Under the Blood Moon
Six
Cauis
"I want the number of guards around Anubis to go up one person each shift." I tell Eric, Abigail, Septimus, and Hope. "Rita might come ba-" A blinding pain tears up my left shoulder suddenly, making me yell out in pain as I grab at it. Seconds later, an identical pain rips up my left leg. I yell out again as I fall to the floor.
Eric rushes over to me, kneeling beside me. "What's wrong?" He asks panicked.
As quickly as the pain came, it is gone. I rotate my left shoulder around, feeling no pain. I bend my left leg, also feeling no pain. My head snaps up and I look at Eric. "Esmerelda's in trouble."
I get to my feet in a flash and start running from the room. I hear the door close behind me as I race down the hall to the elevator. I tap the call button as the group comes up behind me. I growl at how long the lift is taking to get to us, and rush to the doorway leading to the stairs. The five of us dart down seven flights of stairs and then out the side door of the hotel.
"Abigail, get the van!" I shout over my shoulder as we run towards the street. Eric, Hope and Septimus follow after me while I run across the street towards the east.
We make it two blocks before Abigail gets to us. The traffic in Miami is always packed. It seems to take at least thirty minutes to go anywhere, but we can't shift and run to the outskirts of town in the middle of the day.
"Go!" I order as I jump into the passenger seat. Abigail waits a second, allowing Eric, Septimus and Hope to get in. Before the side door even closes, Abigail hits the accelerator.
"What happened?" Hope asks from directly behind me.
"She's been hurt." I reply bouncing my right leg up and down. We get caught at every light on the, what should be, twenty minute drive.
Finally, we hit the city line, and I tell Abigail to pull over. "Take the van the rest of the way." I order as I get out. I turn and shift, running into the small patch of trees along the side of the road.
Five minutes later, I see Esmerelda's body falling to the ground just as I'm getting close to the encampment. I growl, and push myself faster. I scan the area for whoever could have attacked her.
She just passed out. Miles tells me as soon as he hears my pawn hitting the ground. Pretty sure she's broken her shoulder blade, and left leg.
What happened? I demand as I come to her side, seeing a pile of vomit next to her.
She touched Rita's tent. Miles replies coming closer, keeping his front to Rita's pack.
I look over at Miles. That's it? She touched the tent?
Miles bobs his head and glances over to me. There's some kind of shield around it now. The second she touched it, some type of force threw her into that branch. Miles points with his snout to a half broken tree branch. Then she fell to the ground.
I look over at Rita's tent. There's a shimmer to it that wasn't there two days ago. How had Esmerelda not seen it? You see that right? I ask Miles.
See what? He asks looking at the tent.
That shimmer. How long has it been there?
Miles moves closer to the tent. I don't see anything.
I hear the van approaching just as Esmerelda's eyes begin to flutter open. Esmerelda, you need to shift to begin healing. I tell her. She begins to scream in pain, ripping my heart out in the process. Shift. I beg her.
Esmerelda explodes underneath me, her screams of pain turning into a howl. I move away, giving her more space. I hear the van park, and then doors opening and closing.
Hope, do you see what's around Rita's tent? I ask her as she comes over to Esmerelda.
She looks over to the tent, and tilts her head to one side, squinting her eyes. The shimmer?
I look over at Hope. You see it? Does anyone else see it? I ask our group.
Septimus, Eric, and Abigail all shake their heads at me, confused.
I see it. Hope says looking at me. There's something there.
Where? Esmerelda asks limping over towards the tent. I don't see anything.
Esmerelda sit down. Let your body heal fully. I order her. I hadn't meant to order her, but she really needs to take a minute and heal. I come over to her, and nuzzle the right side of her neck, apologizing to her.
Why can't I see whatever it is you two are talking about? Esmerelda asks looking at the tent intensely.
"You don't see it?" Hope asks out loud walking over to the tent. Hope brings her hand up and before I can tell her not to, she touches the tent.
I see Miles brace to try and catch her if she goes flying, but nothing happens.
Esmerelda stands, and comes up to Hope. What did you do?
Hope looks down at Esmerelda's wolf, and replies shrugging her shoulders. "I didn't do anything."
Touch it again. I tell Hope as I too come up to them.
Hope reaches her hand back out, and easily touches the tent. Esmerelda's head snaps over to me, her eyes filled with confusion. How is this possible?
I shake my head at her, not understanding it myself. Can you go inside Hope?
Hope takes a step forwards, and moves the door flap. She steps inside the tent, and then turns to face us in the doorway, an odd look of confusion on her face. "I feel something." She says looking over her shoulder into the tent. "Hold on." She releases the flap, and disappears into the tent. From inside, I can hear her rustling papers around. Hope emerges from the tent a few minutes later, holding an envelope. "This is addressed to you, Cauis."
She flips the envelope around, showing me the front. In neat handwriting is my name, written in ancient Roman. I take a small step back, not having seen my native language in so long.
Open it, and put it on the ground in front of me. Esmerelda tells her. Hope rips it open, and lays it in front of her. Esmerelda looks over at me, and then down at the paper. Dear Cauis, Esmerelda begins reading it. I have Rita in my possession, and have taken extra care to ensure she remains safe. It is not my intention on killing her, but will if you do not follow my instructions. It has taken me centuries to catch up to you and Esmerelda, and finally, you both will pay the price for taking my father from me. I will be in contact, signed, Achilles.
My head whips around to Septimus. His face is ghost white and he looks like he's about to throw up. "Let me see it." He says urgently rushing over to Esmerelda. He bends and picks the letter up, rereading it carefully. He flips the paper over, and gasps. "It's his mark." Septimus whispers as he traces a finger over the back of the paper.
Let me see. I say coming over to him. Septimus flips the letter over, and point to an emblem of a wolf on the lower right corner.
"He put these on any official pack document." Septimus explains flipping the paper back over to look at it again. "It was his way of letting everyone know that the order came from their Alpha." Septimus shakes his head as he examines it. After a minute of silence, Septimus looks down at Esmerelda. "How is this possible?"
Esmerelda shakes her head at him. I don't know, Septimus. You know how hard it was for us to get here, and your son wasn't a warlock. He was a werewolf. You mentioned before that his records were documented better than anyone else's. Was there anything claiming he also dealt with witches?
Septimus chews on his upper lip, thinking. "Not that I can recall." Septimus reads the letter for a fifth time. He shakes his head and says, "He believes you took me from him." Septimus looks up at me. "He doesn't know I came willingly." He looks back down at the paper. "Aquila didn't tell him the truth." He whispers.
Septimus begins pacing around the camp site, continuously reading the letter. I look over to Esmerelda, and then at the tent. Achilles letter was intended for me to find, which means he somehow made it possible for me to enter the tent, but not Esmerelda. He made sure Esmerelda couldn't get to it. He doesn't know about Hope's newfound abilities, and no one other than the two of us can see it.
I move forward, bracing myself for his spell to knock me away. When it doesn't, I step into the tent and look around. Nothing seems out of place, nor left behind. He said he will be in contact, but how? He can't possibly know where we are staying. Why would he come after Esmerelda and I? If he knows his father came with us, why not contact him? What did Aquila tell him to make him think we stole Septimus from him? The most important question running through my head is how in the hell did Achilles get to this time period?
I move to the desk as my mind fills with too many questions. Absolutely none of this makes any sense. Just as I come up to Rita's desk, I feel the ground under me begin to shake. A giant hole opens up rapidly under me, pulling me into the darkness before I can move.
Esmerelda
I shift, and try and run to the tent as it begins falling into the ground. "Cauis!" I scream as two arms wrap securely around me, pulling me away from the chaos, holding me against them. I try to break their hold, but they just won't let go.
"Hope!" Miles screams as he shift to get to his mate. Hope's eyes are wide with panic as she is sucked into the large hole.
Before Miles can get to her, a gurgling sound reverberates all around us as the ground shakes. Within the blink of an eyes, the hole closes. I hit at the person holding me as they pull me further away. I grit my teeth, and shoot at them over my shoulder with my right hand. Their arms drop from me as they yell out in pain. I spin, seeing Septimus clutching his left shoulder. I turn back around, and run to the spot where Rita's tent just sat.
"What happened?" Miles yells at me as he covers me with a blanket.
I pull the blanket around me so I am covered, and stare at where the hole had come from. I've never seen this kind of magic before. What kind of magic just rips people away like that? I look over to Miles, "I have no idea. I've never seen this before."
I look over to Septimus. He's still bent over, holding his shoulder. I wave my hand, and heal whatever damage I caused him. "You and I will do whatever research we can about your son. We'll figure out how he was able to get here, and where he is. I'll use whatever means necessary to get Cauis and Hope back."
"You can't hurt him, Esmerelda." He says straightening himself. "I won't let you. You will have to kill me first."
"He's taken Cauis and Hope!" I yell at him pointing to the ground.
Septimus starts walking over to me. "And he's my son!"
Just before Septimus gets to me, he suddenly stops, and looks around. He looks over at Rita's pack, who are all staring at us. They haven't said a word this whole time. They've just stood, or sat, there silently. They haven't even moved, I notice now that I look at them.
"Something's off." Septimus says moving towards them. None of them move their eyes to him as he approaches. None of them make any acknowledgment that we're even here.
"Miles, have they been like that all day?" I ask him.
"Yeah." He answers sadly not looking up at me. He's sitting on the ground, running his fingers through the dirt Hope had vanished into. "Eric and I haven't had any problems with them all day."
Septimus steps through the invisible shield, making Abigail and I gasp. He shouldn't be able to. I made the shield impenetrable. Just as he crosses over, Rita's pack fizzles away, leaving the area filled with just the five of us.
"What the hell has your son done?" I spit at Septimus as I move around the now empty area Anubis just was. It's as if my magic holds nothing against whatever Achilles is able to do. What kind of magic is this?
Septimus comes up to me and lightly grips my right elbow through the blanket. I look up into his terrified and sad eyes. The mixture of emotions in his eyes breaks my heart. "Please, Esmerelda, I'm begging you. Do not kill my son."
I turn to face him, and take his hand off my elbow. I squeeze his hand. "I can not promise that, Septimus." I tell him honestly. "I will not target him though. But, if he is all that stand between me and Cauis, I will have no choice."
Septimus drops his head and I visibly see the weight of the world fall onto his shoulders. "Esmerelda, please?" He begs me keeping his head down. Septimus suddenly drops to his knees, and grabs my elbow again. "Your Majesty, I beg you, as a loyal friend, spare my son."
I feel a thump form in my throat at the sight before me. I let go of Septimus' hand, and cup his cheek in my palm. "I will do everything I can." I promise him. I do not want to kill Achilles. By some powerful miracle, Septimus has a chance of being reunited with the son he never got a chance to see. Ever since Valerio was born, I couldn't image the pain Septimus goes through on a daily basis. Just being away from my son for three days now is tearing my heart into pieces. And Septimus has been doing it for two thousand years. I want them to have a chance of meeting. I want them to get to know each other, but how can that happen when Achilles means to start a war with me personally?
Septimus heaves on his knees in front of me. I take a step back, just in case he pukes on my bare feet. "Will you at least promise to let me try and talk to him before you do anything?" Septimus asks looking up at me.
I nod my head at him. "Yes, Septimus."
I take another step back, making Septimus' hand on my elbow drop to his side. "Thank you."
I turn to Abigail and Eric. Their eyes look just as sad as mine feel. I glance over to Miles, who is still in shock over losing Hope. I swallow, not knowing what to do. Cauis is the one who manages everyone. With him gone, it has to be me.
I take a deep breath, and move to the center of where the camp used to sit. I look around, trying to figure out what to do. We need to first find out how Achilles is still alive.
"Septimus," I say bring my head up to look over at him. "Do you know where we can find any old papers on Achilles?"
"The best person to ask would be Luke." Eric answers for him. When I look over at him, he continues. "He was the last Alpha from that bloodline. Those papers get passed down Alpha to Alpha. Luke's who you want to ask."
I nod my head once at him, "Then get Luke back down here. Have him bring whatever he can. Tell him to bring Nikiya, Sophie and Valerio too. We're not leaving Miami until we know where Achilles is. Hopefully, when we find him, we'll find Hope and Cauis too."
Before I'm even done talking, Eric is pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and walking away from the group. I look over at Miles. "Can you talk to Hope?" I ask him as I start walking towards him.
"She's silent." He replies in a low tone shaking his head while he continues to look at the ground.
I come down to my knees beside him, sighing. "Cauis is silent too." We're quiet for a minute, neither of us knowing what to say. Miles and I don't really talk, so I don't know him that well. I reach a hand out, and place it on his dirt covered hand. "We'll find them."
Miles looks over at me. "Maybe." He pauses. "If Achilles doesn't kill either of them first."
"Luke said he'll be on the next night flight down." Eric says loudly from across the camp.
"Good." I reply coming to my feet. "Everyone back to the van. I'm going to put up a spell that will let me know if anyone comes back here. Hopefully whatever magic Achilles is using won't interfere with that."
Slowly, the group makes their way over to the van. Abigail immediately starts it, and pulls away. When the van turns around, I look back at the spot Rita's tent had been. I walk over to the area, and bend over, picking up some of the dirt that lays there. "I will find you, Cauis. I promise."
Thanks for reading!
~Stefanie