Kingdom of War (Kingdom Journals Book 4)

by Tricia Copeland

  Two guards exited the security room and approached Baylor.

  “Sir, who are you? How did you get in here?” The first guard to reach Baylor held his arms out wide as if to corral him away from the entrance.

  “I don’t know. I walked, I guess.” Baylor rocked on his feet.

  “You can’t be here, sir. Let me get someone to escort you out of the complex. We can call a taxi for you.”

  In one swift move, Baylor hooked his arm around the closest guard’s neck, injected him with the poison, and jumped to the second guard, doing the same. Staying low, Baylor dragged the two around the corner out of view of the guard station.

  Ten of our men crossed the space and stood behind the wall with Baylor. Vampire speed always surprised me, and I exhaled a breath, realizing that we might get in without incident. I hadn’t decided if it was best to be discovered or not. If the guards didn’t recognize us, they might escort us into the compound, giving us our in. But if they did know who we were, we’d be dead in seconds.

  Motion above me caught my eye, and I spied hundreds of vampires gathering on the towers and walkways above us. The large garage doors opened, and a wall of vampires marched towards us. They were sending out the troops.

  I looked to Camille, Jude, and Grady and then Aaron, Dimitri, and Jacob. “That’s our cue. You ready?”

  “I’ll hold the lines out here.” Will cocked his head to our troops, gathering behind him.

  “Till we meet again.” I held out my arm.

  He locked his palm around my forearm. “Till we meet again.”

  Spinning, I evoked a cloaking spell for myself and Jacob. Camille and Jude did the same with Aaron and Dimitri. I launched myself into the air, and we sailed over the vampires streaming from the castle entrance.

  Is this too easy? Camille’s voice sounded in my mind.

  Does it matter? I replied as we slipped through the inner doors and over the heads of the oncoming soldiers. Isn’t this how you escaped before? Just focus on finding the sword.

  Gray stone walls, floors, and ceilings lined the narrow passage way. We sped to a large room where she hesitated. Then, she took the left hall to a stairwell. I hate this place.

  Taking in a deep breath, she descended the spiral staircase. I brought up the rear of the group, keeping an eye out behind us. So far, I hadn’t seen any true-witches and thought it odd that the whole compound was filled with vampires. Vampires with witch souls and the ability to do magic, I corrected myself.

  We descended three stories before reaching the bottom level. Camille stopped, and her gaze landed on me. Feel that? She signed as she communicated with me so the others would understand.

  Witches, lots of them. I signed back.

  The sword is here. She described the cavern-like space we were about to enter and reminded us how Sonia had been made immortal six months before.

  Theron will have the sword. Find him. I communicated to the others.

  Anyone think this is too easy? Grady replied.

  Their whole coven is probably in there. This is going to be far from easy. It doesn’t matter. Everyone know what to do? I looked to each face and got a nod from each.

  Jumping into the air, I rounded the corner. Candles lined the vast room cut from stone. Sonia and Thanatos sat in chairs at the bottom of the amphitheater. Theron stood behind Sonia, sword hanging from his belt. Their coven members sat on the stone benches as if in a trance.

  I glided over their heads to the bottom level and wound round and landed beside Theron. I watched as Camille, Jude, Grady, Aaron, Dimitri, and Jacob lined the back wall. Reaching out with my mind, I tried to contact Theron.

  Theron, I’m here. We’re ready to make a deal.

  Theron’s hand went to the sword, and I held my breath as Sonia’s eyes cut to him. She adjusted her skirt and turned back to the witches.

  Isn’t this a surprise, brother? The side of Theron’s mouth bent up.

  We’ll help you take down Sonia and Thanatos and let you become the High Priest. Just give me the sword.

  I’m not giving you the sword.

  It will be entombed indefinitely where no one can use it.

  You haven’t broken the curse. I hope you were smart enough to make Alena a full witch. Although I see she’s not here. At least you got that much right. He turned his head to face me.

  In one swift motion, he drew the sword from his belt and aimed it at Jacob. Sonia and Thanatos jumped to their feet, and I realized my mistake. The energy it took to communicate with Theron distracted me from cloaking Jacob. I’d held the spell too long, and my powers waned. I guessed Camille and Jude might be nearing the same point.

  Jacob disappeared, and I guessed one of the others cloaked him. We needed to conserve our energy for the fight to come, so I signaled for my team to drop our cloaking spells. Gasps spread through the room as the coven members realized we surrounded them.

  “Fear not.” Sonia raised her hand, and the crowd silenced. “We have a few more vampire volunteers that wish to join our forces.”

  Sonia motioned to Theron. As he waved the sword over the chasm, I took a step back. A blue glowing orb rose from the dark abyss, and Theron directed it to Jacob. As Theron pointed St. Maurice’s blade at the vampire, the orb hovered in front of Jacob’s chest. It brightened and lunged at Jacob, hitting his crystal-lined suit and bouncing off.

  “Interesting.” Sonia swirled around. “I hope you have a lot of those suits. Theron, I believe you know what needs to be done with Hunter’s friends.”

  I lifted my hand and shot a wave of magic at Theron. The sword fell from his hand, but he lunged and swiped it from the ground. He waved it in the air, and hundreds of blue orbs rose from the hole behind us. The sound of footsteps drew my attention, and I saw our troops filing into the cavern. Relief flooded my brain as I processed that at least this team made it through the enemy lines.

  A blast hit me, and I flew across the room and slammed into the wall. As I landed, I sent healing energy into my shoulder. My father hovered over me. “You’ve always been weak. This is where you realize you will never be great.”

  “You’re wrong.” I jumped to my feet and sent a wave of magic at him.

  He stumbled back, and his wide eyes landed on me again. Behind him, I saw our soldiers locked in skirmishes with the coven witches. These were Anne’s strongest fighters, and with the weapons they’d developed, I didn’t worry for them. My thoughts went to Camille. She had Grady and Jude to protect her, and I would know if she were in danger. I refocused on Thanatos, Sonia, and Theron. Theron yielded the sword like a conductor’s baton, guiding souls to our vampire soldiers. The blue-orb souls hit the suits and bounced off as they had with Jacob.

  I scanned the space and found him cornered against the wall, the soul bouncing off his chest, slamming him into the rock. Another blast hit me, and I landed on my back. Jumping up and soaring over my father’s head, I landed on the other side of him. He and Theron didn’t scare me, but I kept my eye on the sword and Sonia. What did she want? I knew the answer: the curse intact, her power source safe, herself and Thanatos in control of the witches. How much did her son mean to her?

  Dodging a rock Thanatos hurled at me, I glanced at the pit behind me. Warm air rose from the wide crevice, and an orange glow indicated there might a heat source below. Whistling wind caught my attention, and I rolled to miss an oncoming knife aimed at my chest. His intentions were clear. He would kill me.

  Kill him and kill Sonia, and you will be rid of their threats forever.

  Whether the words came from Lucifer or the darkest part of me, I couldn’t be sure, but I forced them from my psyche. Taking stock of our men again, I saw Jacob still wrestling with the soul on his torso. Theron’s eyes darted between the blue orbs, and his wide smile hinted at his satisfaction in yielding so much power.

  Rising, I focused all my power on Thanatos, driving him to the ledge. He tried to block my magic with a counterwave, but I pressed back, penetrating his protection wa
ll. His stare hardened as he battled the force. Still, I’d broken through and had him in my grip. Directing the beam, I levitated him over the chasm.

  “Mother.” Thanatos flailed in the air, fighting against the force that held him.

  A gust of wind sailed past me and caught him, sending him to the ground beyond me.

  “You think you are stronger than us?” Sonia’s gaze locked on mine. “You haven’t experienced power yet.”

  A blast hit me, and I sailed across the space to the rock wall. My back hit, and the air whooshed from my lungs. Falling to the ground, I fought to draw in a breath. I willed my legs and arms to move, but they felt numb, frozen. Sending healing waves to my appendages warmed them, and I pushed up to my hands and knees. An invisible weight bore down on my shoulder blades, and my biceps trembled with strain. Reaching out with my mind, I fought my father’s spell. You are nothing, boy. My arms gave out, and I landed cheek to the dirt. I had to think, be smarter. What was his weakness?

  Hunter, where are you? Camille’s voice sounded in my head. We’re getting nowhere. There are too many of them. They’re just going to deplete our magic until we fall. We must find a way tip the scales in our favor.

  A pair of black boots landed in front of me. Alena stood hands to hips with her hard glare locked on me. That would be me.

  How?

  Not enough time for that. She dug her fangs into her wrist and pressed her arm to my mouth. Her blood wouldn’t cure a magic injury, but it coursed through my veins, replenishing my strength.

  I jumped up, and we stood shoulder to shoulder as Sonia and Thanatos approached.

  “Theron.” Sonia’s low growl pricked at my ear drums. “The main attraction has arrived.”

  You shouldn’t have come.

  When are you going to learn we’re stronger together? One, two—

  We sprang into the air, sailing over Sonia and Thanatos and landing beside Theron.

  “Time to choose, brother.” I held his stare.

  His crooked smile told me all I needed to know. He never intended to join us.

  “You will never let me lead.” Theron held the sword over his head and pivoted to face the chasm.

  A large orb, brighter than all the others, rose from the abyss and floated to Alena.

  She leaned back as it hovered in front of her. The scar on her cheek glowed blue, and blood poured from it.

  Alena screamed and dropped to her knees, palm pressed to the wound.

  I flung a force field around us, and the orb bounced off the barrier.

  Sonia glided to us. “You think you can best Lilith?”

  Hunter, Jacob’s been taken. The soul fought him until he had no strength left and then ate through the crystal suit. We can’t hold the rest much longer. What do we do? Camille’s pleas cut through the horror of seeing Alena crumpled on the ground before me.

  As I surveyed the cavern, I found Jacob slitting open the suits of our own men, leaving them vulnerable to the bodiless souls. Grady fought a vampire-witch host a foot taller than him, and six of Sonia’s vampire minions surrounded Camille and Jude. My mind swirled with apprehension as I sucked in a breath.

  Use it. The voice echoed through my body.

  Pulling power from deep within every cell of my being, I released it. A blast so loud I thought my ear drums might burst reverberated against the stone walls, shaking the cavern. “Stop!”

  Everyone, everything, even the molecules of the air froze. Blinking, I focused on Alena. One palm to her cheek, she stood and took my hand. The blue orb hovered outside my force field. Sonia, Theron, Thanatos, and each of their coven members and the vampire-witch minions they commanded stood fixed, trapped in the position they’d been in when I made the command. Wide-eyed, our army milled about.

  What just happened? Camille joined us.

  Taking in the scene, I called to our soldiers. “Secure as many of them as you can with the crystal ropes. I don’t know how long I can hold this.”

  Sonia’s eyes followed me as I paced between her and Thanatos, trying to figure out what to do.

  Within the Book that lays the tale, the blade’s true master shall be restored. That was it. It had to be. The blade’s true master was Adam. Adam was human.

  Seeing Sonia’s coven members bound by the crystals, I drew the sword from my back and held it in front of me.

  “No!” Alena’s guttural scream pierced my ears.

  With as much force as I could muster, I plunged the blade into my abdomen. Blinding pain shot through my body. The commotion around me indicated my spell disintegrated. I fell to the dirt and watched as clear fluid and then blood oozed from my wound.

  “Hunter!” Bloody tears formed in Alena’s eyes as she knelt before me.

  The glowing orb above her dimmed, collapsed into itself, and exploded with a silent puff. Ash from the implosion fell to the floor. A warm gust surrounded me, and thousands of blue orbs rose from the fissure behind me, floating to the ceiling and disappearing into the rock.

  “No, it cannot be.” Sonia’s glare landed on me. Her headed whipped around, and yanked Theron’s arm. “Give me the sword.”

  “No.” Both hands tight on the sword’s hilt, he backed away.

  She matched his steps. “That is the only weapon that can destroy me. You will give it to me.”

  “No.” He held it out above the chasm. “I will throw it into this pit, and it will be destroyed along with you.”

  Chest heaving with every effort to draw in a breath, I rested my head on the dirt floor. Gazing at the dark ceiling, I wondered if I cared whether Sonia, Thanatos, or even Theron lived or died. All that mattered was that the sword got destroyed. DJ and all those other vampires deserved their lives back.

  “Hunter? Stay with me, Hunter.” Alena’s voice sounded like a whisper on the wind.

  Get the sword. Destroy it. Set DJ and the rest free. I pushed the thought to Alena and Camille.

  Alena crouched over me, strawberry-blond hair glowing around her ivory skin. She pressed her blood-stained wrist to my mouth. I sucked on the metallic liquid. Still, beings floated around me as if I were in a dream.

  “Will.” Alena grasped the vampire’s huge bicep. “Help him.”

  Will dropped to one knee beside me and slit his wrist, dropping warm liquid into my throat.

  “Camille.” Alena tugged at her arm. “He isn’t healing himself. You’re a healer. You can help him.”

  Camille’s light eyes met mine. “He’s not a witch anymore. He’s human.”

  “Get”—I coughed, and blood spurted from my mouth—“St. Maurice’s sword. Destroy it.”

  My side burned with pain, and I rolled into a ball. Cold air enveloped me, and I knew my time had come. I prayed Alena would forgive me, and that DJ, Camille and Jude, my mom and grandparents, and all the others would live peaceful happy lives. I wanted that for them. That was all I’d ever wished for.

  Did you think you’d be the first witch to enter Heaven?

  I squinted, shielding my eyes from a bright light.

  A shadow, the shape of a wing, passed in front of the light and a flapping sound entered my consciousness.

  Lucifer. I forced my lids open. A dark shape loomed over me. Black wings swooshed past my field of vision. Using all my energy, I pushed my hand into the ground and heaved my torso up. Alena’s arms wrapped around me, and I slumped into her side.

  Theron still held St. Maurice’s sword above the pit. Lucifer strode to him. “Destroy it, and Sonia dies, your father is tried for treason, and you are tried as an accomplice.”

  Theron’s eyes cut between Sonia and Lucifer. “I destroy the sword, and I am a hero. I was nothing but a pawn, an innocent boy forced to wield a weapon by my grandmother and father.”

  Lucifer shook his head. “You are a full witch. No one has dominion over you unless you allow it.” Lucifer’s gaze shifted to me. “Well, except for Hunter. But he seems to have lost his powers. Come with me, all three of you, and you shall never be stripped o
f your power.”

  Sonia launched herself at Thanatos, hooking her arm in his, and blasted towards Theron. Grabbing him, she landed in front of Lucifer. “And so, it shall be.”

  “No!” I watched as Lucifer wrapped black wings around my half-brother, father, and grandmother.

  The dark angel shot into the air, rising to the top of the cavern. Then, he dropped past us into the abyss.

  “They’re gone? What about the sword?” Alena hugged me to her.

  “Angels are always so dramatic.” Will retrieved his weapon from the ground.

  Anger erupted from my soul, and I coughed up a mouthful of blood. “How can you be so insensitive? We have no clue whether the sword was destroyed. That was my brother, my father.”

  “Hunter.” Alena squeezed my shoulders. “Save your strength.”

  Will walked to the edge of the fissure. “I’m thinking the hot lava will destroy the sword.”

  Camille wrapped her hand around mine. “If they enter Sheol, the sword will pass into a different plane. Magic can’t be transferred between that space and ours. DJ will be okay.”

  “You’re so damned optimistic.” I gripped my side as a ripple of pain shot through it.

  “I’m thinking if you’re criticizing me, you’re going to live.” Camille stood.

  A scream erupted from a vampire to my left. Bound by the crystal ropes, he writhed against the restraints. The other captives started to yell. The one closest to me fell limp. I watched as his eyes opened.

  “Where am I?” His rotated his head to the left and then right.

  Camille ran to him. “Do you know who you are? Where you are?”

  “I know who I am but have no clue how I got here. The last thing I remember, I lay down in my bed for a slumber.”

  “You’re going to be okay.” Camille patted his arm.

  Standing, she directed our army to help free the restored vampires. She crossed to us.

  “St. Maurice’s sword must have been destroyed. All the vampires that Theron placed witch souls in are back to normal. That means DJ is going to be fine too.”