Nation of the Sun (The Ancient Souls Series Book 1)

by HR Moore

  'Jamie's a … dangerous man. And your sister's been working with him for … some time.'

  'She's eighteen.'

  'Age is meaningless,' countered Raina. 'There are five-year-olds in Africa who have to fend entirely for themselves and their siblings. She's eighteen; you'd be unwise to underestimate her.'

  'Why did he call you Raina? And what was he talking about? Pagans? Templars? Demons?'

  'You wouldn't believe me if I told you. All you need to know is that you're in danger.'

  'Then so is Jade.'

  'Jade isn't who you think she is.'

  'What's happened to you?' he asked. 'You're … different, somehow.'

  'My demon self awoke.'

  'What the fuck?'

  'Exactly. We need to get you out of here, and you need to forget the notion that Tamsin—Jade—is going to come with you. She's the one who got you into this mess.'

  Jamie left Tamsin and strode towards them. 'No dancing?' he said.

  'No,' said Raina.

  Jamie held out his hand to Raina, puffed up with the belief she would take it. Of course, she had little choice, so she went to him, the air between them taut.

  Her survival almost certainly relied on keeping Jamie sweet, and he was testing her. So she danced, not holding back, holding his gaze, following his lead, letting him believe she was enjoying every minute of it.

  'I thought you'd be happy with my gift,' said Jamie.

  Raina raised an eyebrow. 'He's human. He'll live one single life. What fun could someone like that provide me?'

  'What would you have me do with him then?'

  'Send him away,' said Raina, sensing the trap, 'and forget all about him. He's not worth the time of day. And that fact will cause him more distress than anything we could ever do.'

  Jamie stopped dancing. 'You still have feelings for him … I would never have believed it.'

  Raina gave him a look. 'You're missing the point,' she said, mocking him. 'I have no feelings either way. I don't love him, I don't hate him, I'm not annoyed at the way he treated me. I couldn't care less about him. Do I like your gift? No, I don't. How's he a gift for me? I'd got rid of him, and now you've brought him back to me, making an issue of him, wasting my time. If anything, he's a gift for you.'

  'For me?'

  'You're jealous. You've driven yourself crazy thinking about his hands on me, his lips on mine, his eyes on my naked flesh. You want revenge. I couldn't care less.'

  'Maybe part of me's jealous, but not of some human.'

  Raina laughed, cruelly. 'Caspar? Your own sources told you I threw him out.'

  'You left me for him once before.'

  'He killed my baby,' she said, letting him see the tears in her eyes.

  A look of triumph flashed across Jamie's features. It disappeared again in an instant. 'Then why did you register as a Pagan?'

  'Because I am a Pagan; I almost always have been.'

  'What about us?'

  'What about us? You seem to be entertaining yourself with others,' she said, throwing a look at Tamsin.

  'Who's jealous now?' he laughed, taking hold of her face, moving in to kiss her.

  Raina pulled back, swiping his hand away. 'You think it's going to be so easy?'

  Jamie laughed. 'Oh, my dear Raina, I have missed you. What will it take?' he asked.

  But something in his manner worried her. Something that suggested he already had her, whether she liked it or not.

  'For starters, I need to be the only one.'

  'For starters?' he mocked.

  'Why do I get the feeling you're not taking me seriously?'

  'Come on, my dear, let's dance. Everything will become clear in just a short while.'

  Raina's stomach dropped. He had a trump card, and she had no idea what it was.

  Chapter 23

  Caspar and the rest of the Pagan leadership sat around the kitchen table at Cloister Cottage.

  'You let her go?' said Jon, indignant. 'Without a fight?'

  'Believe me,' said Caspar, 'it wasn't without a fight. But she was right, there was no other way to avoid war.'

  'So you just … let her go?' said Jon.

  'Evidently,' said Caspar, scowling.

  'Like he could have stopped her anyway,' said Meredith.

  'I guess that's true,' said Jon.

  'So, what now?' asked Elliot, looking to Rose.

  'Now, we wait,' said Rose. 'Raina made it to the States. She's in Manhattan. We can't do much but wait for her to make contact.'

  'Like lemmings,' said Elliot.

  'Raina's done this kind of work before,' said Rose. 'We have to trust her. Any action we take could compromise her cover.'

  'Do you know what Jamie wants?' asked Gemma.

  Rose took a deep, laborious breath. 'Honestly, I don't. Although he's always been single-minded when it comes to Raina.'

  Meredith laughed. 'He's infatuated with her.'

  Caspar flinched.

  'Sorry, but it's true.'

  'We don't know if that's still the case,' said Rose, firmly.

  'Do you really think it's that simple?' asked Gemma.

  'People have gone to war for less,' said Rose, 'but with everything going on with the Templars, it's hard to believe there isn't more to it.'

  'Raina's been the architect of many wars,' said Meredith. 'Maybe he wants her as his general.'

  'I think that's an option,' said Rose.

  'But for that, he'd have to be sure of her loyalty,' said Caspar, giving Rose an appraising look. 'It's one thing to summon her to him, when she thinks she's preventing a war. It's entirely another to keep her there as his ally. Raina's a loyal Pagan … he must have something making him believe otherwise …'

  'Caspar, I'm keeping nothing from you,' said Rose, a warning in her tone.

  Caspar banged his fist against the table. 'Could he have leverage over her?' He ran his hand through his hair, stood abruptly, paced to the fire. 'Does he have leverage?'

  'There is no leverage, as far as I know,' said Rose. 'But Raina spent time with Jamie in her last life, and the one before. They grew close. Raina assured me she was acting only for the Pagans, that she was loyal to us. She said her relationship with Jamie was a cross she had to bear for the greater good.'

  'Did you believe her?' asked Jon.

  'Yes, I truly did,' said Rose. 'She gave me no reason to suspect otherwise.'

  'Do you think it's as simple as Jamie being in love with her?' said Jon. 'I mean, there's a chance she could be …'

  Caspar whirled around, glaring at Jon. 'She is not in love with him.'

  'I didn't say she was,' he said. 'But there's a chance she could be lying to us, and Jamie might believe that she is, even if she's not.'

  'I've had enough. I'm going,' said Caspar, striding for the exit.

  The remaining demons looked at each other, sitting in silence until he'd gone.

  'Did she love Jamie?' Elliot asked Rose.

  Rose shook her head. 'I don't think she did. There was chemistry between them, to be sure. Raina enjoyed the thrill after so many lifetimes with Caspar. But Raina would choose Caspar over any other, in any lifetime.'

  'Even after what happened, with the baby …?' asked Jon.

  Every one of them scowled at him.

  'What? I'm only being thorough.'

  'Even then,' said Rose. 'Raina needed time to come to terms with what happened, that's all. She's loyal to us. Raina's been our mole inside the Templars for the last hundred years, but right now, she's as clueless as we are. The fact is, we have no idea what Jamie has up his sleeve. We can do nothing but wait. And Meredith, for Gods' sake go and get Caspar, before he does something stupid.'

  Caspar stormed through the great hall, threw open the front door, and stepped onto the small, cobbled street outside. He slammed the door behind him with considerable force, then put his head down, fuming as he headed out into the city.

  Does Raina love Jamie? Will Raina join the Templars? What's Jamie's plan?
What can I do? The thoughts repeated, again and again.

  Caspar turned onto another side street, barely noticing the man standing to one side, chatting on his phone, nor did he see the second man, standing in the shadows opposite the first. It was late, and dark.

  It was lifetimes of training that made him react, without thinking, when he sensed a presence too close. He ducked, then spun around, racing back the way he'd come.

  Idiot. He knew the cottage was compromised, should've been more careful.

  A weight crashed into Caspar's back. He went flying to the floor, a blinding, stabbing pain coming from his shoulder. He was disorientated, didn't know what had happened, didn't see his attacker pull the knife from his shoulder and try to thrust it down towards his ribs.

  The second man caught the arm of the first. 'We need him alive, remember?'

  The one with the knife grunted, shifting his weight.

  Caspar's mind frantically calculated his options, desperately trying to figure out an escape.

  'Get the cuffs.'

  'Here.'

  Caspar felt cool metal slip around his wrists, which had been pulled behind his back. Shit. Shit. Shit. How could he have been so stupid?

  'Let him go,' said a bored female voice.

  Meredith. Thank the Gods; he was saved.

  The men looked at her and laughed. 'One of you, two of us,' said the man with the knife.

  'I know, it's unfair on you, but you did pick the fight,' said Meredith, walking towards them.

  The first man threw his knife at Meredith. She sidestepped, pulled out her own blade, and threw, all in one fluid motion. Her attacker went down hard. He was already dead.

  'Knife-throwing's one thing,' said the second man, 'but hand-to-hand combat, with a man? You really think you can win?'

  Caspar rolled over, blinding pain making him cry out. The man was young, cocky, but even so, no demon would make such a ludicrous statement. Caspar could see his eyes, was close enough to feel his presence. This was a human, and an uneducated one at that.

  Meredith approached him with light, even steps. 'Come over here and we'll see, shall we?'

  The man took a couple of halting steps in Meredith's direction, then thought better of it, turning to run.

  Meredith was on him in a second. 'Oh no you don't,' she said, pulling him to the ground. 'You're going to talk.'

  Meredith tied the man to a chair in the great hall for his interrogation. She started in a pleasant fashion, wishing for a simple business transaction.

  'Look,' she said, 'if you tell me everything I need to know, we'll let you go. If you don't, I'll have to use other, less amiable means, and you probably won't leave here alive.'

  'I'll never tell you a thing. If I did, they'd kill me anyway.'

  'Then the only option you have is to defect to us,' said Meredith, with an easy smile. 'Problem solved.'

  'You people are an abomination,' the man spat. 'God put you here as a trial for his loyal servants. I was put on this earth to kill you.'

  'Is that so?' said Meredith. 'Then why are you working with the Templars?'

  'Templars are the closest of your kind to our God.'

  Idiot. That was too easy.

  'Your God seems a little cutthroat. What happened to loving thy neighbor?' said Meredith.

  'You're demons, sent to test us. You're not my neighbor.'

  'Well, much as I'd love to sit here all day, continuing this pointless theological discussion …' she said, then slammed a dagger through his hand. It bit into the wooden arm of the chair beneath.

  The man screamed, then started praying.

  'What do you know about Jamie's plans?' asked Meredith. 'What does he want with Raina?'

  The man eventually stopped screaming. He tipped back his head and looked Meredith in the eye, panting through the pain. He laughed a slow, vicious laugh. 'That bitch is putty in our hands.'

  A crack sounded from the man's mouth. Meredith knew in an instant what it was. She rushed to him, tipped his head forward, propped his mouth open. But it was too late—the capsule hidden in his teeth had broken. The poison would do its work.

  Chapter 24

  Jamie finally stopped dancing. He pulled Raina off the dance floor and back to the loveseat. Tamsin and Dean sat opposite, Tamsin looking every inch the seductress, her bare legs on display as she lounged.

  Dean looked furious, although his rage was tempered by fear. Tamsin ignored him, her eyes tracking Jamie's every move.

  'Darling Tamsin, come here,' said Jamie, reaching for her, pulling her onto his lap. Raina made to get up, but Jamie stopped her with a hand on her arm. 'I think you should stay, my dear.'

  This was all so very wrong. Jamie would never have treated her this way in their past lives. He'd been too worried she would walk away, back to Caspar. She looked directly at him, her eyes flashing with rage.

  Jamie was delighted. 'Jealous?' he said.

  'Jamie, what's going on?' said Raina, as Jamie ran his hand over Tamsin's bare leg.

  Raina flicked her gaze to Dean, who was watching, his fists balled in fury.

  'I'm just having some fun before the evening's main event,' said Jamie, burying his face in Tamsin's neck.

  Raina longed to get up—both Jamie and Tamsin had body parts pressed against her. It made her nauseated.

  'You can join us, if you'd like,' said Jamie.

  'Not really my thing,' said Raina, looking away.

  Tamsin giggled at whatever Jamie did next, one of her feet flying past Raina's head.

  Raina turned to scowl at them, but found Jamie kissing his way down Tamsin's décolletage, every kiss taking him further down the v of her dress, towards her breasts, which were pushed-up and mostly exposed. Tamsin arched her back, encouraging him. Jamie plunged his face into her cleavage, and Tamsin's leg flew once more past Raina's nose.

  Dean sat bolt upright, rigid, pale.

  'Jade,' he said, standing up. 'What the hell are you doing? And you, pervert. Get your hands off my eighteen-year-old sister.'

  Jamie didn't so much as look up.

  Tamsin giggled, her hand in Jamie's hair. 'If only I were eighteen. And my name's Tamsin.'

  'What the fuck?' said Dean. 'Has he drugged you? Brainwashed you? Is this a cult?'

  Dean grabbed Tamsin and pulled her off Jamie, but she was up and attacking him in the blink of an eye. Dean dropped to the floor, clutching his now-bleeding nose.

  'Touch me again, and I'll kill you,' Tamsin said, sitting back down.

  Jamie resumed.

  Dean laughed, the way anyone would laugh if their naïve younger sister threatened to kill them.

  Raina winced.

  Tamsin stood, drawing a dagger from a holster on her leg. 'I know you're a stupid human,' she said, putting the knife to his throat, 'but I'm a demon. If I say I'll kill you, you should know that I mean it.'

  Dean was horrified. He looked to Raina.

  Raina shrugged. What solace could she offer him? Maybe Jamie hoped Raina would come to Dean's defense … that there would be a fight between Tamsin and Raina. Or maybe he hoped Raina would kick Tamsin's arse for sitting on Jamie's lap; he loved a jealous woman. But Raina was neither jealous nor prepared to give him the satisfaction. She might be in Jamie's power, but that didn't mean she had to play his games.

  'Okay,' said Dean, holding up his hands in defeat, 'I believe you. But why am I here? What do you want with me?'

  Jamie stood and clapped his hands. 'Excellent question. You're right, the preamble has gone on for long enough; time for the main event. Bring in our guest,' he said to the two demons by the door.

  They disappeared.

  Dread clawed at Raina's stomach. Who did he have? Caspar? Rose? Her human mother?

  But when the demons returned, it was none of them; it was so much worse. Raina stood, took a pace forward, stopped. Fuck. This couldn't be … even Jamie wouldn't sink this low. Her head spun. She grabbed the back of the nearest seat for support, swallowed down the bile rising
in her throat. She was living a nightmare.

  Caspar sat in the kitchen, nursing a whiskey. It was late, or, more accurately, early. He played the Slayer's last words over and over in his mind. That bitch is putty in our hands.

  The Slayers and the Templars were working together, and they did have something on Raina. She'd walked into a trap, one she might never walk out of …

  That bitch is putty in our hands.

  He slammed his fist on the table. One of the dogs ran away. The other came to sit beside him, resting his head on Caspar's leg. Caspar let out a breath and stroked the dog's ears, grateful for the uncomplicated company.

  Later, the same thoughts still circling, the door from the great hall crashed open. Gemma hauled in a familiar figure, that of a hunter.

  'What's happened?' said Caspar.

  'This piece of shit sold you out,' she said, slamming the man's face down onto the table, forcing him to bend at the waist. 'He's been playing us off against the Templars.'

  'It was you who told the Templars we'd found Raina?' said Caspar. 'That's why they came after us?'

  The hunter said nothing.

  'That's not the worst bit,' said Gemma. 'And not how I found out.'

  'What then?' said Caspar, perplexed. He hadn't had any other leads from the hunter for some time. Although … 'The commission? What did you find?'

  'Tell him,' said Gemma, slamming the man's head against the table again.

  'She's awake,' he said, through gritted teeth.

  'And?' said Caspar. 'Is she someone we know? Someone important? Someone Jamie wants?'

  The hunter gave a half laugh. 'She's Raina's daughter. And, so Jamie claims, his daughter too.'

  Caspar went very still, his mind whirling, trying to make sense of the man's words. Could it be possible? Raina's daughter … his daughter … alive?

  Gemma slammed the man's head so hard that he fell, unconscious, to the ground.

  Time stopped for Raina as she took in the scared little girl who'd been shepherded in. The girl looked wildly around, first at the elegantly dressed people, then searching for a place to hide, or a way to run.

  There was no familiar leg to hide behind, no comfort. She seemed to shrink, as if by making herself small she'd be forgotten. The girl started to cry.