Shattered Skies - Night Waves (23 page)

              I had never felt more ashamed and embarrassed in my life after letting the others see how I reacted to Walker’s touch so I didn’t even bother to point out that I thought it was creepy to wear the blood of a Vampire around my neck, especially a Vampire that was hell bent on doing unspeakable things to me. Instead, I pulled the silver chain down over my head. The blood filled vial hung low and heavy, perfectly pressed between my breasts. It doesn’t get any more personal than that I thought. The weight of it added to the feeling of misery that was already overcoming over me. I didn’t want to know what Walker meant about me having a hold over him. I didn’t want to contemplate how complicated my life was becoming and that was when Darien spoke.

             
“Someone needs to tell me what just happened and I mean now! The sooner the better before Cat and I walk out of here, away from all the craziness here.” Darien was too close to jumping into jealous husband mode for my liking. I might have pointed out to him that he didn’t own me and that he had no right to speak for me, but I was confused and needed the same answers as he did, so I let the idea that I would leave with Darien stay on the table, in the hope it would motivate Walker to explain.

“Akia, you can put me down now. I need to feel something solid under my feet and then I need to find a chair because I have a feeling I am going to need to be seated when I hear what Walker has to say.” My voice sounded steadier than I was feeling, which was a good thing because letting weakness show wouldn’t help me redeem myself. There was no pride in weakness.

              I felt Akia hesitate and I wondered if I would have to argue and then he gently put me down. His subtle acquiescence earned him brownie points, and put him well above Darien on the boyfriend scale for the time being. In a normal situation I would have been worried by the fact that I had worked out a boyfriend point system in my mind. But then Darien began shouting again, losing points with each shouted word.

             
“Somebody better start talking and I mean right now!” He slammed his hand on the table. “I’ve had enough of this sick twisted game.” Darien was on the verge of losing it, and if he did, I was lacking the energy to calm him back down.

             
I tested my legs, found them worthy enough and I walked slowly across the room to a chair away from everyone else in the room. No one made an attempt to stop me. Good. I needed to be out of range of all them until I figured out what had just happened. Much to my surprise, Walker started to explain. Was he going to tell the truth finally? No mind games, no denying, just the cold hard truth straight from Walker?

             
“He is coming. We have to take Cat and get out of here fast. He is less than four hours away.” I was looking at Walker and trying to make sense of his words when I realized that it was Akia that had spoken, not Walker.

             
“How do you know and who is coming?” Walker was looking at Akia like it was the first time he’d ever seen him. I knew that look. That was the crazed scientist with a question that demanded an answer look. It was helpful when it wasn’t focused on me, but nerve racking nonetheless. Akia was susceptible to the look, he had no resistance to it, and so he willingly answered.

             
“My Father! Trāves is on his way here. I don’t know how I know it; I just saw his image for a second and I know he is coming. A flash like a movie imagine flickered across my eyes…” He sounded confused and frightened to say the least.

             
“Your insight isn’t anything that I haven’t anticipated, Akia. I’m just not sure how reliable your insights are going to be. If the prophecy is right, then it means you will come to power. You have always had visions; that is why you are capable of sharing dreams with Cat. This is your ability to connect awakening. This is just the beginning. Cat, do you see now that all of this is real and that each word of the prophecy speaks of you?” Walker was one step away from making me scream.

      “Please not the prophecy again. Just drop it OK?” I was tiring of this way quickly, I was exhausted. My nerves were shot and I didn’t need more
insanity being piled on right now. I guess Akia didn’t either.

             
“Help her up and get her out of here! You need to take her and go; head in a direction that will throw him off. If he gives chase I think I can stop him,” said Akia. “Or at least delay him, but you need to take her away from here fast. Mark my words each of you, if anything happens to her while she is under your watch I will kill all of you with my bare hands,” and with that Akia turned and left with that blazing Dominus speed and Walker took charge once again.

“Darien,
and Jaden you come with me. We have to leave a decoy necklace behind, we can put my blood in it, that way Trāves won’t realize his necklace is missing. Jace, take Cat and gather up everything you have here so there’s no sign of you left. And then you have to go. We are running out of time. We will dissect all that happened today when we re-group back home.  Catalina, I am asking you to understand that this isn’t something that we can rush through. I promise you that I will sit with you for as long as you need and I will put all the cards on the table.” With that Darien, Walker and Jaden turned and left the room.

             
I wouldn’t have agreed to wait if Akia hadn’t already had my nerves standing on end. I was so edgy that I just wanted to get of Dodge. If Trāves almost consumed me in my dream, then I didn’t want to know what it would be like to meet a Vampire of his power face to face. That was one thing that I hoped I would never have to experience for real.

       Darien waited until he was sure that they were far enough away from Cat and there was no way she would be able to hear what he was about to say. He knew she had enough on her plate right now.

      “Hold up Walker,” Darien commanded. “I will not allow you to put Cat in anymore danger and if that means killing you and taking her away from you, then I will do it.” Walker knew Darien still had his gun and he could see Dairen was done screwing around. The question was, had Darien loaded a wooden bullet in the chamber?

      “Calm yourself Darien. You don’t have a clue as to what is going on or just how much trouble she is already in. As usual you don’t see the big picture. If you take her away there is no way you will be able to protect her, it will be days at best before
Trāves finds you. I need you to listen up and listen good. You are going to do exactly what I say no questions asked or you are going to have her blood on your hands.” Walker sounded so matter of fact that it was all Darien could do to not pull the gun out and shoot him with it.

       “Do you know how crazy you sound right now Walker? How completely unhinged you were back there in that room? And you expect me to listen to you know? If you ever touch her
in that sexual way again I will rip your throat out. The days of you having absolute control over the three of us are over. You are nothing but a beast just like the rest of them to me now.”  Darien was shaking; a cold sweat ran down his face. Walker moved so fast that there was nothing Darien could do to avoid being pushed hard into the wall. Walker’s fingers curled around Darien’s chin making it very clear that he had no intention of letting go until his point was made.

       “You have no idea what you are talking about human. You are thinking with your heart, not your head. What happened in there was something that you will never understand. I wasn’t pulled to
Cat. I was pulled to NXY! A concept that I am sure will take months to beat into your thick human skull. In time, if I feel it necessary, I will try to make you understand. All you need to know is as of right now, Cat is no longer just Cat to me. Part of her is the woman that I would lay down my life for, just to have one more day with her, and I will kill you where you stand before I let your self-righteous claim over Cat makes me lose my love again.  Now I am going to let go of you and we are going to do what has to be done to get Cat out of here and as far away from Trāves as we can. Then and only then will we discuss the change in power on the horizon for this family.”

      For a brief second Darien was positive that he could get the gun out of his back pocket and get
one of the new wooden bullets in place before Walker noticed the movement. It would only take one lucky shot and then it would be done. He would die before he ever let Walker touch Cat the way he had back in that room again. If it wouldn’t have been for Jaden suddenly speaking up Darien would have surely rendered the only father he ever knew a pile of dust, left to be swept away in that hallway.

     “Well, now that you
two have got your pissing contest out of your system, I think it is about time to do what we came here to do and get Cat out of here in one piece.  I think both of you need to stop and think about why you are arguing over a woman that has no respect for either of you at the moment. It’s nobody’s fault but your own. So figure it out before she figures it out for you and decides to drop both of you like a piece of red meat; but just a word to the wise since we are laying it all out on the table. My allegiance will always be with Cat. I am growing sick and tired of the way you are treating her, like she is a trophy to be claimed. If there is ever a day that she decides she is done with all of you, I am going with her. Then you two can spend the rest of your days fighting about exactly who and what pushed her away.”

     It took me about five minutes to convince Jace to let me say goodbye to Akia. He wasn’t pleased with my request at all, but he was smart enough to know that I was going to do it with or without his say so.  He even promised to wait outside the closed door, which I knew was more of a freedom than Darien would have ever granted me. I reached for the door knob and nearly barged in before I thought better of it and decided to knock instead.

              “Unless it is important, and by important I mean life altering, go away and come back later.”  I was sure my definition and Akia’s were different when it came to life altering circumstances. My definition included goodbyes, so I opened the door and walked in.

     “I just wanted to say goodbye Akia, I hope that is OK?” I was afraid he would reject me and send me on my way, not that I would blame him in the least.

              As soon as he realized it was me, Akia was on his feet and standing in front of his desk before I made it through the door. He looked so amazing leaning against the front of his desk, so lean and so smart and handsome. I never in a million years thought I would be standing alone in a room with him again. I had no idea what to say next.

             
“I was afraid you would leave without saying goodbye Cat. I am sorry for tying you down earlier. I guess I just wasn’t ready to lose you again.” He sounded so sad, but there was no anger in him, no fight. He sounded like a man that was close to accepting defeat.

             
“Akia, you did what you had to do. I don’t hold that against you. How did you know your father was on his way? I don’t understand how.”

             
“Kitten, listen. I don’t know how I know; I can’t explain it even to myself. All I know is, one minute I was in the room with all of you and the next I was there watching him making preparations to come. None of that matters right now. What matters is, you need to get somewhere safe, somewhere where you can wait things out until I can get back to you.”

             
I froze in place. I should have told him to stay away from me forever, that he was better off alone without me, but no words came. I gave into my selfishness. I wanted him to see me again.  I did something that I am sure he wasn’t expecting. I looked into his eyes and I shook my head yes in agreement. I knew how to play nice when I sensed a need.

             
“Maybe next time, we can do it right,” I smiled at him. “I mean it would be nice to wake up with you and actually remember how I got there.” That earned me a hug. It was nice to be wrapped safely in his arms again. “Akia, we have to talk about all this, about what I am.” I waited for his body to tense at being reminded that I was human, but the tension never materialized.

             
“What you are Catalina, is a strong, mysterious and very beautiful stubborn and hard-headed woman; one that I hope to have another chance with someday.” I tried to protest but his mouth was on mine before I could speak.

             
The kiss was quick and bittersweet. It was a kiss that left me wanting more. I craved his lips and his hands. I knew that I would spend the rest of my life waiting to get another chance to feel him kiss me again.

     There would be another chance, right? I had no time to think about the future now. I was going to have a lot of thinking to do as soon as I was safe. I was really starting to hate thinking.

              “No matter what happens, Kitten I need you to promise me something.”

             
“You mean like you promised to stop calling me Kitten?” I couldn’t help myself; I winked at him to let him know I was just teasing.

             
“Yeah, well, let’s hope you are better at keeping promises than me. Just promise me that you won’t disappear again Cat. I can’t go through not knowing what’s happened to you again. If you want out, or it gets to be too much, tell me. But no more disappearing, OK? Human, monster, demon, I don’t care what you are; you and I will figure it out together. I am not the enemy, Cat, I am your friend.”

             
“No more disappearing, I promise Akia.” I didn’t say goodbye to him. Goodbye was too final. I simply touched him and turned and walked out his door one more last time.