Chapter 10

Miaka’s P.O.V

“They call themselves the League.” Kaleb sighed, running a hand down his face. “I don’t know who the higher ups are but there are five supervisors in control of different aspects of their work: funds, testing’s and research, gathering targets, getting special drug supplies and one who’s in charge of security, Daniel Shawn. I work under him, but I did come in contact with Alexandra Michelle, the woman in charge of research, while I was guarding the warehouse. She personally brought in the boy.”

“Any idea on what this is all about?” I leaned forward on the railing, taking a sip of my caramel macchiato. “Any propaganda against dethroning me and establishing human supremacy?”

“More like they want to be…the supremacy.” Kaleb took a sip of his own coffee. “The research they are doing, it all comes down to immortality and power. They want to become immortals, a race of beings far superior to the demons.”

“Huh?” I smirked. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve heard that. Everyone wants to be powerful.”

“You wouldn’t know how powerless we feel unless you’ve stepped into our shoes.”

“And you wouldn’t know the madness that awaits until you’ve stared into the eyes of the abyss and seen it stare back at you.”

“What?” Kaleb gave me a confused look.

“Demons, vampires, mages…all immortals, we ride a fine line between humanity and becoming a monster.” I sighed. “We have our demons too, literal ones, and the thirst to rip everything apart, bathe in the blood of the innocent. The humans are not wrong; there is a monster within us all. But we don’t cross that line. You’ll be surprised how much control we have over ourselves. A lot more than humans give us credit for.”

“And what about those who have crossed the line?” He asked, knowing well that there were instances of madness and bloodshed.

“We have protocols in place to eliminate any threats.” I told him the truth.

“Hunters?”

I nodded, taking another sip. “They’re a kind of hybrids; half-demon and half-human. They take care of those who can no longer be brought back. The ones who have abandoned all humanity.”

There was a comfortable silence as I stared ahead at the setting sun over the horizon, the vast sea stretched out for miles in front of me. The wind ruffled through my hair as I pulled down the scarf to the back of my head; but didn’t completely take it off.

“I would’ve told you everything…if you had just asked.”

I gave him a sideway glance. “I know; but you also needed to know who you were dealing with. You’ve been way too informal with me.”

“Would it have made a difference if I called you, Your Highness? Cowered in front of you or kept my head bowed?”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I don’t think you’re the cowering type. You seem like one of those aloof people who don’t care even if death is standing in front of them. But once you’ve committed to someone, you’re all in.”

I turned to face him when Kaleb didn’t give me a sassy comeback; found him frowning. Was I on a touchy subject? I shouldn’t care, but I decided to change the topic anyways.

“Where did you learn to speak Latin?” I asked curiously. “It’s a dead language.”

“My mother knew Latin.” He shrugged. “I don’t remember where she learnt it from and how or what she used it for. I just remember learning it from her.”

A human who knew to speak Latin? That’s new. I also didn’t trust Kaleb to speak the truth. So I guess I’ll have to be happy with the half-hearted answers that he gave me.

“Will you help me with Tyanna?” Kaleb asked, throwing away his empty cup in the trash. “What you did for her today…she was able to breathe without the tubes.”

“Well,” I finished off my coffee and threw it in the trash. “That depends on her diagnosis. My blood will take care of her problems temporarily, but I suggest a healer ma-”

“No mages!” Was the instant, snapped out answer. “I don’t trust them.”

“You keep saying that but a healer mage is your only option now.” I snapped back at him. “You told me you need my help and that’s all the help I can offer you. If human medical systems can’t figure out what’s wrong with your sister then this is the only way.”

“You can heal her with your blood.” He asked hopefully.

“Without knowing what’s wrong with her, I can do more harm than good.” I explained. “What beef do you have with the mages that you don’t trust them?”

“Beef? Why would I give them beef?”

“Huh?” I blinked several times to try and comprehend what was happening. Did he seriously not know that phrase? Which rock has he been living under? Even my brothers from the Council knew these and they were centuries old!

“Never mind!” I shook my head. “I meant beef as in rift. Bad blood?”

“Not something I want to talk about.” He replied grumpily.

“Alright, fine.” I held up my hands in surrender. “I need to get going now. You need to tell me what’s happening at their base, meanwhile I’ll try to figure out what’s wrong with your sister. Deal?” I held out my hand for him.

“Deal.” His hands touched mine.

Electricity zapped through me, startling me momentarily. It felt like my nerves were suddenly…alive. Everything around me was more…vibrant. I looked up at his extraordinary eyes to find him just as surprised. The blue and gold in his iris seemed more pronounced and it felt like I could get lost in them forever.

I removed my hand from his, worried about this strange attraction I felt towards him. I didn’t say anything as I left the park immediately, hurrying over to my car and locking the doors.

It was only then that I detached the tiny patch on my hand that fit like a second skin. It was a device that I had put on to scan Kaleb’s fingerprint and now, I placed it carefully inside the case to hand it over to the experts. It would tell me exactly who Kaleb really was and what he was actually trying to achieve.

Never in my eighteen years had I felt this way towards any man and if I was to trust Kaleb, then I would needed to know who I was trusting. That nagging feeling hadn’t left my mind yet, that Kaleb had strength and power hidden under his skin, and the fact that his mother knew Latin? I didn’t know what to make of any of this.

However, it was only after I was halfway towards my destination that I realized something important.

“Shit! I forgot to ask how he got my number!”