Shattered Skies - Night Waves (6 page)

After fixing of my hair, a little calming of my pulse and a lot of argument from both sides, the three of us were sitting in Walker's office. I was in the middle and something about that felt right. I was sure that both parties would disagree with me, but we would fry that fish when we got to it. Walker was about as pleased to see us as I thought he would be. I liked that he was pissed. Walker pissed was easier to argue with than the cool, calm, phony scientific Walker.

   “I think we have the right to see this magical piece of paper that you have decided to rearrange everyone's life for.” I was being rational and mature; two things that I am not very good at.

  
“What do you all hope to gain by seeing it? It isn't going to change a thing if you see it.” Walker was determined to keep his secrets and his attitude had to be changed. I couldn't spend the rest of my life wondering what big secret he was going to throw at me next, and evidently neither could Darien.

             
“Look Doc, the days of you controlling our every move are over. You lost my respect when I heard that it was you pushing boundaries that led to losing the people that I considered family. It’s as simple as showing us everything or Cat and Jaden and I walk.” Darien seemed to have gained self-confidence and courage in the last 24 hours. It was good to see his old self coming back again. Then it was Kira’s turn to chime in.

“Walker, if they go I go with them and I take the rest of my team with me and then you will have nothing left but your notebooks and you’re your thoughts. Your life time of work will be useless. Is your stupid prophecy worth that loss?”  While I didn't like the idea of her and her team going anywhere with me, Jaden and Darien, her strategy seemed to work on Walker.  With a very, very, noticeable sigh, Walker got up out from his chair and disappeared for what seemed like forever.

       He returned with what was a very impressive treasure chest looking box, making sure that each methodical movement he made signaled that he was not at all happy about the fact that he had to show us what was inside. I don't know what I was expecting, maybe I expected the box to glow and all the sins of the world to come flying out, or maybe I wanted a scroll seated on a red cushion with laser beams all around, but for whatever reason when the lid was opened, I felt nothing but disappointment. There it was, just a piece of paper rolled up tightly laying on the bottom of a wooden box. That simple little rolled up paper could change my life forever?

       My stomach flip-flopped when Walker stopped
moving. He sat the box on the desk, took the paper in his hands and started to unroll it. He was doing it ever so carefully and slowly, like he had done this ritual a thousand times before. I knew he wanted us to stop him; to tell him that we changed our minds and we didn't want to know the deep dark secrets the simple piece of paper held. Hell, maybe we should have stopped him. I was kind of hoping one of the two other people in the room with me would stop him but that didn't happen. When none of us spoke, Walker cleared his throat and prepared to read. It was so hard to keep quiet. I didn't want to know. I was holding my breath and didn't even realize it.

  
“Cat, breathe! Darien whispered in my ear and when I didn't respond right away, Kira Grabbed my hand. Just her touch made me expel the oxygen that I was holding in. Darien gave her a warning look that told her not to touch me again.

  
Kira looked right at him. “Fine, lover boy. Next time I will just let her pass out. Would that better than me touching her?” I was in trouble because their arguing wasn't even fazing me.

  
What Walker was doing had my full attention and their little tug of war was going to have to wait. It was like seeing a car wreck coming. You knew that you were looking at something that you really didn't want to see, but you still couldn't help staring. I sat there shaking. Darien calmed me as much as he could; using his thumb to draw sensual circles in my palm and it was helping. The fact that he knew enough to calm me made my heart flutter. I squeezed his hand as tightly as I could and sat and listened to the voice of the man that used to be my father, who was about to read something that might tell me if my fate was set in stone. I closed my eyes and listened as Walker read.

A Child will be born when the end is near

To pass from light to darkness, with nothing to fear

Her looks will be perfect, her eyes burn right

With the help of two others she will stand up and fight

To save the world, it will take three

Two with dark hearts and o
ne worlds can see

Enemies to start with, next joined by fate

The three must be one before it’s too late

The child that is born brings a searing light

As she drops every enemy within her sight

One promises coolness, a calming retreat

The other, the heat her soul needs to compete

The light will come first, her own life to save

For the other two power, when tense times turn grave

A flaming Black rose will show them the way

Each dark petal marking another dark day

A war like this planet cannot comprehend

The loudest explosion, a horrific end

One must now perish, for two then to win

Destroy them the father and peace reigns again

       Walker ended with a frown. He was still not happy with us for demanding the truth. No one said anything for what seemed an eternity. I couldn’t speak. I had forgotten how to.

       “Walker that could be about anyone and you know it.” Darien was talking but it seemed as if he spoke from a million miles away.

     “I think Walker is right,” said Kira. From what he told me about the tests that have been run on Cat and how she saved you three, I think he is right.” Kira's voice seemed to come from even farther away than Darien's had. They all had gotten up and moved and I hadn't even noticed it. Was I going to pass out?

      Darien spoke again, his voice dripping with venom, “Who the hell are you to even give your opinion Kira? You know nothing at all about the three of us, and just because you are an alleged twin to the most twisted, bastardly, monster of all time, doesn't mean you know anything about Cat. I have known her all my life and I know that she is not the one that prophecy is talking about.” His voice could have sliced through diamonds.

       They were fighting over me. Why in the world couldn't I talk to them? Why couldn't I tell them to shut up, that I couldn't stand it? My mouth was numb and I couldn't even tell them why. It wasn't the fact that the prophecy talked about how the girl looked like the monsters, or about the light that she wields, it was the fact that the first time I kissed Akia, the heat about drove me insane. His lips touched mine and I felt like I was on fire. The touch of his lips burned me from the inside out and I had never felt more alive than I did that moment. I couldn't share that with them, not with Darien so close.

       “I have to get out of here, I can't breathe.” I was panicking and I felt like the walls were closing in around me.

   I suppose I wasn't talking as loudly as I thought, or hell, maybe I wasn't even talking at all, but no one was paying attention to me. They were fighting among themselves. Their argument might have been more exciting if it hadn’t been about me. The closer I got to the door, the more I realized they were so deep in conflict and disagreement, that they wouldn’t notice if I walked out and didn’t look back. Maybe if I was lucky, this would be the last time I had to walk out of anywhere again.

             
It was pitch black outside. I don't really know what I was thinking. One Vampire crossing my path and I would be done for. I didn’t know if I was in shock, or maybe it was the fact that I just didn't care anymore, but whatever it was, nothing mattered. I had one place in mind and I was going to get there. If I was going to die or if my life was about to be turned completely upside down, I wanted some time for me first. I wanted just once to be on the beach walking along the waves with the silvery moon instead of the sun reflecting off the water.

  
Just as I heard the door going shut, I heard Darien calling my name. Then I heard Kira say, “She’s gone. I am going after her. You stay here Darien. If you go out there and get yourself killed, she will hate the rest of us for letting you.”

  
Damn it! I knew I could sneak away without Darien being able to find me, but with Kira tracking me, I was as good as caught. I walked faster, zigging and zagging and wishing that it was Darien following me instead. I was going somewhere that I had wanted to share with Darien before I died. I didn't want to share the waves with her. I blushed thinking about it. I couldn't share them with her, not the way I wanted to, or could I?

             
I knew that she was behind me. I couldn't hear her and I couldn't see her, but I could feel her and I hated that. I knew what she was doing. She was following me to make sure that I didn't get myself killed, but she was staying far enough back to make me think that I was alone. There is nothing more aggravating then someone trying to babysit you without you knowing. It’s even worse when they are bad at it.

       “You know I know you are back there Kira, right? What is the point of staying so far behind me when I know you are there? You might as well walk with me. It would be less degrading that way.” I stopped and stood still. I had arrived at where I wanted to be.

       I was staring out into the darkness and watching the waves. The beach looked so different at night, so much darker. The ocean blended in with the sky and the blend painted emptiness. It was scary and I loved it. I wanted to walk out into the middle of the waves just to see how far I could go before I lost myself in the magic of the water.

“What were you thinking coming out here? I can't protect you if you keep doing stupid stuff.” She was standing beside me; the breeze was blowing both her hair and her scent in my direction.

              “I don't recall asking for your protection; in fact I think we would both be happier if you would just leave me alone.” She laughed, and chills wandered through me.

             
“Are you really that conceited Cat? Do you think this makes me happy? I like men Cat and you are about the furthest thing from a man that I can think of.” I didn’t know why but the fact that she wasn't happy made me feel better.  “Do you know what it is like to have someone in your head, what it is like to want someone that you can't have, someone that you ache for?” Her words made me look at her. There was a tear in her eye. Was this monster really going to cry over me? 

             
“Actually yes, I do, and I am sorry that I make you feel like that. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy,” and there we stood facing each other. It was OK. It felt right. We were there together. I reached out to touch her face and then suddenly, she moved and pointed.

             
“Get in the water now!” Her voice was a tense growl that made my skin tingle. When I didn't move fast enough to please her she grabbed me and pulled me with her. “Get In the water now Cat,” she whispered and then her voice dropped and she frighteningly added, “We are not alone.”

 
Her lips were so close they were brushing mine and her words made no sense. I let her drag me down. She was on top of me, pinning me at the edge of the sand, where the water was swirling and sweeping us back toward the ocean. She was on top of me, kissing me. I could see Vampires in her mind and they were close. She was pushing images into my head, images of sex and arousal and I was growing excited. I wanted to go deeper into her head. I needed to know if she was like Akia. Memory by memory I searched my way through her, to where I thought the answers lay. As I got closer to touching the deepness within her I, she bit my lip and brought me back.

  
“Cat I need you to think sex. The pheromone that sex gives off is the only thing that will cover your human scent. Do you understand me? They are getting closer. I need you to trust me or we are both dead,” she insisted. I tried to protest. I couldn't and wouldn't do this with her. She knew I was going to fight her. “Just fucking pretend like I am him OK? She tempted. “I smell like him, I even look like him, just pretend that I am him,” and in the end that was exactly what I did.

             
I closed my eyes and I breathed her in. I would see him more clearly if I could smell him. His lips were on mine; his tongue was moving in and out of my mouth and I was moaning with need. I needed to feel him touch me everywhere. I was getting turned on and I knew I was pleasing her because she whispered “good girl” against my warm lips. The kissing only stopped for a second, just long enough for her to tug my top off over my head. It felt OK; it was Akia that was throwing off my top. It was Akia that my body was craving. I stopped to take off his shirt. I pulled it over his head and he went to my neck kissing and licking, tasting my pulse. I glanced up. Standing on the beach there in the dark were five of them. Vampires all. I could tell by the rancid vibes surrounding them.

       “Don't stop on our account ladies,” one of them
shouted and the others cheered him on. Kira’s lips stopped moving and I felt what caused it. She was afraid, so afraid that she was shaking. I wasn't the one that was going to blow this, she was!

             
I did the only thing that I could do. I would give the Vampires the show they wanted so they would move on. I had no intention of actually having sex with her, but maybe with enough bumping, grinding, and kissing, they would think sex was what they were seeing. We were half hidden in waves, so it wouldn’t be that hard to pull off. First I had to get her to concentrate. I put my hand in her hair and pulled her from my neck.

             
“I want you Kira, not him, I am here with you,” I seductively whispered. I had to let her know that I was OK with wanting her.

       This was going to go one of two ways. She was going to freak out and drown me or she was going to giv
e in to what I knew she desired. She was still fighting with herself when I brought my lips to hers. I let her know that it was
her
body that I wanted to feel with my hands, and
her
lips that I wanted to feel pressed against mine. I opened my mind and I knew that she could feel what I felt when I first saw her. Time seemed to stand still. Hands, lips and waves, just as I always pictured it. Well almost. I wasn't with Darien. I wasn't even with a man. Instead, I was with a woman that didn't know why she wanted to love me, but she did. Kissing her was like reliving the tiny little glimpses that I once had into Akia's soul, except this time there was nothing to stop me from enjoying it completely. I let my mind meld with hers. I kissed her and embraced her and she kissed me back. Eventually, the Vampires lost interest and moved on. We hugged for a few minutes longer, kissing and learning, holding each other close, breathing as one, we knew that we could use the men on the beach as an excuse for our little act. And then just like that it was over.

       Kira was on her feet, pulling me with her. “Thank you for that Cat,” she whispered. Strange, I had never been thanked after sex before. I didn't know what to say.

              “Don't thank me. I just complicated the situation for both of us.” Part of me was truly ashamed of myself. There had to be something else I could have done that would have worked out just as well.

       “Are you kidding me Cat? I panicked. I was supposed to be the one protecting you, and I panicked. Thank you for having the nerve to do what you just did there.” She knew how to make me feel better.

       It was nice to be close enough to one of them to see that they weren't as perfect and together as they seemed to me. “I have been taking care of myself and fooling the bad guys since I was ten. Don't take it too personally.” She smiled at me. She looked just like him when she smiled. It was more than that though that made me smile back at her.

             
It was a revealing flash of memory that flooded my mind that made me smile back. She had let me see her thinking that she didn't care if I was just a human. I was something that she loved, even though she couldn't explain why. She saw me as her equal. Smiling and happy we held hands as we turned and headed back to the base. I was OK. Well, I was going to be OK. I just had to calm down. I held my head high, not at all ashamed of what we had shared, but somehow more liberated by it. Baby steps Cat I thought. For now my urges toward her were satisfied; it was time to set out on the mission to prove Walker wrong. And then suddenly a voice from the past rang out.

“I was so disappointed when your little show ended.” That voice belonged to someone I knew. It was a voice that had haunted me in nightmares, one that belonged to a monster that I hoped never to see again. We spun around at the same time, Kira and I, and I took just a second to glance at her. I could see that she was ready to fight if she needed to.

       Hiding in the shadows, barely visible, there stood Drake. All 6'4” of tall lean dark and deadly Drake. I wanted to tell Kira to run but everything happened too fast. I was too late. I heard her hit the ground hard.

       “Kira are you alright?” She made no answer. I dared not take my eyes off Drake long enough to look. “Kira answer me please,” I shouted into the darkness,
but still nothing. Then I did something that I knew could cost me my life.

       I looked away from Drake and into the night, looking for some sign of Kira. She was lying there perfectly still, with a dart sticking out of her neck. I turned around to demand
that Drake tell me what the hell he had done to her but with his amazing speed; he was already standing right beside me. I tried to side step him and get away, but it didn't do any good. Before I could move, his arm wrapped around my waist and his hand clasped firmly over my mouth.

             
“Silly girl! You aren't as smart as I was hoping you would be. I thought all you stupid humans knew never to take your eyes off one of us.” He had me and my heart sank.

       I had known this monster was going to be the death of me from the first time I saw him. I wished more than anything I had just screwed him back in that basement. At least the few minutes of stomach churning sex with him would have ended in his death. Now he knew that I was alive after freeing Walker and that meant that I was as good as dead. It also meant that more than likely, Akia would find out I was still alive too. I shouldn't have been more worried about the second of these two situations, but in truth I was.

“I am going to let go of your mouth now bitch. We have a lot to talk about, but I am telling you right now, if you scream I will break your neck and enjoy the snap it makes. Do you understand me Ms. Kitty?” I felt my temper about to boil over, but I shook my head yes. It was all I could do not to bite him, not that it would have slowed him down, but old habits die hard. When his hand uncovered my mouth, I asked him what he had done to Kira.

             
“If you are a good little girl, I’ll remove the dart before more of the poison goes into her hot little body. If I take it out soon enough she will sleep for a day or two but will wake up fine. But hey, if you are a bad little girl, I will leave the dart in her and then she will die.” Drake was enjoying his power trip. I could see it on his twisted face.

             
“What is in the dart Drake,” I asked innocently. I didn’t know why that might be important to know. But I guess I wanted to make sure that he wasn't bluffing.

             
“It is a very diluted amount of Vampire blood. The stream is very, very light but if the needle isn't taken out of her body, she will die.” I knew I only had minutes if that, to make him take the dart out or I would have the blood of another woman on my hands. I decided one had been enough.

           “Now the way I see it you are going to come with me. You are not going to put up any fight. For one, if you do it really won't do you any good, and besides I know you don't want me to kill your lover girl over there.” He had me
boxed in and he knew it.

       If it had been just my life at stake, I would have fought him. I knew that he was going to kill me anyway, so I would have at least made him work for it.

              “Yes, you are right Drake, you are here just for me anyway. There is no reason for you to go after her.” My brain was still trying to figure out how to get away, but that could only happen after he took the dart out of her and I knew she was safe. I took a quick look around the area hoping to spot anything that might help me escape.

       “If you are looking for someone else to come help you, that means I am going to have to take the time to figure out who else you are running with. If I have to do that I am going to be pissed. I don't like being pissed Cat, so I will likely kill first and ask questions later.” I hated this man.