Forbidden Lineage

Chapter 25

Hi everone :D  I know you guys have come a long way with me, so a BIG thank you to each and evrery one of you :)  This Chapter goes out to Caffeineatnight, for all her help and encouragement, and for the beautiful name she picked out for one of my hotties ;)  Sorry I couldn't add more to this chapter, as it would have gotten way too long,,,Hope it keeps you busy until the next upload.  As usual, read, vote and comment...feedback is always appreciated.  And to the silent readers as well, thnx guys....You are ALL awesome :D

Ulrica:

The inner turmoil she found herself in was slowly making her edgy.  Everything Nik said was true.  It was becoming clearer to her that they were chasing nothing in particular; that the demonic murderer they sought was hiding in plain sight.  Her skill was legendary, but uncertainty and confusion had been coloring her decisions lately.  She’d suspected that Dante himself was closer to the murders than he led them to believe…But so what?   

She could not go up against him alone, and she had no proof, except her nose.  She’d scented him…He stunk like death himself, but he could also have his reasons for that.  It could be as simple as the thing they were facing now.  Trust.  Maybe he didn’t trust them enough to come out with it, maybe he was on the trail of the murderers already.  Maybe he’d even set it up to get the tainted caught so he could get Kai back…He did have a flair for theatrics, but he could never turn on them.  She believed that no matter what, he was a Guardian, and even though that didn’t absolve him from any crime if he committed it, she was hard put to believe that he was pure evil.  When had the Guardianship drifted so far apart?   

Nik had taken them to each of their homes to get changed, but he’d been brooding the whole time.  She let him have his space, keeping the small talk general while skirting around the subject of the impending interview with the woman.  Now, they’d just gotten back from the hospital, and things had become more difficult.

When they’d spoken to the hysterical victim, they could see that her fearful experience had left her shaken.  And exactly as Nik told them she would, She’d cried and told them that there were two attackers; that it was one male, and one female, that they were going to kill her after biting her, but she fell off the rooftop and didn’t recall much else.  When they asked for a description of the two, she’d given them a detailed mind sketch.  Too detailed, right down to the matching jade signet rings they each wore on the forefingers of their left hands.  Leo and Maier, the only two of their kind who were silver haired, aged into adulthood like no other Crimson.  Actually 'the oldest looking Crimsons because of their taint...'

Nik’s words rang through her memory again. “…And she could easily be put under submission before we get there…

They finally stopped her tears and set her mind at ease, leaving her relaxed and sleeping when they exited. 

Dante had stood by smugly, with his hands folded behind his back, not saying much else while Yesinia flirted openly with the woman’s doctor.

She sighed now, watching Nik and Caleb pace in opposite directions at his villa.  He’d lied blatantly to Dante, telling him that they all needed time to rest, feed and prepare for the meeting, when instead he’d brought them to his home.  The sky was overcast, but the view from his spacious back yard was spectacular.  She stood leaning with her back to them, against the frame of the glass doors.  Past the maze of rose bushes in full bloom, her eyes roamed the horizon, where the wild sea and sky rolled together, matching her feelings that were as choppy and turbulent as they were.  Light rain formed a curtain that shifted periodically with short bursts of wind.  She heard Nik change direction and steadied her emotions.