned to eat or be eaten.

  He carried the girl in his arms and climbed out the window. He slowly levitated and took off flying through the air. The wind whipped around him as he shielded her from it. He looked up at the sky. It was a clear night. Not a single cloud slinked across the sky.

  Jaymes slowed down as he crossed the desert that would lead him to the caves. He stopped and hovered above the ground and flicked his wrist. The ground shook as it cracked open and he lowered himself through it. He looked down and several vampires stared up at him. His feet touched the ground as they closed in on him.

  Jaymes whirled around, looking at each one of them. “She’s not to be touched!”

  “And why might that be?” a snooty female’s voice asked from behind Jaymes.

  Jaymes spun around and his eyes narrowed as he looked at the female vampire. Her sandy brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her black eyes glared at him. “She’s Karver’s, so take it up with him, Allie,” he hissed.

  Allie’s eyes widened as she took a step back. “I didn’t know.”

  “Well now you do,” Jaymes said as he pushed through the crowd. Several vampires glared at him as he carried the girl to Karver’s room.

  Jaymes stopped in front of Karver’s room and the door swung open. He hurried in and shut the door behind him.

  “What did you do to her?” Karver asked.

  Jaymes shook his head as he looked down at the girl. “Nothing. I just put her in a deep sleep.” He walked over and laid her on Karver’s bed. “I did exactly as I was told. She wasn’t harmed.”

  “How long did you put her to sleep for?” Karver asked as he walked over to the bed.

  Jaymes shrugged. “She should be dead to the world for several hours.”

  “Good,” Karver said as he bared his fangs. “Then she shouldn’t feel this.” He bit into the soft flesh of her neck and her body jerked slightly, but she didn’t awaken. Karver closed his eyes as he pulled her warm blood into his mouth. The blood sizzled and popped as his body absorbed it. His eyes flew open and he quickly released her neck. He stared down at the girl in front of him and rubbed his jaw with his hand. Could it really be possible?

  “What’s wrong?” Jaymes asked.

  Karver glanced over at Jaymes. “You were right. There’s power in her blood and it’s beyond anything that I’ve ever tasted.”

  “If you want to keep her alive, I’d make sure Ophelia doesn’t have access to her, sir,” Jaymes said as he looked down at the girl. “If you confirm that the girl’s going to be more powerful than Ophelia, the girl won’t make it to the day she’s supposed to change.”

  Karver paced the room. “Are you sure Ophelia would cross that line?”

  “Not a doubt in my mind,” Jaymes said as Karver turned to look at him. “Ophelia’s more of a liability at the moment than an asset. Do you want to risk the girl’s existence ending? If she’s going to be that powerful, we could use her.”

  Karver’s voice lowered to a barely audible whisper. “I agree. I’ll leave it to you to take care of Ophelia.”

  Jaymes nodded. “Consider it done.”

  Karver dismissed Jaymes from his presence and walked over to the bed. His eyes travelled across the girl’s features. Who would have thought his brother would have had a child?

  Karver’s thoughts shifted to the night his brother walked away from the Haemon all those centuries ago.

  He and his brother flew out of one of the many caves scattered across the island of Rathlin several hours after the sun had set. The small island off the northeast coast of Ireland was one of their favorite dining spots. Several villages were scattered across the island’s green coast.

  Karver and his brother landed on the sand and waited for the others to arrive.

  “Now this is a brilliant idea, brother,” Karver said as he adjusted his iron helmet.

  “Thanks. Dressings as Vikings will turn the villagers against them and no one will know that they were truly innocent,” Talmadge said as twenty others arrived dressed in similar attire.

  “Let’s go,” Karver said as he led the pack.

  They stalked across the sand to the nearest village. Nothing stirred as they walked in-between the huts. A dog barked and growled as Karver passed by. Karver bared his fangs and hissed at the animal and the dog backed up and scurried off.

  Karver waited as everyone positioned themselves at a hut. He waved his hand and screams erupted as they stormed into the homes. Karver spun to the side as a man came at him with a sword.

  “Do not move and do not speak,” Karver hissed as he turned and looked into the man’s eyes.

  The man stood with his arms up in the air. His hands clung to the sword. Screams erupted.

  “Silence!” Karver said as he turned to the woman and little girl huddled in the corner. He walked up to the little blonde girl and pulled her from her mother’s arms.

  “No!” The woman screamed as she beat her small fists against him. “Not my baby.”

  Karver held the child in one arm and grabbed the woman by the throat with his free hand. Her bones crunched as he snapped her neck and tossed her to the ground.

  “Momma,” the little girl sobbed as she reached her hand out to her mother’s lifeless body.

  Karver smiled as the child flailed in his arms. “Your momma’s gone, but don’t worry child. You’ll be with her soon.” Karver pulled the child up and was getting ready to delve into her soft flesh…

  “Don’t do it, brother,” Talmadge said from the doorway.

  Karver’s eyes glittered red as he glanced over at Talmadge. “You don’t own me,” Karver said as he tore the little girl’s jugular out. A grunt left Karver’s lips as Talmadge flew into him; the girl’s jugular flew out of his mouth and landed on the ground. Blood dripped from Karver’s chin as he fell to the ground, Talmadge on top of him.

  Talmadge grabbed Karver’s throat with both hands as he stared into Karver’s blood red eyes. “You crossed the line, brother. We agreed we’d not harm any child. Ever.”

  Karver’s hands flew up and he knocked Talmadge off of him. “You agreed. I answer to no one.”

  “So be it,” Talmadge said as he stormed out of the hut.

  Karver shook the memory away as he looked down at the girl. She was going to be wild and fierce once she went through the change. There was not a doubt in Karver’s mind. She was not only his niece, but so much more. There had always been whispers of the possibility of a Mikah, but that line had never been crossed…until now. She was going to make the Haemon renowned. Together, they would be unstoppable.

  Karver flicked his wrist and put the girl in a deeper slumber. She was going to need all the sleep she could get and the last thing he needed was for her to try to escape during the day. He left the room and headed to check on the prisoner Ophelia had brought back.

  Karver entered the room that the prisoner was being held in. The boy was in the corner of the room on the floor. His arms were wrapped around his legs in a fetal position as he slowly rocked back and forth.

  “Get up boy,” Karver hissed.

  “W-w-what do you w-w-want with m-m-me?” the boy stuttered.

  “I want to know what the blonde girl means to you,” Karver said as he kneeled down by the boy.

  “I d-d-don’t know who you’re t-t-talking about,” the boy sobbed as he tried to back up.

  “Don’t play games with me, boy,” Karver hissed as he grabbed the boy by the shirt.”You were seen kissing her.”

  Recognition lit up in the boy’s eyes. “L-l-lucy? You got Lucy?”

  “I guess that’s her name,” Karver said as he shrugged his shoulders and let go.

  “Please, d-d-don’t hurt her,” the boy begged as he fell to his knees, tears in his eyes.

  Karver looked at the human in front of him. The boy was the perfect example of why huma
ns were no better than cows. They’re weak, pitiful creatures. He was actually doing them a favor by killing them. “You care about the girl?” he asked.

  The boy nodded, unable to speak. It was all the confirmation Karver needed. He walked away from the boy with an evil grin on his face. His plan was well on their way to fruition.

  Chapter 16

  Ashton parked his car in the school parking lot and waited. The students scurried into the school to socialize and to get what they needed from their lockers before the bell rang. He surveyed the area around him. Where was Lucy?

  The final bell rung shrilled through the school and Lucy still wasn’t here. Ashton could smell her scent a mile away. He attempted to detect Michael’s scent as he closed his eyes and inhaled. His eyes popped back open. Lucy wasn’t at school and neither was Michael.

  Ashton tried to touch Lucy’s mind with his. Nothing. He closed his eyes and reached out again. Still nothing.

  Ashton dissipated and solidified in Lucy’s bedroom. His eyes darted back and forth as he scanned the room. The covers on her bed were wrinkled and the comforter was pulled back as if it had been slept in. He slowly circled the room. He jerked to a stop. Lucy’s backpack was leaning against her dresser.

  Ashton closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Lucy’s scent floated throughout the room, but it wasn’t as strong as it should be. She had to have been gone for a while. If she’d been there within the last hour, he would’ve still been able to smell the strong essence of her blood in the air.

  Ashton dissipated and reappeared outside the house. He trudged along the perimeter. Nothing was out of place. A frustrated sigh escaped his lips as he ran his hand through his hair and flew up into the air. Where was she?

  Ashton made a beeline for Michael’s house. Michael hadn’t shown up to school this morning either. He didn’t believe it was just coincidence that both Michael and Lucy were missing.

  Ashton landed near Michael’s house and walked up the front steps and knocked on the front door. Footsteps clicked on the hard floor as someone approached the door. Ashton stepped back as the door was jerked open. A woman with sandy brown hair stared up at him. Her green eyes were pools of sadness, tears flickering in their depths. She clutched a white cloth napkin in her hand.

  “Good morning, ma’am,” Ashton said as he stepped forward. “My name’s Ashton and I’m one of Michael’s friends. I noticed he wasn’t at school this morning and I just wanted to check on him to make sure everything’s ok.”

  The woman’s voice wobbled. “He’s not here. I don’t know where he’s at. He never came home last night.”

  “That’s not like him,” Ashton said as he looked at the distraught woman.

  “It’s ain’t like him at all. He’s always home on time,” she said as a tear slipped free and slid down her cheek. “My husband left to go look for him. The farm’s so big and if he got hurt…”

  “I’m sure he’ll show up,” Ashton soothed as he took her hand in his and stared into her green eyes. “Try not to worry.”

  “Thank you,” she said as she smiled shakily at him.

  “I’ll go look for him and I’ll let you know if I find anything,” Ashton said.

  “Oh, thank you!” The woman said as she ran forward and threw her arms around Ashton.

  “You welcome,” Ashton said as she released him.

  Ashton turned and walked down the porch steps as she shut the door. He scanned the surroundings before he flew up into the blue sky. The farm was hundreds of acres and it’d take a human several days to comb all of the land looking for a body. He circled the area twice taking his time as he looked for anything out of the norm.

  Two hours later, Ashton was tired and frustrated. There was nothing here. He flew away from the farm and headed once more towards Lucy’s house. Maybe there’d be something there that he’d missed earlier that would give him a clue. On most occasions it only took five minutes to get to her driveway, but this time it took him an hour as he slowly investigated the area below.

  A quarter of a mile down the road from Lucy’s house, he spotted a truck that looked similar to the one he’d seen Michael drive. It was sitting on the side of the road. Ashton surveyed the area to make sure no one was around as he lowered himself to the ground below. He rushed to the truck once he landed and he noticed that the truck door had been ripped off its hinges.

  The smell of fear hit Ashton like a ton of bricks. His eyes widened as he turned around in the road. The smell trailed down the road. Ashton propelled himself forward and followed the scent. He turned and ran through the woods and came to a sudden stop. The smell was much more intense in here. He walked up a tree and touched the rough bark as he stared at the ground. The leaves and dirt were scraped across the ground as if someone had scooted across it.

  A chill ran through Ashton’s veins. Who would have taken Lucy and Michael? The Haemon didn’t even know Lucy existed, that only left Caoilainn. He dissipated and solidified in Talmadge’s room. The vampire was asleep in his bed as Ashton hurried over to wake him up. Ashton touched Talmadge and Talmadge’s eyes fluttered open.

  “What is it now, Ashton?” Talmadge moaned as he sat up in the bed. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”

  “I need your help,” Ashton said. “Lucy’s missing. I can’t find her anywhere.”

  Talmadge squinted up at Ashton. “Maybe she just needed a break from everything.”

  “No,” Ashton replied as he paced the floor. “You don’t understand. We have a connection. I can usually hear her thoughts and I hear nothing.”

  Talmadge got up out of the bed. “You can’t contact her at all?”

  “No,” Ashton said as he shook his head. “I’ve been trying to all morning.”

  “Who do you think has her?” Talmadge asked.

  “I’m not sure, but I need to speak to Caoilainn. I need to know if she has Lucy,” Ashton said.

  “I’ll call Caoilainn to us,” Talmadge assured. “Just give me a minute.”

  Ashton stopped in his tracks as the older vampire closed his eyes. A serene look came over Talmadge’s face as he stood by the bed. Talmadge opened his eyes as Caoilainn appeared in the room.

  “Talmadge said it was urgent and that you needed to speak with me,” Caoilainn said as she looked at Ashton for answers.

  “Do you have Lucy?” Ashton asked.

  “No. I haven’t seen her since I the first time I’d brought her back to me,” Caoilainn said. “I told her I wouldn’t see her until a year after the change.”

  Ashton dropped to his knees and covered his face with his hands. “She’s missing,” he said as his voice cracked.

  Caoilainn froze. “Missing? What do you mean missing?”

  Ashton’s voice dropped to a barely above a whisper. “Lucy didn’t show up for school today. I went to her house to look around. Her bed had been slept in, but the scent of her blood had faded. She hadn’t been in her room for a couple of hours. Her backpack was also left there.”

  Caoilainn glanced over at Talmadge, worry glittered in her amethyst eyes. “Malachi was supposed to be protecting Lucy during the night. He never came home this morning.”

  “There’s more,” Ashton said. “The human boy is missing, too. I thought maybe she was with him, but when I showed up at his house, his mom answered the door. He had never come home the night before. I scanned the surrounding area for any clues and I stumbled upon Michael’s truck. It was less than half a mile from Lucy’s house and the driver side door had been ripped off. The smell of fear pulsated in the air. I followed the scent into the nearby woods and found an area where the leaves and dirt had been scraped across the ground as if someone had scooted across it.”

  Ashton stepped back as Caoilainn suddenly shifted into a cougar. “What’s she doing?”

  “She’s trying to contact Malachi. They have a link that connects them that they can trace when they’re in their cougar form,” Talmadge said. “Even if Malachi’s in his human form, she can feel his
life force through their link.”

  “Something’s wrong,” Caoilainn whispered as she shifted back and looked at Ashton. “I can’t feel Malachi.”

  “I’ll go check the woods near Lucy’s house and meet you two back here,” Ashton said right before he dissipated.

  Ashton reappeared in the woods. The leaves rustled as a slight breeze stirred the air. He took a deep breath and froze. A rustic smell wafted through the air: blood. He rushed forward as he traced where the smell was coming from. With each step, the smell became stronger and stronger. Ashton skidded to a stop. There were paw marks of a cougar engraved in the ground.