Chapter Six

The camp had tents carefully plotted off in every direction to best use the space that they had to house everyone that needed to be housed in this refugee/war camp.

“Please follow me, if you will, you must speak to the domina,” Derek repeated softly until they followed him.

They wandered for a bit through dark patches where there were no tents set up and through noisy populated areas where the scent of burning cedar wood and various meals blended together in a sweet savory aroma.

At last they stopped in front of a large tent with two or three rooms added to a regular tent base. Tied to the tree next to it was a sign that read, “Dux Santavello.” Which according to Merrick, dux meant commander and Santavello must be a last name. It was a good thing to be traveling with someone who happened to know so much Latin… Coincidence? Maybe not...

Derek went before them as the push the heavy canvas doorway open and padded inside to the largest room. “Domina, I have three people here to see you. They have the blessing of Dea Rathael to be here, so they must stay. Rathael also sends her goodwill and a promise of a future meeting.” Derek finished what he had to do and walked out of the tent. Luna had the slight feeling that they wouldn’t ever see him again and as it eventually turned out, she never would.

At the front of the room a tall rotating chair sat behind a thick wooden desk piled high with pages of notes and otherwise. The person in that chair finally turned it to face them and found that the person running this camp was not much older than themselves.

“Welcome to Freedom! I am Dux Santavello, but being young people like me, you can call me Karine. I would like to know your names in return,” she stated, posing a question in a smart sort of way. The girl sitting there had longer brown hair that was carefully held away from her face with a thick red silk ribbon that ended up framing her deep brown eyes and a very small dimple on her cheek when she smiled as she was doing now.

Stepping forward, Merrick once again took charge as seemed to be his nature, “I am Merrick Aisan, and I would not like for you to mention my… my past.”

“Good to know, Lamia, and the rest of you?”

Stepping back to his place before speaking out, Merrick gave Luna’s hand another squeeze and bade her to continue with her name, “I’m Luna Avaya. I was told to start out this way, and Merrick tagged along with me- as has this boy that we seemed to have picked up on the way.”

Being relatively intelligent for the first time in his life, Darien didn’t need any prodding or any words said to know what was required of him, “Darien Omertio, and I’m the cook for this group. I tagged along because I had no future where I was and I believe that I can find one right here!”

“Luna, Merrick, and Darien… You seem like a very good bunch, but I do not know what your strengths and weaknesses are. I must tell you that all new members of this camp must go on a personal scouting mission with me so I can tell if you are trustworthy and to see where you’ll be most useful. I do believe that you are worthy enough to stay the night, and the rest of this matter may wait until the sun is high in the sky tomorrow morning, unless that is a problem with you?” Karine inquired raising a thin, perfectly arched eyebrow.

“We shall ride at the break of noon as you wish,” Merrick answered, his green eyes blazing light-emerald fire.

“Good- you are assigned to plot five-fifty-nine in the South area just beyond this very tent. Do you believe that you will be able to make it there without an escort?” Karine asked. Luna and Merrick could even feel that both of them absolutely disliked this Karine woman since she seemed a little too high-and-mighty and was content in making them feel stupid.

“I’m sure we’ll manage, thank you,” Luna said through clenched teeth. Luna was quite sure that she disliked this girl and hoped that she would stop talking that way in a time close to the near future.

Turning, the trio left the tent, sadly not as happy with Karine as she thought they were. Wordlessly they plodded their way to the plot that they were assigned to.

When they reached five-fifty-nine, they noticed that they had a tent to sleep in and that Darien no longer needed to keep watch. Disappointed at this fact, Darien left the tent to go for a run or to clean someone else’s tent… Weird boy…

“Merrick?” Luna asked as she spread her comforter out on the ground.

“What is it?” Merrick asked as he rummaged through his own bag and produced a thick blanket of his own.

“What if Eleni comes back? I really need to sleep, and she doesn’t need to know that we are to be going scouting tomorrow with Karine,” Luna rapidly spewed as she caught Merrick’s steady gaze.

“If it makes a difference, I’ll be right next to you,” he stated as he pulled the blanket closer. Waiting for Luna to settle, Merrick sat down on the edge of his blanket thinking about the possible repercussions of getting close to Luna.

Finally she settled down on her side facing away from Merrick and at the green tent walls. Dropping his previous line of thought he carefully pulled her closer to him and settled for the sleep that would never come unless he willed it. Before Luna’s mind could register whether or not this was a bad idea, she was sound asleep.

* * * * *

Merrick ‘awoke’ first the next morning from yet another fake slumber when the realization hit him that he had let his guard down and been near someone. He’d had enough pain from being betrayed, and he’d do anything to avoid that happening again. Without waking Luna, he rolled to his back and sat up.

After a while, Luna blinked a few times and sat up as well. For a few seconds she pondered the idea that she may never get those dreams again with Merrick, but she knew that they would most likely get separated after the skills test. Merrick had skills and could fight- a feat that she knew that she hadn’t mastered.

“Good morning,” Merrick simply stated. His voice was thick from non-use, but it still had a musical lilt to it.

“Good morning right back at you!” Luna exclaimed as she stretched her arms above her. She figured that if she could wake up next to him every morning she’d be in heaven- she thought the way his hair was tousled from sleeping was so cute.

Right about now she wished that he liked her at all because she’d greatly enjoy kissing him… Kissing him would be like indulging herself in her favorite flavor of ice cream, and she wanted him as much as she wanted the raspberry sorbet…

Merrick moved first, but it was a movement away from Luna. On the other side of the tent he quickly rummaged through his bag, changed shirts, and left the tent by himself. He said nothing as he did this with a blank, unfeeling look on his face.

Luna blinked twice in shock before getting up herself and changing her clothes. She was much slower than Merrick and was almost glad that he was gone so she could change- almost being the key word. She definitely wanted him back, and that was what scared her.

At the stroke of the noon bell, Luna, Merrick, and Darien were on a horse behind Karine. Luna, not accustomed to riding horses, was sore right after they had crossed the gates. Looking over at Merrick, hoping to see him having as hard a time as her, she was sorely disappointed to see that he, along with Darien, was actually enjoying it.

“So Karine, where are we off today?” Luna asked timidly as she tried to take her mind off of the pain in her butt.

“Well, actually I have an uncharted piece of land that I’ve had my riders stay clear of. You all seem like able-bodied fighters so I believe that we’ll be able to manage. It’s only a small piece of land; about a hundred acres or so, I think,” Karine replied as she twirled a strand of her hair around with her thumb and forefinger.

“Good, good….” Luna trailed off with a look of disdain at the thought of riding these beasts for any longer than a few minutes. Clearly, she was the only one complaining, so she quieted down and kept the harsh thoughts inside of her mind.

Soon after, a dark silence fell over the five that was worse than anything that Luna had ever witnessed. Merrick seemed to notice it too, and he started to hum a tune and then start to faintly sing in an unknown tongue.

“That’s really pretty,” Luna complimented and truly forgot her utter dislike of horses as she succumbed to curiosity, “What was it about?”

“I believe it’s a lullaby that my mother used to sing to me. I don’t remember much of her, but I remember that she used to sing it softly into my ear at night. It’s a Latin song about a traveler who has lost his lover and wants her back,” Merrick stated in reply to her question. He continued to sing the same tune even quieter than before, and Luna was awestruck by his beautiful voice as he made the notes sound like living entities.

Clearing her throat to call attention, Karine started to give directions, “We’ve reached the point of boundary; from here we explore all uncharted territory on foot with great caution. We do not, and will not, separate; it never ends well. Follow me!”

From where Luna was standing, Merrick looked like he was about to speak up to rebel against orders, but obviously he decided otherwise. Merrick, Luna concluded, hated to be ordered around by others even though he never seemed to desire to speak up to say so.

Hesitantly, Merrick moved to walk fluidly next to Luna as they headed towards the unknown; Merrick and Luna weren’t touching. Darien was, as always, trailing along after them looking sourly at Merrick; though, he had never turned around to see it.

After a while, they became lax in their security and more focused on the beautiful scenery around them- which proved to be a bad idea. Suddenly, they heard loud evil cackling from behind them in the trees. They had been ambushed in the worst possible spot and at the worst possible time- the forest was around them and they had nowhere to run.

They all jumped and grouped together trying to get in a position of advantage to fight. As they huddled in a tight group behind Merrick, who took the front position, Luna could see that the person was very obviously male in a bland, white shirt that highlighted absolutely nothing and a pair of ragged jeans that looked like they should be trashed.

“Vernico?” Merrick almost snarled out, taking a step forward. Again, Luna saw the dark side of Merrick take hold and his every motion became a hostile function, “What are you doing here?”

“Attacking your little group… I’m quite sure that you and I are the only vampires in this clearing, and I’ve been instructed by Eleni to finish off those who aren’t and bring you back to her as a traitor; that good with you, invisus hostilis?” Vernico cackled out. Luna had never seen or known anyone who had seemed so much a follower that they were willing to be entirely evil on a whim. There was obviously a hidden past between these two- not to mention that the one just called Merrick, and himself, a vampire… Vampires don’t exist, right?

“You will never touch anyone in this group, illud!” Merrick exclaimed as he tensed and directed them to move to the side, away from the fight. He knew it was his fault, and he couldn’t allow any harm to come to them for him. He was weird like that. He never denied the other guys claims…

“Then you will die with them!” Vernico spouted as he mimicked a blow to the left and then headed right. Unfortunately, Luna, Darien, and Karine were to the right. Fortunately, Merrick knew where he was going and blocked him before his blow did any damage.

Off on the sidelines, Luna watched with great interest as they exchanged blows and blocks with silent speed. It was like watching an intricate dance and only they knew the moves, so it became captivating to watch. So captivating, Luna barely even noticed when Darien sneezed loud enough to wake the dead, and then sat around looking pitiful.

Darien, being Darien, waited for a second for the speed to falter when Merrick leapt a little too far back by a foot, before walking up to the one called Vernico and outright tapping him on the shoulder to ask, “Can I have a tissue?”

Luna, with multiple insults and obscenities to shout at Darien for being so stupid, watched in amazement as Vernico seemed to switch gears and pull a small green tissue out of his side pocket. As it was, Merrick was walking around the other side of the clearing while Darien had him distracted.

While he blew his nose, Vernico watched Darien in amusement as well, “I hope you know that I only carry poisoned tissues… I never thought that I would actually meet someone stupid enough to use one…”

With that being said, Darien abruptly dropped it into the mud that he was standing over and muttered a dark, “Thanks!” before returning to the spot with Luna and Karine. If the tissue was really poisoned, Darien was obviously immune to its effects or something.

That deed being done, Vernico must have forgotten that he was in the midst of a battle and started to creep towards them with fangs bared from the top and bottom of his mouth.

Merrick, now realizing that the fight was out of his hands, turned and motioned for them to start running. He led the group while thinking ahead to lead them out of danger; Vernico was his problem and not theirs.

Vernico was able to run pretty fast for a man his size of ego and easily kept an even pace with them until they found a modern-looking house with thick shutters about a hundred feet or so away.

“Get into the house! When there’s a group of humans inside of it only humans can enter and leave unless a vampire has been invited in!” Karine explained as she kept up.

Once inside the house, Luna looked back out and watched as Vernico caught up to Merrick, who was looking at his hand as if he’d been burned.

“Get inside, you idiot!” Luna stated since Karine was too busy trying to get everyone inside. Within a second, he was in the door, Karine shoved the door shut, and they sat on the carpet panting.

The next sounds they heard were the loud, enraged footsteps of Vernico storming away and the sound of their ragged breathing after their short, brisk run.

Merrick slightly got to his feet and helped Karine up before turning to Luna. “I think you have some explaining to do, Merrick,” Luna stated as he helped her up as well. Darien managed to get to his feet and to a chair by the couch on his own.

“You haven’t told them?” Karine asked as she moved to the couch. The couch in question was a green, four person couch across from a smaller, three-person couch. Both had black lines running down the backs and oversized armrests.

“It wouldn’t have made a difference, besides the way I’d be treated,” Merrick stated. He casually leaned against a pale green wall to the side. Luna rounded on him after this move and sat back on the floor watching him intently.

“Are you sure?” She asked. Karine could see otherwise.

“No.”

Silence fell over the room until Luna spoke up quietly, “You’re not- not human; are you Merrick?” Somehow he knew that this day would come, but he wished that it would have been under a different set of circumstances.

“No.” He closed his eyes after the first response.

“That’s all fine and dandy,” Darien stated, “but I’m not a good swimmer. I’m going to leave before it gets too deep and touchy-feely…” The sophomore wandered into the doorway behind them and disappeared. Karine simply rolled her eyes and got up to follow him, gracefully leaving Luna and Merrick alone.

“Luna, I can explain…”

“Oh no! This is the part where you’ll listen to me!” Luna started in a tone that bordered on insanity and demanded to be listened to, “I don’t care what you are- it doesn’t make a bit of difference.”

“I guarantee that it will eventually; even if you don’t mean to, you’ll subconsciously shy away from me, you’ll start spending less time around me, and eventually I’ll become a deterrent for even you,” he started in response as he slid to the floor and covered his face, “I’m so stupid for letting myself get so close…”

She slid closer to him and put her hand on the side of his face without shaking, “I don’t care what you are as long as you’re honest with me.”

“Wait- what?” He asked, shrinking away from her hand.

“You heard me- was I just not good enough?”

“You don’t care?”

Before Luna could answer, Karine entered the room again with Darien in tow by the ear. “Sit over there until we decide on what to do!” She exclaimed as she shoved him into the chair. Everyone sat down on the two couches and looked at each other intently, afraid to speak.

Then again, a sudden burst of white light pierced through the darkness in the room and another figure gracefully sat on the leather sofa next to Karine.

“Cognatus!” the woman exclaimed as she wrapped Karine in a hug.

“I am not related to you,” Karine returned looking less than amused at the turn of events. The goddess pouted as Karine shrugged her off until Luna spoke.

“Rathael!”

“Now this is what I call a response! We have the whole group with us today! Karine has even managed to get over here; to what do I owe the pleasure?” Rathael asked raising one delicate eyebrow and smiling suspiciously at Karine. At this, Karine started to color in anger and lowered her eyes. Luna looked over at Merrick who was passively watching the scene; to Luna, this looked like some bad past between the two of them.

“Same as always, Rathael; I must be a good leader and use my mind to keep the camp going, pride or not. Why have you intruded on such company other than to instigate a fight?” Karine asked with a hostile tone.

“If you’d like me to cut to the chase, then I will,” Rathael stated with much the same tone as Karine’s sour one, “I have come to deliver a prophecy of sorts that has been written ever since the dawn of time when the first vampire was created.”

“Go on,” Luna stated, watching Karine fume for a while and then get herself under control to watch quietly.

“It reads:

Luna, Karine, Darien, Merrick; the beginning and the end. Luna, the sorceress,” Rathael paused to look at a confused Luna, “The world depends on her; Karine, the thinker,” a sarcastic look, “common sense will bring survival.”

The room was very silent as this all sunk in. When it did, five minutes later, Darien looked up with a puzzled look on his face, “What about me? Am I anything special?”

“Unfortunately you are: Darien the careless, his mistakes will bring great strength,” she looked towards Merrick now, “You are perhaps the most importantly portrayed in this: Merrick the fighter, the powerful undead. Much will be waged on the wit in his head.”

“I can bring strength? This is the best thing I’ve ever been able to do! Yay!” Darien now danced in circles before Karine yanked him down into a seat again.

“Sit down and stay down Darien! Even I have heard of this prophecy, and it’s existed for thousands of years. Why does it have to be us, and not someone from past generations?” Karine asked heatedly. Luna knew she was rebelling because she had a life, a job, and people who actually liked her.

“The prophecy tells of four people saving the universe. Luna must have a background for magic, Darien must be useless for everything but cooking and cleaning, Karine must think oh-so-highly of herself, and Merrick has to be a fighter! Do you not share the names specifically written?” Rathael asked, incredibly aggravated. In her anger, the room lit up with the raw energy pouring off of her, before Merrick cleared his throat and she realized what she was doing and calmed.

Speaking up, Merrick kept the conversation going, “I am. Sort of...” Everyone faced Merrick at his statement; since, in their minds, none of the descriptions besides Darien’s fit. There was silence as they waited to see if he would speak again, but they were disappointed when he settled back into his passive role of blending into the surroundings.

“I can cook and clean! That’s so me!” Darien offered up in hopes to provide a defense for the others in the room. Sadly, everyone who heard the statement and had already known that the description fit him all too well…

“Well- I guess mine fits.” Karine quietly stammered, obviously trying to hold back tears and other emotions. Now that Karine had given in, Luna was starting to have second guesses about how she fit into the long run.

“Wait- what? Does magic exist? How can I have a background in something that doesn’t exist?” Luna asked when she got the courage to speak out.

“I was wondering when that would come up. Magic only exists in those who have the blood. Your father’s side of the family has had the blood from the beginning of time, and I’d be quite surprised if your father didn’t have mastery of it at this very moment,” Rathael explained as Luna began to laugh.

“Are you kidding me?” Luna chocked out, making an effort to stifle her laughter, “My dad can’t do anything cool or important!”

“Have you asked him about your heritage? What does he tell you?”

Luna let out a sarcastic chuckle, “Dad doesn’t even provide food for me- much less talk to me or pretend I exist.” It was so unlike Luna to argue with anyone since she learned at an early age to be quiet; and yet she couldn’t help but adding her feelings to this one.

“I’m sure you’ll find that I am right, but I must leave now as my time away nears an end. You should stay here, and Karine, you must abandon your post. This house is protected and has space to practice your fighting. Train hard and learn to fight. Only then will you live longer than a week...” With those words, Rathael drowned the small group in light before disappearing into thin air.

“Give up your post, Karine! Stay here and fight the vampires while I enjoy myself in Caelum!” Karine mocked after Rathael was out of sight and hearing. Luna tensed, hoping that she would settle down and not anger the woman who was keeping them alive.

Merrick, however, couldn’t hold his tongue, “What the hell is your problem? You acted like a spoiled child.”

“If matris hadn’t have told her to come and give the message while I was here with you, she never would have come!”

Merrick, who had awed Luna with so many words, had retreated back into a silent calm, digesting her words. After a tense second, he too got up and joined Darien who was now wandering around the kitchen. The door closed behind them.

“What do you mean? What’s a matris?” Luna asked as she took in the scene before her. It was just the two of them sitting on the large leather sofas in the middle of a very dim spacious room. Not exactly the greatest place for a heartfelt chat.

“Matris means mother, and it’s an honorific term where I come from. I’m afraid that Rathael is my sister,” Karine started as she looked around to make sure it was just them in the conversation, “I was born a goddess by Matris Rayena, as was my sister, but I longed for the real world that they so diligently looked after. Rathael didn’t want to let me leave, but Rayena let me and I was sent here. My wits and my intelligence remained even though the physical strength I had is gone.”

“I’m sorry, Karine,” Luna stated, meaning every word, “If I tell you something, will you not tell anyone- especially those two?” If Karine had shared something personal with her, Luna was going to trust her with a secret of her own.

“Yes, I can be a loyal friend like what you’ve been to me today. Thanks.” Karine promised as she shifted her weight around on the sofa. The other girl perked up at the thought of being able to share a pressing secret that she really shouldn’t be telling.

“My father wished for the longest time to have a son who was the oldest. He told my mother once, as I listened in, that the blood only passed to the oldest. I didn’t realize what that meant until now. That means that my dad could care less that I even existed. In fact, my life has been a terrible curse to him and my family. Merrick seems to think that he’s the only one to face rejection, but I know only too well about that!” Luna exclaimed with tears in her eyes. She had to catch her breath before continuing, “My other dilemma is that I’m beginning to really like Merrick, but he’s too perfect, and he’s way too different from me. He’ll never care about me back.”

The two girls continued to talk on this while the boys were having an equally interesting conversation. Darien was doing a lot of the talking.

“This is going to be so much fun! It’s like having an old-fashioned sleepover party! I’ll be able to talk to Luna and get to know her better!” Darien exclaimed as he opened up cabinets and drawers to take inventory.

Darien continued to prattle on about a bunch of meaningless junk before the meaning of the words spoken by the other boy actually dawned on Merrick. This made him angry for reasons that he wouldn’t figure out.

“You leave her alone,” he started as Darien fell into a chair next to him with an innocent look on his face, “I may not have been entirely sure about it earlier, when I threatened you, but now I’m starting to realize my intent.”

“About what?” Darien asked, trying to be ignorant and mostly succeeding.

“I am drawn to her. She’s so normal and has so much personality that I couldn’t even compare to her- considering what I am.”

“How do you know that? You even graduated high school and you still don’t know that relationships are sometimes odd, and some don’t even look remotely possible. You know- a few years later, they get married and have ten kids with a dog. You’re not too shabby anyway, you know? If I were gay, I’d totally date you!” Darien exclaimed in answer to Merrick’s speech.

Scared of Darien’s logic, Merrick looked away with a terrified expression before asking, “How can you be sure?”

“Sure about the gay part or sure about the relationship part?” Darien asked, ever the stupid comedian, before getting serious, “If you don’t believe me when I say that you two are meant for each other, why don’t you ask her if she likes you and go from there? It’s always better to take the first step than to sit and think about what you could have been later.”

A dark day indeed must be dawning, Merrick thought, when Darien actually spewed a bit of logical advice from the tiny skull of his. What was the world coming to?

When Luna and Karine entered the kitchen little while later, they saw Merrick staring at Darien trying to find out if the kid had any potential at all and Darien putting the assorted food goods that he had “found” into the cabinets.

“I need to get back to camp and tell them that I’m resigning,” Karine stated emotionlessly while Luna grabbed her hand and released it as if giving strength. This made the two guys wonder what had transpired during their chat…

“Not during the fading light of dusk- there are too many shadows.” Merrick stated, pulling his eyes away from the girls and fixing them on the hem of his thick shirt.

“Doesn’t your camp have a phone or a hotline?” Darien asked.

“I don’t have a cell and besides, we need provisions and stuff. Why don’t we wait until it’s fully dark? We can explore the rooms upstairs and then we can leave and be back before dawn.” Karine reasoned to try to get her point across. As Luna could imagine, Karine didn’t much like Merrick since she had been fighting his people for years.

“I guess.” Merrick admitted solemnly as if sensing that he’d lose the argument.

“We’ll need a distraction of some sort, but I believe that exploring the house is good to pick rooms to sleep in. Everyone should pick out a room, and then we’ll decide on a place to train. Good?” Karine reasoned over Merrick as she smiled up at him. For the first time, Luna was jealous that Karine was looking at him instead of the other way around with Darien as Merrick had been.

Without another word and a bunch of silent nodding, Merrick and Luna headed in one direction as Darien and Karine headed into another part of the house to cut down on traffic for the cramped set of stairs. Upstairs, there were four large rooms with carved wooden doors in a row down a central hallway.

Pushing into one of them, Merrick realized that this room was meant to be his on some weird level of paranoia. The walls were a dark shade of sapphire blue with a king-sized bed set in the middle that had rich black sheets under a thick black quilt. The room was sparsely decorated, if you could call an abstract painting a decoration, but it was slightly comforting.

“Merrick? Where’d you get to?” Luna asked, peeking into the hallway once again. The other rooms were decorated nicely, but she was sure that her room would be the one the no one else wanted to take for theirs.

Finding him, Luna saw that he had found the room that was stunningly just right for both of them. There was only one window in the room, yet there was enough light coming from the beautiful fixture from the ceiling that it was bright enough to be comfortable.

“Have you chosen a room? I believe this one will be mine. I like it,” he stated curiously as he reclined on the comforter.

“I haven’t seen anything special yet, but I’m going to wait until last to really choose so I don’t conflict with everyone else,” Luna answered as she leaned her head on the door frame.

“Well- strictly business speaking, would you like you like to share this room?” He asked nervously while he looked at anything but her eyes.

“With you?” Luna was shocked that he would ask, considering how cold he’d been to her recently.

“Who else would you stay with besides me?” Merrick joked before becoming serious, “But only if you wanted…” He faded off at the end in a bizarre mood change.

“I wouldn’t want to impose, but it would keep me safe from Eleni… Fine, I’ll stay here- but only until we find a better way of protection… Don’t get any ideas!”

He blinked at her and stated, “I shall have to say the same to you.” He said it with a straight face, but after a few seconds both of them cracked up. Luna hadn’t heard him laugh for real since he was very little.

It was a pleasing sound, but it was as if he really hadn’t laughed at anything in a long while. Judging by the introverted personality and the awkwardness that poured off of him every time they were in a group she knew that his past had taken more of a toll than anyone thought.

“Should we see if we can both fit on the bed first before we make any plans?” Luna managed to ask after controlling herself. She had laughed far longer than Merrick had, and the guarded look had taken over his face once more.

Wordlessly, he shifted over to the side farthest from the door and motioned for her to come closer. Her heart pounded as she pulled herself over to edge and shifted into a position to stare at the ceiling. This was the closest that she had been to him ever.

After a moment, once Merrick made up his mind, he sat up halfway to peer down at Luna. Feeling very awkward, she sat up too and leaned against the solid weight of the headboard. He summoned all of his fading courage and spoke, “Can I kiss you now before I fade away and become invisible once again?”

“Why would you want me?” Luna stammered out without being able to process more complex thoughts. He was literally inches away, and she could smell the sweet scent of his jacket that lingered on the sweater.

“If I have a taste of what I can never have,” he started at a very quiet volume. Merrick moved an inch closer and the end of his phrase faded into a whisper, as if he couldn’t trust himself to speak any louder, “then it will be easier to live without it.”

Merrick waited for a second to let her brain catch his words before closing the gap between them and gently pressed his mouth to hers. She closed her eyes and tried to catch a single passing thought in her mind, but as he ran his hand from the base of her neck into the bottom of her hair- each scattered thought ran for the hills. Free from the struggle with her thoughts, Luna focused on kissing the guy of her dreams.

After what seemed like only a few seconds to Luna, he pulled away until they were a foot apart, “I shouldn’t have done that. Please forgive me?” He posed the last statement as a question, and he cupped her face with his hand before sliding off the side edge of the bed. Merrick took one last hesitant glance at the room before slipping out the door; he shut it behind him, and Luna had never felt so alone.

Inside, Luna held her hand to her face where he had touched her and shook in disappointment with herself. Outside, Merrick slid to the floor of the hallway and was so out of it that he didn’t notice Karine walk up the stairs and in front of him.

“Are you sitting in the hallway for any particular reason, or are you just choosing to sleep in the hallway to protect your beloved?” Karine sarcastically questioned. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked down at him. Her gaze was burning through the top of his head.

“What I do and where I do it is none of your business.”

She shook her head and moved to the floor next to Merrick, “I’ve seen how you look at her and how she looks at you. You cannot pull away from her- your fates are too entwined to separate.”

“I do not expect you to understand,” Merrick stated simply as he attempted to get back to feet efficiently, “I do not expect anyone to understand.”

She held out a hand to him, and he allowed her to pull him to his feet as well, “Let me try.”

“No,” he stated while he turned his back on her, “Tell Luna and Darien to meet me in the last room on the hallway that will be the training area.” With those words, he entered the room in question and closed the door quietly behind him.

“That boy is so moody!” Karine exclaimed to herself as she slipped inside the room with Luna. Inside, she surveyed the scene: Luna sat on the ground near the dresser deep in thought. Karine stood in the doorway before she moved towards Luna and spoke, “Luna, are you alright?”

The other girl seemed to snap out of it as Karine helped her up, “I’m fine… What are we doing now?”

“If you’re sure that you’re alright- we’re going to explore the room at the end of the hall. Merrick thinks we need to see the training room together… Meet us there when you’re ready?”

Luna nodded in reply, and Karine swiftly exited the room while leaving the door cracked open. Slowly, Luna eased out of the room and narrowly avoided Darien, who had bounded by in a blur of speed. She took a deep breath and followed him down the hallway.

The four of them met in the front of a warm-colored room and stood in awe of that room before them. The room was filled with different areas that had boundaries set by warm, brightly-colored mats that marked different ways of training. Merrick noted, in particular, that there were too many options and not enough time to train. He knew better than anyone that with the skills the group currently had it wouldn’t be enough to fight the coming war.

“This is awesome! I can’t believe that this wonder is in a place with no human contact. This stuff will help us a lot!” Karine exclaimed happily as she ventured into the room to survey it physically.

“I’m glad you’re happy,” Merrick stated dryly before pressing her thoughts, “We should head back to the camp to get your stuff.” Luna could see that he was right; they should go and find the things that they would need to live in this house.

“We’re still going to need a distraction.”

“I agree,” Merrick started with a mischievous look in his eyes, “but we’ll need a plan. I can take Vernico out so you can sneak by; I know how to get rid of my old enemy.”

Karine was not about to let the plan lie in the hand of a vampire, “I think that we should just get to the camp by ourselves using the horses that we left behind.”

Realizing that a compromise would be needed, Luna thought for a second before speaking up, “Why don’t we have a distraction and then you guys can find the horses for yourself. I’ll be a distraction and it’ll work great! It’s much safer.”

Over the next bit of time, Merrick quietly objected, but he finally gave in to Karine’s demands. He wasn’t happy with it, but he would have to get over it…

* * * * *

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Chapter Six

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