Blood Solstice: Part Three in the Tale of Lunarmorte (5 page)

But what of Caia… he mused desperate to come out from the
cover of the trees to reveal himself to her. He needed to know more
about her. He needed to be able to trust her. Somehow, he had to
insinuate himself into her life.

The girl. Yes, he thought. The lykan that Ethan had kidnapped.
Jaeden.

He had watched her for a while, yesterday, wondering what on
Gaia’s earth had happened to her down in Ethan’s basement. He could
guess he supposed. He scowled. She should never have had to go
through that. And now… well… she had a secret too. As he had
watched her he had seen her grow visibly upset and items in her
room had started flying around of their own accord. A telekinetic.
Untapped magikal power in a lykan. She was like a two-for-one
special. Not only would she be a useful soldier but he could use
her to insinuate himself into Caia’s life. Another misfit to add to
his crew. Yes. Tonight he would send a few impulses her way,
suggest perhaps she run away from the pack. Then he would appear;
Reuben the vampyre with his gang of hunters. Yeah. He’d make sure
Jaeden wanted to join him. And then he’d have it all. Jaeden. The
Septum. And Caia.

3 – Just
How Deep

the
Rabbit Hole Goes

Reuben – sorry Kirios – was
really
old. Like… whoa
old.

Caia
gazed at him, trying to look anything but intimidated by him. Of
course she was. She had to maintain control of the situation. As
much control as someone in a cage could.

“
What I got from that long-winded tale of sorrow is your
little family of hippies are responsible for this war, and you my
friend are a ruthless son-of-a-bitch. Not exactly endearing me to
your cause. By the way, I still don’t fully have a grasp on what
your cause is exactly.”

“
To end the war. I thought I was quite clear on that
point.”

She held in a long suffering sigh. “Yes, but
how
do you intend to do
that?”

Reuben
looked off into the distance, a smug smile in his eyes. “Well,
Marita has inadvertently made everything so much easier for
us.”

Caia
snorted in disbelief. “And how is that?”

“
Our plan was to take care of the Septum and then get rid of
Marita. That could have been a bloody mess but Marita has betrayed
herself to the Council. We just need to take her out, and then once
she’s out of the picture I’m sure it will be pretty easy to
persuade the Council to our way of thinking.”

“
Again, what way is that? What the Hades is the Septum? If
you’re going to keep me in a cage like a gerbil you can at least do
me the courtesy of providing me with some straight
answers.”

Reuben
chuckled and relaxed once more into his armchair, shrugging
elegantly. “What cage?”

A jolt
ran through Caia at his amusement and she closed her eyes in
disbelief. It better be there when she opened them. Slowly, she
craned her neck up. No bars. Her gaze flew around her sides and
back and she narrowed her eyes. No cage. And the bars that had been
suspended in front of her disappeared as she turned back to look at
Nikolai. She shook her head, laughing low and humourlessly. “For
how long?”

“
Since Nikolai gave me this chair.”

“
Aren’t you afraid I’ll try to use magik?”

He
shrugged, apparently his favourite gesture. “Wouldn’t you have done
so by now?”

She
growled. He was such a smug bastard. She just wanted to smack the
expression off his face. “I want to know what the Septum is. It
doesn’t mean I have any intention of working for you. I just want
to know what I’m dealing with.”

“
That’s smart. Probably the first smart thing you’ve said or
done so far.”

Breathe, Caia, breathe. He claims to be impervious to magik.
He could be lying but if he’s not and you blast him, Nikolai will
blast you before you can blink and then Reuben will finish you
off.

His eyes
wandered over her face. “You think before you act. At least that’s
something.”

“
Screw you.”

“
Very mature.”

“
Oh, and your pointed little insults are the height of
sophisticated adulthood.”

His lips
quirked up at the corner in obvious amusement. Goddess, she hated
this guy.

“
I’m just pointing out that you haven’t shown a propensity for
logic in your previous dealings.”

Don’t let him bait you. Ignore him. Count sheep or
something.

Oh the
hell with it, counting sheep was for insomniacs! “And just what the
Hades do you know about it, huh?”

Well done, Caia, that’s showing him.

“
You were planning on taking over the Daylight Coven with the
hopes of beginning peace negotiations with the Midnights.
Illogical, stupid and naïve.”

She bristled. “Maybe you’ve forgotten, but
I’m
the one with trace
powers. I can sense Midnights emotions and motives, and I can
assure you there are a lot of them out there who would welcome my
plan to end the war.”

“
Yes, but there are also many who won’t. That’s why we need to
deal with the Septum first.”

Arrrgghhh!

“
What is the Septum?” She seethed between clenched
teeth.

“
Not what. Who.” Nikolai stepped forward, seeming to
understand Reuben was losing her.

Caia
blinked. “Who?”

Nikolai
settled on the arm of Reuben’s chair. “The Septum is the seven
direct descendants of the Daylight and Midnight Coven.” He flicked
his wrist and a scroll of paper appeared on the ground before her.
It slowly unrolled. There were seven names and their locations
printed on it. “What you see before you is information that has
taken us a long time to verify.”

Caia shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
Were these the descendants of the magiks who
bound themselves to Galen and Penelope respectively?

“
Yes,” Reuben confirmed.

Her eyes
widened. She hadn’t realised she’d muttered the question out loud.
She took hold of the paper, seeming to understand that something of
great consequence was unfolding here. “So these are the direct
descendants of the first seven. What makes them so
important?”

Her mind
was whirring with possibilities, but she couldn’t even begin to
imagine that her theory was correct.

Reuben
smiled. “Caia, you’re smarter than that. I think you already
know.”

Taking a
huge gulp of air, she tried unsuccessfully to fold the paper
without her fingers trembling. “You think… you think you can get
rid of the trace somehow through these seven people?”

They both grinned at her as if she were a pet who had just
performed brilliantly for them. Nikolai leaned forward a little,
excitement bristling in his every movement. “We don’t think…
we
know
.”

“
How?”

“
Just before you were born, the Prophet came to me again.”
Reuben sat up straight in his chair. “He told me that if we killed
the seven direct descendants simultaneously – and it has to be
simultaneously, by the same method, it has something to do with
connecting their energies and the trace – then the trace will leave
us. I’ve always believed that the trace has kept the war alive when
it should have ended centuries ago. For goddess sake, lykans and
vampyres, for the most part, have lived in peace with the humans
for nearly two thousand years. The Midnights have nothing to
complain about anymore… they’re just trapped with one another
because of the trace and the prejudice of the powerful magiks who
control the trace.”

Their
revelation was astounding. She stared, eyes glazed, at the paper in
her hand and let what they were telling her sink in. Reuben was
right… without the trace… they would all be free…

She would
be free.

“
You think this is the first step to ending the war, don’t
you?” She pierced him with her eyes.

The
vampyre nodded slowly. “We do this and we can begin to build a new
world.”

“
What do you need me for?”

Reuben
laughed. “You don’t get it do you, Caia? This is what you were born
to do.”

She shook
her head, completely confused. “No… I… the Prophet said I’d end the
war.”

“
Oh, you will end a two-thousand year old war just like that
will you?” He snapped his fingers. Before she could snarl in
displeasure at his mocking, the vamp continued in a softer tone,
“Caia, we need you to use that magik mojo of yours to kill the
Septum simultaneously. If you do that and supernaturals are freed
from the trace then technically you will have ended
this
war. The war we’re
looking at after that is an entirely new one… one that we can
eventually bring to an end. But it will take time.”

She felt
the world spin a little, and the next thing she knew she no longer
felt the press of the cold, hard floor but was sitting on an
armchair that matched Reuben’s. The wave of dizziness passed.
“Thank you,” she whispered to Nikolai.

“
It’s a lot to take in, we know.”

A lot to
take in? For almost a year now she had believed that she was
somehow going to bring the war to a conclusion. Now they were
telling her what she was meant for was only the beginning.
Exhaustion overwhelmed her, hope bursting like a soap bubble that
had been chased for four blocks.

“
I thought…” she cleared her throat, “I thought it would end.
Somehow… I thought…”

“
A war of this magnitude doesn’t just go away,
Caia.”

Laughing
humourlessly, she flopped back on the chair, staring at the grey
ceiling. “I’ve been so naïve.”

“
You weren’t the only one.”

Fear
tightened her expression and she couldn’t bring herself to look at
them. “You want me to kill those people?”

A moment
of sharp silence. And then… “Yes.”

Tears
pricked her eyes. “Three of them are Daylights. And for all I know
the four Midnights are against the war.”

The
vampyre’s cold voice tore through her like a serrated knife. “Their
deaths are necessary.” She jerked her head down and stared at him
in disgust, taking satisfaction in the flinch her look produced.
Reuben shifted uncomfortably, reading her expression easily. His
face grew taut with anger, all boyishness fleeing his features.
“Don’t you dare look at me that way. I am not a monster. I am
trying to end this war. A war I’ve had to live through for hundreds
of years. You’ve been dealing with this barely a year. Come back to
me in two thousand and see how principled you are then.”

“
Mindlessly killing people is not the way to end a war, I
don’t care how you try to justify it.”

He
laughed, his eyes dark cuts of jet that reflected scorn in the
light. “What was that you just said about being naïve? All wars are
fought with death, Caia. Or haven’t you been listening in history
class?”

Nikolai
hastily interrupted before she could retort, “Caia, if it helps,
most of the Septum are very old now. A few of them would probably
willingly sacrifice themselves for this.”

Her chin
lifted at the suggestion. “Fine, get them to agree to it and I’ll
think about it.”

“
Caia-” Reuben warned.

“
No! You can’t just expect me to kill innocent
people!”

“
It must be done!” He flew out of his chair towards her, and
Caia shrank back, remembering her magik would do her no good with
him.

“
Reuben…” Nikolai made a move towards him, watching him very
carefully.

The
vampyre towered over her, his hands braced on the arms of her
chair, his face inches from her. “Stop acting like a child,” he
whispered, clearly trying to gain control over himself. “There is
no choice, Caia. Seven people over millions. Don’t you want to be
free of the trace… don’t you want all those voices out of your
head?”

Bleakly,
Caia nodded. “Yes,” she whispered. “But I don’t know if I can do
what you need me to do.”

He sighed
wearily and pulled back, scrubbing his hands over his face. “You
need time,” he told her emotionlessly. “Think it over.”

She knew then she wasn’t getting out of here without
conceding to at least this request. Both men were determined. One
of them had been planning this for a
loooonng
time.

“
Fine,” she snapped. “But I want a change in scenery. For a
start I want windows.”

The
Russian smiled like a kindly father. “Of course.”

“
And I want the pack informed I’m alright.”

“
No-” Reuben began, but was cut short when Nikolai’s hand
clamped down on his shoulder.

“
I know that you are impatient to get on, but I think we can
accommodate Caia in this.”

To Caia’s
surprise she watched Reuben relax a little. “I apologise. I have to
stop treating you as if you were an enemy. We need this, Caia.
Please take your time.”