A Cold Day in Hell (The Hellcat Series) (41 page)

She didn’t push the pace.  She wasn’t running to improve fitness or strength.  She just needed to clear her head, reorganise her mind, and unwind. 

As her trainers met the damp gravel of the track in a steady, rhythmic crunch, she felt the stress of the past week gradually begin to ebb from her body.  The simple joy of being home, of her friends and family being safe from the wrath of the Princeps filled her soul and brought a small smile to her lips. 

Roman bounded ahead of her, the pure joy of running with her pouring off him in glorious waves.  Her arrival home the previous night had incited a tidal wave of affection and joy from Rocky.  The tiny squirrel had been so relieved to see both her and Razor that she’d actually just frozen in the spot for a few seconds, completely torn between greeting her furry ‘mother’ or her human ‘mother’ first.  Razor had solved her dilemma by charging over, grabbing her by the scruff of the neck, and depositing her into Gabi’s welcoming hands.  Slinky initially pretended to sulk, but had snuck out a little later to curl around her neck and send her happy thoughts. 

Trish and Derek were openly and exuberantly relieved to see them back, even though Gabi had phoned ahead from the plane to reassure them that things hadn’t entirely turned to custard.  What Gabi was most happy to see was Kyle’s attitude when Trish literally threw herself into his arms as they walked into Gabi’s house.  He’d folded her into his lanky embrace and closed his eyes, drawing her scent in as if she was his life force.  Gabi knew from the contented wave of emotion from his wolf that this trip had finally cracked the wall Kyle had built to hold Trish away from him.  By the look on Trish’s face, she sensed it too.  By the time they said their goodbyes to go back to Kyle’s apartment, she was positively radiating happiness. 

And Derek…well, Derek was pleased to see them all back, though Gabi was sure he wouldn’t have been overly saddened if Julius hadn’t made it back with the rest of them.  He certainly seemed to be in a better place than he’d been when she left; the new job was definitely helping.  But when he looked at her, his eyes still held a deep sadness and a yearning that Gabi knew she could never eradicate.  She simply had to hope he met his
soulmate soon and that, when he did, she would accept him, damaged as he was, inside and out. 

Julius had seen her safely home and then left to deal with some urgent business.  Part of that business was to reassure his Clan that everything was all right; they were understandably fretful and uneasy. 

Gabi paused on a small ridge, looking out over the rugged land dotted with rocks and small scrubby trees.  Her land, her home, her sanctuary.  She didn’t need to flee.  It only struck her now how much she would’ve missed it all.  Byron had been so quiet when she phoned to tell him the good news that she thought the call had been dropped, but when he spoke again, she realised he’d been so choked with emotion that he was struggling to speak.  He hadn’t expected to see her again.

Roman gave a short, playful bark, calling her to keep running, and she set off again, towards the small pine forest and the creek he loved to splash in. 

Not that anything was as simple as it had been before.  Not by anyone’s measure.  New strict security measures were to be implemented to ensure the safety of her mother and Byron.  Though none of them had ever named those non-Vampires who knew her secret, it wouldn’t take a genius to work out who to target.  Julius and the Packs were working out a covert bodyguard detail for her mother.  They’d all decided it was best if she was kept in the dark, at least for now. 

The Magi High Council and the SMV were overseeing Byron’s protection, despite his protests, and Gabi had no trouble trusting them to do the job right.  Athena was on the case, and as much as the two of them still weren’t exactly friends, Gabi trusted the Magus implicitly.  She would even have
to stop referring to the woman as the Witch, she thought ruefully.  Or maybe not.  Inexplicably the thought made her grin.

In a few weeks she’d get to meet the rest of the Magi High Council as they descended on the City for the purpose of sealing the secret of Dhampir creation away for the Princeps.  Julius would write the information on a magically protected scroll before the Council sealed it in a spelled, protective case.  Then the Council would travel to a central meeting place to meet with the Princeps and invoke a Spell of Protection, so that the case would only open when all twelve spilled their blood on it.  Without the blood of all twelve, the case would not open.  Even if someone was powerful enough to break the protective spell and open the case, without twelve more drops of
Princep blood, the writing on the scroll would simply not exist.  Gabi had tuned out when Athena went into the finer details.  It was in the Magi High Council’s best interests to do this right, so she was confident nothing would be overlooked.  They were waiting for the election of two new Princeps before they completed the task. 

Word from the Princeps Court was that everyone suspected that Gabi had had a hand in the mysterious disappearance of Santiago, but as there wasn’t a shred or a whisper of evidence against any of them, the matter was being treated as unsolved and largely ignored in the bustle of
Princep elections and redistribution of his numerous Clan members.  Gabi knew her actions still had the chance of coming back to bite them on the arse, but she didn’t have a moment’s regret. 

Only one real problem remained: Caspian. 

No one had seen or heard from the Spaniard since the night they killed Santiago.  He hadn’t been in the apartment when they returned from the mission, and they’d hightailed it out of the castle without him.  Julius was reasonably sure he was still alive.  The bond of fealty was very new, and Caspian hadn’t been Turned by Julius, so that made the mental bond between them weaker than normal, leaving Julius unable to track him or even tune into his state of mind.  The one bit of good news was that Julius hadn’t nullified the order he’d branded into Caspian’s mind that left him unable to do anything that would endanger Gabi’s life. 

While that seemed to give Julius a measure of relief, Gabi knew the depth of Caspian’s hatred for Julius, and she was left feeling distinctly uneasy that Caspian could be anywhere, collaborating with anyone, planning Julius’s downfall or destruction. 

Her mind returned to the present as she and Roman made it back to the house.  She patted the big dog, filling his water bowl as she cooled down, and took a large meaty bone out of the freezer in the garage for him before heading inside to take a shower. 

She heard the melodic ding of her phone just as she opened the back door.  The lack of AC/DC’s music meant it was a message not a call, and she almost didn’t bother to check it immediately.  But her little, nagging, sixth-sense inner alarm suddenly rang loud and clear, making her heartbeat quicken in response.  She gritted her teeth and forced herself to pick up the phone, entirely aware that she didn’t have the energy to deal with another emergency right now.

As she touched the phone, it sprang to life.  Four missed calls, one text message.  One missed call was from Athena, the rest from Byron. With a sinking feeling in her chest, she checked the message.

The Oracles need to see us all. 
Urgently.

EPILOGUE

The setting was entirely incongruous to the meeting.  The sun shone brightly down on the families and young couples playing, walking, eating and enjoying life in the tenuous safety of the park.  Two elderly men playing chess on a stone table under a large oak were nothing noteworthy, until another two men arrived to join them.  Even absolute strangers could tell instantly that the two were twins.  Their attire was completely unsuited to a day of family fun in the park.  Their presence drew the glances of some of those revelling in the sun.  Dark suits covered with dark cloaks stood in stark contrast to their pale hair and complexions.  Something about the pair had attentive parents tugging on the arms of their exuberant offspring, hastily removing them from the area. 

“Elders,” the twins greeted the two older men in unison. 

Both older men looked up from their match.  They were dressed more casually than the younger men, but still not in garb suited to a day in the park.  A passerby would’ve put the men in their seventies; though neither was balding, both were entirely grey, and the decades were etched into the heavy creases on their faces and hands.  The same passerby would’ve been shocked if they’d seen the grace and litheness the two men could still move with.  But not nearly as shocked as they would’ve been had the two men revealed their true ages. 

“Ah, our students deign to grace us with their presences,” one of the men said, raising a sardonic eyebrow. 

“To what do we owe the honour?” the other man asked. 

“We have,”

“News, Elders,” the two spoke, one finishing the sentence the other started. 

“News that we,”

“Think will interest you.” 

“Sit, Gemini,” the first man growled.  “You’re making people nervous.” 

The younger pair obediently took seats at a second table just a few feet from the older men.

“Your news had better be worth interrupting our chess match,” the second man warned gruffly.

“We found another,”

“Dark One,” the twins said.

“One who has
reason,”

“To work with us.”

“One who is only,”

“Just tapping the surface,”

“Of her power.”

“One who desires,”

“To be trained in our ways.”  Their eyes were lit with excitement at their revelation. 

“That is news,” the first Elder conceded.  “Students are hard to come by these days.  But not good enough to disturb us at our place of leisure.” 

“That is,”

“Not all of it,” Gemini said, both leaning towards the Elders.

“We have seen,”

“Something intriguing.”

“Something that needs,”

“Further investigation.”

“Have you heard of a place,”

“That is referred to only as,”

“The City?” 

The two Elders who had, up to that point, looked slightly bored, suddenly glanced at the twins with narrow-eyed scrutiny.

“What of the City?” the second Elder asked.

“The young one comes,”

“From the City.” 

“She insists that there is,”

“Something powerful,”

“Affecting the Magi there.”

“Something,”

“They are protecting.”

The two Elders looked at each other, and a slow, pitiless smile curved both their mouths.

I hope you have enjoyed this third instalment of the Hellcat Series.

If you would like to keep up with what I’m writing and when the next instalment is due, connect with me at one of the following links;

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Sharon-Hannaford/244568828958484

www.hellcatseries.com

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5626833.Sharon_Hannaford

Twitter @shazfly

I humbly thank you for your continued support.

Sharon.

Other books by Sharon Hannaford:

A Cat’s Chance in Hell (Hellcat Series Book 1)

All Hell Breaks Loose (Hellcat Series Book 2)