Ties to the Blood Moon 2nd Edition (25 page)

“Well, do you want to know what I found at the library?” she rose and placed the brush back in its spot.

I nodded and promptly wiped at my eyes in a poor attempt to erase the tears before scooting to the edge of the bed.

“Okay.” She began rubbing her hands together, but not smiling. “Well, I unfortunately found out there are over three million lakes in Alaska.”

My heart sank, and I think she saw my disappointment, so she quickly smiled and began, again.

“But,” she said holding her index finger in the air. “There are only three waterfall caves. I looked up those three and found one where they had torn down an old bridge, but left the pylons sticking up beyond the ice.”

Aunt Bev barely got the last word out before I leaped forward, wrapped my arms around her waist, and lifted her off the floor. I kept spinning around until she squealed, and begged me to put her down. When I did she staggered to the bed and fell forward.

I ran and jumped on the bed next to her. “Where is this place?” I asked excitedly.

“Oh, my stomach,” she moaned, but still smiled. “It’s down south in a little town named Tok, about a half hour away.”

I climbed off the bed and hurried to my closet, throwing open both doors. “That makes sense. He’d have to be hiding out somewhere close so he could still come after me, but be able to get back to my mom quickly if he needed to.”

Her smile disappeared. “What are you doing?” she sat up and stared.

“I’m packing. What’s it look like I’m doing?” I didn’t bother to look at her. She had possibly found where Zane had my mom, so I was going to get her, and kill Zane.

“No, Gen. You can’t just run off half-cocked. You’ve got to prepare for something like this.” Aunt Bev was still holding her stomach, but she had gotten up and was standing beside one of the closet doors. “Do you want Zane to kill your mom? Because that’s what will happen if you don’t think this through.” Her expression became pained. “Honey, you. Have. To. Have. A. Plan,” she said, almost pleading.

She wasn’t about to let me go off alone after an evil monster like Zane. I needed to somehow trick her in to believing I wasn’t going to try it on my own. After what had happened with Joseph earlier, I couldn’t take a chance hurting or possibly killing those I cared so much about. I would take William along though, because after I rescued my mom and killed Zane … I wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if I found out he was helping Zane and lying to me about it. I hoped for my sake he
did
really care about me.

“You’re right, Aunt Bev. Zane is too strong for me to go alone.” I tossed my bag into the closet floor. For added measure I dropped my shoulders and sighed. “I need to work out a plan with Luna and the guys, but first I need to do some research, maybe even talk with the chief.”

She watched me shut the closet doors, then followed me to my desk. After I sat down and turned on my laptop, I looked at her over my shoulder. “Do you know what a hybrid is?”

Aunt Bev stepped around my chair and leaned back against the desk, crossing her feet at the ankles, and folding her arms across her chest. “Yes I do. They are the most powerful of all the werewolves and vampires,” she paused, then added, “The chief said that originally they were kept locked away by the Amalric. But as the years went by, some vampires and werewolves grew to be evil, and refused to obey the laws. The Amalric made a sort of deal with the hybrid. They were allowed to live their lives among others as long as when called, they would hunt down and destroy rogue vampires and werewolves.”

“What about Zane? Isn’t he a hunter?” I asked earnestly.

“He was actually the Amalric’s favorite, until greed took over and he wanted to rule. The Amalric learned of his plans to take over and sent other hunters to kill him, but he was much stronger and killed everyone the Amalric sent after him, except one … his brother. His brother couldn’t bring himself to kill Zane. Instead, he banished him from Europe.”

“Who is his brother?”

“I don’t know. Few people do, but that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that’s why you cannot go after him alone. He will destroy you, and then there will be nothing to keep him from taking the throne.” Aunt Bev grew quiet, and lowered her eyes.

It was plain to see something was troubling her. “What is it? What aren’t you telling me?” I stopped typing and turned toward her. Something wasn’t right. Aunt Bev seemed to know way too much, but how?

She sighed heavily, and stared at me before she finally spoke, again. “Gen … you’re not just an Adlet princess. You were born to kill Zane.”

Chapter 40

My heartbeat hadn’t evened out since my conversation with Aunt Bev. It continued beating erratically inside my chest as I thought about what she had told me. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that my sole purpose in life was to hunt down a hybrid and kill him. I shuddered at the mere thought of it all.

Aunt Bev was definitely not stupid. When I told her I was going to Luna’s to talk with Chief Okpik, she had insisted on driving me. Once we pulled out of the garage, I was perfectly okay with it, because the sun was bright and I tired quickly.

“Gen.” I had fallen asleep on the way and woke up to Luna shouting my name.

I cracked my eyes open, and peaked over the top of my sunglasses. The sun had already crested and was now on its downward descent. I waved my hand and smiled thinly, but let it fall away.

“I’m going to see Mary. Just let me know when you’re ready to go,” Aunt Bev smiled, and patted my hand, before she climbed down from the driver’s seat of my Jeep.

I raised my arms over my head and arched my back into a much needed stretch. Luna, being the impatient girl that she is, snatched open my door and pulled me out before I even finished stretching.

“Dang, girly, you sure know how to ruin a good thing, don’t you?” I teased and she smiled brightly.

Naturally, she looped her arm through mine, and we were headed up the steps when Joseph opened the door. I briefly hesitated, glancing up at him, but then quickly fell in step with Luna again, hoping he didn’t notice how just the sight of him affected me now. He pushed open the screen and held it while Luna and I stepped over the threshold, and even though I didn’t look directly at him, I kept taking sidelong glances as we passed.

Luna dropped onto the couch, but I didn’t. “Aren’t you going to sit down?” She asked earnestly. Joseph had closed the door and sat down on the couch opposite Luna. I could feel his eyes on me, and a hot flush suddenly went over me.

“Can we go to your room first?” I asked in a whisper while standing with my back to Joseph. I subtly nudged my head in the direction of her room.

She looked confused at first, but after I repeated it a couple of times, she finally caught on and jumped up. “Come on, Gen, let’s go to my room,” she said a little too loud, which made it extremely obvious.

To embarrass me even more, she grinned and winked at me right where he could see her. If I didn’t know better I’d swear Luna had been born a blonde. Right then, I wished I was invisible.

When we got inside her room I closed the door before turning to face her. She must have seen the embarrassment on my face, because she asked me what was wrong. I placed my hands on her throat and pretended like I was choking her. “Could you have been more obvious, Luna?” I asked, and smiled a little.

At first, I just shook my head, but the more I thought about it the more I knew I had to confide in someone. Luna had proved herself to be such a great friend, she even let me keep secrets when I needed to, never questioning my reasoning. “Did Joseph tell you what happened earlier?”

She cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brow. “What do you mean? When did you see Joseph?”

“He came over earlier …and he told me all about William.” I tried to keep my tone light, but it was a struggle. We both sat upright, and by her expression, I felt sure even she could see my pain. “I … I almost killed Joseph.” My voice shook and I had to take a deep breath to keep from tearing up.

Luna threw her hand over her mouth and gasped. “Oh my God, Gen. Why? Why would you do that?” she asked, shock in her eyes.

“I don’t know. I swear I didn’t mean to. He was just saying all these hurtful things about William I didn’t want to hear, and I guess I just lost it. Thank God my aunt came home in time to stop me.”

Luna did the opposite of what I expected. She threw her arms around my neck and hugged me, trying to comfort me instead of the other way around. She really was an amazing person, and I felt so lucky to have met her.

I gently pulled back. “I haven’t told you the craziest part yet. Your brother wasn’t even mad afterward. He came up to my room and tried to comfort me.”

She smiled through her tears. “Yeah, he is pretty amazing, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, he is, but I was so embarrassed and ashamed, I made him leave.” I dropped my eyes toward the floor and fidgeted with my nails.

“Did you come over here just to tell me that?” Luna walked to the window and opened the curtains. The sun’s rays hit me in the face, and I immediately shrank back.

“Luna, please close the curtains. I can’t take the sunlight. I swear it instantly makes me grow tired now. Did it do the same to you guys when you first changed?” I lay back on the bed, unable to sit up any longer.

She hurried and closed them. “No, Gen … it didn’t,” she uttered. “I’m not so sure this has anything to do with becoming an Adlet.” She paused for a minute, thinking. “Maybe you should talk to my grandfather.”

“Maybe you’re right. Is he here?” I asked, already starting to feel better.

After I felt my strength coming back, I sat up. It was strange how quickly the sun could drain my energy, but even more strange how incredibly fast I would get it back if I was able to avoid the sun for just a few minutes.

“He’s somewhere on the reservation. Wait here, I’ll go ask my mom if she knows where he is.”

After only a brief minute her door swung open. My back was facing the door. “That was quick. Did you find him?” I asked as I turned around and spotted Joseph. My heart immediately fluttered, and a nervous pit grew in my stomach.

“I didn’t know I was lost,” he said smiling warmly at me.

I lowered my eyes and smiled sheepishly. “Not you, silly. Your grandfather,” I said, feeling a bit too happy to see him. He had this way of making me smile even when I didn’t want to.

“Oh? It must be serious if you’re thinking of involving my grandfather.” He tried to look all serious, but it quickly melted into a laugh.

“Don’t say that. He really scares me.” My smiled started to fade, and I’m sure Joseph saw it when I raked my hair away from my face. I knew the answer to my next question the minute I asked Joseph. “Can you read my mind, too?” I asked sincerely.

He thought about it for a while before answering. “I was wondering when you were going to ask me.” He tried to smile, but it fell away. “No … for some reason I can’t. I have met a few people in my life I couldn’t read, and you’re one of them.”

“I believe you,” I said earnestly. For some reason I trusted Joseph, and when he said he couldn’t read my mind I believed him. Did that mean I was a good judge of character? No, it didn’t. After all, I had trusted William with my life and look where that got me. Just thinking about William saddened me. Even after what Joseph had told me, I still yearned for William, for his gentle touch, his soft kisses, and his sexy smile. But, that was a part of my life I might have to let go at some point … or would I never be able to.

Chapter 41

I shook violently while waiting to see Luna’s grandfather. He was on his way to the house, and Luna had taken me to his prayer room to wait. I was pleased to learn Joseph couldn’t read my mind. It would make it easier when I got ready to sneak away.

The door opened and I held my breath. I was shaking so badly when Chief Okpik walked in, even my teeth chattered.

He glared at me for a moment, crossed the room to his idol thingies, and lit what I thought might be incense. He chanted in hushed tones before taking his seat on the floor directly across from me.

“Do you have the Crest?” he asked. His face showed no emotion, which freaked me out a little … okay, so it freaked me out a lot.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Crest. After pulling it from the ice-covered tomb I noticed it had a unique filigree design the encased the deep red stone.

He held out his hand and I gently placed it in his palm. He untied a pouch from his side and dumped out another piece of silver filigree. He said some sort of prayer while waving his hand over the different pieces.

Afterward, he unsheathed his hunting knife, and I swallowed hard when I saw how big the blade was. I swallowed even harder when he motioned for my hand. My heart felt like any it would burst from my chest any second, but still I laid my hand in his palm.

I almost passed out when he raised the knife over his head. I closed my eyes so I wouldn’t have to see what he was about to do to me, but I was pretty sure it had something to do with
that
knife and
my
blood. Feeling a prick a few seconds later, I reluctantly cracked opened my eyes.

The chief had a sense of humor after all. He was only teasing when he’d raised the knife over his head, because when I looked there was just a small puddle of blood forming in the palm of my hand. He placed the Crest in my blood, then took it away and used his knife to maneuver the metal.

He stood and crossed the room back to his prayer table, or whatever it was, and called to me. When I got to the table he placed the ring on my right hand. “The powers this ring possess will only work for you. It will make you even more powerful than you ever imagined, but, the man you seek is just as powerful. You will have to learn to outsmart him.” He turned like he was finished.