“Wow.” Reclining on the bed, I hugged Alena to me, wondering if we’d always be together.
DJ hurled a javelin at me, and I flipped away and froze the weapon in mid-air.
“Okay, what else ya got? LA style?” I floated a medicine ball to my palm and dribbled it to the far wall.
“Oh, I’ve got cyclone moves for you.” He blasted air past me, and the ball hurled away.
Redirecting the wind, I rotated the ball in a large circle over our heads. I jumped as it approached. DJ did too, and we collided, falling to the floor laughing.
“Oh, man.” DJ rubbed his chest. “If I have to be locked up, you’re not the worst dude I could be stuck with. You suck at football, but you’ve got decent basketball moves. I might even claim being related to you.”
“Oh, yeah?” I swooshed a ball past his head. “Say that slow.”
“So sensitive.” He stopped the ball and forced it back at me.
“Okay, I think we’ve seen enough.” Orm entered the gym. “You guys are going to end up boring me to tears. I can’t watch Chalondra knit one more blanket. What will it be, Hunter, is he in or out?”
Palming the ball, I dropped it on the mat. “What are you saying? You want me to decide right this second? Shouldn’t Alena, Camille, and I vote, or something?”
“Who are Alena and Camille?” DJ looked between Orm and me.
My heart pounded in my chest. My gut convulsed at the thought of rejecting him, but my mind struggled with the fact that I’d only known him for seven days.
“Three, two, one.” Orm counted down.
A feeling washed over me like a calmness, and I let the breath I’d held go. “In, he’s in.”
Grabbing our gear and rounding up Chalondra, we made our way to the main section of the compound.
“Wow, you guys take security seriously.” DJ glimpsed back as we exited the second of two retina-scanning secured doors. Spinning to face forward, he froze. “Whoa.”
Our vampire friends Aaron, Dimitri, Jacob, and Will stood shoulder to shoulder. “Well, I guess we get the A-team welcoming committee.”
Introducing them, I gave DJ a short explanation of each vampire’s role. Clicking of heels alerted me to Anne’s approach. She briefed DJ on his security clearance. They allowed him access to his quarters, hygiene areas, gym, cafeteria, but no communication devices, and his every movement would be monitored.
“I trust you know what you are doing.” Spinning, Anne proceeded down the hall followed by Will and Jacob.
“Reminds me of the five years they kept one of the magic-blocking crystals around my neck,” Orm commented as we walked toward the general housing unit.
“Five years?” DJ exclaimed.
“That’s a long time.” I shook my head.
Orm unlocked the door. “Not for a witch or a vampire. Six months in human time is nothing.”
DJ stopped short. “Did I miss something? How long do witches live?”
“Nine hundred years, give or take. You should meet everyone. Why don’t we move to the conference room?” Orm walked ahead of us.
I watched DJ’s wide-eyed glaze as he digested all the players and information, including the curse on the witch lines and theory of how it may be broken. Anne joined us with her report on the growing vampire disappearances. She’d contacted Marcus who, although having no specific knowledge of Michael’s coven’s activities, reported increased traffic to and from their compound on Sardinia.
“The working theory is that they are using the sword to exact souls from Sheol and place them in vampires. They’re creating an army.” Anne paced in front of us.
“How many are reported missing so far?” I asked.
Anne brought up a map marked with locations of vampire disappearances. “Forty-three.”
“Forty-three isn’t army size.”
Camille spoke up. “Think of all the families that have lost their loved ones.”
I shook my head. “Yes, I feel bad for them, but we have to stay on task. If we find the pieces of the sword and break the curse, then there won’t be any souls left in Sheol, and the souls occupying the vampires will be released, right?”
Alena stood. “Figuring out where Theron has Maurice’s sword and getting it from him are going to be hard. He has all of Michael’s coven estimated at over five hundred strong protecting it. We’ll start a war, and many could die. If the Lance of Longinus is our target, we’re the only ones at risk. I’m with Hunter.”
“When you put it that way, I agree.” Camille looked to Jude, and he nodded.
Standing, I gripped the top of my chair. “So, we’re all on the same page? We leave for the first target in a week.”
We spent the day training as a group, the six of us: Alena, Camille, Jude, Tyler, DJ, and me. It felt good, right, like the team was complete. DJ and I worked well together, seemed to think the same way, like we’d known each other all our lives. With his addition to the group, I started to formulate a plan for how to accomplish the missions while minimizing our exposure.
It would take some additional training, so that night I posed the idea to Alena, Camille, Jude, and Tyler. If Alena and Camille participated, as they had when we played as imaginary friends when we were little—virtually, so to speak—it would limit the risk to them. All three of us would be at the location in spirit, but Alena and Camille could project themselves from the safety of the compound. DJ, Jude, Tyler, and I formed a ground team with Alena and Camille as remote backups.
“Why are you even suggesting this?” Alena’s hand went to her hip. “I’m just as strong if not stronger than Jude. He’s only a quarter-vampire.”
“But I’m a full witch and so are Tyler and Hunter, and DJ’s a fifty-fifty hybrid. It’s a good plan.” Jude nodded.
Camille shook her head. “I don’t like it either. We’re supposed to be doing this together. I’m a full witch, one-hundred-percent ready for anything. Is this some kind of sexist coupe?”
“No, but we have to all be alive when we find the three pieces. I can command anyone. That makes me untouchable. Jude and DJ are part vampire, and Tyler is a full witch. Both of you can use magic to interact with the environment to support us.”
Alena paced and I could feel the heat rolling off her body. She was angry. “We don’t know that you can command anyone. Just because you have that control over Orm doesn’t mean it will work on everyone. What of those from Michael’s coven? I doubt you’d have that power over Theron, Thanatos, or Sonia.”
Frustrated, I approached her. “You’re probably right. But they don’t know where the Lance of Longinus is. They have no idea where we are, what we’re planning. There’s little chance we’ll have to face them. Can’t you just accept that this is a good idea?”
A wave of power blasted from my chest and Alena froze.
She blinked and her eyes locked on mine. “What did you just do?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know. I can’t control it. It just comes out sometimes, this need to have people obey me.” Palms up, I backed away.
“No.” She grabbed my arm. “Try it again.”
“What?”
“I felt the magic come off you, and then it was like it hit a wall and got deflected. You can’t control me. Try it on Camille.”
Camille stood before me. “It makes sense. We would need to be equal. Command me to do something?”
“Like what? This feels stupid.”
“Just do it.” She lifted her fists and threw a punch.
“Hey, stop.” I batted her hands away.
“No, stop me.” Jutting her arm out, she landed another hit on my chest. She bounced on her feet, circling me and pelting me with her fists. “You going to let a girl beat you up?”
Camille wasn’t a person you could be annoyed with; she just didn’t give off that vibe. “This isn’t working. Just sit down.”
“Make me.” Continuing to hop in a circle, she swiped the air in front of me.
I summoned my magic and released i
t. “Sit down.”
She froze. The next second, she burst out giggling. “Impressive, but no. I love it.”
Spinning, she raised her palm to Alena’s, and they smacked their hands together.
“Wait, I’m a full witch. Try me.” Tyler stood in front of me.
I told him to sit, and he replied no. But his knees bent, and he took the seat Jude offered. DJ and Jude followed my instruction as well.
“Okay.” Alena tugged at my shirt, pulling me to the door. “We need to figure out exactly how this works.”
Winding to the gym, we found Aaron and Dimitri. They laughed and resumed their weightlifting when I suggested they go take naps. Next, we sought out Chalondra, Grady, and Orm as they were older, more practiced witches. When we found Grady, I had no problem making him obey, as was the case with Chalondra and Orm.
“So, witches you can command, but not vampires and not us. But what about Michael’s coven? We have no clue how they’ll react.” Alena paced the kitchen.
“I made DJ obey. He’s of Michael’s line, and we have the same father.”
Alena lifted my wrist. “But he’s not of Michael’s coven. Plus, your mark is gold. It’s different than DJ’s.”
“Jude had the mark of Michael’s coven, but he broke the bond and joined our coven. We don’t have a test.”
“Unless we kidnap someone from Michael’s coven or meet up with you know, like Theron, or Thanatos, or Sonia.” Alena made bug eyes at me.
“Not something I want to try out in the moment.”
Camille pointed at me. “Just because the house in Greece is the only place we found the information doesn’t mean that the information doesn’t exist somewhere else. From what Anne told us about Hitler, he seemed to know where the sword was hidden, which means Sonia may too.”
“I think Hitler knew about St. Maurice’s blade, not that of Longinus.” I stood and leaned over the table. “Let’s just do some drills, see how much you can interact with an environment from a remote location. Just try.”
“It’s going to tax our magic, drain us quicker than being there.”
“Again.” I looked to Alena and then Camille. “Tired, not dead.”
“Not dead is a good thing.” Jude took Camille’s hand.
Camille bit her lip. “What if we try it first? See if it even works. Are you in, Alena?”
“I guess I’m out-voted.” Alena stomped from the room.
She didn’t speak to me the rest of the night. Still, she joined us in the training room at six the next morning. Alena and Camille positioned themselves one room away, two, three, fifty feet, a hundred until they were as far away as they could get and still be in the compound. Although drained by the end of the day, they were able to project their forms and interact with the environment from up to five-hundred feet away. I could see them, talk to them. They could pick things up and use magic just as if they were in the room. Alena threw things at me every chance she got, and I got plenty of blocking practice in.
“Did you have to be so brutal?” I asked as we met up after the session.
“Well, you wanted to know what I could do, so I showed you.” She snapped her head around, flinging her ponytail in my face, and walked away.
DJ slapped me on the back. “She’s not happy with you.”
“No, but when she’s not dead, she’ll be—”
“Still not happy, but alive.” DJ chuckled.
At dinner, Alena chose a seat across the table. “We can’t pull it off from around the world. Look at Camille. She’s white as a sheet. My vampire nature gives me more energy, but two hundred feet will be the max.”
“Okay, then you can travel with us. We’ll choose a secure location near the target where you can be guarded. It’s a good plan; it will work. What do you say, Camille?” I used my best puppy-dog look.
“I understand what you’re trying to accomplish. We make a bigger energy signature together. We’d be easier to detect. With your plan, we at least have some stealth.” Camille glanced at Alena. “What do you think?”
“Et tu, Brute?” Alena pushed her chair back and stormed off.
“She’ll come around. I’ll talk to her.” Tyler stuffed a bite of meat in his mouth.
I hurried through dinner and found Alena swimming. “You’re not going to get stronger skipping dinner.”
Jumping from the water, she landed beside me. “Yeah, cause that’s how to make up with your girlfriend after a fight, by telling her something else she’s not doing right.”
“Hey.” Ignoring her wet skin, I pulled her to me. “Do you think that’s what this is about? Because it’s not. We lost Elizabeth and Fahim already. I constantly worry about my mom and grandparents. If there’s a battle, I’m going to be thinking of you, wanting to protect you, and that’s not what I should be focused on.” I kissed her lips. “So, you’re my girlfriend now?”
“You’re thinking of dating someone else?” She looked sideways at me.
“No, I just don’t think you ever said it.”
“Well, I could be, if you wanted.”
I held her stare. “That would be amazing.”
“Okay, then, it’s settled. But don’t think this changes how I feel about the other thing.”
“Oh, I don’t, but please, let’s just try getting the first piece of the sword this way.”
“Okay.” She smiled up at me. “But only because you’re so cute, and everyone else thinks it’s a good idea.”
The next day, we loaded our gear into the vehicles and rode to the private air strip. Flying through the night, we landed in Paris as the sun rose. The plane taxied into a private hangar.
“I’m in Paris. I can’t believe I’m in Paris,” DJ exclaimed as the door opened.
“Don’t get too excited. We’re not going to see much.” I trudged down the steps to the waiting SUV.
Alena grabbed her bag and followed me down. “Still, there may be a view from our hotel.”
I rotated the bracelet on my wrists. We planned to wear the stones until it was time to retrieve the first portion of the lance. Our hotel lay near the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Although the relics of Christ had once been on display at Sainte Chapelle, they were moved to the Cathedral. These were displayed each year on Good Friday, so we predicted that the lance piece got stored in a vault, perhaps underneath the structure. Even with the plan all laid out, my anxiety peaked at an all-time high. That Anne had sent Will and Jacob along with Dimitri and Aaron was further evidence of how risky she thought this trip to be. Alena said Will and Jacob never left her mother.
Once deboarded, we piled into the two black, dark-window-tinted SUVs. The hangar door opened, and we drove out the airport exit through the streets. The city teemed with activity, and I tried to shut out how weird my life had become. I took French in school and always thought I’d spend a semester in Paris in college. I never dreamed I’d be hunting a two-thousand-year-old relic, Indiana Jones style, or to be more accurate, Harry Potter style.
“Where are you?” Alena rubbed her hand across my shoulders.
“This is just all so surreal.” I squeezed her hand.
The vehicle slowed and proceeded into a parking garage under the hotel building. We’d reserved two suites: one for the Alena, Camille, and Chalondra, with Will and Jacob serving as their bodyguards, and one for Aaron, Dimitri, DJ, Jude, Tyler, Orm, and me. We decided to spend three days conditioning and acclimating to the time change and then go into the chapel on the fourth day. If all went well, we’d have the lance’s point by the end of the week.
I hated waiting, but our vampire bodyguards kept us busy training in the gym all day. We self-imposed ten-o’clock curfews and six a.m. wake-up times to stay at the top of our game. Our meals were brought in so there was little left to chance.
On the fourth morning, we packed supplies to walk to the Cathedral and obtain entry tickets. Gathering in the foyer, I reviewed the plan.
“Okay, we’re ready.” I swung a bag onto my back and survey
ed our group. It was hard to wrap my brain around how the mission might go. My thoughts jumped between scenarios where we got in and found the point without incident, to being discovered by security and jailed, to a battle with Sonia herself. There’s no way they can know we’re here, I reassured myself.
“Be safe.” Alena hugged me. “We’re only a block away. If something goes wrong, call for us.”
“I will. You too.” I had no intention of letting Alena outside the hotel. Jacob and Will were under strict orders to keep her and Camille inside the suite, unless they were attacked.
The six of us—DJ, Jude, Tyler, Aaron, Dimitri, and me—made our way to the Cathedral. Once inside, we covered every inch of the building, noting possible locations the crown holding the point of the sword could be stored. At closing, we ducked between the pews, hiding ourselves and the two vampires from the guards with a cloaking spell. Once we learned their routines, we darted to the private staff entrance.
With my thoughts, I reached out to Alena and Camille. Their forms floated towards us, and Alena and Camille held out the two key cards they’d taken from the guards.
“Nice work. Any incidences? What did you do with the guards?”
Alena smiled. “They’re sleeping in the break room. We have at least four hours.”
I swiped the card in front of the sensor, and the lock clicked. “Looks like we’re in.”
Inside, doors lined a long narrow hallway. They were locked, but the key cards opened each one. The first rooms were offices and closets. I didn’t like that we only had one exit and kept my eye on Aaron who stood guard at the entry point. At the end of the hall stood a door fixed with a sensor and a keypad.
“This looks promising.” I motioned for Jude to try his hand at the code.
Jude held his palm over the keypad. Eyelids closed, he moved his fingers as if trying imaginary codes. After thirty seconds, he froze.
“Got it.” He held the key card over the sensor, typed in six numbers, and hit enter.
I held my breath, but the door opened as he pushed on it. Motioning for us to wait, he surveyed the room.
Kingdom of War (Kingdom Journals Book 4) Page 6