The Dormant: The Elemental Witches (Book Two)

Chapter 5 Iron Blood Dagger

[[[Ancient Memories]]]

~Bastet~

¨I don't trust him, and that is final. I don't want my people, my mate, or any of my sisters spending any time alone with that...¨ Laughing, I turned back from my ottoman to watch the infuriated God pacing around our stone pyramid, pointing errantly at whatever. ¨Is that so, my dragon? Since when do you have any authority to tell me who I may or may not see? You are my mate, my equal, and I am a God just like you, so excuse me if I find your comments insulting. Mot may be dark, but like each and every one of us, he has a good and evil nature. He has a job like each of us have.¨

Quetzalcoatl stopped pacing around, crossing the room and coming close to my face, sitting on the other side of the silver embroidered seat I was sprawled on.

Grabbing my chin between his index finger and his thumb, he brought my face to look at him, his gaze seeping with crazy hatred. ¨You would not compare me or any of us to him. That thing is not natural!¨

Moving my head to the side, I broke his touch and gave him a worried look. ¨ I don't see what is wrong with taking our time to get to know him. Even so, if your gut feeling is the right one, I prefer having studied him beforehand. Get to know his weaknesses, his strengths, the reason he has come…. ¨ His eyes never change their grim expression. Even with my soothing words, I sighed, giving in. ¨If it would make you happier, my light, then I shall not meet with him without you by my side, but it is stupid to turn down our eyes if you feel danger from him.¨ He turned his head, the green and yellow eyes turning into slits as he was thinking about what I said.

I pondered on everything that happened to this point. How Lilith had asked all of us to meet her in Carthage. We all gathered on the top of a mountain, no easy feat as we haven't crossed paths with each other for decades now.

Quetz and I were spending our time in his tribes trying to bring him out. Morrigan and Triton were together, not yet accepting their fate as mates but working towards it. Selene was up north in the ice regions trying to connect with her children and Aine….

Aine had become a troubled child living in the wild, demanding like a spoiled child, appearing and disappearing into other realms when she didn’t have her way.

As Lilith apparated, her demeanor seemed different. She was smiling even when she saw Triton. All of my sisters thought I was oblivious to the fact of the fight between her and Morrigan. Still, I was aware of it. I only thought it was best to take a step back, let nature sort itself out, so I never took an active role in their bantering.

She kissed each and every one of us on the cheek, giving a curt nod towards Morrigan and Triton as she turned to them. Then she turned to Selene. ¨I found another God.¨ I gasped; my hand went to my mouth as Selene took a step forward. ¨What do you mean you found another god? Lilith, there has not been another God appearing for quite some time. To my knowledge, the last ones to appear, Bastet and Quetzalcoatl, were in active conversation with him.¨

Lilith smiled an easy smile and explained what she did, putting her arms around her chest. ¨He is not from this realm. I have been trying hard to find ways to create magic humans from ordinary human beings' remains. Morrigan now stepped forward. ¨I sincerely hope you are not using my children to do this bidding, Lilith. My children are not your tools.¨ She ignored her and continued with her story.

¨At last, I have found where human souls go to pass to the other realms.¨She let her hands fall to her side, waiting a few seconds, taking a deep breath. ¨He is from that realm.¨ Now Triton entered the conversation, taking a step forward, his eyes squeezed with distrust. ¨If he isn't able to cross between the realms, it's for a reason Lilith, you must stop at once this nonsense as another god, and you're equal. I ask you to stop playing with the natural order of things. I once already required this from you.¨

She ignored him too. With a roll of her eyes, she again planted herself in front of Selene. ¨I made the crossing to his realm myself and, Oh, sisters, it is so beautiful. It is a perpetual night where he lives, and every soul that inhabits that place is happy and content.¨ ¨Lilith, what have you done?¨ Selene asked with a low hiss now that she understood the implications of the information the vampire goddess was telling her.

¨The only reason he wasn’t able to make the crossing is that he didn't have a way to do so, but that was an easy fix.¨ She turned around as she looked at each and every one of us in the eyes.

I looked to my side where my light God stood, his slit eyes fixated on the Goddess speaking, now turning towards the Fae Goddess. ¨What have you done? Why did you help her?¨ Quetz directed his questions towards her. Aine, feeling the force in his words, began shuddering and, with a squeaky voice, replied. ¨She came to me for help, and Lilith has always kept her word to me. If she says he is trustworthy, then he is.¨ I grabbed his hand, connecting with his mind as my fingers held him tight.

Every single one of his worries began flowing through me, but Aine was right. Lilith was my sister, and she had never been unkind or untrue to me. ¨You don’t know if he can disrupt life in this realm, Quetz.¨ I tried easing him, which only brought a growl from him to my direction.

Out loud, I spoke to the rest of the group. ¨We shall ponder and take a vote for this new God...¨ I was about to continue telling them we shall stall this and get back to it in a year or two, but Aine cleared her throat. ¨Well the thing is, I already created the passage for him.¨ ¨Where?¨ Quetz hissed while grabbing my hand hard.

She turned towards a cave, her eyes marking a way to the exact location. ¨I will put an end to this right away!¨ Quetz growled as he took a step towards it. As he said this, a being I had never seen before came walking out of the cave. His steps were heavy and strong, almost like small quakes.

He was wearing full golden armor with a sheep's fleece covered in red. He was about the same size as Quetz, though thinking it better; he was more prominent in the mass around his shoulders and on his tights. The skin that showed in the naked parts of his attire conferred a complexion fair as snow on the purest mountain.

What shocked me about this God was not his skin or how he was dressed, but his eyes, which were completely black. He removed his horned headpiece to reveal a brown-golden-wavy-haired being with a straight nose and thin lips with a sharp jawline.

Even though he looked striking, he also looked deathly, I was ready to pounce but remained where I stood, pulling my mate's hand to my side, as he was a second away from doing just that. ¨Good morrow, my beautiful goddesses, and gods. I have heard so many things about you.¨ He went towards Lilith, giving her a sly smile and a feathery kiss on her hand.

He turned towards Aine, bringing her hand to his lips, lingering as he watched her with intense eyes making her blush. He was about to do the same with me, but as he picked up my hand, Quetz grabbed it and hissed to God. ¨You have no work or children in these realms. It is unnatural for you to be here. You shall return from where you came from, and we will seal the place so you can never make your way back again.¨

Lilith took a step forward with murder in her eyes, making me growl. ¨We shall not do such things if you don't want to know the God, then Quetzalcoatl. I advise you to leave this place and let the rest of us give him the welcome he truly deserves.¨

Quetzalcoatl looked around. Selene looked shocked. Morrigan also, but Triton had the same look as him on his face, covering the petite Morrigan behind him, protecting her. Aine nodded, and Lilith stood her ground with a beaming smile on her face as she looked at him.

¨Selene..¨ Quetzalcoatl turned towards the oldest of us sisters. She put a finger on her forehead. " The God is already here. We can at least make him feel welcome and get to know him.¨ He let out a thunderous growl as Lilith smirked. ¨Fine, do what you want but not me or my mate would stay for this!¨ He hugged me tightly as we apparated back into our pyramid.

Now, after more than a month of fighting with each other, again the same conversation has come between us. We finally came to a resolution. ¨Its best to keep our enemies close, My light, and nor you nor me have any say on what my sisters do or do not do.¨ He nodded once, blinking hard with my words then sighing. ¨We shall act as you say, but on the first sign of danger, I myself would entomb the bastard.¨ Smiling, I brought his lips to mine. ¨If he is here to do damage, then I will be the first one to say entomb ahead, my dragon. I would even entomb him myself!¨ He leaned down, scenting the crook of my neck, his arms holding me in place and shifting me on top of his lap as another demanding kiss came from his lips.

~Charlotte~

¨Five months!¨ My hands went to my belly. There was a slight bump in it, but I never thought it could be a baby, not a second-trimester baby anyways. ¨You said five months?¨ I asked, incredulous at the ultrasound. The technician nodded at me then looked at Noah, who had gone into shock.

¨Hey cult leader, are you okay?¨ I asked my mate. I snapped my fingers at him, finally making him turn his head. ¨Charlotte you shifted while being heavily pregnant…¨ He began making me scoff. ¨First are you calling me fat, and, second five months it's hardly considered heavily pregnant as I have absolutely no symptoms other than getting Poppy's hunger.¨

The technician said something else in Portuguese, which made me turn my head towards Leonora. She translated it with a raised eyebrow, on the verge of laughing at both of us. ¨She says the baby is in such a position you can't see the s*x well. She can try again in a couple of weeks, but today you won't find out.¨ I groaned as she said this. I really wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl.

Noah smiled at me, shrugging his shoulders. ¨Its fine by me only if she tells me she is fine and perfect.¨ She asked the technician, making her nod, then said something else to Leonora as they both exited the room, giving us privacy. I grabbed some paper towels from a table and wiped my stomach.

I wanted so much to tell Danielle about this whole thing. Still, I would have to wait as I figure out the first days of our new mind link being so far apart. It was quite a headache connecting and having a conversation for more than ten minutes. I stood up from the table, placed my shirt down and buttoned my jeans up, then took a look in a mirror that was setup on the other side of the room.

Glancing at myself sideways while holding my shirt to my tummy. ¨Five months how can I be five f-ing months? There's hardly anything there.¨I poked at the small bump on my lower belly. ¨I should have morning sickness and a cantaloupe already forming.¨ Turning to my mate, I pointed at him, squeezing my eyes. ¨And you are no small wolf, to begin with.¨ As I said this, Leonora entered the room again while she waved the technician bye. ¨She says that your blood work shows you are slightly anemic and that you should begin eating more iron, but everything else is perfect.¨

Noah grabbed my wrist and began walking to the door, making me groan loudly. ¨Here we go again.¨ I mumbled as I felt shoved and shifted around and pulled towards the exit of the small clinic we had found in town.

We walked like that for a few blocks, and finally, he sat me down in a restaurant. Leonora sat next to me, giving me an already so knowing look. I knew what that look meant he went possessive Alpha again. A waiter came holding a pen and a notebook. Noah snapped out of his trance, finally directing his words at my feline cousin. ¨Order beets, lentils, and red meat.¨ He demanded, not even looking at the menu. ¨If you were not getting morning sickness, that meal would do the trick.¨ Leonora mind-linked, making me chuckle.

I grabbed his hand and brought it to my lips. ¨Noah…¨ I whispered against his knuckles. He turned his face towards me, and I gave him an uncomfortable smile. ¨I hate beets.¨ He smiled at me and shrugged his shoulders. ¨I don't care you are getting beets, and after we get to the states, we are going to get every prenatal element you need to ensure she comes out strong. ¨She?¨ Questioning, I scratched the back of my head. ¨I have a feeling, it's a she, and she would be as gorgeous as her mom and as demanding as her father.¨ He answered, pecking my lips. ¨You don't know that, and I have a feeling it is a boy.¨

¨It could be a Martian Charly, but for now, eat.¨ The waiter had come with a plate of beets and had placed it in the middle of the table. ¨But I don't want to noooooo!!!¨ I fake cried and pouted, stomping my feet underneath the table.

He sighed, grabbing the plate, a fork, and a knife, then proceeded to cut a huge piece and pulled my chair extremely close to him. He airplaned the fork to my mouth. ¨Open.¨ Putting my arms on my chest, I countered as my head shook. ¨I am not a child. If I don't want to eat beets, I won't eat them.¨ ¨If you are not a child, then stop behaving like one. It is not only for your own good but for our little ducky.¨

I laughed, opening my mouth. Noah quickly trusted the fork in my mouth. My taste buds were immediately inundated with the sweet irony taste of the yucky vegetable, making me swallow hard and reach for some water. ¨I still don't like beets, and after that, I am eating all the chocolate this town has to offer.¨ I took another bite from him, not breathing, downing it quickly.

Nodding, he grabbed a fork and cut a piece for himself, making the same scroungy face I was making. ¨We will get all the chocolate you want, but that would probably give you all the pregnancy symptoms you are missing.¨

After our impromptu visit to town, we quickly made our way to the haven of our safe house. Francesco was already there waiting outside for us. In his hand; he had small booklets with golden letters etched into them.

As Noah opened the door, we entered the house slowly as Francesco passed the printed passports to each one. ¨Alpha.¨ He handed two to him then gave another one to Leonora. I quickly grabbed the booklets from Noah's hand, making him growl. ¨I just want to see...¨ I turned as I passed my finger on their hardcover.

Both of them were deep red colored and were no bigger than my palm. I opened one, and it had Noah's photo, with the name it said. ¨ Jean – Phillippe Dubois.¨ I tossed that one to him, opening mine. It was the same as the other one. It had my photo with the name and information beneath. ¨Helene du Martin, Age 20, born in April 1987.¨ I guess we are French, I stated as I looked at the professionally made passports.

¨Oiu Madame Dubois.¨ Noah whispered in my ear, making me get goosebumps. ¨All of you sit¨ He commanded the group, stepping back and looking at all of us. ¨With the passports already made, we can make our way to the USA any time now. I would say give it a couple more days, maybe find another car.¨ Noah turned towards Francesco, and he nodded. ¨That way, we can give Benjamin and the rest of the pack time to arrive at about the same time as us.¨ Grabbing his hand, I nodded, saying yes to his plan. ¨As I am considered a rogue, we would not be going back to North Star Camp but make a detour to Chewattean country, where Lucas Kierney is stationed at. From there, we can sort everything out and take Leonora and Charlotte to North Star.¨

~ Noah~

I finished speaking to my small pack. Leonora and Charly went to the side to read more from Ariella's box of letters, which reminded me of a particular letter I was keeping from her. ¨ Francesco.¨ The Italian wolf making dinner turned towards the stove, put a lid on the arrabbiata sauce he was making and walked to me. I grabbed the folded piece of paper I had found in my hand as I linked to him. ¨I found this in the box containing the old stuff from the cottage. It is a letter from Cristobal Leopoldo to his brother Andres. It says that he is sorry to hear Azucena was having a bad pregnancy, but to give them some happiness and rest, his son had arrived safe and sound in Mexico City.¨ He gave me a quizzical look. ¨How can it be we already visited the resting place of Jose Leopoldo Ariella?¨ He then thought for a second. ¨But there wasn’t a tomb for Julio Leopoldo Ariella.¨ I closed my eyes, feeling dread. How could we miss that?

¨When we get back to the states, I need your investigation skills, Francesco. You would travel down to Latin America and find out what happened to this family. My mate can't find out about this.¨ He nodded as he shook my hand, the piece of paper slipping from my hand to his.

¨What are you two scheming?¨ Charlotte's voice came from the other side of the bed as she raised her head from a letter that Leonora was translating. ¨Same old, Same old my kitten just finalizing the airport tickets for our trip back.¨ She raised an eyebrow then shrugged her arms. ¨Just remember Cult Leader, I have free range over your head now, so…¨ I went to her side and sat behind her, taking the letter from her hands. ¨I am not keeping anything from you.¨ She smiled back and peck me in the lips. ¨Now come and read this. It's a letter from the 1800 hundred.¨

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Night finally came, but I couldn't sleep. I was definitely not telling her anything, but knowing her, she would want to find out as soon as possible before we did anything else in our investigation. We needed to get back the packs, at least sort out the rogue debacle. Also, I was apprehensive about my pup and how she was handling it. It was best to get there and at least get some kind of stability before the birth.

A small gust of wind came from a crack in one of the walls making Charlotte, who was beside my hand, stroking her stomach, jump awake. ¨Vampires!¨ She hissed towards me. I scented a smell in the air, but the only smell I could pick out was the woods around,. ¨Charlotte it was a bad dream, I can't smell any…¨ I heard another noise making my head turn, and my legs quickly moved into a sitting position on the bed. Another noise came from another side and a whisper, making me stand up.

¨Everybody wakeup!¨ I commanded through the mind link. Francesco was alert on his feet in no time, but Leonora was stretching and yawning like she had all the time in the world. ¨Cat!¨ I barked, which got a response from her. ¨Feline… Alpha… Feline¨ I growled loudly, making her snap from her bed. Goddam Felines and their sleep, if I was going to fill my pack with them, I would have a stern conversation with the top feline by my side.

The door creaked slightly, making all of us hunch together. Charly in the middle as she couldn't shift, protected by all of us. In a moment, the door busted open as half a dozen creatures entered, running and attacking ¨Shift!¨ I commanded, turning into my wolf, glancing back. Charly was behind me, clutching my tail. ¨Stay behind me, kitten.¨ I turned and swatted my paw as a vampire tried to get me on the floor. I bit, twisting and slamming it against the floor, putting a claw against his chest. I decapitated it with a single bite.

As I stood up, two more vampires came and attacked me simultaneously, and the battle started. I ducked a bit, slashed, and kicked, trying to inflict all the worst damage I could. One of them fell on the ground. As with the first one, I separated the head from the body when I heard something from behind me and felt the other one wrapping his arms around my stomach. I was trashing against it and then turned to see Charlotte with a dagger. ¨Stay back!¨ I screamed, but she ignored me, plunging the blade into the creature's back. He let me go, landing on the ground and started seizing, black blood oozing from his mouth.

After a few seconds of the seizing, he let out a shriek, dissolving into thin air. I looked beside me, and Leonora had one of the animals on a corner cowering.

¨Stop!¨ Charlotte screamed at her, but before she did, Leonora had already pounced with her linx and sunk her teeth in the vampire's throat. I changed back to my human and quickly put on a pair of shorts, grabbing Charly by the shoulders. ¨How did you kill that vampire? and why didn't you listened to me?!¨ She shook my hands and walked towards where it died, grabbing the blade she used to kill him. ¨Iron laced with dragon told you it killed vampires.¨ Taking a step forward, I gave her a peck on the forehead. ¨You are a genius, and from now on, you are carrying one of those wherever we are.¨ I would give her a tough time about taking more care of herself later.

I walked the house, looking at each vampire. ¨Why couldn't we scent them¨ Francesco asked. ¨They used the same method to camouflage their scent. Fae blood.¨ I explained as Charly walked towards the one Leonora had killed. I went beside her. This one was different. He smelled human. ¨Basty says this one is no vampire. It was a human possessed.¨ I looked at the black veins that were now retreating from his face. ¨Leonora actually didn’t kill it. It just leaves the body and finds another host, another weak creature. She said that it's one of many dark forces that are always trying to help them.¨

I sighed and turned towards the rest. ¨I am not waiting for something else to come; get your things. We are leaving now!¨