Breath of Air (18 page)

With that, he turned and motioned to his fellow Furies to follow him towards the front gate. Rohan stood there silently while the Furies disappeared beyond the stone wall, and a few moments later Capri saw a flash of gold light announcing their departure from Euphora.

It was then that Rohan finally moved. He whirled around and stalked back towards the castle, and Capri made sure to hide in the shadows so he wouldn’t see her if he looked up.

When he was out of sight, her heart began to pound violently in her chest. Why was Rohan so desperate to join the Furies in going after the demon they thought might be responsible? Was it because he knew that they had the right demon, and he wanted to be able to stop them somehow?

Worry tore through her as she sat on the windowsill, curling her legs up against her and resting her chin on her knees. Her heart filled with anxiety as she kept her eyes glued on the tree just beyond the courtyard, silently praying that nothing awful happened to the Furies while they were gone.

♦ ♦ ♦

CHAPTER TEN

When she woke up that morning, she realized with a painful grunt that she had fallen asleep on the windowsill. Her back was sore, and her neck had a crick in it, but she somehow managed to unfold herself and stumble into the bathroom. After filling the tub with steaming hot water and lowering herself into it, she felt the pain in her muscles easing a little.

When she’d dried herself off and dressed, she felt almost normal again. Yawning hugely, she headed downstairs for breakfast.

She wondered if the Furies had returned yet, but before she really had the time to think about it, she’d entered the dining hall and noticed that they were nowhere to be found.

Feeling uneasy, she sat in her usual place at the table and stared off into space, not even feeling hungry.

Her father poured her coffee as usual, though he didn’t ask her what was wrong. It appeared that he was stressed out as well, and perhaps he didn’t even notice that she was quieter than usual.

In fact, when she glanced around and paid attention, it seemed that everyone was more tense and quiet, as if they were all waiting for bad news. Even Blythe seemed to be lost in thought, and she was only eating half as much as she normally did every morning.

Feeling even more worried now because everyone else was so nervous, Capri had to take a deep breath and try and calm herself. Everything was going to be fine, nothing to worry about…the Furies did this all the time, they would be fine.

But when the door opened suddenly with a loud bang and the four Fury men stalked into the dining hall, Capri realized that something was indeed terribly wrong.

They headed straight towards Thea, Roarke leading the way as usual with Balgaire behind him, with Rian and Brogan picking up the rear. None of them said a word nor looked around at the rest of the Council, a sure sign that something was off. The four men looked disheveled, as though the night had been both long and rough. Capri particularly watched Rian, and she noticed that nearly all of the rounds were missing from the strap across his shoulder. She also noticed there was a deep cut across his other shoulder, where the fabric was singed and the skin beneath it blackened.

“Roarke.” Thea and Sebastian both stood up, watching the Furies as avidly as everyone else. When Roarke finally reached Thea, he bowed down low so as to speak quietly in her ear. Capri watched as her face hardened in anger, and beside her Sebastian let out a startled cry.

“Thank you. You may go, rest, and we will meet later to discuss this.” Thea dismissed the Furies, bowing her head respectfully to them. They hastily left the room, yet again not even making eye contact with anyone else.

After a few moments of fearful silence, Thea took a deep breath and faced everyone at the table.

“Two Enforcers are dead.” She announced, her voice solemn and her eyes full of wrath. “What was supposed to be a simple lead on the demon turned out to be an ambush. Several demons were lying in wait and attacked, and we are lucky that more were not killed, including our own Furies. Let us all have a moment of silence for the two Enforcers who gave their lives this past night.”

She bowed her head, and everyone around the table followed suit. Capri closed her eyes as she lowered her head, shock waves pulsing through her as she processed the news. Two Enforcers were dead. Humans who had families and friends and pets; humans who had been entrusted with the secrets of Euphora, who had taken on the duty of protecting the world from demons. All because of what? Because they were only doing their job.

It was then that she realized how easily Rian could have been one of those killed, or his father or Balgaire or even Brogan. She had never known anyone who had died, save for her mother of course. How did it feel to lose someone you knew? Or rather, someone who you considered a friend? How would she have reacted if it had been Rian who had died? The Fury boy she had tried to befriend as a child was now a full grown man, but it didn’t change how she felt. He had saved her life, and was committed to helping her in her search for the truth. She wanted to know him better, to be his friend. No matter how long it took.

When Thea sat down and continued to eat her breakfast, everyone else did the same. Capri looked down at her eggs and toast, and wasn’t sure if she could eat anymore.

She turned to her father, who was looking glumly down at his own food.

“Dad…” She said quietly, nudging him softly as she spoke. He turned to look at her, his eyes glazed over slightly.

“Yes, darling?” He asked.

“Is it…common for Enforcers to be killed by demons?”

He shook his head. “No, no it’s not. The last time one was killed in action was thirteen years ago. Roarke’s wife, actually. That’s probably the reason he and I get along as well as we do…we’ve both lost loved ones to demons.”

“He never said anything about it.” Capri realized sadly, her eyes searching his. “I had no idea.”

“He’s strong, much stronger than myself, I must admit.” Clynn sighed and tried to smile at her. “He handled it very well, and Rian too.”

Capri sat in silence for the rest of breakfast, thinking over everything she had heard that morning. It upset her to think that this whole time she had been talking about her mother’s death in front of Roarke and Rian, without any respect for their own tragedy. Granted, she hadn’t known of it at the time, but that didn’t make her feel any less guilty.

Later that afternoon, she went for a walk with Liam and Blythe through the courtyard, hoping to take her mind off of the whole situation for a little while.

They went out to the little bench on the edge of the island, where they sat together for nearly two hours, just talking, laughing, and trying to reclaim some sort of youth and innocence back from the seriousness of the morning.

In an effort to lighten the mood, Liam suggested they play a game. When Capri was about to ask if they had Monopoly or Scrabble, Blythe suddenly jumped up and quite cheerfully shot a fireball the size of a basketball out of her palm and out over the sea.

Liam, in response, stood up and caused a geyser of water to shoot up from the ocean, blocking the fireball’s path and sizzling it into steam on contact.

“Is this the game?” Capri managed, looking more than a little taken aback.

“It’s fun!” Blythe countered happily, motioning for Capri to stand up. “Come on, show us something good.”

“Oh, well.” Capri felt her face redden in embarrassment as she stood up. “I don’t know, it might take me a couple of tries.”

“So what?” Liam replied with a cheerful grin. “I know you’ve been practicing.”

“Okay, here goes.” Capri smiled and lifted her right arm, aiming out over the horizon. She closed her eyes and imagined the moisture building in the atmosphere, the clouds forming and churning as the wind swirls them into a cyclone, lifting the warm air up to mix with the cold. She could hear the wind begin to roar around her, and she could feel it brushing against her skin and her hair, but she kept her eyes closed, her focus entirely on her creation.

She saw a bright flash of lightning against her eyelids and heard the echoing rumble of thunder, and her eyes flew open in astonishment.

Less than half a mile away from them was a cyclone, whirling like madness, lifting water from the sea and creating what was sure to become a hurricane within moments. Overhead, the sky was churning with dark and threatening clouds, while everywhere else around the storm, the sky was clear blue.

“That is so badass!” Blythe hooted, jumping in the air excitedly. “Watch this though!”

With a wicked gleam in her eyes, she held her palms a few inches apart and focused her energy on another fireball, which she then swung up over her head like a pitcher preparing to throw a baseball. She then hurled it out towards the cyclone. When it made contact with the swirling wind, the entire mass of it lit with fire, forming what looked like a large, flaming tornado.

“Oh my God.” Capri gasped, her eyes wide. “This is madness.”

Blythe laughed and hugged Capri, her eyes glowing with power. “Isn’t it magnificent? Together we are going to rule the world!”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Liam put in, his eyes glittering with humor as he lifted his arms. Rain suddenly began to fall from the clouds, dousing the fire at once. Capri then concentrated on ending the storm, and the cyclone died down almost instantly. The clouds parted and dispersed, and within moments they were gone, as though they had never existed.

“Ruining all the fun, Liam.” Blythe pouted, but her face was glowing. “God, it feels so good to let go and have a little fun, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it does.” Capri agreed, impulsively hugging Blythe. However, when she pulled away she couldn’t hide the regret she felt. “I wish Rhiannon would come hang out with us.”

Blythe rolled her eyes. “She’s boring. We’ve always had more fun without her.”

Capri frowned then, feeling unsure. “You don’t think I’m boring, do you?”

Blythe pursed her lips and seemed to think about it for a moment, before Liam punched her playfully in the arm.

“You are not boring, Capri, and neither is Rhiannon.” He reassured her before eyeing Blythe. “Contrary to what Blythe seems to think, Rhiannon is actually the furthest thing from boring.”

“Yeah, well, of course you would think so.” Blythe teased, her eyebrows wiggling suggestively. “Men are so pathetic.”

“Oh, you are so going to get it.” Liam threatened mischievously, his arms reaching out to grab Blythe around the waist. She shrieked and kicked him off of her before swiftly sprinting back into the woods. Liam grinned at Capri and motioned for her to follow before he took off at a run, chasing after Blythe.

Amused, Capri ran after them, her feet pounding the soft ground of the forest as she followed the path. Liam was just up ahead of her, and she could hear Blythe taunting from a little further away.

When she burst through into the meadow, she let the sunlight wash over her, and couldn’t help but smile. Despite everything, this one moment was perfect.

She heard Blythe shriek again from over by the front gate, just before Liam tackled her to the ground and pinned her down.

“Gotcha, you little creep.” He said with a laugh as he started tickling Blythe. It took all of about three seconds for her to bite his hand and slip out from underneath him.

“Men think they are so smart.” Blythe proclaimed as she grabbed his arm and twisted it around to his back.

“Ow! Truce! Truce!” Liam grunted in pain as Blythe let him go. She held out her hand to help him up, grinning.

“You never learn, buddy.” She patted him on the back as he nursed his arm with a grimace.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

Capri walked forward and wrapped one arm over each of them, smiling warmly.

“You two make up?” She teased, her eyes bright.

“Yeah, we never fight for long.” Blythe told her, grinning. “Let’s go sit down by the pond; I wanna relax for a bit.”

The trio headed back through the front gates, still arm in arm with each other. They stopped by the pond that Capri had seen on her second day, shaded by an ancient looking willow tree. The pond was just off the main walkway, and had a cozy grass area that had become one of Capri’s new favorite spots.

Just as they sat down and got settled, Capri saw Rian walk through the front gate and proceed down the path leading towards the castle. He was dressed casually in jeans and a black t-shirt, but she noticed he had a pistol strapped to his hip, the silver of it flashing in the sunlight.

As he approached them, Capri smiled and waved.

“Hi, Rian.” She greeted politely. He slowed down when he saw her, stopping a few feet from where she was sitting. His lips twitched briefly into a smirk.

“Capri.” He nodded, his eyes softening as he looked at her. When he shifted his gaze towards Liam and Blythe, he nodded again in acknowledgement, but his face noticeably hardened.

“Were you taking a walk?” Capri asked.

He looked at her again, and she could tell he was uncomfortable. “I was walking the grounds, checking to make sure we weren’t followed when we returned this morning.”

“Oh.” Capri’s eyes shifted to the pistol strapped to his waist, and then back up at him questioningly. “Did you find anything?”

He had a strained look on his face as though he really didn’t want to discuss anything in front of the other Dryads, and when Capri turned to look at her two friends, she noticed they were watching Rian with suspicion and distrust in their eyes.

Understanding the awkwardness he felt, Capri stood and looked at Blythe and Liam. “I’m going to head inside; I’ll see you guys later.”

“Seriously?” Blythe looked at her incredulously, not bothering to hide the resentment in her voice.

“Its okay, Capri. We’ll see you later.” Liam told Capri, his hand resting on Blythe’s arm, as though reminding her not to be brash.

Capri turned to Rian and smiled. “Will you walk with me?” She asked, and again his face softened slightly as he looked at her.

“Of course.” With that, they began to walk together, their pace slowing, as though neither of them felt the need to rush.