Change of Heart 2

Chapter 19

 "Adrian what did you do?" I demanded.

"I didn't..." He stopped to think. "I didn't do anything I swear."

"He may not have done anything."The woman said.

"Then why are they coming for him?" Vince asked, standing next to me.

"I don't know, and we may never know. The Ouden never say, they just do." She replied.

"We have to do something we can't let them take him." I said.

"I agree they can't take him. Adrian has a duty to perform very soon and we will need him. If the Ouden takes him, we may never see him again." She said.

"What duty?" I asked.

"A very important one." She replied.

"Then we fight." Ian said. Adrian was shocked at his suggestion but he didn't say a word.

"You can't fight them. No one can fight them. These are not your average werewolves. These are wolves with very powerful abilities. I am talking about wolves that can shut down your mind with a single touch. Wolves that can stop your breathing with just a stare and wolves who can break your bones with the movement of a finger."

"Then we can talk to them." Adrian said.

The woman shook her head. "Not likely." Her forehead crinkled. "Are one of you sick?" She asked.

Everyone was silent for a moment then Vince spoke. "Uh, lately I've been−

He stopped talking when she walked pass him.

"Are you ok?" She stood directly in front of Ian.

"Yea, I'm fine." He replied a bit confused.

"Are you sure?" She touched his face.

"I'm sure." He nodded.

She looked at him for a moment then moved away. Ian still looked confused.

"Guys I think they're−

Avalon was saying but all of a sudden she began to choke. She tried to talk but the sound came out muffled like someone whose mouth was gagged with cloth. Her mouth refused to open and we could tell that she couldn't breathe.

"Avalon!" Jessie yelled running to her. But all she did was hold onto her throat while tears ran down her reddened face.

Before I could ask what was happening a group of people walked inside. One of them looked at Avalon, walked up to her and held her in a choke against the wall.

"Hey, what are you−

Jessie was asking but another one from the group grabbed him by his collar and pulled him closer to him. "Shut up." He whispered before shoving him on the ground.

"We like to introduce our entrance ourselves." The man who held Avalon said to her. "As you can see, we make a marvelous one." He laughed before letting her go. She dropped on the floor gasping for breath and crying. Jessie crawled over to make sure she was alright.

A woman stepped forward from the group. Unlike the others, she wore a long black dress with laced sleeves all the way down to her wrists. Her lipstick matched the dress along with the thick eyeliner and eye shadow. Her hair was combed up into a high bun with gold pins and there was a small mark on her neck like a word, which looked like a tattoo.

"My name is Cleopatra." She said.

"Were you named after the Egyptian?" Ian asked.

"The Egyptian was named after me." She smiled.

While she spoke Adrian scanned the rest of the group. The rest of them wore black, but their apparel looked more like long black coats that covered their bodies entirely. None of them made eye contact with him except for one woman in the back who stared at him intensely. Even when she saw him looking at her, she refused to take her eyes off of him.

"Adrian Reynard."

He stopped looking at the woman when he heard the one in front call his name.

"Here" Someone said. Slowly Adrian turned his head in Ian's direction.

Cleopatra smiled and walked up to Ian. "You're Adrian Reynard?"

"I am."

She looked at him and then nodded towards the group. "Come with me."

When Ian stood directly in front the group she looked at him again. "Let me ask you something."

He looked at her.

"How stupid do you think I am?" She was instantly serious and held onto Ian hair pulling his head down so that she could see the back of his neck. "Imposter!" She yelled. "Do you all take me for a fool? Do you take the Ouden as fools?"

"You can't take him." Ian said in pain.

"And who on earth is gonna stop me, Ian Winters? Is it you?" She asked pulling his hair harder. "I don't like liars. Don't you ever lie to me again."

"Cleo, stop this, don't−

The man who was talking couldn't finish talking as Cleopatra pulled a dagger out of her boots and darted it straight in the middle of his head.

"I knew him for over a hundred years." She said to Ian. "I don't know you; therefore I won't hesitate to kill you." She grabbed onto his neck, her nails scraping his veins as blood leaked down his body.

"Ian!" I yelled attempting to run to him.

"Don't Jennifer!" She yelled causing me to halt. "Take another step and I splatter his blood on every wall in this house."

"Just leave him alone please." I begged.

She moved her eyes off of me and back to Ian. "I came here for Adrian and I am not leaving without him." She deepened her nails into Ian's flesh bursting a vein. I could tell as the blood now gushed out of his neck. "I want you to go and bring him to me, now. Don't worry about the blood; it'll be a few minutes before you could die." She said pushing him to us.

"Ian, it's ok. Do it." Adrian spoke to Ian for the first time in his mind.

Without replying Ian walked up to Adrian, his eyes filled with water, as he held him by his shoulder and was about to carry him.

"No, no, no. Ian, I want you to drag Adrian to me. Throw him on the floor like dog and drag him by his hair to my feet."

Tears came out of his eyes now. Ian took a deep breath. Then with full remorse he grabbed Adrian and shoved him down onto the ground. Cleopatra smiled as if she was enjoying it. After he grabbed a handful of Adrian's hair and began pulling him to her feet just as she instructed. When Adrian was at her feet Ian let his hair go and stooped by him for a second, until Cleopatra ordered him to move.

"Take him." She ordered one of the men who grabbed Adrian up, punched him in the face and pulled him outside where they shoved him in a van that disappeared with the rest of them.