by Megan Duncan
Leona nodded at me from across the table. I returned her greeting with a little wave. I guessed now was as good a time as any to introduce Robin to her. Besides, I’d be doing Robin a favor, saving her more like it. She looked absolutely bored still listening in on Liz’s discussion on fabric choices and the right level of lighting in a room.
“I’ll be right back.” I kissed Arrick on the cheek as I excused myself. I walked past Liz and tapped Robin on the shoulder. “I want to introduce you to someone.”
“Okay.” She looked more than happy to leave her seat as she tossed her napkin on the table and followed behind me as I walked around the room.
“Leona, I’d like you to meet my friend, Robin.” I stepped aside so they could shake hands.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Robin said nervously.
“Robin studied history in the Noire region, and I thought you two would like to meet each other since you share so many of the same interests,” I said.
“Oh, you don’t say,” Leona’s voice crackled as she smiled at us. “We’ve got a lovely library here. I’m sure you would enjoy it very much. Have you ever read about Naos history?”
“Very little, but I’d love to learn more,” Robin answered eagerly as she lowered herself into the seat beside Leona.
“Well, then, I have quite a story for you.” Leona patted Robin’s hand and began recounting the tale of how Naos earned its name. I had heard it before, and smiled at the memory.
As I lifted my gaze to survey the room, I caught sight of Eli passing through the hall. Dashing out of the dining room, I called his name.
“How can I help you?” his deep voice rumbled, as his arms folded across his chest.
I didn’t need to do more than look at him to know he was angry. “Are you upset with me?”
“I’m still disappointed in you, Claire.” I nodded my head; I deserved that. I had been reckless, and careless. “You’re still a young vampire, and there is much you still must learn, but I hope you have learned from this mistake. Had I not found Bennett, he would not have made it.” I looked at him wide-eyed. I knew he had been injured, I saw it happen, but the severity of it hadn’t hit me. I was too consumed with my thirst for revenge.
“I’m sorry.” I seemed to be saying those words a lot lately.
“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”
“You’re right.” I had apologized to Bennett, but I could have done better. I really needed to sit down with him and ask for his forgiveness.
“Now, what is it you wanted?”
“Oh.” I searched my mind, completely losing track of why I’d run out to him. “I was wondering if my friends could join me in training? Robin and Dmitry should be able to hold their own for the most part, but Liz will need the most help. I just want them to have the best tools to defend themselves.”
“A wise decision.” He thought on it a moment, then brought his wandering eyes back to me. “Training begins tomorrow evening. Make sure everyone is ready.”
“Thank you!” I smiled from ear to ear as I watched Eli stroll down the hallway, meeting up with Rennek before they passed through the doors to the throne room.
“You still have them don’t you?” a voice whispered from behind me. I spun around like a startled cat.
“Bennett, you scared me!” My nerves relaxed, dying down from their abrupt alarm.
He took a long stride, closing in on me. His expression was almost menacing, but it was hard to tell because he always looked like he was ready to punch something. “You shouldn’t be wearing them, Claire. They’re evil.”
Without thinking my hands flung to the place just above my breasts where the stones rested underneath my blue sweater. “No. They saved my life and your life too!” Wary eyes scanned our huddled conversation, so I pulled Bennett to the side of the hallway, concealing us behind a statue. “There are souls inside them, Bennett. They deserve to be set free; they want to be set free.”
“How do you know that?” He reached for the chain around my neck, but I stepped away from him.
“I can feel it.”
“No.” He stepped closer to me again, clasping my hands in his with a crushing grip. “They want to control you.” I understood his worry for me, but he didn’t know what he was talking about. No one could comprehend it. The stones weren’t evil; it was the intent of the vampire wearing them that determined what they did. They hadn’t affected anyone since I started wearing them.
“Please trust me, Bennett. I know what I’m doing.” I searched his face for some sliver of understanding and trust.
He released his grip on me with a sigh. “Fine. I’ll trust you, but you have to make me a promise.” I gulped; I was never very good at keeping promises. “The first sign of trouble, you take them off and give them to me.”
“What are you going to do with them?”
“Get rid of them,” he answered flatly.
“Fine.”
“So, you promise then?”
“Sure.” I didn’t believe the stones would ever cause me trouble, not as long as I had them, so it was an easy promise to make.
“Okay then.” Bennett released a pent up breath, and smiled as if he’d accomplished a great feat. Either he was really worried about these stones, or he truly did believe they were controlling me.
“May I have a word with my daughter?” my father interrupted from the middle of the hallway. How long had he been standing there, and how much of our conversation had he heard? He already knew about the stones, but he probably wouldn’t like it much if he knew I wore them all the time.
“Of course.” Bennett gave me one last long look before retreating back into the dining room.
“What’s up?” I tried sounding casual.
“Come.” He raised his arm, inviting me into it and I obliged. The heady scent of lavender and pine filled my senses. I loved how he smelled like the earth, like nature and everything wild and free. Forget Mother Nature; he was father nature.
“Where are we going?” I matched my father’s pace as we strolled down the hallway.
“To my study. I want to talk to you.”
“Uh oh.”
“Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble,” he chuckled.
Chapter 8
We took the stairs at the end of the hallway and went up two floors. I’d never been to this floor before, mainly because all it housed was my parent’s bedroom and, so it would seem, my father’s study. A colossal wooden door, unlike the ivory doors throughout the château, stood at the end of the corridor. He pushed it inward, and the doors obeyed with a loud whine.
What lay before had just become my most favorite room in the entire Château. “Wow!” I exclaimed as I entered the space. The high ceiling was beamed with massive wooden logs, ornate metal chandeliers hanging from them like earrings. The white marbled floor was covered in a cream rug, flecked with the exquisite golden hues of Zakarian sand. It captured every flicker of light and looked like it was glowing.
Bookshelves lined every wall, their old pages filing my nose with the incredible scent of aged parchment. I breathed deeply, wishing I could bathe in the aroma of it. Large, leafy plants towered by every window and acted like umbrellas for the antique arm chairs that sat beneath them. My father’s desk was buried under columns of dusty books that wobbled precariously. I ran my fingers against the spines; most of them were in languages I couldn’t read. Some had gold lettering, other’s black, and several had no title at all. Perhaps they had faded away with age.
“I’m worried about you, Claire,” my father said from behind me. I turned around to find him watching me with anxiety stressing his features. Why was everyone so worried about me? “Why do you wear them?” He gestured toward my neck. Great! He had heard my conversation with Bennett.
I thought about it for a moment, and I didn’t really have an answer as to why. “I don’t know.”
“I know you feel they helped save your life, and maybe they did, but there’s no reason fo
r you to keep wearing them. Right now there’s no immediate threat, and… everyone would feel a lot better if you kept them locked up.”
“Everyone? What do you mean?”
“Please, sit down.” He pointed to a seat and fell into one himself. He clenched his fists together, cracking his knuckles. That’s when it hit me.
“Are they afraid of me?”
“No, no, not afraid of you, but afraid of the stones. They’re very dangerous.”
“But they won’t hurt anyone!” I cried out, pleading my case. I hadn’t meant to scare people, they were scared enough already. I knew firsthand how scary the stones could be; hell, I’d been terrified during my first encounter, but I couldn’t deny how their power had saved my and Bennett’s lives.
“I know you may think so, but they are objects of magic, there’s no way to know for sure what they will do.”
“But…” I pulled the chain out from my shirt and held the stones in my fingers. They were so small, no bigger than a small coin, yet they caused so much trouble, so much fear. I felt deep down in my heart that they weren’t inherently evil, but could I really convince everyone of that? These stones were also victims of Baal, and I wanted to protect them as much as I did everyone else.
I looked up to see my father visibly uncomfortable at the sight of the stones. “I’ve had this made for you.” He rose from his seat and walked around to his desk. Digging into his breast pocket, he pulled out a key and inserted it into a drawer. The lock clicked open, and he lifted up a small black box. I had seen a box like this before. It was a deep ebony, with a gold lock dangling from the seam of the lid.
He handed the box to me, and I took it, resting it atop my lap. “I want you to lock them up, Claire.”
“But we might need them!” If Baal attacked again, how could we stand a chance against other minions without the stones?
“If that time comes, then you may have them, but for now I ask this of you. Wear only the key around your neck, and know that no one can access these stones but you.” I stared at the box, and then at the stones in my hand. I lifted the lid and dropped them in. As the lid closed a sense of grief washed over me. I couldn’t feel them anymore, I couldn’t sense their power.
“You’ve made the right choice.” His body relaxed as I clicked the lock closed and draped the key around my neck.
“It doesn’t feel like the right choice though.”
“In time you will understand.” He settled into his seat, heaving a deep breath. “Tell me again what happened that night, Claire. What did he say to you?”
As much as I would have liked to have forgotten the horrific events of that night, they were burned into my memory. “He said he wanted me.” A shiver ran down my spine as I said aloud the words that haunted me most.
“Yes, that’s what disturbs me.” His hands shook as he clenched them together, balancing his elbows on his knees. “I just can’t figure out what he wants with you. What could he possibly gain?”
“Maybe he just wants revenge and he thinks hurting me is his leverage against you?” I didn’t like trying to decipher the mind of a sadistic monster, let alone what Baal could possibly want with me. A thought came to mind that disturbed me. “How does he even know about me anyway? You don’t think that…”
“Nicolae? That was my first guess, but if it were, why would Baal attack him too?”
“This is getting more and more confusing.”
“Yes, it is.” He rose from his seat and marched toward the open window. “My main focus is the safety of this family, and this region. But, in order to do that I must know what he is after and who is helping him.”
“We know that Ana is helping him.”
“Yes, we do…” he left the sentence hanging in the air as if there was more he wanted to say; a thought that just lingered on the tip of his tongue, but never fully formed.
“We’ll figure it out,” I said, trying to sound confident.
“That we will,” my father replied, unable to hide his unease.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” Rennek questioned as he stepped into the room. “I just had some reports for you.”
“No,” my father answered, clearing his throat. “Come in, Rennek.”
Rennek nodded at me as he entered, dozens of folders stashed under his arm. I stood up to leave, deciding that it was more important for my father to be kept up-to-date on the reports. I held the box against my stomach as I made my way out of the room, my father already getting an earful about the evening’s reports.
“Claire!” I stopped, turning to look at him. “Please promise me you’ll be careful.” He eyed the box in my hands. I simply nodded and closed the door behind me. I’d do as my father asked and be careful, but that was all I could do.
A pleasant surprise awaited me in my room. Robin was sitting on the couch, her head tilted back and her eyes closed, but at the sound of me shutting the door she was startled awake.
“Oh! You scared me, Claire.” She smiled sheepishly, and yawned.
“Sorry.” I smiled back at her as I walked toward my closet. “Did you not sleep well?”
“Not really, but ya know, new place.” She strolled up behind me, following me into my closet. “What’s that?”
I shoved the black box in-between a pile of extra blankets in the corner shelf of my closet. “Nothing,” I said, trying to be evasive. “What’s up?” I questioned, strolling back to my seating area and cuddling myself up on the couch.
“I just wanted to see how you were doing. You’ve been so focused on everyone else, and I realized that I haven’t once asked how you’re dealing with everything.” She took a seat beside me, looking as sweet as an angel.
“I’m fine,” I lied.
“Oh, I’m sure.” She raised her brows in disbelief, giving me a smirk that said she knew I was lying. I’d forgotten how easily Robin could read me. She didn’t even need to probe my emotions, the truth was written plainly enough on my face.
“I was just talking with my father, and I don’t know… seeing him so worried makes me even more worried.” I groaned, squeezing a pillow in my lap as if it would bring me comfort. “That doesn’t even make sense does it?”
“No, it does. You look up to him, and in your eyes he’s the be all and end all. If something has him troubled, then it has to be something really bad.” I nodded my head at her words. She knew exactly how I felt.
“He made me lock up the stones. That’s what’s in the box,” I admitted.
“I kinda figured that.” I looked up at her surprised. “Don’t give me that look.” She wagged a finger at me.
“What look?” I asked, a small smile escaping me.
“Like I wouldn’t know a concealing box when I saw one,” she giggled.
“Is that what they’re called?”
“Yeah, I’ve only ever seen pictures of them though. Does it really work? I mean, obviously, it does or your father wouldn’t have asked you to lock the stones inside.”
“Are you scared of them?” I stared at her, hopeful to have someone on my side.
“I don’t know.” Her eyes rolled around, as she thought on it. “I suppose I should be, but I’ve only ever read about them.”
“Do you think Ana will come back?” I hadn’t realized I had subconsciously feared it until it popped out of my mouth unexpectedly.
“Here?” Robin looked confused. “It would be stupid of her, but she isn’t exactly the sharpest fang on the planet.” Robin giggled at her jab.
“I mean for the stone, Robin.” I wanted to laugh with her, but it just wasn’t in me at the moment. “She wanted it so badly. If only you’d seen the look in her eyes.”
“Well… maybe it’s a good thing your father had you lock up the stones then. The box conceals the energy of the stones, so she shouldn’t be able to find them.”
“Yeah…” I didn’t feel so convinced. “She knows I have it, and she knows I’m here, so I don’t think that will make a difference.”
<
br /> “Why do you think she wanted it so much?” Robin asked, sounding curious.
“No clue.” I recalled a suspicion I once had, but it was too terrible for me to admit out loud. Had Luka’s soul been trapped inside a stone? Although I didn’t know how it could be possible, it still made fear bubble in the back of my mind.
Robin scooted closer to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Claire, she won’t come back. She’s tried to kill you twice now, and you’ve beaten her twice. Ana is no match for you and she knows it.”
“What about Ana?” Liz asked, walking into the room with her arms full of books and color swatches.
“Nothing, I’m just freaking out,” I admitted.
“Do you think she’s coming back?” Liz asked, dropping her armful into the chair and taking a seat on the coffee table, a look of sincere concern on her face.
“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t put it past her.”
“So, why doesn’t someone stop her?”
“No one knows where to find Ana,” Robin answered for me.
“Somebody has to know where she’d go, right? What about her friends or her parents?” Liz sounded like a protective best friend ready to kick down some doors to get information.
I thought about it as hard as I could. Who knew Ana? Robin did, but they’d never gotten along and if she had any ideas at all she would have told me. Her parents were nowhere to be found at the palace or in the Noire region according to Nicolae. That left Dmitry. His brother had been dating Ana for at least a decade; he had to have picked up some details to get some kind of guess where we could start looking.
“What about Dmitry?” I asked Robin and her forehead wrinkled as she thought about it.
“Couldn’t hurt to ask him.” She shrugged her shoulders.
“Whoa,” Liz put her hand on my shoulder to stop me from standing up. “Are you sure you want to be the one to find her, Claire? She tried to kill you.”