Ramiel (Knights of Order #11)

Chapter One

––––––––

IT WAS ALMOST MIDNIGHT, yet hot air drifted around Caterina as she gazed up at the stars.

She’d fallen into the habit of lying on her back on the roof of her caravan years ago.

Her great-grandmother had told her that her destiny lay in the stars when she was young.

Everyone knew Granny Blaze had the sight.

She’d proven it far too many times for anyone to discount her talent.

“When will my destiny arrive?” Caterina murmured.

She swept her senses out and scanned the area.

She detected her family and friends in their caravans that had been moved into a protective circle.

Three people were standing watch, making sure danger wasn’t approaching.

Caterina’s special skills would give them an edge to pick up on intruders, but she couldn’t stay awake all night long.

It was her usual bedtime now and she yawned widely.

They would have to move from the campsite they’d been using soon.

The animals were getting scarce and edible plants were harder to find.

Of Romani descent, the Blaze clan had been traveling performers for two-hundred years.

It wasn’t in their nature to settle down in one place.

Charms on her bracelets and anklets jingling merrily, Caterina swung herself onto the ladder to descend just as gold light flared in the sky. Her head tilted back in awe as she watched the comet descend. Her uncanny hearing caught the murmurs coming from the lookouts.

“Another meteor,” one of her cousins muttered. “Granny was right. This one is a lot closer than the others.”

“I’m glad we left New York,” another lookout said to herself. “All those red comets last November were a bad portent.”

“Is this a good omen, or a bad one?” the final guard said to himself. “I’m sure Granny Blaze will know.”

Caterina watched the gold comet fall somewhere to the north and shivered.

It was too far away for her to see or hear the impact, yet it had affected her anyway.

Climbing down to the ground, she touched the back of her head, feeling a bit weird.

Something had just changed, but she had no idea what it was.

Rounding the caravan, she squeezed through the narrow gap between the next vehicle and opened her door. She wasn’t at all surprised to see her great-grandmother waiting for her inside. Her talents had already given her the heads up that a visitor had arrived a couple of minutes ago.

In her eighties, their matriarch was wrinkled and shrunken, yet her mind was as sharp as ever. She pinned Caterina with her dark stare and gestured for her to sit down on the bench seat on the other side of the tiny table.

“What’s wrong, Granny?” Caterina asked, sliding into her seat. Everyone in their clan wore the traditional colorful clothing of their ancestors. Their European accents were fake after living in the US for so long. They only used them when dealing with outsiders.

“It’s time, my dear one,” the mystic said. Her pure white hair was tied up in a loose bun, making her olive skin look even darker.

“Time for what?” Caterina asked uneasily.

“It’s time for you to seek your destiny,” was the cryptic response.

A chill worked its way down her spine. “I thought you said my destiny lies in the stars,” she said.

“It does,” her great-grandmother agreed. “You saw the gold comet?” Caterina nodded. “Seek it out and your fate will be revealed,” the oracle told her.

“Can’t you just speak plainly for once?” Caterina asked in mild exasperation. “What does a comet have to do with my destiny?”

Granny Blaze leaned forward and dropped her voice, even though no one was close enough to overhear her.

“The Mad Prophet has spoken true, dear one,” she divulged.

“The red and gold comets herald the arrival of alien warriors. I’ve seen your destiny entwined with one of the aliens who will arrive in a gold comet.

I foresaw this shortly after your mother died. ”

“That was eighteen years ago,” Caterina said just as quietly. “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”

“Would you have believed me?” Granny Blaze asked wryly.

Caterina couldn’t really believe this conversation was happening at all. “When am I supposed to leave?” she asked, hoping for a reprieve.

“You need to go now,” the matriarch said in an implacable tone. “You must leave quietly and without being seen. Don’t draw attention to yourself or allow strangers to see your talents. Avoid people and run as fast as you can if you see anyone with red-tinted eyes.”

“The Mad Prophet said the aliens with red eyes are all in Manhattan,” Caterina reminded her. “We’re hours away from them.”

Hesitating, the mystic seemed to be fighting a battle with herself before she spoke again.

“I’m forbidden from telling you much, dear one,” she whispered.

“But know this; one of the aliens with red eyes is your father. He was released from his world for one night to impregnate a female. He chose your mother.”

Caterina’s shock couldn’t have been more profound. “I’m not human?” she asked in horror.

“You’re half human, a cambion,” her great-grandmother explained. “That’s why you don’t have the same heart defect that killed your mother and grandmother.”

Sorrow that she’d lived with ever since she was five years old returned at the mention of her mom.

Now twenty-three, she still longed for the mother she’d lost so long ago.

“Why do I have to find the alien that came with the gold comet?” she asked, wanting more answers before she would commit herself to anything.

“All I know is that your destinies are linked,” the seer said. “Pack some clothes and supplies, then go,” she ordered.

No one argued with Granny Blaze when she used that stern tone of voice.

Caterina quickly got changed into shorts, a t-shirt and hiking boots in the bathroom.

Putting her long curly black hair in a ponytail, she instantly looked like a teenager and rolled her eyes.

She packed clothes into a duffle bag, then stuffed toiletries into it as well.

She hoped she wouldn’t be gone for long, since she could only take a backpack of provisions with her.

Her instincts told her to pack light and she obeyed them.

Her great-grandmother stood up when she was ready to go. She held her frail arms out and Caterina bent to hug her. At five foot seven, she towered over their matriarch. “I’ll miss you, Caterina,” Granny Blaze said. “You’ve always been my favorite.”

Caterina chuckled at that truth. “That’s because I’m the only one who has magic,” she joked.

Pulling away, the oracle shook her head in denial. “Your magic isn’t what makes you special,” she said and tapped her great-granddaughter’s chest. “It’s your spirit and kindness that set you apart.”

Tears tried to form, but Caterina forced them back. She wasn’t always kind, which was why she’d been left behind during the Rapture. A quarter of their clan had vanished that horrible night. The rest had gray souls like hers. “How long will I be gone?” she asked.

Averting her eyes, the mystic fussed with one of her gold charm bracelets. “You should remove your jewelry,” she said, avoiding the question. “The noise they make might give you away. I’ll keep them safe for you.”

Stripping off her bracelets, anklets and necklaces, Caterina kept her gold and silver rings on. She felt strangely naked without her jewelry as she handed it over. “I’ll be back as soon as I’ve fulfilled my destiny with the alien,” she joked.

With a nod of satisfaction, Granny Blaze turned to the door, but not before Caterina saw the moisture in her dark eyes.

An ominous feeling that something bad was going to happen became lodged inside Caterina’s mind.

She left her caravan, closed the door, then squeezed through the gap again.

Staying in the shadows, she loped away from the only life she’d ever known.

Her senses picked up on someone following her a few minutes later.

She cursed beneath her breath, already knowing who it was.

Caterina could run much faster than normal humans and it would be easy for her to evade him.

“That’s because I’m a cambion,” she murmured, then decided to face her pursuer.

Luca would just keep trying to track her if she didn’t confront him now.

Luca jogged into view and spotted her in the clearing. “Where the hell do you think you’re going, Caterina?” he demanded, putting his hands on his hips.

“I’m following Granny Blaze’s orders,” she said even though she didn’t owe him an explanation. Her distant cousin had been obsessed with her for years and she’d always refused his advances. His soul had always been gray but it had been getting increasingly darker ever since the Rapture had struck.

“It’s too dangerous for you to be out here alone,” he said. “I’m going with you.” Unlike her, he wasn’t carrying any supplies and he wasn’t prepared for a long journey.

“No, you’re not,” she denied in annoyance. “I have to do this alone.”

She turned to leave and he grabbed her arm in a grip tight enough to bruise her flesh. “Don’t turn your back on me!” he snarled and shook her in rage.

Caterina yanked her arm free and turned on him as her own anger rose. “Go back to the others,” she said coldly. “You know what happens when we ignore our matriarch’s visions.”

He sneered and moved closer until he was looming over her. “That old witch will croak soon and someone else will take charge of our clan.”

While most people thought Luca was handsome, she’d always been repulsed by him. Scanning him with her magic, she saw something disturbing. His soul was changing while they spoke and was becoming even darker. “Who’s going to be in charge?” she asked. “You?” she said in an incredulous tone.

Her scorn made something inside him snap and his soul turned as black as his hair.

Luca lifted his fist as his lips drew back from his teeth.

Caterina obeyed her instincts yet again and put her hand on his chest, directly over his heart.

Her magic rose and she poured it into him as his fist came rushing towards her face.

She stepped backwards before the blow could land.

The cambion wiped her palm on her shorts, fighting down the urge to throw up.

Agony contorted Luca’s face as he dropped to the ground with smoke wafting out of his mouth and nostrils. She’d sensed his life being extinguished and cold sweat broke out at what she’d just done.

Backing away from the unforgivable crime of killing one of her clan members, the cambion turned and fled.