Crimson Illusion

Crimson Illusion- Chapter 14- Names

Rayne’s P.O.V.

-Nomina sunt odiosa. (Names are hateful)

“How?” Was the first thing out of my mouth.

I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that Arkady was actually free and able to talk after being imprisoned by Slick.

“Sir?”

“Is that really him?”

“How?”

“What?” and so on as the whole company of Generals slowly came to stand around me. they all talked over one another, their voices going from surprised, to angry, to happy and so forth.

“Yes, it’s me. and things may not be as we thought.”

After that, the real rock- fall of questions started. From questions, the men around me came to enraged conclusions and then to enraged statements.

The happiness of their boss returning was shadowed by the fact that he was kidnapped in the first place.

Their voices rose until they were all shouting into the phone, hard and merciless threats to murder, maim and torture. The only ones out of it were Alexander, Ruslan and me.

An unlikely trio, but what exactly could Alexander and I do that these men couldn’t? what message could we convey that they couldn’t? Exactly.

Nothing and none.

But Ruslan turned out to be the saving grace, believe it or not.

“Enough!” he roared when it became much too obvious that the rest of the Generals were no closer to stopping as I was to the top of Mount Everest.

“Let him talk! Let him explain!” he said, angry, the fiery armor close to showing, but he was open to persuasion. It was a tangible presence n the room; Ruslan knew something, something we didn’t.

In all this flurry, Alexander and I were the only ones to notice.

Rambo and Rus didn’t go at each other’s throats when they teleported to the field. Nope.

But the Generals listened, surprised for a moment and then coming, finally, to their senses.

I could feel the atmosphere in the room slowly become less and less dense. I could feel the calming energy that emitted from Ruslan. The panic and the anger were nowhere near as high as they were just seconds ago.

Alexander moved, I noted. He came to stand behind me. my mate was showing me support and showing others the promise of death if it somehow came to a situation that required death as the solution.

“Thank you Ruslan.” I noticed that Arkady left the British accent somewhere in the scruffle, “I have some news that will change the way we have viewed this problem. for now, I just need you to come to the house, I can’t discuss this over the phone.”

“And what about your father? Or the possibility of a trap? Arkady, for all we know, they could be holding you at gunpoint.” Wow, I may be getting better, but I would probably never be an optimist.

“I understand that Rayne, I do, but I need you to trust me all right? you know me, you know how I think. All of you do. I need you all to sway my father into agreeing to an alliance. This has not been what we’ve thought the whole time. Just trust me, and if this is all a set up, you can kill me as well as Slick and his men.”

And so we found ourselves in the rented SUV’s driving towards Slick’s house- again. we trusted Arkady, sure, but we didn’t trust Slick so all of the clicks and clacks in the cars were not from the guys shifting nervously, but from them loading their weapons angrily.