Volume 1.13 Through the Rain

Type: Series

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: M

Characters: Luca, April, Andrew
Word Count: 3243

Glossary: 

Warning: language, nudity, adult situations,

Then you look at me

You're not shouting anymore

You're silently broken

I'd give anything now

To kill those words for you

Forgive Me-Evanescence

Andrew was livid.

They didn’t have to be telepathic to figure it out; the careless way he kept speeding through the bumpy dirt roads from the bayou towards the busy city said it all.

Neither Luca nor April dared to say anything, let alone ask him to slow down. They knew leaving him alone was the best thing do when he was in one of his moods. He was okay when they left the house, okay until he saw Cadence, so Luca could only assume his long chat with Sonja’s daughter had plunged his cousin into the discontent state he was currently in.

With nothing to see outside except miles and miles of bushes and wheat fields, Luca closed his eyes and listened to April sing along to MCR blaring loudly on the stereo and he found himself thinking about Cadence. Judging from the large collection of the band’s albums he’d seen on her desk when he’d snuck in to leave the origami, she was a huge fan.

He also knew she loved to dance more than anything in the world, and she was brilliant at it. He’d seen her a few times at Emme’s dance studio at Twinbrook College, watching her from the shadows. She worked herself hard, put in long hours too. Sometimes she was the first in class and the last to leave. And he loved her dedication, but her raw passion when he’d watched her in Emme’s version of the Swan Lake two years ago had blown him away.

He’d deliberately gone in just as the doors were about to close and sat right at the back in a dinghy corner. He’d attracted a few stares from the townspeople with his dark jeans and t-shirt and the fedora hat hanging low on his head, he’d stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the sea of bodies dressed in their Sunday’s best.

No one had approached him though and he’d blissfully gotten lost in Cadence’s performance from the moment she’d glided on the stage as Odette, the Swan Queen who was once a beautiful princess but because of a spell cast by an evil sorcerer she was doomed to remain a swan and forever dance in a lake of tears unless a virgin prince pledged eternal love and fidelity to her.

He had loved her performance.

She’d thrown herself into the role with such vigor and passion she’d lit up the stage. And he, with the rest of the crowd in the packed room, had given her a standing ovation at the end of the performance.

That’s when his fascination with the swan origami had started. It was an art he’d had to learn and April and Andrew never understood his sudden obsession and he’d never explained.

Some dude, not MCR, screamed on the stereo, crooning about love and kisses and Luca thought back to his own kiss with Cadence. The memory he’d imprinted on her mind was real, he didn’t make it up.

Cadence had passed out just as he thought he wouldn’t brake in time to avoid hitting her and he’d rushed to her side but she’d come around within a few minutes. The moment she’d opened her eyes he knew she was confused, they were bright with delirium. Throughout her psychedelic babble her desire for him to kiss her had emerged over and over.

Shocked and relieved he didn’t run her over, he’d done the one thing his brain had screamed out for him not to do. He’d thrown caution to the wind and kissed her without restraint, and all the pent-up emotion he’d been holding in check since officially meeting her two days earlier had rushed forth and shown themselves in their embrace.

For those few minutes, it had just been the two of them and he could have stayed like that forever, with her in his arms. Basking in the sounds of her soft whimpers as she’d clung to him with such fervor and yearning, he’d wanted nothing more than to listen to his heart and nosedive into the fire, and just as he thought they might have a chance, they could both get what they wanted and each other out of this whole mess, she’d broken apart their kiss and looked at him with such horror and shame in her eyes he couldn’t stand it. He’d done the one thing he’d promised himself he’d never do; he’d altered her memory and made her forget the incident. He never wanted to see her so ashamed. EVER. And he never wanted to feel like the lowest of scumbags either.

He’d carried her to the car and she’d passed out again in her seat soon after that till she woke up at his house.

Looking back, kissing Cadence was probably not a good idea. She had awakened the same feelings she’d stirred in him when he’d watched her Swan Lake performance.

He’d thought he’d buried those feelings, but in that moment, with the sounds of cars speeding past them on the narrow busy road, his longing for her had shown itself unexpectedly, reminding him it had never gone away, he’d only done a great job at disguising and dressing it up as hatred because of her birthright.

But when it was all said and done, their kiss was incredible, and the drops of her blood dancing on his tongue had tasted like heaven; he’d had to exercise all his self-control not to take what his heart had desired.

He wondered now if she knew, if she’d even noticed the spell she’d cast on him. He hoped not, she was the daughter of the enemy and falling to pieces for her wouldn’t do.

“Does she know about the blood bond?” April asked suddenly, as if she’d been privy to his thoughts the whole time.

Luca shook his head without turning away from the window. Cadence would be livid if she knew he’d deliberately bitten her when he kissed her just so they could exchange blood. It was for her own good though. She didn’t know it, but she was a hot commodity. He could think of numerous people who’d want to harm her just so he didn’t break Julian out. With their bond in place now he’d know when she's in danger.

“Well, what happened to being ‘Mr. I am an honest guy, I don’t do things like that’?” April taunted him.

It was childish and silly and he would have ignored it, but when Andrew laughed from behind the wheel, Luca lost it.

“I’ll take being a liar any day over being a whore!” He spat at her.

For the longest of seconds there was stunned silence in the car.

April pressed her eyes shut, forcing back her tears. Luca’s words felt like a hot slap across her face, they stung like hell and they filled her with such shame and self-loathing that for a long time she couldn’t look at anything, especially her reflection in the rearview mirror.

“I did what I had to. It was for Julian and I’d do it again if I had to,” she told him at last through her tears.

“April, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” Luca apologized. April shook her head. She didn’t want to hear it. Her hurt was still too raw. She asked Andrew to pull up on the side of the road and she jumped out as soon as the car came to a complete stop.

The billions of tiny stars sprinkled across the darkening sky looked so pretty April wanted to touch them. She wondered if they’d taste like heaven. But she quickly made up her mind they wouldn’t. Making love with Julian and being in his arms was as close to heaven she’d ever get.

“April, get in the car!” Luca came after her but she ignored him as she carried on walking.

They were on the highway connecting Twinbrook and Appaloosa Plains, and the road was unusually busy for a Monday evening. April thought most people should have already been in their homes, getting ready hide from the approaching storm, instead they were out and about, blaring their car horns at her to get out of the road. It never snowed in winter in Twinbrook, but they did get lots of rain and she remembered now it was probably the only thing she’d hated about the sleepy town.

“Do you have a death wish or something?” Luca screamed at her as he pushed her off the road.

“Like you care what happens to me?” She cried, her tears fell silently from her eyes.

Luca took her in his arms and held her, wishing he could undo everything he’d said in the car. There was no excuse; those words should never have left his lips. If it wasn’t for April they wouldn’t even have the Chaos Star.

Willow, Andrew’s girlfriend and their resident Witch from Sunset Valley, had been instrumental in discovering the exact spell that was used by the Youngbloods and the magical regents that were needed, among those being a Chaos Star.

It took them years, a little over a decade to be precise, to find their own Star and it had not been child’s play. There were only five in the world, and most were no longer in their rightful owners’ hands, they were now scattered across the globe and being used by devil worshippers, Wolves, demons and Vampires alike.

They had scavenged tombs in Egypt, dodged death traps in France and China, trying to get the keystone. But in the end it was April who had delivered the impossible. 


She struck a deal with the devil, who so happened to be Ethan McKenzie, the son of Anthony McKenzie, the same man who’d murdered Hannah, Luca and Julian’s mother.

When he heard they were looking for the Chaos Star, Ethan had offered to hand his family’s keystone in exchange for one night with April. He didn’t love her. He didn’t even care about her; it was all just a show of power for him, a way to have something to dangle over Luca and Julian if he was ever freed.

For years April had held out, refusing to sell herself, but when two weeks ago, Luca and Andrew’s search failed to produce miracles, she’d given in.

The whole time she was underneath Ethan, she had blocked out her mind, wishing she was someplace else.

As she stood in the middle of the road, with the crazy city drivers rushing past them, April remembered the shame and hatred she’d felt when Ethan had immersed himself in her, when he’d rocked his hips up against hers and groaned all sorts of obscenities at her. 


He wasn’t gentle, like Julian. He didn’t even bother to find out what she liked, how she wanted to be held and touched. It had all been about him. Looking back now she supposed that’s the downfall of striking deals with the devil, he’s the only one who wins.

As soon as his cries of ecstasy had died down, Ethan had jumped off her and threw her clothes at her like some cheap whore he’d met on Lower End Street. But he did promise he’d have the keystone in a week, two weeks at most, it was at museum in Egypt and he’d have to speak to the Curator to release it from his family’s art collection.


True to his word, this morning they had received a call from him, he had the keystone.

April knew Luca hated her for sleeping with Ethan and she didn’t blame him, but his feelings were nothing compared to her self-loathing, she hated herself for having placed herself in that situation, for debasing herself and stooping to such levels. But for Julian she would do it again and again, because his freedom meant the world to her.

“I did what I did out of love for Julian. I don’t expect you to understand, because you’ve never met the one person you’d go to the ends of the world to ensure their happiness. I met mine, and he’s rotting away in that cellar, every day the sun sets brings us closer to his death if nothing gets done, if we don’t save him. I can’t allow that, Julian saved my life; it’s time for me save him. And I’d rather have Julian hate me, than have him dead. That’s how much I love him. I don’t expect you to understand or believe me.” April told him as she headed back to the truck.

Luca was stunned by April’s words. Every time they’d talked, no, every time he’d accused her of selling herself, she'd never explained herself as clearly as she had now. He wished she had, maybe all their meaningless fights would have been avoided.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you explain yourself? Every time we fought, you never said anything or defended yourself?” Luca stopped her in her tracks.

April shrugged her shoulders. “It’s done now Luca. I don’t need you to keep judging me. It was for Julian. In a few days, we’ll have the keystone, we have the words to the spell, and we just need Cadence’s blood so let’s stay on course please.  Leave the judging to Julian.”

The rest of the drive to Sunset Valley was subdued, each lost in their thoughts.

Andrew, still playing chauffer, wished they’d taken his car instead, it was faster and more reliable, and they would have been in Sunset Valley hours ago to pick up Willow.

He was overcome with feelings of gratitude once again when he thought of his mate. It was no secret, Vampires were the most hated race in the supernatural world, so Willow, a seventh generation Witch, being in love with him and willing to risk the wrath of her coven to help him free his sister was...he couldn’t find the right word, but humbling came close.

He knew without Willow’s help, they’d be nowhere closer to understanding the Youngbloods attack on their clan. But her help had come at a price. She was very young when they met, and talks of being turned had never cropped up. But now in her mid-thirties, Willow was starting to worry like all women who are in love with immortals. She wanted eternity with him and he wanted that too, but, like April and Luca, he knew what a joke that was. With magic like the Youngbloods, forever could be gone in a blink of an eye and they could very well find themselves in prisons similar to Julian's.

He’d explained this to Willow, that forever wasn’t guaranteed, but she had insisted that’s exactly why she wanted to be turned and she’d take her chances.

He had not wanted to promise, but with Willow dangling the words to the reversal spell in front of his eyes, he had agreed to turn her as soon as the mess with the Youngbloods was over and his sister was freed.

Now as he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, silently humming to Evanescence’s Before the Dawn, Andrew kept thinking of ways to change her mind.

They had just reached Appaloosa Plains when the rain started. It hailed for a kilometer or two, the sound of ice falling on the roof was unbearable, and Luca, stressing about the damage to his already battered truck, cursed crudely.

Just as they pulled into a deserted gas station to fill up the tank, the ice let up, and made way for the light but steady beat of raindrops. The lightning and thunder crackling in the sky didn’t relent though and April found herself jumping at the sounds and flashes rolling in the horizon.

She asked Andrew to stop for a while, just until the storm had passed, but he refused, they had to be in Sunset Valley by 10pm at the latest to pick up Willow and head straight to the airport for their flight to Egypt.

Luca, knowing her fear of storms, wordlessly took her hand and squeezed it gently in a comforting gesture.

April gave him a shaky smile. They used to be close. Before this business with Ethan started. She missed him, missed fooling around with him. She wished they could go back to their easy friendship.

“I’d like that too,” Luca answered her thoughts.

Though she didn’t appreciate him listening in on her thoughts, it wasn’t something any of them did often, so she forgave him just this once.

“Good. I’m glad,” she smiled and smacked his arm playfully.

Since they couldn’t get a signal in these parts of Appaloosa Plains they turned off the stereo and for a long stretch only the sounds of the windshield wipers could be heard.

Luca soon lost himself in his thoughts, and he kept replaying April’s words, about loving someone so much you’d give up everything for them. He understood what she meant, because that’s exactly how he felt about Julian. They just had different ways of showing it, and it didn’t mean that his way was right, or April’s way was wrong.

He’d never agree with the way she’d gotten the Chaos Star, and to be honest he felt oddly betrayed, not for himself but for Julian. But knowing her motivation and why she’d acted the way she had, he understood now that sometimes even good people do horrible things to protect their loved ones when left with no choice.

April could feel herself getting depressed just watching the rain so she sunk low in her seat and closed her eyes, forcing her mind to think happy thoughts.

She wasn’t one of those people who liked to leave the past where it belonged; her past didn’t have ghosts. Hell, it was her present that was the problem and over the past two weeks since the incident with Ethan, she’d found herself retreating to her life with Julian.

She’d known him and Luca all her life, as she was born in their home; her parents Arlene and William Knight were the house and groundskeepers at the Delacroix manor.

She’d loved Julian most of her life, but it wasn’t until she’d turned twenty they became a couple. A decade later, in 1957, drunk out of their heads from a night of partying with friends, she and Julian were involved in a head on collision. She was driving and Julian had come out of the wreckage unscathed. And everyone said it was miracle she’d survived long enough for Julian to turn her.

Upon completion of her transformation, Julian gave her a ring encrusted with a rare ruby as a symbol of his love for her and his commitment to spend eternity with her. She never took it off; in fact, it was the only piece of jewelry she wore.

She wasn’t exaggerating when she’d told Luca it was her chance to save Julian. She owed him her life. He’d given her forever, and it was her turn to give it back to him…

________

Note: My apologies for the unimaginative shots and the lack of in some places. 


Anyway, I made a video of Cade, it's nothing fancy really, but I had fun making it so I hope you'll have fun watching it too?


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