Jade spoke for the first time since we got in the truck. “How exactly do I fit into this twisted game of alternate reality?”
“Maybe you should get some sleep,” I suggested to Jade. “There will be plenty of time to explain in the morning.”
“I… I don’t sleep,” Jade said hesitantly.
“You mean you can’t sleep,” Aerona said, correcting her.
“No,” Jade replied, hesitating. “I mean… I literally don’t sleep.”
Jade’s comment was the first real indication that she was a stone. It actually made sense that angels didn’t sleep; they had no need for rest. According to Ember, angels have an unlimited supply of energy. Ember did, however, say that fallen angels—stones—would weaken over time, slowly losing their magic here on earth. However, Jade was born an angel, making her a true-blood angel. She had her parent’s strengths but none of their weaknesses.
I had felt an incredible amount of energy in the hallway at Jade’s apartment, which I originally contributed to Aerona’s presence. In fact, the energy source was Jade.
“How long has it been since you’ve slept?” I asked, not giving away my suspicions.
“I’ve never slept,” Jade explained, hanging her head down as if she was embarrassed. “I… I’ve never told anyone this before. I thought, maybe since you all seem to have special abilities, you may know what’s wrong with me.”
“Didn’t your parents notice you were not sleeping?” Aerona asked.
“Even as a small child, I always pretended to sleep until my parents left the room,” she continued. “I didn’t want them to know I was different. I spent most nights reading and staring up at the stars, dreaming in my own way. Then, before morning, I would climb back in bed and let my mother wake me.”
Aerona placed her hand on Jade’s shoulder. “We’re all different,” she said. “And trust me when I say this, it’s good to be different.”
“You guys seem know something about me that you’re not telling me,” Jade complained. “I just wanted you to know that I know something is wrong with me. Is it like some kind of fatal disease or something? Am I contagious?”
Aerona broke out in a laugh. “Contagious? Jade, you’re unique. That’s why we’re all here to protect you.”
“Protect me? Protect me from what?”
Aerona caught my eyes, not wanting to be the one to tell her that life as she knows will never be the same. Oh, and by the way, a Shadow Vampire wants to drain every drop of precious angel blood from her body in a ritualistic manner to break a thousand-year-old mythical lock on a door built by elves.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” I said, attempting to reassure Jade. “You’re not sick. Let’s focus on getting you safely away from the city. We’ll need Ember to help us explain everything else.”
My phone rang. It was Morgan. “Tell your chauffeur up there she has a lead foot.”
I checked the passenger side mirror. The SUV’s headlights were nowhere to be seen. I glanced over at the Raptor’s speedometer. It was racing at 95 mph.
“We’ve been driving for almost two hours,” I said, responding to Morgan. “We should probably get off this road before the sun comes up. We need to regroup.”
Ashes slowed down the truck. “We passed what looked like an old logging road two miles back,” she said, “It’ll be on their left.”
“Morgan, keep your eyes peeled for an old dirt logging road on your left. We’re turning around and heading back your way.”
“Copy that,” Morgan confirmed, “We just passed it. We’ll flip around and meet you there.”
I ended the call and dialed Jess’s number.
The call was immediately forwarded to her voicemail again.
I shut my phone off and gently moved my left arm to wake Kasiah. She had fallen asleep on my shoulder only less than an hour ago. I felt bad for waking her. She wiggled further into my shoulder.
I could feel Aerona’s emotions doing summersaults in the back seat. She didn’t like the idea of riding with Ashes.
Ashes slowed down and turned the Raptor off the main road onto what was an old access road of some kind. The dirt road, barely one lane wide, narrowed to a little more than an overgrown trail with weeds and fallen trees. It looked to be rarely used, if ever. A cloud of dust encapsulated the SUV as we drove past it without stopping.
“Where are we?” Kasiah asked, yawning as she woke up.
Ashes swerved the truck to miss a downed tree blocking half the trail, forcing Kasiah’s body against mine.
I struggled to keep the armrest from digging into my side. “We needed to get off the main road and stop somewhere.”
The Raptor was built for roads like this. The rugged tires stomped the gravel beneath them as they clawed their way deep into the mountains, giving the off-road suspension a workout as we sprinted through a shallow rocky creek. The SUV headlights bounced up and down, struggling to keep pace down the trail that seemed to wind on forever.
Maybe five miles past the creek, the trail opened up through a grassy clearing bordering a small, natural pond. Ashes slowed the truck to a stop, switching off the headlights and the engine. The SUV came to a stop behind us.
Ashes stared straight ahead. “There’s a cabin just past that tree line,” she said, her eyes searching.
I have excellent night vision, yet I didn’t see anything in the darkness besides more darkness.
“I don’t see anything,” I said, squinting.
Ashes looked at me. “It’s there,” she said, checking her two pistols strapped to her belt.
I looked into the back seat. “Aerona, stay here with Jade. We’ll be right back.”
“Yeah right,” Aerona retorted. “Only if she leaves the keys. No way am I staying here while she goes off and abandons us in BFE.”
Ashes tossed the truck’s keys into the backseat, slamming the door behind her. She was gone in a flash, the tail of her jacket trailing behind.
“You know, Aerona,” I said, helping Kasiah out of the truck, “you might want to, at least, try being nice to the Shadow Vampire.”
“You know, little brother, you might want to kiss my—”
I closed the door before Aerona could finish.
Kasiah and I walked back to the SUV.
“What’s the plan?” Morgan asked, opening the driver’s side door.
I pointed toward the tree line. “There’s a cabin just beyond the tree line. Ashes went to make sure it’s safe.”
Whisper squinted out the windshield and said, “I don’t see anything.”
“It’s there,” Rain stated, stepping out of the SUV. “Here she comes.”
A light breeze blew past us as Ashes stopped next to the SUV. “All clear,” she said, running her fingers through her hair. “The cabin hasn’t been used lately. There’s a barn just past the cabin. We can fit both vehicles inside.”
We parked the vehicles in the damp barn, securing the large wooden doors behind us, spooking several sleeping birds in the process. We approached the cabin cautiously. Ashes had already cleared the perimeter, and strangely, I trust her; but we were still cautious.
The cabin appeared to be hand-built with logs. It was nestled among the trees, as if it was a part of the forest. The angled roof was in good shape for the age of the cabin. A small bent chimney meant there was either a fireplace or a small stove. The cabin door wasn’t open, but it wasn’t fully closed either. Further inspection showed that it was forced open at some point—vandals. The inside of the cabin was bare except for a small wooden table and chairs, and the air smelled old and unused. The only other door in the cabin led to a single small bedroom with a pair of bunk beds. The cabin was most likely only used during hunting season.
Whisper volunteered to take the first watch near the pond outside, in case anyone followed us up the trail. Morgan and Kasiah, the only mortals in the room, each took a bunk to catch up on some sleep. The rest of us could do without sleep for several days.
“Vamp
ires don’t exist,” Jade debated after I told her about Atmoro.
“Trust me sweetie,” Aerona joined in, opening the cabin window to let a sliver of the morning sun through, “vampires exist. You’re in a room with two of them right now.”
Jade looked from Rain to Ashes. “You drink blood?” she asked, her eyes open wide.
“Well, not out of a glass with ice,” Rain responded. “But yes, we have cravings for blood. The sunlight drains our energy, and human blood replenishes it.”
“Let’s not scare Jade,” I cautioned. “Don’t worry, Ashes and Rain are Shadow Vampires. They’re from another world where vampires are guardians of royalty and protectors of our kind. They aren’t your stereotypical movie monster vampires.”
Ashes removed her long leather trench coat and draped it over the back of chair. Her tight leather hunting suit fit her figure as if it was painted on over her perfectly toned curves.
“Rain’s a Shadow Vampire?” Ashes questioned as she removed both handguns and placed them on the table. Her hands worked fast at unbuckling the polished clasps on her belt. She removed the belt and placed it next to the guns. “It’s not possible,” she declared. “I have had detailed training on the history of the Shadow World. I know of every Shadow Vampire the council has ever created, and Rain is not one of them.”
“Well,” Rain said, “if I don’t exist, then who slammed you to the ground earlier tonight?”
“You are a unique creature,” Ashes said, disassembling one of the guns. “You have incredible strength and speed, exceptional control over your thirst, and your wounds heal quickly. All these features do indicate you are a Shadow Vampire. Your past seems to be somewhat of a mystery.”
“If you ever figure it out,” Rain said, wishing he could remember his past, “be sure to let me know.”
“Aeron,” Jade interjected, “you said your kind. What did you mean by that?”
“My sister and I are warlocks,” I explained. “We’re also from the Shadow World. In fact, Ashes is here to take us back there.”
Aerona joined us at the table. “Over my dead body,” she seethed.
Ashes began disassembling the second gun. “That can be arranged,” she threatened, not looking up at Aerona.
Rain stood up. “Over my dead body,” he said, walking to the window to shut the small wooden window doors to block the sunlight.
“Aeron,” Ashes said, changing the subject, “what is the meaning behind the phrase you quoted in the apartment building, ‘the blood of a stone will release them alone?’”
“The blood of a stone,” I explained, “is what Atmoro is after. He believes it will open the Forgotten Shadow City and release his wife.”
Ashes was confused. She stopped cleaning the guns. It’s not often her targets have more information about the Shadow World than her.
“How did you obtain this knowledge?” she asked curiously.
Rain commented from across the room. “Sounds to me like the little, Shadow Vampire warrior schools need to update their course materials.”
I jumped in before Ashes could give Rain a few lessons from Killing a Vampire 101. “Two days ago,” I continued, “we discovered an ancient elf scroll that indicated someone high in the Shadow Council—possibly Malance’s father—had commissioned a back door to the Forgotten Shadow City to be built by elves. The door was constructed in secret, and its sole purpose was giving the Shadow Council a way to escape if they ever found themselves behind the walls of their own prison, from which there is supposedly no escape. There’s only one way in and no way out.”
“Where is this secret door?” Ashes inquired.
“We don’t know. The door was constructed by elves. I’m assuming it’s hidden here in the Light World. Although, we think Atmoro must know its location, since he’s after the blood to unlock the spell.”
Ashes understood where our logic was leading and caught on quickly. “The location of the door does Atmoro no good without the blood.”
“If the scroll is correct,” I said, wondering if it was, “and the blood of a stone is the only key, then yes.”
“Never mind that,” Jade cut in. “Where do I fit in?”
“The last line of the elf scroll,” Ember said excitedly, “is ‘the blood of a stone will release them alone.’”
“You’ve deciphered the riddle?” asked Ashes.
“The riddle isn’t a riddle at all,” Ember explained. “It’s actually quite a literal phrase or an instruction. We believe the blood of a stone will actually break the elf spell and open the secret door, releasing the Forgotten Shadows.”
“Not even I can squeeze blood from a stone,” Ashes said.
“That’s the literal part,” Ember continued. “A stone does not refer to a million year old piece of granite. In the Light World, the elves world, a stone is moniker for a fallen angel.”
Ashes looked at Jade peculiarly. “She’s a fallen angel?”
“I am?” Jade asked, confused.
“Not exactly,” I said. “But your parents were.”
Jade went quiet. She still hadn’t completely grasped what Kasiah had told her earlier about her parents not being her biological parents.
Ashes inserted a full magazine into the butt of each cleaned and reassembled gun. “You’re saying Jade was born an angel?” she asked, chambering a round in each gun. “That makes her a true-blood. Is that even possible?”
“When angels are cast down to Earth,” Ember continued, “they slowly lose their magical energy. They become more and more human. By the time they accept the fact that they will grow old and die as a human, it’s too late to pass on their powers to an offspring. In Jade’s case, both her parents were stones who were cast down together as husband and wife, already in love. With angel energy still flowing through their veins, they conceived a child as soon as their human bodies changed enough to allow it.”
“Let me get this straight,” Jade interjected. “I’m a rock, and Atmoro is some crazy vampire who wants to use my blood to free his wife from prison? Why don’t we just give him a few drops to save his wife, then everyone can live happily ever after?”
“You’re a stone,” Ember corrected. “You may be the only true-blood angel ever created. Your blood is the key that Atmoro is searching for, the key that will open the Forgotten Shadow City and release his wife from the prison.”
“Atmoro isn’t looking for a few drops of your precious blood,” I added, trying not to scare her, though she needed to know. “He’s not going to risk getting this wrong, especially since he may never find another stone. Atmoro will use every drop of your blood. Also, he isn’t simply releasing his wife, he’ll be opening a door to thousands of angry Forgotten Shadows who have been imprisoned for centuries. If they escape the Forgotten Shadow City, it’ll be a chaos this world has never seen.”
“Assuming Atmoro, is in fact, alive…” Ashes commented, strapping her belt back to her waist.
“Trust me,” Kasiah remarked from the bedroom door, “Atmoro is alive and kicking.”
“Couldn’t sleep?” I asked, offering my chair to her.
“Rest will come when I’ve avenged Amy’s death,” she replied. “Morgan’s out like a light.”
“As far as the Shadow Council knows,” Ashes continued, sliding her arms into her trench coat, “Atmoro perished in a fire when the hunting party tried to arrest him. The council will never see this coming.”
“That’s why Jade must be kept out of Atmoro’s grasp,” Ember said, “at all costs.”
“Are you with us?” I asked Ashes.
Ashes thought about her response. Her eyes shifted from me to Jade, and then to Rain. “If what you say is true,” she finally said, “and I am not yet convinced it is, then I am with you. Although you must understand, I have loyalty to the Shadow Council, and once the girl is safe and Atmoro is dealt with, I am delivering you and your sister to Malance.”
“We’re not negotiating here,” Aerona countered defensively.
> Ashes opened the cabin door, letting the sunlight in. “Negotiation is not necessary,” she stated, walking out the door, closing it behind her.
“Not now,” I said, cutting Aerona off. “I need to get hold of Jess.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
For the first time since Jess and Evan found their worlds spinning out of control in what seemed like a low budget horror film, the dark room was illuminated by a sliver of morning sun through a small, dirty window. A wicked summer storm with deafening thunder and wind had rocked the old house all through the night. The early morning sun provided them with some much-needed positivity.
Evan’s wrists were raw and bloodied from the cold, steel handcuffs. It had been two hours since they last heard Jess’s phone vibrate in the pocket of Evan’s jacket.
He strained his neck to look the jacket. “Do you think the battery is dead?” Evan asked. “It’s been forever since we’ve heard it vibrate—maybe a few hours.”
“I remember unplugging the phone from the charger when I left the house,” Jess said, adjusting herself as much as the duct tape would allow. “I think it was fully charged, but the vibration might have drained the battery.”
The knife wound in Jess’s hand had stopped bleeding, although whenever she moved her hand, a sharp stabbing pain raced up her arm. She lost count of the times she tugged on her wrists, trying to break free from the chair. The tape had taken its toll on her skin.
Evan found the strength to stand up. The pipe he was handcuffed to was plumbed from floor to ceiling with two on/off connections running to an old sink in the corner. He worked the handcuffs up the pipe to chest level, then lifted one foot up, pressing it against the wall. It took him a minute to find the balance; and once he was confident with his position, he jumped into the air and quickly shoved his other foot against the wall. Throughout the night, Evan’s attempts at breaking free off the pipe had amused Jess. He crashed to the floor more times than catching his feet on the wall.
“You’re going to dislocate your shoulder,” Jess cautioned.
Evan grunted as he pulled with all his might, leaning backwards, jerking hard on the pipe several times. “Right now,” he said, “I’m close to chewing off my own arm to get out of here.”
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