The Ghost Lioness of Phantom Moon

Chapter 11 - Jack the Ripper

The following day, Ellie was in Nova’s room, getting her ready for that night. They had a plan to catch whoever was killing women of the night. Nova was to dress up like one and stand at the corner of an alley in the area where many of them had been killed. Caelan and Sylas would be there as well, but they would be a few corners down out of sight.

“This is a random question, Lady Ellie. The bond that Lord Caelan has with Sylas, is it because of the contract they have?” Nova asked. Caelan told her a week ago about how the contract between he and Sylas was made. He also told her that everyone that lived under the Phantom Moon roof knew about it.

“It is. That’s how Caelan can summon Sylas whenever he is needed. Why do you ask?”

“I was wondering if Lord Caelan would be open to forming a sort of bond with me. It would be like a werewolf Alpha claiming me as his own. It would allow us to communicate mentally, it would be useful for things like the mission tonight.” Nova explained. Ellie pursed her lips in thought. After a while, she nodded her head.

“I think you should ask him about it. I’m nearly done with your makeup, so you can talk with him once we’re done here.” Ellie said. Nova gave a small nod and sat still so Ellie could finish what she was doing. Once she was done, Ellie looked Nova over to double check her work. She smiled and gave Nova a nod and sent her off. Nova left her room in search of Caelan. She heard voices coming from his office, so she knocked on the door and waited to be let in. Sylas opened the door and stared down at his mate. Nova saw heat in his eyes and linked him,

“Calm down, my love. We can’t have you undressing me before the mission tonight. Lady Ellie just finished with my makeup. You’ll make her mad if you smudge it even a little bit.” Sylas took a step back and schooled his expression. Caelan waved her in and had her sit in the chair across from his desk.

“Is there something I can help you with, Nova?” he asked.

“I was wondering if you would be willing to form a sort of bond with me, Lord Caelan. It would be simple enough. I can explain exactly how it would work.” Nova said. Caelan shared a look with Sylas.

“It would be a bond similar to what you have with Sylas, a Master and Servant sort of thing. Nothing else.” she clarified. Caelan motioned for her to continue.

“We would share a bit of blood with each other, just a little cut on the hand, and we would hold the cuts together over something to catch the blood. I tell you a few words to say beforehand and you repeat those words. After that is done, we would be able to communicate mentally. It would be very beneficial on missions.” Nova explained. Caelan thought about it for a moment.

“When did you come up with this idea?” Sylas asked in the link.

“It’s something werewolves do in packs. Lord Caelan is the Alpha here, Lady Ellie is the Luna. There isn’t really a Beta or a Gamma, so the rest of us are common wolves. Packs have Omegas, but they’re the weakest in a pack and work as doctors, teachers, things like that. We’re all stronger than them, but don’t really hold a rank.” Nova replied. Sylas nodded in understanding. Caelan looked up at Nova and said,

“What would I need to say?”

“Do you, Nova Chrollo, swear to protect all who call Phantom Moon home? Do you swear to give your life in service to my name? Do you swear to guide me when I am in need of guidance? With these promises, you are hereby granted the title of Guardian of Phantom Moon. In between the questions, you will pause and I will say ‘I swear’. After you grant me the title, we pull our hands apart and I’ll heal the cut on your hand. Mine will heal before we get done. What do you think?” she asked. Caelan looked thoughtful for a few moments. He nodded and asked what would be needed to cut their hands and to hold the blood. Nova asked if there was a fancy bowl that had a lot of meaning in the manor, and if there was a sharp silver knife. She knew all the cutlery was silver. She found that out the first time she ate anything in the manor. The silver burned her skin. She needs to wrap her cutlery in napkins before she can use any. Sylas left to collect a bowl that belonged to Caelan’s mother, and a silver decorative knife with a sharpened blade. When he returned, Nova locked the door behind him and had Caelan stand behind his desk. She directed Sylas to make a small cut on the palms of Caelan’s hand, then on Nova’s hand. They held the cuts together and Nova nodded for Caelan to begin. He recited the words perfectly and paused for Nova to respond. After he gave Nova the title of Guardian, a gust of wind swept through the office and swirled around the two of them. When the wind stopped, Nova pulled her hand back and asked Caelan for his hand. She licked the edges of the cut to seal the wound closed.

“Can you hear me, Master?” Nova asked in the link with Caelan. He jumped a bit and looked at her with wide eyes.

“Don’t answer out loud. Answer me in your mind.” she instructed.

“I can hear you. This is crazy. I like it, but it’s crazy.” Caelan answered.

“You get used to it. Every new shifter has to learn to talk in their mind either with their animal half, or with those they have links with.” A knock on the door took their attention away from the successful ceremony. Sylas answered the door on his way out to dispose of the blood. Molly had a copy of that day’s paper. The headline made Caelan scowl. Nova glanced at it and huffed. The press had given a name to the person responsible for the deaths of the women, Jack the Ripper. The sun was beginning to set, so Caelan and Nova went to the front of the manor where a carriage was waiting for them. Sylas was already in the driver’s seat with the reins in hand. He got down and opened the door for Caelan and Nova. Once they were seated, Sylas closed the door and returned to his seat. Caelan knocked on the roof and they headed into town.

After a while, they arrived near the alleys they would be stationed at. As Sylas opened the door, the scent of fresh blood caught Nova’s attention. She took off in the direction of the scent with Sylas and Caelan behind her. She ran faster when she heard a woman screaming. Sylas picked up Caelan and his speed increased as well. Nova threw open a door where the scream came from and stopped in her tracks. There was more than fresh blood, it was fresh gore. A storm started and a flash of lightning lit up the darkened room. A young woman was laying on a table with her chest cut open and a pool of blood on the floor. One of her breasts was gone and her lungs were cut to pieces. Her heart was missing as well. Sylas arrived after a few seconds and a retching sound drew Nova’s attention away from the corpse. Sylas had set Caelan down, and Caelan was doubled over coughing up his dinner. Nova went to their side and tore a piece of her dress away to help clean Caelan’s mouth. A voice made her stop.

“You got here much faster than I thought you would. It’s too bad, I wanted to keep going. I suppose my fun will have to stop now.” the voice said. Caelan froze. He looked toward the darkened room.

“I know that voice. I really hoped it wasn’t you. That’s what I get for wishful thinking. Why did you kill all these women?” he asked. The voice answered,

“I needed to teach them a lesson. They threw away something that was more precious than any treasure.” A figure emerged from the room and stood in the rain as a flash of lightning lit up the area. It was Caelan’s aunt, Amelia. Another figure approached from behind her and Nova recognized him as Greg, her butler. He was covered in blood and he had a large metal weapon in his hands. It was a long wide blade with smaller blades all around it, it fed into what looked like a small motor. He pulled a little handle attached to a cord on the motor and the weapon roared to life. Caelan motioned for Sylas to fight Greg.

“Be careful, my love.” Nova said in their link.

“I’m always careful.” he replied. He and Greg took off to the end of the alley. The motor could be heard over the heavy rain and occasional clap of thunder.

“I know you performed a specific operation on all the women you killed. They came to you for abortions, didn’t they?” Caelan asked. Nova looked over to Amelia. She had a sinking feeling about Amelia’s motive. Before Amelia said anything, Nova spoke up.

“You lost a baby, didn’t you?” Amelia’s eyes widened and she looked at Nova. Caelan looked at her too. Tears filled Amelia’s eyes and she wrapped her arms around her stomach.

“It was a long time ago. When Caelan was still a baby. I fell in love and we were going to have a baby. There was an accident and the carriage tipped over. He died in the accident. I woke up in the hospital with a flat stomach. The doctor told me the baby died, and they had to remove him to save my life. They had to remove my uterus as well. I was never able to have any more children. These whores just threw their children away like they were trash! These children could have lived and been given to a loving family. I tried to tell them, but they complained about the baby fat and stretch marks. They didn’t deserve to get pregnant if they weren’t going to appreciate what they were given.” Amelia cried. Nova wrapped her arms around her and said,

“I understand. Children are precious to many people, and there are those who don’t value them like they should. I’m so sorry that you experienced that kind of loss. No one should ever have to go through that.” Nova was shoved away.

“Those whores deserved that! They threw away what I lost and could never have again! I made sure they would never throw it away again!” Amelis screamed and pulled a knife from the belt on her dress. She lunged for Caelan, but Nova stepped in front of him and her arm was cut a bit by the knife.

“You want to go after my master, you’ll have to go through me first.” Nova growled. Amelia was shakena a bit by the growl, but steeled herself and attacked Nova. A few swift dodges later, Nova punched Amelia in the stomach and knocked the wind out of her. Amelia stood straight and lunged for Nova agin. A pain in Nova’s arm made her glance toward Sylas. Greg had cut open Sylas’s arm at his shoulder. As her attention was away from her own fight, Amelia plunged the knife into Nova’s stomach and twisted it. Nova roared out in pain and gripped the knife. It wasn’t silver, but it still hurt.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Aya’s voice mixed with Nova’s and her brown eyes turned red. White fur started sprouting all over her body as her clothes ripped. Aya stood where Nova was and let out a roar that shook Amelia to her core.