Chapter 28 – Baelen
CHAPTER 28
BAELEN
A rabella greeted me as we returned to the task team office, but her welcome didn’t last long. She jumped to her request before Savida had released Zaide from his winged hug. “We need you to take everyone to a safe place.”
“This is not safe?” I asked, alarmed.
“It’s safe, but it’s our mission space. Having so many witches here is interfering with our work. We can’t look after them and also come up with a way to defeat the hunters and find Fafnir.” She waved a hand at the witches milling around the space, ease-dropping on the conversations, and sitting on the edge of a desk where Isaac was showing Charlie something on a screen. He growled at them and they skittered off to another desk.
I could see what she meant, but it didn’t seem to me they could do anything without Charlie anyway, so what did it matter if they had to care for victims? They weren’t doing much else.
I rubbed my chin. “Where is this safe place? I need to see it to be able to portal there.”
“It’s multiple places, actually. We hope you and the others will help get the council back to their people and the witches to stay in safe houses that Elizabeth’s family owns.”
The woman in question entered the room, and Charlie extracted himself from Isaac to join our conversation. “Safe houses?”
“Of course. We need a place to go to in case the portals are attacked.”
“If the portals are attacked, what happens?” I asked, out of curiosity.
Elizabeth shrugged. “We defend them, we call in reinforcements and if we can’t do that, we have the safe houses to retreat to.”
“Your reinforcements have only ever been members of your own family.” Charlie patted her back and cheered. “Isn’t it good you’ve come out of hiding and can now ask for assistance from the other council members and supernatural task teams?”
“Yes, Charlie. You are very wise,” she replied dryly.
“Right, well, give me the coordinates to the safe houses so we can show Baelen where to go,” Charlie ordered and then looked around. “And where’s Daithi? It’s so typical of him to slope off before he has to do any hard work.”
“Charlie—” Savida admonished.
“I’ll help,” Zaide offered.
Charlie frowned. “Are you sure you’re up to it? Have you portaled before?”
“I’m well enough and I would like to be useful,” he replied calmly. “I haven’t portaled before, but I believe doing it under the tutelage of Baelen would ease my anxieties around it.”
His confession made a warm feeling bubble inside my chest. I am glad he trusts me so.
“An excellent suggestion. I’ll inform everyone to get ready to leave.” Arabella clapped her hands and hurried away.
Elizabeth accompanied Charlie to the screens and Charlie typed in the numbers she spoke of until a house was visible on the screen.
“That is where we are going?” I asked.
“One of.” Elizabeth said. “Around fifteen witches can be housed there.”
“There’s about fifty here.” Zaide paled.
“We have more houses.”
I patted his shoulder. “You will be fine. We may need to have a rest after, but once they are safe elsewhere, we can concentrate on the hunters.”
“That’s the spirit.” Another woman whom I hadn’t met came over with Arabella. “I’m Marianne, the vampire council representative.”
“You are part akari.” I noticed her tiny fangs and raised a surprised brow.
“I’m fully blooded.” She replied sharply and then softened her tone when she noticed my surprise at her snappy response. “But we haven’t been to the homeland in many centuries. We’ve adapted here. Become vampires.”
I nodded. “It’s impressive you have kept your line full of akari ancestors. Is that valued here?”
“Of course. Full bloods have more power. The rage and bloodlust are closer, but our strength is ten times those with weaker blood.”
“Interesting. I wonder how you would fare in Akar.”
“We’ll never know.”
Charlie coughed and waved his hand between me and Marianne. “Love this. But can we get on with portaling people to safety? Thanks.”
“I’m here to give you the coordinates for my portal,” Marianne told him.
“Each council rep is going to a different place?” Charlie asked. “How many portals is that? It’s in double digits, right? That’s a lot for my guys to do in one afternoon. Is there any way we can make this less?”
I was glad he said it because I wouldn’t have been so diplomatic.
“No. The safe houses are across the globe, as are the council homes.” Elizabeth stated and crossed her arms.
Charlie ignored her and focused on Marianne. “Can’t you all go back to your joint office? Isn’t there a supernatural parliament or something? Why do you have to go home from here?”
“Our people need updating on the situation and we may need to train up some more teams to help handle this situation. It’s important we go back home right away.”
Charlie scoffed. “You know there're planes, right? We could take you to the airport.”
“You couldn’t, since the hunters are looking for us now. We need to travel incognito.”
I sighed and patted Charlie’s shoulder. “Charlie, it’s fine. We will manage.”
“I’m not comfortable with this,” Charlie huffed and glared at his birth mother and the vampire council representative with equal frustration. “You’re putting us and the rest of the task team in danger by making our portal makers so weak. If we are attacked, we are going to struggle to escape alive.”
“I’ll find Daithi.” Savida volunteered. “He will help. It will lower the overall number of portals.” He fluttered off to find his mate.
“I’m afraid this is just the way it has to be. Will you help us?” Marianne asked.
Charlie grumbled about demanding council that can’t do anything for themselves but agreed and took notes of the coordinates for the other council members.
Everyone was told to come to the roof in half an hour, since I wanted to use that time to show Zaide how to create portals.
With the afternoon sun in my eyes, I squinted as I explained. “Portal magic comes from the soul. Our souls are full of magic and to portal, we must pull on the very essence of ourselves and push it into being. Using the image Charlie gave you, picture it clearly in your mind and draw on the power you feel deep inside and push it out. Picture the blue swirl of the portal getting larger and revealing more of the picture.”
I watched as Zaide held out his hand and a few steps away, a blue dot formed. The portal did get larger and larger to reveal the white house where the witches would be safe. “That’s it. You’ve done it!” I cheered, and he opened his eyes to see his work.
“Well done, mate.” Charlie patted him on the back. “I’ll get the witches.”
Moments after Charlie closed the rooftop door behind him, it swung back open and Savida hurried over, his wings flapping excitingly.
“I found him,” Savida cheered and behind him followed Daithi and Clawdia. “Clawdia can also create portals. Three each is much easier, correct?”
It was, but Clawdia shook her head. “I would like to help. I really would, but I don’t feel well.”
She didn’t look at us as she said it. Her eyes were glued to the floor, and she’d shut down the bonds between us. I couldn’t feel anything. Zaide and I raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“You don’t feel well?” Zaide asked. “What’s wrong, little cat ?” He took her hand and, as his purple eyes unfocused, I knew he was checking her threads.
“I’m fine. I just … I can’t help.” She pulled away from him. Her skin was a green hue, which made me concerned.
“That’s all right, Sunlight, we can manage without you,” I told her. “Rest.”
She nodded and replied, “I’ll just sit here.”
She and Daithi exchanged as she headed to sit against the wall next to the door, just as Charlie and the witches returned.
“I’m worried about her,” Zaide muttered, his brow furrowed as he stared at her. She watched the skies as though she thought it might rain.
“We’ll get this done and then spend time with her and ensure she is well,” I promised.
He nodded, and then I got to work creating my own portal.
The rest of the afternoon was spent sending the witches and the council to their allocated destinations. It was tiring making so many portals and thirst made an unwanted arrival as I created my last portal and waved the witches through. Daithi finished early, and he and Savida wandered back downstairs to rest while Charlie hovered around Clawdia.
She stared worriedly at the sky and didn’t seem to listen to Charlie, which Charlie noticed too.
When my last witch passed through safely, I headed toward her and crouched. “Sunlight, what’s happening? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Her smile was stiff, and it bothered me that she wouldn’t tell me why she was acting so strange.
“Is this about Mary?” I asked.
“No. It’s not about Mary. I just don’t feel well.” She gazed over my head at the sky again. Her next words seemed to come from nowhere. “Why could I use your power over blood when I confronted Fafnir in the warehouse, but Kaatu couldn’t use my power without touching me?”
“Your connection to me is more stable because my soul is whole. However, since my soul’s mate is divided, so too is the bond. It’s strained without consummation and so I couldn’t access your power. I needed to be closer to you both to have a more solid connection.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” she muttered.
“But what has made you think about this?” I asked suspiciously.
“How do I do it? What can I do with your blood threads?”
“You want a lesson? Now?”
“I—Yes.”
“You aren’t well.”
“I’m well enough to learn this.”
I exchanged a glance with Charlie and the worry in his gaze echoed my own, but he shrugged.
She licked her lips nervously and whispered, “Please, Baelen.”
Unable to deny her anything, I told her to look for blood threads which corresponded to the veins in my body. Her eyes unfocused as she searched for them and when she gasped, I knew what she saw. Bundles of twisted tiny lines which covered my entire body.
I explained that manipulating the threads was like changing the dreamscape. Instead of imagining turning them another color to indicate health, you twisted them, cut them, tied them in knots.
Just as I finished explaining, Clawdia nodded solemnly and Zaide joined us, asking, “How are you now, little cat?”
“I’m glad to see you feeling better,” she replied illusively.
He smiled and stroked her leg. “I’m tired, but not tired enough to notice you have practically turned to stone with how still you have been sitting.”
“I’m fine. But you and Baelen are tired. You should lie down,” she said with a stiff smile.
I didn’t like how she was acting. None of us did. It reminded me of how my mother would make suggestions and wondered if she saw her again last night.
“Whatever is troubling you, we can help,” I assured her.
“Of course you can.” Her expression cleared, softened for a moment, and then she added, “After a nap.”
“Why don’t you come with us?” Zaide suggested.
She hesitated. “I’ll join you in a moment.”
“We’ll see you soon,” Zaide whispered and kissed her before rising and pulling me along. Everything inside me revolted as we walked away from her. I didn’t trust her words, but I hoped she would come.
Charlie followed us to the stairs to whisper, “I’m not sure what’s going on with her, but I’ll stay here and see if I can get anything out of her.”
“If my mother has shown her a vision, she may not tell us,” I told him.
He shrugged. “Dralie is acting funny too, so maybe it’s something to do with our bond? I don’t know. Go nap. I’ll drag her down as soon as I can.”
The building felt much calmer since it wasn’t full of traumatized witches and Isaac guided us to a room which had two mattresses on the floor and our bags piled in the corner. “It’s the biggest room. We thought you’d all like to stay together.”
We thanked him with a nod and when the door closed behind us, I kicked off my shoes and l lay on the mattress, covering my eyes with my arm. They were sore from being in the sun for so long.
“Are you all right?” Zaide asked, and I felt the mattress move as he joined me.
“Tired. Hungry,” I muttered without thinking.
When he repeated, “Hungry,” I cursed.
I slowly uncovered my eyes to meet his gaze. “I won’t bite you.”
He was silent for a moment, but when he spoke, what he said shocked me. “Maybe you should.”
“I … should?”
He huffed and his jaw tensed. “I will not fight my fear without actively trying to get over it.”
“You needn’t get over your fear. Fear keeps you safe,” I told him.
“It keeps me from you.” He whispered, edging closer to me until his large golden hand lay heavy against my chest and his purple eyes were all I could see. “If I learned anything yesterday, it is that I want to be closer. Had I died by the hunter’s hand, I would have regretted holding you at a distance.”
I shuddered at the thought of his death. I saw where he was kept. I saw and smelled the blood saturating that room. He could have died if he’d been a weaker being.
“There’s not been time for us, and …”
He shook his head and interrupted. “I know. Our relationship has been different. You were an unexpected surprise, and I had reservations about you. But you are mine, just as she is, and I want to feel like that. Even our bond isn’t as strong.” His hand cupped my jaw and his thumb swiped over my lips in a tantalizing brush. “Let me do this for you.”
“Are you sure? You’re tired,” I whispered.
“We are about to nap. And Clawdia tells me your bite is … pleasurable.”
I held his hand, stroking over the purple glowing scars on his knuckles and fingers. I brought it to my lips and kissed the old wounds. “You don’t need to do anything you don’t want to.”
“I want to.”
“If you didn’t. It wouldn’t change anything for me. We will build a unique relationship. I’ll take only what you offer.”
“I’m offering this.”
His thumb brushed my fang, and he shuddered and tensed, but I only sucked lightly at the skin before I pressed a kiss to his palm. “I’ll never hurt you again.”
“That wasn’t you.” He assured me. When I continued to press kisses to his hand, he whispered, “I trust you. You protect me.”
“Always.” My bite on his thumb made him gasp, but he didn’t pull away. No, his eyes dilated, his body relaxed into pleasure and his breathing turned deep. I swirled my tongue around the wound and he whimpered and when I sucked I watched as his body jolted and a blush turned his cheeks a dark rose gold.
I gently pulled his finger from my mouth and kissed his knuckles again while he trembled. The blood I received wasn’t enough to truly feed me, but I couldn’t take more. He needed to be handled with care around this topic, especially after what he suffered from the hunters. He needed to know he wasn’t food, nor an experiment. He was important. Mine.
A dragon roared in the distance, destroying the precious moment and shaking the building. We exchanged looks of horror before racing back to the roof.