We Shall Rise (23 page)

They hitched several ships until they eventually ended up in New Orleans. It was there that an eight-year-old Reysa and ten-year-old Christian met Savannah. Reysa wanted to go to the travelling circus. Christian was reluctant. He hated seeing animals caged, but Reysa felt like she needed to be there. Christian agreed to go with her.

“When I saw Savannah, I knew that’s why I needed to be there. I needed to set her free.”

Later that night long after the show ended. Reysa and Christian snuck back into the circus and set Savannah and well as most of the wild animals free. Savannah became the mother that neither of them had but both needed. Their small family grew. Broderick joined them several years later then Alejandro. It had been the five of them against the world for years. Their family has continued to grow and now it includes hundreds of other Misfits, abandoned creatures of the night who needed a home just as Reysa and Christian had
.

“Can you understand, Kaden? Can you understand how important Christian is to me? Why I need him in my life always?”

Kaden knew he was being unreasonable, but he hated feeling like the third wheel when Christian was around. He had to accept that she couldn’t abandon the mutt. Hell, he owed him so much for taking care of her all those years. Kaden bristled at the thought of all the horrible things that could have happened to her had Christian not been there to protect her. If not for Christian, he would probably have never had this chance to be with her.

“I can’t help but understand,” he conceded. “It’s just hard knowing how much he means to you. How important he is in your life. I can’t compete with that.”

“There’s no competition. Christian and I have never been lovers. Once when we were kids we kissed because we both wanted to learn how to do it and we figured practicing on each other was safe. It was safe, but it was uncomfortable for both of us. Christian is too much like family. I can’t see him as a lover.” The thought causing Reysa to visibly shudder. “Kaden, if Christian and I wanted to be together we’ve had three quarters of a century to give it a shot. We never did because we never wanted to. Why are you worried about it happening now?”

Good question
, Kaden acknowledged. Reysa was right. She and Christian had every opportunity to take their relationship to another level and yet neither ever attempted it. Maybe it was time to acknowledge that their relationship was truly as innocent as she has been saying.

“I’ve been a jealous fool. I’m sorry.”

Reysa kissed him passionately on the lips. “I know that wasn’t easy for you to admit and I thank you for doing so. I also understand why my closeness to Christian could be upsetting. There was never much of a need for boundaries between us before, but now I think that needs to change. He and I will work on that, but you have to be patient with us. This is new to us as well.”

“Agreed. Now let’s seal the deal.” Kaden flipped her on her back and braced himself on top of her. “Thank you for explaining all of this to me.”

“Thank you for listening.”

Kaden leaned in to kiss her when Reysa’s cell phone rang. “Ignore it,” he pleaded.

“I can’t. It could be about Tatiana.” Reysa eased Kaden off of her and reached for her cellphone on the dresser. The number was unfamiliar, but she answered it anyway.”

“Hello,” she asked, but there was no response. “Hello,” she asked again. She was about to hang up when she heard a familiar, unexpected, but welcomed voice.

“Reysa, it’s Yasmine. Please help me.”

III

Hearing Yasmine’s voice was such a welcomed relief. After all this time with no leads and fearing the worst might have happened, to know that she was still alive gave them all much needed hope. Reysa would feel even better once they had her back home where she belonged.

Yasmine didn’t know exactly where she was being held, but Reysa could dematerialize there now that she had heard her voice. She wanted to immediately go on her own, but Kaden would not allow it and Christian, Alejandro and Broderick agreed. Those frustrating men had ganged up on and were trying to bully her into playing it their way. She knew they were just looking out for her safety, but her only concern right now was saving Yasmine and she would gladly sacrifice herself to bring her friend back home.

After some negotiation, they all agreed Reysa would travel with Kaden and Julian to recover Yasmine. Christian, Alejandro and Broderick would stay behind to protect Tatiana and the others. Christian wanted to go with her, but there was no one she could trust more with their child’s safety and with all the chaos and potential threats awaiting them, she needed to know that her baby girl was safe with her father.

Reysa went into the living room where Julian and Kaden were already waiting. She redialed the number Yasmine had used and waited for her to answer. When she heard her voice, she held on to Kaden and Julian. As she was dematerializing, she heard the distinct sound of high heeled shoes accompanied by a plea “wait for me”.

Reysa appeared in the middle of a forest somewhere in Vancouver. She looked around and saw Kaden and Julian, and to her surprise, their Aunt Corinne.

“What are you doing here Aunt Cori?” Kaden didn’t bother hiding his displeasure at seeing Corinne. This was a potentially dangerous situation. They had no idea what they were walking into trying to get to Yasmine. For all they knew, it could be a trap. The last thing they needed was Corinne getting them into deeper trouble. It wasn’t like they could count on her combat skills. She never fought citing her concern she might break a claw. She was pretty useless in a battle and rather annoying in general.

“Helping,” Corinne replied.

Kaden looked at her platform gold heels and short tight vibrant red dress trying to figure out exactly what kind of help she was offering in that outfit.

Sensing his frustration, Reysa urged them to proceed. The goal was to rescue Yasmine. Time was not a luxury they could afford to waste. Corinne’s presence shouldn’t make a difference, she hoped.

They followed the path in the woods where they saw a small, but well-maintained shed. As they approached, Kaden sensed the presence of another, but this was no witch. Kaden jumped in front shielding Reysa with his body. A rather large menacing lion sprang from the trees. It crouched in front of them blocking their path.

“Is that a lion-lion or a lion shifter?” Kaden asked.

“I don’t know.” Reysa responded. If only Alejandro were here. He would be able to communicate with this lion even if it wasn’t a shifter.

“If it’s a shifter it should be able to understand us,” Julian noted. “We should try talking to it.”

As no one volunteered, Kaden stepped forward to get the lion’s attention “Yo lion, can you understand what I’m saying?” Kaden asked. Reysa elbowed him in the rib again giving him that you’re an idiot look she had mastered. “What was I supposed to say? I’m not good with small talk.”

The lion showed no reaction. At least it wasn’t attacking although the potential threat was apparent with those sharp claws and equally sharp canines. No doubt this beat could shred their flesh with ease.

“Let me try to talk to it,” Corinne mentioned as she moved in front of the group.

“You speak lion?” Kaden questioned, the doubt reflecting in his tone.

“A little.”

Kaden eyed her dubiously, but at this point they were running out of options. He nodded for her to continue.

Corinne stepped closer to the lion her arms stretched out in front of her in a gesture of peace. “Hey Mr. Lion. We don’t want to hurt you and we don’t want you to hurt us. We are your friends.” She bowed her head slightly and said, “Hakuna Matata.”

Kaden growled in frustration as Julian and Reysa tried to mask their laughter. Kaden grabbed Corinne’s arm pulling her back to him and away from the lion. He was tempted to let the lion feast on her. “You don’t speak lion, Cori, you speak
Lion King
.”

“Ah, but she speaks it so well.” Kaden looked up to see a six and a half foot man with long golden hair that reached his knees standing in front of them. He had been so focused on Cori, he hadn’t notice the lion shifting into a male.

Corinne and Reysa gaped at the naked lion. Both of them stood there with their mouths wide open as they perused the shifter’s oversized anatomy. Frustrated, Kaden moved to stand in front of Reysa blocking her view. “Hey,” she growled as she elbowed him again.

“You were staring at his package,” Kaden reprimanded.

Reysa opened her mouth as if to deny the claim, but she quickly shut it. Better to stay quiet than to deny the truth.

Kaden turned back to face the shifter trying to keep his focus on the his face. “I am Kaden. This is Reysa, Julian, and our lion translator Corinne.”

“I am Yanis,” his yellow eyes focused on Corinne, “but you can call me Mufasa,” he purred sending a shiver down Corinne’s spine.

“You can just call me,” Corinne offered as she continued to stare unabashedly at his glorious body.

Yanis smiled, flashing a set of perfectly shaped white teeth.

“Stop flirting, Cori. There’s a certain pup who would not be amused,” Kaden reminded her.

“It doesn’t matter. He already hates me.” Corinne turned away and walk towards Julian.

Kaden wanted to do something to help her. This situation with the wolf was hurting Corinne too much. No matter how annoying she was, she was family. He would figure out a way to help her, but first they needed to rescue Yasmine. “We mean you no harm. We are here for our friend. She called us asking for us to help her.”

“Yes. You are Yasmine’s friends. She is inside. I told her to say inside until I was certain you meant her no harm. You may follow me now.”

The group followed Yanis to the shed which was barely large enough to house this giant lion nevermind all of them. He stopped up the door and pulled on a pair of sweatpants. Julian sighed in relief. “Thank goodness. The guy was killing what was left of my self-esteem. I never felt so woefully inadequate in my entire life. Who can compete with that?”

“An elephant,” Kaden teased.

“Maybe a giraffe. You know what they say about animals with long necks,” Julian joked causing both brothers to laugh.

Corinne and Reysa stared at each other with matching shocked faces. Kaden and Julian actually had a moment of levity. Neither woman wanted to get her hopes up, but even a brief moment of banter was a miracle between these two.

Yanis paused at the door. He glanced over his shoulder at Julian and Kaden, “Why do you think lions are the kings of the jungle? No other animal, or immortal, could compete with us in any way.” He strolled inside.

“At least I don’t have girly man hair,” Kaden whined as he followed Yanis inside.

IV

Reysa spotted a very bruised, frail and troubled looking Yasmine on the couch. Resting on her lap was a cub that looked to be only a few years old. Yasmine looked so thin and weak. So unlike the vibrant woman with the dazzling smile that everyone had come to know and love. Reysa vowed at that moment to destroy everyone who had caused the light to dim in Yasmine’s vivid hazel eyes.

Reysa ran to her and pulled Yasmine into her arms careful not to disturb the sleeping cub. Yasmine returned the hug as she cried on Reysa’s shoulder.

“Are you alright Yas?” Reysa knew that her friend was far from okay. “What happened to you? Where have you been?” Reysa asked as she held Yasmine in our arms.

“They took me, Reysa,” Yasmine whispered softly.

Yasmine sat back and surveyed the room of strangers. She wanted to go home where there were no cages, no chains, and no experiments. Her tearful eyes focused on the vampire sitting across from her with such brilliant blue eyes. There was something calming about this stranger; something safe and right now, safe was what she needed. She took a deep breath and focused on the mysterious stranger as she told Reysa, “It started with a vision that Madeira was going to die and I had to save her before it was too late.”

The vision clawed at her mind with such a force that she nearly passed out from the intensity. Her visions had always been painful jolts to her senses, but they were crippling when it impacted someone she loved. This last one had caused the most mind splitting agony that she knew immediately it involved Maddie.

Images had flashed before her of her sister’s broken and bloodied body fighting with her last ounce of strength her brutal attacker. Maddie collapsed in a pool of her own blood while the creature watched as if admiring her handiwork. The creature continued to stare proudly until Maddie took her last breath. Her hazel eyes no longer full of the life and passion that was Maddie. They were distant, empty, lost.

Yasmine knew that she could not alter her visions. She was a seer and the fates that revealed themselves to her could never be altered. She tried so many times to stop that which was destined to happen and each time she failed. With every failure, she bore the weight of disappointment from her helplessness. This time, she had to succeed. She had to try again. If not she would lose the person who mattered most to her. Maddie was her constant, her family. Yasmine could not imagine surviving without Maddie by her side. Yasmine would find a way to alter destiny this time.

Yasmine’s visions were unpredictable. She didn’t know exactly when death would strike Maddie, she just knew how. She needed to reach her sister. Keep her safe and pray to the gods that death would pass her by.