Pride x Familiar (25 page)

He looked frustrated. I could see it now and
feel it as well.

Something serious had happened on Saturday, and
he was bottling in his reaction. But it wasn’t working. He wasn’t
coping with it.

I reached out to him, but he stepped back.

The warning look in his eyes, and the subtle
shake of his head hurt my feelings more than he probably
realized.

“I have to go,” he muttered.

Abruptly, he turned around and began walking out
of the garden.

I stood there feeling hurt and stupid for trying
to reach out to him – for trying to bridge the gap between us.

I felt foolish for trying to mend our
friendship.

Maybe he was right.

Maybe I should butt out and stay safe within my
little world.

But I couldn’t do that.

I just couldn’t turn my back on him.

Caelum needed help. He needed someone to support
him.

But if it wasn’t me…then who?

#

(Caelum)

After class, I headed to training.

The sublevel gym was empty. Not a single
technician in sight.

I guessed Arisa had given them the day off.

It didn’t bother me in the least. I just went
about my usual training routine.

What bothered me was not having Caprice around.
Training in the gym just wasn’t the same without her.

I had to concentrate hard on my usual exercise
routine.

As I trained, I accepted a couple of truths
regarding my situation.

The first was that without my Fragment, I felt
weaker.

Not just physically but psychologically as well.
The Fragment had given me an inner and outer strength that helped
me push past my feelings of inadequacy toward the Aventis. With it,
I had felt I was their equal if not better, perhaps even larger
than life considering how amazing and terrifying the Gauntlet
was.

Now I was back to being something between a
Regular and an Aventis, and I was having trouble adjusting. Maybe
it was like that saying, the taller you stand the harder you can
fall.

I felt I’d fallen quite hard.

The second truth I had to acknowledge and live
with was my diminished spatial awareness.

It felt considerably smaller and lacked the
clarity and scope the Fragment had added to it.

Over the span of the last three months, I had
grown accustomed to the Fragment enhancing my Awareness. I could
walk into a room and know its size and the placement of all objects
within it, including people. I could step out into the street, and
be aware of everything within a hundred feet. Perhaps not
everything
but I was certainly more spatially aware than a
Regular human, maybe even more than an Aventis.

Yet surprisingly, I was never overwhelmed by the
additional sensory input.

Was my brain somehow ‘altered’ by the Fragment,
preventing it from
locking up
under the extra load?

Was this what Van Demon had referred to when he
spoke of our
ongoing development
as Familiars?

Regardless, I felt incomplete without my
Fragment, and wondered if I wasn’t suffering withdrawal
symptoms.

I finished training, showered, and changed back
into my school uniform but chose not to wear the blazer. My gym
clothes needed a wash so I stuffed them into a second bag I kept in
my locker. I slung the straps of my school carry-bag over my right
shoulder while carrying the gym bag in my left hand.

When I walked out of the small change room, I
had a surprise waiting for me.

The Countess was sitting on the worn couch that
adorned one long wall of the gym floor.

I felt ambivalent at sight of her. I wasn’t
ready to deal with more
personal
attention. In fact, I
didn’t want any.

I walked up to her, and Simone stood up and
faced me. She had changed out of her uniform and into casual wear.
In summary, her outfit consisted of a short, pleated peach skirt,
and matching sleeveless blouse, while on her feet she wore tanned,
ankle high boots.

Despondent as I was about my situation, I had to
admit she looked good.

No, she looked better than good.

She really was a beautiful girl.

I cleared my throat. “How did you get in
here?”

She smiled sheepishly. “Arisa gave me access. I
spoke to her, and told her I thought you might want some
company.”

“You thought wrong.”

I started walking past her.

“Ara ara, leaving so soon?”

“Sorry Countess. I’m not pleasant company at the
moment.”

Her left hand snaked out and caught my left arm.
“Please Caelum…can we talk? Even if just a little.”

I stopped in my tracks and I gave her a hard
look. “About what?”

She shrugged weakly. “Well, why don’t you tell
me how you’re doing?”

“I’m doing just fine. They took my Fragment,
nothing else.”

“Ah…yes, you’re right.” She glanced down.

I regarded her for a moment then asked in a low
tone, “How’s Caprice?”

The Countess looked up. “She’s healing really
quickly. The doctors plan to discharge her tomorrow evening. She’ll
be back in class on Wednesday. She’ll need to return to hospital
for more checkups but the doctors don’t see complications with her
recovery.”

That wasn’t much different from what Arisa’s
secretary had told me. Maybe I should be reassured that their
stories matched up so well.

I started walking away again. “I see. Thanks for
telling me.”

The Countess’s grip on my arm turned to
steel.

I tensed sharply. “Let go of my arm, Countess. I
won’t ask you again.”

“Ara ara, so you blame me for what
happened.”

I frowned at her. “How can you sound so
carefree?”

She shook her head. “You misunderstand. I’m not
being carefree at all.”

I hesitated for a moment. “Do I blame you? Yes.
I blame you for Caprice’s injury. If you hadn’t shown up, Caprice
and Constance wouldn’t have had their death match. I wouldn’t have
injured Constance, and I wouldn’t have lost my Fragment.”

She released my arm. “Yes…you’re right. I’m
sorry. For everything, I’m truly sorry.”

I couldn’t hide my doubts from her. “Are you
really? What were you doing there, Countess? Why did you show up in
a hurry? As much as I enjoyed the sight of you in wet clothing, in
the end the price was too much to pay.” I turned my body to face
her fully. “Why did you interfere with Prissila? What were you
afraid she would tell me?”

I watched her face grow blank as she sought to
hide her state of mind from me.

The Countess inhaled deeply. “Caelum, I promise,
I will have your Fragment returned to you.”

“That’s not an answer, Countess.”

“I know.” She folded her hands over her
midriff.

She wasn’t going to give me an answer. I could
see that now. Maybe I should approach Prissila and get my answers
from her.

While regarding Simone, I asked, “What makes you
think they’ll return my Fragment?”

“Because my mother needs you. She needs your
strength, and for that, she needs you and your Fragment.”

“Your mother?”

Again she took a deep breath. “Caelum, my mother
is the commander of the Special Interventions Division. In other
words, she’s in charge of operations that deal with Crimson
Crescent within Pharos. However, on occasion she is involved in
missions against Crescent that take place outside the colony.”

I couldn’t help but swallow hard at hearing
those words. “You’re mother?”

The Countess nodded. “I’m sorry for not telling
you before.”

I took a deep breath of my own. “And she needs
my help?”

Again, the Countess nodded.

I couldn’t help shrugging in bemusement. “Why?
What can I possibly offer her?”

“I told you already. The strength you gain with
your Fragment.”

“But to what end?”

“To stop Crimson Crescent. To protect the Prides
and the people of Pharos.”

I should have anticipated that answer.

It sounded like a textbook reply.

I took a couple of deep breaths. “Prissila said
that I was important to the Prides. She went as far as to call me
special. But I don’t feel the Lanfears are treating me in any
special way. They’re devoting more time and resources to Caprice
than to me.”

The Countess looked uncomfortable. “Yes, it
would seem that way.”

“If that’s the case, why did they agree to take
me in? Why bother with me at all? Why didn’t the Raynars assume
guardianship over me? Everything that’s happened so far makes me
wonder if I’m affiliated with the wrong Pride.”

Simone didn’t give me an answer. Instead her
gaze searched my face for a long while.

I felt unsettled by her silent scrutiny.
“Countess, are you going to tell me why or not?”

She inhaled slowly, then gave me a weak nod. “I
will tell you the truth, Caelum. I’ll tell you what Prissila was
going to tell you at the amusement park. But first I need to tell
you about your family.”

“My family is dead. What more is there to
know?”

“Your family is not dead.”

I thought my eyes would pop out when I heard
her. “What?”

The Countess swallowed quickly. “Your sister is
alive.”

For a long moment I could only stare at her in
disbelief. Then I grew angry. Very angry. I dropped the bags I
carried and grabbed Simone by her shoulders.

Somehow, by some miracle, I held back from
yelling at her.

But shaking her hard was another matter. “That’s
a lie. I saw her body. I identified it. The Enforcers showed me the
gene scan. I saw her
body
.”

Simone reached up and gently cupped my face.

“No, Caelum. Celica is alive. Your sister is
alive and with Crimson Crescent.”

(Caelum)

I stared at Simone.

My mind had stopped working.

For a long, long while I couldn’t think of
anything beyond her last words.

Celica was alive and with Crescent.

It couldn’t be. It had to be a lie. It just had
to be!

Simone Alucard was the quintessence of a femme
fatale. I couldn’t bring myself to trust her or I was certain to be
doomed.

Maybe I was already doomed.

But what if she was telling the truth?

What if Celica was really alive?

How was I supposed to deal with this
revelation?

For starters, I had to jump start my mind.

It was Simone’s slap that kicked my brain back
in gear.

I grabbed her hand before she could slap me
again.

“Simone—stop it. That really hurt.”

“Well you weren’t answering me! Your eyes went
blank and I thought you’d slipped into a standing coma.”

“I wasn’t in any coma,” I retorted loudly, and
succeeded in lowering both her hands away from my face. Damn she
was strong. I had to put real effort into moving her arms.

“Whatever—it scared the Hell out of me.”

Was that concern in her voice, or was I
imagining it? No, I didn’t have time to dwell on it.

I swallowed and took a couple of deep breaths.
“Simone, I’m fine. Well, maybe not fine but I’m
back
if that
means anything to you.”

She eyed me carefully. “Yes, yes it does.”

I felt her arms relax, but I chose to be
vigilant. I still held onto her hands. One slap was enough. My left
cheek really burned. My jaw felt a little bruised as well.

Swallowing hard, I asked in a low voice, “Tell
me the truth. Don’t lie to me.”

“It’s no lie, Caelum. Celica is alive, and we
know she’s with Crimson Crescent.”

I shook my head weakly. “How can that be
possible?”

“Because my family kept the truth from you. It
was my mother’s decision as Commander of Special
Interventions.”

I stared at Simone for a long while, searching
her face for the lie, but again I just didn’t have the talent to
find it.

The Countess shifted her hands. Now I was no
longer holding onto them. Rather, we were holding onto each other.
For a heartbeat I considered pulling away, but Simone’s fingers
gently squeezed mine, and I lost the urge to break free.

The Countess spoke in a clear voice that carried
between us.

“My mother, Selena Alucard Raynar, made the
decision to falsify your sister’s death.”

“Why?”

“Because it was easier to make you accept her
death, than the alternative.”

“Which was?”

“That Celica was ordered to infiltrate Crimson
Crescent.”

This time I pulled free of Simone’s grip.

I took a step back as I shook my head in denial.
“That’s nonsense. That’s complete nonsense. My sister hated
Crescent almost as much as I do. Infiltrate them? She’d rather
slaughter them all.”

“Caelum listen to me!” The Countess balled her
hands into fists. “Celica was an Artemis. She was the best of the
current crop. But after she came back from a mission to recover an
Artifact from Crescent, I heard that she changed. She started
questioning the Prides. She started questioning my mother, her
commander. And she turned against my sister Silia who served
alongside her as an Artemis. Not long afterwards, she was caught
stealing a Fragment from a secure facility. My mother said an
operation was initiated to hunt her down, but the real objective
was to have Celica rescued by Crimson Crescent and taken into their
ranks. Her treachery was just an elaborate cover story. All of it
was a lie to make Crimson Crescent believe that Celica Desanto had
betrayed her masters.”

She paused for breath before adding, “But her
death was faked in order to cut her ties with you. It was meant to
set you free, even if it turned you into an orphan. Rather than
spending your life wondering if your sister would ever return, it
was better to have you believe she was dead. It would give you the
chance to move on, even if it made you despise the Aventis and
Crescent even more.”