Chapter Twenty-Two
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CATERina felt a mixture of anticipation and nerves when she got up. Her alien had stopped for a few hours yesterday before resuming his journey. He’d been moving far faster than before and he was a lot closer now. She knew they would finally meet today, but she had no idea what to expect.
“What if he hates me?” she asked as she opened a jar of pickled eggs. “What if I hate him?” she asked next. She didn’t know anything about the man, except he was supposed to be a good guy and he came from another world. “At least he won’t have a black soul,” she reminded herself.
Scoffing down her breakfast, she gathered her gear and got moving. She began to feel uneasy as the hours passed, but she didn’t know why. Her alien was rapidly moving towards her and her nerves increased even more.
Taking a late afternoon break, Caterina had just finished her snack when she felt something sting the back of her head. “Ow!” she cried out, slapping at what she thought had to be a huge wasp. Her hand didn’t encounter anything and dread suffused her.
A minute or so passed, then agony tore through her left shoulder, almost rendering it useless.
Staggering forward, she almost dropped her bags, but managed to keep hold of them.
The next phantom shot hit her in the back and she let out a scream of pain.
Finally, a smaller bullet felt like it hit her in the temple.
Caterina’s legs collapsed and she shuddered at the pain that didn’t belong to her.
Someone had attacked her alien. He was probably dying right now while she cowered on the ground.
The cambion couldn’t return to her family now that she’d murdered Luca.
Finding the man her destiny was entwined with was the only thing that was keeping her going.
“You’re not dying yet,” she said in grim determination.
“I’m not letting some twisted humans kill you. ”
Climbing to her feet, she shouldered her bags and took off running.
Two hours later, she closed in on the alien’s location.
Her link with him tugged her towards a field close to a town.
The danger she’d been feeling all day was far stronger now.
Caterina angled towards some trees and put her gear down.
She rummaged for a bottle of water and pulled it out, then left her belongings behind.
Dozens of people stood in a wide circle, blocking her view of the man she’d come in search of. She made it halfway across the field before a dog caught her scent. The animal bayed in warning and the crowd turned to face her.
“Hi, there!” Caterina called out in a cheerful voice. The sun was setting, so she knew she would be hard to make out. “I’m Caterina Blaze and I’m a circus performer!” she shouted.
“Don’t shoot her yet,” she heard a man order the others. “She might be a keeper,” he added.
One of the hounds was released and rushed over to her. It sniffed her warily, then wagged its tail. She petted the animal’s head and it returned to its master as she ambled closer. “Do you want to see what I can do?” she asked when she was within earshot.
“I’d like to see what you can do between the sheets,” a lecherous man old enough to be her father murmured with a leer.
The crowd moved into a line, parting briefly to give her a view of their captive.
Hanging upside down by his ankles, the alien’s brilliant green eyes met hers.
Filled with intelligence, they were mesmerizing.
He was hanging limply, but he was only pretending to be unconscious.
Relieved that he was awake and aware, she knew his wounds were healing since her phantom pain was receding.
One of the bullets had passed through him, but the other one was stuck in his back again.
“What tricks can you do?” a young woman asked with a sneer. “You’re not even wearing a costume.”
“I don’t need to wear a costume to amaze you,” Caterina said. “I’m a fire breather,” she said, then took a tiny sip of water, pretending it was flammable. She conjured a flame on her thumb, hiding her palm so it looked like she was holding a lighter, then a short jet of fire erupted from her mouth.
“Awesome!” someone shouted in glee, already entranced.
“You haven’t seen anything yet, handsome,” Caterina said and winked flirtatiously.
The pyrokinetic had performed countless times and had already worked out a routine. It had grown dark enough that they couldn’t see her clearly now. Tiny flames appeared on her fingertips. She danced without music while painting images in fire in the air.
Oohs and ahhs came from the crowd as she did backflips and cartwheels, all the while drawing images made from fire. Behind them, the alien quietly lifted his torso up and grabbed hold of the metal chain he was dangling from.
Holding both hands out, Caterina kept her audience rapt as she backed up, then raced forward.
Flipping over and over without using her hands, she left streaks of firelight behind her.
The flames magically lingered for far longer than normal and they were too spellbound to wonder how she was doing it.
Coming to a stop, Caterina whirled around and bowed, accepting the claps and cheers of the mob. She heard the chains clinking as the alien pulled himself up to the top and unhooked the long chain from the tall pole. The dogs heard him as well and one of them growled.
The cambion clapped her hands and flames burst outwards, drawing the animals’ attention to her again. She flung her hands upwards and fire shot ten feet into the air.
“How the hell is she doing that?” an older man asked, beginning to realize it shouldn’t have been possible.
Now perched on the arm attached to the top of the pole, the alien created a shiny gold and silver sword out of thin air. Inserting the blade between the short chain of the shackles, he twisted it. The chain broke and the longer metal chain rattled noisily as it fell to the ground.
The dogs barked in warning and Caterina lost the crowd’s attention.
While she didn’t want to slaughter the mob, most of them were armed and every single one of them had a black soul.
Her magic washed over the humans this time.
She sent her power into their guns and knives.
The metal heated up even as they turned towards their captive.
“He’s trying to escape!” someone shouted and shouldered his gun. The metal turned white-hot and he dropped it with a scream of pain. Sensing danger, the dogs fled from the field with their leads dragging behind them.
Springing off the pole like an expert diver, the alien flipped in the air to land on his feet.
Sword in hand and assuming a defensive stance, he was the most stunning man Caterina had ever seen.
His auburn hair was stained with blood from where he’d been shot in the temple.
His shirt had a bloody hole in the left shoulder.
She knew another one would be in his back.
Their eyes met and he nodded in thanks for keeping their enemies busy long enough for him to break free.
Caterina nodded back as the humans were distracted by their hot weapons. Their short reprieve was about to end. She knew they were about to be embroiled in a fight to the death.
Her gaze lingered on the hottie as one of the men recovered and bent to pick up a rock.
The gorgeous extraterrestrial had an erection and she didn’t think it was from battle lust. They both felt the connection that existed between them.
The cambion knew deep in her soul that he was just as attracted to her as she was to him.