by Tricia Barr
Students and soldiers stood as still as statues. Whatever the noise was, they’d heard it too. Which meant it was even larger than Kol assumed.
They made their way through the main building, Eduard stopping to speak with different officers along the way.
“Kol!” It was Nik, with Juliet in tow—mirroring Kol and Myreen.
“What happened?” Kol asked.
Nik shrugged. “Everyone is panicked. We came to find you to see if you knew.”
“We heard the noise,” Myreen said.
Kol noticed an interchange between her and Juliet after the phoenix looked down at their interlocked fingers. He had an inkling what it meant, but couldn’t think about that at the moment and looked to where Eduard had been. But he was gone. And so was Victoria.
“Should we see if something...?” Myreen paused, like she didn’t want to continue. Kol squeezed her hand, prompting her to look up at him. She did, but her expression didn’t change. She looked back at Nik and Juliet. “If something is attacking from the lake?”
Kol wanted to smack himself in the head. He hadn’t thought of that. In all the years he’d attended the Dome, nothing had ever attacked from the lake until Draven took Myreen. Hell, nothing had attacked the Dome from anywhere until recently. Thinking back to the moment they heard the loud boom, there was nowhere else he could think that could be the source, except the glass that kept the lake out.
Another boom shook the walls, and four shifters—the same four who first encountered Draven’s vampires and nearly lost—raced down the stairs and made their way out of the building. It was difficult because hordes of students were pouring into the building on their way to the subway entrance. The four had to swim upstream to get out.
It was darker than usual outside. The screen that so often simulated sunlight, instead of Lake Michigan, was turned off so that all that could be seen was the dark depths of the lake.
But the three thick, long appendages that draped themselves across the outside of the glass were unmistakable. Even if Kol hadn’t experienced one in the sim, even if he didn’t notice the round suction cups pressed against the glass, the sheer size of the tentacles were proof enough.
Myreen squeezed Kol’s hand tightly and reached for Juliet’s free one.
Someone screamed.
The Dome was being attacked by a kraken.
Chapter 48: Juliet
Juliet sat in her room with Nik, Brett, Leya, and Alessandra. Well, Katya was there, too, but Juliet hadn’t quite forgiven her yet—or dismissed the idea that Katya had been the one to rat them out. After all, Major Peters only found them the same night Katya made her first attendance. But Katya swore she hadn’t told, and Brett backed her up. So Juliet let it slide.
Myreen left to go spend some more time with Kol, and Juliet couldn’t quite blame her. Those two love-birds deserved all the time they could manage to snag. And Kenzie had disappeared to who-knew-where, and she didn’t have a phone on her, so that reunion would have to wait.
Juliet looked at the gathered group. All of them—well, aside from Katya—had gotten a taste of Dracul's wrath, and it showed. They were in no position to get caught again, but with Oberon's search coming to a head, no one wanted to quit. They were all willing to take any risk necessary to bring him home.
Katya typed away like a madwoman on her laptop, Brett and Nik hovering over her shoulders as she worked her magic. Juliet was too on edge to sit still, so she paced between her bed and desk.
The coordinates Juliet found had led them to some remote area in Canada, but they couldn’t risk sending someone to check. Katya had volunteered to track them digitally, but as of yet, they hadn’t been able to confirm anything.
To add to Juliet’s anxiety, every noise she heard made her jump. Would General Dracul or one of his soldiers try to catch them again? She hoped Kol’s presence would continue to soften the general, but that didn’t mean her body had forgotten the punishment it had endured. And there was no sense getting comfortable, either. Even the best version of General Dracul couldn’t compare to having Oberon as director.
“I just don't understand why we can’t find him,” Brett said, beginning to show signs of cabin fever.
“Because he’s in the middle of nowhere,” Katya spat back.
Brett sucked his teeth, then went to stand by the door, his arms folded.
“I’ll go get some grub for everyone. I'm sure I won’t be missing anything,” Brett said, then slipped out the door.
Katya slammed her laptop shut, letting her head fall back to stare at the ceiling. “He’s right. We’re getting nowhere.”
“Let’s just take a few, deep breaths,” Nik said in his calm, soothing voice. Usually that worked to calm Juliet, but not this time.
Juliet couldn’t believe she was siding with Brett. “We need more information.”
“Come on,” Nik said. “We have a map we aren't supposed to have, coordinates that took you all day to find, and a kitsune who rules the cyber world.”
“Pfft. I wish. I'm nothing like Ren,” Katya said, then added in a low tone, “But thanks.”
“Ren...” Juliet said. Katya and Nik’s eyes darted to Juliet, their faces reflecting the same look of confusion.
“What are the chances that Ren could be with Oberon?” Juliet began. “And if he is...”
“Then he’d be working with something that gave off a signal,” Nik finished, shooting Juliet a look of pride..
Katya reopened her laptop and began clacking at the keyboard. Juliet popped in the empty seat next to Katya, looking over one shoulder as Nik looked over the other.
Within two minutes, Katya was done. She removed her fingers from the laptop and stared at the screen. “Now we wait. Ren’s tech is pretty distinctive, so I set parameters to scan for his signature, but I have a dual scan for any technology in that area, to anywhere within a five hundred mile radius of those coordinates. If we see any red waves, it’s them. Blue waves could be them, but it’s a little less sure. If it’s a cluster of blue waves, then it’s probably a town or something that isn’t on the internet maps.”
Juliet was thankful Brett wasn't there. He probably wouldn't be able to sit through more waiting.
A crash sounded outside of Juliet’s door. Juliet and Nik stood right away, Katya still glued to her laptop. A scream ripped Nik from his stupor, but before he could get to the door, it swung open to reveal a pale, panic-stricken Brett.
Katya’s startled gaze went back to her laptop when it started beeping. “I found them! But that’s weird... Not enough blue for a town or city, but there’s definitely something else there... I can just connect to whatever Ren is streaming off of...” Katya seemed to be speaking more to herself as she started typing again.
“Brett, what’s going on?” Nik asked, casting an anxious glance at Katya. Juliet could hear chaos in the hallways, but Brett had already shut the door, looking like he might never leave her room again.
“Everyone’s going crazy. The rumor mill... The things they’re saying... We’re under attack. We’re all gonna... Ugh, I don't feel so good.” Brett sunk to the floor, his hands pulling at his hair like Kol often did.
Juliet held a hand in front of her mouth, stunned. “Who..? What..?”
“Okay, Brett, get it together. We’re going to need you,” Nik said, springing to action. “Katya can you get through to Oberon or Ren?”
Katya shook her head. “I can’t pinpoint the signal. There’s some sort of interference I can’t get around.”
“Okay. Keep working on that. Juliet, you and I will rally the students and try to calm them down. We need to get the younger ones to safety, if possible. Brett, I want you to figure out exactly what’s going on and let us know what you find. You and Katya, join us in getting the younger students out as soon as you can.”
It seemed that Nik had everything under control—at least within the walls of her bedroom. Juliet couldn’t be more grateful for her boyfriend than in that moment. From the way it
sounded outside, they had a lot of work to do, but she felt ready for it.
“Let’s go.” Nik grabbed Juliet’s hand as they took off to start gathering students, Brett jetting out behind them and heading downstairs.
Like a scene in a horror movie, students ran in every direction, some some screaming, most crying. Nik let go of Juliet and with a single nod, he went left while Juliet went to the right. She spotted a group of girls crying and decided to start there. Hopefully she could get their cluster to break up and start moving.
“Guys, I know this is scary, but sitting here will only put you in more danger. If we move to the exit, we can work on escaping. If we work together, we can get through this. I promise. Follow me.” It took her longer than she liked to get the girls moving, but once they were on their feet, Juliet led the terror-stricken girls to the exit platform. She stopped along the way to pick up others who were too afraid to move, the group getting stronger as they banded together.
“We got this, guys. We have to turn our fear into courage, our doubt into hope, and our innocence into strength. We can do this!”
Juliet and her group met up with Nik and his group and they started ushering students onto the train, Nik checking with some of the older and more able to see if they truly wanted to flee or if they were willing to stay and fight.
Katya and Brett caught up to them as the first load of students sped away to what Juliet hoped was safety. They’d been instructed not to leave the secret platform before checking to see if the coast was clear.
“I can’t be sure that Ren or Oberon will even see the messages, but I did my best,” Katya said, bracing her hands on her knees.
Juliet high-fived Katya.
“Brett?” Nik asked.
Brett shrugged. “The Dome’s projection screen is still lit, so I couldn’t see what was going on, but the attack is definitely coming from the lake. My guess is it’s vampires again, but it sounds... bigger than before. Maybe some sort of machinery?”
Nik nodded. “That’s okay. Let’s try and get as many students out as we can, and rally anyone who’s willing to stay and fight. Katya, do you think you could turn off the projection screen so we can see what’s out there?”
Katya nodded, then took off down the hallway.
Nik was still calling the shots, but Juliet could sense his calm starting to fade. She felt her own worry turn into determination. She’d be there for Nik, whatever he needed. They’d come through this together. Just like all the other times.
“We know how to fight,” Juliet said, looking around at their small group. “Let’s show these vamps! If General Dracul taught us anything, it’s how to defend ourselves and our Dome.”
There were murmurs and nods. Another tremor shook the school, screams and cries coming from everywhere.
Nik raised his hands, shooting Juliet a grateful glance. “Alright, any of you who are willing to stay, we need your help gathering students. Anyone who wants to leave should be brought here and sent to the secret platform.” Just then a fresh car arrived, the doors hissing open, as if eager to take more frightened students away. “You two,” Nik said, pointing at a pair of students Juliet couldn’t remember the names of, “stay here and help students onto the trains. We don’t want to overload the cars and cause more harm than good.”
The two students nodded and started directing waiting shifters onto the train. More students filtered in by the second, and Juliet briefly wondered how many would be left to help defend the Dome.
“The rest of you, let’s get to work,” Nik said, then clapped his hands. “We need to find Myreen and Kol.” He took Juliet’s hand, and she nodded.
Nik and Juliet took off running, through the Grand Hall and toward the training rooms.
“Kol!” Nik said just as Juliet spotted Kol and Myreen standing near General Dracul.
“What happened?” Kol asked.
Nik shrugged. “Everyone’s panicked. We came to find you to see if you knew.”
“We heard the noise,” Myreen said.
Juliet looked at Mryeen’s hand, interlocked with Kol’s, and she exchanged a knowing look. The two were obviously back together. Too bad the timing sucked.
“Should we see if something...?” Myreen paused. She looked at Kol, worry etched on her face, then she looked back at Nik and Juliet. “If something is attacking from the lake?”
Another boom shook the walls. Juliet looked up, noticing for the first time that the simulated sunlight was off, the murky depths of the lake the only thing that could be seen. Katya must have figured it out.
Juliet wanted to smile, but three thick arms covered in suction cups pressed against the glass. Juliet could hardly breathe, and she almost didn’t feel Myreen taking her free hand. Someone screamed, and Juliet shuddered.
“What the heck is that?” Juliet asked.
“A kraken,” Kol replied, his soft voice and matter-of-fact tone so opposite of what Juliet was feeling.
Myreen's concerned face matched Juliet's.
Nik looked to Katya as she and Brett caught back up with the group. “Get all the kitsunes together. We need to try to get rid of that thing.”
Katya nodded, then left on her new mission. Juliet gripped Nik’s hand, the eerie silence of the Dome unsettling her. It made Juliet feel like something was going to explode at any moment.
Juliet, are you there?
Juliet squealed as she heard a voice not her own sounding in her mind. Had fear had driven her mad? Everyone looked at Juliet as her squeal echo through the silent halls.
“Are you alright?” Nik whispered.
Letting go of Nik and Myreen’s hands, Juliet shook her head and tapped by her ear, trying shake out the voice. But just when she thought she’d gotten her bearings back, the voice returned.
Oh, duh, I should probably mention it’s Kenzie in your head. And Juliet, if you're there, I'm going to need you to answer me out loud ‘cause I can’t hear that pretty head of yours rattle. It’s magic, not a crystal ball. Okay, so I’m officially freaking out. Are you guys okay? Talk. To. Me!
Juliet sighed in relief, glad her sanity wasn’t failing her.
“Juliet?” Nik stared at her wide-eyed.
“Um, Kenzie... she’s talking to me... in my head?” Juliet felt like she needed to sit. Instead, she walked to the wall and reached out her hand to hold her balance against it.
“What?” Nik and Brett said at the same time.
Yes! It’s me. In your head. Sort of. Is everyone okay?
“Kenzie?” Juliet spoke to herself. She didn't understand how to communicate this way, and she couldn’t quite remember what Kenzie had told her. Hopefully it was as easy as that.
Are guys you safe? Who are you with?
Juliet closed her eyes, as if it it would make it easier to stay connected with Kenzie. “We’re safe. I’m with Nik and Brett and Myreen and Kol and a bunch of other students. They're scared, but we’re prepared to fight if we have to. Nik wants to try and get most everyone out. Where are you? Are you okay?”
Yes, I'm fine. I'm outside of the Dome. Long story. Sorry, I would’ve tried to contact Myreen first because she knows about this spell, but honestly my brain’s fried and you’re the first person that popped in when I cast it. Sorry if I freaked you out. Kenzie couldn't hide the worry in her tone, and Juliet’s heart throbbed at her friend’s panic.
“It’s because she’s a selkie, isn’t it?” Nik asked, bringing up Juliet’s chin so she would look at him. “Jules, do you think you can ask her if she could contact Oberon?”
She wanted to praise him for being a genius, but she felt she needed to concentrate. Instead, she spun away, burying her head and plugging her ears. “Kenz, we need a favor.”
“Anything.”
“We need Oberon. Do you think you can speak to him like this? Just to tell him that we’re in danger and that we need him.” Juliet’s voice laced with desperation.
“Yes. Shouldn’t be a problem. I’m going to try to get in there
as soon as I can. You all stay safe, you hear? Oh crap. Wes? What’s this w—?” It was Kenzie's last message before she mentally hung up. Juliet felt it end, like a heaviness that lifted off her head.
She turned and faced Nik and the others. “She’s doing it.”
“Good,” Nik said, and it seemed hope spread like a wildfire between the students.
Katya ran back at that moment, followed by a group of kitsunes. Juliet didn’t know half of them, but she was grateful, nonetheless.
She looked around for General Dracul, for the first time noticing that he’d disappeared. Had the general of the shifter army really deserted them? She prayed Kenzie could get through to Oberon before it was too late.
Chapter 49: Oberon
Family.
Oberon was with family again, and although they weren’t his blood-relatives, they were his in-laws. And that was close enough for him.
He and Ren had stayed overnight and all throughout the next day, getting acquainted with the Vogels. The group had just finished a hearty dinner, and the sun was on the verge of setting. The jovial feeling that had surrounded their becoming acquainted was beginning to wear off as conversations became more serious.
Oberon was sitting in a recliner inside the warm cabin living room, the nearby fireplace crackling with burning wood. On the couch across the way, Tobias—who, in human form, looked so like a masculine form of Seri—sat next to his life-mate Gwendolyn. Their daughter, June, sat cross-legged in front of the fireplace, staring into the depths of the orange-red coals, lost in her own thoughts.
“All this time, we thought she’d died.” It was Seri’s father, Gabriel Vogel, who was sitting on the arm of another couch nearby. He was holding the hand of his wife—Seri’s mother. She looked like an older version of Seri, with wrinkles and white hair that hinted at being blonde in her early years. The biggest difference between them were their eyes. Oberon’s mother-in-law’s were a dark brown. Seri inherited her father’s blue eyes. Oberon loved her name—Savannah—it seemed to suit her well.