Her Calling Blood Tied

Chapter ten Confused

I blinked my eyes and then slowly opened them. One look at Dmitry and then everything came flooding back to me. “What? What just happened? I asked. Dmitry looked in the distance and then looked at me. He swept aside my hair and then gasped. “He didn’t,” he muttered. I looked up at him and furrowed my eyebrows. “Northheimer’s going to kill me,” he muttered and then looked at me. I pulled away from him and felt my neck. I gasped when my hand made contact with my lower neck. “Caith we have to go,” he said, “I know that you think that I am one of those people who put your dad’s reputation on the line but I am not.” I looked at him and then a realization hit me like a ton of bricks. “How did you know about my dad,” I asked. He sighed when he realized what he had just done. “Erid told me,” he muttered before pulling her away from the wall. “Let go of me,” I screamed and tried to tear myself from his iron grip. “I’m going to kill Erid when I see him!” I cried and then pushed him away. He tried to pull me away towards the exit but before he could a sharp slap rang out through the cavern. He looked up at me and I caught my breath. For a fleeting second I could have sworn that his eyes had changed colour. “What the...” I thought. Before I could say anything he grabbed me and picked me up bridal style. “Are you freaking crazy?” I yelled, “Get your freaking hands off me!” I heard a snicker and felt like punching him silly.

            “If you don’t put me down,” I threatened. He looked at her and then smiled. “What are you going to do? Slap me again because you should know I have ways, ways of making people behave themselves,” he said. I gave him a death stare until he put me down. He smiled knowing that I was not going to talk to him and then trudged off towards the upper level of the cavern. I followed closely behind staring at his back as he led the way. As we neared the upper level I began to notice the walls and the strange paintings. They hardly resembled anything that I had ever encountered. The pictures on the wall was outlined in a black backdrop, there were pictures that displayed a woman and a man and some red stuff that flowed at their feet in one of the paintings. In another there was the couple holding hands. Yet in another there was the couple engaging in a deep kiss. I looked away and then my eyes were drawn to another painting. This one seemed in all the strangest. The couple was somehow envisioned to be one person. You could tell the masculine and feminine side when you looked at it. I stared and then wrenched my eyes away when I heard my name.

            “Caith!” Dmitry called. I ran after him and stopped short when I reached him. There in front of me was the group that I had entered with only now some of them seemed to be huddled. I stared at them and then my eyes fell on Erid. He was a short distance away kneeling on the ground near to one of the archeologists. I ran to him and then stopped. “What…” I muttered before my throat went dry. There lay one of the archeologist with a ripped out chest. His intestines were on the floor and so too was his breakfast in a muddled heap. The acrid taste of iron reached my throat. I swallowed and looked away. Erid looked up and sighed.

             He said that there was a trap fitted into the walls to prevent trespassers from entering and it had gone off when the archeologist had touched it. I was in shock but I remained calm. I had encountered some of these mechanisms before however no one had been as seriously hurt as the archeologist. When I asked them to show me it seemed like they were too busy with the injured man or they ignored her. They waited until an emergency team came and took the injured man away. Five minutes later I noticed that the other archeologists were still milling around. I looked at Erid after he was finished speaking to the emergency crew and then spoke. “Erid we need to talk,” I said. He looked at me and then sighed. “One moment Caith,” he said before assisting the archeologists in sealing off the entrance. They walked to the tent and then I sat down.

The scene from the cavern came to me the man with the black suit and the piercing eyes. I felt drawn to him even though he turned to bats. “What the heck?” I thought. I shook my head and looked up to see Erid and Dmitry some distance away. They seemed to be locked in some sort of heated argument. Erid came towards me in the tent and after looking at me approached. Without a word he pulled me to him and tilted my head. I uttered a cry of protest but he continued. After a moment he cursed and left the tent. I looked on as he made his way past Dmitry and towards his car. In another moment he had thrown open the door and literally roared away. I stared after him in shock until I remembered what Dmitry had told me. Erid was the one who had told him about her father. I looked at the dust left behind from his car and cursed.

            I got up and made my way out the back of the camp and past the group of huddled archeologists. I walked some distance and then plopped down near to a rock that was out of view from the camp. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I visualized the beach and the sand flowing through my toes. “Oh how I wished that I could have gone on my vacation. I let the sun embrace my face and then hugged my knees. Before I knew it something had graced my shoulder. I shivered and then looked up. Dmitry gazed down at me. “Please,” I begged, “Just leave me alone.” He shook his head and then sat beside me. He looked out into the dust and then looked at me. “You’re special you know that right,” he began. I looked at him as if I was crazy. “No need to try to raise my self esteem I’m good,” I muttered. He snickered and then was silent. “No you really are,” he said. I gazed at him and then sighed.

            “Dmitry you should go and help your archeologist buddies they’ll need some help,” I began. He smiled and shook his head. “You don’t get it do you?” he asked. I frowned and stared at him. “I’m not with the archeologists I’m working with Erid,” he said. I stared at him in shock and then sighed. “That’s super,” I said and then looked away, “Is that why he told you about my dad?” I asked. “Caith it’s complicated,” he said. “Oh so now it’s complicated I see well Dmitry good luck working with your partner because I don’t think I should get involved in your work I’ll tell Erid and tomorrow I’ll be out of this complicated situation ok,” I said and then got up.”Oh come on Caith don’t be such a sponge,” he said. I gazed at him and then sighed. “Goodbye Dmitry I’ll see you around,” I said and then began to walk away.

            “Hold up there cowgirl I wouldn’t go that way if I were you.” I stopped and looked at him. He took the moment to smile at me. “Well once Erid leaves I don’t think he’ll be coming back so how are you leaving?” He said. I groaned and looked at him. “So are you gonna ask me or what?” he said. I rolled her eyes and then began, “Dmitry can I get a drop home…. please,” I added. He smirked and then led me to his car. He opened her door and then went over to his side before getting in and revving the car. I sighed and looked out the window. He drove off and left the tents leaving a trail of dust behind. “Where are you heading?” he said. I told him about the motel and then lay back and closed my eyes. Some time after I opened them and saw that they were nowhere near my motel. “Geez where are we?” I asked. I turned and saw that Dmitry was not in the car. I cursed and then was about to get out of the car when I sighted him coming with two beers.

            He opened the door and looked at me. “Morning sunshine,” he said before plopping down on the seat and handing me a beer. I took it desperate for something to ease the dryness of my throat. He looked at her and his eyes widened. “Geez babe I didn’t know you were that thirsty?” he said. I wiped my mouth and then gazed at him. “Tell me when I became a babe?” I said. He smiled and then took the bottle from me. “I think we should have some more,” he said and then opened his door. I opened mine and followed him into the nearby bar. We entered and I saw that there was barely anyone there. I took a seat near to the counter and then waited as Dmitry ordered some more beers. It was quite awhile that they stayed. I had lost count of the number of beers I had downed after about six or was it four. Dmitry tried to take me over to carry me home but I had gone to the point of no return.

            He smiled at her nervously as I looked at him from under her eyelashes. He knew that she was drunk and if Erid found out he knew that he would be dead. Caith pulled her stool close to him and then smiled. “Hey heartbreaker,” she began, “Won’t you give me a kiss?” she said.  she batted her eyelashes and then pouted her lips. He breathed in deeply and looked beyond her. “Hey,” she said, “I’m talking to you.” He resisted the urge knowing that she did not know what she was doing. “Dmi,” she said, “if you don’t I’ll know that you’re not man enough.” That did it. He pulled her close and planted a passionate kiss upon her lips. She gasped and then reciprocated. It might have lasted longer if a hand did not reach out and pull him off her. He stared at Caith in anguish and gasped when he came face to face.