Her friend nodded; her expression solemn. “When he was first turned, when the guilt was most raw, Dante destroyed the order he used to be a part of. He killed every single member of the order and destroyed the Amort poison… or so we thought until we found out that it had been discovered again recently. He carries guilt over that too. These were men and a handful of women who he’d fought beside for years. They hadn’t realised he’d been turned until it was too late. He used the trust they had in him as a weapon and ended the order forever. Sometimes something happens and it reminds him of one of his former friends and a shadow passes over him. It can take days for the guilt to recede enough for him to get back to normal. It’s heart-breaking to watch.”
It was too much for Natalia and she wrapped her arms around the petite vampire, giving her the tightest hug she could. No one should feel such pain, should sound so hopeless, especially not the vampire who had quickly become one of her closest friends. “We’ll find a way to make this right, Mila. I will do everything I can to help, even though I don’t exactly know what I can do right now. I’ll think of something though, I promise. We’ll make Dante see sense, one way or another.”
Her friend hugged her back, bathing in the comfort the younger woman was providing. “You are a special young woman, Natalia, more special than you will ever realise. I am honoured to have your friendship, little one, so very, very honoured.”
She stopped talking, her body stiffening slightly as she drew back, her sightless eyes locking onto Natalia’s face. “The wolf who is not a wolf is in need, child. His soul belongs to another though is loyalty is to you. Bring the wolf home and he will save two packs. Convince the Justice Seeker, child, when he seeks to protect his home. He is not wrong to want to protect, but he doesn’t understand what is needed. Only you can convince him… only you can make him hear.”
When Mila started talking it had been confusing for a second and then Natalia had realised that her friend was having a Vision. She held still, listening to every word the other woman said, trying to commit them all to memory so it could be relayed to the others later. The wolf who wasn’t a wolf? That part didn’t make sense. Neither did the Justice Seeker comment. Who was Mila talking about? It was clear they were two separate people, but she had no idea who they were.
“Mila?” Is the Vision finished?”
The vampire let out a slow breath and nodded. “That was unexpected,” she replied, a rueful smile crossing her face. “One moment we were hugging and then next, the Vision came. It was as if touching you so personally kicked it off.”
That sort of made sense in a strange way. Both their emotions had been heightened with the discussion about Dante so that could have allowed the Vision room to manifest, and as Natalia was learning, emotions played a large part in Seer type abilities.
“Do you remember what you said?” she asked.
Mila nodded again. “It wasn’t a full-blown Vision, as in visual images. They are the kind of Visions that need to be examined in detail so I can recall everything. This was more like a Knowing, just words that I remember speaking.”
It was relief that Mila could remember what was said and remembering was placed fully on her shoulders. It meant she could quiz her friend about what was said. Taking another drink of water, Natalia quickly scanned her gaze over the vampires at the other end of the clearing, checking that their shadows all remained unchanged. When she was satisfied, she turned back to the vampire at her side.
“Who is the Justice Seeker?”
Mila smiled and shot her a sardonic look.
That look brought a resigned sigh from Natalia. “It’s Agony isn’t it? He’s the one I need to convince to bring the wolf home, isn’t he?”
“Yes Tali, you need to convince him it’s the right thing to do.”
Why wasn’t she surprised to hear that? It appeared that any time on this crazy mission that someone needed to talk to Agony, the responsibility fell to her. Even Dara looked to her at times and she was part of Agony’s pack and someone he was particularly close too. This reliance on her to convince him didn’t make sense. “Why me?” she muttered under her breath, forgetting for a moment that vampiric hearing was so keen.
“You haven’t worked that out already?” Mila asked, her expression thoughtful. “Haven’t you wondered why I was there to protect you when your pack was attacked, Tali? Haven’t you wondered why I was so insistent that you be part of this mission? It surely must have crossed your mind that there was a reason for these things. You’re an intelligent young lady.”
Of course it had crossed her mind. She knew something had been going on, she just couldn’t figure out what it was. Now she stared intently at Mila, the pieces starting to fall into place. “You had a Vision about me and Agony.”
“I did,” her friend agreed. “I saw Europe bathed in blood at the hands of a young man who was grieving the loss of his parents. At the head of the rivers of blood stood a young human girl, single-handedly holding back the river. I knew that we had to find that girl, that if we didn’t, death would sweep across Europe. I went looking for you and looking for the Justice Seeker. I had to find a way to bring you together.”
She sighed, and her expression turned sad again. “I had no idea that vampires would attack your pack, or that Agony would rescue a wolf pup and bring her to you for safety. I just had to work with what fate had in store, I had to protect you until Agony returned to eventually save us all.”