Reposted Chapter.
Chapter 12: Cradle
The snow fell gently on the streets of Budapest. The forcasters called for the storm to pass rather quickly as warmer air would change it mostly to rain. But for now, a light dusting of powder covered the sidewalks. People hustled about, many pulling newly bought hats and gloves out from bags to warm their chilled skin.
Kaleb drove through the narrow streets carefully. The cobblestones took to snow as well as a newborn takes to walking. He rounded the last corner, pulling up to one of the more menacing looking apartment buildings. Two men stood guard on either end of the street, taking on the appearance of waiting for a bus.
He pressed the speed dial on his phone, waiting only one ring before a voice answered. "Hello?"
"Its Kaleb. We're out front now."
"We'll be down." He shut his phone with a soft clap and looked in the rear view mirror.
"They're coming out now." Selene nodded, looking out the windows carefully. She knew this building intimately; she brought Michael here to protect him while she spoke to Viktor. When all fell into place, she gave the location to the lycan scouts in Pest to take it over. The armory remained untouched, along with the bodies of several lycans she put down so long ago.
Kaleb stepped out of the car first, turning around and opening her door as well. Selene quickly unbuckled Nyssa's seatbelt and they slid out into the early winter air. A woman stood by the door, two larger men flanking her. She bowed gently to Selene as she came up to her.
"My lady," she said softly, "My name is Kelley. Please come in." Selene looked down at Nyssa, watching emotions quietly play across the child's face. She squeezed the girl's hand, snapping her from her revere quickly. She looked up and smiled warily at her mother.
Selene lifted her up into her arms and kissed her cheek. "It will be alright, angel."
They stepped into a rush of warm air, the yellow glow of the lamps on the ground floor welcoming and comfortable. Selene looked at room, mildly shocked at how it looked now. Where once the ceiling dripped stagnate water down onto debre covered floor, a beautiful marble floor sat under the protection of a brand new roof. The stairs circling the center of the building gleamed as the stone steps were polished, a rug running up the center.
"Please follow me," Kelley beckoned. "We have a room set up for you to rest."
"Thank you," Selene replied. Realizing they were to climb a few flights of stairs, she gently lifted Nyssa onto her hip. The child curled into her mother's embrace, watching just over her coat as the lycans stared at her as curiously as they had back in Colorado.
"Did you find your rooms to your liking?"
"Yes, thank you," Selene said, smoothing out the black leather top she changed into. The interrogation room of her memory remained basically the same, chains included. From the scent, they used it now for vampires. Victims of our own crimes, her thoughts laughed. "What have you found?"
Kelley punched in something on the terminal, watching as a map of Pest popped up on the screen. "In the last few months, Dealers have been filtering into their old safe houses. Most of them going to the ones on the very northern edge of the city." She clicked the screen and several dots appeared on the screen. "The green represents zero to ten, red is 11-20, yellow 20 or more."
Selene quickly noted the rare green and red dots. "What about their movement?"
"Nothing save a trip or two to Ziodex. We have all the houses under surveillence. But so far, its been minimal. We think," Kelley hestitated briefly, "we believe they are under orders to remain quiet. But that only means one thing."
"They're waiting for a signal to move."
"I think whatever they are waiting for, its going to happen soon. The numbers increased the most in the last two weeks."
Since we started planning on moving Nyssa away from the clan house in Denver. Whoever our leak is, they made sure all the plans were laid out for the covens. Damn you Marcus. "What are our defenses?"
"Seven houses, twenty to thirty a piece, armed and ready."
"Notify all of them. I want everyone on stand-by." Kelley looked up quickly, unable to contain her curiousity. Selene stared at the screen as the map rotated, the three dimensional buildings glowing with their respective color. "They know Nyssa's here."
The sound of turning pages and soft sighs puntuated the room every so often. Nyssa stared at a rather dusty tome she found on the shelf. She didn't know how to read, but since it was written in one of the Romani languages, it wouldn't have made a difference. She just looked over the intricate pictures and flowing script with mild interest. The digital clock blinked a number change. Now it was 5:00 a.m.
She pulled her blanket back up over her head, letting it drape down into her face. She was comfortably bored. There wasn't very much to do for a nearly five-year old girl in the midst of a battle-ready lycan safe house.
The door opened and Selene came in. She didn't look to her daughter at first, turning away to pull through her discarded bag instead. Nyssa pulled the blanket all the way over her face. Her mother always acknowledged her when they were in the same room together. Laying her head down on her arms, she thought about her daddy fondly.
Selene pulled through her things without a purpose. She avoided looking at Nyssa directly; she didn't want her anxiety to pass on to her just now. Selene sighed, stilling her hands and shaking her head. She prayed during those nine months that some type of peace would come to pass. She did not want to raise her child in this war. But for some reason, Nyssa not only lived it, but was almost the heartbeat of it.
What do they want her for? Vengence was always a motive; but not many people used blantant tactics for revenge. And they kept her alive for nearly three years. Why not kill her as a baby, when she was weak and unable to fight? She started to pull through the small bag again, extracting her cell phone. It was a protected line, so it would be safe.
She punched in the number with expert strokes and walked over to her blanketed child. Pulling back the fleece, she smiled at her daughter as she handed the phone to her.
Michael groaned as his cell phone rang. Between investigations and organizing lycans that were nearly 5000 miles away, his head felt pressurized. He grabbed it on the third ring, answering unenthusiastically, "Corvin."
"Hi daddy," a tiny voice spoke, timid due to his tone.
"Hey princess," he smiled, leaning forward at the table. "How are you?"
"O-tay," she sighed. "I miss you."
"I miss you too. Have you been good for mommy?"
"Yep."
"Good. Cause you know what mommy does to people who aren't good."
"Yeah..." His smile widened as she giggled into the reciever. An ache built up in his chest; they were nearly 5000 miles apart.
"How was the plane ride?"
"Good. Mommy and me went sleep in the big bed. I woke up over mountains!"
"Really? Was it pretty?"
"Yeah, I love snow, daddy."
"How is the house?" Michael could almost feel his daughter's change of mood. "What's wrong?"
"Mommy is with all the people . I'm lonely. I miss you."
"She's just making sure you'll be safe, princess. She doesn't mean for you to feel alone."
"I feel better cause I'm talking to you. I love you."
"I love you t--" A sudden noise on Nyssa's end made him sit up straight. "Nyssa, what's going on?"
He heard her breathing heavily, the phone scraping against her cheek as she ran. The sound grew louder briefly before muting again. "Nyssa? Nyssa, what's going on?"
"Daddy, they're..they're...they're here!" Her breath suddenly became quickened and he could hear her sniffling.
"Nyssa, its okay. Go into the bathroom, turn off the light and lock the door. Stay on the phone with me but go in there. You'll be safer there."
"Okay," she sobbed. He heard her run across the room and the door slam shut behind her. "Daddy," she whispered, "daddy, I'm scared. I want to be with you and mommy." Her breaths seemed to grow shorter as she spoke. Each word became puntuated by a wheeze of air.
"Nyssa, calm down princess. Mom is on her way up to you." I hope she is, he thought frantically. His helplessness only drew on his patience even more. His daughter is in immediate danger and he could do nothing but coach her through it on the phone. He jumped as she let out a short shriek. In the background, muffled voices shouted.
"Daddy...I don't wanna go back to them. Daddy, please help...help..." A whoosh of air shot through the receiver and a distinct thunk resounded.
Michael's heart stopped. Oh god, she's been shot. "Nyssa! Nyssa!" No responce. He listened as someone pounded on the door to the bathroom. They've found her! He made his way across his room to get down to security. He would rouse every clan house in Europe to find his daughter if that's what it took.
The sound of splitting wood on the phone gave him pause and he continued to call into the phone, asking Nyssa to talk to him. But he stopped when he heard the concerned, maternal voice of someone near his daughter.
The phone was pulled and pressed to another's ear. "Michael?"
"Selene, what's happened?"
"Dealers found the house out and attacked. Michael, something's wrong with Nyssa."
"What is it?"
"I don't know. Her eyes are open, she's...she's breathing but she's not responding. God, she's bleeding from her head. What's wrong with her," Selene asked frantically.
"I think she's gone into shock. I told her to go into the bathroom and hide until you found her. She probably panicked to the point of slipping unconscious."
"Then the injury is from falling. Michael, how do I wake her?"
"You can't. She'll come out of it on her own. Just get her someplace safe and calm." He paused, thinking briefly. "Selene, take her to the valley house. Tell no one, but get there. I'm on my way to alert everyone in the area."
"Yes," she said absent mindedly. "I'm going to hang up and get us out of here."
"Selene, be safe. I love you both."
"I know. And I will be."
Selene shut the phone, slipping into her jacket pocket before picking Nyssa up carefully. She took her back into the bedroom and wrapped her in the blanket. She went to lift her again, when something caught her eye. Nyssa's shoes were black with checkered prints on the sides. In one of the black checks, a lump stuck out slightly.
Reaching down, Selene fingered the object before pulling it free. She looked at it closely before growling. They put a tracer on her. That's how they knew where we went. It sparked briefly as she crushed it between her fingers.
With her daughter pressed to her chest, she drew out her gun and made her way out of the room. Out in the immediate way, a dealer turned around just in time to recieve several gunshots to his chest. Stumbling in anguish as the UV bullets shattered open in his chest cavity and burnt in inside-out, he stumbled and fell quite a distance down the center stairwell into the fire fight below.
"Selene!" She turned with deadly aim to find Kelley at the end of the hall. She quickly joined the woman and followed her down a back stairwell. The temperature dropped rapidly and a chill fought its way down Selene's back. They came to a large metal door and Kelley fumbled to find the key to its lock.
"Fuck it," she said under her breath. With three swift kicks, the door crumpled and fell away. "Here!" She walked over to a metal box on the wall, opening it to reveal several sets of keys. She tossed a set to Selene and kept one for herself. They made their way across the sub-basement to where cars sat lined up along a garage exit.
"Take that one," Kelley said, pointing to a black jeep. "It's best in snow and a bitch to catch up with. I'll go first and we'll divide up. They don't have anyone out on the roads to watch us just yet." She quickly hugged Selene and Nyssa with a watery smile. "Be safe, m'lady."
"And you."
Two cars peeled out of the garage, one heading south to a hideout, the other heading towards the mountains. Selene kept an eye on her mirrors, pressing the jeep to its limits in the now still night. The snow stopped, the clouds parting to reveal a three quarter moon. The heavy salt and multiple plows left the roadways dry and clear. Every so often, she looked back in the mirror, tilting it to look at Nyssa. She forced the sobs back in her throat as those eyes remained wide open, breaths even, body frozen. When this end?
A/N: fear not, my dear readers. i'm snowed in and pounded out, in my opinion, a bitchin' chapter in under two hours. god bless record breaking nor'easters. many thanks this chapter to a special lady, who, thanks to her, has helped me to over come some serious writers block with fantastic music selections. i don't know her name on on LJ, she is lastarchangel and she's my angel. thank you!
until next chapters,
anthestria