Fate of the Blood Moon's Path (20 page)

“I have no story.” She replied.

“I refuse to believe that. You’re not a very good liar.”

“Why?”

“Because everyone has a story.” He said watching the fire.

I looked at him and saw the reflection of the flames in his eyes. He was a gorgeous man. And I now had to admit to myself that I felt something for him. The first man I’d fallen for, but I really couldn’t let it show.

“My story is long and boring.” Scarlet said.

“We’ve got a long trip to London Miss Scarlet.” He said.

“I’d rather not talk Kane, it’ll only get me into trouble.” She said.

“Come.” I said walking away from the torched bodies.

“Where to?” Kane asked.

“To get our horses from the blacksmith so we can leave.”

“Why don’t you at least get one night of sleep and head out at first light?” He suggested.

“Because I don’t want to waste time.”

“Waste time? You’re immortal. You have an eternity of time.” He smiled.

“Well, then we better get going. And if you’re going to come along with us, you’d better get a move on.”

“Bossy.” He smirked.

“Are you sure you want him to come with us? We just met him.” Scarlet asked.

“I guess it doesn’t matter.” I said.

“I think that you like him.” She smiled at me and then stopped talking. She was trying to hide her smile.

“You sure you don’t have more peace keeping to do here?” I asked Kane.

“I’m sure.” He laughed.

“Oh.”

Angel.

17.

Darkened Nights.

Present Time.

“When will you be back?” Micah asked Rayna, giving her a kiss.

“As soon as we get her,” I laughed. “Wow Micah, we’re only going to be a few hours away.” He hated to be apart from Rayna.

“How do you know where she’s going to be?” Micah asked me.

“I just know.” I smiled pointing to my head. “Come on, let’s head out.” I said to Rayna.

“Be careful.” My father yelled to me from his position on the front porch. He was scowling, and had this look in his eyes that I just couldn’t explain.

“We will, see you later.” I said, but he didn’t say anything. He just simply nodded in response and went about his business reading the paper he had in his hands.

“How long has it been since you have seen her?” Rayna asked, though she kind of already knew the answer.

“A couple hundred years. Give or take.” I smiled.

The last time I saw her was in London. It has been so long, I really don’t know what to expect this time around. A huge part of me was wondering if she had grown up at all. I really can’t remember what she looked like, or how she talked. I didn’t remember much of her mannerisms. Just that she was very innocent then and child-like. I do however, remember the little trip to the Greyfriars grave yard, and how well that hadn’t went.

“How much further is it?” Rayna asked.

“A few more miles maybe.”

“I don’t understand why she didn’t just, I don’t know, rent a car, or something. Why walk?”

“She was always one for walking I think.”

“
Well, well, well…”
I heard in my head. I stopped and looked around seeing a dark figure standing at the top of the hill ahead of Rayna and I.

“Scarlet.” I smiled.

“Angel!” She said back excitedly.

There she was. Dressed in all black, tight clothing. Leather pants and a leather halter top. Her hair was still long and flowing around her neck. She was wearing high heeled boots that came over her pants and up to her knees. She had visible tattoos on her wrists. Her eyes were still the pale blue. From what I remember, she still was pretty much the same girl that I knew, minus the tight leather clothes.

“You haven’t changed at all.” I said looking at her.

“You have.” She smiled, “A lot.”

“Nah.” I smiled. “What’s with the ink?” I gestured towards her tattoos.

“And with yours?” She asked.

“When you have an eternity to live, one tends to try out needless and creative things.” I said.

“Agreed.”

“Scarlet, this is Rayna.”

“It’s a pleasure.” Scarlet extended her hand for her to shake, I noticed her chipped black nail polish.

“And to you.”

“I never really heard anything about you while Angel and I were in London. Then again, I never really heard anything about her life here in the states.” Scarlet gave me a sideways glance.

“Yes, she’s always been full of secrets.” Rayna said looking over at me.

“Hey! I’m standing right here. Wait till I’m not around if you’re going to talk about me.” We laughed.

I stopped laughing. I had a sudden gasp of air and I didn’t know the reason behind it. I dropped to my knees feeling like I was dying. I felt so much pain in my heart. It went through me like a ghost trying to get my attention. I was crumpled up on the dirt floor in fetal position trying to overcome the pain I was feeling inside of me.

“What is it?” Rayna came rushing towards me like flash of light.

“I don’t know…” I gasped again for air.

“Breathe.” Scarlet said. The next sound was a scream from me and then another gasp of air. I had air in my lungs finally. I was alive, but I couldn’t figure out why the sudden attack happened. There was nothing around. There was no one around. Nothing. Just us.

“I’m fine.” I stood up. “Lets head back to the village.”

“Ok.” Rayna said with hesitation, standing closer to me. I know she has a good heart, and she worries about me. I too am a worrier. So I let her stay close. I saw Scarlet behind me holding her dagger that was attached to her hip looking around, almost in a paranoid way.

“I’ll be fine.” I repeated.
Fine…

“Why are there police all over the place?” Scarlet asked as we got closer to the village. We all stopped outside the woods watching to see what was going on.

“Daddy.” I whispered and took off running.

“What?” Scarlet asked. She and Rayna took off after me.

“Move it…” I screamed. I started to push my way through the crowd.

“Ma’am you’re not allowed in there.” An officer stopped me at the yellow tape.

“The hell I’m not! This is my house!” I said through my teeth.

“Fine.” He said lifting the tape. “You ladies stay back.”

“What’s going on?” I asked the officer as I ducked under the tape.

The officer Paul, who had been here before, about the bodies being found. “Angel, I’m so sorry. You’re father has been murdered.” He kept talking, but I didn’t hear. Everything went into a blur. I stood still, why hadn’t I seen it? The only way to kill a werewolf was when they stopped shifting. Did he stop shifting?” Why hadn’t I seen it? I had all these questions, and now I couldn’t get any answers.

“Angel…?” Paul asked.

“I’m fine.” I said. I looked up at him with my face stressed and in pain.

“Where were you the last few hours?”

“Obviously not here.” I whispered.

“Who would have done this? Did he have any enemies?”

“I…um…I don’t know.” I sat down on the front porch step. “He didn’t have
any
enemies…”
Except the Vampyres
.

“Angel, please, anything you can tell us would help us find out who did this.”

“Officer. I need the body of my father left here with us please. None of us care how he died. He needs no people poking and prodding him to investigate. He has to go to the spirit world whole…We will have the ritual here on the grounds and throw his ashes to the wind.” I managed to get out with only a few cracks in my voice.

“Because this is your land, and not the states, I will allow this. But I will be stopping by in the next few days to ask some more questions. Here’s my card. If you can think of anything that might help, please contact me. We will catch whoever did this.”

‘Yes. I will.” I meant that as I sure will catch who did this.

“Angel, please leave this to the police.” He said.

“I have no doubt in my mind that you won’t find who did this…”

“And you will hand over whoever did this to the police right away.”
“Sure.” I said standing and stuffing the card into my pocket. “How is it you came to be here?” I asked him curiously.

“We got a call to the station that a murder was going to take place here at the village…so we got here and found this.”

“Are you all almost finished yet?” I asked still being as strong as I could not showing the tears that wanted to come out, and ignoring his anonymous phone call tip. I’d remember that for later.

“A few more minutes…”

“Who called you here? And what was said?” I decided to not ignore it and pursue the questions.

“Gunshots were heard from inside the house. No one saw anyone come or go…” He paused, “It was anonymous. Everyone was coming out of their homes when the gunshots were heard so close.”

“I see.”

“We’re done here people. Let’s leave this body to the people of the village. We’ll take all the evidence and pictures and see what we can come up with. We’ll be in touch.” He said.

“Fine.” I said knowing fully that this place was going to be watched by the police now. Now with something else on the loose, we had to be extra careful.

I think that I now know the reason why I had that little episode back in the woods. He drove his force through me to let me know that he was gone. Only I didn’t know it was him. The pain in my heart was because that’s where the bullets had gone. Me dropping to the ground was him falling to his death. But I didn’t feel scared. I felt courageous and brave. I now know…

Angel.

18.

Singing a Sad Song.

Present Time.

“You are the bows from which your children are as living arrows sent forth.”

-Kahil Gibran

“We better bring her somewhere else,” Rayna stated and pointed in my direction. I was sitting on the front porch swing. It was only a day ago when my father and I had sat here and talked, ending the nights with a hug.

“I’m fine.” I said looking up as my father’s lifeless body was brought out into the light for the first time since his death.

His body was covered by a white linen sheet, a red stain where his heart was. I got up and jumped over the high fenced railing of the wrap around porch.

“Do we go after her?” I heard one of the Six say.

“No. We give her time and space.” Rayna said quietly. But I heard it. I hear everything.

“This can’t be happening.” I sat staring blankly out into the waters of the lake. There were tears pouring like rain down my face silently and without realizing that they were even there.

“But it is.” A distant voice came from behind me. I turned slowly to see whose voice it was. I should have know I’d be followed out here and whose voice it was. Huyanna.

Huyanna was the ancient wise woman of the clan. Our den mother. Our tribal medicine woman. She was everything healing, everything spiritual and supernatural.

She was tall and strong; both in spirit and mind. She was beautiful in age and soul. She had seen many battles and survived. She got her name when she was born; some of us don’t get a tribal name because they wait for the Gods to send us one. Not Huyanna. As soon as she was born the Gods gave her a name. She has no “white” name. She was born in the twilight air with the drizzling rains. Huyanna Sukari was the name she was given. It means “Sweet Rainfall”, and it fits her well.

When I was a child and knew nothing of the world I live in now, I would go to her hut and spend time with her. And the time that I had spent with her made me the “spiritual” person that I am now. Being around her was like laying outside on a long summer day smiling at the sunshine and feeling like there couldn’t ever be anything bad in the world. That’s how it always feels, still, when I’m around her. When she smiles, the warmth from her soul radiates and shines straight into your soul.

She had short hair that curled at the ends and colorful eyes that seemed to change like a mood ring. Everyday they changed. Today they were blue, as if they were reflecting the water and the sky around us. She dressed the part of the medicine woman, wearing long dresses with beads and colorful necklaces of painted clay, stones, and glass beads. She is now about nine hundred years or so old. Her smile offered a feeling of safeness to whom she directed it to. None like I have found anywhere else. I couldn’t help but to find myself smiling back at her.

I turned back to put my attention on the water crashing on the shore. There were people out on boats, in the distance, having a wonderful time in this weather. I wanted to walk out into the waves and let the water consume me. I didn’t want to be here. The smell of death was everywhere, and I know that sounds crazy, but it is the truth. A painful truth. Have you ever stepped outside and had this overwhelming sense of sadness? And you get the chills, even in the summertime? And something just doesn’t feel right? That’s when the smell of death is in the air, and to me, it is always there.

“You’re blaming yourself. Why?” Huyanna came closer to me, asking. She stood there watching the water with me.

I didn’t say anything for a few moments. I was quiet, contemplating and watching the waves still. The waves were shaping into wolves again running on the water, our ancestors. Coming to the death ritual.

“You should not blame yourself.” She hesitated. “It was fate that could not be escaped. What was, was, and what is, is.” She said, now looking down at me.

“I don’t want to be rude Huyanna, but I’m so sick and tired of all the cryptic crap and riddles. Why can’t anything just ever be said and have it be the truth?”

“Because you are not ready for the truth.”

“To hell I’m not!” I turned to look at her. Her deep blue eyes looking back.

“The truth always comes with time.” She said, her eyes never leaving mine and staying just as calm as can be. “For answers you have to look within Angel.” She stuck one of her fingers into my chest and the other onto my temple. “Are you ready to look within, or are you afraid of what you will find?” She raised one eyebrow at me.