“I wasn’t looking,” I say sternly.
She flicks her hair and rolls her eyes. “Rayne, everybody looks.”
Then, we both laugh as she slips back behind that wall she’s built. We walk down the hall to where Selene, Jaxson, Christopher, Phillip, and Zara are waiting. They all turn at once and I give them an awkward smile and wave.
“Your favorite human has decided to join the world of the conscious,” Jun declares. “I think that she was disappointed to find that my face was the first one she saw. She just doesn’t appreciate a good guard person.”
“You went in there to take a nap,” Jaxson busts her out.
“That was the cover story. Geeze, you keep it up Jaxson and I’ll tell them all about how-,”
“Rayne, are you feeling better?” Jaxson asks, interrupting Jun. She crosses her arms with a fake pout and sits next to Christopher who looks extremely uncomfortable at their proximity in his fitted suit.
“I’m fine now. As you guessed, Namen invaded my mind again. It seems like it’s getting worse, more painful. I think I have to get him out for real this time. Well, I don’t think that it’s really him; I think that it’s a spell. Whatever it is, it’s making my mind weaker.”
“I’ve been looking into it, with the help of an immortal, I think I can break it,” Selene says.
“I may not be able to practice magic, but I am familiar with plenty of spells. I could back you up too,” Jun offers.
Selene smiles genuinely at her. “Thanks. I’d like that.”
“If the immortals don’t help you, we’re going to my grandmother’s. Your plan for the mayor will just have to wait,” Zara tells me. She gives me a look that says that she’ll drag me there unwillingly if I try to get out of it.
“I guess I’ll have to convince them to help then, won’t I.”
“Should you be here for this?” Selene directs to Zara. “We still remember what happened last time with Diana.”
“Oh, I’m going to stay. I’ll be out of sight. Maybe.”
“Zara,” I warn.
“I’ll behave.”
“I’ve heard that one before.” Selene gives her a pointed look.
“There’s something else. Namen said that he’s giving us three weeks to plot against him. He said they will only defend themselves if we attack, but will not retaliate or make any moves against us on their own,” I tell them, watching each of their faces carefully. Someone’s getting ready to call bullshit.
“Don’t tell me that you believe him.” It’s Phillip that says it first. I didn’t expect the quiet, knowledgeable wolf to speak at all.
“No, I can’t say that I really do, but he said that he gives his oath.”
“And why in the hell would he do that?” Jun speaks up.
“He said because he wants us to see the futility in going against him. We’ll realize that we can’t stop him,” I relay.
“Yeah and that three little weeks isn’t going to change shit. He’s planning something or he wants to see what our move is going to be,” Zara explains.
“So, do we believe him or not? Do we make a move or not?” Selene questions. I know that she’s thinking of Santos. It would be the perfect time to try to rescue him or at least figure out what he may know. Namen can’t know that we’ve figured out that Santos is being compelled.
“We need to be cautious. Rayne, can you tell us exactly everything that happened while you spoke with him? Word for word, every detail that you remember.” Jaxson’s in alpha mode.
Phillip leans forward to listen and Christopher stands up and begins to pace. I think it’s more so to get away from Jun. She seems to really annoy him. I glance at Selene and she nods. Then, I take a deep breath and try to relay everything that I remember as best that I can. Sometimes I close my eyes and imagine the words floating past my eyes. When I get to the image of my father, I speak quickly to get through it. Zara comforts me through our bond and I continue.
Once I finish, Jaxson looks between all of us. Before he can speak, Zara steps into the middle of the room. She gathers her power and then pushes it outward enough for it to brush our skin in warning. It’s obviously a reminder of her strength as she looks pointedly at Jaxson. She’s going to tell him about Anubis and doesn’t want him to flip out like he did on me when he discovered that I killed him.
“There’s something you should know. It’s another reason why we came here tonight and we wanted to wait until Rayne woke up to tell you this. I have a story to tell you about your history and how it relates to Anubis.”
“Go on,” Jaxson steps forward, looking giant and menacing over Zara’s small frame. Yet, size doesn’t matter and we all know it.
“Have you ever heard of Ka’el, the King?”
◊◊◊
There was an argument once Zara finished her story. Punches were thrown between the wolves but Zara, Selene, and I managed to stay out of the physical part. Christopher accused Jun of knowing about Ka’el and Anubis and not saying anything. She yelled that the pack in the forest where she learned to control herself must have known something, but if she was told anything, she didn’t remember. Phillip tried to calm everyone down but when Chris was in Jun’s face, she kicked him in the nuts.
Chris crouched down and when Jun threw a punch, she ended up connecting with Jaxson’s jaw as he bent down to help Chris move out of the way. His wolf came to the surface and he grabbed Jun’s arm in anger. That earned him another punch in the face. Good for her. I think. Finally, Selene used the spell to create an invisible wall between everyone until they calmed down.
“You are all hurting and you all feel betrayed in some way or another. It’s not your fault that you didn’t know your history and even if Jun did know something, it’s not like she came here as a spy. They sent her here because Anubis was a wolf with magic and he might be able to help her use her own power that’s locked inside of her. She didn’t know that he didn’t even realize what it was that made him special. She didn’t even know about the second shift or that he was dead,” Selene reasons.
“I mean really though, you are all werewolves. You can smell a lie. She may be able to lie once, but multiple lies and to keep it up and still continue to lie to you without you even noticing, how unrealistic does that sound?” Zara asks, defending Jun and surprising her in the process.
However, Jun still eyes Zara warily. She’s smarter than I realized. Her wolf is not too happy with being in the presence of a pure blood vampire. Her instincts are probably screaming for her to run far away, but she’s trying to stand her ground.
“Unless you are too focused on wanting her to be lying that you’re forgetting to even use the talents that you have.” Zara cocks an eyebrow and leans against the doorframe as if she’s bored with it all. Her arm is in a sling, but she still manages to look attractive and deadly. I’m glad that she had time to get her hair in a better ponytail and throw on clothes that hadn’t been torn in a fight. Selene had to have helped.
“Pull it together,” Selene simply says. Her outfit still looks good, but she’s taken the heels off and is standing barefoot and comfortable. “What’s important now is what we do with the information that we have. Do we accept that we really may have three weeks to not look over our shoulders and plan something solid, do we rest and train, do we find more allies, do we rescue Santos, or do we do nothing?”
“The time for the wolves to decide is almost up. We will know by the end of the week what allies we have there,” Christopher says, sulking. He’s unbuttoned the first three buttons of his dress shirt and taken off his suit jacket to have it hang on the couch. It reminds me of my father when he’d come home from a long day and I smile inside.
“I’m not counting on many vampires to be of any assistance. They will either stay neutral or work in the shadows to collect information so that we will remain unscathed no matter which side claims victory.”
“And then, they’ll just go with the flow, right?” I add sarcastically.
Zara looks at me in regret. “It is as you say. Longevity can sometimes make you a coward. I also still have my own that are watching and protecting. There will be no purebloods among Namen’s faction at least.”
Yeah, that is a big help. “But there will be genetically engineered vamps that are just as strong,” I warn. Plus either Anubis or Ka’el and maybe even hundreds of unwilling wolves. “If he has Anubis and the plan is resurrection, teaching Anubis will be difficult. Ka’el already knows how to force the change on wolves and get them to submit. I see Ka’el or a demon controlling Anubis’s body in our future. If Namen controls the wolves and they can shift twice, they can get into buildings, climb, and rip people apart before they know what hit them. We have to do something about that.”
“You’re right. Also, there are six large covens in the U.S. but they do a poor job of governing the witches. It is more so that if a witch seeks refuge or training, they will assist. If a witch is out of control, they may step in, but they often leave it to other awakeneds to handle. Many covens advocate nonviolence. They probably have known about Namen for hundreds of years but have been far too afraid to do anything. My other guess is that he’s taken over more than one coven.” Selene bites her lip in contemplation.
“Well, you are a high priestess. They will have to listen to you if you call for a conclave. I don’t think a high priestess from America even exists,” Jun speaks up. “I may be a werewolf, but I recognize you as my high priestess. I can feel your power calling to mine. There are small towns of witches all along the coast that will fight if you ask that of them.”
“There will be no time to call a large conclave to order.”
“There’s a spell that will be a call to arms to any witch that has the power to listen. I know it well. It’s earth magic and actually requires potion and a casting, but any type of witch can do it. It was created after the Salem Witch Trials just in case something of that magnitude ever happened again. My family still lived in Lebanon at the time, but when they moved to America, they discovered a town founded by some other witches that were immigrants or descendants of survivors of the Trials and created the spell just in case people came in and tried to slaughter them.” She smiles at Selene, happy to contribute.
“I can teach it to you so you can use it at the right time,” Jun says, becoming extremely helpful. I think it’s because she’s around another witch and is starting to feel like she has a purpose. High priestess. Her high priestess.
“Maybe that’s why you’re here too,” I tell Jun. She turns to me in question. “Maybe you’re here as a duty to help Selene. Maybe there are things that you can teach each other.”
Jun looks at Selene hopeful, but quickly blinks it away, brown eyes replaced by the wolf. Coping mechanism. Building up walls because she doesn’t want to deal with disappointment. But, one look at Selene’s sparkling, green eyes and dazzling smile, she allows that wall to crack just a bit.
“I’ll, I’ll do what I can priestess,” Jun assures her.
Selene’s eyes reveal the markings of the high priestess only to those that have been awakened and know what to look for. Zara felt Selene’s latent power deep inside of her when they first met. Namen also wants Selene for himself because of the power she’ll possess with Santos. I think he wants us all. All of us are powerful enough to oppose him, but only if we work together. We have the power to change things forever. We have more power than we can imagine.
“So, Anubis is one priority. That means if we can’t rescue him, we must kill him, again. If he is alive, if it’s him and not Ka’el or a traveler, demon or whatever you want to call it, we may still have to stop him,” Zara says. Jaxson grunts, but I don’t know if it’s in agreement or dissent.
“I need to try to call Diana,” I add. “It’s a long shot, but maybe if I beg enough, we can get their help with something, anything.
“I’m calling a pack meeting for the morning. I want you all there. Nine a.m. Phillip, make arrangements and have Rebecca help call people. She needs to pick up groceries for breakfast too. Tell her she’s working to get back into my good graces.” Jaxson looks at Christopher but he just shrugs, knowing not to argue about his girlfriend. Everything’s a test when it comes to werewolves and pack rules.
I need to call Damien too and check in on him. I may need to go to headquarters soon and check on how the weapon situation is moving along. I also need to find out what the hacker has found out about the mayor’s schedule. So much to do. Three weeks will definitely help if Namen keeps his word. I guess just because he’s a murderer, kidnapper, thief, and crazy person, doesn’t mean that he’s a liar. He didn’t lie to me about Santos. I push that to the back of my mind for processing later.
“If we can get to Anubis, we may be able to get to Santos. We need his strength either on our side or out of Namen’s hands,” Selene urges.
“First, we need to figure out where they are. I think that they have a glamour blocking the tracking of their location. They could be hiding in plain sight,” Zara tells us.
“This is why we need humans on our side too. They can get innocent people out of the way with a lies about gas leaks or something like that. We’ll be able to fight more freely when we need to. We can use them to our advantage. We can get access to blueprints and suspicious activities,” I explain.
They seem to contemplate this. I have to get to the mayor first. It will work. This can be our city. We can mold it, protect it, and then watch it grow. There can be an alliance here between all the major races. It can be done once we kill Namen.
“We’re going to take our chances. Three weeks to make a dent in his plans. I don’t trust Namen, but he knows that. He wants us to do nothing and wait,” I say as I pull my rising dress down. “I’m going to go home and try to contact Diana there. I will see you all in the morning,” I tell them.
“Fine. See you at nine. Don’t be late,” Jaxson says, rubbing a hand through his mohawk.
Selene waves at everyone and we head out the door. Zara trails behind us. It looks like we’re dropping her off somewhere.
“Are you going to check on your babies?” I ask, referring to her four legged children.
“No, not tonight. They are at a doggie hotel for a few days. I have some things to do,” Zara replies searching the area with her eyes as we walk to the car and Selene goes around to the front to drive.
I don’t remember it being this cold when we left and I find myself shivering. “Where are you going then? You need to rest,” I say gently.
“I’m going to be fine. Just drop me off downtown and then I’ll see you in the morning,” Zara says quietly. She’s so secretive sometimes and I frown at her until she says, “What? I’m going to be fine. I’m not doing anything dangerous.”
Selene watches our exchange as she leans on top of the car. “Zara, do you want to come home with us?”
Zara looks at Selene sideways as if trying to ascertain the meaning behind the question. I think she can tell that Selene’s making more of an attempt than she probably would have because of me. Selene is genuinely a forgiving person, but Zara is still hesitant and it shows.
“I can’t do that Selene, but thank you for your offer,” Zara bows formally, slipping into diplomat mode. “You are too kind for words young priestess. Please, just drop me off downtown on third and that will suffice.” Sometimes I forget when I look at Zara that she’s far older than any of us. This time, her age shows.
Selene looks at me to see if I’m going to argue. When I open the passenger door and climb inside, she quietly does the same and starts the engine. I nudge on Zara’s consciousness questioningly as Selene pulls off, but she keeps me locked out. After a couple more tries, I turn my attention to Selene and try to ignore the fact that there’s something that Zara isn’t saying.
Chapter Thirty One
I’ve been trying for over an hour to reach Diana. I’ve gone through everything multiple times. I’ve meditated, sliced my hand, forced my tattoo to glow, but nothing. My
patience is slowly melting into irritation and worry. She should have answered by now. Cursing, I stand up and wipe off my lime green basketball shorts.
Selene fell asleep half an hour ago on the couch. I brush her cheek tenderly with my fingers to gently wake her so that she can get into the bed. Eyes still slightly closed, I lead her into the bedroom and tuck her in. With a kiss on her forehead, she turns to me and smiles sleepily.
“What did she say?” she asks in a whisper.
I whisper back, “She didn’t answer my call. No one did.” I slip into bed next to her, adjusting my memory foam pillow.
“Huh? That’s weird. We’ll try again tomorrow.”
“Yeah, we have to get up in three hours. Go to sleep, love.”
“’Kay. I love you,” she mumbles, snuggling closer to me.
“I love you too,” I tell her, wrapping an arm around her. Sleep comes easily despite my thoughts circling around on why there is no answer from the immortals. I need rest right now, even if it’s for a few hours. Good thing that I had that nap thanks to Namen’s invasion turning my brain to mush.
Sleep consists of dreams about me and Selene on a trip to Hawaii together. We jump off of small cliffs into the beautiful water before lazing out on the beach working on our tans. There is no danger, no duty. There’s just us. When my alarm goes off to wake us, I feel a deep loss in my heart. It may have been a dream, but it felt like that’s what we’re supposed to be doing. Still, I’m grateful that despite what I’ve lost, I still get to wake up next to her. We get to fight by each other’s side.
I turn the alarm off and roll onto my back, groaning as my drowsiness begs to take me back under. “I’m going to shower first, you sleep a little longer,” I tell Selene as she yawns.
“Mmhmm.”
After a twenty minute shower, I wake Selene up and begin to get dressed. Shortly, Selene and I are both clothed and ready to head to this pack meeting. Breakfast better be good. It doesn’t take me too long to recover even when I don’t get too many hours of sleep. Food does the trick just fine.
Killer Rayne Page 20
