Chapter 18

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I was starting to worry at how quiet things were. It had always been quiet, it was one of the qualities I could depend on the house to have, but it shouldn't be like this. I knew in my bones that Roscoe wasn't finished with me yet, and it was becoming unnerving, waiting for him to come.

A week passed. We were now in the final days of August, and to my sorrow the leaves on the deciduous trees were beginning to turn orange and yellow - the colors were beautiful, but it could only mean one thing; winter would soon follow fall. The air was still warm, and the sun still shone, but the winter blues had claimed me several weeks too early.

Sergei was quick to notice. "Little Red, if you pout those pretty lips of yours anymore, they might just fall onto the floor!"

I offered him a bright smile. "Sorry, Sergei. I can't help but hate the fact that winters on its way."

"Why do you scorn winter so much?" Sergei asked curiously.

I looked at him like he was crazy. We were eating scones that Myrnah just made, sitting on the kitchen island, and his huge frame seemed to fill up the whole room. He looked back at me evenly, his black eyes imperceptible.

"Winter is a lovely season." He told me. "When it snows, the world becomes a glittering wonderland. I personally love it; back in Russia I used to spend the entire season outdoors."

I shuddered at the idea of doing that. If I tried staying outside the whole of winter, I'd probably curl up in a ball the first day and beg the ground to eat me up.

"Where do you and the girls live now?" I asked him. Lei and Wei stayed with Sergei in Russia till they were thirteen.

"We live in Hamilton, Ontario." Sergei tossed another scone into his mouth. At the rate he was going, we'd polish off those scones in no time.

I nodded vaguely. I'd lived in BC all my life; anything further east of Calgary was foreign territory. "Do you like it there?"

Sergei shrugged as he chewed. "It's nice. We were just visiting when we came here, but decided to stay after the Cold War started."

I nodded as I digested his information. I was going to lose track of what decade I was in if I hung around shifters and vampires too much. All this talk about wars was seriously going to catch me off balance.

"Do you think you'll live there forever?"

"Maybe." Sergei didn't look fazed by the idea. "We don't know how long we'll be around."

"What do you mean?"

Sergei looked at me. "Well, Little Red, shifters can die, you know. I have many friends who died in the fall of the Turkish Empire. The only reason I'm still here is because no ones hated me enough to kill me."

I looked at him in surprise. Till now, I thought shifters were immortal, like Apollo and Astera. Now that I thought of it, if Jannosh was immortal he wouldn't have broken his arm.

Then again, I had no idea what I was talking about. I was just a lousy human.

Sergei brushed crumbs off the broad front of his shirt. "If you'll excuse me Little Red, I think I'll just go for a run."

"But you just ate like fifty scones!"

"And?" He gave me a questioning look as he left.

I shook my head. Those crazy shifters - or maybe it was just men? I'll never understand either.

I slid off the stool and wandered closer to the window to offer another glare at the colorful trees. Lei and Wei were sprawled on the lawn with the Blue Brothers. As I watched, Sergei sauntered passed and ruffled each of the girls' hair as he walked. Wei got up to go after him, and laughing, Sergei shifted into a humongous black bear and took refuge in the trees. Wei stood for a while, shaking her fist after him while the others laughed behind her.

For the hundredth time, I wondered why the shifters were still here. They finished rebuilding the damaged part of the house a while ago; they could've taken off immediately. When I asked Eric about it, he hugged me affectionately and told me with a beautiful smile that I think too much.

I had a feeling it was all for me though. I watched as Lei talked animatedly to Nigel; despite their youthful looks they were all much wiser and intuitive than they let on. Even without Apollo saying anything, they knew the fire was just the beginning.

I felt a rush of affection at the thought of them mutually deciding to stay. I couldn't remember anyone caring this much about me, not even when my father had been alive.

My thoughts had drifted off, so I didn't notice at first when the group outside suddenly stilled. When I turned to look, Lei and Wei were suddenly on their feet and the Blue Brothers were on high alert. I watched in sudden apprehension as the two girls suddenly sprinted into the forest.

The Blue Brothers got up, ready to follow. Eric turned to look at the house, and his bright eyes locked with mine.

What's going on? I mouthed.

He shook his head minutely before turning away. I was already hurrying out of the kitchen before he faced the forest again. He looked exasperated when I hurried out in the lawn toward them.

"Lilah, go back inside." Eric told me, holding his hands out. The sun reflected off his glasses and turned them opaque for a second.

"Not till someone tells me what's going on." I said firmly, swatting his hands away.

Ryan pulled Eric away from me. "Relax man, it's probably not a big deal." He turned to me, smiling encouragingly. "It sounds like Sergei ran into something a couple hundred yards out. Lei and Wei are overreacting, it's probably a bear protecting its territory."

"Are you sure?" I asked worriedly. I remembered what Sergei had just told me; shifters could grow extremely old, but it was very possible for them to die.

"Positive." Ryan slung an arm around my shoulders.

Nigel and Eric didn't look as positive though. Nigel's face was serious as he squinted into the tree line and Eric was flexing his hands.

I opened my mouth to ask another question when Wei suddenly sprinted out. Her breathing was ragged and her yellow eyes were wide.

"Apollo!!" She screamed.

If Ryan was positive before, he definitely wasn't now. Nigel and Eric immediately took off into the trees, but he grabbed my shoulders and looked at me sternly. "Stay here, Lilah." He turned away.

"Ryan -"

But he was gone. I was alone with Wei. She looked at me, her eyes still wide and her mouth trembling. I went to her and took her hands. "Wei?"

"What is it?" Apollo was suddenly behind me, his face serious in the shadow of his hood.

Wei shook her head quickly, obviously shocked.

Apollo gently took her hands from me. "Show me."

They began to walk away, and I ran after them.

"Lilah love, please stay here." His beautiful green eyes pleaded with me.

"No." I said firmly, latching onto his arm. There was no way I was sitting idly while they skipped around in the woods. My skin was practically crawling; I couldn't wait when something was obviously wrong.

Apollo sighed and his hand drifted to take my own. "Stay close."

The walk into the forest felt agonizingly long. It would have been pleasant under other circumstances; the forest was as jewelled and gorgeous as the day Jannosh and I had taken our hike. The sun beat comfortably on my hair through the foliage and the recent rain made everything smell heavenly.

Despite that, I would have to be remarkably oblivious not to catch on to the fact that something was jarringly wrong. It was eerily quiet when the trees should be alive with sound, and goose bumps riddled the skin all over my body even though Apollo radiated heat as faithfully as ever. And of course there was Wei - the lovely girl hadn't spoken a word our entire journey. Her eyes looked glassy, and her usually glowing face looked dull and green.

When there was sound ahead,

I almost welcomed it. I peered ahead and saw the shifters gathered around a line of strange looking trees. I saw that Astera and Tether had also joined; their backs were to us and very still.

Apollo suddenly ground to a halt. "Lilah, we need to go back."

"What?" I looked between him and Wei; he looked extremely stressed and Wei watched me with her huge mournful eyes.

"Just listen please." His voice sounded on edge, and his soft hands pulled at my arms insistently.

I turned in confusion to look back ahead; the group was looking back at us now. Sergei's usually cheerful face looked closed off and stricken, and it scared the hell out of me. What the hell was going on? What was so terrible about those trees-

Then I saw it.

They weren't trees at all. They were six foot wooden stakes plunged into the ground. And suspended on them like some sick resemblance of scarecrows were bodies.

I didn't recognize the two men, or the sweet faced woman. I recognized the fourth man though. Dried blood dripped from his gaping mouth, and his silver eyes seemed to look straight at me.

So shifters really could die.

I turned, pulling from Apollo's grasp, and ran as fast as I could back to the house.

---

I chose to hide in Apollo's room. Knowing Myrnah and Jannosh, they would never set foot in there. I could here their footsteps all over the house,but they never made their way up the narrow passage to Apollo's room.

I knew Apollo would be back eventually, but I also knew it wouldn't be for a while. He had to deal with the... Situation in the forest. I curled up tightly on his bed, staring at the wall and trying my best to keep the images out of my head.

It was blissfully dark and cool in Apollo's room. The thick curtains had been replaced, and no stray ray of sun had managed to fight its way through the heavy fabric. My eyelids drooped of their own accord, and I was almost asleep when his arms went around my waist.

"Are you awake?" Apollo asked softly.

I nodded, but refused to turn around. Apollo sighed as he settled beside me, and I felt his lips at the base of my neck.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"For what?"

"That you saw that. I should've made you stay. Jannosh could've held you down, even Myrnah."

"I would've found a way anyways."

Apollo was quiet. "I suppose so."

We were both still, and I breathed in his smell. It was peaceful and safe here, and I wished we could stay here forever.

It could never happen though.

"They were for me, weren't they?" I whispered into the dark. "It was a taunt. He was saying, I haven't forgotten you! I'm not going anywhere!"

Apollo didn't reply, but his arms curled tighter around me.

I shifted so that I was facing him. Even in the dark, his eyes were bright. His face was somber and I found I missed his smile.

"What am I going to do?" I asked him.

He pulled me closer until our noses almost touched. It was so hot inside the circle of his arms; he was projecting heat like the sun. I didn't object though - my hands felt cold at the images in my head.

"We're going to wait." Apollo replied gently. "He wants me to make the first move, but he underestimates how patient I am.

And when he finally cracks, I'll be waiting for him. I'm going to end that madman Lilah, I promise. He's terrorized you enough."

He kissed my nose gently and I chewed my lip in worry. "But how about the shifters? They can die Apollo, I didn't know that! If he brings all his men with their guns and knives they won't stand a chance -"

"Shhh."

"But Apollo-"

He silenced me by capturing my lips in his. It was hot and sweet, and the taste of him made my head spin. His hands pulled on my hips so I was even closer to him, and my own fingers tangled in his hair. My body was on fire from where it touched his, and my lips tingled where his pressed mine.

After a minute, he pulled away. We were both breathing heavily and his gorgeous eyes were slightly out of focus. He grinned at me, making my heart stop.

"Now I know how to make you stay quiet."

I whacked his chest with my hand and tried to pull away, but Apollo simply let out an exuberant laugh and tightened his grip on me. I stopped fighting after a bit and snuggled my face into the crook of his neck.

We were quiet for a while, just drinking in each other's presence. I doodled aimlessly on my chest with his finger and his lips brushed gently across my hair.

"You're still worried, aren't you?" Apollo spoke into the dark.

I didn't reply, but my hand stopped moving. I wondered why it was so easy for him to know what was racing in my head.

Apollo sighed. "I promise you, Lilah Winters, everything will be alright. I would pull down the moon for you; there is no way that vile man will ever have you in his grasp."

"That's a hefty promise." I mumbled.

"It's a true one." Apollo countered. "Why would I let him take you? You're the best thing that's happened to me in more than a century. I love you, Lilah."

I didn't reply again. After a while, his mind seemed to drift and he began to strike my hair, but I struggled to get the words out.

"I love you too." I whispered.

His hands stilled and I waited with baited breath.

Apollo's lips found my forehead. "I wish I could share how happy I feel right now." He whispered.

"I already know how you feel." I whispered back.

He continued to stroke my hair, and the hours passed. I fell asleep, and my love held me as I dreamed.

Comment, vote, fan! (:

Just letting you all know this story is coming to an end really soon! I bet you can all tell, but I just felt like saying. And what do you guys think of a sequel? I wasn't originally planning on writing one, but I have several endings planned out and depending on which one I use, the story won't end here. Let me know!

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