River Cast: Part Two in the Tale of Lunarmorte (36 page)

“
Lucien?”
Caia had reached over and was gripping his hand.

He blinked away his
contemplation and found the three of them staring at him in
concern.

“
You OK,
man?”

“
Fine.” He
shook off gruffly.

Ryder shrugged. “You
looked a little put out that’s all.”

Lucien frowned at him. “I
said I’m fine.”

Caia squeezed his hand and
then released it, turning to Jaeden with a curious smile. “So this
Reuben character?”

Ryder growled and spun
away from Jaeden, his body bristling. Obviously the vampyre was a
problem for his friend, Lucien concluded. He could relate with the
whole possessiveness thing - a genetic downfall of their species,
if you asked him.

Jae hid a grin at Ryder’s
attitude.“Yeah, there’s not much else to tell except that he’s
here, offering his help-”

“
Sticking his
nose in,” Ryder interrupted.

“
No. Being a
friend. He and Ryder don’t exactly get on. Especially since my
attempted kidnapping the other day.”

Lucien flinched like he
had been hit. “What?” He blasted at Ryder, angry that this was just
now being brought up.

His friend’s face had gone
red with anger as he glared back at Lucien. “Yeah, someone tried to
snatch her off your grounds. I got there with Reuben just in time.
The vamp chased the person into your woods but lost
them.”

“
Did you see
what they looked like?” Caia asked softly, her face drained of all
colour.

Jaeden shook her head, her
lips pinched. “They were dressed in black apparently. Another
kidnapping attempt. I’m beginning to think someone doesn’t like
me.”

“
The
Midnights?” Lucien automatically asked Caia, and regretted the
accusatory tone of the question immediately.

She snapped up off the
couch with a disdainful look. “I would have felt it if it were the
Midnights.”

Jae crossed her arms over
her chest defensively, her eyes which had just moments ago been
sparkling happily, were narrowed, determinedly trying to mask
vulnerability, “Well, maybe you missed something. Can’t you double
check?”

Caia bit down on her lip
as all three of them gazed at her in expectation, and Lucien
detected the shudder that ran through her body. “Caia, no
pressure,” he assured her, throwing a couple of annoyed glances at
Ryder and Jae.

“
I’ll check.
I’ll be back in a second.”

When she was gone Lucien
skewered the two of them to the wall with a look. “Ease up on my
mate.”

“
You just
like saying that, don’t you?” Ryder grinned. “
My mate
.”

“
Yeah, but
that’s beside the point. There’s a lot going on that you aren’t
aware of.”

“
Oh, like the
Midnight Ryder’s keeping in his guest bedroom for Caia?” Jae asked
dryly.

Lucien groaned. He had no
idea how the two of them had found out that Laila was a Midnight,
and no idea how to explain the situation to them. More than that,
however, he was curious as to why Ryder would keep Laila under his
roof if he was aware of her heritage.

“
How did you
find out?”

“
Reuben.”
Ryder curled his lips up in distaste at the mention of the vamp.
“The guy is weird, Lucien. Knew little Laila was a Midnight right
off. I think you should interrogate him.”

“
Oh there
will be no interrogating of anybody,” Jaeden snapped, “Except
perhaps Caia. We’ve been waiting, for what seems like weeks, for an
answer to why she sent a Midnight to us and how she knew that Laila
was a good guy.”

His ears perked at that.
“So you believe Caia?”

Jaeden snorted. “Have you
met Laila and Vil? There isn’t a bad bone in that girl’s body and I
don’t have to be a tracer, or whatever, to know that. Plus, she
told me what the Midnights did to her. If anyone has a reason to go
a.w.o.l and join the other side, it’s that girl.”

“
What
happened to her?”

She shook her head, her
face taut with restrained emotion. “That’s her private
business.”

Lucien scratched his cheek
feeling bemused. “I’m shocked. I thought when we told you I’d have
a battle on my hands convincing you Caia is right.”

Ryder shook his head,
sitting back down beside Jaeden. “Nah. Little Laila is a
sweetheart, anyone can see that.”

Hmm, he wasn’t just
talking about little Laila.

“
What about
other Midnights?” He ventured tentatively.

“
What do you
mean?”

Their expressions changed
often as he told them about Caia’s certainty that the war as it
stood made no sense, considering there were Midnights out there who
did not believe in the destruction of other supernatural races.
There were too many voices in her trace telling her they weren’t
bad guys, that they just as much as she would like to see an end to
the war. And then he broke the news of what Caia had found in the
basement of the Centre. They both sat listening attentively, their
eyes round with a mixture of disbelief and fear.

“
Wait a
minute.” Jaeden choked out when he was finished. “Caia’s going to
usurp Marita?”

“
Well,”
Caia’s voice caught a hold of him like a hand at the back of his
neck, “When you put it like that, it sounds crazy.”

“
Cy.” Ryder
stood up, his eyes blazing. “Are you serious? Are you seriously
going to go to the Council and do this?”

At first, Lucien detected
the uncertainty in her face, and then she looked at him and he
could tell she was remembering what he told her about confidence.
Her shoulders straightened and she swept her hair back off her
shoulders, before retorting coolly, “Yes. I’m completely serious.
It’s the only thing to be done.”

Jaeden snorted, “Oh, yeah
cos’ there aren’t any other options here. It’s too risky,
Caia.”

“
You would
rather I aid Marita in killing hundreds of thousands of innocent
people.”

“
Innocent
according to you.”

Caia’s eyes softened. “It
wasn’t a Midnight who attempted to kidnap you. And these people
aren’t my uncle, Jaeden.”

“
How
dare-”

“
I don’t mean
to upset you. Don’t get me wrong, many of the older families abhor
us. Some are just following a faith; it’s a religion to them. And
others think it’s stupid. There are Daylights who are beginning to
feel the same way. But there are also little kids being
experimented upon and the only way I can get to them is with some
major political backing. I can win this.
We
can win this.”

“
We?”

Lucien cleared his throat.
“I’m in this with her, which means the pack is. If you don’t want
in, you leave the pack.”

Ryder grinned at him.
“Final word of the Alpha, huh? You know I’m completely in, right?”
He nodded to Caia. “I’ve seen this girl in action. My bet is on
her.”

“
Jaeden?”
Caia asked tentatively. “I know it’s not the war you thought you’d
be fighting, it shocked me too. I want to go back to everything
being black and white, but it won’t. There
are
no other options.”

He watched Jae as she
turned to lock eyes with Ryder. Whatever passed between them caused
the tension to drain from her body and she turned back to Caia. “I
can’t believe I’m saying this but... OK. I believe you. I’m in. I
won’t stand by and let her get away with this.”

Caia nodded, only a slight
curve to her mouth betraying her relief. “Good. I guess that means
it’s time for me and Lucien to check in on Laila and Vilhelm. I
need Vil to take me to the next Council meeting. It’s in two weeks
time. Actually you guys have done me a favour.”

Ryder smiled quizzically.
“How so?”

“
I can use
your mating ceremony as an excuse to stall going back to the
Centre.”

Lucien chuckled.
“Crafty.”

“
Nice to be
of help,” Jaeden grumbled teasingly.

Caia jumped a little at
the sound of a door slamming shut, and turned as Vil slowly entered
the sitting room with his hand tangled in Laila’s. The girl looked
much healthier than the last time Caia had laid eyes on her. Caia
would even go so far as to say she looked radiantly happy. Ryder
and Jaeden really must have been treating them well.

“
Caia?” Laila
asked quietly, her eyes glancing from her to Vil.

Vil smiled affectionately
at Caia and nodded.

The next thing she knew,
the girl had her delicate arms wrapped around her, hugging her
close.

“
Callan.”
Laila eased away from her gracefully, her eyes shimmering with
gratitude.“There are no words to thank you for what you have
done.”

Caia’s whole body thrummed
with a golden peace at Laila’s proximity and once more that
intangible quality in her trace flummoxed her. The girl was like
sunshine and air, her presence so relaxing and sweet Caia couldn’t
believe anyone could ever wish her harm.

Uncomfortable with the
gratitude Caia shrugged abashedly, considering she now needed a
favour from Vil.

“
It was
nothing,” she mumbled and held her hand out behind her for Lucien,
knowing he would understand. At once she felt his warm, callused
hand engulf her small one and her breathing eased. It was
wonderful, after weeks of feeling alone, to finally trust someone,
to be able to lean on him.

“
It’s good to
see you again, Caia.” Vil smiled warmly at her. “I was afraid
something might have happened to you.”

She shook her head. “The
attack went forward with the MacLachlans. We dealt with it.” She
didn’t want to think about that night. “You should know that Marita
can’t pick up your trace.”

The two magiks frowned,
glancing at each other questioningly.

Caia grimaced. “I guess
that means neither of you know why she can’t.”

Laila floated back to
Vil’s side. “No, Callan. I’ve heard only a very old supernatural
can mask their trace and Vil is just a boy.”

“
Nearly a
man,” he mumbled, drawing her close to him and puffing his chest
out a little. Caia tried not to laugh.

“
Why are you
calling Caia, Callan?” Lucien asked in his usual tone, which to
outsiders could sound a little reproving.

“
Looks like
I’m interrupting,” A new, unfamiliar voice greeted from behind Vil
and Laila.

They moved out of the
doorway to reveal a tall, good-looking young man with dark hair and
eyes. His youth could be attributed to his cool, unkempt
appearance, the dark jeans and black t-shirt, the silver thumb ring
on one hand, the tattoo on his forearm, the silver coin fashioned
onto thin black rope around his neck, and the small ring pierced
through his lower lip. He had a dangerous bad boy quality and
suddenly Caia understood why Ryder didn’t like his involvement in
Jaeden’s life. The vampyre looked around the room at them all and
then his eyes fell on her. Despite his smooth-shaven, wrinkle-free
face, when Caia met those eyes with her own she felt as if she were
looking into depths that had seen the world in all its forms many
times over. The youthfulness combated a confident control she had
never before come across.

“
This must be
the famous Caia,” he said, approaching slowly.

Lucien didn’t tense beside
her, making her question whether or not she’d really seen the eerie
fascination in his gaze, or if she was just being
paranoid.

Jaeden stood up between
them and smiled anxiously as she introduced him.

“
Lucien,” her
mate greeted him amiably enough, holding out a hand to shake the
vampyre’s.

Reuben shook his hand with
a friendly languor and turned back to Vil and Laila. “I don’t know
if you have been formerly introduced, but guys this is Lucien,
Caia’s mate.”

“
How did you
know they’re mates?” Ryder growled from behind them.

Reuben
gestured to their hands clasped together. “Body language.” He
grinned back at Lucien. “I overheard your question to Laila. You
should know that Callan means
flowing
water
. Laila’s people consider it rude to
call anyone of importance or wisdom by their first name, so she’s
calling Caia, Callan, by her element, a sign of deep
respect.”

Laila smiled at him,
nodding in agreement.

Caia was
blushing.

Ryder was sputtering, “How
the hell do you know that?”

The vampyre smiled in a
way that Caia knew he was taunting Ryder. She was with Ryder on
this one. Something was off about the guy. “I did a little research
after I met Vil and Laila.” He shrugged. “Found out a little about
their customs and such.”

“
Why?”

Jaeden groaned.
“Ryder...”

“
It’s OK,
Jae.” Reuben waved her off. “I just like to know who we’re dealing
with.”