Before I left, Annabeth reached with her fingers through the window of her prison. She again made me promise to write down her prophecy. She said it will be needed to help the six. The Exi, as she called it. She explained how an even greater war would come down on the two descendants of the shifter, one descendant of the healer, and one descendant of the seer. Though the other two were unclear to her. When the time comes, a group of six will band together. One will see what cannot be seen. One will heal who cannot be healed. Two will protect the seer and healer, and two others to help guide them on their path.
The great four will come together first and not know of what they can do. They will just know they need to be together. Once together, their powers will become known. A shifter will make a healer want to heal, and a healer will make a seer want to see. Together they are equal parts to a whole. Apart they will not thrive. Over time their powers will grow in strength. The shifters will become stronger fighters. The healer will be able to channel her inner light. And the seer’s visions will become more frequent. But the group needs to stay together. Combined, their powers will terminate the destroyer.
Annabeth explained that over the years, the Strigoi will create an army. They will learn that through innocent women, they can create the Liderc. The Strigoi will steal women and force them to birth their Liderc. The Liderc will then drink their mother’s blood. In doing so, that will make her their first kill. They will be stronger vampires since they are born to humans. They will look more like humans, but be harder to kill. Day walking is their goal, and they will destroy anyone who gets in their way.
I fled the village with my three children and Annabeth’s daughter, Lucy. I never got to kiss my Atticus goodbye. I never got to tell my friends and family that I loved them. Annabeth entrusted me with her story and her daughter, and I had to keep my promise. I know in my heart that my Atticus was able to save the healer, Genevieve. But I also know in my heart that he will never be mine again. He is never to be my husband again, nor the father to my children. His duty as a protector outweighs his family. For it was fated to be that way and so it shall be.
My family has been ripped apart. I am headed to America with four children. My future is not known and my life has been forever changed. My only home will be destroyed by vampires. My family, aside from my children, is gone. But I know I will do whatever it takes to keep my children safe, including leaving all I know behind. And I am absolutely terrified. I have no idea what will be waiting for me when we make it to America. Nor do I have any idea of what to do after we arrive. I just know keeping these children alive is all that matters.
As I write this and look over at my beautiful, sleeping children and Annabeth’s daughter, who I will raise as my own, I pray that their descendants won’t suffer the same fate. But as it was spoken by the seer, then I know it will happen. Oh my children, how I love you. And how I pray that your lives could be different. May the god above have mercy on you when your war begins.
Mike closed the book softly and we all stared at the worn, leather-bound item in his hand. The story had shaken us to the core.
“This is worse than we thought,” Nick finally spoke. “We have two types of vampires to fight.”
“We’re fucked,” Mike sighed.
Chapter 14
“Now what?” Kimberly asked the question we were all thinking.
Three pairs of eyes shifted in my direction and stared at me expectantly.
“Why are you all looking at me?” I asked nervously.
“You’re the seer of this group,” Nick pointed out, as if I needed a reminder. That was completely unnecessary. “What do you think we should do?”
“So? You’re the alpha! Shouldn’t you make the decisions?” I threw back at him.
Nick sighed and glanced back down at the book in Michael’s hand. “You heard what Mike’s ancestor said in that book. We need to stay together so we can thrive. Yes, I might be the alpha, but I need to learn to listen to you guys as well. If I had listened to you the first time, instead of stopping at the bar, then maybe Mike wouldn’t have tried to hook up with a vampire,” Nick said with a laugh.
“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” Mike sighed.
“Hell, no, I’m not!” Nick laughed again. “Only you would manage to hook up with the thing we’re trying to, you know, defend the world from.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that he didn’t look like a vampire? And actually, now that I think about it, I don’t even remember talking to him. Last thing I remember is going to the bathroom to pee, and then we were making out. It was really weird.”
“Uh huh. Whatever you say,” Nick said with a smirk, then turned his gaze back to me. “So what do you think we should do?”
I bit down on my bottom lip and started to pick the skin off with my teeth. A nasty habit I’d picked up when my anxiety got the best of me. “I, uh, I think that we should stay here for the night. Recharge our batteries and talk about the next step tomorrow. After we’ve had a chance to let everything that we’ve heard tonight soak in.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me. You two okay with that?” Nick asked Kimberly and Mike.
They nodded their heads in agreement, then we all took turns taking quick showers so we could clean up. After we settled in our beds, me sharing with Mike, and Nick and Kimberly sharing the other, I glanced over and noticed that Mike was looking through the book.
“It seems so surreal,” he whispered in awe as his fingers lightly ghosted over the page. “My grandmother from hundreds of years ago wrote this. I now see why my grandpa was so protective over it.”
I snorted. “Kind of ironic that he was so protective over a book that was basically written for you.”
Mike let out a light chuckle as he flipped carefully through the yellowed pages. “It was written for all of us.”
I glanced over to the other bed and saw that Nick and Kimberly were engaged in their own hushed conversation. I rolled over on my side and continued to watch Mike reread the pages that held the secrets of his family history.
“I don’t know why my family never told me about any of this,” he said softly as he stared down at the drawing of the wolf.
“Maybe they figured there was no point in bringing it up. They didn’t know you’d be one of the four in the Exi. So why bring up something that could cause you stress if there was no reason to?” I suggested.
Mike shut the book gently and sat it down on the bedside table before he turned off the lamp. “Maybe. It still would have been nice to know, though. Not because of who I am destined to be, but because this is my family history. I had a right to know.”
I could feel the tension radiating off his body and couldn’t stop myself from reaching out to hug him.
Mike pulled back a little and looked at me with a smirk on his face. “I’m going to hug you back, but remember that I am strictly dickly.”
“Shut the fuck up and give me a hug,” I laughed as I pulled him closer.
Mike laughed and snuggled in to me, and I felt the tension from the day melt from his body. His limbs started to go limp and I felt his hold loosen from around me, but he didn’t let go. I didn’t have to look over in the darkness to know that Kimberly and Nick were pretty much sleeping in the same position. The combination of our friends nearly dying and reading our sealed fate on those old pages, made Kimberly and I want to cling on to Mike and Nick that much harder.
I didn’t know what the morning would hold. My reason for staying in the hotel had nothing to do with anything I might have seen in a vision. Truth be told, I had no clue where to go next. What steps we needed to take. All I knew was that we were exhausted, shaken up, and scared of what awaited us out there.
I wrapped my arms tighter around Michael and smiled as I cuddled into him. We had hugged numerous times before, but that night, I damn near craved it. Knowing that my friends and I could die at any given moment made me want to cling to him even more than I already was. It
wasn’t too long before my eyes grew heavy with exhaustion and I drifted off to sleep.
I was walking. It was dark and quiet as tall trees surrounded me, but the air around me was electric with excitement. Hushed voices echoed through the trees and the hum of the tones almost made me dizzy. I didn’t try to find out the source of the voices I heard. They weren’t who I was after.
Where am I? I was so confused as I continued walking through the dense trees. I didn’t know where I was going, but I felt as if I was going in the right direction. Suddenly, I broke through the trees and saw a snow-covered mountain range in front of me. I knew I had to go there. It was there that I would find what was waiting for me.
The moonlight, as if knowing that I was alone in the dark, decided to help guide my way. The gorgeous light reflected off the lake nestled at the bottom of the mountain range and provided me with a natural flashlight. I sent up a silent prayer of thanks to the god above for helping me as I continued on my trek.
I made my way around the pond and came to the edge of the mountains. I looked up at the domineering wonders of nature and then walked around the edge. Up on the range wasn’t where I needed to be. No, what I needed was hidden amongst the walls of the steep peaks.
The rocky path was difficult to navigate under my feet as I made my way around the mountains. I felt as if I was walking for hours, thankful the moon was still shining vibrantly in the sky to guide me on my way. But I sensed that I was getting closer to my goal. My body shook with anticipation as my gut clenched in fear. Sweat covered my skin in a glistening sheen and my pulse fluttered in my throat. My heart was nearly pounding out of my chest, but I continued to walk.
Suddenly the mouth of the cave came within my view. This was where I needed to be. I knew that he would be in there waiting for us. Without any hesitation, I stepped inside, one foot in front of the other, and continued to walk.
The farther I stepped into the cave, the darker it became. The beams of moonlight couldn’t stretch any farther. I reached out and felt for the wall as I continued on the uneven terrain inside the dark cave. I knew I needed to turn around, to go back, but I couldn’t. Something pulled me farther. Farther and farther into the dark cave.
Just when I couldn’t walk anymore, I felt my body gravitating toward another opening in the cave. An opening that led me into what I could only call a room. A huge room deep inside one of the mountains.
A faint glow filled the space. I wasn’t sure where the light was coming from. A lantern, maybe? Whatever it was, I wished it was gone. Because what my eyes landed on, I wished I didn’t have to see. I opened my mouth and let out a terrified scream.
“Courtney! Courtney, wake up! You’re having a bad dream,” Mike said as he shook me awake.
I slowly opened my eyes as my body quivered with fear. My friends were standing around me, their eyes wide in alarm as I trembled on my bed. My hair was matted to my sweaty forehead and my breathing was coming out harsh and labored.
“It wasn’t a dream,” I sobbed as I sat up and reached for Mike again.
He instantly hugged me to him as I bawled against his shoulder. He slowly stroked my back, rocking me back and forth on the bed to try and soothe me.
“Was it a vision?” Nick asked slowly.
I sniffed and nodded against Mike, not caring that the tears that streamed down my face were making a wet mark on his shirt. I didn’t answer Nick right away because I couldn’t bring myself to speak. I just allowed Mike to comfort me as I continued to cry on him. It was only when my tears started to subside that I could finally answer Nick. “It was awful,” I practically wailed. “I’ll never be able to forget what I saw.”
“Tell us whenever you’re ready,” Mike said gently.
I sniffed again and finally pulled back from Mike’s embrace. I used the back of my hand to wipe my eyes and nose, then took a few deep, desperate gulps of air. “Th-the vampire leader is in a c-cave in the mountains. H-he has victims he’s k-kidnapped. There are at least two dozen, if not more.”
“Are you serious?” Nick asked incredulously.
I nodded. “I saw them. They are chained to a wall in the cave. He’s using them to feed his army. He drains them of some blood so the army can drink, but he’s keeping the victims alive to use as the vampires’ food source.”
Kimberly and Nick plopped back on the bed they had vacated when I woke them with my screams.
“So you mean to tell me, that not only are we going to have to go to the mountains to take out an army of vampires, we’re also going on some heroic mission to save a bunch of people as well?” Nick asked in agitation as he ran his fingers through his dark hair.
I nodded solemnly. “Looks that way.”
“Holy shit,” Kimberly said in disbelief.
Mike sighed and looked at Kimberly. “Better brush up on your healing powers, Kimmie. Looks like we’re going to need them.”
Chapter 15
“So which mountains are these things holed up in?” Nick inquired as we settled back down on our beds.
“Um, I’m not entirely sure. I just saw what the area looked like,” I mumbled, then I looked down, suddenly becoming very interested in my blanket.
“Well, that’s great. There are how many mountain ranges in the United States? We can’t just drive to every single one and hope to find the right cave,” Nick snapped before he flopped down on his back.
“Don’t stress over it, Nick. Go back to sleep and we’ll figure it out in the morning,” Mike said as he lay back on the bed and pulled the covers up to his shoulders.
Sleep didn’t come easily for me that night. Every time I closed my eyes, haunting visions of the helpless victims in the cave plagued my mind. Sleep was quickly becoming my enemy. Sleep was when the visions crept into my head like reaching fingers in the dark, clinging to my mind and holding it captive as my eyes unwillingly saw things I didn’t ask to see. Things that I’d never be able to forget. Things that could lead my friends and me to our deaths. Who wanted that kind of responsibility?
Then again, who wanted the responsibility of having to be the one to save your friends from dying? Or the burden of carrying an animal deep inside whose instincts forced them to protect others? An animal with sharp teeth and claws that, when finally freed, could thoroughly rip someone apart. It was all a vicious cycle that effectively kept us all entwined. The book written by Mike’s ancestor was one hundred percent correct; we needed each other. Not only did our survival depend on each other, but considering I’d had a vision about those people in the cave, we had to save them.
I glanced around the darkened hotel room and looked at my friends’ sleeping forms. Their soft, even breathing calmed my anxiety as I tried to finally let sleep overtake me. My eyes were heavy and burning from exhaustion and I knew I couldn’t fight it anymore. A vision would find its way inside my brain one way or another, it was inevitable. But before sleep finally claimed me, I cast my gaze around the room again. The three people in there with me weren’t just my friends. They were my family. And I couldn’t let anything happen to them.
***
“We need to call my grandpa.” Mike’s gentle voice woke me from my restless slumber.
“Why?” I asked groggily as I rubbed sleep from my eyes. Thankfully I hadn’t had any more dreams or visions the rest of the night.
“About time you woke up, sleepyhead. I was beginning to think you were going to sleep all day,” Mike chided good-naturedly before he bit into a granola bar from the stash of food we had purchased.
“What time is it?” I asked as I sat up.
“A little after ten,” Kimberly answered from the bathroom.
“Why didn’t someone wake me?” I inquired, then I got out of bed and walked over to the bags. I began to rifle through the contents and pulled out some of my clothes so I could take a quick shower.
“I was just teasing you. We actually just got up as well and were discussing what we need to do today,” Mike told me as I walked toward the bathroom.<
br />
“Well, can that conversation wait until I’m done?” I asked, pausing in the doorway.
“Of course it can,” Kimberly stated before she stepped around me.
I hastily showered and didn’t even bother to blow-dry my hair. I had annoying hair that wasn’t curly, wasn’t straight, and on a good day was maybe wavy. I quickly threw some hair gel in it that I’d grabbed from my house, scrunched it a bit, and pulled it up into a messy bun. It wasn’t like I had anyone to try and impress anyway. The two men who I was now spending twenty-four seven with were gay, and I had a feeling that any other men I’d encounter from that point on were going to be vampires. And sorry, but necrophilia just wasn’t my thing.
I made my way back to the trio in the sleeping area of the room and sat down beside Michael. Nick was sprawled out on the other bed, surfing through the channels on the television, while Kimberly was seated beside him and running a brush through her hair. A few weeks before the shit hit the fan, she had gotten rainbow streaks dyed in her hair, and I loved it. Michael was lying on the other bed next to me staring at the television, but from the blank look on his face, I could tell that his mind was elsewhere.
“Why do we need to call your grandpa?” I asked him again.
“Because I think he knows more than he let on,” Mike answered without looking at me.
“Why do you think that?” Kimberly inquired.
Michael sat up and sighed, then looked at us. “That man has had that book for decades and probably has the damn thing memorized. He knows our family history inside and out. If anyone knows where to go from here, it’s him.”
“So call him,” Nick suggested and turned the television off, gesturing to the room phone.
All of our cell phones had long since been drained of their batteries, and none of us had chargers. Sure, his grandfather had given us a wad of cash, but we didn’t want to waste the money on something as frivolous as a phone charger. We needed that money for food, gas, hotel rooms, and clothes—if Nick or Mike ripped any more when they shifted, which was inevitable.
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