“Wasn’t that your plan all along?” she asked, irritably. “Who else was going to drive you? I have it on good authority that Summerfeld wards have little experience with manmade technology.”
Both Kellan and Freya had the good grace to blush but, rather than get into an argument, Lenora resigned herself to the inevitable. “How many are going?” she asked.
“Eight,” Kellan’s answer was immediate. “Six men and the two women. Unless of course, you’ve changed your mind?” he cast a hopeful glance at his wife.
“Not on your life,” Freya replied.
“I’m going to have to get some help,” Lenora sighed. “We’ll never all fit in one car. And I hope your magic includes protective enchantments,” she added irritably, “because when Daniel finds out I helped you, he’s going to kill me.”
It didn’t take Lenora long to track down Balthazar. He was striding purposefully toward the far edge of the farm, alongside a post and rail fence. She could see the concern etched on his brow even from a distance. Balthazar was searching for Jonas.
“He’s not here,” she spoke gently as she approached. “He left a few minutes ago – he’s driving the wolves back to Summerfeld.”
A stream of expletives poured from Balthazar’s mouth.
“My thoughts exactly,” Lenora nodded agreeably. “Now, before you rush off to find him, which of course you will, there’s something you need to know. You’ll be taking a few passengers with you.” At Balthazar’s look of astonishment, she continued, “A bunch of the Fae are going back, too. They need a ride.”
Balthazar finally found his tongue. “We can’t take the Fae anywhere near Summerfeld.”
“Actually we can. And if the Guardians do manage to open that Gate and release the magic, I’m thinking that that meek, mild lot back there are going to become pretty impressive. They can help.”
“I won’t do it,” Balthazar insisted.
“Then I suggest you start walking,” Lenora picked idly at her fingernail, “because it’s a long way to Cliffdale and, in case you’ve forgotten, all the cars here belong to me.” She let the implication of her words set in. Balthazar couldn’t leave without her permission and she wouldn’t allow him to leave unless he helped her.
“Fine,” he spat eventually. “I’ll meet you there in five minutes. I need to fetch Rowena – she’s going to want to come too.”
“Of course she is,” Lenora rolled her eyes. “Because there’s a party at Summerfeld and apparently everyone’s invited.”
Chapter 23
Dimitri’s hands trembled as he knelt before Aleksei, a fact that the vampire king didn’t miss. Why was he surrounded by cowards? When had his species become such incompetent imbeciles? His eyes scanned the vampires gathered around them while the gentle gurgle of the fountain continued uninterrupted behind him. Dimitri had relayed the information exactly as it had been relayed to him by the scout. When Charlotte had failed to answer her phone, Aleksei had insisted that a scout be sent to the manor house to investigate why. His concern had nothing to do with Charlotte herself, but rather for the crystals she had in her possession.
“Burned?” Aleksei snarled. “How in God’s name did they manage to burn down an entire house?” He had considered Charlotte at least slightly more competent than the rest, but she had turned out to be yet another colossal disappointment.
“We can only assume it was the work of a dragon, my Lord. Much of the house was totally incinerated, leaving it completely unrecognisable. Only the heat of a dragon’s fire could cause that extent of damage.”
Aleksei recalled that a dragon had helped the wards escape the City when the vampires had invaded. It would seem they still controlled it.
“They must have a dragon-rider,” he mused. It was a well-known fact that only a dragon rider could control the beasts. Before Summerfeld had been built, the only dragon-riders had been among the Fae race, but Eldon must have weaved his Guardian charm so that members of the Guardianship might have the same ability. “Were there any survivors?” he asked.
“No,” Dimitri shook his head. “It appears they destroyed them all, including Charlotte. The Guardian we captured is also gone.”
“The crystals?” Aleksei continued, completely unaffected by the death of the woman who had single-handedly brought about the demise of Summerfeld.
At this, Dimitri’s entire body started to shake. “We couldn’t find them, Sire. They’re gone.”
“Gone?” Aleksei echoed, his voice lulling the gathered crowd into a false sense of security. “Gone?” he emitted a low hiss, his next words hurled at them with all the force of his power. “Do you have any idea what this means?” No one dared answer. “They have all the crystals,” Aleksei continued, striding toward Dimitri and seizing him by the throat. The gathered vampires took a step back, trying to distance themselves. “The Guardians wouldn’t have risked their lives for those crystals without a purpose! They’re going to open the Temple!” He shook Dimitri so hard that his fangs banged together, piercing his lips and a stream of blood dribbled down his chin. “The Gate could be anywhere!”
Aleksei’s fraying temper snapped and he lifted Dimitri clear off his feet, shoving him brutally against the marble bowl of the fountain. Without allowing him even a second to draw breath, Aleksei plunged Dimitri headfirst into the enchanted water. The surrounding water began to hiss and fizz, bubbles rising rapidly to the surface as he submerged Dimitri’s head and shoulders. The water burned Aleksei’s hands too, but his fury overrode the pain and he held the vampire down, longer than he had intended.
Every second passed infinitely slowly but, as his thoughts cleared, Aleksei reigned in his temper. Killing Dimitri would certainly ease his rage, but if the Guardians were attempting to open the Rose Gate he would need every vampire at his disposal. Hauling Dimitri back up, he ignored the stabs of pain as water droplets landed all over his skin. His hands were blistered and raw but his face was an impenetrable mask. Dimitri, on the other hand, howled; his high-pitched screams accompanied by frenzied clawing at his blistered, burnt face. The flesh of one of his cheeks had been completely eroded, exposing the bone beneath, and in other places his skin hung limply off his face.
“Shut up!” Aleksei roared. “You will heal. If you make one more sound it will be the last you ever make.” Dimitri’s cries cut off as quickly as if a switch had been flipped, his mouth forming wails of pain that were as silent as they were hopeless.
“You will scour the records in the Cathedral,” Aleksei instructed the group at large. “I want to know everything there is to know about that gate. Nobody rests until I know where the Guardians are headed.”
Not needing any further incentive, the vampires scattered. Aleksei gave Dimitri one last hateful look, which the vampire couldn’t see. His eyelids had been burned off, but so had the retina of his eyes. The hideous sightless orbs were oozing, but, even as Aleksei watched, Dimitri’s skin began to repair itself. Feeling not even the slightest sympathy, Aleksei turned on his heel and stalked off, making his way toward the Cathedral.
The main hall was devoid of vampires. Most had piled into the record room to pore over the ancient documents and texts. Aleksei doubted they would find anything. The only tome that might hold answers was the legendary Sacred Book which hadn’t been found. It had either been destroyed or the Guardians had taken it with them when they fled the City.
Gazing around the hall, Aleksei surveyed the carnage he had wreaked on the Cathedral. Eldon’s statue had been destroyed the very night he arrived and huge chunks of marble and stone littered the floor. The altar was barely visible through the wreckage, but, as he gazed up, Aleksei saw that the stained glass window bearing the image of Princess Enah remained. Aleksei stared at the likeness. He had never understood what his son had seen in the Fae princess. Julian had been destined for greatness. He had been powerful and fearless, a son any father would have been proud of. Aleksei had known Enah for most of her life, although he had kept his distance from t
he Fae even then, when the two races lived in harmony. She had been a spoilt, self-indulgent little girl, pretty and pathetic and silly.
When Aleksei had deigned to attend one of Eldon’s balls, an annual celebration of the supernatural, intended to preserve relationships between the species, he had been surprised to see that Enah had indeed grown to be as beautiful as her mother, but she was still the same silly girl underneath her poise and grace. That was the night that Julian had met Enah, and he had given no indication that he felt anything but disdain for the Fae princess. As it turned out, Julian had proved to be just as crafty as Aleksei himself. Unbeknown to their fathers, the young lovers had been meeting on the sly since that first fatal night, keeping their relationship a secret from everyone but a handful of their closest confidantes. By the time Aleksei had become aware of their marriage, Enah had broken the Taboo.
In truth, such was his rage that Aleksei would have hunted the little bitch down himself and killed her, but Eldon discovered their treachery first. He had killed Julian before Aleksei could even confront his son. That was the day that Aleksei declared war on the Fae. It was the same day that his wife died.
Aleksei heaved a sigh as he gazed up at the stained glass window. Selene. Now, there had been a woman! She had been everything that Enah was not – fierce, volatile and vicious. Aleksei had loved her since the beginning of time, but the day Julian was killed, she had defied him. Selene had been violently opposed to the war.
“Going up against the Fae isn’t as simple as you might think,” she had scoffed when Aleksei had told her of his intentions. “Don’t be a fool, Aleksei. If you declare outright war, the wolves, the dragons, everyone will side with Eldon. You cannot hope to fight them all.”
It wasn’t that Selene had been against destroying Eldon. In fact, quite the opposite. Julian’s death had affected her even more badly than it had Aleksei and Selene’s blood bayed for vengeance. She had wanted Eldon to suffer, but she had insisted the vampires should proceed with caution; that they should practice patience and attack the Fae in secret until they could get close enough to the royal family to end their line. Her mockery of him, however, had sent Aleksei over the edge and he had murdered his own wife.
He had never regretted killing Selene but he had regretted not listening to her. She had been right, after all. The second he declared war, Eldon had sent his sons into hiding and, just as Selene predicted, he had allied himself with every other supernatural creature. Although Eldon and Enah’s death had gone some way to quenching Aleksei’s thirst for revenge, he would not be satisfied until Eldon’s entire family had been eradicated. It irked him to know that, had he heeded Selene’s warning, he might have destroyed them a long time ago.
“Sire,” a voice interrupted his musings and Aleksei turned to find a young female vampire quivering in the doorway to the record room.
“What is it?” Aleksei snapped.
“We’ve found some old maps, my lord, but we need to spread them out to study them. We were wondering if we might make use of the table?” she gestured at the impressive table nearby surrounded by twelve chairs.
“Fine,” Aleksei replied, and the girl nodded, before moving quickly back into the room, no doubt to relay his agreement.
Aleksei stopped to pick up a particularly heavy chunk of marble and tossed it into the air, testing its weight before he caught it again. As the vampires emerged from the room, their arms laden with scroll-like maps, Aleksei hurled the stone at the window. It shattered in a crescendo of sound, the glass crashing to the Cathedral floor in a thousand colourful pieces.
Chapter 24
“What happened to three?” were Oliver’s first words when he woke.
“I figured I’d spare you another second of waiting,” Quinn smiled. Oliver hadn’t slept for long, and his foot, while no doubt still in agony, was at least facing the right way. “How do you feel?”
“It’s tender but it feels a whole lot better than before.”
“It looks better,” Monique said, peering over Quinn’s shoulder.
“Can you stand?” Quinn asked.
“I think so.”
“Good. Because we have somewhere we need to be.” She offered him her hand and Oliver took it, allowing her to haul him to his feet.
“Nice threads,” he remarked, catching sight of the black jeans and T-shirt he now wore.
“I figured you’d appreciate a change of clothes. Yours were a little...”
“Soiled?” he didn’t seem embarrassed by it in the least and Quinn admired his tenacity.
“I was going to say dirty.”
“That’s very P.C of you.” He winced slightly as he put weight on the foot, but took a few brave hobbling steps, his mouth set in a grim line.
“Well, you’re nothing if not determined,” Quinn teased. “Now stop showing off and lean on us.”
Between them, Quinn and Liam led Oliver forward, following in Monique’s wake as she strode toward the Orochian. The new Guardian baulked as he laid eyes on the dragon, still toying with the cleanly picked carcass of the wildcat, but they kept him moving forward. To Quinn’s surprise, Oliver didn’t protest as Liam gave him a leg up onto the Orochian’s back. He was positioned directly behind Monique, which was the safest place to be – just in front of the dragon’s shoulders. When they were in the air, Quinn knew, he wouldn’t be able to see much below him. The dragon’s wings would block the terrifying view.
“Where to?” Monique asked, peering down at her as Liam scrambled up behind Oliver.
“New Haven,” Quinn confirmed. “We’ll take shelter in the woods near the City.”
“Should we phone Daniel? Didn’t you say you would send for them?”
“They’re already on their way,” Quinn replied enigmatically. She didn’t want to get into the details of the bond with them right now, but she had read it in Drake’s mind. The cavalry was on the way. She was the last to hoist herself up behind Liam. “Here we go again,” she murmured in his ear, as the beast flapped its wings. As they streaked heavenward, Quinn kept her eyes on the grey ruin of Charlotte’s Manor house.
Once in the air, Quinn noticed that Monique barely had to guide the Orochian. Once she had steered their course, the dragon flew towards New Haven as though Summerfeld was a homing beacon. We’re all going back, Quinn thought to herself. As terrifying as the thought was, she couldn’t help but feel that they were finally going home. They would deal with whatever awaited, but Summerfeld was their home, and they would fight for it, or die trying.
She thought of the gold band she had seen on Oliver’s finger. He had a wife somewhere in this world. A woman who was no doubt at this very moment wondering what had become of her husband. Oliver didn’t seem old enough to be married, but the ring on his finger proved otherwise. They were probably newlyweds. Quinn could only wonder at how hard it must have been for Oliver to leave that life behind. The calling of the Guardianship was too strong to be ignored, but it could be fought over time – Tristan was proof of that. For the first time Quinn realised how unfair Eldon’s magic was. It wasn’t selective, nor did it care for the personal, human lives of the branded. Quinn had never regretted her calling, but Tristan certainly had, and Quinn suspected that Oliver might too, particularly if there was a Mrs Winchester who had been left behind.
The journey was cold and Quinn’s body ached from sitting in the same place for so long but nothing could douse the light and warmth in her heart. Hope. Hope had taken seed and with every step of her journey, Quinn believed more and more that she could do this. She could save her people. She could fulfil the prophecy and end a thousand years of hatred.
As the dragon streaked forward, Quinn’s eyes watered, the wind pummelling her face and burning her cheeks. Resigning herself to the monotony of the long flight, Quinn closed her eyes and gave a start, her eyes snapping open.
“You okay?” Liam called back.
“Fine,” she yelled in his ear. She had simply been unprepared. Taking a calming breath
, she closed her eyes again. The same sight as before greeted her. She saw the broken white lines of a highway blurring into one as though she was travelling at a great speed. She was looking through the windshield of a car and familiar hands were gripping the steering wheel before her.
What are you doing, Quinn? Drake asked, sensing her in his head.
I’m not sure. A signboard flew overhead and she recognised the area but it seemed impossible that he could have travelled such a distance in so short a space of time.
Are you in Himesville? She asked.
How could you possibly know that?
I can see what you see.
What?
It’s weird, I know, but it feels like I’m looking through your eyes. She pondered that for a moment. It made sense, with the bond. They shared a consciousness, so it wasn’t that much of a stretch, but what she didn’t understand was why it was only happening now.
Maybe the bond develops over time? Drake asked, reading her thoughts.
No. I wanted to see you, Quinn admitted. I didn’t just want to talk, I actually wanted to see you – maybe that’s why. Can you see what I see?
I really don’t think it’s a good idea to try right now, he replied and his gaze flickered to the speedometer. He was travelling at just over two hundred miles per hour. I’ll be there soon, he promised.
Quinn opened her eyes, withdrawing from Drake’s mind, but the hope in her heart flared just a little bit brighter.
Chapter 25
Lenora scanned the rear-view mirror to check that Balthazar was still behind them. The familiar black Audi was still there. She had refused to let anyone else drive the Mercedes.
“You guys don’t talk much, do you?” Lenora asked the car’s passengers in general. They had been driving for hours and the Fae travelling with her had barely said a word the entire journey.
Guardians of Summerfeld: Full Series: Books 1-4 Page 93