Refugee (The Captive Series Book 3) (18 page)

Braith’s jaw clenched, his teeth ground
as he slowly nodded. “I will.”

He left out the words “for now” as he
gave his response but they were there and Gideon and Ashby were
well aware of it. He would lead them into this war, he would help
to see them established, and then he would disappear with Aria
leaving Jack or even Gideon in his place. They may be unsure of his
little brother; to a certain degree so was he, but Jack would at
the very least be a fair king.

“You have two days to gather your
people. We’ll move out on the third to rejoin with
David.”

“How will we find him?” Barnaby
inquired.

Aria grinned. “Oh we’ll find
him.”

The sinking feeling in Braith’s stomach
had nothing to do with his recent election, and everything to do
with the unruly air suddenly surrounding her. He’d never inquired
how Aria and William would find their father again; he’d simply
assumed they had a way of relocating each other after all their
years of moving and separating so often. He was beginning to
realize he wasn’t going to like the answer.  

CHAPTER 10

Her forest. She’d missed it so much,
the sweet scent that filled her nostrils; the cool shade that hid
the heat of the sun. The sounds of the animals were familiar and
soothing. The tension in her body eased, her heart beat seemed to
slow to match the melodious rhythm of the world around her. A
rhythm that enveloped her within its comforting embrace, and held
her close as she picked her way through the natural obstacles with
the ease of an expert.

An ease that a lot of their group did
not exhibit. Though their predatory vampire nature made them
stealthier than most, they were not accustomed to the sticks,
leaves and fallen debris that littered the forest floor. And they
were obvious about it. Aria flinched at every snap of a twig or
branch. She was doing a lot of flinching.

Braith finally stopped, his impatience
was apparent as he turned to face the massive troops gathered
behind them. Though most of the women had remained in The Barrens
with the children or the elderly, there were a couple hundred of
them mixed in amongst the men and looking just as ferocious and
annoyed by their surroundings.

She was leading an army of deadly
vampires, humans, and weaponry straight into the heart of her
world. Aria swallowed the lump of trepidation that lodged in her
throat. What they were doing went against everything she had ever
known, ever fought against.

They were on her side, she reminded
herself severely, but she still couldn’t shake her lingering
concerns. She had absolute trust and faith in Braith, in his
ability to succeed, she had grown to like Ashby, had forged a small
amount of trust in Gideon, and there was something about Xavier
that intrigued her. But even so, she didn’t really know these
vampires, and she sure as hell didn’t know the thousands following
behind them.

There were too many of them and she
knew it. They couldn’t continue on like this without being caught.
Her people knew these woods, they moved through them with ease but
this mass would never make it through unnoticed if they continued
to stomp through the woods like a herd of elephants.

Braith seemed to sense this as he
turned to her. “How long do you think it will be before you are
able to find your father?”

“Stay here.”

Braith lurched for her, but she was
already scrambling up the closest tree. It was the only way she
knew he wasn’t going to be able stop her. She imagined it would be
amusing to watch him attempt to chase her through the trees, but
she doubted she’d ever get the chance. She wasn’t at all surprised
to see him following her as she leapt, jumped, ran, and swung
easily from limb to limb.

Climbing steadily higher, she swiftly
made her way up a small hill where she paused to skirt to the top
of a large maple. She hoped she was near one of the areas she used
to communicate with her father when they were separated, or that he
had even moved through this region. There was a chance she’d have
to go a couple miles to the west before finding another place that
would help her. It could take days before she located one of his
markers; she hoped that she would get lucky now.

“Arianna!” Even though the snarl had
been low pitched it drifted up to her.

She didn’t look down, she didn’t have
to. She knew his look of displeasure and annoyance well. The
thinner branches bowed beneath her weight, but she’d done this
since she was a child, she knew exactly how far she could go before
the tree wouldn’t support her weight. Pausing, she spread her legs,
bracing her feet against two branches that bent to the side.
Between the two of them she was able to distribute her weight
without snapping them as she poked her head over the top of the
leaves.

She moved slightly, adjusting so that
she could see the forest from different angles. It spread out
before her, an endless array of shimmering leaves, deep green
conifers, and a spattering of red maple groves that added sporadic
color to the landscape. For a brief moment she allowed herself to
savor in the view.

Then she spotted it, a small glimmer
halfway up a tree about two miles away. Her father didn’t climb as
high as she did, but he could also navigate the trees well. Smiling
with satisfaction and relief, she was about to shimmy back down the
tree when something to the right snapped her head around. Eyes
narrowing, her hands dropped down to grab the two branches
supporting her weight. She brought them sharply together, lifting
herself higher and earning an angry hiss from Braith.

She didn’t care though. She didn’t even
care that she was pushing her luck as she scooted another foot
higher. Only about a mile away there was a movement in the woods
that was not made by any animal, but she couldn’t be certain if it
was human, or something else, until a break in the trees revealed
the group of men. Though they were too far away to discern much
about them, they were all wearing the royal colors of the
king.

Aria’s heart leapt into her throat,
panic flared through her body as two of the men turned to scan the
horizon. She didn’t move, didn’t even breathe. They turned in a
complete circle, seemingly oblivious to the brim of her head over
the tree as they bent to confer again.

They had more soldiers on their side
right now, but if things went wrong, and one of the king’s men
happened to escape back to the palace, everything they had worked
for would be ruined. They needed to stay hidden until Braith
decided it was time to make their presence known. But that would be
impossible with the herd following them.

With their attention distracted, Aria
plunged rapidly out of the tree, dropping from branch to branch
until she released the final limb and plummeted toward the ground.
She would have been fine if she’d hit the ground, but she didn’t
mind at all when Braith’s arms wrapped around her. He held her for
a brief moment, cradling her within his embrace. She allowed
herself to relax, to feel the strength of his body beneath her hand
before he set her smoothly on her feet.

Ashby was gaping at her, his bright
green eyes astonished as he looked from her to the top of the tree.
Behind him Gideon and William were watching her anxiously. “Dad?”
asked William.

“That way, about two miles there’s a
marker.” Taking a steadying breath, she turned slowly and pointed
to the west. “That way about a mile, are the king’s
men.”

Braith’s hand stilled in the hollow of
her back, his eyebrows drew sharply together over the bridge of his
nose as his nostrils flared. “Are you certain?” Gideon
asked.

“They’re wearing his
colors.”

“What the hell are we going to do?”
Ashby demanded.

“There are caves.” William inhaled
sharply at her words, his eyes darted uncertainly toward her. She
stared hard at her brother, understanding his trepidation and
hesitance. But it was too late for that, they had brought these
vampires into their world, there was no turning back now. William
looked hesitant for a moment more before he nodded slowly. “Less
than a mile from here. They’re large enough to hold everyone but
with so many it will be cramped.”

“They’re not going to like being forced
into those caves.” Aria started in surprise as Xavier separated
from the shadows of the trees. She hadn’t seen him standing there,
but Braith seemed to have known as he didn’t react to Xavier’s
sudden appearance. She was even more surprised when Braith didn’t
remove his hand from her back, didn’t separate himself from her. A
tremor of trepidation shuddered down her spine as Xavier pinned her
with his dark, knowing eyes.

“They knew this wasn’t going to be an
easy undertaking,” Gideon stated. “That there would be sacrifices
when we left. This will be one of those sacrifices. It’s painfully
obvious that we cannot move them all through here, this hasn’t been
their environment in a hundred years, and some have never
experienced it.”

“These caves will be safe?” Braith
inquired.

Aria forced herself not to shudder at
the thought of the darkness, the confining space, the chill that
came with the underground hollows she had grown to hate after
nearly being trapped in a separate system with William and Max.
“All the cave systems have iron gates, some sort of alarm, and
traps in them,” William explained. “Though there is no way to know
if they have been discovered since we left.”

“I don’t think we have a choice,” Ashby
said.

Braith was silent as he pondered the
situation. “Neither do I. Gideon and William go back to round them
up, try to get them to be a little quieter if it’s possible. Don’t
engage with my father’s troops, but if it becomes necessary make
sure there are no survivors. Xavier, Ashby, Aria and I will go to
the caves and make sure they are safe.”

Aria remained silent, she didn’t want
to go to the caves, didn’t want to step foot in them but she had no
choice. “Go,” Braith commanded. Gideon nodded and slipped silently
into the woods with William. “Get us there quickly
Aria.”

She swallowed heavily and nodded
firmly. “Follow me.”

***

Braith followed silently behind Aria as
she led them with an ease that was fascinating. She was quiet, far
more so than Xavier as she moved like a wraith through the trees.
She covered the distance to the caves in less than ten minutes.
Standing at the edge of the woods he studied the cliff face twenty
feet away that appeared entirely impenetrable to him.

“That’s them,” she stated.

“Where?” Xavier inquired in
disbelief.

Her jaw clenched, there was a darkening
of her eyes that only he would have recognized as fear. The last
time she’d been in the caves, he had taken her from them. Just when
he thought she was going to balk against telling them exactly where
the caves were, she slipped silently from the woods.

They followed her, fanning out around
her as she knelt before the rock wall. Her head tilted as she
examined a cropping of bushes against the rock wall with an
intensity that was a little unnerving given the fact it was simply
a group of ferns and wild scrub. Then her small hands slid forward
and parted the brush to reveal a sliver in the rock wall that was
nearly indiscernible even without the brush covering it.

“No one has been here in
months.”

“How do you know?” Xavier asked
her.

Her smile was fleeting. “I
know.”

Ashby looked about ready to protest but
Xavier simply nodded. “Lead the way then.”

“I’ll lead the way,” Braith told her.
Xavier quirked an eyebrow at him, his head tilted to the
side.

“I know the system Braith. Its fine,
I’m certain no one has been here, at least not through this
entrance, and the only other one is two miles from
here.”

“But there could still be someone in
there,” he asserted, pressing closer to her.

She shook her head as her eyes darted
to the opening and then back to him. “It’s unlikely. The other
opening is in a meadow at the top of a hill. If it’s even spotted,
it appears to be more of a foxhole than an entrance to anything
significant underground. There’s no one in there
Braith.”

“Except bats,” Ashby muttered not
looking at all pleased by the notion.

“I’m still going before you.” She
opened her mouth to protest further but he cut her swiftly off.
“You can guide me through Aria. Tell me which way to
go.”

“Ok,” she agreed; her voice a little
tighter than normal.

Her fingers brushed over his, before
they wrapped around his index finger for a brief moment. His heart
swelled with love. To hell with Xavier, it was too late anyway. He
pulled her into him, cradling her as his fingers splayed across the
back of her neck, savoring in the silken feel of her hair, and the
suppleness of her body. Bending low, he pressed his lips to her
ear. “Will you be ok in there?”

She nodded, her head turned toward his,
her mouth brushed enticingly against his as she spoke.
“Yes.”

“We can find…” he started before she
cut him off.

“I’ll be fine.”