Opulent (The Opalescent Collection Book 1)

by Isabelle Gallo

  “You wouldn’t dare!”

  A wall of fire rose up, blinding me. The wolves dove aside. I could not tell if Fitzray was hit or not. I crawled on my knees to pick up the necklace and fumbled with it to put it around my neck. The dragon looked down at me, growled, eyeing the Dragon’s Soul. Even with it on, there was no difference. I held the copper ball in my hands, felt the small silver dragon molded around it and dug my fingernails into it. He did not even notice. He simply took flight on his white wings, thin and light as cotton sheets, and let out a blast of fire in my direction. I cried out, shielding my face with my hands and heard something.

  A loud, clear note rang in my ears and the heat of the flame subsided. Everything was still as though someone froze the bridge in time. I looked up, felt the air still and saw a glass swan on one of the bridge walls. She had a beak of gold with dark black eyes. She took a step, blinked her eyes and lowered her head in a bow.

  “Greetings,” she said triumphantly. “I am Phantilla.”

  “Hello Phantilla.” I stood up shaking. “You saved me.”

  “Timing is everything you know.”

  “How did you know I was in trouble?”

  “I have a way of knowing. I can see almost everything from where I perch.”

  “I don’t suppose we have met.”

  “No. I have been in hiding these past couple of years, but I have returned. Do you hear? Phantilla has returned,” she yelled, spreading out her wings.

  I turned to look back to Minx. “What are you going to do about my dragon?”

  “His Dragon’s Soul was broken by the wolf, wasn’t it?”

  I nodded. “Yes, I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

  “I am sure you didn’t. Here is what I shall do. Take whomever you want from the bridge with you to be safe. I will try to mend this dragon back together. All I need is his Dragon’s Soul.”

  I took the necklace from my neck and handed it to her. She placed it beside her feet on the bridge wall.

  The fire regained heat again and Minx’s wings began to quiver, his eyes blinked. “You must leave quickly,” she called.

  I ran to find Fitzray and gathered him up into my arms. Startled, I saw a small dragon crawl from under his jacket and looked up at me. He looked over, spotted Phantilla and flew to her.

  The dragon bowed his head and began to change. He turned to a deep shiny yellow color and became muscular like a lion. His body was now pure gold in color.

  “I want to help you,” the dragon said.

  “What about the boy?”

  “I can still visit him, can’t I?”

  Phantilla looked at him displeased. “I do not tolerate selfishness.”

  “But I want to work with you Phantilla!”

  “No,” the swan shook her head, “you will stay with the boy. He needs you more than I do.”

  “But you have such an awfully busy job,” he protested.

  “Yes, and I will continue to do it on my own as I have for those hundreds of years and more to come.”

  The dragon bowed his head in defeat and glided to my shoulder.

  “I will send your dragon back to you when he is cured,” the glass swan called.

  “Thank you Phantilla.”

  I made my way off the bridge, Fitzray asleep in my arms. I would go straight to the palace and would not stop until I was there. He began to wake and opened his green eyes to look up at me.

  “Look,” Serpentine said, “you finally found your Mama.”

  “My Mama?” He rubbed at his eyes to wake himself.

  He did not say anything more so I stopped to set him down. He held my hand and walked, just stared up at me and said nothing. We walked silently on the palace grounds until he finally spoke up. “Where are we going?”

  “We are going to see Versailles.”

  “Who’s Versailles?”

  “You’ll see.”

  The unicorn let out a neigh once she spotted us coming. Fitzray let go of my hand and raced forward.

  “Hickory!”

  He ran up to a chestnut colored pony tied to a fence post. “You know this pony?”

  “Yeah, this is Hickory. I took him with me from Earth.”

  “Aren’t you a beauty?”

  I ran my fingers through his tangled forelock and took off his saddle quietly. Fitzray brought him into the paddock to meet Versailles and handed his bridle to me once they were securely inside. I put the saddle and bridle away, listening to the sound of the playful neighs not too far away. Fitzray scrambled out of the paddock once I returned and stood to watch the pony and the unicorn play.

  “They look happy,” Serpentine said.

  Fitzray held my hand again as we began to walk back toward the palace. “What is Dad like? Is he home?”

  “Well, he’s not home and I don’t expect him to be home for some time,” I replied quietly.

  “Why is that? Is he working?”

  “Actually I think she is trying to say that your father will not be coming back.”

  “Why? Did he die?”

  I flicked the little dragon’s snout for saying what he did.

  “What was he like?”

  “Well,” I began, “he was tall with black hair and golden eyes. He had the most wonderful smile and he loved me…loved us all very much, especially you.”

  “I wish I could have met him.”

  “You did know him until you turned three.”

  I stopped walking to show him the palace entrance. He looked around, his eyes growing wide and he stared directly ahead toward the front doors. Pete stood there looking over his shoulder at me and he turned his bruised face back to the entrance again. Fitzray broke loose and darted to where he stood to look up at him in awe.

  “Father,” was all he needed to say.

  The vampire looked at me in disgust, back down at him and walked into the palace angrily. If you had not known any better, Pete probably would have looked like how I had described Lucian, without gold eyes. Fitzray stood where he was, confused as I rushed up to him.

  “He isn’t my father, is he?”

  “No, he is not. He is a foolish, egotistical man.”

  I led him inside and he yawned. It was getting late.

  “Let’s get you to bed.” I brought him into one of the guest rooms. He rested on the bed, closing his eyes. Before I could even get him washed up before he went to bed, he was already asleep. Serpentine settled down beside him, curled up like a cat.

  I kissed his forehead, gave a pat to the golden dragon and closed the door, leaving it open just a crack. I stood for a moment, smiled to myself and turned to see Pete leaning nonchalantly against the railing.

  “I see you’ve gotten your son back,” he said rather coldly.

  “You don’t sound too enthusiastic about that.”

  He said nothing. “Why did you act like that earlier? He thought you were his father and you acted as if he had just stabbed you in the chest. I thought you supported me in finding him.”

  “He is not my child and I am not his father.”

  “So that gives you the right to push him aside like that?”

  “I helped you free the captives and get your son, now you want me to show compassion?” He sighed heavily and smiled slyly. “Oh, I get it. You want me to be more like Lucian don’t you? Well, here’s the fact sweetheart, Lucian is dead. Lucian will not reincarnate. And if you think I will just warm up to you and sooth your worried little head that maybe he will return, I won’t, because he isn’t coming back.”

  “What kind of Eternal Mate are you? If you think I am some vampress you can just use your poison on and drink blood whenever you want, you are wrong.”

  He strode up to me in several steps. “And so are you. I may do as I like.” He grabbed my shoulder with a smile.

  “Mama, what’s going on?” Fitzray called, opening the door to peak out into the hallway. Pete immediately let my shoulder free and stepped back.

  “Nothing, everyone is just very tired
from a long day.”

  I led him back inside his room to tuck him in again. After I assured him that there would be no more arguing, I went to the bedroom where Pete laid against a stack of pillows on the bed. He got up quickly and stared, waiting for me to say something.

  “You still haven’t apologized.” I pointed to the large stitches on my neck.

  “Neither have you.” He pointed to the blue-black bruise on the left side of his face.

  “Do you see what you have done?”

  “Yeah, but why did you have to do that to me?”

  “I had to do that because you did this to me. You apologize.” I said still pointing to the stitches.

  “Let me see what I can do.”

  He walked up to me, placed his fingers against the stitches and I felt them come apart, until there was a single piece of thread in his hands. He pressed his lips where the stitches had been.

  “I am sorry,” he whispered.

  I felt the wound begin to reopen itself, no longer bound by the thread and I slipped away, shaking my head. I walked backwards out the bedroom door and down the stairs, through the sitting room, dining room, and kitchen where a dark corridor led to a wood door.

  Pete was still following me, just as I hoped and I opened the door, went down the brick stairs into the chilled darkness of the dungeon. Prisoners were once kept in the dungeon, in the past, but now there were none. I opened one of the heavy metal bar doors and stepped inside the chamber with a lit torch I found near the entrance. I waited for Pete to come and at last, he appeared and angrily stepped forth. He held me, his poison dripping painfully against the raw flesh on my neck. I slowly wrapped my arm around him, tilted the torch so his cape caught fire and he backed off to swat at it. I made my escape, closing over the heavy metal door as he ran for it and held the bars in his hands.

  He held the metal bars tighter and growled as I began to walk away off to bed where I could finally sleep and rest my aching head. I started to walk up the stairs to the bedroom when I heard a knock at the palace door. Once opening the door, three figures stumbled in. Prusaious, Calvin, and an elder woman all looked at me, exhausted.

  “We…we got away from the wolves,” Calvin breathed.

  “What happened to you guys?”

  “Werewolves, there was a group of werewolves that attacked us, but we got away.”

  “Sit down, make yourself comfortable.”

  They took a seat and rubbed their eyes. I looked over to the elder woman. “Who are you?”

  “My name is Verna. I was Luna Silver’s mother.” She placed her mask down on the coffee table.

  “You are the woman who told me about Lucian on the bridge.”

  “Yes, I warned you about that and told you about the book.”

  “How did you know?”

  “I can see the future just before it happens, that’s how I knew.”

  “How is Pete doing?” Prusaious asked.

  “He’s well…acting pretty aggressive lately. So aggressive I had to lock him in the dungeon.”

  “Oh really?”

  “Yeah, you know, it’s all about blood and poison. I don’t know why, but he’s usually not as aggressive as he has been lately.”

  “Some Eternal Mates have the tendency to get especially aggressive before a lunar eclipse.”

  “Why is that?”

  “The lunar eclipse has a very strong affect on a vampress and an Eternal Mate will guard her until it’s over. Many have said the mood of their Eternal Mate is so aggressive that it is worse than any phase.”

  “What will it do to the vampress?”

  “If a vampress sees the lunar eclipse, she could change, maybe come to hate her Eternal Mate completely.”

  “I never knew that could happen.”

  “That is why you must release him immediately. I don’t know how close the eclipse is, no one knows, but if you don’t let him out, your life could change as you know it.”

  I stayed where I was, hesitant to go back down into the dungeon.

  “I will go and let him out if you want,” Calvin offered.

  “Ok, just be careful.”

  He stood, made his way to the dungeon, leaving us in the sitting room.

  Verna’s eyes grew wide and she let out a gasp. “The eclipse is coming…now, it’s coming now!”

  I felt something come over me, like a trance, and walked toward the door.

  “Chenille!” Prusaious launched, tried to stop me, but I was already outside.

  “Pete is coming!”

  I continued to walk and as soon as I was out of the palace, I looked up and saw Minx standing before me, his great head blocking my view. I looked up at him dazed.

  “Chenille!” There came the harsh shout from Pete who dragged me back into the palace.

  “Did she see the eclipse?”

  “I’m not sure. She was outside, but her dragon was blocking the way.”

  “Say something Chenille.”

  I stared blankly, still in a trance and at last closed my eyes.

  “Help her onto the couch, quickly now.”

  “Everyone upstairs, let them be.”

  My name was said repeatedly, even when my eyes had opened. I shook with every bit of energy leaving me and still nothing happened. It was as if I was reincarnating, as if a part of me had died.

  “You saw the eclipse…and I couldn’t stop you.”

  “She didn’t see the eclipse, stupid vampire.”

  He looked over his shoulder to see a swan made of glass.

  “What did you say?”

  “She didn’t see the eclipse, fool!”

  “How do you know?”

  “I was standing right there!”

  “Is she going to be all right?”

  The swan swayed her head from side to side as though unsure of what to say. “I don’t know. I am not a healer. Besides, I just came here to drop off a dragon.”

  “What should I do?”

  “You’re the King of Catastrophe. What are you asking a star for?” She blinked her beady black eyes.

  “If you aren’t going to help me, leave.”

  “I have to go somewhere anyway.”

  “Oh? Where?”

  “That isn’t any of your business, but if you must know, I am going to Earth.”

  “What for?”

  “There is a big party on Earth tonight. I can’t be late.”

  “Fine, we don’t need you here.”

  “Good.” The swan turned up her golden beak and walked away swaggering.

  He turned back to me, saw that I was gasping. I coughed and continued to gasp as Pete grabbed his knife from his belt and cut the tight cape from my neck. The cape was choking me. He cut it off, allowing air to pass and gather in my lungs again. His hands became bloody from the wound still dripping from the side of my neck. My eyes opened and I sat up in alarm. I saw the knife and the blood on his hands, and pushed myself against the couch to make the space between us larger.

  “I…I can’t trust you for two seconds,” I said through gasps.

  “Your cape was choking you and the wound on your neck-,” he paused to touch my neck. I backed away, putting a hand to my wound to shield it from him.

  “I…I can’t. I can’t trust you.”

  He looked at me and backed away calmly, putting his hands up in innocence. He opened his hand and let the knife drop onto the floor. My head was heavy, half-delusional and he whispered to me.

  “How’d you like to go to a party? You could me my little doll tonight. Dress up in something pretty for me.”

  “A party? What about Fitzray?” I asked, now light headed.

  “The night is still young. We’d make it home before he wakes up.”

  He pulled me to my feet, helped me climb the stairs that seemed like a mountain to me. My servants put an indigo dress on me with a feathered mask to hide me from the mortals. Before I knew it, Pete was holding me close and we were on Earth.

  There were hundreds of peo
ple all talking to one another, some wearing masks, others without. I looked around, still dizzy, looked to the roof, a dome made of colored glass. For a moment, the room and its stature of mahogany and marble dazzled me. Several people approached us and began to talk, though I did not engage myself in conversation, too confused to say a thing. I saw her - the glass swan, Phantilla, again. I heard laughter coming from the people behind me, still talking to Pete and felt something dripping from the corner of my mouth. Still, I kept my eyes on the star.

  There was a sound, a traumatic sound, and the sound of gunfire rang. The peoples’ voices faded from my mind and I could only see one person, one not screaming or running toward the entrance like the others. Tetchra. She held a sleek gun in her hands pointed at the star who continued to scream from her beak of gold. There was a crack branching from the center of her chest spreading until she burst into an eruption of glass. Pete was there. I did not even see him run. He just appeared behind Tetchra, holding her to his body with his arm, half-crushing her to death. He threw the gun to me and commanded me to shoot. I looked down at the weapon. I had never used one, nor would I ever have considered killing someone with it, nevertheless.

  “Shoot her!” The command came again.

  I held up the weapon and pointed it at her. The star had shattered, collapsed in, and became a black hole in the middle of the building, sucking everything in its path to never escape, not even light.

  I hesitated, fingering the trigger and lowered my arm. I could feel Pete’s icy glare, but he lowered his head. He understood. Once he looked up, the black hole was near and he tossed Tetchra aside into the darkness, where she belonged, where she could never escape. Startled, my finger pressed down, like a reflex, and the bullet shot up to the glass roof. It too shattered and fell as if Phantilla herself was falling over the innocent.

  I let out a gasp, heard the sound of laughter again and the voices returned to me. There was poison over my lips and I wiped it away in front of Pete and the people who had gathered to watch.

  “Look at the way she yelped, like it was actually happening to her.”

  “Yes, it was amazing. I’ve never seen such a thing.”

  “What happened? What did you do to me Pete?”

  He smiled a wicked smile, sly and wonderful. “Mind control. It worked, didn’t it?”