“What are you talking about?”
“An old woman told me that if I have read the book I will save the Bridge.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Well, what is the book?”
“That can be anything. You expect me to know?”
“The book…your book perhaps?”
“My book. You mean my journal?”
“Yeah, do you have it with you?”
He stuck a hand into his cape pocket and pulled out the small black book with silver lettering on its cover.
“Ok, now to find a key. Did you ever mention a key?”
“I don’t think so.”
He began to flip through the pages shaking his head and paused once he reached the last page. On the inside of the back cover there was a tab indicating a sort of secret compartment that I had never noticed before. He fingered the tab as he bit his lip and shifted his gaze toward the ceiling that let out a loud cracking noise. The roof was crumbling under the harsh pressure of hard packed snow and ice. Without warning, he stood, pulled me to my feet and threw me. I flew into glass, an icy chill embraced my body and I slammed into wet snow. The only sound I could hear was a cry of disparity.
“Mama! Mama! Ma-,” And then I could hear nothing but the loud smash of the snow bringing the roof to its end.
The snow covered me in a blanket, leaving me numb and alone. There was nothing else in the blackness of the winter night but the smooth glow of the silver lettering of Pete’s black book beneath Clesta’s beam of orange light.
* * * * *
When I realized I was awake, I sat up aching with cold. Versailles was beside me, wedged under my cape. I strained my eyes through the snow and spotted a patch of black on the ground. It was the book. I picked it up, placed it in my pocket and reluctantly turned to face the house. Its roof had collapsed and nothing was standing. There was only a pile of debris. Pete was not within sight. His snowy owl swooped down from the pile of broken wood and landed gracefully on my shoulder.
I turned to the sky where heat filled the air, turning the falling snowflakes to rain. Obsidian landed before me. The deep snow melted around him.
“I heard a crash-,” he paused and looked startled at the fallen house. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, but I can’t seem to find my friend, Obsidian.”
The phoenix walked around the house and searched under everything, but shook his head. I brushed the snow from my pants and stared at the bird.
“We shouldn’t stay here. Please, take me to shelter.”
Obsidian bowed his head and flew above me, scanning the ground below. I walked with Versailles who played in the falling snow. I failed to realize that I was standing on a pond, only a sheet of ice separating me from the water below. A deafening noise made me jump and then the ice under my feet split into billions of cracks.
“Look out,” a musical voice cried. An icy blue blur flew past me and before I could react, I was laying in a bank of snow. Someone shook me conscious, a kind voice calling for me to wake. I rubbed my eyes. A mermaid sat before me. Her tail consisted of light blue scales. Her aquamarine eyes sparkled when she saw my eyes open.
“Oh I am so sorry. The ice was breaking…I…I had to push you…I didn’t mean it, honestly,” she stuttered nervously.
“You saved me. That is nothing to be sorry for.”
“But still-,” she began.
“What is your name?”
“My name is Willow.”
“I am sure you know my name, right?”
“Oh, of course! You are Queen Chenille Noir.”
“You may call me Chenille.”
“Oh, what can I do to repay you for my mistake?”
“It wasn’t a mistake Willow,” I paused and looked down at the water, “but can you contact a friend of mine?”
“Yes. What is your friend’s name?”
“Princess Pearl.”
“Oh yes, yes I know her.” She smiled and went over to the water, gazed deeply into its calm, icy surface and gestured to me.
Pearl’s face appeared in the water, like a reflection, clearly distressed. She rubbed the little snake Aura on her neck.
“Chenille,” she said, startled. “What a surprise! How is your journey going?”
“It could be better. How is it at the Bridge?”
“Uh...fine I guess.” There was shouting in the background.
“You guess? What’s going on over there?”
“Everything is under control. Don’t worry about a thing!”
A blue dragon’s face filled the picture, pushing Pearl aside. “Minx! What is going on there?”
“Someone was spotted on the Bridge!” Pearl jabbed him with her elbow and her face appeared on the water’s surface again.
“But everything is fine, so don’t worry.”
“I am coming for you Mistress!” Minx cried, flapping his wings. “Where are you?”
“I am just a little west of the Star Pool.”
“I will be there in a few hours, stay where you are!”
The water shimmered for a few seconds and Pearl’s face faded into a ripple of water. I looked up at Obsidian with a hard frown. “I need you to do me a favor.”
The bird bowed his head before me and studied me. “And what will that be?”
“I will stay here and wait for Minx, but Versailles cannot come. It’s too dangerous for her. I need you to take her to my palace and then meet me at the Bridge. I have a plan.”
Chapter 27 - Lock and Key
Minx ascended away from the Star Pool as soon as we said our goodbyes to Willow. Obsidian grabbed Versailles in his talons and rose with us. We went in different directions, but I knew I would see the great bird again.
“I missed you Minx.” I said, hugging the dragon’s neck.
“I missed you as well Mistress.”
The storm began to clear. The sun broke out, casting its warm rays over the snowy landscape. Pete’s snowy owl rested on one of Minx’s horns where Valiant would have been. I told Minx about the journey and about all that happened.
“I wonder where Lucian is,” I whispered.
“If I knew I would tell you.”
“He wasn’t on the Bridge then?”
“No he was not.”
The glare of the sun was gone in an instant, as if a cloud had passed over us. I looked up, expecting to see a dark storm cloud, but instead saw a creature. Its wings fully extended had to be over eighteen feet each and had huge silver claws as big as my hands. Minx let out a frightened roar and turned from the creature. It had to be the largest, most powerful dragon I ever encountered. It caught up to us with only a single wing beat. A huge black-blue head with a row of dagger teeth stared me square in the face. A small blue flame flicked at the back of his throat, causing Minx to swerve aside, just missing the fire. The dragon flew low and grabbed Minx’s tail, its claws raking his scales as if they were thin and fragile as paper. It was after me.
“Get out of here Minx!”
Minx twisted around and sunk his teeth into the dragon’s soft blue chest. The dragon fell, lost altitude and then regained its balance, staring a deadly glare at its target. I focused at the sun that leaked across the sky and then heard a yell. There was a dark figure on the dragon’s back.
Not something, but someone is after me, I thought.
“Just keep flying Minx.”
I shot a glance back to his tail. Loose scales hung in a bloody mess down to the very arrow tip.
The snowy owl had flown off in an explosion of feathers. The dragon came for us again reaching out with its talons to capture us in a grip we would never escape.
“Try and shake him off!”
Minx obeyed and started to glide from side to side in a crisscross pattern, but the dragon was not intimidated by our game and flew on. I looked behind me, but it had vanished.
“Where is he?”
To my dismay, the dragon hovered above us. The dragon dropped, its talon
s sinking into Minx’s wings and blew hot fire over his body. Minx shrieked with fright more than pain and I cowered over him and grabbed hold of his neck to steady myself. A hand reached down from the dragon, grabbed a fistful of my shirt and forcefully turned me over to face him. Tears welled in my eyes and I choked them back at the sight of my own Eternal Mate.
“Pete, how could you? Let Minx go!”
“Give me the book!” He yelled.
How could I trust him? It could be Tetchra for all I know.
“Give me the book,” he repeated.
Grabbing his hand, I sunk my fangs into it. Pete ripped away and nearly lost his balance. He grabbed onto his dragon’s neck and it let go of Minx instantly. The dragon was at our side once again, but this time Pete made no motion for me.
“Remember when you told me there is a key to save the Bridge if you have read the book? Well? Remember when we found the tab at the back of my book? There is a lock in there. That lock with Fitzray’s key together makes a bond between a mortal and a vampire by force. There is only one key and two locks, but with that, a mortal could control a vampire under his or her own will. Don’t you get it? That is what Tetchra wants.”
I looked away, still uneasy. “That’s why she went after Lucian on the Bridge. She thought he had the key. She looked for it and found a vampire she could easily control herself even without the lock and key, Fitzray.”
Everything made sense now. It was all falling into place. I shook my head and glared at him. “Now, give me the book.”
I shook my head and kicked Minx’s side, sending him spiraling down out of reach. Quickly he caught up to us and clung to my shoulder. I could not move and watched helplessly as the dragons snapped at each other.
“You will either hand it to me or I will take it from you.”
I laughed, his grip tightened. “You may have underestimated me in the past, but don’t ever do it again,” he hissed darkly. “Vampires always get what they want.” He hissed again and I noticed his sickly glowing poison was beginning to form. “I am no exception.”
“You had poison all this time…I thought you used it all.”
“Vampires never lose their poison. We all have to keep our vampresses in line, don’t we?”
I struggled with his hand on my shoulder and froze, now face to face with him. “Remember what my poison did to you. Remember how it felt, how it paralyzed you. If you don’t want that to happen, just give me my book.”
He reached out with his free hand and laughed, grabbing the book from my cape pocket. Once pulling it away, I grabbed the book, locking my arms. The poison began to drip onto my hands, making me fight even harder. He neared my neck and still I tried to keep hold of the book.
“Don’t you dare! If Lucian finds out he’ll-,”
“He’ll what? He isn’t even near as strong as I am and never will be. He’s a half-mortal. What could he do?”
“He will have your head!”
I pulled the book from him and threw it. His jaw dropped and then tightened in an angry fix. His dragon was after me in an instant and chased us all the way down. A claw ripped through the air, sending Minx and me in different directions. The dragon landed with one claw pinning me to the ground. He gawked, snorting smoke from his nostrils and looked to Pete at his side.
“That’s enough Mullein.”
The dragon released me and pulled me to my feet with one of his claws. Hundreds of vampires crossed the Bridge by force. The closest figure I saw to us was Tetchra. The book was at her feet. At first, she did not even know it was there, but at last, she smiled and picked it up. A silver chain hung against the back cover.
“What’s this?”
She opened the book, flipped to the last page and pulled out a large silver lock embedded with rubies. In the bundle of dark blankets nestled in her arms, she pulled out a key. It was the key Lucian had given to Fitzray, I knew. She placed the key in the lock, a wicked smile crossing her face.
“Perfect fit.”
She put the lock away and tossed the book carelessly, turning back to the Bridge. Minx stumbled to retrieve the book for me.
“I got the book Mistress.” He handed me the book.
A fiery heat filled the air, making it unbelievably muggy.
“After her!” I cried, pointing toward Tetchra.
In a rush, Tetchra turned and scurried across the Bridge. A distant roar filled my ears. Jasper descended, given strict directions by Lucian. Together they were after the shape shifter. With incredible skill they spiraled down and with fire splitting at her feet, Jasper’s claws extended out to the bundle of blankets. Together they turned around and tried again when they failed, each time unable to recapture the Prince of Catastrophe.
The sun was already setting on the horizon and Earth’s moon and Clesta shone together over the Bridge. Lucian was gaining on Tetchra, but now she was almost halfway across the Bridge and nearly out of sight.
“Go Mullein! Help Lucian!”
The dragon roared and took off to take his place alongside Jasper, but then I saw Mullein turn around and fly back to us at once. A blinding light was approaching. A terrible heat no one could endure was approaching the Bridge.
“What are you doing? Go and help Lucian!”
“I can’t! There was something above us. Whatever it is, it’s coming down!”
I looked to the Bridge where a mass of orange flame hovered. The phoenix had arrived.
Obsidian hovered above the Bridge of Secrecy, above Tetchra. I smiled at the sight of my secret weapon, but found it disturbing that Tetchra was also smiling. I studied the phoenix closer and stepped back with my mouth agape. He tossed his head back in pain and struggled to keep himself airborne.
“What is happening out there?”
“The food the crow gave him…there must have been poison in it.” Pete said in disbelief. “Tetchra poisoned him.”
Obsidian flapped his wings in all hope to keep flying. I wanted to go out and help him, but I knew such a task was impossible. In all my horror, the masked woman’s words came alive and the phoenix fell. With wings outstretched and a final cry, he collapsed, falling out of the sky.
The white stone that was once the Bridge of Secrecy flew up to the stars. Smoke filled the air and, in astonishment, no one spoke. It did not take long for the smoke to thin, but when it did, I wished it had not. The bridge that had once linked the worlds together was gone, with no more than a few stones as its remains. The phoenix’s body had turned to ash, had fallen with the stones, and too was gone.
I did not see Tetchra or Lucian and could only assume they had gone down with the bridge. If that was true, then the Prince of Catastrophe was gone as well. I stood on the broken ledge that was once the beginning of the bridge, and I jumped. I nearly dropped when I felt something grab me and held me back. Pete stood behind me, still grabbing my arm, said not a word to me, just looked out toward the empty space as I did. The immortal creatures wept and fled from the scene as I fell to my knees and wept the same beneath the darkened sky, a deathly chill in the air.
There was a sound like gunfire ringing out, becoming louder until the sky exploded with a vast orange glow. Clesta had shattered in the sky, its pieces rained over Catastrophe until the only light was from the stars in the blackness.
“Our species, all of Catastrophe has suffered a terrible loss.” Pete said to me late that night.
“I did everything…everything…and I overlooked the simple things.”
“You did everything you could,” the vampire said, taking a seat before me.
“How will we survive? The Bridge is gone.”
“We don’t need blood. After your first year as a vampire or werewolf, you don’t need it anymore.”
I shook my head. “What about those vampires that were led over the bridge?”
“That is up to Tetchra, I’m afraid.”
“I lost Lucian…the Bridge, Clesta, and Fitzray. What else do I have Pete?”
“Remember what I to
ld you? Our power could create universes. We could create a new moon. I could help you get your son and all of those vampires back.”
I straightened up and shook my head. “With all that you have done to me in the past, no forgiveness could ever make me perform a Ceremony with you.”
“Tell you what. If Lucian reincarnates I will remain your Eternal Mate, and he will no longer exist. But if there is a slim chance that he was unharmed during that…incident, you will still be his and things would remain no different between you.”
He could be King. As far as he is concerned, I have total power right now. This is what he has been waiting for. Regardless if he will help me or not, that is a risk I will have to take.
I looked at him closely. He had the complexion of any vampire, but he was the strongest vampire to walk the planets. With his power, he was beyond my control already.
“I will think it through tonight.”
I left the room and walked down to the large sitting area. Pearl, Amelia, and Prusaious all looked at me. I sat down thoughtfully before them and sighed.
“Pete wants me to perform the Ceremony.”
“Did you agree to it?” Pearl asked quickly.
“I don’t know. He wants to be King, but he promised me a bunch of good things.”
“You will be stronger when united with your Eternal Mate,” Amelia added.
“He is unpredictable,” Prusaious said quietly. “He does want to be King, but is that the only reason he wants to perform the Ceremony?”
“I don’t know.”
“Say no!”
“No, say yes. You will be stronger when you perform the Ceremony with him.”
“Catastrophe will be better off with a king.”
“Enough!” I stood up in frustration.
“This is for you to choose, Chenille. However, if there is a chance that you do agree, beware of the phases. They will be the most dangerous of any set of phases to happen,” Prusaious warned.
“Phases? What are phases?”
“A phase is a time when an Eternal Mate goes through emotional stages. The first one is love. The second is protection and the third is trust. The love phase is the shortest. You will know it is present right away. Protection is huge since you will be vulnerable during the time of the Ceremony. He will guard you and kill anyone who comes too close, no matter who it is. That phase could last weeks. And the trust phase is the most dangerous. Your Eternal Mate will prove he can be trusted, but that will vary upon the individual. If you watch for the phases, you shouldn’t be alarmed if something you don’t expect happens.”
Opulent (The Opalescent Collection Book 1) Page 16