“Because Vlad is in town,” Fern said. Her stomach lurched. Though she dreaded seeing Vlad again, in the back of her mind, she was curious. He might have more answers. He might not be all bad, and maybe he would tell her more about her real mother.
“Oh yeah,” Lindsey said. “When Vlad transmorphs, birds in the area begin to act in all sorts of demented ways.”
Sam gasped. “Oh man.”
Fern closed her eyes and took a deep breath, all the while wishing for strength. Sam wondered when they would find time to bury and hold appropriate memorial services for all the dead swallows.
They walked gingerly through the grove, nearly tripping over several more swallows, all of which had seemingly died in the same bizarre manner. Once in front of the Sagebrush, the threesome settled in for what they all knew would be a long, tense night.
They had decided to take turns watching the Sagebrush. If Vlad did show up there, then they would call the Lins and have them notify the Alliance’s network of vigilantes. They had already decided on a hiding place for Fern where nobody would find her. Even if he did manage to get the rock, Vlad wouldn’t get very far with the cove surrounded.
Though the children watched the Sagebrush’s images intently, there was no activity at the beach. The full moon lit the sand and cave with the brightness of a spotlight.
All three children were awash with nervous energy. The grove had taken on a positively spooky quality with the dead swallows and darkness surrounding them. Sam kept looking around, afraid that Vlad might appear in the grove at any moment.
“Are you scared?” Sam asked Lindsey.
“I wasn’t before this place turned into a bird cemetery. It’s pretty creepy,” she said, looking around the ground for more dead swallows.
A horn blew twice in the distance. The last train was leaving the San Juan Capistrano depot for the night. That meant it was a few minutes to midnight—the official beginning of St. George’s Day.
Fern, Sam, and Lindsey moved closer to the epicenter of the Sagebrush. They tensed instinctively, searching Pirate’s Cove for something—anything—out of the ordinary.
“There!” Lindsey said, putting her finger so close to the white circle that she sent a ripple through the image.
“What?” Sam said.
“In the far corner of the beach. That man! It must be Vlad.”
“Fern, is that him?” A tall, slender man in coattails strode across the beach toward the westernmost cave. The gold watch on his left wrist gleamed in the moonlight.
Fern took a breath. “Yes,” she said. Sam and Lindsey pulled their faces closer to the image to get a better look. They’d never seen Vlad before.
“We’ve got to find Mr. Kimble. And tell my parents!” Lindsey said. “Let’s check Kimble’s Sagebrush and see if we can find out where he is. If he’s at his office, Fern can teleport there!” Lindsey was nearly frantic. “Fern, stay here for a second and yell at us if Vlad makes any sudden moves.”
Lindsey and Sam ran down the line of Sagebrushes. Fern hesitated a minute. Because Sam and Lindsey had run off with the two flashlights, the only light in her corner of the grove was the blue glow of the Sagebrush. Though Sam and Lindsey were still close, she could no longer see them. She could only make out the white burn of their flashlights. She studied Vlad intensely.
She jumped when she heard several loud thumps come from Lindsey and Sam’s direction. She whipped her head around toward them. The light from their flashlights disappeared completely. What sounded like dozens of feet pounding dirt echoed through the grove. Fern tensed.
“Lindsey?” she said. “Sam?”
No answer. She raised her voice to a yell. “LINDSEY! SAM!”
Still no response. Where could they have gone? She ran across the row of trees. As she made the dash, her foot caught on a root. She fell hard to the ground. Her head landed right next to a small round object. She scooted closer to it.
“Ugh!”
Fern’s face had landed two inches away from another dead bird. She jumped up, full of terror.
“Sam?!?” she repeated. Her heart was pounding now and her head was spinning. She knew there was no way that Sam or Lindsey would play such a cruel game of hide-and-seek on tonight of all nights. They were gone. But where?
Brushing the dirt off her knees, she looked at her hands. Her palms were bleeding, but she couldn’t feel any pain. The only thing she could focus on was how terribly alone she was.
She walked, more carefully this time, toward the other Sagebrush. In the darkness, she counted off the right number of trees. Starting from the middle of the trunk, she made her way down to the base of the eleventh orange tree. She recognized the pointed leaves of the other Sagebrush of Hyperion. Lindsey had not awakened the plant, which was completely lifeless. Fern crouched next to the plant and rubbed it furiously. A few white flowers fell from the plant. She was destroying it. Taking a deep breath, she tried again, this time more gently.
“Please work,” she said, hoping that if she found out where Alistair Kimble was, she might be able to ask him for help. Fern, thoroughly working over the plant, wasn’t getting so much as a crackle out of it. Vlad was probably seconds away from getting the stone. His next task, of course, would be finding Fern.
Worse yet, her brother and Lindsey were missing.
She put her head between her knees and tried to think. She must. Getting up, she resisted the urge to kick the uncooperative Sagebrush and began running. She ran through the grove back toward the McAllister house. Her legs were tired, but her fear carried her swiftly home.
Once she was in sight of the McAllister house, she walked up the middle of the street, hoping Mr. Lin would catch sight of her. There were two cars parked on the street and both were empty. Fern panicked. Where was Mr. Lin? She was gasping for air, trying not to let the dread overwhelm her lungs. She ran to the jacaranda tree and climbed, wasting no time by leaping in the window from a branch. She ran down the hallway to Sam’s bedroom. He wasn’t there. She bounded into Eddie’s room. It was empty too. With no other choice, she burst into the Commander’s room. Her bed was unmade but empty.
“Mom?”
Again, no answer. Every one of the McAllisters was now unaccounted for. Fern fought back tears. She ran back to her bedroom. Sticking her head out into the night air, she looked up and down the street. The streets of San Juan were placid.
What if there was no one to protect her? What if this was the last she ever saw of her family? What if they were dead?
Fern closed her eyes, trying to calm the terror bubbling up inside her.
What if the entire thing was a big distraction to keep Fern away from monitoring Pirate’s Cove? What if Vlad now had the rock? She’d left her post in the grove! No one was watching!
Dead tired but determined, Fern burst out the front door. She paused, out of breath. Whether it was force of habit or because she was so alarmed she couldn’t think straight, she’d forgotten she could easily teleport back to the grove. She leaned against the tree, closed her eyes, and pictured the grove, now littered with dead swallows.
Once she was back at the grove, it didn’t take Fern long to locate the Sagebrush, which was still glowing with blue light. She headed straight for it, without giving any thought to where she was stepping or what she was stepping on. She stopped in front of the image of Pirate’s Cove, still bright and clear. There was now a fire glowing to the right of the cave. Fern focused on the image. A group of people circled the fire. As Fern drew closer, she could make out the circle more clearly. Every person was covered from head to toe with a brown cloak. They looked like friars except for the fact that each cloak had one black handprint on the back.
When Fern spotted Sam and Lindsey, tied together near the fire in the center of the circle, her knees buckled and she almost dropped to the ground. Their heads hung limp, their eyes were closed, and their ankles and hands were bound with rope. They sat back-to-back, and the only life on their faces were the shadows created
by the dancing flames of the fire. She covered her own mouth to keep from crying out.
Fern leaned toward the Sagebrush, searching for Vlad. He stood on the outside of the circle, observing as the group closed in on Sam and Lindsey. He walked away from the group.
Instinctively, she zeroed in on one of the stones jutting out from the beach, realizing what she must do.
Chapter 22
the curse for a day
Teleporting was now like clockwork for Fern.
She had no trouble transporting herself from Anderson’s Grove to Pirate’s Cove. In under two seconds she’d left the grove and was shivering as she kneeled in the cold sand. Under different circumstances, she might have marveled at her own skill.
Fern peered out from behind the large rock that stood between her and the roaring fire farther down the beach. Slowly moving around the rock to get a better view, Fern took several deep breaths and tried to quell the fire in her stomach. She closed her eyes, trying to gather courage.
“Fern,” Vlad said in his deep voice, “come out from behind that rock.” Fern’s stomach sank. Vlad was now standing near the front of the cave. Her knees wobbled as she stood upright and took a step down the beach, toward the cave and Vlad.
“Do not be afraid,” Vlad said. Fern saw his leather shoes first, then neatly creased pants, coattails with a dress shirt, red suspenders, gold watch, that unmistakable goatee, red lips, and white fangs. Vlad towered above her. He was soon an arm’s length away. The fire glowed farther down the beach.
“What have you done to them?” Fern cried out.
“Calm down, Fern. Let me speak to you for one second. I brought them here because it was the only way I could ensure you would come. This is too important, but I will not hurt them. You have my word.” Vlad’s thick voice was full of sympathy.
“Let them go!” Fern screamed.
“Fern, do you not see that they will never be free as long as you are around? Even in the last few weeks, have they not been tormented because of your presence?” Images of Sam’s terrified face staring up at the heck rushed through Fern’s head. Vlad continued. “Have I lied to you yet?”
Fern thought for a moment. Vlad had scared her, certainly, but he had not lied. “No,” she stammered, overcome.
“Your family is doomed if you stay with them. If you do not come with me now, there will be others after your family because of their association with you. They will never be safe! The others will not be as considerate as I have been.”
Fern wore her agony on her face.
“The only way you can truly protect your brothers and the woman you call your mother is by leaving them! You must realize that!”
Distraught, she looked at her twin brother’s peaceful face, and her heart wrenched. As the flames from the fire illuminated Sam’s soft features, Fern became overwhelmed with love for her brother—Sam, who had been there every day of her life. Sam, who had stood by her.
“I . . . I can’t . . . I can’t leave,” she pleaded, beginning to run toward her brother and friend.
“I would not take another step in that direction if you want them to live,” Vlad said, turning malicious in an instant. “I will not hurt them, as I said, but I cannot promise the same for the Hundred-Handers. They get very angry when someone they do not know tries to approach them. Besides, they are very hungry,” he continued. “You see, they have a habit of being quite vicious, though I try to restrain them.”
Fern almost doubled over at the thought of the Hundred-Handers feasting on Sam and Lindsey.
“I don’t understand! Sam and Lindsey can’t help you. Please let them go!”
“Ah yes, Fern. But they can ensure that you’ll help me. In case your mind has grown soft by living with these Normals and you do not see things as they truly are.”
“The Alliance is coming,” Fern said, defiantly. “They’ve been watching me. They’ll capture you and you’ll never get that rock.”
“No one is watching you, Fern. They all believe you have teleported to the mission. And since the Legion happened upon your little friends among the orange trees before they had a chance to tell anyone anything,” Vlad hissed, “no one is coming.”
“No!” Fern cried out.
“Do not be foolish, Fern. This does not have to turn ugly,” Vlad said. “You and I are the same. Quagmire and his wretched Alliance do not have your best interests at heart.” Vlad flashed his fanged smile. “We have both been misunderstood all our lives. We arrived before the world was ready for us!” Vlad’s eyes blazed.
The thought that Fern was responsible for bringing all this upon her family struck her like a knife to the heart. Maybe, she thought, she could appease Vlad without truly giving in to him. “Please just release them . . . and I’ll do what you want. Release Lindsey and my brother,” Fern pleaded.
“That boy over there,” Vlad said, baring his fangs, “is not your brother. He is so far beneath you—so insignificant and pitiful when matched up against what you will become!”
Vlad put his hands behind his back and reined in his rage. He began to look pensive. “Was I not right, Fern? Your mother sent you away, did she not?”
“She did it to protect me,” Fern said boldly.
“Are you certain she wasn’t trying to protect herself?” Vlad paced up and down the beach thoughtfully. “Answer me this, Fern: Does she look at you the same way she used to before she found out you were a vampire?”
Fern willed her mind not to remember all the times she felt her mother looking at her with vacant eyes—like she was staring at a stranger.
“Of course she does not. Which leaves you with a choice. Are you going to put your life in the Alliance’s hands? Why did they leave you all alone, then? Why is there no one here now to protect you? They want you dead because they know you are one of us!” Vlad said with a tone so vicious, it almost knocked Fern over. “Soon the McAllisters will feel the same way. Including that mangy being you call your brother!”
It couldn’t be true, and Fern knew it, but her head was spinning. Nothing would be like it was.
“I want you to fulfill your promise, Fern. You have shown great promise already. You know why I am here, do you not?”
“You want to get the stone and use it against me.” Fern’s body was stiff with fear.
“Use it against you? Do you think I would have shown you exactly where it was that day on the beach if that was my plan? I am here to get the stone, yes. But I have no intention of using it against you. Fern, I am your only friend in this. Why can you not see that?” Vlad stroked his goatee with his index finger and thumb. “We are going to use the rock together, Fern. You and I.”
Vlad turned his back to Fern and walked toward the cave. Fern looked at her comatose brother and Lindsey. Sam had spent his entire life trying to protect Fern, but it was her turn now. She would do whatever she could to see that her brother made it out of this alive. Even if that meant abandoning him. With no other option, Fern followed Vlad into the cave.
Fern noticed strange yellow light coming from within the cave. When she got closer, she realized the hole she’d crawled through the last time she was here was open again, emitting a bright yellow light.
Once he was inside, Vlad pointed to the etched out letters.
MLM + PM
“Your mother used to come here often when she was your age,” Vlad said. “Those are her initials.”
Of course they were her mother’s initials. Mary Lou McAllister. Fern no longer believed in coincidences.
“Who is PM? Is that my father?”
“PM is your mother. Phoebe Merriam,” Vlad said. Fern took a step back, to consider.
“What?”
“We will have time for specifics later. Fern, if you help me, I will make sure that the Legion lets your friends go, unharmed. It is simple game of quid pro quo—a favor for a favor.”
“How do I know that you won’t hurt them anyway?”
“I have no interest in two people so insignif
icant.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“The chamber through here,” Vlad said, pointing at the glowing hole in the cave, “opens two days a year. The first day is the anniversary of the Titanomachy—the day you arrived on the beach. The second is St. George’s Day, today.”
“So?” Fern questioned, trying to draw the conversation out.
“The Omphalos Oracle rests under the chamber. I need you to help me retrieve it.”
“Why can’t you get it yourself?” Fern asked.
“Because it is buried under thousands of feet of bedrock.”
“I don’t understand.”
“No one can reach it,” he said, his fangs radiating from the glow of the hole. “It has been buried here for thousands of years.”
“You need me to teleport there?”
“Yes,” Vlad said. “Ironically, only an Unusual can get to the stone. When the giants buried it, they made sure of that. A few have tried to tunnel to it. Many people thought the Unusual Eleven were just a fairy tale and that the rock was lost forever. Then you arrived. That day you appeared on the beach, I knew the rock would be uncovered at last.” Vlad’s black eyes sparked, and he smiled, revealing his white fangs. “You will use the drawing inside the chamber to teleport there and retrieve the rock.”
“I’ll give you the rock if you wake them up and let them go.”
“I had an inkling that you would make the right choice,” Vlad said, smiling with his big red lips. He began walking once more to the cave. Fern followed dejectedly behind him.
“I will be waiting here for you,” Vlad said as Fern began to crawl through the hole into the chamber. “If you do not reappear here in less than three minutes, your brother and friend will no longer be here. The Hundred-Handers look very hungry.” He grinned mischievously.
Fern’s terror was gnawing at the lining of her stomach. The light from the uncovered hole was so bright, Fern had to close her eyes and feel her way through the rough-hewn rock. The stones tore at her knees and already-bleeding palms as she scrabbled forward. Once she felt above her and felt nothing, she knew she’d cleared the hole. She opened her eyes.
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