Beneath a Flaming Sky - Book Three (Moon Child Series)

Chapter Four

Luca’s POV

“Ready or not! Here I come!” I could hear giggling and the little patter of feet as I pulled my hands away from my eyes and went in search of Ciara, Seth, and Elizabeth’s three year old daughter. I’d promised her a game of hide and seek and damn it if Uncle Luca wasn’t going to uphold his promise. I could easily follow her bubblegum scent, but her excessive giggling was all I needed.

I followed the giggles to Mia’s floor and stopped in front of the door that I hadn’t entered into for four years; one I didn’t go near. I couldn’t even stand to be on this floor. But I couldn’t leave Ciara to hide forever. With a steadying breath I took hold of the doorknob and twisted, pushing the door open as I entered the room. Her familiar scent hit me, faded a little but still present, making my throat tighten as I held back tears. The room was the same it had been four years ago. I knew that my mum cleaned it every week so that when Mia woke up, she wouldn’t return to a dusty room. Her optimism was the only thing that got her through this.

Cute little giggles lead me towards the curtain where a little lump protruded it from the wall and ballet slipper shoes peeked out the bottom.

“Hmm, where could Ciara be?” I asked to the air, turning around in circles. “Could she be under the...bed?” I looked under the bed and heard her little giggles. “Could she be... in the closet?” I looked in the closet. More giggles. “Hmm. What about the bathroom?” Bathroom checked. More giggles. I shrugged my shoulders and sighed. “Well I guess she’s not in here.” As I turned to leave, she burst from behind the curtain.

“I right here, uncwel Wuca.” I covered my mouth in a fake gasp.

“Oh my gosh! You are such a good hider!” She skips over to me and hugs my leg. “Ok little one your turn to count.” She nodded her little head and began to skip to the door before her little head swivelled towards one of Mia’s bedside tables.

“Uncwel Wuca? What’s this?” Her little hands grasp at a blue Viking horn that shimmered as she grabs it. Before I can stop her, she holds the end of it to her mouth and blows. The air around us vibrates, but no sound comes from the horn. Ciara goes to blow again, and I gently take it from her hands before scooping her up into my arms.

“What have mum and dad told you about touching things that don’t belong to you?” I asked as I tickled her and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me. Her sweet little giggles meant I couldn’t stay mad at her for long, so I placed her on the ground and smiled at her.

“Now, you count to ten and I’ll go hide. Ok?” Her little head nodded excitedly, and she hid her face behind her tiny hands. She started to count, and I ran down the stairs to hide.

***

Xander’s POV

I was reluctant to close my eyes and sleep, dreading the frustrating dreams that lay ahead. For the past four years, every night I dreamt of the same woman. The dreams were never the same. The only constants were the woman with fiery red hair and eyes of emerald green, and the creatures that chase her. Where they chase her always changes and over the years, she’d gotten smart and created cloaking spells that hid her temporarily. I could only ever watch and follow as the dream unfolded; I was never a participant. And it was frustrating.

With a sigh, I let my eyes drift closed and after few moments sleep took me. When I opened my eyes next, I stood amongst a canopy of trees where the woman lay in her wolf form, her paws crossed and her head resting atop them. She sat like that for several minutes before rising to a seated position and then standing. A happy howl ripped from her body and then she froze. That horrible screeching noise I’d heard a thousand times before sounded from the distance. And she took off at a run. I shifted into my dragon and floated above as she ran. She was distracted, I could tell by her erratic weaving, very unlike her planned routes and intricate weaving she did every other night.

A canopy of trees forces me to fly higher, but I hear scuffling and dip lower despite the trees. A man has his hand on the young woman’s chest. Her eyes are rolled back into her head and her skin is slowly becoming very pale. My dragon seemed to snap at seeing this woman like this and he forced his way to the front, taking control. My body moved, knocking the hooded man away from the woman, flames erupting from my mouth. He slunk away, vanishing into thin air like the snake he was. Suddenly, I was no longer a spectator, if judging by the wide eye stare that the woman was giving me.

I took back control from Draco, hissing at him that we’d speak of his actions later, before stalking towards her, my anger burning deep within. This woman had some explaining to do. Number one was why my dragon felt the need to take control and how, after four years of only being able to witness everything that she did, I was now able to interact. I pulled her up from the ground by her shirt and glared.

“Who are you? And why do I keep dreaming of you?!” I grit through my teeth. Her eyes are full of confusion and she seems to still be in a daze from the attack. Her answer never comes however as loud screeching sounds in the distance and purple smoke clouded my vision, burning my eyes. When the smoke cleared, and my eyes stopped burning I gazed around frustratedly. She was gone. Who was she? I needed answers to my questions. Shifting into my dragon I took off into the air in search of answers. Twenty or so minutes of flying over nothing but trees I came to the border of a town. My eyes searched intently for an indication of its name. My eyes fell on a shopping mall at the far end of the town, its sign reading Middleton Town Mall.

Well that narrowed it down a little. I turned from the mall to circle back and look for more clues. The town began to fade away, my eyes snapping open as hands shake my shoulder. Emerald green eyes meet my amber ones and I growl and shove my sister’s hands from my shoulder. 

“Nimue! I was so close to finally learning something about these cursed dreams.” I jumped from the bed in frustration, shoving past my sister and storming towards my office where I fired up my computer and opened the search engine. Nimue followed me, confusion apparent on her face as I typed Middleton into the search bar. As I thought several locations with this name popped up on the map, all over the world. I growled frustratedly at the screen and turned to my sister.

“Are you talking about those dreams you’ve been having for four years?” she asked as she walked around to stand behind me and glance at the screen. I nodded as my eyes fell to the screen again and I tried to narrow the parameters of my search. “What happened this time? What was different?”

“What was different was that I saw the young woman being attacked and Draco took control and saved her.” Her eyes widened with shock.

“You took part in the dream?” I nodded to her question and she shook her head in disbelief.

“Now I am going to find where she is and get her to answer my questions.” I furiously typed on the keyboard, my anger cracking a few of the keys. My sisters hand reached toward my shoulder and she turned me away from the computer, her hands holding either side of the armrests to hold me in place.

“Take a deep breath brother.” I reluctantly did as she requested and felt the fire within me simmer down with each breath. “Now, I know that this dream has been plaguing you for years now and you want answers, but I didn’t wake you for nothing.” She stood back from the chair and I crossed my arms over my chest, raising my eyebrow expectantly and waited for her to continue. “Remember a while ago when I met that hybrid and gave her my summoning horn.”

“Yes, and I also remember how stupid it was of you for doing so.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me and I signalled for her to continue.

“Anyways, as I was saying. I gave her my horn and told her if she should ever need me to blow on it and I would come. Well, she has, and I have to go.” I stood from the desk and walked around it to head back to my room.

“Is there a reason that you’re telling me this? You’ve never asked permission before. Why now?”

“I’m not asking for permission, dear brother. I’m asking you to come with me.” I stopped walking and turned to her with a questioning look. “The place I’m being summoned is to a wolf pack.” My shock must have been apparent on my face for she nodded. “I knew that if you found out where I went you would have come after me. So I’m saving us both the pain now and instead asking you to come with me. I’m not sure what awaits me at the Blue Moon Pack, and although I trust my friend, I would feel safer with you by my side.” Her eyes implored me to say yes, and I was finding it hard to refuse her. She knew she was my one weakness, and she exploited the hell out of it. With a sigh and a roll of my eyes I turned from her and resumed my walk to my bedroom.

“Fine. But when it’s done, you’re helping me get to the bottom of these dreams.” I heard her squeak with excitement and then run off to pack. I reached beneath my bed and grabbed the duffel bag I kept stored there and started filling it with necessities. I wasn’t sure how long we would be gone, so I packed enough for two weeks of travel. At least shifting for us didn’t mean destroying clothes, unlike other shifters, which saved a lot of clothes.

When my duffle bag was packed, I made my way down to the tearoom to wait for my sister.