Chapter Nine
Celine’s stomach rumbled as she shifted in her spot on the floor of the cave. She couldn’t help but think of the pie sitting in her car. Not only would it taste delicious, but on top of it, by the time she got out of this crazy situation, it probably wouldn’t be good anymore.
Imagining things wasn’t going to make any food appear. Maybe Atticus had some sort of Boy Scout-style trick for finding food, just like he’d done when he started the fire.
As if a light bulb went on in her head, Celine shoved her hand into her pocket and was surprised to find the two candy bars she placed there earlier.
After all the running and chasing and walking, those two candy bars had somehow managed to stay in her pocket. She offered a silent prayer to the Lord for preserving her chocolate.
Celine set them down on the rock next to her. It would be best to wait for Atticus so he could decide what they should do. She’d never been in a survival situation before, but it seemed like Atticus had.
There might be some sort of rationing they needed to implement. Although deep down inside, she hoped they could gobble the candy bars down right away, she had to admit she didn’t really know the plan or what even a good plan might be.
She worried now about how long they would be stuck in the woods. Sure, she’d wanted to spend more time with Atticus, but hiding in caves from strange monsters hadn’t exactly been in her list of good date ideas. She was thinking more a movie or dinner. Hell, spending it in the sheets all weekend. Anything but this.
She let out a long sigh. Surely that creature couldn’t follow them forever. It had to give up eventually. She wasn’t anything important. It had to know that.
Celine thought about the attack. The creatures had attacked the Azilian compound, so maybe they had something to do with the cult, but that was her first time even setting foot on Azilian land.
The truth was that she was just some stupid secretary who sometimes got feelings about people and liked to drink a little too much wine on the weekend. Not really a game changer on any level, and certainly not worth chasing through the woods.
Heavy footfalls came just outside the cave entrance. She bit her lip as her heart kicked up. Her head whipped toward the cave opening, and she prayed it wasn't the monster from before.
A handsome form appeared in front of the opening. She relaxed at the sight of Atticus. In his hand, he carried a long stick with the carcass of a skinned rabbit pinned to it.
Celine had always been a sort of fuzzy bunny lover in the town of hunters, but at that moment, her stomach grumbled, and all she could think of was how great it would taste after a little roasting.
"I found dinner," Atticus said.
She could hear the uncertainty in his voice. He probably did this sort of thing all the time.
“You hunted, and I gathered.” Celine smiled and held up the two candy bars. "I found dessert.”
His beautiful blue eyes flicked over to where she was. A small smile played on his face. “Good job. You are full of so many surprises.”
Atticus placed the rabbit over the flame, propping the stick up in just the right way so that it wouldn't burn. She couldn’t help but lick her lips at the thought of getting some protein into her stomach.
He then turned and made his way back outside. She could hear the scraping of branches as he dragged them over in front of the opening. Not exactly luxury living, but it’d help conceal them from the elements and maybe even a monster or two.
Despite everything that had happened, Celine realized she was starting to feel a little more relaxed and safe thanks to Atticus.
He stepped back through the small opening he made then pulled the branches behind him. "That should do it for tonight," he said, shaking the area a few times just to be sure.
He made his way quietly into the cave and sat down in front of the rabbit on the stick. There were so many things that she wanted to ask him, yet nothing seemed to come out now that she had the chance.
As if reading her mind, Atticus looked up at her and nodded. “So I said I’d answer your questions.”
Celine offered him a nod in response.
"We are hybrids," he said quietly.
She blinked. “Like the ones on the news? The ones from Luna Lodge?”
“Yes and no. That is, we have abilities like them, but we’re different. It’s why our eyes are blue and not yellow like the hybrids of Luna Lodge.” Atticus glanced over to where she was. The flames reflected in his blue eyes. "My people were held captive for years," he said. "We’re not certain how long, but in some cases, likely hundreds of years."
Celine sat in silence as he rotated the stick. Before last night, even with her knowledge of the existence of hybrids, she would have doubted a story like that, but now she believed every single word.
All those times she thought he was different, special somehow, but she would've never guessed he was a hybrid, let alone some special ancient type of hybrid.
"They froze us. The Horatius Group. You know who they are, right?”
Celine nodded. “They were the ones who created the Luna Lodge hybrids.”
“Yeah. They go back a lot longer than anyone suspected.” Atticus let out a quiet growl. “They froze us to get us away from whoever we may have loved. They then made us into something else," he said. "Not quite human enough to fully fit in, but enough to pass."
So many things about Atticus and his friends now made perfect sense. Like why they lived away from the town in the mountains and why they stuck with their own people.
“And the monsters?”
“They are called Glycons, sort of mutated hybrids, more animal than man. The one most interested in you is named Thrax.”
A few other things clicked into place, such as the daily visits to the mayor.
"Does Allison know all this?" Celine asked.
Atticus’s hand stilled on the stick he had been so diligently turning. He cleared his throat.
"Yes, she does," he said. "She is a Vestal of Quintus."
"Vestal?"
Celine considered the word for a moment before realizing she’d heard it before. When she'd gone in to see Anassa, the woman had used it to describe her. She’d said she was a Vestal and chosen.
"It means she was designed for him," Atticus said softly. “And him for her. Two halves of the same whole.” He shrugged. “I guess you could say they are soulmates, but it’s deeper even than that.”
The more he spoke the more questions arose in Celine’s mind.
"The crazy people said I was a Vestal," she said.
Atticus turned and looked at her now. His blue eyes glowed slightly as he did.
“That’s true.” He swallowed once. "You are my Vestal."
Something about the way he said it sent a shiver through her. She was afraid. But it still excited her.
Celine played with the hem of her coat. "And what does that mean exactly? You’re my soulmate? I was designed for you? That’s… a bit much.”
Atticus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I don’t know all of what I believe, but I do accept that it means we are intended for one another.”
Her heart beat frantically in her chest at his words. She had felt that all along. The pull between them. And now it all made sense. Or at least sort of made sense in some strange way.
"So where does that leave us?" she asked. She still had more than a few questions, especially considering her dreams and some of the other bizarre things Anassa had said, but finding out she was a hybrid’s soulmate was about all she could process at that moment.
He turned the rabbit again before answering her question. "Well, right now, it means we’re running for our lives." Atticus gave a small chuckle, and she frowned. Somehow that didn’t seem very funny to her. "Although that's fairly par for the course in my book," he said. After a moment, he pulled the rabbit from the fire and held it out to her. "For now we get through this, and when it's over,” he pulled a leg off for her, "we figure out what all this is."
Celine took a bite of the steaming meat and suddenly realized how ravenously hungry she had been.
Atticus was right. Now wasn’t the time to figure out what was going on and all the fine details. For right now, they just needed to get by.