“You don’t have to come with us. You can go home.”
He stopped fiddling with the keypad and looked at me. “Home?”
I nodded. “You shouldn’t stay here alone. It’s… it’s not good for you.”
He swallowed. “I don’t have a home.”
His pained eyes searched mine.
“What do you mean?” I blurted the question just before I realized what he had meant.
“My family, they’re… gone.”
“They died here,” I said, not needing a response. “I’m so sorry, Cameron. I know what it’s like to lose your family to this monster. I promise I’m going to stop her.”
“Where will I go?” he asked quietly.
I shrugged. “Maybe start a new beginning somewhere. Have you met the other witches here?”
He nodded. “They don’t like me. They don’t like that I’m a level three.”
I exhaled slowly. “They like you, Cameron. In fact, I have some friends stopping by. Their coven is in Washington. I’ll introduce you to Meredith.”
He smiled. “Yes, Meredith. I know Meredith.”
“Oh, are they here?”
He shook his head. “Few more hours still.”
I nodded. “Well, I’ll be sleeping, but I promise I’ll mention you to Meredith. I bet they’d let you come back to the States with them.”
He shrugged and started readjusting knobs on the keypad again. I took that as my sign to leave him be, so I let Sebastian lead us to his cell. I offered a cheeky grin when we entered the small room. Lillie, Jeremiah, and Malik were sitting on their cots, sharpening their blades.
“You’re here!” Lillie said, bouncing from her seat and pulling us into bear hugs. “Thank the goddess you’re here. Sebastian hasn’t shut up since we arrived.” She rolled her eyes playfully, a smile parting her lips.
I nodded. “He can be annoying.”
“Hey!” Sebastian said, smacking me on the shoulder as he shimmied past us. “And you,” he said, looking at Lillie, “love my stories, boo. Don’t lie.”
I snorted. “Boo? Boo!”
Sebastian took a seat, ignoring me. “There’s your cot,” he said, pointing to a lone cot in the corner.
“Looks like we bunk together,” I said, eying Jasik, who simply nodded in response.
Jasik sat on the cot, and I sat beside him.
“So, how’d it go? Where are the hybrids?”
Sebastian shrugged. “Outside.”
“They’re not staying here?” I asked.
Sebastian yawned and stretched onto his cot, dangling his long legs off the end. “You mean, are they staying at the house of the witches who not only betrayed them but also murdered them? Or do you mean are they staying in the containment cells that started this whole damn mess in the first place?”
I rolled my eyes. “You know what I meant.”
“They’re happier outside, I guess,” he said.
“We’re leaving at dusk. They’ll be ready?”
He nodded. “The planes are fueled and ready to go.”
“Good,” I said, exhaling slowly. “We can’t afford setbacks or surprises.”
“Don’t have to tell me, plum pudding,” Sebastian said.
I leaned back, snuggling against Jasik. He wrapped his arm around me and massaged my shoulders.
“Penny for your thoughts,” I asked.
He shook his head.
He was distant, and rightfully so. I’d ignored his pleas to have Sebastian host the power we were going to emulate, but I didn’t want to spend what could be our last night together arguing.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
He tightened his squeeze on me, pulling me closer, as he pressed his lips to my temple. He rested his forehead against my hairline, exhaling slowly, as he rubbed the tip of his nose against my skin. He sat like that, rocking back and forth.
“Please don’t be angry,” I said.
He stopped and tipped my chin upward so my eyes met his.
He didn’t speak, but his eyes betrayed his feelings. I saw pain and fear, but most importantly, I saw love, trust. He believed in me, in us, in our future.
“This is everything we’ve been working toward,” I said.
He nodded, running a hand through my hair.
“Tomorrow, we end this war.”
WE FLEW INTO Yemelyanovo International Airport in Krasnoyarsk Krai in Russia. As soon as I stepped outside, I was assaulted. There was lightness to the air, and with each inhalation, I shuddered. The air back home was humid, but here, it was dry, cold. I grazed my fingertips against my cheeks. My skin felt numb. Someone screamed, and I glanced back, watching a man drop his bags as a woman bounced into his arms. Smiling, I looked away, letting my eyes trail over the plate-glass siding of the terminal we’d just exited.
Stalled SUVs lined the sidewalk. The groups of witches and vampires who beat us to Russia had already secured the vehicles. Sebastian slid into the passenger’s seat, while Jasik, Malik, Jeremiah, Lillie, and I slid into the two back rows. As soon as the car doors shut, we were pulling away. I glanced back. The other SUVs were following suit.
I eyed the driver cautiously. His beard was thick, and loose strands of his jet-black hair poked out of his fur Ushanka hat. His coat was bundled tightly closed.
“My name is Dimitri,” the driver said in a thick Russian accent. “The council is two hours north.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m Avah.”
His chocolate brown eyes glanced at me in the rear view mirror. He wasn’t a Hunter or a vampire. He was a witch—and a powerful one at that. His strength seeped from his pores and threatened to suffocate me. To have his power radiating from him in waves, he had to be an experienced user. I guessed he was either a spirit user or a fire user—the two most powerful weapons against vampires.
“I know who you are,” Dimitri said. He spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.
I arched an eyebrow and wondered if he knew me as the witch or the vampire.
Dimitri’s eyes flickered back to the street as he swerved in and out of traffic. I fumbled in the seat as he raced down the street. The roads were small, and with each passing car, I was sure we’d crash. I grasped the door’s handle when he turned onto the highway, stumbling into Jasik. He reached out, supporting me against his muscular frame. Reaching over, he buckled my safety belt around my waist and winked.
“You know, Russians are known for their fantastic driving skills,” Sebastian said, smiling. “I see you have the latest dash cam technology. Wise choice.”
“Don’t be a smart ass,” I said, but I smiled inwardly. Clearly, Sebastian had seen the same online videos.
“Americans are weak,” Dimitri said, swerving into another lane and accelerating.
I looked at Jasik. “Okay. Well, isn’t this fun,” I said.
I peeked over my shoulders, noting the other SUVs were easily keeping pace. The black SUVs had privacy windows that made it impossible to see through.
“We look wicked conspicuous,” I said.
Jasik shrugged. “No one’s paying attention to us.”
“Yeah,” Sebastian said, turning in his seat to face me, “they’re just trying to make it from point A to point B alive!”
Dimitri mumbled something in Russian, and Sebastian laughed.
“Look out! Dimitri’s on the prowl!” Sebastian yelled as we flew past yet another car.
“Sit back, and shut up!” Dimitri said.
Shaking my head, I said, “This is going to be the longest ride of my life. And I’ve been on three nine-hour flights in the past few days.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and prayed we’d reach the council quickly—and in one piece.
I SLAMMED THE SUV’s door shut and sauntered over to the group waiting for our arrival. Apparently, the other drivers had beaten us to the council, though I still wasn’t sure how that was even possible. Dimitri drove like a vampire running from sunlight. The sight wasn’t pretty, and I thanked
the goddess that I wasn’t one to get carsick more times than I cared to admit, but at least we made it in one piece. That was Dimitri’s promise, after all.
The witch council’s largest training facility and hostile containment center was in rural Russia, sitting on hundreds of acres. Most of the land wasn’t maintained, leaving us to maneuver the SUVs through unpaved paths in the woods. It had snowed recently, but the chill in the air turned what should have been soft and fluffy into thick, hard ice. The ground crunched beneath my feet as I walked, signaling my location to anyone lingering in the woods.
I shook my head, exhaling dramatically. “Good thing we weren’t planning on a secret attack,” I said to no one in particular. My grandmother had invited me here, so chances were, she was already waiting for my approach. The trees were bare in this frozen tundra, but they grew close together, giving us a small form of shelter from prying eyes. My eyes scanned the ground, trailing up the hill that separated us from them. I couldn’t see the building from where we stood, but I knew it was there, looming, taunting our approach. And within its walls, hell existed.
“Thanks for the ride,” I told Dimitri as he pushed past me toward the others.
He didn’t respond. He didn’t even glance my way. I shrugged and kept walking.
Nearly 250 had volunteered to wage this war against the Rogues, and as I approached, every single person stopped talking and stood tall. I was sure this was the largest group of witches, vampires, Hunters, and hybrids ever gathered in the history of mankind.
And I was responsible for their presence, for the pact that would change the future.
Many had to fly into Russia, so we weren’t able to bring our weapons with us. Now, as they watched my every move, I felt naked without my trusted seax. I’d used it to strike down every attacker I’d had since becoming a vampire. A family heirloom, the weapon had been passed down through the generations until it reached Jasik’s hands. And now, it wasn’t here. It wouldn’t be the weapon I used to stop my grandmother, to avenge my family. Instead, it was in my room at Kat’s manor, calling to me, begging to be used.
Sorry, blade. Maybe next time.
“Avah,” a familiar voice said.
I turned, smiling. “It’s good to see a familiar face. How was your trip?”
Sibyl shrugged. “It’s been a while since we’ve left Montana. We’ve been aching for a good fight.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Alaska?” I asked. Sibyl and her hybrid coven had joined us in our fight to save Amicia from her Rogue attackers.
She waved her hand dismissively. “That doesn’t count. We barely fought.”
“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but if all goes well today, you won’t lift a finger during this battle, either.”
“Ah, right, we’re backup.” She rolled her eyes when she spoke, clearly offended.
“But how often do things go as planned?” I asked.
She looked around. “It seems you’ve brought together a good group of fighters. We may not all die today.”
My heart sank. Did everyone think this was a completely ridiculous plan? “I can’t take all the credit.”
She nodded. “Always humble.”
I shrugged. “I try.”
She hitched her thumb over her shoulder and said, “There are loads of weapons over there.” Her eyes flickered to the sky, where the moon shined brightly above us, illuminating the woods. “You should strap up.”
I nodded, my gaze following hers. “Sun’ll be up in only a few hours.”
“Cutting it close, aren’t we?” she asked.
“As close as we can,” I said. “The closer we are to the sunrise, the more powerful the spell.”
She nodded. “Right. Of course. Makes sense. Think we’ll really be able to pull this off? We’re talking the spell of the century.”
My eyes met hers. “Without a doubt.”
She smacked me on the arm. “Good! I almost believed that, oh fearless leader.”
She turned and walked away, leading me toward the pile of weapons that had been tossed into a messy pile.
“Avah!” Meredith called as I approached the armory. She grinned, waving me over. Her mother stood beside her, scowling at her overly enthusiastic daughter.
“Meredith, hi,” I said when I reached them. “Did you do this?”
“Yes, we did,” her mother replied. “We assumed you’d need them.”
I nodded. “This is really helpful. Thank you.”
“Take what you want. Most of the good blades are probably gone, though.”
I shrugged. “Even the dullest of blades can make a fantastic weapon with the right user.”
She didn’t respond. Instead, she grimaced. Meredith’s mom had the fantastic ability to make me feel two feet tall. I wondered just how close to my mother she really was.
Sebastian strode to my side, slapping his hands and rubbing them together. His eyes were focused solely on the weapons at my feet. He nearly pushed me over in his race to get to the dagger at the top of the pile.
“Relax, Sebastian. There’s enough to go around.”
He glanced at me, his eyes hard. “If this spell doesn’t work, it’s every hybrid for himself. Think about that while you calmly choose a weapon.”
“Why is everyone so sure this’ll fail?” I asked, throwing my arms out to my sides. “I’m starting to take this personally.”
“This is a complicated spell, Avah. It’s never been successful before.”
My eyes flickered to Meredith’s mom’s, and I shrugged. I opened my mouth to speak as her watch started to beep incessantly. She clicked it off.
“It’s time,” she said, and I nodded.
I grabbed the first weapon I could reach and made my way to the front of the group. Finding a small patch of untouched snow, I placed the tip of my blade against the ground and began drawing battle lines. The chatter quickly ceased as the vampires and humans surrounded me. When my masterpiece was finished, I stood back, admiring my work.
I looked at the others. They stared back in both awe and fear.
In that moment, the severity of this battle hit me hard. I swallowed down the knot that threatened to choke me.
The vampires, witches, hybrids, and Hunters who stood before me offered their lives on a silver platter. Less than 250 souls stood between my grandmother’s Rogue army and the rest of the world. I had faith in my ability to kill my grandmother. I would be her end. I knew this fact just as surely as I knew the air I breathed was frigid, bleak. I couldn’t feel the cold, but my inability to sense what surrounded me didn’t make it any less real.
I knew the cold to be true. Just like I knew my grandmother would fall by my hand.
The rage I felt toward my grandmother bubbled within my gut. It felt as real and as genuine as my love for Jasik.
But now, as this army I assembled stared back at me, I could feel their fear, see their uncertainty. They questioned my leadership. They doubted the plan.
And they could die because of it.
Was it stupid to put all my faith in one plan? In one unsuccessful experiment that had been attempted over the centuries of fighting vampires?
No.
The only stupidity slapping me in the face was failing to not only trust my instincts but to also doubt our power.
“My grandmother’s army has numbers in the thousands,” I began, ignoring the noticeable shivers, the widening eyes. “I will not deny that we may all die today. I won’t deny this, because I refuse to treat you as children. Mothers feed their children sugar-coated lies so the dark truths of the world don’t haunt their dreams at night. You’re not children nor are you able to accept blatant disrespect to your intelligence.”
I took a few steps forward, watching as the people before me stiffened as I approached. I crossed my arms over my chest, inhaling sharply.
“You volunteered to be here, which tells me that some part of you, regardless of how small this part may be, is strong enough to face death in the face… an
d draw your sword. And now, you stand before me, offering your lives, yet you shake in your boots.” I glanced down, licking my lips as I chose my next words wisely.
“Over the past few days, I’ve asked myself just one question, and it likely isn’t the question you’re thinking. I haven’t once asked myself if I think this plan will fail. I haven’t once asked myself if I was afraid to die. I haven’t once asked myself if we’d be able to pull off the most dangerous use of magic the world has ever seen.” I shook my head. “No. I’ve asked myself why I’m not afraid. Why don’t I feel what you’re feeling? I can see your fear. Hell, I can taste it. It’s tart. And it smells of rotten eggs. I grimace at the thought, and I wonder if I’ll ever get the smell of it out of my clothes. Because it’s seeped in. It’s swirled around each fiber of my being and nestled for the winter.”
My eyes met Jasik’s, who stood tall and stoic before me. His lips twisted into a small smile.
“You see, I’ve been thinking long and hard about this, because questioning my leadership, doubting this plan, will get you killed. You’re probably thinking that putting all my faith in one plan is stupid. After all, there are proven unsuccessful attempts of this very same spell on record. This has been attempted again and again throughout the centuries of mortals fighting immortals.”
My eyes flickered from Jasik to the other Hunters to the witches and vampires, who now stood taller and shook less.
“I think I finally understand why I haven’t once questioned my plan. Yes, many of tried, and failed, doing this same spell. But today, we stand together as one—not as three separate species bent on coming out on top. Instead, we fight for each other. We fight together. My grandmother has made this all about me from the very beginning.” I shook my head. “But this isn’t about me. This is about us. This is about our power. And we have more of it than she does. Yes, Rogues are strong. Very strong. But they’re not magical. Their power stops at their muscles. Our power is infinite. There isn’t anything a witch can’t do—so long as she has enough power.”
I smiled. “And that’s what I’m offering you today. Power. I’m offering you the power of the hybrid. I’m offering you the power of a Hunter. I’m offering you the power of a witch.”
Blood Promise (Blood Books Book 3) Page 14