Carl, Luther, and Garrit are on edge, waiting for the Junta’s reply. It’s been over half an hour, and there has been nothing.“Maybe they are not interested,” says Luther.“Or maybe,” says Garrit, “they just need some time to come to a decision. We are not exactly friends. Are we?”Carl likes Garrit’s reasoning better, maybe because he himself wants to believe that. Then, suddenly, they notice smoke in the middle of the room. A golf ball-sized ball of smoke just hangs in mid-air, then a crumpled-up paper falls to the floor, and the smoke vanishes.“It’s them,” Luther exclaims.Carl grabs the paper off the floor. His hands shake a little as he opens it. It says, “We are ready to meet.”There is also a mobile number.“Yes!” says Luther, who had read the message from the other side.Carl immediately takes out his phone and dials the number.*Tasha has been sitting under the tree with Anastasia for about two hours now, or at least that’s what it feels like to her. She hasn’t checked the
Carl and Luther are driving to Arrowall. Garrit and some other members will follow them sometime later. They didn’t want to head down to the town all at the same time and make it look like a procession. So, they have decided to come in batches.Carl is the one driving, and they are about one hour into the trip when his phone pings with a message. He glances at it, expecting it to be Garrit, but it’s not. The name on the screen makes his heart flutter with anxiousness. It’s Evarius.With one hand on the wheel, he unlocks the phone with the other and quickly reads the message.“What is it?” Luther asks. “You look tense.”“Evarius just texted me. He wants to meet.”Carl turns the phone to Luther so he can read the text.“He doesn’t say why?” Luther asks.“Nope. Just one message. What should I do?”“The timing is fishy, don’t you think?”“Yeah, yeah, of course. We contact the Junta, and within two hours, Evarius contacts us. Looks like he knows...”“But how?”Carl shrugs, “It could be a c
Carl turns around to look at what is happening with the four people and is surprised to see the girl standing and the men on the floor. He had felt that she is not a vampire, which had led him to deduce that maybe she is a werewolf or a hybrid. It hadn’t crossed his mind that she might be a witch. From the look on Luther’s face, he had not anticipated this as well. Carl sees Luther being pushed back by whatever the girl had done and knows that now they are screwed. He and Luther had planned to make one perfect move that would let them escape. Meeting Evarius would have meant they would know what he wants, which they could have told the Junta after escaping. But now Carl feels that their one chance to make a move has been messed up.Before Carl can even get to Luther, he sees a blur that is Evarius get off the ground, seize both of Luther’s hands, rotate them and pin them behind his back.“Aaaagh,” Luther screams.Carl is feeling panicky now. If Luther is in pain, he would hardly be ab
Carl directs Damion to drive to the town museum. It is actually the largest museum in the city. When Carl asks Damion to stop right in front of the museum, he exclaims, “You’ve got to be kidding me! You are saying that you have kept the Alexandrite stone in the museum. That it was here all along?”“Yes. But I doubt anyone would find it unless they know exactly what they are looking for and exactly where to look.”“But still,” Damion says, “the stone is so important to you, and you kept it in a place that hundreds of people visit regularly.”“The best hiding places are in plain sight,” Carl replies, as Damion parks the car and all of them get out of it.The sunset is not far, and the sky now has a tinge of orangish-red. The museum has reached its closing hours. So, Carl compels the museum guard, and they walk inside.Carl directs them around the paintings and then through a photo gallery where a lot of small relics are kept. All of these have historical significance. Tasha looks around
Damion has been following Carl stealthily for over ten minutes now. He has walked away from the museum and seems to be walking back to the place they had met him and Luther today. Damion wonders if Luther would be waiting there for him, though Carl does not seem to have contacted him. He hadn’t called him, at least. Maybe he had sent a text, and Damion had missed it. But why go back there? He could simply climb up the hill and go home. The car wouldn’t take him there anyway. Once they have walked, jogged, and jumped for over twenty minutes, Carl finally reaches the spot. As there is an open field around, Damion cannot get much nearer, so he hides behind a tree that is closest to Carl and observes him carefully.Carl took out his phone and called someone. Damion focuses all his attention on hearing what he is saying.“I am here,” Carl says. “Where are you?”“Almost there.”Damion hears a faint voice from the other side. It most probably is Luther, and sure enough because now he can see
Tyrus and Sabina have spent their morning in the house like everyone else. Damion had returned late last night, and now that they know Carl is working with the Junta, the anticipations in the house are running high. They don’t really know what to expect from the entire thing. Tyrus and Sabina are standing on the balcony, looking into the distance.“You know what,” says Tyrus, “just sitting around the house and doing nothing is making me restless.”“Same,” says Sabina. “Why do you think the Junta has collaborated with Carl? What can they possibly want from him?”“More protection?”“Maybe, and maybe in exchange, he will get Lilia... this is dreadful...”It surely is. Even thinking about it is making Tyrus’ blood boil.“Let's go out for a bit,” he says.“Okay.”The town does not have a lot to see. It seemed like they had seen everything there was to see yesterday. But they still keep walking and talking around the same streets, the same houses, shops, and parks.*Carl had reached the Ju
Tasha has been practicing all day. She stopped for lunch when she heard about the attack on Tyrus and Sabina, which only made her resolve to get better and stronger. The quicker she is ready, the quicker she can save Lilia and maybe handle other things as well. All the while she has been practicing, Evarius has been giving her advice and assistance. He has been really helpful. Tasha has been doing most of the practice in the garden behind the mansion.“You don’t have to stay out here all the time, you know?” Tasha says to Evarius.“I know, but I want to.”“Aren’t you bored?”“By what? You? Never.”He looks at her so intently that it makes her blush. She looks away, and it takes a few minutes for her to get her concentration and focus again. After about half an hour, Evarius asks, “Would you like something to drink? A smoothie, perhaps?”“Sure. You going out to buy some?”“Oh, no, I’ll make two.”“Okay! I’ll come inside in fifteen.”Evarius leaves, and Tasha continues her meditation. B
It feels like a million stars are exploding in Evarius’s mind as he pulls Tasha closer to him and kisses her, savoring the feel of her soft lips. He moves his hands into her hair as their lips move in sync. He feels her hands on his back as her tongue slowly explores his mouth. They kiss as if their life depends on it, on this moment with each other.It feels like an eternity before Tasha moves away, and Evarius looks into her gray eyes as she smiles. He has no idea what to say. The number of times he had imagined what it would be like to kiss her was nothing compared to what it was actually like. He is speechless.“I... well... um... wow,” he stammers.Tasha laughs softly.“Maybe I shouldn’t have,” she says.“Maybe.”“But I did.”“You did.”“And I don’t regret it.”“Neither do I.”They stand there looking at each other. Tasha takes a deep breath, “Maybe a few more things that I won’t regret... if you’re okay with it, of course.”“You bet,” he says as he pulls her closer by her hand a
Six years later.“Tasha! Where are you?”Lilia is standing at the bottom of the stairs in a sea-glass green colored off-shoulder gown and looking up. She sees Esther stepping down the stairs in a halter neck gown of the same shade as hers.“Have you seen Tasha?” Lilia asks her.“She was with me like five minutes ago, and then she went downstairs.”Lilia groans.“I can’t see her anywhere.”“She’ll turn up,” Esther says, now climbing downstairs, “she is very excited for the day after all.”Lilia smiles, “Yeah, she is. I’ll check with the men. Maybe she is there. Does Sabina need anything else?”“Not for now. I just gave her her perfume of demand. She wants everything to be perfect! Honestly, I don’t blame her.”“Mumma.”A voice comes from their right, and they see a small blonde-haired girl in a light green frilled frock running towards them from the hall.“There you are!” Lilia exclaims. “I was looking for you everywhere. Where did you go?”“I was with Uncle Ty. He said he wanted to se
He is hoping that she will feel him and realize what he is trying to say. Should he close his eyes? But he doesn’t want to. He wants to keep looking at Tasha if things go the way he thinks they will.Just as he is looking at Tash, he sees a trickle of blood flow out from her nose. She is having a nosebleed.“Tasha!” He says.Sabina hears his voice and looks up to see what the matter is.“Are they doing something to her?” She asks in a horrified voice.“I don’t know,” Evarius says, panicking. “Hey, Tasha!”He shakes her, but it’s no use. It looks like she and the eight Junta witches that are still standing are having a battle inside this trance that they are in and it’s hurting Tasha. Evarius has no idea what to do. He places his hand again on Tasha’s and closes his eyes this time.*Tasha feels rather than sees Evarius enter this realm. She uses her other hand to force him out. She can do this without him. She knows what he is trying to do. She won’t allow it.“No,” she says in her mi
Relief courses through Tasha as she sees Lilia standing near the fire looking absolutely fine. She rushes over to her followed by Evarius.“Let’s leave,” Tasha says to Lilia.“I have been trying, but I can’t,” Lilia says pointing to the Head’s grip on her wrist. “It’s like she has an iron grip.“It's magic,” Tasha says and places her hand over the Junta lady’s.At first, Tasha can’t feel anything, but then it’s like she is being sucked into a different world and now she knows why the Junta can’t hear anything from outside because she can’t hear anything anymore either. But now she can see. She can see hundreds and hundreds of people lying on the floor slowly turning gray and Tasha realizes with a jolt that these are all the vampires that are dying. The younger ones first.Tasha focuses harder and now it’s like she is flipping through a book and in the next few pages, she finds a lot of other people of different ages clutching their chests. Dying. Among those people, she also sees hers
Tasha and her group move forward. They do not find any more werewolves in their way. Maybe they are fighting on the other side. When the very edge and can clearly see the cloaked witches standing in a circle Tasha says, “Okay, I need to break into the innermost circle. That’s where the real stuff is happening. The rest of the circles are for elevating the effectiveness of the spell.”“I think we should spread out and take on as many witches as we can without causing too much chaos,” says Evarius. “Otherwise, they will try to push us back like last time and it will complicate things. Although this time we have witches which is much better.”“Okay then,” let’s spread out. “We won’t be able to see each other. So, once you and your neighbors are in position, wait for ten seconds and then attack. This will ensure that we do it at the same time.”Everyone agrees with this idea and spreads it out. Evarius stands right beside Tasha. They wait for ten seconds and then Tasha places her hand on
Evarius is clenching his chest and breathing heavily. It feels like someone is stabbing him in the heart continuously.“What is happening? I don’t understand,” he can hear Tasha say, as if from a long distanceHe cannot speak for the pain that he is feeling and just as he feels that he is going to pass out from the pain, it starts reducing in intensity, and soon it is gone. He massages his chest, but it feels absolutely normal now. What the fuck was that?“Evarius,” Tasha says, on the verge of tears.“I am fine Tasha.”“What? No -““Yes. The pain is gone.”“But why did it come in the first place, that’s the question,” says one of the witches.“Exactly. What did it feel like?”Evarius explains it to them. The more he talks the more confused Tasha looks.“Nothing like this happened the last time,” she says, “Did it?”“No.”“Then why now? They are targeting my bloodline, but I don’t feel anything. This is just weird.”“But the Serafina line is related to vampires,” a witch suggests.“Yea
The sun has gone down the horizon and because it's a new moon, the night is very dark. Lilia has been brought out of the house and she sees that it’s not a small house, it’s actually a huge mansion. The junta has cleared the space for the ritual and other than cloaked figures, Lilia can spot some other people. This makes her wonder. Who are these people? All the time she has been with the Junta, she has only seen them in cloaks.She walks to stand in front of the fire beside the Head who gives her a little smile. The smile makes her otherwise rigid face softer and calms Lilia’s nerves.“How long will it take?” Lilia asks.“A few hours. It’s a long process. We will be done before dawn, I hope you have rested during the day.”Lilia nods.“Then, you’ll be fine,” the Head says.Lilia glances around the scene. There are a lot of people here. Much more than there were before. There is a lot more commotion and people are talking continuously and moving in and out of the house. It almost seem
The junta is gathered on the first floor of the mansion. This entire floor Carl has given to them for the time being. It is in the backroom on this floor that they have kept the binder. They don’t want Carl to get close to her before they have no choice.“I have given her the food,” Chiara tells Amyra.“How is she?”“She is fine. I told her she will be going home today and she looked happy with the prospect.”“Good. Now, we just need to make sure to get her out of this place before Carl lays his hands on her. Make sure that no matter what happens he can’t get to her. Once she is back home, we will place the spell that keeps Carl and his people away from her back and she will be safe.”“I will make sure that everything goes as planned,” Chiara says.“It should because if it does we will be able to correct the grave historical blunder that our ancestors had committed. We will finally be able to wash our hands off it.”Amyra turns around to look out of the window thinking about all the g
Carl, Luther, and Garrit and sitting with the Junta head. Her name is Amyra. They are discussing the arrangements that Carl has provided the Junta with and something else that he has found out recently.“Are your plans for the new moon set then?” Carl asks her.“We are almost done. We’ll be ready by then, don’t worry. We’ll be off your hands after that. You’ll get what you want.”“Which is the binder?”“The binder, yes.”“Good. But there is something else that I think you should take notice of.”“And what is that?”“The binder’s friends are in town again. Does this mean that they know she and you are here?”“How can I tell you that? This type of thing should be your concern. Anyway, I have no idea how they can possibly know that we are associating with you. We never associate with werewolves and vampires, or at least that’s what everyone believes.”“Right,” says Luther, “but let’s say they do know and they try to sabotage our plans. Will you help us fight them?”“Of course, we will. H
Everyone looks from Evarius to Sabina to Tasha in shock, but Tasha smiles because she knows that Sabina’s fainting means that it has worked.“What happened to her?” Tyrus asks, kneeling down beside her, looking scared.“She’ll be okay Ty and so will Evarius,” says Tasha. “Can you guys please carry them inside? Their bodies are going through a change and they might be down for some time.”Tyrus carries Sabina in and Damion and Brent carry Evarius. They place them on the two sofas and Tasha asks, “Did you guys feel something when Evarius fainted.”“Yes,” five of them say.“No,” says Damion.“Of course, you didn’t feel anything, D. You are a werewolf. The rest of you, what was it?”“A swooping gust of wind inside,” Esther says.“Yeah, like a blood rush,” says Nadia.“Does that mean it worked?” Brent asks.“In my humble opinion. It does.”“Is there any way to check?” Tyrus asks“Not really,” says Tasha, “at least nothing that I know of. But I am sure we will find something out once Sabina