Under the Blood Moon
Nineteen
Before I can move or say anything, Hope continues. "Do you think Miles knows?"
I shake my head at her. "No." I answer shortly, still fuming at Cauis. "He would have told you."
"Unless Cauis ordered that no on say anything." Hope eyes go wide again. "Do you think everyone but us knows?"
I lock my jaw again, my anger doubling. Cauis would have ordered that no one tell us. But Miles doesn't have the hard look in his eyes everyone else has. I've also never seen him in a hushed conversation with Cauis. Not like Septimus, Luke, and Nikiya. Everything suddenly makes sense to me. I grind my teeth. "No, Miles doesn't know." I spit at Hope again.
"Then he comes with us." She tells me firmly. She takes a step forward and repeats, "Miles comes with us."
I think about it for a moment. I don't know what good, or help, Miles will be, but if Hope feels as strongly as she does about him coming, then I'll let him come. I nod my head at her, and then curl my fingers, popping him into the room.
He smiles down at Hope. No, there's no way he knows. "That never gets old." He says happily.
"Achilles is alive." Hope blurts out to him.
The smile that is on Miles' face slowly falls. "What?" He asks her confused. He looks over to me for the first time. His face and eyes go hard as we stare at each other. Miles looks back down to Hope. They search each others eyes for a moment, nobody speaking. "You're going after him." He states. He knows we won't sit here idly. Out of everyone in this house, Miles has seen first hand how far Hope has come.
"She wants you to join us." I inform him through my teeth.
Miles looks over to me. "You don't want me to?"
"I'm fine with it." I start. "But, not if you're going to tell Cauis."
Miles eye bulge. "You're going without the group?"
"Are you in or not?" Hope presses him.
Miles looks back at her. Instantly, he says, "I'm not letting you go by yourself." He looks at me. "And I won't tell Cauis."
"Good." I say tilting my head to one side. "We leave now."
"Now?" Miles and Hope say in unison.
"Better now then when Cauis feels I'm no longer mad at him." I curl my fingers, instantly packing a bag with essentials for all three of us. "You two ready?" I ask putting the bag over my shoulder.
Hope steps up to me, and then grabs Miles' hand, pulling him up to us. "We're ready."
I grab Hope's free hand, and close my eyes. The three of us pop over to the hut where Hope and I just were. "Grab anything you think we could use."
"What's the plan here?" Miles asks following after us. "Do you even know where he is?"
"He's in the same spot." I tell them as I grab various vials. "And I have a plan."
"And what is it?" Miles continues.
Hope stops grabbing vials, and looks at me. I take what's in her hands and stuff them into the backpack. "I'm going to create another prison world." I inform them simply.
"But he got out of the last one." Hope says looking over at Miles.
"Because I destroyed it." I grab another vial and put it in the bag. I zip the bag, and put it on my shoulder again. I look over at Hope. "This one won't be."
"But, if he still has all that power, can't he get out himself? Overload the spell or whatever." Miles asks.
"He actually has even more power now. And no, that's not how spells work. I'll have to bind it to something stronger than he is. That way he can't do what your suggesting." I tell them as I walk out of the hut.
"What is more powerful than him?" Hope asks following me.
I stop, and spin around to look at her. "We are." I reply and flicker my eyes to Miles. I've kept my word and haven't told anyone how powerful she really is. But, if Miles is going to come along, he's going to learn anyway. "We'll combine our magic."
Hope gapes at me. "You're gonna bind it to our lives."
"No." Miles says fiercely. "Hope's magic isn't strong enough for that. You said so yourself a year ago."
I give Hope a look. Miles shouldn't hear about just how powerful she is from me. Hope sighs, and looks up at him. "I'm just as powerful as Esmerelda. Anything she can do, I can do. We both easily have enough power to create a stronger prison world."
Miles stares down at her like she's the only woman on the planet. His eyes soften as he takes a step towards her. He reaches his hand up, and lightly traces her cheek. "Are you really?" He asks her breathlessly. Hope nods her head at him, giving him a small smile. Miles dips his head, and captures her lips on his. My eyes widen at them. Miles hasn't initiated a kiss between them this whole last year. The suddenness of his actions causes Hope to jump a little, but she quickly moans and steps into him. She wraps her arms around his neck and deepens the kiss, far more than she's allowed.
I clap my hands hard at them. "No time for that!" I chide them, but smiling widely. Hope isn't allowing Achilles to hold anything over her. The two break apart, but rest their foreheads together as they both breath heavily. "Like a couple of teenagers." I breath as I turn around.
I start pacing the wooden area. I'm not gonna be stupid this time and go straight to where he is. I'll go a few towns over. There, we can create the world, and take our time and make sure it's right. I take a deep breath. The only place I know in Italy is Rome. It's the only place I can teleport us safely. I haven't been home in two thousand years. Cauis said it was different. But it's the only place we can go. The city is still large, so we can easily hide too.
Esmerelda?! I suddenly hear Cauis' panicked voice.
I spin, and race back to Hope. I have to get away from Cauis before he finds us. I grab hold of her arm that's still around Miles' neck, and close my eyes. I channel her, and picture my father's rolling hills.
Four days later...
Cauis had been right. Rome is not the same. I knew it wouldn't be, but there's just something about my home that doesn't sit well with me. My father's lush lands are now leveled with houses and shops. Where Adios' shop sat is now the home to a candy store. Even Master Druses' estate that sat high in the hills is gone. Nothing is the same anymore. It broke my heart when I teleported us here, landing us actually inside someone's home. Thankfully they weren't in, so we were able to leave without any problems.
We checked into a hotel, making sure to get one that was big enough to house all three of us. Cauis didn't try contacting me other than that one time. As soon as I got the three of us to Italy, I closed our link. He will go out of his mind with worry, but he brought it upon himself. He could have told me Achilles is alive. I'm not as fragile as he thinks me to be.
"Accendia fortieses abarda looncunta." I chant with my head towards the ceiling with my eyes closed. I grip Hope's hands tighter as she sits across the coffee table of our hotel room. "Accendia fortieses abarda looncunta." We chant a little louder in unison. "Accendia fortieses abarda looncunta. Accendia fortieses abarda looncunta." The wind that was rushing around the room stills as Hope and I finish the spell.
I bring my head level as I open my eyes. "Okay," I say looking back down at the map on the table. "The three of us are protected from Achilles. I'll have to thank you again Hope for collecting Septimus' blood. Good job finding where he had bleed on his and Nikiya's run last week."
"Couldn't have done it without you." She says happily, smiling like a fool.
"True," I reply returning her smile. "Good thing we spent a lot of time channeling each other."
Hope is quiet for a moment, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "Do you think Cauis has found your note yet?"
After we got checked into our hotel room, barely an hour after leaving our home in Canada, Hope and I channeled each other so that way I could place a note in the pool house. I nod my head at Hope. "He would have went looking for me. The pool house would have been his first stop. He found it."
The hotel room suddenly opens, and I snap my head to the right, seeing Miles with bags of food. "Achilles won't be able to touch any of us." I inform him.
"I felt it in the elevator." He tells me coming further into the room. "The both of you need to come eat." Miles continues giving us a hard look. He sets down the bags of food, and motions with his hand to come get some.
"I'll get you some." Hope says standing from the floor. "We need to figure out a way to get into Catanzaro without alerting Achilles."
Every time Hope actually says his name out loud, it just proves to me even more how prepared she is. A week ago, neither of us would say his name out loud to the other. I had said it on occasion to Cauis, but never Hope. I look back down at the map of Catanzaro, chewing on my bottom lip. Achilles has so much power now that he would have blanketed the entire area with a spell like the one I put around my family home. He will know the second we arrive exactly where we are. It's also highly possible that we won't even be able to get in there. He could have made that impossible as well.
Hope comes back over, and hands me a cheeseburger. "Thanks." I say to her as I take it from her, immediately unwrapping it. I take a bite, and then say around the food, "Teleporting in is a no go." I chew for a moment. "He'll see that coming. We need to lure him out."
Hope stops chewing on her own burger, and looks down at the map. She finishes her bite, and asks, "How the hell are we going to get him out of the protection that fortress gives him? He won't even do his own shopping, Esmerelda."
"Not to mention he has to be in that spot to channel so much magic." Miles adds in from his spot on the couch behind Hope.
I shake my head at the both of them. "I don't know how we're going to get him out. But, if we go there, his magic will be too powerful, even for Hope and I. Plus, mine won't work." I inform them.
"What do you mean yours won't work?" Hope asks me before she takes another bite.
I clench my jaw. My eyes flicker over to Miles briefly. "Miles," I say looking at Hope. "Will you give us a minute?"
Miles is quiet for a second. I've let him weigh in on every discussion that's taken place, but I don't want him to hear this. I look back up to him and soften my face. "I can't talk about this in front of you. It'll just be a second. I promise."
Miles stands. "Yeah, no problem." He bends over and kisses the top of Hope's head. "I'll be right outside."
When Miles leaves, I close my eyes, and silently chant a spell so Miles can't overhear. I open my eyes, and look back at Hope. I swallow, and set my sandwich down on the map. I take a calming breath, and give her a sad smile. "Right before Achilles raped me, he said my magic wouldn't work. I was trying to get him off me, using my magic, but it wouldn't work. It's like, I could feel it, but it was jammed. He knows you have magic, and it's been a while, so he also knows you can control it. He'll block yours too. So, we have to get him out of there."
Hope takes a deep breath, and then waves her hand. Miles pops back in the room, where he had just been sitting. His eyes are wide for just a moment, but then he recomposes himself.
"She's right." Hope tells him looking at me. Her voice is firm. "We have to bring him out."
"But how?" Miles asks looking at me a little differently. He hasn't given me that look for a year. I drop my eyes back to the map, needing to look away. Miles may not be my mate, but because Cauis is, I know that look. Just like he knows what every look on my face means.
"I don't know." I tell him honestly shaking my head. "He won't want to. He has everything he needs right there."
Miles leans onto his elbows that are resting on his knees. "Then we'll have to find a reason to make him."
Cauis
Four days ago...
It's been about twenty minutes since Esmerelda flashed me in my office. I know she is nowhere near being calm, but I need to be with her. I know she's furious with me, but she doesn't have to go through this alone. I open my office door, and start making my way to our bedroom. I take a deep breath outside the door, and then open it.
"Esmerelda, I'm sorry." I start but then come up short. One of the windows is broken along the back wall. I rush over to it, seeing a chair and broken glass all over the balcony. I look around the room, and rush over to the closed bathroom door. I knock on it, not hearing anything inside. "Esmerelda?" I say softly as I open it, finding it empty.
I race out of the room, calling her name in our link, then down the stairs. Esmerelda stays silent. As I'm rounding the corner, I see Luke in the kitchen. I run over, seeing he's heating a bottle of blood on the stove. I cringe at the sight. Gavin sits in his high chair, bouncing up and down as he claps his hands looking at Luke's back. Sophie had the same diet, so it shouldn't gross me out anymore, but it still does.
"Have you seen Esmerelda?" I ask him as I come into the room.
Luke looks over his shoulder. "Yeah, about twenty minutes ago. She was walking across the living room towards the stairs going to your room." He informs me.
I shake my head at him. "Since then."
Luke shakes his head. "No. Why?"
"She knows." I tell him coming up to the counter. I place my hands on the counter, continuing to shake my head. "I couldn't not tell her anymore."
Luke turns off the burner, and moves the pot. "How did she react?" He asks, already knowing exactly how she reacted.
"She tossed me around the room a couple of times." I admit to him.
"Oof," Luke says scrunching his face. "Give her some time. She'll come around."
I shake my head at him. "She shouldn't have to go through this alone."
I turn to leave, but Luke grabs my arm. I look down at his hand on me, and then up at him. "Give her space." He tells me. "Don't force yourself back in. She'll come back when she's cooled off."
I work my jaw, hating that he's right. Esmerelda does need to calm down, and seeing me after what I've done to her will not help. I just can't get the look on her face out of my head. The way her eyes instantly dulled. The fire that had been in her eyes as she tossed me around our bedroom. The pain in her voice when she said I broke her trust. The way her jaw twitched right before she sent me away. Every second of it, forever imprinted in my mind. I hadn't meant to hurt her, or break her trust, even though I knew that would be the outcome. I just wanted to keep her safe. I have to live with my choices now though. It's done. There's no changing it now.
I'm assuming Esmerelda stayed in the pool house with Hope last night, because she never came up for bed. When I'm dressed for the day, I make my way to the pool house. Esmerelda and I need to talk about this. The only way to defeat Achilles is with her.
I knock on the pool house door, but there's no answer. I shake my head, and open the door. "Esmerelda?" I call out to the silent room. "Esmerelda, we need to talk." I continue loudly as I start walking down the hallway.
I knock on the bedroom door that she had shared with Hope for months. I knock again, but there's no answer. I turn my head to the second bedroom where Miles has been staying. I move to it, and knock. Still no answer. I open the door, but he's not in there. I quickly turn and throw open the other bedroom door. Hope's things are still in there, but nobody is there.
I turn, and start making my way back through the pool house. I check everywhere, even though I know they're not here. Perhaps they went for one of their walks. As I come back into the main room, a sound to my right grabs my attention. It's a very low humming sound, coming from the counter top of the breakfast bar. Confused, I walk over to it. There's a piece of paper on the counter. As soon as I pick it up, the humming sound stops. In Esmerelda's neat handwriting she says:
Cauis,
I have left with Hope and Miles. Do not come after us. Hope and I will defeat Achilles. As much as I hate you right now, I still love you.
Esmerelda
Her note is short, but it's enough to make me start panicking. I run out of the pool house, already yelling for Luke and Septimus. I rip the back door off it's hinges as I storm back inside. The two of them come running into the living room, and I pass Septimus the note. Both their eyes go huge as they read it. I run my hands through my hair and start pacing rapidly as they reread it.
"I'll check and see if they took a flight somewhere." Luke says already moving out of the room.
"They wouldn't have taken a flight." I tell him before he can retreat. "Esmerelda and Hope would have had no problem teleporting the three of them somewhere. They could be anywhere."
"Do you think they went to Catanzaro?" Septimus asks still examining the note.
"No," I answer him. "Esmerelda knows that Achilles knew the second you guys all got there last year. She wouldn't go there again. Not until she was ready."
Luke comes back over to us. He shoves his hands in his pockets, and looks down at the floor. "Where would she have gone, Cauis? She would wanted to be somewhere where she knew she was safe for the time being. However she thinks she can defeat Achilles, she'll need time to prepare for it. She won't want to be far from him though."
I shake my head at him. "I have no idea where she could have gone. With hers and Hope's powers, it won't take much for them to get anywhere." But he does have a point. She won't want to be far from Achilles. And I know enough about Esmerelda's powers to know she has to visualize where she's wanting to go. "I know she won't go back to Catanzaro, not right away at least. You are right about one thing though. She will want to feel safe. She'll wait until they're ready to make a move. The only place she would have gone, the only place that's close to him, and that she can visualize while also feeling safe, would be Rome."
Septimus snaps his head up. "Rome?"
I nod my head at him. "She would have gone home."
Thanks for reading!
~Stefanie