This Is Where I Want To Be

184. I Need You

Charlene

Juliet and I were having the time of our lives. We decided to lie on the beach of some watering hole and sunbathe in our underwear. Or Sirah-bathe... It was weird keeping track of the different stars. Not that it mattered. A sun was a sun no matter where you were. The little oasis was close to the camp and reminded me of the one Romero and I slept at on our marriage journey. Juliet and I could hunt our own food and afterward cool off in the water. We chatted away like we always did, having fun, and there was never a shortage of things to say or remember. At that moment, I missed everyone so much. It had been too long, and when I saw Juliet in that room, my little life was complete. It had not taken her years to find me. It also meant Kubra would come to me soon. It brought a smile to my lips. I missed him more than I wanted to admit. Still trying to hide it from Romero. The area we were in on their map wasn't the prettiest of places. I wondered what the fuss was about. Juliet and I decided to behave and not do anything stupid. Stay put and enjoy the day.

At some point, we had fallen asleep. I woke up in spikes of piercing pains all over my body. I couldn't manifest, and confused, I yelled for Juliet. Nothing but soft grunts passed over my dry lips. She wasn't there. No one was there. I tried to open my throbbing eyes. A constant searing, stabbing pain filled every bone in my body, resonating from my ass that was on fire. I forced my eyes to open. The tattoos were going nuts. That golden glow that always appeared was coming off me in waves of agitation. It enveloped me and wrapped around every limb till it focused on my throat. I fruitlessly tried to grasp at the golden shadow choking me.

Romero... was too far away from me. He was really not lying about the space between us. The pain wasn't at all like Juliet described it and was getting worse with every second. Suddenly, I couldn't even move. My limbs were stiff and contorted like a person having a seizure. How was I going to do anything? Would he not feel it. Was Romero going through the same pain? Michael would have brought him back. I couldn't think that the day had gone by. Juliet and I would never have slept for so long that it was already night. It was too dark. No moonlight. I had to be somewhere else. I didn't want to think about it, but the only thing it could be was Raiders. That in the time we slept, they came up and dulled us, knocked us out with a shadow. If Juliet manifested, she would've been able to get away or hopefully disappear. The pain didn't want to stop, and my eyes closed again. It was too much for my body. If I could only go into my vampire form. I had to wait for the voodoo to work out. The pressure around my throat was not giving me time to wait. My thoughts were consumed by the pressure. It became worse and worse until all I could do was beg.

***

Romero

We did not really have a plan to destroy Iku. No one ever could, and no one ever dared. Our goal was to keep it busy. My parents and I would search for the vault. Talk to the people working there and hopefully find it before Michael runs out of energy. I joined my father in talking to the locals. They were all on the ground, one knee bent. Once we released them, the congratulations for the mating and the baby came in waves from every Dheka. We sometimes traveled out that far. My father and I had to tour the whole planet to meet with the other districts' rulers. We try to navigate the globe at least once every few decades. Something I looked forward to doing with Charlene.

At my side, I could hear my mother making more progress in getting the information we needed than my father and I could. The people complained about the raiders and the growth of attacks on all the villages. It would explain why the thing had gone so mad and frantic at our appearance. We didn't even know they had moved that far out. My father met my eye. "Charlene."

"We have to hurry, mother."

"Come! There is only one place they know of that Iku guard with its life."