by Calinda B
“We look forward to meeting your father and working together to catch whoever is doing this to our people,” Lucian said.
How quickly he’d come to embrace his heritage. He no longer ran from it. Ruby was very proud of him. She squeezed his hand and he smiled at her.
“Then come,” Alyona said.
They didn’t have far to go but the drive covered an endless landscape of frozen snow and a few trees scattered here and there. Mostly, they were surrounded by mountains. They seemed to be climbing and the air even in the climate-controlled car felt a touch cooler the higher they climbed.
Finally, at the end of the road they came to a set of iron gates that opened as they approached. The car drove onto a long circular driveway before coming to stop in front of a house such as she’d never seen before. There were at least three cone-shaped turrets that stretched across a wide structure, three stories high. Ruby had been to the Hamptons and Newport many times and the house appeared as large as The Breakers.
Alyona hadn’t told them much in the car, only that her father would explain everything. She hurried them up the stairs to the front door and into the house. Ruby didn’t even have a chance to admire the grand entryway. They were led through the foyer, down a short hallway to a door leading to another hallway, then they came to a stop before a set of heavy double doors. “I’m sorry for the rush, but I fear time is running away from us,” Alyona stated.
“It’s fine,” Lucian said.
Alyona knocked but didn’t wait for a response. She merely pushed the door open and walked in. Ruby and Lucian were right behind her.
At first, Ruby’s gaze zeroed in on the books. There were floor to ceiling shelves of books about fifteen feet high. She took a step farther into the room and spied a tall thin man standing behind a large lion clawed desk, staring out the window. She couldn’t see much of the view from where she stood, merely more frozen snow.
The man turned, and the first thing Ruby noticed about him was his eyes. He looked very sad, as though someone had died, or he’d lost something precious.
“Father, this is Lucian Reid and Ruby Crane. This is my father, Bogdan Volshebnik, head of our clan.”
Her father came around the desk with his hand outstretched and shook both of their hands. “Thank you for coming so quickly,” Bogdan began. “Please, have a seat. We can get started. I’m assuming you may be hungry so I’ve ordered a few appetizers which should be here shortly.”
He’d gestured to his left toward the set-up of a comfortable looking couch and two large reading chairs. A cozy spot for reading. As soon as they were all seated, Lucian beside Ruby on the couch, another knock sounded on the door. Two maids came in bearing large trays, one full of tiny appetizers and the other a silver carafe, containing some sort of beverage, and four glasses.
“Thank you,” Bogdan said.
Ruby had been able to sleep on the plane, but they’d been rushing since the morning and she hadn’t eaten. She was hungry and placed a few things on a plate. So did Lucian. Neither Bogdan nor his daughter ate, but they each had a beverage. After his first sip, Bogdan sat back and began his story.
“The people of my clan have always had special abilities. There have always been two, sometimes even three Maji born in every generation to our clan. Even though we only number twenty now, which is the least we’ve ever been, we are one of the largest existing Maji clans in the world. Most are very old or too young. For the last hundred years, the Maji have been hunted.”
Bogdan frowned and sipped from his glass.
“I am ashamed to say one of the hunters is someone from this clan. Someone who rejected our ways to live in harmony with others. Someone who was never satisfied with what he already had, always wanting more. He’s Stepan, my great uncle. He found two others who thought as he did. My uncle was never that powerful and frankly, he shouldn’t even be alive today. He is a hundred and fifty years old. He’d stolen the powers of the Maji, along with the wealth from others, to maintain his youth as well as his lifestyle. He left this land fifty years ago when my father ruled the clan. My father was a powerful Maji, one capable of controlling two of the elements. But those of us here today aren’t as strong, at least not until my grandson, Maksim. He has shown a lot of potential.”
Alyona reached over to touch her father’s hand when his voice cracked over the name.
“Maksim is only fifteen years old and not fully trained. He’s Alyona’s sister’s child. My daughter died in childbirth, so Maksim was raised here by me. We don’t know how the dark trio found out about Maksim, but we know they have him. They took him from school. But we also know he’s still alive, just not sure for how much longer.”
“I’m sorry,” Ruby said. “We understand he’s been missing now for almost three days.” She didn’t want to ask if his body had shown up yet.
“Yes, but I know he’s alive. I can still feel him. But he’s weak. I don’t know much about the blood ritual the trio performs but it’s done over a period of time. I know we don’t have much time,” Bogdan said.
“That means they may still be in the area,” Ruby said.
“Yes, we believe they are,” Bogdan agreed.
“We understand that you have some idea of where they’re hiding,” Lucian added.
“We don’t know exactly where they are, but I’m a diviner,” Alyona stated.
“A what?” Ruby asked.
“I can find things. I believe I can find Maksim, but we needed a powerful Maji to help. We’re not strong enough to take on the trio. Over the last century, they’ve accumulated a lot of power. How much and how long it lasts, we don’t know. But they are strong enough to block almost all probes. The only reason I stand a chance of locating them is because I’m of Maksim’s blood. I can trace Maksim. Even though my father is connected to Maksim, not even he can find him. We find my nephew we find the trio.”
“So, what are you saying?” Ruby asked. “You’ll go with us?”
“Yes. I’ll track him and help as much as I can.”
“Alyona,” her father said in a harsh voice.
“We’ve been through this. You are stronger than I am. You must stay here and take care of the clan. I’m the only one who can find Maksim and with Lucian and Ruby’s help, hopefully bring him home.”
“Okay,” Lucian said. “How soon do we leave?”
“Now, I think. We believe they’ve remained in the area and after we get my nephew, we can come back here. You both are our guests.”
Ruby glanced at Lucian. They were both dressed for harsh weather, she in her jeans, snow boots, and her fur hooded ski jacket, but she wanted her weapon. It was in her carry on the driver had grabbed from the trunk of the car.
“I just need to get something from my carry on and then I’ll be ready.”
Ruby wrapped her arms around Lucian and held on tight, shocked when they’d gone around to the rear of the house to find three snowmobiles. Lucian grinned at the sight of them. Alyona explained it was easier to travel this way over the snow-covered ground in the direction she could sense her nephew. The same man who’d driven them from the airport also accompanied them. Ruby guessed he doubled as driver and some sort of bodyguard. Alyona introduced him as Igor.
Fifteen minutes into their ride, it began to snow. The sky turned thick and gray as day blended into evening making visibility a challenge. The clouds seemed to hover low to the ground and with the snow, the air turned white.
At least with Lucian’s warmth at her front she didn’t have to worry about the cold. From time to time, she got a brush of warm air from the front of the heated snowmobile, but only Lucian could really feel the warmth. They’d been traveling across open ground then veered off to the left toward what looked like a dead forest.
About a half hour later, Alyona and Igor came to a stop, and they pulled alongside them.
“They’re in there,” Alyona said, nodding toward the branches of the dead trees nearest them. “Not far. I think it’s best we walk in fro
m here so they don’t hear us coming. And because I’m not sure the snowmobiles can navigate through the forest.”
“What do you think is in there?”
“There are a series of caves not far from here,” Igor replied in a thick accent.
“Yes, I’d forgotten about those,” Alyona stated.
“You think they’re hold up in one of them?” Lucian asked.
Alyona nodded. “It makes sense. If they stayed anywhere in the open, they’d risk being seen. This area of my country is different from America. Even though my clan isn’t a large one, this is our land and we know every inch of it. So yes, if they are in the area then this is a perfect place for them to hide.”
“Then lead the way,” Lucian said.
They walked just long enough for her toes to begin to feel the first pinch of cold in her weather insulated boots.
Alyona put her hand out to stop them. “There,” she said, pointing at a dark opening at the side of a cliff. Everything on the mountainside was either white or gray. There wasn’t a shred of green as far as the eye could see.
“Stay behind me,” Lucian whispered to Ruby as they slowly approached the opening.
Lucian followed. Alyona and Igor came up the rear with Ruby between the men. The cave appeared dark, but she got a sense of depth. It went much farther back than they could see, at least that she could. She wasn’t sure if the others could see in the dark.
Alyona pulled out a tiny flashlight and aimed it at the ground to defuse as much light as possible so they wouldn’t immediately be seen. They didn’t have to go far before they came upon steps cut out of the rocks leading upward. They followed them to a covering that might have been some kind of trap door. Alyona tried to push it but it wouldn’t budge. Lucian moved past her. With one finger, he magically pushed the door aside, leaving enough space for him to stick his head up through the opening.
Ruby hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until he came back down and said in a hushed voice, “It’s some kind of storage room. I don’t see anyone in there but they’re close. I can hear chanting.”
One by one, they walked up the stairs and huddled in the room, the walls of which were made of rock. Ruby’s body shivered, not from the cold, but because now she could clearly hear the chanting. She didn’t recognize the language, but it didn’t matter. The sound of pure evil chilled her to the bone.
13
Lucian pulled Ruby close and looked around the small room. Something wasn’t right. He turned to Alyona.
“Why would there be a storage room in a cave?” he asked.
“Good question. I’m not sure,” Alyona responded.
Meanwhile, the chanting had gotten so loud that Lucian could swear it was happening in the same room. He looked around for an exit, but the only way in or out was the way they entered.
“It’s a cloaking spell,” Alyona whispered.
“Cloaking spell?” Ruby repeated. “Well, how do we uncloak it?”
“Hold on,” Alyona responded.
She closed her eyes and whispered a soft chant of her own. Slowly, the dark room became illuminated. The walls rippled and everything around them changed. They were no longer in a storage room, but some kind of ancient temple, lit by metal torches. Whatever spell Alyona cast had revealed the source of the chanting. There were three, identical in looks and garb. They were unusually tall, thin, and extremely pale. Their ghost-white complexions appeared completely void of melanin. One of the triplet’s white/blonde hair hung past his shoulders. It was the only difference amongst the three. The others had shorter, cropped hair.
They had formed a half-circle around an altar made of stone. On top of the altar lay a teenage boy, presumably Maksim. They had inserted open-ended intravenous tubes in both of his wrists, and they were draining his blood. The boy seemed unconscious and dangerously pale. They were killing him. All three glanced in their direction, well aware of their presence, but they continued to chant.
Lucian raised both hands. He channeled his energy into his palms. In a shoving motion, he threw two out of three against the stone wall. Unfortunately, the long-haired Maji remained unaffected. He must’ve been the great uncle, the one Bogdan called, Stepan. There was some resemblance.
Igor took off running toward the powerful Maji, which turned out to be a horribly bad idea. With a simple wave, the Maji threw him head first against one of the stone walls of the temple. When his head hit the stone, a resounding crack echoed throughout the chamber. The walls were splattered with red.
“Oh, shit,” Ruby gasped when Igor’s lifeless body slid down the wall to the ground.
“Igor! NO!” Alyona screamed.
She started toward her ancestor, but Lucian wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her still.
“Don’t,” he warned. “You’re not strong enough.”
“But you are!” she cried. “Please, help him,” she implored, waving toward her nephew.
“I’ll get the boy. You stop the Maji,” Ruby blurted.
She darted toward Maksim before Lucian could stop her.
“Ruby!” he shouted after her. But she’d already gotten too close to the altar.
Fuck!
What the hell was she thinking? Hadn’t she just witnessed a second ago, the Maji painting the walls of the cave with Igor’s head? Well, Lucian couldn’t allow her the same fate. He ran toward the powerful one, using his gift to lift and throw debris, but the blond waved them all away with a simple hand gesture. The Maji donned a sinister grin and used his magic to throw Lucian to the floor. Lucian wasn’t Igor. Therefore, Stepan wouldn’t be sending him flying into any walls. He did, however, hit the floor.
Alyona’s uncle had had two lifetimes to practice his craft. Compared to him, Lucian was practically a newborn.
“You’re stronger than him, Lucian!” Alyona shouted. “Hold him!”
Hold him?
Desperately, he tried to figure out what Alyona meant by ‘hold him’. Unfortunately, the time for contemplation ended when one of the lookalikes recovered and tossed Ruby across the cave.
“Ruby!” Lucian shouted in a panic.
The sound of her scream was like having a dagger painfully piercing his heart. Before she could be hurt, he pushed out his hands and helped ease her to the ground. Softly, she landed facedown, protecting her head with her forearms.
As if no one else was in the room, he ran to her aid. But the same Maji that had thrown Ruby took advantage of the distraction and knocked him to the ground.
Alyona raced over to the altar and worked to free the boy as Lucian served as a distraction, throwing boulders at the trio. He was doing a pissed poor job of holding the three off. Thankfully, Alyona had the boy unshackled and in her arms. Now, all they needed was to escape without facing the same fate as Igor.
No such luck.
In one horrible twist of the powerful one’s hand, Alyona’s head did a complete 360-degree turn. Once it returned to its original position, she fell slowly to the floor. Dropping the boy.
“Fuck!” Lucian growled.
He scanned the cave for Ruby, his objective changed. He needed to get his woman out of that fucking cave. His eyes landed on her, and to his surprise, she was brandishing a semi-automatic pistol. Her face appeared serious and stern as she lined the sights and took aim. Her first victim took one between the eyes. With that threat gone, she turned to the other clone. He raised his palms in Ruby’s direction, but she proved too fast for him. Before he could release his first blast of majick, he caught one, dead center in his forehead.
“Damn,” Lucian whispered. His Ruby was a sharp-shooter.
He chuckled, totally impressed with her bad-ass-ness. Sadly, he didn’t have time to bask because the strongest of the three was now focused on Ruby with laser-like precision.
“Hold him.” He kept hearing Alyona’s voice in his head.
Lucian planted his feet, inhaled a deep breath, and pushed his palm toward the uncle. When the pale Maji took flight,
and his body was pinned against the stone wall of the cave, his expression changed to that of someone in total shock. He clearly hadn’t expected such a strong display of power coming from him.
“Hold him.”
He understood now. The combination of his maiicks, and the gift that was given to him by his mom, made him stronger. He had rendered the Magi immobile.
Lucian ignored the pure, unadulterated hate emanating from Bogdan’s great uncle, and turned to Ruby.
“Get the boy!”
She was way ahead of him. She got behind the boy, wrapped her arms around his limp body, and dragged him to the cave’s exit.
For the first time, Lucian could feel massive amounts of limitless magic rippling from within. It was as though he was standing inside of a bubble made of a magical force field. Warmth and something like… electricity flowed through his veins, accumulating in pure, raw power. The long-haired Maji remained pinned, powerless, and impotent. Ultimately, no match for Lucian.
“Lucian!” Ruby called, when she made it back to the same place they had entered. “Let’s go.”
Still holding Bogdan’s uncle in place, he turned to Ruby. She was a vision, dressed in a fur hoodie and curve hugging jeans. She was wielding a deadly weapon that she most certainly knew how to use. Ruby was a surgeon with a semi-auto. Her appearance and her strength made him smile. She was nothing short of remarkable.
Unfortunately, the time for admiration was no more. Out of nowhere, an explosion rocked the entire cave. Parts of the ceiling crashed around them. Lucian fell to the floor of the cave and lost his hold on the older Maji. Frantically, he searched for Ruby, but she was nowhere to be found.
“Ruby! Ruby…baby!” he yelled.
No response.
When the smoke cleared, the boy was lying on the floor near the entrance. Igor, Alyona, and two of the great uncle’s clones were dead. The pale, long-haired Maji was gone, along with his woman. Lucian crawled from his belly to his knees and pushed himself to stand. He scanned the cave once more for any signs Ruby. Nothing.