Sun & Moon

Chapter 35 - Bianca

When I'm done, I let my body fall, fatigue crashing over me. My body shifts back as I lay staring up at the clear blue sky, thinking nothing, feeling nothing and I close my eyes.

My mind jolts awake, but my body is too tired to do the same.

The smell of fresh food almost gives me whiplash as I snap my neck around to see where I am. My body is clothed and under a blanket. I feel the pillowy softness underneath me and sink back in.

I hear the soft humming of a feminine voice coming from the dining table nearby, her back turned towards me. I immediately recognize the silhouette to be Astrid's and I sink a little deeper into her soothing song, the haunting tune resonating melancholy within me. I sigh and she turns suddenly.

"You're awake," Astrid says as she approaches with a bowl of steaming hot food. "We found you unconscious outside. That was five hours ago."

"And the bodies?" I ask reflexively, the traumatic scene of what I'd done returning back to me.

"What bodies?"

"Nothing," I shake my head and get up, my body aching for some replenishment.

I immediately chow down on the bowl of food, letting it scorch the insides of my mouth. I fight the little thought in my head telling me that I'm eating a dead family's reheated lunch.

I look at Astrid and her new golden eye, watching me with concern. I remember the elders in that underground hall, all dropping to their knees at the sight of it; the sign that their Sun Goddess had not abandoned them and had finally given them a champion. Who would have thought this girl I've known for the good half of my life would one day be chosen and blessed by the powers up above?

I knew then that she was the perfect choice for someone like Rio. Two champions of two powerful goddesses, united to bring balance back into the world that the First Son seeks to destroy.

And who am I in all of this?

Just a white wolf. A Sigma. Nothing special, but man did I cause a lot of trouble.

"Rio's been in touch with Alex and Demi," Astrid says, taking a seat at the other end of the sofa. "But the internet out here is kind of slow."

"And Ganzorig?" I ask, my mouth full of rice, stew and meat.

"He's doing better. They found a couple of survivors in the town as well, thankfully."

"And the other packs?"

She sits thoughtfully quiet for a moment, sighing at last.

"What happened?" my heart throbs against my chest.

"Nothing happened," Astrid shakes her head. "Yet. I just feel guilty about leaving them blind—leaving our parents blind." She purses her lips. "Fortunately, we are about a half a day ahead of their time zone, meaning that our intervening Valentina this afternoon kept the First Son here. I'd reckon Silver Bow is safe for the next twelve hours or so."

As I devour the last morsel of food, my body heats up in satisfaction. I stand up and shake out the dead weight from just waking up.

"Easy there," Astrid remarks. "It took us a long time to find you. Five hours was what I counted since Rio and I got to this place, but who knows how long you were really passed out for."

"Then we have no time to waste," I tell her. "I'm good to go."

"Wait. We can't just go track her down without a gameplan. Like how do we transport her body back unharmed to Midnight Shadow without a witch to bind her?"

"We could just snap her neck."

"Does that really work?"

"I don't know," I look away.

What I know of vampires is that we didn't hold this much prejudice against them back in Silver Bow, except every now and then when a new coven would get a little too fast and loose with the rules we had in place for them. This is the part I had to suppress when I dragged all those dead bodies out into the sun, that probably burned to ashes in the sun and got blown away by the wind before Astrid and Rio found me.

My nightly relations with Valentina enlightened me further of our undead counterparts. They, like the rest of us, retain their humanly body parts, that function almost the same as ours do. Except the brain is not the powerhouse of their body. It is their heart, that works supernaturally fast to pump their life giving fluid throughout their body. That will be the key to capturing Valentina.

"I can't think of any way to possibly bind her," Astrid ruminates.

"I do," I sigh, sitting back down. "Astrid, you remember how Valentina fainted when we got to Sanctuary?"

She nods.

"Well, if you thought that was strange or curious, it wasn't," I continue. "It was the thin and cold air, the lack of oxygen, restricting the blood coursing through her body. Her life source, as she used to call it."

"I did think it was strange, but when the First Son showed up, I kind of assumed maybe he was weakening her from the start."

"Maybe. But Valentina's not used to this altitude, unlike the newborns that attacked us that night."

"B, what exactly are you suggesting?"

I recoil a little at the sound of my nickname. It's just a simple letter, but the meaning behind it could crumble the little dam I've built in my head to suppress my feelings. And I've already caused enough hurt to Valentina. I wouldn't want to break this truce with Astrid either however mad she may still be with me.

I clear my throat. "We need to drain her till the very last drop," I say matter-of-factly, "and keep her body cold, essentially shutting it down."

"We'll do that then."

My resolve seems stronger this time and I hope I can carry through with it. I wouldn't want to be the fool that gets played by the First Son like a damn violin. But that's what I have to do—this time—to remove my heart from the situation and freeze it along with Valentina's body.