Betrayal 2012 (27 page)

No one said anything because he had a valid point.  I tried to imagine what it would be like to have all of my free will taken away without warning and be forced to do horrible things to people that I care about.  Julian was the strongest selkie of their kind, and even he couldn’t resist the wrath of Lucian.

I unwrapped myself from my sisters arms and walked across the room to grab a hold of Julian’s hands.  “No one blames you.  It wasn’t your fault.”

He looked down at me with such sad green eyes that my heart instantly crumbled.  I’ve seen that look before on another selkie’s face.  It was the look of disappointment and defeat.  “Please let me go with you,” he pleaded.

I shook my head.  “No, it’s too risky and the rest of your group needs for you to stay here right now.  The Council and their guards will be there.  I’ll be fine.”

“But…”

“No.  You can’t.  I won’t risk it.”  I didn’t need to say it, but we both knew what I was talking about.  If Lucian could control him again, it would be disastrous when the Council’s elite protectors were there.  Julian didn’t stand a chance.  There would be no forgiveness.  “Will you please watch over Kain for me?” 

It was a request that I would trust to few others and I think Julian realized this.  Not only was Kain an important political figure in our world, but he was an important person in my life.  The thought of him not being in it anymore terrified me and I believe Julian understood that better than anyone else.

He nodded and walked towards the bedroom where Kain was sleeping without saying another word to any of us.

I said my goodbyes and promised to be back in one day.  I hoped that we would have some type of solution in place when I returned to my clan.  It was time to end this.  

As I flew on the private jet towards the secluded mountains of Montana, I tried to come up with a plan.  But the only thing I knew for sure is that I would do my best to temporarily appease Lucian by giving him what he wants.  We all needed that time to prepare a final attack on him and his allies and if I could buy us a few days or even weeks, then that was what I needed to do.  That’s what was in the best interest of my clan and what would hopefully save some lives.

Nineteen

The plane landed with gut-wrenching screech and I sent out a silent
thank you
for arriving in one piece.  The trip had been uneventful as I’d been wrapped up deep in thought for the past few hours.  It was almost like I had been alone in my mind trying to fathom what might possible happen later tonight.

But I wasn’t alone after all.  Troy had woken up long enough to insist that a couple of protectors travel with me.  Since there were only two of them without arms in slings or broken bodies, he had picked Caleb and another young merman, Gregory.  Both of them remained silent the entire time, almost as if we had all been contemplating the same scenarios over and over.

I didn’t trust Lucian for one moment.  I knew that he would try something tonight but it wasn’t doing my nerves any good to continue to imagine everything that could possibly go wrong.

The jet pulled up to the small hanger and the pilots opened the door for us.  Graham wasn’t waiting there, which was actually a tad disappointing.  However, there was a driver who introduced himself as Randy, and he ushered us to a Jeep in the parking lot.  We drove through the small, quaint town of Red Lodge and up into the mountain pass.  Almost an hour later, we arrived at the lodge that someone at the Council had decided was a safe place to stay.

There wasn’t one large building, instead, I counted ten different individual cabins nestled amongst the acreage.  We had two cabins, obviously meant for Kain and me, but since he wasn’t here, the three of us decided on the larger one with two bedrooms.  It seemed as if no one from the Council was here yet, so I tried to get some rest.  It had been over twenty-four hours since I last slept and with everything that had happened, my body and my brain needed a break.

I didn’t hear it at first, but when the knocking on my door turned into pounding, I realized that someone had been trying to wake me up.  I rolled over to see that I’d slept for nearly six hours.  Jumping out of bed in a state of shock, I ran to the door to see why they let me sleep so late.

“Caleb,” I said as I jerked open the door and saw his fist raised up for another knock.  “What’s going on?  Why didn’t you wake me up?”

He looked down at me with a slight apologetic smile on his face.  “You needed to rest and nothing was happening before.”

“Oh.  Okay.”  I shifted uncomfortably.  My jeans and sweater were twisted all around my body because I hadn’t even bothered to change.  I was sure my hair was a mess and what little makeup I had worn was now gone.  “So why are you pounding on my door?”

He smiled again and tilted his head towards the little kitchen and living room area.  “Master Forrester is here to see you.”

My heart fluttered a bit before I remembered that I was kind of angry with Graham.  He was hiding something and I needed to figure out what this secret was before we met with Lucian tonight.  “Okay, I’ll be right there.”

I rushed into the bathroom and brushed my teeth.  Splashing water on my face and hair, I tried to make myself somewhat presentable.  After all, I was a clan leader and Graham was a Council member.

Five minutes later, I opened the door to see that our cabin was empty.  Movement from the front window caught my attention and I saw Graham pacing in the yard.  Caleb had decided to wait on the porch, apparently watching over him.  I slipped into my shoes and made my way outside.

The two men had not been speaking to each other and when I nodded to Caleb, he didn’t move.  “It’s okay,” I assured him.  “Graham and I just need to talk about a few things before tonight.”

Caleb looked around the property nervously; eyes darting from cabin to cabin and then to the forest surrounding the perimeter.  “Where are the other members?”

“What?” I asked.

“The rest of the Council?”

Graham groaned.  “I already told you, bloke that they are on their way.”  Graham looked at me and smiled slightly.  “There was an emergency meeting about the attack at your house last night.”

I nodded my head in understanding, but Caleb kept pushing.  “I don’t like it.  Something doesn’t feel right.”

Although I was inclined to agree with him, Graham didn’t seem to pose that much of a threat.  After all, he had saved my life once already.  I doubted that he would do anything to purposely harm me now.  “It’s alright Caleb.”  When he looked at me again, I added, “I promise.”

I stepped off the porch and joined Graham’s side.  “We need to talk.”

“Yes, we do,” he replied and then spoke to Caleb.  “I’ll bring her back before the meeting.”

“You better,” Caleb grumbled while sending out a warning with his eyes.

We turned and walked away from the cabin towards the edge of the woods.  “Where are we going?”

“Let’s just take a walk, okay?”  I stopped in my tracks.  Something about his tone sent shivers through my spine.

“What’s going on?”

He reached toward me and wrapped his arm around my lower back, effectively pulling me alongside of him.  “I just don’t want an audience.”  He jerked his head back towards my cabin where Caleb and Gregory were now watching our retreat.  I still didn’t feel completely comfortable, but I knew Graham wouldn’t hurt me.

We stomped through patches of snow and wet ground and made our way down a path cleared for hikers.  “Where’s the rest of the Council?” I asked in an accusatory tone.

He whipped his head towards me and stopped walking.  “I told you.  They’re coming later.  Don’t you believe me?”

“I’d like to,” I whispered.

“But?” he prodded.

“But you seem to be hiding something, so I’m a little suspicious right now.”  He turned his back to me and ran his hands through his short but messy hair.

Something made a sound deep in the woods.  It was like a stick breaking or a limb falling, and it caused both of us to jump.  “Let’s go a little further,” Graham said and grabbed my hand to lead me along the path.

We walked quickly and quietly through the woods and not once did Graham stop touching me.  My silence seemed to be bothering him, so I didn’t say a word.  He would break eventually. 

We came across a small meadow flanked by boulders and pine trees.  The ground made sucking noises under our feet where the permafrost had melted during the day.  The air was cool and crisp and the slight breeze rustled in the branches. 

Graham dropped my hand and began to pace at the far end of the meadow.  I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for him to talk.  Although we didn’t know each other very well, I could still tell that I wasn’t going to like what he had to say.

Finally, he stopped walking and turned to face me.  The pain in his eyes nearly made me break, but he needed to come clean on his own.  He smiled. 

“I wish that I would have met you sooner.”

Okay.  Not really the introduction I was expecting.  “What?” I asked.

He sighed and moved closer to me.  I could feel my heart speed up as he reached down and picked up my left hand in his.  “I need to tell you some things and you’re not going to like them.”  I swallowed.  “But please just hear me out, okay?”

“Okay.”  I really didn’t have a good feeling about this.

“Remember how I told you that my parents sent me to Adele?” I nodded, recalling our conversation at Jeremiah’s.  “Well, somehow Lucian found out about me and offered to train me.”

“You mean
use
you?”

He winced.  “Perhaps.  Adele wouldn’t let him visit with me and instead shipped me off to Jeremiah.  He’d just been shunned, but she still considered him a better mentor than Lucian.”  Not surprisingly, I agreed.  “But when I left Jeremiah’s,” Graham continued, “I was contacted by Lucian.”

I felt a ball of dread begin to form in my stomach.  “Weren’t you already a part of the Council?”

“Not yet.”  He stepped away from me and began to pace again.  It was making me nervous.  “He got to me before I was appointed.  I don’t think Adele ever knew.”

“What do you mean
he got to you
?” 

Graham looked at me with his dark eyes and handsome face and shook his head.  I suddenly felt like I was about to be introduced to a whole new person.  “Eviana, the man really knows what he’s talking about.  His ideas are…,” he flipped his hands in the air looking for the right word.

“Ludicrous?” I suggested.

 “Brilliant.”

I nearly collapsed to the ground.  “Graham, no,” I whispered.  Please, not him.

“I don’t necessarily agree with all of his methods, but he is right about The Legacy.  We are stronger and more powerful than humans and the shifters.  It’s the natural order of things.  Why should we let those who are weak dictate what we do?”

“The Council?”

“Yes, the Council.  And the clan leaders and all of the rest who are beneath
us
.”

“Us?”

This time he ran up to me and pulled both of my hands into his chest.  His eyes were filled with excitement and visions of grandeur, while all of my faith in him slowly began to disintegrate inside of me.  “You are one of us.  You are so much more powerful than you realize.  That is one of the reasons Lucian wants you to be by his side.”