Shadows of the Woods

Chapter 14

"You should sleep."

I looked back from my post at the barn door to see Hayane floating up to the loft. Even in the darkness, his beauty was luminous; his pale hair shone like silver, and his ivory skin looked ghostly in the moonlight. He looked back at me as he took a dainty seat on the hay strewn ledge of the loft.

"He won't be back for a while, so there's no need keeping a watch." He stretched luxuriously. "And that family will have no reason to check their barn so late at night. You can stop worrying about them too."

I looked back at the house that sat a mere thirty feet away from the barn. All the lights were out, but I still felt prickly at the thought of squatting in some random Russian family's barn when they were sleeping so close by. If we were discovered, the awkwardness would be crazy.

"Lilah." Hayane sounded annoyed. He was spreading out a white blanket that he'd pulled out of nowhere on the loft; as I looked at him, he stretched out like a cat on his belly. His wings fluttered a few times before falling still and his light green eyes flashed in the darkness as he looked back at me. "Apollo will be annoyingly irritated with me if he knows I let you stand around all night while I got a good night's sleep. You'll be safe, I promise."

I didn't answer right away, looking back at the darkened windows of the house reluctantly. After a moment of nothing happening, I hesitated only a moment before walking back into the dark depths of the barn.

"Ah, there's a good girl." Hayane smiled down at me as I climbed up into the haystack beneath him. "Think of this like a break." Another white blanket fell on top of me. "Since we have no idea what to do right now, we might as well rest."

"I guess so." I pulled the blanket around my shoulders as I gingerly lay down on the haystack. The blanket was warm, and surprisingly comfortable. "Thank you, Hayane."

"My pleasure." He yawned. There was a moment of silence, as we listened to the wind howl outside the barn. It was weirdly chilly where we were, especially since it was still summer. Was it always this cold in Russia?

I shifted onto my side so I could watch the half open doorway. Apollo had left about twenty minutes ago to go into town. Hayane had wanted to move on - he didn't like being near crowds of humans, especially since we weren't sure if the disease was effecting them too - but Apollo had calmly insisted.

"There's a blood donor clinic in this town." He'd said quietly. "I can smell it."

So Hayane had shut up, and Apollo left us here while he went to go find it.

Although I'd complied with Hayane and had left my spot by the barn door, I couldn't sleep. It wasn't just with worry of Apollo getting infected in town, or that Castrone might come looking for us - which was a paralyzing fear that I didn't like to think about - it was the thoughts of Abaddon that were keeping me up. I'd come in contact with him exactly twice before today, and each time left me feeling rattled and uncomfortable in my skin. He had a way of making me squirm and question everything, and on top of the fact that he seemed to revel in my scent, he wasn't someone I particularly enjoyed seeing.

I thought of how it was him who had launched this deadly disease, and that he would have been successful in finally killing Castrone if it hadn't been for Greta Blyme. Greta Blyme! I thought of the silver haired, taloned witch and how disinterested she'd been as Apollo reported the dying klaae man we'd seen by our home. No wonder she hadn't cared; she'd known about it, and she was planning on doing nothing about it. She'd probably sent Simon and his team to go investigate in Ireland knowing that all their efforts would be fruitless.

How could someone be in love with Castrone? I shivered at the thought, remembering his amused face as he'd broken Callidora's legs. How delusional, or desperate, did she have to be? I knew very little of the man, but his reputation should have been enough to drive her away. And not just her, but Magenta too. What were the two women thinking, getting involved with such an infamous character?