Crimson Dahlia (2 page)

Lila
jolted awake. Ramsey’s voice was in her head, murmuring her name. It was just a
dream… she knew that. But some part of her knew that he was looking for her. She
shut her eyes tightly. She wanted to go back to sleep so that she could call
out to him or just hear him again.

“It’s
worse,” a voice whispered to Lila.

Lila
opened her eyes again. When they’d first been shoved in this hell hole, Lila
had sat next to the wall. After a day or two, she had discovered the inhabitant
in the next cell, and they communicated through a small crack in the wall near
the ground. Lila thought her neighbor was perhaps a woman, but the person
whispered and refused to give a name, so she wasn’t entirely sure.

“What’s
worse?” Lila whispered back.

 “What
happens to your friends when they’re taken. Maddox doesn’t always kill them.”

Lila
scooted across the cold stone floor to get closer to the wall. “How’d you—”

“I
heard you talking the other day.”

“So
what do they do?” Lila asked.

“Your
friends either join the ranks or die. They’re given the choice,” came the reply.

Lila
bit her lip. Sounded plausible to her. But she took everything the whisperer
told her with a grain of salt. She’d seen plenty of movies where a spy was
planted in the cells to try to get information out of the other prisoners. No
way was she going to play the fool.

“Join
the ranks how? They’re not wolves,” she whispered back.

“They
have a way to deal with that. Once your friends are removed individually like
that, they never come back.”

“Why
haven’t you been taken, then? I thought you’d been here for over a hundred and
fifty years.”

There
was a moment of silence. Lila strained her ear against the wall, nervous she’d
alienated her new friend.

“They
use my… services,” the voice eventually confided. “And we haven’t always been
here. Maddox… well, he’s different from how it was with Gideon.”

Gideon,
Selene’s brother, had been the King of the Vyusher before Lila’s sister-in-law,
Ellie, had killed him. Maddox had once been Gideon’s first lieutenant. He’d
abandoned the Vyusher when Gideon died, and every action he’d taken since then
had been against them in some way. From kidnapping Selene, the new Vyusher
Queen, to attacking them at their castle, to turning other Svatura-like clans
against his former tribe. And now he held Lila, Marcus, and many of the
Louisiana tribesmen prisoners.

“Different
how?” Lila asked, her curiosity stronger than her caution.

“Did
you know Gideon?”

Lila’s
natural wariness kicked in. “I only met him once or twice and never directly
talked to him.”

She
knew a lot more than that. Gideon’s primary power had been an incredibly strong
ability to manipulate people. He’d used that skill on his own people and forced
them to do unspeakable things to other Svatura.

“What
do
you
know about him?” Lila asked.

There
was a lengthy pause. “I know that he wasn’t originally a wolf metamorph.”

Lila
gasped. She’d been around Selene’s Vyusher enough to know that the wolf pack
had a very strong impact on the wolf metamorphs. The pack had a hive mind –
kind of a mob mentality on steroids – that the wolves could hear when in animal
form. The pack influence also meant that non-wolves were looked at as outsiders,
with a great deal of mistrust. She’d experienced that firsthand.

Lila
glanced over her shoulder at Marcus. By the small amount of light coming in the
window in the door, she could see he was watching her with interest but
probably couldn’t hear much.

She
turned back to the wall. “What do you mean?”

“Apparently,
around the time of his birth, a stranger was visiting with the King and Queen.
Not a wolf metamorph, though. Very powerful with other gifts from what I’ve
gathered. I’ve even heard rumors that he could change into a dragon.”

Lila
frowned.
Ellie’s family are the only dragon metamorphs I’ve ever heard of.
Where is this going?

Ellie
was married to Lila’s adopted brother, Alex. Ellie and her twin brother,
Griffin Aubrey, were very powerful Svatura from a long lineage who had multiple
powers between them. She had the ability to shift into a massive onyx dragon,
an ability she’d inherited from her great-grandfather.

Instead
of voicing her questions, Lila kept silent and waited.

“One
of the stranger’s gifts was that he could see what powers others around him
had. Even powers not yet developed. This man told the King and Queen that their
son wouldn’t inherit the wolf morph ability.”

“How
is that possible?” Lila asked.

“I
don’t know exactly. Could’ve skipped a generation, I’ve heard of that.”

So
had Lila. She knew Ramsey’s mother was skipped.

Her
companion continued. “Apparently he only got the King’s power of manipulation;
his twin sister inherited everything else.”

“Who
else knew about it?” Lila asked.

“From
what I understand, at the time most of the Vyusher knew. He was very much the
omega wolf. He would have been bottom of the food chain in the wolf pack if he
hadn’t been born royal.”

That
makes no sense. Selene would’ve known,
Lila thought.

“When
he was old enough to understand, his parents told him he’d never rule, and the
rest of the pack shunned him.”

Lila
set aside her questions about why Selene or any of the other Vyusher hadn’t
seemed to remember this.

“That
must have been awful for a little boy.” Lila had no love for Gideon. He’d been
a monster. But no child should feel like that. Ever.

“He
had a mentor who…
helped
… him through it.”

“Who?”
Lila asked.

“Maddox,”
was the whispered answer.

Well,
that would explain a lot. Maddox was quite a bit older than Selene and Gideon. “Wait,”
Lila said. “I
know
that Gideon could morph into a wolf, big black one. I
saw him.”

“Yeah.
He developed that skill around the time he took over the pack.”

“So
the visitor – the dragon guy – was wrong?” Lila asked.

“No.
Gideon didn’t
inherit
the ability.”

Lila
rolled her eyes. “It’s impossible to have a skill you didn’t inherit. Powers
are genetic.”

“Not
always.”

“What
do you mean?” Everyone in the cell turned to stare at the sound of Lila’s
surprised outburst.

Marcus
scooted closer. “We’re trying to keep you hidden from them, peanut. Might be a
good idea to keep quiet.”

Lila
shot him a quick glare before returning her attention to her anonymous
confidant. “What do you mean?” she asked, quietly this time. But she was met
with only silence.

Lila
sighed and gave herself a mental slap on the head. Her neighbor was skittish
about talking as it was. Drawing attention to their conversation had been an
idiotic thing to do. She’d just have to wait to find out more and hope that her
new ally would trust her enough to talk again.

*****

“How’s
it going, son?”

The
sound of Oren’s voice interrupted Ramsey’s efforts to pack up his camp. He glanced
up and found the ghost-like figure of the Vyusher leader hovering before him.
Selene’s adopted father had the ability to astral-project his conscious self
anywhere.

Ramsey
sighed. “I can feel her still. But I’m no closer than I was a month ago.” He
picked up a stick and threw it into the woods.

“Does
she feel closer than she did yesterday?”

Ramsey
thought about the question for a moment. Over a year ago, when Lila had left
her family to go help some of their new Svatura allies negotiate with other
Svatura clans, he’d realized that he could feel her. The connection was faint,
but there nonetheless. Over the last month, he could tell that he was getting
closer. He could feel her more and more through their connection. But was that
time? Or was it proximity? Or was it just all in his mind?

“I
guess so,” he finally replied.

“Then
you’re closer. Don’t give up hope,” Oren said with his customary steadfastness.

“Sheila
still can’t find them? How are the others doing… any luck?” Ramsey asked. He
always asked about the others when he talked to someone from home. He continued
to hope that one of these times the answer would be ‘yes’, that someone had
Lila or at least a clue to her whereabouts. Sheila was another Vyusher whose
gift allowed her to track large groups of people with abilities. Ramsey wasn’t
the only person trying to find Lila, not by a long shot.  Ellie and Alex,
Sheila, Selene and Griffin, and several other powerful people were all focused
on bringing her home.

Oren
just shook his head in answer to Ramsey’s questions. “Do you need anything? How
are your money and your food holding up?”

“I’m
okay for now. But send Charlotte in a day or so.”

Oren
nodded. “All right. I’ll check in with you again tomorrow.”

Ramsey
raised a hand in farewell as Oren’s image faded from sight, leaving him alone
with his thoughts once more.

A
moment later he picked up his cell phone and sent a quick text to Adelaide. He
checked in with her every morning. And then he sent one more text, this one to
Lila-

Still
haven’t found you. Won’t give up, Lily. I’m coming.

“She’s
awake.”

Griffin’s
voice sounded in Selene’s head just before the door to the library opened and
he entered.

“You
couldn’t wait ten seconds and say it out loud?” Selene grinned. She’d been
ensconced in the quiet room all day and was happy to see his handsome face. She
let her eyes flit lovingly over his strong features, golden hair, and
well-muscled body.

“I
like having access to your thoughts.” He walked over to lean his hand on the
table next to her. “What’s this?”

“Nothing
important. When Gideon was defeated, we discovered an entire library of books –
our history – buried in a room beneath the castle. I’ve been reading them. Learning.”

Griffin
flipped through a few pages, taking in the hand-drawn pictures. “History major.
Huh. I should’ve guessed.”

She
pushed her chair back from the table and stood up. As she turned to leave, he
stopped her with a hand on her elbow. With a little tug, Griffin pulled her
into his arms and dropped a light kiss on her unsuspecting lips. Selene felt a
little thrill. Griffin was her
te’sorthene
and she his. Fated souls
bonded by heart and spirit. He was her soul mate in the truest sense of the
words.

While,
over the ages, some groups of Svatura had split off to become Vyusher, or whatever
else they called themselves, they were still all of the same origin and history
if one looked far enough back in time. And
te’sorthene
was just a part
of who they all were. The best part in Selene’s opinion.

With
a small sigh, Selene opened her eyes and locked gazes with Griffin’s golden
stare.

“I
hate that we have to hide this,” she whispered. “Hide who we are.”

Griffin
tucked a silky strand of silver-fair hair behind her ear and then followed it
with his lips. As he nibbled on her earlobe, his voice sounded in her mind.
“I
know it’s hard. But it’s the right thing to do. Your people aren’t ready to
accept someone who’s not a wolf metamorph. And you need to continue to build
their confidence in you as their Queen. I understand.”

Selene
couldn’t answer right away, as she was distracted by his lips making their way
down her neck. At the sound of her small whimper, Griffin gave her one last
kiss on the mouth and then pulled back slightly, although he didn’t let go of
her.

Selene
gathered her thoughts. “Just because you understand doesn’t make it any
easier.”

Griffin
looked into her soft grey eyes in that serious way of his. She allowed him
access to her thoughts. They didn’t hide things from each other. Not anymore.

His
eyes clouded at the worries he found there. “I won’t ever leave you again,
love. You would have to send me away. And even then I’m not sure I’d obey.”

“Thank
you,” Selene whispered. She and Griffin had grown so much closer just over the
last month, despite sneaking around, despite their worries about Lila and their
new Louisiana allies, and despite their concerns over Maddox, who’d gone quiet
again.

“Okay,
let’s go meet our mystery guest,” Selene said. Pushing aside her own worries, she
turned and headed out of the room.

Charlotte
suddenly popped in directly in front of them as they entered the hallway.
“She’s very frightened. And, of course, Lila isn’t here to help, and neither is
Ellie or Alex. We’re hoping you might get through to her with your telepathy,
Griffin.”

“I
can give it a try,” he agreed.

Charlotte
took their hands. Selene experienced the momentary disorientation of finding
herself instantly and soundlessly teleported to a completely different place.

Immediately
her ears rang with hysterical screams. Selene looked around the room and found the
girl’s slight form curled up in a tight ball on the bed in the corner. Adelaide
was already perched on the other side.

Selene
glanced at Griffin. “
All I can hear is chaos. A rush of panicked thoughts. I
can’t really make out anything
,” his voice sounded in her mind. “
I’m
going to try to talk to her. I’ll have you listen in.
”

Selene
nodded.

“It’s
okay,”
she heard Griffin’s quiet voice. He was trying not to startle the girl.

The
girl gasped, putting a hand to her head.

“We
won’t hurt you,”
he continued softly.

She
just shook her head, but her screams died down slightly.

“Calm
yourself. We’re here to help you,”
he continued in a soothing tone.

Her
screams were reduced to gulping gasps of air.

“Too
many…”

Finally
a slightly coherent thought had broken through.
“Too many what?”
Griffin
pressed.

“Too
many people. I can’t… I can’t…”

Griffin
glanced at Selene, confused. But Selene thought she understood. “Clear the
room. Just me and Adelaide,” she told everyone.

“No.
Not her,”
the girl instructed, still only communicating to Griffin through their minds.
“Him,”
she pointed at Nate.
“He can stay.”

“Nate,
you stay. Delia, please go with the others,” Griffin told them.

Adelaide
shot Selene a surprised look but complied. Selene left with them. As she
reached the hallway, Griffin switched to showing her his point of view of what
was happening in the room.

She
watched through Griffin’s eyes as Nate sat down on the bed and held out his
hand. The girl regarded Nate warily, and then she slowly extended her hand to grasp
his and scooted over on the bed to sit beside him.

“What
is your name?” Nate asked.

She
looked blank for a moment before shaking her head. “I don’t know.”

Nate
looked at Griffin, who then employed his telepathy to see if he could find any
memories. After a moment he gave a small shrug.
“Nothing,”
he thought to
Nate.

“Well,
we need to call you something,” Nate said. “What do you think of Bertha?”

“Isn’t
that Mr. Rochester’s crazy wife in Jane Eyre?” she surprised them both by
asking.

Nate
turned to face her more fully, propping a knee up on the bed. “You can remember
a detail in a book, but not your own name?” he prodded.

Her
brow furrowed in thought, and her eyes moved back and forth almost as though
she were looking through a mental filing cabinet. “T… Talia,” she stammered. “I
think my name is Talia.”

“Well,
nice to meet you, Talia. I’m Nate. That’s Griffin.” He jerked his thumb to
where Griffin stood silently watching.

Solemn
brown eyes regarded them both before looking around the room. A small frown
puckered her eyebrows as she returned her gaze to them.  “Nice to meet you too?”
she asked, confusion coloring her voice.

“Do
you know where you are?” Nate asked.

Talia
shook her head, still looking around.

“You
are in a castle currently located in an isolated part of Northern Canada. It’s the
home of a group of very powerful people.” Talia didn’t question Nate’s
statement. Xavier, one of the Vyusher who lived there, had the unique ability
to move the castle’s location.

“How
long have I been here?” she asked instead.

Nate
glanced at Griffin, who nodded.

“Close
to eight months. We don’t know how long you were out before that.”

Talia’s
throat constricted as she choked back tears. But she held it together.

“How’d
you find me?”

“Selene,
who is the Queen of the people here, was captured last year by a man named
Maddox. You were put in the same prison cell, but you were already unconscious.
She brought you here when she escaped.”

Griffin
spoke up. “She was the girl with the pale hair in here a moment ago. Do you
remember her at all?”

Talia’s
forehead wrinkled. “I don’t remember anything about it,” she whispered.

“It’s
okay,” Griffin assured her. “Take it slow. It’ll come. What did you mean earlier
by ‘too many people’?”

Talia
frowned again. “It’s as if I can feel them all. But it’s weird. I think I feel
what they’re feeling maybe? All I know is that I could feel their panic and
worry and curiosity. It was overwhelming.” She looked up at Nate. “Is that
weird?”

“No
way,” Nate said. “When I said that this castle is owned by powerful people, I
meant they actually
have powers
. Most of the people around here shift
into wolves. Not us though. We have different powers. Like, I’m super strong.”

“Okaaayyy…”
Talia glanced at Griffin. “And you can speak in people’s minds?”

Griffin
nodded.

“You’re
taking that pretty well,” Nate observed.

“I
don’t have anything else to base it on. But I guess it seems… well… normal. If
I can feel what others are feeling, I guess I would rather it be because of a
power than because I’m just plain crazy.”

Nate
laughed and her eyes were drawn to his smile. She didn’t think anything
specific that Griffin could see, but he could tell that she was pleased about
something.

“Are
you hungry?” Nate asked. “You’ve been in some weird form of stasis for a very
long time. I’d be hungry if I were you.”

“I
guess so,” Talia said. “But I don’t know what I like to eat. And I don’t really
want to see anyone else. Not if I have to feel all those emotions again.”  She gripped
the sheets in a tight ball. Griffin and Nate exchanged a glance.

“No
problem,” Nate said. “We’ll have someone bring up a couple different things for
you to try.”

“Selene
has clothes already waiting for you. They’re in that drawer.” Griffin pointed.
“Nate and I will leave you alone to get dressed while we get your food.”

“Are
you able to move okay on your own?” Nate asked. “You’ve been lying still for a
very long time.”

Talia
didn’t try to stand but moved her arms and legs around, testing them out. “I
think I should be fine. Which makes no sense based on what you just told me.”

Nate
smiled. “We’re used to stuff that doesn’t make sense around here. If you need
help, just think it. We’re just outside, and Griffin will hear you and send one
of the girls to help.”

“Not
the girl with the darker blond hair, though.” Talia’s hands shook in her
agitation.

Nate
frowned. “Adelaide? Why—?”

Griffin
stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “That’s fine. We’ll send in Charlotte
or Lucy to help you.”

Selene
felt slightly disoriented as Griffin released her from his point of view. As he
and Nate emerged from the room, Desmond O’Moore, or ‘Des’ to just about
everyone, popped his blond head around the corner.

“I
hear sleeping beauty has awoken.” Des grinned, his green eyes twinkling. “Who’s
the prince?”

He
sauntered up the hallway, followed by Oren. Griffin claimed possession of
Selene’s hand. Des and Oren were among the select Vyusher who were aware of their
secret relationship.

Des
flicked a look at their clasped hands. “Hey, Garrett.”

“Darren,”
Griffin acknowledged.

Selene
rolled her eyes. Des had asked her to marry him once but had bowed out
gracefully when Griffin had been revealed as her
te’sorthene
. Now the
two guys insisted on this little ritual of names. Des had started it, but just of
late Griffin had joined in. Selene suspected their teasing was more male
bonding these days than rivalry.

“No
prince,” Adelaide said. “She just woke up on her own.”

“Has
anyone contacted the others?” Hugh asked. “After eight months, I think no one really
thought she’d wake up. So they’ll be in for a surprise.”

“You
sound concerned?” Selene asked.

Hugh
shrugged. “We don’t know anything about her, who she is, or where she comes
from. Why she was in that coma. She may be a friend, but she could just as
easily be a danger to us.”