Loving Madness

31. Racing

Monsters- Hurricane Bells

"Your Majesty," A man on the council speaks up, I remember him introducing himself as Arnold. "If I may, Serena was to be my apprentice, so I may be able to offer you some insights. When someone becomes an apprentice, they are required to mind link with at least one of the elders. I can show you some of the changes that happened after her mate was killed." His voice is smooth but I see a tinge of pain run through his eyes. He cared for her, but I could see that he did not care for what she had become. He holds out his hand to make it easier for me to see his thoughts.

"Arnold, I know you cared for her and I want to thank you for offering your services. I know how it must pain you to do this." I spoke to him softly in his mind. I made sure to make my gratitude known. "If you ever need anything, feel free to reach out to me." A small nod was thrown in my direction and I saw a single tear fall from his eye. I could see, reaching out and touching his palm, how much it pained him to do this. He wanted her to find peace and realized that the only way she was going to find it, was through death. She would continue to cause death and destruction where ever she went, her only goal to make others as miserable as she was.

I could see through his thoughts that she definitely wasn't like this before the loss of her mate. She was strong and independent and bullheaded, but never malicious or evil. She was opinionated and blunt, which made it difficult for you to like her unless you got to know her. She didn't care though. Serena was living her life on her terms and if you didn't like it, she wouldn't give you another passing thought. She was weary of Vampires but never particularly had any ill will against them.

Her mate, Johnathan, was the only one who ever saw through her tough exterior and he made her exceptionally happy. The only thing she didn't like was that he was a warrior. He loved to challenge anyone and would never back down from one. These were to-the-death challenges and obviously, up until this point, he had never lost one. She woke with a horrible feeling in her gut and begged him not to go to this particular challenge, to just surrender. He wouldn't hear it, valuing death over the loss of honor any time. The challenge started just as many others had, with him quickly taking the upper hand. It was one slip. His foot caught on a tree branch and while he didn't fall, it gave his opponent enough of an opening to put his sword through his throat.

Serena was distraught for a long time, but Arnold sensed a growing darkness inside of her. She was angry and had felt justified in her hatred toward Vampires. There had always been an uneasy alignment between the two factions, but she knew exactly how to tip the scales. She had always been charismatic and it didn't take her long to gain quite a following. Anyone willing to listen was recruited for her call for justice. Always conveniently forgetting to mention that her mate fell in an official challenge, completely fair.

At some point, one of her followers found out about the challenge and she lost most of her support. There were a handful of people who were just dark-hearted that stayed and helped. They came across a book, through her connections to the elders, that was forbidden magic, the darkest of the dark. Controlling other people and sometimes life and death. It was banned and not even the leaders were allowed to use it. The book then went missing and the rest is history.

She had sat and boiled in her misery and came out the other side with nothing to show but her lack of a heart. She killed anyone who got in her way, like the two council members. She was injured by Siobhan herself and made her great escape. No one had heard from her since, but they expected that someday she would make herself known again. There wasn't a Queen at the time to settle this matter and help locate Serena, so nothing could be done until now anyways.

Serena had chosen the wrong person to take. Laws be damned, her crimes called for blood. Two murders of her own people, Grand Coven Leaders at that, was enough to call for her head. The thing that allowed me to enjoy the thought of the life leaving her eyes was the pain that currently coursed through me and her captive. My blood boiled at the thought of the evil smile that had graced her face as she grabbed my cub's face.

My murderous thoughts brought me back to my murderous other half, Sebastian. I hadn't seen him for a bit, but I could tell he was close. Something is different about the link between us. It's light, almost airy with happiness. With hope. It's like another punch in the gut. I hadn't ever made him feel that way and whatever was causing it wasn't me. I couldn't mentally handle much more of dealing with Sebastian. Something had to give. I was sick of going above and beyond for him and getting nothing in return. I would talk to him soon, but Kurt was at the forefront of my mind.

"So, where do we start?" I ask looking to Siobhan for answers.

"Your Majesty, you aren't going to like this, but I think it would be best for you to take the shield off of Kurt and use it only if absolutely necessary. I couldn't think of a response to say to this as it was so ridiculous. So I stare at her with my eyebrows raised until she explains. "This isn't some pissed, newbie witch we are dealing with. She will know if you keep defenses up for Kurt. She could disappear again and we would never find Kurt. We don't want her to know that you have broken the mind loop. She thinks you are just a clueless child who doesn't know what you're doing and I think we can use that to our advantage." What she says makes perfect sense, but I don't know if I can physically make myself pull the shield from my cub.

Kurt, I cannot shield you anymore, my love. If she notices you aren't in as much pain as before, she will run and I can't let her do that. Do not give her any indication that the mind link is restored. I will find you, love. I love you more than my own life. I say these last words with as much love as I can muster in thought and close off the mind link as much as possible. I also retract my shield from him. Tears begin to fall from my eyes, but I'm not really sad, more numb and it just hasn't hit me yet. I can't fall apart yet.

"We need to find him first, then we can figure everything else out." Siobhan's voice changes into that of a commander and she is no longer the gentlewoman that I met. She is a warrior and one to be feared at that. She is determined to help me find my beloved and I am filled with pride for this faction. "Since you have the direct link to him, I can use that link to perform a locator spell. Remember, this first method may not be successful at first, depending on how far she is."

Siobhan walks to the table and gestures for me to sit directly across from her. A map appears on the table in front of her and she goes into more detail.

"The first step is to locate what continent he is on. All of these steps will involve using your blood. It is the strongest link you have to him. What I need from you is to simply focus on Kurt. Do not stop thinking of him for even a moment, as it could derail the spell." She is deadly serious and is determined to find him. I don't think anything stops her once she becomes determined, and I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of her determination. I sit in the chair across from her and she holds her hand out, motioning for me to lay my palm in hers.

The sting of the knife is nothing in my current state. I am focusing everything I have on Kurt. She raises my hand and allows the blood to drip onto the map. She begins chanting softly in broken and aggressive-sounding words. I watch in awe, keeping my thoughts strictly on Kurt as the blood comes together in one big droplet. I feel Siobhan entering my mind and slipping into the link between Kurt and I. The droplet rises completely over the paper and suddenly plunges back down. The map zooms in, even though it is only a single sheet of paper. I shouldn't have been surprised, Siobhan is an amazing Witch. The paper quits zooming in and we all stare at it in disbelief. Kurt is here, still in the castle.