Annika
We arrived on a beach.
The second I felt the sand under my feet, I had a distinct feeling that I’d arrived home. The air was hot and humid, and I opened my eyes, expecting to see the tropical paradise from Rosella’s drawing.
Instead, I saw an island filled with dead trees and ruined buildings. Everything was brown and gray. The sky was overcast, the sun barely shining through the thick clouds. I didn’t even hear the chirping of birds or buzzing of insects.
It was like no one had been there for hundreds of years.
A long path nearby was the only thing somewhat intact, leading up to what appeared to have once been a castle on top of a mountain. But like everything else on the island, the castle was in shambles.
My heart ached for the island. What had happened to leave it such a mess?
Jacen also gazed around, looking as disheartened as I felt.
“Well.” Camelia scrunched her nose as she looked around the ruins. “This can’t be the right place.”
“If you don’t like it, you’re free to leave.” I kicked a nearby rock into the ocean, watching it disappear into the waves. Even the water was dark and murky—as if it had been polluted.
“Maybe you need time to rest,” Jacen said to me. “We’ve been through a lot today. Once we’ve rested, you can try again to teleport us to Avalon.”
“This is Avalon.” Despite it looking nothing like the drawing, I knew in my bones that this was the same place.
“Okay.” Jacen didn’t doubt me—I loved that he trusted me, just the same as I trusted him. “Maybe there’s a spell on the island? An illusion spell or something that isn’t letting us see it for what it is—like the spell on that cabin in Norway.”
“It would take an extraordinary amount of magic to perform a spell like that—I don’t even think Geneva could have done such a thing,” Camelia said. “Not that it matters, because there’s definitely no spell on this island.”
“How can you be sure?” I asked.
“Because there’s no magic on this island at all.”
“But Rosella said we’d be untraceable here,” I said. “I assumed that meant there was some kind of magical barrier around the island…”
“There’s nothing,” she said. “The island’s a total dead zone.”
I nodded, since I felt it too. The island was hollow and empty. I’d wanted to find paradise at Avalon, but it was uninhabitable. Of course we could explore and see if we found anything, but from where we were standing, finding any life looked hopeless.
Suddenly, I saw something in the corner of my eye.
I whipped my head around to see what it was, finding smoke rising from a crumbling chimney in the ruined castle.
“There.” I pointed to the smoke. “Someone’s in the castle.”
I tried to teleport us there, but it didn’t work. It likely had something to do with the island being a “magical dead zone.”
Instead, I hurried to the start of the path. Jacen and Camelia followed quickly on my heels.
“We’re just going toward the castle even though we have no idea what’s waiting inside?” Camelia’s eyes widened.
If I didn’t know better, I might have thought she was scared.
“It’s a good thing I still have my daggers.” Jacen handed one of them to me, holding onto the other for himself.
We both walked ahead of Camelia, and I internally questioned my decision to give my sword to Mary so easily. It had felt right at the time, but if a demon waited in that castle, we wouldn’t be able to kill it.
I shook away the fear and walked faster up the mountain.
The castle was massive—it was closer in size to an academy than a home. The stones were browned and crumbling, but of course they didn’t have any vines crawling on them, since there was no greenery to be found on the island.
The path led up to a clearing in front of the castle. Jacen and I led the way across, eventually reaching the giant arched doors. One of the doors was slightly ajar, as if the castle were waiting for our arrival. The wood was so eaten away that I feared it would collapse from a single touch.
I held my breath as I pushed on it, glad when it stayed intact as it creaked open.
Inside was a tall foyer filled with dusty old furniture. The furniture looked like it was once brightly colored, but it was impossible to truly tell under the layers of filth. The walls were cracked and crumbling, and a chandelier full of cobwebs had fallen to the floor.
I led the way down a hall to the right, since that was where the smoke had been coming from.
Suddenly, Jacen stopped. He pointed forward, motioning to his ear.
People were talking in a room nearby. I couldn’t tell how many people there were, and I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but the voices sounded distinctly female.
I nodded at Jacen, and we followed the sound of the voices. Camelia stayed behind us, rubbing her arms as she walked. I couldn’t blame her—the castle was rather drafty.
We stopped in front of the wooden door where the voices were coming from.
I glanced at Jacen and Camelia, but they both looked to me. I got the message—I was the one Rosella sent here, so whatever we did next was my call.
I took a deep breath, preparing to open the door. But before I could, someone spoke to us from inside.
“What are you waiting for?” the voice said. “Come in and join us. We’ve only been waiting on this dreary, boring island for days.”
I pushed the door open and came face to face with the three mages from Norway.
Annika
Dahlia, Violet, and Iris sat around a huge round table in front of a burning fireplace. Unlike the rest of the furniture in the castle, the table gleamed like new, as if the mages had spent time cleaning it in preparation for our arrival.
In the center of the table was the Holy Grail.
“Welcome to Avalon.” Violet stood up and smiled, fluffing the skirt of her elaborate purple gown. “I’m glad to see that you survived your journey.”
“Thanks to you,” I said. “We wouldn’t have made it to the Tree of Life without your help.”
“We know.” Dahlia’s lips turned up in a flirty smile, her eyes focused on Jacen. “Helping you was our pleasure.”
Jacen stepped closer to me, and I stood straighter, relieved he was making it clear that he was taken.
“I take it that you all know each other?” Camelia asked, looking from me to the mages and back again.
“This is Dahlia, Violet, and Iris.” I pointed to each of them as I said their names. “They’re mages—they helped me and Jacen get to the Tree of Life.”
“Mages don’t exist.” Camelia crossed her arms and looked suspiciously at the three sisters. “They’re from storybooks—they aren’t real.”
“We heard that witches didn’t like to acknowledge our existence.” Iris twisted a strand of hair around her finger, looking amused. “However, it’s true. Humans and mages mated to create witches, which is how your kind came to be.”
“I don’t believe you.” Camelia curled her upper lip in distaste. “Prove it.”
“We don’t have time for that right now,” Dahlia chided. “We’re here on important business regarding Annika—not for you. If you have a problem with that, we’ll have no choice but to remove you from the island.” She snapped her fingers, and a nearby couch vanished—as if it had never been there in the first place.
Camelia’s face paled, and her hands rushed to her stomach. “I have no problem with that,” she said, sounding meeker than ever.
“I thought not,” Dahlia said, and with that, all three sisters turned their attention back to me.
“Come, join us at the table.” Violet motioned to the throne-like seats. There were thirteen of them in all, including the ones the mages currently occupied. “We’d offer tea, but as I’m sure you’ve seen, Avalon is lacking such basic necessities at the moment.”
I pulled out a chair to join them,
and Jacen and Camelia followed my lead. I nodded respectfully at Camelia, glad that for once, the witch was keeping her mouth shut.
Once seated, the group of us only filled up half of the table. It was an awkward way to have a conversation, but the table and chairs were the only functional pieces of furniture in the castle, so we’d have to make do.
“I’d like to start by saying congratulations,” Dahlia said with a smile.
“Thank you.” I shrugged, looking down at the table. “But I’m not sure I deserve it.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I failed.” I looked back up at her, my heart dropping as I said the words out loud. “I was supposed to stop Samael from opening the Hell Gate, but I couldn’t do it. The Hell Gate opened, and now all those demons are loose…” I paused, shivering at the thought of the red-eyed creatures wandering the Earth who were determined to kill all the supernaturals and take the humans as their slaves.
“You didn’t fail,” Violet said. “The Hell Gate was always supposed to open. If it hadn’t opened now, it would have opened at some point in the future. In fact, if it hadn’t opened now—if you’d killed Samael while he was possessing Marigold—then you would have failed.”
“What do you mean?” I tilted my head in confusion. “If I’d killed Samael while he’d been possessing Marigold, I would have stopped him from opening the Hell Gate.”
“Then you would have killed an innocent and not been worthy to be the leader of Avalon,” she said simply.
“And the Hell Gate still would have opened at some point in the future,” Iris added. “It would have been opened in a different way, and likely in a different place, but it still would have happened.”
“Hold up.” Jacen placed his hands on the table, and everyone looked to him. “Are you saying that this was some sort of test to see if Annika was a worthy leader of Avalon?”
“That’s precisely what we’re saying.” Dahlia’s eyes gleamed in approval—she looked at Jacen like he was her favorite student who’d just answered a question correctly in class. Then she turned to me, and continued, “You showed that you possessed the strength, determination, and the ability to make quick decisions in the heat of battle by finding the Grail. But after being turned into an Earth angel, you needed to prove that you had the empathy, mercy, and kindness required of the future leader of Avalon. A leader without those qualities turns into a tyrant, and after what happened to the previous generations of Nephilim, we couldn’t have that.”
I nodded, remembering what Mary had told me of the Nephilim of the past. Their prejudice against other supernaturals started the Great War, which they’d lost.
“So Emmanuel never wanted me to kill Samael while he possessed Marigold,” I realized.
“Yes,” Dahlia said. “Marigold was an innocent being used in a terrible way. You demonstrated empathy by being unable to kill her, despite the horrible things Samael was doing while possessing her body. Most others wouldn’t have done the same.”
“But she died anyway.” Tears filled my eyes at the memory of her slitting her own throat while Samael possessed her body.
“Samael was always going to either die in that body or kill it to perform the blood spell to open the Hell Gate,” Iris said. “There was nothing you could have done to save Marigold. I’m sorry.”
I swallowed down the tears, since it made sense. But it still didn’t make me feel better about the young witch’s death.
“Empathy toward Marigold was only one part of the test,” Dahlia said. “You were also tested on two other qualities—mercy and kindness.”
“Was kindness Camelia?” I asked, glancing at the witch. “Bringing her to Avalon despite all the awful things she’s done?”
“No.” Dahlia smiled. “The choice to allow Camelia to come to Avalon or not was a test of mercy. Camelia’s problem is not your own, and you had every right not to help her after all she did to you and to those you love. Yet, you showed her mercy. There aren’t many who would have done the same.”
“I almost didn’t,” I muttered. “She’s only here because of her child.”
“Nonetheless, you did,” Dahlia said. “Showing her mercy was an act of kindness, but your test of kindness was something else. Do you remember the wolf shifter you encountered in the alley?”
“Of course,” I said, since that had only happened a few hours ago.
“She was your enemy,” Dahlia continued. “She was trying to kill you. But you made a blood oath with her and let her live.”
“Anyone would have done that,” I said.
“No.” She held her gaze with mine. “They wouldn’t have.”
I took a few seconds to absorb her words, unsure what to say. “How do you know all of this, anyway?” I asked. “You weren’t at the Vale during the battle.”
“We have our ways.” Iris smiled knowingly.
“We also have this.” Violet reached down into a bag by her feet, pulling out a piece of parchment with writing on it and a golden pen. The pen had one of those fancy tips meant for calligraphers.
She placed both items down on the table and looked at me expectantly.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“A contract,” Dahlia said. “For you to become the official leader of Avalon.”
Annika
“After you drank from the Grail, Emmanuel sent us this contract to give to you if you passed all three tests,” Dahlia continued. “All you have to do is read it and sign.”
She handed the contract to me and placed the pen on the table in front of me.
“Oh, and the pen has no ink of its own,” she added. “You’ll have to use your own blood.”
I ran a finger over the golden pen. A few months ago, using my blood as ink would have disgusted me, but now I wasn’t surprised at all. Supernaturals loved binding contracts and making promises with blood. Anyway, I healed quickly now, so it was no big deal.
I lifted the contract and read through it.
Once finished, I lowered it and looked back up, finding everyone watching me expectantly.
“Well?” Violet asked, glancing toward the pen.
“Can Jacen and I step outside to talk?” My voice shook as I spoke. “Alone?”
“Take all the time you need.” Dahlia rolled her eyes—she was clearly anxious for me to sign the contract. “The door on the other side of the room leads out to the garden.”
I hadn’t noticed the door before. It was small and wooden, but thankfully still intact.
I stood up—taking the contract with me—and walked toward the door, glad when Jacen followed by my side. He pushed it open and held it out for me to walk through.
“Thanks,” I said once we’d stepped outside.
The garden was in a courtyard, and like everything else in Avalon, it was brown and dead. I wouldn’t have even known it was supposed to be a garden if Dahlia hadn’t referred to it as such beforehand.
“You know they can probably still listen in on us,” he said, glancing at the shut door. “Right?”
“I know.” I took a deep breath, feeling like I could finally breathe again now that we weren’t inside the musty, run-down castle. “I just needed some fresh air.”
“Because of what you read in the contract?”
“Yeah.” I sat down on a wrought-iron bench, glad when Jacen joined me.
That was when I remembered that even though it was cloudy out, it was still daytime.
“Is the sun bothering you?” I asked. “If it is, we can go back inside.” I started to stand up, but he reached for my hand, stopping me.
“It’s so cloudy that I can barely feel the sun at all,” he said, glancing up at the gray sky.
“This island is pretty depressing,” I agreed.
He put his arm around me, and I snuggled into him, reminded of when we’d sat like this in the boat as we’d watched the Northern Lights. Now that it was just the two of us, I felt so much more relaxed than when I’d been in there with the mages and C
amelia hovering over my every word.
“Signing the contract will make me the official ruler of Avalon,” I said.
“This place is falling apart.” He looked around at the dead garden and the crumbling walls of the castle, his nose crinkling in distaste. “You’re going to make an incredible leader, but you deserve a kingdom better than this.”
“It says that after I sign, the island will be blessed by the angels,” I said. “Their blessing will apparently make Avalon the safest place on Earth. And once I sign the contract—if I sign the contract—I’m supposed to use the Holy Grail to create an army of Nephilim to defeat the demons on Earth.” I said the last part all in one breath, the weight of the responsibility still yet to sink in.
“And you’ll be the leader of that army.” Adoration shined in his eyes. “As the only angel to walk upon the Earth, you’ll be the perfect leader for it.”
“I’m an Earth angel,” I corrected him. “Not a born angel. It’s different.”
“You’re an angel,” he repeated. “The first one to walk on the Earth for thousands of years. It’s incredible.”
“Thanks.” My cheeks heated—I still didn’t feel like I deserved to be an actual angel. I doubted it would ever feel real. “But back to the contract—it says I can use the Holy Grail to turn humans into Nephilim, similar to the way that Emmanuel turned me into an Earth angel. I just have to pour some of my blood into the Grail, and they’ll drink it. If they’re strong enough, their blood will turn into the blood of a dormant Nephilim—like I was before I killed Laila and activated my powers.”
“And if they’re not strong enough?” he asked.
“They’ll die.”
He nodded, his eyes intense. “Then we’ll make sure they’re strong,” he said. “We’ll train them until they’re ready to drink from the Grail.”
“Their lives will be in my hands,” I said. “I’m not sure it’s a responsibility I want to have. And even after drinking from the Grail, their powers won’t be activated. They have to make a supernatural kill first.”
The Vampire War Page 13