Killing On Command

Chaper 16

Zach

The plan was flawless. All I had to do was swim across the river and catch Alex while she was training in the woods; I'd be able to scoop her up and bring her back into town without anybody knowing. At least, that was what I thought was going to happen. As I waited for the sun to set on the river bank, I knew that I was making a foolish mistake. I couldn't possibly risk my life for her, my Father was right. I'm too weak . Serena was right too, I had to move on. There was no way of getting Alex back now.

Shut up! I mentally screamed at my thoughts. I couldn't back down now. As my hands began to shake, I knew that the anxiety of the moment was getting to me. It was a horrid feeling, but the bubbling and churning of my stomach felt familiar to me. It reminded me of kissing Alex and finally being able to tell her how I felt. I had to save her in order to save myself from self destruction. I had to save her for her family.

Or in their memory anyway.

I could hear church bells from the Cathedral and realized that although the night was young, the Mortals were growing stronger. Scarlotte had married into the Miller family against her Father's wishes, and had put herself in the direct sight of the Bloods. She was a target now; not only because of her husband leading the Mortal tribe after his Father's resignation, but because she was a tool in getting Alex to play along with their plans. I didn't want either of the twins to die in this war, I respected them both too much to lose them over a murder.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward, placing one foot into the cool, refreshing water before striding deeper into the river. At about waist depth, I began to swim, the currents pushing me downstream a little, but not knocking me off course enough for me to lose my sense of direction. I couldn't change form yet. I'd have to be stationary in order to stop any disorientation. The river was wider than it looked, and I struggled to put my feet on the ground and get out at the other side. Eventually, after what seemed like half an hour, I had reached dry land and began searching for the training grounds.

The Mystic woods were just as the stories told. The eerie dark wood trees left a dim and lifeless underworld under a canopy of poisoned leaves. It was difficult to see my hand in front of my face as I slowly tracked through the venomous jungle of vines and bushes. The worst part was that I didn't know what was at my feet. I walked for a good ten minutes before seeing a light in the distance, and even then it looked as though it would take hours to reach. I picked up the pace as I started to hear voices and rustling in the shrubs around me.

The clearing I had seen wasn't the training grounds. It was the square where Alex and I had fought before. I recognized the ruins of the old Chapel and Treasury. Staying under the cover of dark wood, I spied on the movements of the Bloods carefully, keeping an eye out for Alex and the crazy accomplice, Requiem Black. Nobody was walking around this evening, which seemed very strange for a tribe in preparation for war. I looked up at the sky, just to check, and saw that the moon was only just making its entrance.

That was when I saw her. My mouth instantly fell open as I saw the girl I knew and loved with another man. This was Requiem Black. Just as I thought things couldn't get any worse, the only plan I had was failing. She looked a little worried, which instantly made me feel exactly the same. If she had reason to worry, it was because she was in danger or thought something was wrong. I had always trusted her judgement before, and I would continue to do so until the day I die. It was the last thing I could possibly do for her.

I watched them disappear before I started to approach the tower which was in their direction. It was in a completely different building era to the rest of the Haven, so I guessed that it was newer than the others. It scared me a little to look in the general direction of the tall tower which loomed over the rest of the Haven. How could I possibly find out what lay inside? I would probably never know. I couldn't risk getting closer, as the rest of the Blood community was waking from their daytime slumber.