“Camille Thornton,” Grady put in. “I am Grady, this is my son, Tyler, and wife, Janine.”
“You are Ivy’s, or Camille’s, mother?” The guard pointed to Janine.
Janine clutched her hands in front of her. “Yes.”
The guard spun to look up at one of the cameras and then put his hand to a device, tucked in his ear. “One moment. We’ll be back.”
The guards filed out of the room.
“Is this good or bad?” Tyler asked.
“I have no clue.” Grady paced from one side of the room to the other. “You all have your passports, right?”
We nodded in succession as he looked to each of us.
“I’m surprised they didn’t frisk us,” Tyler said.
“They’re vampires. They’re so fast they can subdue you in a second.” Grady walked to the mirror.
“You know I’m strong enough to take out a vampire.” I peered into the mirror, wondering if someone was on the other side.
“Eight of them?”
“Good point.” I tapped on the glass.
An hour later we were still waiting.
“What are they waiting for?” Tyler paced the room.
Grady slid to the floor. “A seer maybe?”
“Probably,” I supplied, looking up into the camera opposite me.
“What’s a seer?” Tyler asked.
“Someone who can read minds,” Grady supplied.
I turned to face the mirror. “I have information about Ivy. I’m her herald. My birthday is March twenty-first. I met Camille, or Ivy, at a camp in Iceland. She was lured there by a member of Michael’s coven, Dr. Miguel Antos. We discovered we were witches and went with him to Sardinia. He trained us and was going to initiate us into the coven.” I held my wrist up. “This is Michael’s brand. I had it removed in Italy by a witch named Helene after I escaped. I belong to my family’s coven now. I was in the compound on the winter solstice when they were performing some type of ritual with the sword. That is where I last saw Camille.”
“How did you get out?” a male voice asked.
Hating retelling the story, I took a deep breath. “Camille wanted to watch the ritual. I went to free her father.” I pointed to Grady. “When I returned, she was gone. All the guards were running towards the center of the compound, and we snuck out using a cloaking spell.”
There was silence for a few minutes. “If you are a herald, why would you leave Camille behind?”
“I wouldn’t have done her any good locked up.”
“We will be in touch,” the voice indicated.
Again, we waited over an hour more.
There was a click at the door, and the lead guard entered with three additional guards and an older woman.
“She is a seer. Give her your hand.” He pointed to me.
I held out my arm, and she took my hand. Her skin was soft and thin like Helene’s, and I wondered how old she was.
“He is telling the truth.” She nodded and stepped in front of Grady.
One by one, she took their hands and confirmed that we had no covert motives.
“We’ll be back.” The guard escorted the seer out.
“When?” Tyler hit his leg and paced across the room.
“They’re trying to figure out what to do,” Grady said.
“Could you have been followed?” came a male’s voice from the speaker.
“No.” I slipped my bracelet from my pocket. “We wore these bracelets. They block magic. We arrived in LA two days ago. We stayed at my grandparent’s safe house and came here by cab this morning. We spent the last two days looking for Fahim’s bookstore. We believe we found it empty.” I slid Camille’s document from my jacket pocket. “This is Camille’s account of her visions of Alena and Hunter.” I pressed it to the mirror.
Over another hour passed. Along with the shuffling of heavy feet, I heard heels click along the hall outside. We stood as the guards entered with a petite, dark-haired lady.
She moved to the front of their group and held out her hand to me. “I’m Anne Scott. It’s nice to meet you…”
“Jude,” I supplied.
She smiled and nodded. “Jude.” She shook Janine’s, Tyler’s, and Grady’s hands, and they introduced themselves. “Thank you for coming,” Anne continued. “We would like to help you rescue Camille.” Reaching out, she squeezed Janine’s arm. “I’m sorry for the wait. We were trying to arrange your transportation. I assume you have your passports with you?”
“Where are we going?” Tyler insisted.
“That is a good question. We would like to move you to our secure compound where you can help plan Camille’s rescue.”
“Where is that?” Janine asked.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t disclose that information.”
“I’m assuming we don’t have a choice at this point,” Grady said to her.
She smiled and folded her arms across her waist. “You came to me for help.” Spinning on her heels, she walked from the room, leaving us with the four guards.
“I need to use the ladies’ room,” Janine told the guards.
“There are facilities on the plane.” The head guard approached us. “I need all electronics and weapons.”
“Weapons? We don’t have any weapons?” Grady asserted.
The guard pointed at me. “He has a blade attached to his leg.”
I bent, unhooked it, and handed the knife to the guard along with my phone. We followed them to the elevator and exited in a parking garage. A black van waited.
“I can’t believe my life is being hijacked like this,” Tyler complained as we buckled our seatbelts.
“Aren’t you taking a gap year anyway?” I asked as the truck moved forward.
“I still have important stuff to—”
“It’s your sister.” I rolled my eyes, not believing he was acting so flippant. I studied our surroundings, realizing there were no windows or latches for the doors. “They have this system sealed tight. I wonder how often they use it.”
“This is the second time,” came a voice through the speaker.
“Good to know,” I mumbled under my breath.
There were multiple turns. Then, judging from the speed of the vehicle, we got on a highway. I timed the ride on the highway to forty-five minutes. After slowing and a few more turns, we stopped. When the doors opened, we were in a hangar. Several private jets filled the space.
“Your plane.” The guard motioned us to the closest craft.
Tyler whistled. “I could get used to this.”
Our compartment on the plane looked like a living area. The seats fully reclined for sleep, and a table sat in front of each.
A woman dressed in a uniform approached us as we surveyed the space. She showed us to the restrooms and indicated we could choose our seats. Taking a seat opposite Janine, I stretched out my legs. I’d done it. I’d gotten us to Alena and Hunter. My knees bounced as I wondered how soon we could plan to rescue Camille.
Disconcerted by not being able to see outside the plane as we took off, I flipped through a magazine. Once we were at cruising altitude, I relaxed. The flight attendant brought us boxed lunches. Finishing, I reclined in my seat and closed my eyes. Breathing sounds on my right woke me from my light sleep.
Seeing Janine pat her eyes. I leaned towards her. “Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry. I’m not usually the weepy type. I’m worried about Camille. All the witch and vampire stuff didn’t seem real until today. I guess I was in denial.”
“No, it’s okay.” I handed her an extra tissue box. “She’s a fighter. She’ll be okay. We’ll get her back.”
She asked me about our time at the camp and the compound in Italy. I told her how Camille had gotten scared on the ice wall, how she asked me to save Frida first, how she formed a sculpture of Grady from balls with her magic, about training with Miguel and how we could talk to each other telepathically, and how she’d saved the canaries.
“Thank you fo
r being her friend.” Janine patted my arm.
“Camille is amazing. I will get her back for you.”
Tyler cleared his throat. “Dad says these witches are really powerful.”
I locked eyes with him. “I’ve broken Camille out and escaped the compound before. I can do it again.”
“I hope so.” Tyler craned his neck to look at the front of the plane. “How long have we been in the air, anyway?”
Checking my watch, I told him ninety minutes.
“Your flight time will be three hours, give or take,” a voice over the speaker told us.
Tyler rubbed his palms down his pant legs. “We could be going to Canada, Alaska, North Dakota, Texas, or Mexico. I’m hoping for a Mexican beach.”
“I don’t think we’ll be seeing the sun for a long time.” I laid my head back and drifted into a light sleep.
I felt someone nudging me and woke to see Janine jostling my arm. “We’re landing.”
Like takeoff, the lack of visual clues made the landing uncomfortable. We taxied some fifteen minutes, and when they opened the door, we exited in the interior of another hanger.
“We could have been flying in circles for three hours,” Tyler noted as we got in a sports utility vehicle. Again, the van had no windows or door handles in the back.
“Did you ever stop to think maybe Anne Scott is working with Michael’s coven?” Tyler asked.
“We have Camille’s visions. We have to trust those,” Janine told him. “Nobody would be in this mess if we had trusted them in the beginning.”
Grady patted her arm. “Don’t blame yourself.”
“Oh, I don’t,” she said, swatting his hand away. “I blame you.”
“Mom, this isn’t going to help,” Tyler piped up.
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m just tired.”
“We all are.” Grady rubbed his neck.
I closed my eyes, hoping they’d give us our electronics back. I’d downloaded all my pictures of Camille to it. My chest felt empty without her, my head too quiet. I knew at some level, but I didn’t realize how much our silent conversations meant to me until she was gone. The past two weeks without her felt like the longest of my life. Having images of her reminded me how strong she was and helped me feel close to her.
The vehicle slowed and stopped and then inched forward again before the engine died.
“We must be here.” Janine leaned forward in her seat.
I exited the vehicle to see a guy and girl, about my age, and an older woman and gentleman standing before us.
“Welcome.” The guy approached me, holding out his arm. I took it, using the traditional witch greeting, and he squeezed my arm in kind. When he did, my chest warmed as it had when I’d joined my family’s coven. He released my arm and put his hand to his chest. “I’m Hunter. You must be Jude.”
“I am.” I turned to the rest of our group. “This is Tyler, Grady, and Camille’s mother, Janine.”
Tyler stood rigidly still beside me and then stepped up to Hunter, arm stretched out. “I’m Tyler Thornton. I’m here to help.”
My mouth hung open. The kid, I shouldn’t have thought of him as a kid, as he was older than me, who seemed so on again, off again, now looked confident. His shoulders squared, he gripped Hunter’s arm and turned to Alena. “Princess.” Arm crossed over chest, Tyler dropped to one knee.
Alena’s face flushed, and she held her hand out to him “You must be my herald, Tyler Thornton.”
“I believe I am.” With his eyes fixed on her face, he rose.
Alena turned to me. “Welcome, Jude.” We locked arms, and the surge of heat grew in my chest again.
Her eyes darted from mine to Janine. “You must be Ivy’s, sorry Camille’s, mother.” Alena squeezed Janine’s hand and looked to Grady. “And you her father.”
“Yes.” Grady locked arms with Alena.
Quick as a wink her eyes were back on me. “We”—she hooked her arm in Hunter’s—“are so glad you found us. We have so many questions.”
I swore a low growl had emitted from Tyler’s chest but redirected my thoughts as Hunter cleared his throat. “Let’s finish introductions and perhaps get them settled first.”
“It’s okay.” I joined them. “I’m eager to get started.” Studying our surroundings, I realized we probably were underground. ‘How long have you been here?”
“A little over three months.” Hunter motioned to the older woman and man. “Please meet Orm and Chalondra.”
As I gripped each of their arms, warmth grew in my chest. “Are you all of the same coven?”
“Except for Chalondra.” Orm nodded. “You feel the family affinity?”
“Yes.”
“Seems Ivy chose well,” Chalondra smiled at me.
“I’m not sure she chose as much as I was drawn to her, even before I knew I was a witch.”
“Let’s get you guys situated.” Hunter motioned to the entrance.
As he walked towards the door, Alena skipped to his side.
“Hmm.” Tyler grunted beside me and increased his pace.
I caught his arm. “You okay?”
“Sure.” His eyes darted from me to Alena as if he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. “What is she?”
I decided to use my telepathy to answer him. Half witch, half vampire. For a second, his stare hardened, and then it softened again. Yes, like mine had when I saw Camille for the first time after awakening my powers, his world had turned on its axis. And all would revolve around Alena, or Alena and Hunter, I thought. I wondered whether I was drawn to Camille because of our magical connection or my love for her was real.
Alena stopped and spun to face me. “It’s real. Don’t worry.”
I stared into Alena’s eyes, dumbfounded by her words.
“You’ve got to stay out of people’s heads.” Hunter took her hand as he held the door open.
“Can you read everyone’s mind?” I stopped as we reached them.
Hunter held up his wrist. “Pays to keep stones on.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
Alena cocked her head. “We’ll give you a tour.”
Following behind Alena, I dug in my bag for the bracelets. Finding them, I fit one on each wrist. They led us to the tech room, gym, and cafeteria, Alena’s quick movement picked at my nerves. I tried to look at, think of, anything else, but my concentration kept drifting back. Even though I’d felt the warmth of a family connection when we locked arms, mentally I repelled her. I needed to figure out the reason for my aversion, fast. It wouldn’t do to have a teammate I didn’t trust.
I studied her hair, her facial movements, her gestures, the way she walked. My mind jumped back in time to when I was five and Mom had taken me on a tour of my elementary school. I remembered how she held her chin and her sometimes flowing but then suddenly jerky movements. The girl in front of me mirrored Mom’s tone, and it clicked in my brain. Alena’s half-vampire nature reminded me of my mother, a woman I tried to think about as little as possible. I understood better why she’d jumped from drug addiction to alcoholism, to finally abandoning society and leaving me. But I was eight, and especially with an absent father, I needed my mom.
Plus, I couldn’t be prejudiced against vampires when I was part one. That would be the worst type of hypocrisy, unjustified and unfair. Grady and Tyler perhaps had a case for not liking the species, but I was being a baby, feeling sorry for myself about something that happened ten years before.
Alena ended the tour at our sleeping quarters. “This is your room, Tyler. There are clothes for each of you, shoes, whatever you need.” Alena opened the door.
Tyler stepped into the room. “How would you know our sizes?”
“You didn’t get that they had an X-ray machine in that small room we were locked in for three hours,” I asked.
Tyler cleared his throat. “Right, the whole knife in your sock thing.”
“Your electronics are in your rooms.” Alena led us down the hall,
opening doors to our respective rooms. “This is you, Jude.”
I walked into the room as they continued down the hall. Finding my phone on the dresser, I scrolled through the pictures. Soon we could be in Italy with a solid plan to rescue Camille.
“Dinner is in an hour. You can clean up and make your way to the dining hall,” I heard Alena say.
At least we weren’t locked up and escorted around like in Michael’s coven’s castle. They must have decided to trust us, as we were given full use of the facility. Showering, I pulled on a pair of pants and slid on a button-up shirt.
In the dining room, I took a seat beside Janine, whose thin-lipped smile told me how weary she’d grown. Tyler chose the place beside Alena, and I fought an eye roll. As soon as the dishes were passed, I inquired about plans for rescuing Camille.
“Well, we now know where she is, or was a week ago, right?” Hunter started.
I leaned forward. “Who is our rescue team?”
“We can’t charge the compound with an army,” Orm said.
“Agreed.” I took a slice of meat from the platter and handed it to Janine. “I think a small team can go by boat and slip in and slip out with Camille.”
“Don’t forget the sword,” Alena added.
Hunter wrapped his hand around hers. “We need to focus on one thing at a time.”
I swallowed my bite. “I copy that. I’m not sure rescuing Camille can be achieved without inside help. I know where they’re most likely holding her and the layout. Getting in and out through all the right doors may be near impossible.”
“We’ll have to brainstorm after dinner.” Orm picked up his wine glass.
My leg bounced through the meal. I’d rather have been eating in a conference room where we could get some work done. “How many bodies do we have?”
“We don’t usually have strategic conversations at dinner,” Alena noted.
“Oh, got it, sorry.”
After the meal, we retired to a conference room. I reviewed how I’d freed Camille before and escaped, and we talked about the castle’s security. They wanted to know everything about Camille, including my time with her in Iceland and Italy, and we talked until after midnight.
Kingdom of Honor (Kingdom Journals Book 3) Page 8