by Debbie Behan
With the firepower his hunting buddy might turn up with Aurek could see no way of her handling this amicably. Glow Girl might think she’s good but I know Lord Mensa and she is no match for his powers. He made a grab for her but Caitlin moved from him, slipping from his grip. ‘Glow, don’t fight me on this! It’s not something your man will want you involved with.’
She shrugged his hand away for a second time. ‘Talk to him?’ Caitlin said with strong persuasion. Her sudden flare out of red hair and glowering green eyes astonished him. Was this his Glow Girl? ‘He’s your friend, Aurek. This is stupid. What if it is nothing and you blow your friendship because of me, because we ran?’
‘You must listen to me Glow. This is no game here. I don’t hang out with nice guys. This guy is the real deal and dangerous. Time to go!’ he insisted.
‘Look! Blondie here can stop Lord Mensa from taking my powers. It’s okay, trust me, I can protect you if he gets rough.’ She stood with hands on her hips, hair brazen, manner tough and uncompromising. ‘It’s time you trusted me – fully. ’ Her stern tone and the magic she shot from her mind made him stop and listen to her.
She didn’t wait for his answer, instead snatched his hand up in hers and the intruder’s in her other one. Aurek tried to transport her out but somehow she had rendered him incapable of anything but to hold her hand and listen to what she said. She had him in a trance and the only thing he could do at the minute was obey her.
‘Stay beside me – both of you.’ She gritted her teeth at Aurek and shook his hand. ‘I don’t need you fighting me. Quit it and let me concentrate.’
Aurek stopped the use of his powers. He had never seen Glow Girl in action like this and suddenly understood why she was such an intricate member of the elite team of Riders. Up until now, she had been so fragile he thought he might break her and yet now he felt sorry for Lord Mensa. The guy had no idea what he was walking into and he almost wanted to warn him, still unsure if Donkey Laugh was telling the truth.
She eyed the stranger. ‘Blondie!’ She snapped him out of his bewildered state. ‘Lord Mensa will take both mine and Aurek’s powers.’ Blondie’s eyes were wide. ‘Yes, this has happened to me before,’ she confided. ‘I will feel him do it and when he does, I’ll squeeze your hand and it’s then you must block him, but secretly.’
She turned to Aurek. ‘If this goes pear shaped I will allow you the power to transport us out, but only when I say, not one second before or I will freeze you to this spot permanently.’ Her smile gave him a shiver down his spine.
Had she just threatened him? ‘Bitch,’ Orion mouthed, now standing beside her. Aurek was gone and his pessimistic unstable side was ready for a fight. He would run from no man and would discuss her threat later, with luck before she turns me back into wimp-boy, Aurek, he secretly sneered.
She smiled at Orion who had suddenly found his voice.
‘You read thoughts hey!’
‘Maybe.’ She shrugged. ‘Or, maybe I know you well enough to just know what you were thinking.’
He melted a little at her, even as Orion she had won him over. ‘I should fight you on this and get us the hell out of here now. Jett’s going to be fuming when he hears I caved.’
‘Settle.’ The tough brassy words cut.
He flared, temper sliced back at her. ‘Suit yourself, your funeral. Did you just chuckle?’ He couldn’t believe she had no fear of him.
‘Look Orion, I know your manhood is feeling bruised, but this is what I do. I’m a peace keeper and I don’t hide. If I run from this, he will follow, seek me out and that really will get messy. Trust me – work with me – please. Just find out why he feels this is necessary so I can work out a solution.’
She smiled reassuringly. ‘I didn’t do that bad of a job during my negotiations with you – did I?’
He smirked. ‘You railroaded me and had me in a spin. I would have given you my whole flipping empire in the end, if you had asked for it.’
Caitlin grinned. ‘Orion, I do believe you’re funnier than Aurek, so you can stay now.’ The lightness ended abruptly as Lord Mensa transported into the room, a guard each side of him. They were the dark tanned musclemen she’d met in the barn the previous night. They towered over her, so tall they bent over slightly to see her. She jumped at the sound of the shotgun being loaded and cocked, now pointed towards her and Orion. She felt the weakening of her powers immediately on their entry and squeezed Blondie’s hand, feeling better when they returned. She rebooted the power needed and readied her energy for whatever lay ahead.
She could feel Orion’s rage go through her, fuming that he had a gun shoved in his face. As it grew, she could feel the dark side of his nature come out fully and Orion now stood beside her, angry and almost out of control.
‘Are you frigging kidding me? Are you seriously thinking about killing me over a female? We are mates. What are you thinking man? Get those guns out of our faces or I swear, I will wipe the floor with you and your goons and you know I have the temper to do just that. Lay them down now!’ He bellowed so loudly Caitlin put both hands up to her ears because the vibration was so painful. ‘Or be prepared to fight.’ He toned down for Glow’s sake, the growl lower yet just as angry. He shook with rage and Caitlin knew if she didn’t defuse this situation soon, he would pounce and she would be unable to hold such a force.
It aggravated Lord Mensa even more; his face reddened, the vein in his neck pulsing rapidly. ‘Move away from her Orion. I’m not joking. I will shoot you. I’m giving you one chance and one chance only to walk away. Leave the female and I will ignore that outburst and our agreement for hunting will continue to stand. Fight me on this and you’ll be the loser. I have you surrounded. Outside my army hold infra-red automatic weapons that are pointed at you. They have orders to shoot if you move a muscle towards me.’
Caitlin watched Lord Mensa calmly. ‘So the huntress becomes the hunted.’ She could feel Orion’s stress for getting her into this mess. Lord Mensa’s eyes burned into her, the threatening glare of a dominant victor.
Caitlin shook her head. She could tell her calm and comment had rattled him and he played this to win, but so had she. ‘You have no idea who I am, do you.’
‘I don’t care who your parents are; but by the time I’ve finished with you, I assure you, the past will mean nothing. Once I take control of you there will be only one home world that will welcome you with open arms, and that is here, on Mensa.’ His voice was low and gruff as he spoke in every effort to break her cockiness and scare her.
‘If you’re to take me, I at least deserve to know why.’ The tranquil quality of her tone amazed Orion as he almost swayed to the sugar sweet pitch.
It riled up Lord Mensa further and what was even more frustrating to him was that he hadn’t yet ruffled her feathers. He scowled. ‘I’ve searched the galaxy for a powerful goddess such as you. My aim, and always has been, is to take over Taurus. That delicious beef will be mine and you, young lady, are going to help me get it. That power of yours I can feel. You are beyond all I have met. I am about to have my biggest wish granted.’
His confession stunned her but not her new and loyal comrade next to her. ‘Over my dead body will you put one filthy paw on her!’ Orion yelled at him, but Caitlin held him firm with her power so he couldn’t lunge.
‘That, my old friend, is your choice. This was once your dream as well but I can already see whose side you have chosen. Kill you I will, if that is your wish. She has every quality I’ve ever dreamed of and more. She will be mine, Orion. Oh and before I kill you I must thank you for bringing her to me, fancy that, putting her right into my hands. You could have run, but you stayed, that was your first mistake. Second will be if you move.’
‘She is a Macro Rider you idiot. You’ll never get away with it,’ Orion snapped. ‘They’ll wipe your fucking home world off the map when we don’t return.’
‘You know hunting accidents can be so terrible. I’m sure if I placed your clothing from yesterday wi
th the blood all over them, nice touch by the way, scattered about it will convince them it was that grizzly I caught that was the demise of you both.’
Caitlin squeezed Orion’s hand to let him know she had this, and to calm him down. She felt him slightly relax and now controlled again, continued in her own defence.
‘I was never lucky enough to have a father, but last night, I loved you as one. You made me feel happy as I sat beside you, having you so proud of me I felt blessed. The way you honoured me in front of your friends and family made me want you in my life for many years to come. How sad for me that you were only thinking about turning me into one of your slaves that would jump at your command. You were even referring to us as your kids.’
‘Stop it! You’re twisting it. Last night I was drunk and having fun with you both. It was this morning in the kitchen that your powers became clear to me. I am smarter than you think and found what you hid. Today I can’t have you leave. Heaven knows why, you sound a right pain. However, I got to thinking that the gods have sent you to me to give me what I crave. Taurus is all I have ever wanted.’
‘No! You have wanted something more, be honest,’ Caitlin snapped. He stretched his neck from side to side. ‘A daughter, the one you never saw grow up. The one that maybe should be my age now, but never survived. Is that what you see in me? The reason you’re muddled right now that I say this?’
‘You’re guessing and clutching at straws. You don’t know anything about me.’
‘But I would like to. For someone of your calibre to even think of hurting your best friend and destroying my life has got to be in a world of pain.’
He stood for a minute shaking with rage and decided he was sick of talking. ‘Take her,’ he ordered his guards.
Caitlin closed her eyes, could sense the fingers on the triggers that hesitated before doing as commanded. They weren’t bullet proof; neither could she shield the two men that flanked her. These were the ones now targeted and her heart pumped as she worried she had made a huge error in judgement. It was too late to release Orion so he could transport them out. The fingers had started to squeeze the triggers but Caitlin was optimistic she could put a stop to this onslaught and end it peacefully. Calm yourself, she recalled Kayden’s teachings. The answer is controlling the situation first. If it can’t be, remove and destroy. Take no chances, or prisoners. Her focus now on every firearm that surrounded them, aware the triggers were being pulled. Too late to stop the powerful emissions that threatened to cut her two friends to pieces. Drawing extra power from the hands she held, Caitlin snatched the guns from all who held them and faced the offending weaponry to the sky. The fire power now well above them hit a central position above the cabin and on impact, the explosion disintegrated the roof. The army however had no cover and were blown metres back. A glance out the window and listening for heartbeats, Caitlin saw they were mostly unconscious but thankfully could hear they were alive.
Her mind now on the two guards inside. They too met the full force of her power and were flung backwards, slamming hard against the wall. Stripped of their weaponry the blow had knocked them unconscious. She took the guns up in the air with the power of her internal sorcery before she sent up a flash and blew them to pieces. The explosion from them was so loud it shook the cabin they stood in, and one wall collapsed from the impact. Her friends and the tyrant in front of Caitlin, she held fast, not allowing harm to come to them, yet.
She didn’t know who she shocked more, Orion or Lord Mensa.
‘Now!’ she said calmly. ‘Do you want me to let Orion here go, and you can sort it out between yourselves, or are you ready to discuss this like an adult?’
He was motionless, shocked at what she was capable of. His frame weakened to let her know he was giving up. He sat down heavily in the chair at the table, and when his guards came to, he yelled at them to get out.
‘Go and talk to him. I need to know he won’t come after me.’ She spoke quietly to Aurek and released him, but he tricked her. It was Orion who jerked away from her. His fists shot out as he laid a punch into Lord Mensa’s jaw, knocking him and the chair over. He pulled him up roughly and slammed him into the wall. Blood oozed from the corner of his mouth and from the nose that he punched twice more. On the fourth blow, he slammed his fist into the wall. The hole almost punched through to the other side.
‘You’re just lucky Glow’s here with me and I don’t want her to see me so bloody out of control. If she hadn’t held me back you’d be the one taking a little visit to the Underworld, mate. I can’t believe after all these years you would turn out to be such a selfish jerk,’ he growled. ‘I should kill you right here, right now, for what you’ve just attempted.’ With a swift toss he threw the older man back in the seat. ‘Rot in hell, I don’t care what she does to you.’ He stomped back to Caitlin, his rage controlled so as not to frighten her, wishing he hadn’t even gone that far. She’d asked him to talk, but for now he just wanted to hit Lord Mensa instead. It would be best if he calmed down first, for her.
Caitlin went over to the table and sat with the crumpled figure. He straightened, put an elbow on the table and leaned his head on his fist, defeated. She pulled up her legs and wrapped her arms around them, her gaze glued to him as she waited for him to speak. He had a lot of explaining to do. She certainly wasn’t about to let him go until they sorted this out. He felt her eyes burn into his, and his head inclined, embarrassed.
‘How did you know?… I mean about my daughter?’ he asked so quietly she could hardly hear him.
‘The painting in the room we stayed in. The little girl had green eyes exactly the same as mine and yet when we went for dinner, she was nowhere to be seen, even as the depicted teenager. A guest that had known you for years didn’t know who I spoke of either. Someone so adored would be by your side or known to your friend. I guess I just put two and two together. There was no magic needed to work that out.’
‘You were right. I lost her just before that painting was complete. I’ve grieved for her for so many years and yesterday when I looked into your eyes, I saw her again. Then when you left this morning, it ripped my heart out all over again, as if I just lost her for a second time.’ His grief was real; she didn’t have to look at him to feel his misery.
‘Why didn’t you come and talk to me and tell me how you felt? Maybe if you knew how I felt about you too, it might have made it easier somehow. We could have worked through it together without all this unnecessary fuss about Taurus.’
‘I just couldn’t let you leave. I really figured that it must have been more than just you, it had to be something you could give me. I was confused and didn’t understand my emotions. I nearly crumbled into a big mess when you spoke of my daughter. I had not thought of that at all. I realised it might have been the reason but I had gone crazy, and it was too late, I had got into a mess and didn’t know how to dig my way out.’
‘You could have said, “Sorry, I mucked up!”’
‘I freaked out that you would leave here angry, that I’d never see you again so thought, hell, I’m in this deep, take the girl and run. I just wanted my look-alike daughter back and wanted my pain to stop.’
‘I would have hated you.’
‘Anything was better than just letting you go. I miss her so.’ His face was wet with hate for his action and yet frustrated and hurt that he had lost.
Caitlin pulled out a lace hanky and dabbed the blood that dribbled down his chin. ‘I’ve grieved all my life for a father I never had, and you for a daughter you never got to see grow up. Fate throws us together and it’s destroyed, gone, in mere minutes. It sounds such a waste.’
She stood up and put out her hand to him. He looked up and taking it, got up.
‘You’re leaving.’ He looked even more miserable.
She smiled. ‘Not yet. Let’s just see first if fate is going to give us a second chance.’ She put out her hand again. ‘Hi, I’m Caitlin Warner and you are?’ She grinned.
His mouth quirked at the
sides. ‘My title is Lord Alfred Mensa. I had a beautiful daughter, who would have looked exactly like you, if she had reached your age. Today I would have been so proud of her, if she had grown up half the woman you are Caitlin, and was able to forgive an old fool like me so easily.’
‘I’m sure she would have been very much like me. She also would have been proud of her father for seeing the wrong and also trying to correct it cordially.’ She then looked around at the intruder. ‘Thanks for your help, kind stranger, but we can take it from here. You have been very honourable and I’m sure the Lord here will make sure you are well looked after from now on. You have a power he will want to keep close to him from now on.’
Blondie smiled, bowed and left.
Her attention was then on Orion who wasn’t buying any of it and paced furiously. Somehow, she had to bring them both back to a happy place. This wasn’t his argument, it had been hers and she was damned if she would let their bond break because destiny had him bring her here.
She moved over and slipped her hand into Orion’s, and his mood changed the minute she touched him. He slumped his wide shoulders and rolled his head to relieve the pressure he had been under. ‘You okay sugar?’ She smiled.
He grinned and she saw that Orion had gone, Aurek was back. Not in a great mood but in control again. ‘Nice you could join us again Aurek,’ she teased him.
She turned back to Lord Mensa. ‘We were leaving but I have decided to stay. I’m afraid I’ve destroyed all your guns.’ She gestured with her hands. ‘Oops.’ She shrugged. ‘But Aurek still has one so if you two would like to join me, I’m going hunting.’ She stuck her nose in the air and walked out on both of them, trudging up the hill, optimistic they would follow. Sure enough, the door slammed shut and she heard two sets of footsteps, no talking but she was not alone and knew that here, with these two, she never would be again.
It had been a long walk to the top, and none of them spoke. When she was just about to give in and start a conversation, large hands grabbed her. ‘Okay, okay, you win. If you’re going to keep ignoring me until I give in, then I give in already. I’m wasting my day with you being mad.’ Aurek turned and put out his hand to Lord Mensa. ‘Mates again, to please the girl neither of us can do without.’ And they shook hands, smiling at what he said.
