River Cast: Part Two in the Tale of Lunarmorte (30 page)

Safe perhaps physically,
but emotionally...?

Swinging the torch from
lab post to lab post, her shirt still covering her nose and mouth,
Caia willed away the emotional reaction her body was so ready to
give into. There were five morgue slabs in the room, each with a
decaying lykan sliced open in varying manners upon it. The vile
stench was emanating from their exposed innards. Metal chains were
still wrapped around their limbs from when they had been alive and
chained down. She didn’t even want to think of a lykan being awake
and aware during such experiments, such torture. Moving away from
them she swung the beam of the torch towards the end of the room
where a row of cages sat, some empty, some housing more dead
lykans.

Memories of another
basement and other cages threatened to overwhelm her.

“
I have to
find the liquid,” Caia reminded herself softly and made to move
back towards the end of the basement behind the stairs. Sure
enough, a glass cabinet was placed against the wall, rows upon rows
of vials of liquid gold inside.

Now all she needed to do
was destroy it.

Silently, making her way
back out of the basement, Caia pulled another gift from Marion out
of her backpack. To her it appeared to be a large crystal with a
gold stopper plugged into the top. She wasn’t quite sure of its
mechanics but apparently it was an expensive member of Daylight
arsenal.

“
Just pull
the stopper out and drop the crystal into the basement. The device
will go off within five seconds of landing. You’ll hear a soft
pop.”

“
What does it
do?”

“
Don’t worry,
it can’t hurt living things. It merely cleans up the mess around
us.”

Caia did as Marion had
instructed, closing the door after it.

“
Wait, I
wanted to see!” Phoebe hissed as she marched into the storeroom in
human form.

As Caia stared into the
lykan’s angry face a sound like an ear popping at high altitude
could be heard from the other side.

“
Sorry, it’s
too late.”

“
Well, what
was down there?”

She could tell her the
truth, about the atrocities those two Midnights had committed with
the help of humans; she could describe that reprehensible scene and
wave goodbye to a potential ally. If Phoebe had seen it with her
own eyes there would have been no way to convince her that not all
Midnights were bad. Describing it would just be another nail in the
coffin of Caia’s plan.

“
But this is
a war Caia, and we have to sacrifice a part of our soul to win
it.”

“
It was just
a lab. Chemicals, test tubes... that sort thing.”

I am so going
to Hades.

“
What about
that goddess-awful smell?”

“
Sewage,” she
lied, “Guessing from the daemon.”

“
Ugh,
charming.”

Confident that she had
convinced the hunter, Caia pulled at the trap door. Together she
and Phoebe leaned in as she opened it, their torches illuminating
the darkness. There was nothing there.

“
What...?”

Eyes wide, she trembled
her way down the stairs and swung her light around.

“
What do you
see?” Phoebe called down to her.

“
Nothing.”

It was like none of it had
ever happened. Just an empty basement, clean of any activities.
Four walls, a ceiling and a floor.

“
It’s all
gone. No mess,” Caia told her as she climbed back up the stairs. “I
have no idea what that thing was that Marion gave me.” She glanced
down at her watch. “Come on we better go. Marion is opening the
portal in ten minutes.”

They made their way back
out of the club, Caia replacing the boards and the padlock whilst
Phoebe stood guard. Just as silently as they arrived, they returned
to the spot they had come out at, at Notre Dame. She sidled towards
the entrance of the cathedral, gazing up at its two towers, wishing
she could step inside and disappear behind its arched doorway, to
curl up in what promised to be a mystical haven. Could she hide in
there, in the arms of another god?

Phoebe tapped her on the
shoulder and she half-turned to see the portal begin to open on the
dark street.

No. The war would still be
out there, taking innocent lives and perpetuating into eternity.
There was no hiding for her. She had a job to do.

There were a few humans
strolling together, and up the way a cafe was still open with
people outside at the little tables drinking coffee and eating
dessert.

“
I’m going to
cloak us so they can’t see us disappear,” Caia warned Phoebe and
shielded them both as Mordecai had taught her in glamour class. And
just like that, they stepped back into the Centre, leaving behind a
loathsome sight that only Caia would ever carry in her
memories.

19 - Sweet
Midnight

“
Argh, I knew
this was coming,” Dimitri groaned, his face crumpled in
defeat.

Ryder raised an eyebrow
expectantly, his heart hammering in his chest. “Is that a yes?” He
glanced between Dimitri and Julia, knowing his hope was out in
plain view, so easy to shatter with one little word.

The thought
of never having Jaeden in his life was excruciating now. Despite
their attempts to not see each other over the last few days, they
seemed to be connected inextricably. She had explained that there
had been no more nightmares since the night he had suggested they
might be mates. She had demonstrated how much control she was
gaining on her telekinesis, arriving at his apartment exuberant and
pleased with her progress over at Lucien’s. Since Vil and Laila’s
arrival he hadn’t been able to leave the apartment, so Jae had come
over at the end of the day bringing food for everyone, and catching
him up on her activities. They had only grown closer, but he hadn’t
been able to relieve her of her fears over Laila. The food she
brought for Vil and his girlfriend was handed over quickly before
she departed for his bedroom, the room furthest away from the room
he had given to his guests. He, on the other hand, had gotten to
know them as much as he could over the last 48 hours. Vil was a
quiet, staid, young warlock who was extremely protective of the
fragile creature who never left his side. He had told Ryder bits
and pieces of his life growing up in a household where his elder
brothers were respected soldiers in the Centre’s First Unit.
Fighting wasn’t really in his blood, in fact he couldn’t quite wrap
his head around this inane war, as he called it, and whilst home
for his break he had come across Laila. She had escaped from a
Midnight army base under Ethan’s control. She wouldn’t discuss what
had happened to her there but it was enough to cement a loathing in
her blood for the Midnights. Vil had found her starving to death
and had hidden her and coaxed her back to health. During which,
they had fallen in love, and she had convinced him he should take
her back to the Centre so she could learn to fight for the
Daylights. Marita had her thrown in the containment centre almost
immediately. Marita had dismissed him, sure that his had not been
an act of disloyalty but naivety, and in the end he
had
helped her apprehend
a Midnight. Vil had been trying to find a way to break her out of
the prison ever since, but he didn’t have the power a magik needed
to do it and he didn’t trust anyone enough at the Centre to help
him. And then Caia had come to him, ‘like an angel’ he had
described softly, making Ryder smile. The little witch had that
effect on people. Caia had said she could feel Laila’s goodness,
was adamant the girl posed no threat to the Daylights. She wouldn’t
stand back and let the girl suffer. Vil had believed her since he
had nowhere else in which to place his faith. And the rest Ryder
knew. It was hard to imagine the gentle creature that gazed so
adoringly at Vil could cause anyone any harm but he knew how
deceptive they could be.

Atia and Adriana Vang had
proven that. But Caia believed, and strangely he did
too.

Jaeden on the other hand
was not so quick to trust.

“
Why isn’t
Jaeden with you?” Julia asked, seeming amused by his
proposal.

He locked eyes with her so
she wouldn’t suspect him of lying. “I felt this was something that
I ought to do alone, man to... parents.” In truth she was
reluctantly watching over his guests at his apartment whilst he
moved their potential mating along a little faster.

Julia swallowed a chuckle,
her eyes dancing with delight. “Well I’m all for it.”

Dimitri glared at his
wife. “We just got her back.”

“
And you
think denying her the right to a mating ritual with the man she
loves will entice her to stay?” His mate grunted at him.

He pinned Ryder to the
wall with his gaze, his nostrils seeming to huff with steam like a
bull getting ready to charge. And then, just like that, the air
appeared to deflate out of him and he threw his hands up in
surrender. “Fine!” He snapped. “You have my blessing to mate with
my only daughter... you bastard.”

Ryder whooped
jubilantly and grabbed the big guy in a hug. Dimitri huffed and
slapped him,
hard,
on the back, sending him over to Julia who was the next
target for his joy.

“
Now you have
to wait for Lucien,” his soon to be father-in-law reminded him
slyly.

Ryder shrugged, his grin
refusing to desist. “His return shouldn’t be long now. Then we can
get straight to the mating... err... ritual.”

Dimitri glowered
red.

“
Uh.” Julia
giggled nervously.“I think you better leave... Ryder... now...
leaAVE!”

He was out the door like
lightning, Dimitri’s snarls still snapping at his behind like
little angry ghosts.

***

The witch still made her
uneasy, despite Ryder’s defence of her. Jae knew the girl didn’t
look like much, but Midnights were slippery, vicious creatures who
knew how to get under the skin. She sat stiffly in a chair by the
window, whilst Vil and Laila snuggled together on the sofa,
munching on the snacks Jaeden had brought over with her. The reason
why she was here made her smile softly, wondering if Ryder would
get the answer they both needed.

“
You know you
don’t have to be afraid of us,” Vil’s serene voice suddenly
penetrated her musings.

Jaeden
snapped to alert and grunted, “I’m not afraid of
you
.
Her
... not so sure of.”

Laila’s huge blue eyes
widened even further as she looked up and over at her. Jaeden felt
an unexpected twinge of guilt at the hurt she saw shimmering
there.

“
I would
never hurt anyone,” she whispered.

Vil shushed her, squeezing
her closer, soothing her pain.

Why can’t I
shrug the guilt?
Jae growled at herself,
looking back up at Laila. The Midnight was still staring at her,
and as their eyes locked Jaeden saw something in the magiks that
was intimately familiar. Familiar... because that haunted look had
once reflected back at her every time she gazed into a mirror.
Ryder’s voice echoed in her head.

I’m telling you
Jae, they’re OK. Vil seems like a stand up guy, and Laila… well she
won’t tell anyone, including Vil, what happened to her back at that
camp, but I’m telling you it was enough to make her hate
them.

“
Can I speak
with Laila alone?” She suddenly asked, standing over the two of
them.

Vil frowned, eyeing her
warily. “I don’t think so.”

“
I’m not
going to hurt her.”

“
No,
she-”

“
It’s OK.”
Laila placed a placating hand on his arm and he glanced at her
sharply.

“
You are
sure?”

“
Yes.”

“
OK. I’ll be
down the hall if you need me.” He got up and threw Jaeden a stern,
warning look before he left.

She settled on the arm of
the sofa, scrutinizing Laila, who had moved back a little from her.
“What happened at this camp, this army camp?”

The magik shook her head.
“I don’t talk about it.”

“
If I’m to
trust you I need to know about this camp.”

She shrugged helplessly.
“It was... just a camp.”

“
Under
Ethan’s control?”

“
Yes.”

“
So...”
Jaeden searched for the right phrase. “It was like special
ops?”

“
What is…
special ops?”

“
You know,
like a government operation designed to... let’s say win a war,
when normal tactics aren’t moving things along as nicely as one
would like.”

Laila snorted, her
ethereal face twisted in disgust. It was the most negative emotion
Jaeden had seen her emit.“Yes. You could say it was this special
ops you speak of.”

A moment of silence fell
between them as Jaeden worked herself towards posing her next
question. She blew out a shaky breath, her voice going husky as her
own memories swept through her. “Did it involve
torture?”