A Long Night

A Long Night
Lilith POV

After an hour, Theo was ready to leave. We bade farewell to mother and father before heading out.

Theo ordered a cab to take us to the airport. During the ride, he was focused on the book the head of the council had given him.

Not wanting to distract him, I watched him read as we boarded the plane back to California. I couldn't wait to tell Ava everything that happened in NYC, including about the new girl I saw. It was my first time meeting a girl whose mother is a witch and father is a werewolf. How did those two fall in love? Why was their love story legal, but mine wasn’t?

They said I couldn’t end up with a human, yet a witch ended up with a werewolf and gave birth to a witch? Wow, that was more forbidden to me.

We spent five hours on the plane, arriving at the institution around 2:30pm. Theo went to the community, and Ava told me she was still in class. She was excited to hear I was back in California.

I took an Uber to school and headed to class.

As I entered, I waved at Ava, who was talking to someone I couldn’t see clearly. Suddenly, Ava ran up to me. "I’ve missed you. The weekend was boring without you," she gasped. "Did you know Lydia became a banshee?" 

"What is a banshee?" I asked.

"Well, she can emit a high-pitched scream used defensively, as it harms people’s hearing. She can also sense when someone is dying and detect dead bodies."

I placed my hands over my ears. "Spoiler alert!" I said, laughing.

"But you asked me about it," Ava replied.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. I lowered my head and looked at the person. "Hi, Lilith. I finally got to meet you." To my surprise, it was Cleo Lancaster standing in front of me. The aura she radiated was stronger than anything I felt from Beauty or anyone else—the daughter of a witch and a werewolf.

"Beauty doesn’t like her," Ava said before I could speak. I wondered why Beauty disliked her. Was it because she was also a witch? Or was it because she associated herself with Ava?

"I'm Cleo. Daughter of a witch and a werewolf," she whispered. "I know you felt my aura. Chosen One," she added with a smile. She looked beautiful. She knew who I was—something I found shocking because no one else did.

"Hmm. Why are you here? And how did you find me?" I asked. I took her hand and led her to a private spot, with Ava following. My mind wasn’t entirely on Alaric this time; I needed to know why Cleo was here. California seemed unsafe, but she appeared to be having fun at the party and didn’t look bothered.

"The council told me where you were, and I enrolled in your school. I found something strange and had to go to NYC for help. I didn’t realize the Chosen One was here all along. I’ve been in hiding, but my city is in trouble, and I need your help."

I sighed. "How can I trust you? You’re a witch, after all. Witches have betrayed me before. What makes you think you won’t betray me?"

"What do you mean? Witches betrayed you? They’re meant to serve you—that’s their role in the life of the Chosen One."

"You know the rules."

"Our ex-friend turned out to be a witch, but now she refuses to speak to Lilith, and Lilith can’t kill her because she’s not that kind of person," Ava said. "Beauty is connected to Olivia, and they call Olivia the enchantress, for a reason."

"Is that bad?" Cleo asked.

"Yes, it is," Ava replied.

My phone beeped with a message from Theo. Jackson was the werewolf who beat me, but he wasn’t the only strange one. I also suspected the man I saw at the party.

"I need a favor," I said to Cleo, since she was a powerful witch and could likely help.

"What is it?"

"I need to find something, and I’ll need your powers to do so."

"What is it, Lilith?" Ava questioned.

"You and I have to go to the woods again," I told her.

"What? But why? You know how dangerous that place is, and it’s already out of reach. The police have placed tapes around the trees, and cameras were installed." I looked at her. "Don’t look at me that way—I heard my father discussing it with his sergeants this weekend."

"I need you to do a small task for me. You’ll figure out how to turn off the cameras."

"How?" she asked.

"You need to go to your dad’s office and turn them off. I have to find something important so we can deal with this mess as soon as possible."

"Can I help?" Cleo chimed in.

I looked at her. "No. You just need to find answers for me. That’s all. I just need to find a piece of evidence to work with, right?" She nodded. "Okay, both of you should meet me in front of the school gate by 7:30 sharp."

They both nodded, and Ava was the first to leave. I watched Cleo leave too, telling Ava to alert me when she turned off the cameras.

I stayed in the classroom, watching Daniel talk to his friend. When he was done, I waved at him, but he didn’t look at me; he just walked out. I didn’t chase after him. I knew what was going on. I glanced at Beauty, who passed me by with Olivia beside her. She used magic on him again, and for the second time, Daniel forgot about me.

I sighed and waited for Ava’s text. She messaged me after two hours, saying it was difficult to reach her dad’s office. I immediately went to the woods, hoping I’d come across the man again. I began searching for things that belonged to him, sniffing any objects I found to see if they matched his aura, but I found nothing.

Suddenly, I heard distant voices. I ran toward them, recognizing the voices. Sure enough, I saw Jackson talking to the man. They argued about why Jackson would bite me. Jackson said he didn’t know I wasn’t an ordinary person. He was the one who killed the girl we saw in the woods weeks ago. I listened as they continued talking, and what caught my attention was when they mentioned the dean’s name. They were working for him and planned to bring another prey tonight for a ritual.

They intended to bring humans—and witches—this time. That explained why there were cameras in the woods; people had been going missing. But it was the dean? I needed to inform Theo immediately. Since I couldn’t cast a spell or take samples from the man next to Jackson, I placed something that belonged to me on Jackson’s body. Cleo would track that. I left the woods and told Ava to turn the cameras back on immediately.

Once back at the dorm, I contacted Ava. I knew what our next clue was: we had to keep track of what I had stuck to Jackson.

Cleo arrived just in time. Ava told me her father had seen her before she left his office, so she was trying to convince him she wasn’t up to anything.

"It’s my necklace. Can you track it? They’re up to something again," I said to Cleo. I had already told Theo about what I discovered. He instructed me to share the location if we found it, so they could stop them before they succeeded.

Cleo nodded. I noticed the place Jackson and his werewolf friend had passed and went back there with her. We ended up beside a lake. "Their footprints are still visible. We need to be quick." She placed her hands on my neck and chanted some words I didn’t understand. She closed her eyes and held my hands, telling me to chant with her, which I did. Suddenly, her eyes opened, glowing white. I watched them as I continued to chant after her. "I found them," she said. That was quick—just as I had suspected: she was a very powerful witch.

"Where?" I asked.

"They’re headed to the Crest Club."

Ah, the first place I met Theo. "Can you listen to us?" I asked Theo over the phone. It was on the entire time.

"Yes. We’ll set out now. Just keep us updated," he replied through my pods. "Let’s go." I was disappointed I couldn’t go with them. Theo thought it was best I stay behind—any sign of fresh human blood could make me lose control.

"Please, get my necklace back," I begged.

Cleo and I continued tracking them while Theo and his siblings went ahead to intercept. Every three minutes, we relayed their location. There might be a way a lycan can influence others or perhaps Jackson’s companion had an ability I wasn’t aware of. I couldn’t get anything that belonged to him, so I didn’t know what he was. But based on how he talked with Jackson, I could tell they were from the same pack.

"Do you have them?" I asked.

"Just as we suspected, they’re heading toward the Cave. Lilith, I don’t think we can save those humans," Theo said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"There are many outside the cave. One mistake, and they might release the Kanima into the city. We have to attack when they’re not expecting it."

"Does that mean we’ve failed?" I asked.

"No, not yet. I don’t think he’ll find your necklace in the next two days. We still have a chance to stop them before they carry out their plan. Let’s head back, guys." I didn’t like feeling like a failure, but at that moment, I did.

Cleo returned to normal and released my hand. I sighed.

"I'm so sorry I couldn’t do more," she said.

"This isn’t your fault. It’s mine. I should have done a better job. I was so scared of being caught that I left like a coward."

"Don’t be so hard on yourself. I see you tried your best. Better days are ahead, and I believe we’ve won this round."

I looked at her, surprised. "You can see the future?" I asked. She laughed instead.

"No, I can’t see the future. I was just trying to stay positive."

"Oh."

Suddenly, footsteps approached. "Someone’s here."

"Hey, guys!" Ava’s voice reached us. She waved.

"What? What are you doing here? This place is dangerous. You know that. Why are you alone?" I asked, checking her for injuries.

"I’m fine, Lilith. I thought you all needed my help. You know—three heads are better than two," she teased.

I shook my head. "Let’s go home." I wrapped my arms around her.

"Did Theo catch the bad guys?" Ava asked.

"No, he didn’t. We’ll find out what’s next soon," I replied, glancing at Cleo. "Thank you for today."

"This is my city. I should be thanking you," she said.

"Where’s your place?" I asked Cleo.

She pointed to the left. Ava and I were heading to the right. "I guess this is my stop," she said. We said goodnight and watched her leave.

She’d be fine alone. She was powerful—especially with the spell she casted earlier, she looked formidable. I wrapped my arm around Ava’s neck tightly, and we both made our way to the dorm. It had been a long night.