“Okay, remember what I told you, Sam. I have separated us from the rest of the house, so you can utilize your magic without interference. You need to concentrate on finding that thread of magic that connects you to Amaliya. You’ve used it before and you need to do it again. Once you’ve found her, send Roberto. Got it?”
Samantha nodded mutely.
“Okay, now drink this. I used what little blood I had left from Amaliya to create it. It’s not going to have the same kick as fresh, but I’ve enhanced it a bit with other magical ingredients.” Aimee gently set a pewter mug in Samantha’s hands.
“What if he tries to come through?” Samantha said worriedly.
“We’ll cut the connection and break the circle so we’ll be back in the protection of the house.” Aimee gave her knee a gentle squeeze. “You can do this.”
Saying a prayer that she hoped Jesus would be cool with, Samantha bravely swallowed the concoction Aimee had conjured. It was both bitter and sweet, with a faint coppery taste. Closing her eyes, she fretfully tried to concentrate on the task at hand without becoming overwhelmed with her own fears.
It took several minutes and Aimee’s gentle reassurances, but Samantha finally felt the root of her power respond to her summons. It sprung up from deep within her and fanned out in a beautiful sparkling mist that filled the circle. Samantha’s vision altered to allow her to see into the world of the dead. The black and white world wavered around her and she saw Roberto waiting for her patiently in a cemetery just outside of San Antonio. The city itself was shrouded completely in a thick blanket of darkness. She couldn’t see beyond the black magic boundary.
Standing in the world of the dead, she looked down at her body. It was shrouded in the white-gray glistening mist that was the manifestation of her power. It took some concentration, but she finally found the fine black tendril of power that connected her to Amaliya. It was glossy and filled with stars.
“I found it,” Samantha said aloud.
“Do you feel her?” Aimee’s voice asked.
In the ghostly world, Samantha’s fingers slid gently along the thread. It both frightened and thrilled her that she could faintly sense Amaliya’s presence.
“Yes. I do feel her, but it’s really scary over near San Antonio. It’s black and blobby.”
“Like before?”
“I think it’s worse. A lot worse.”
Ghostly figures drifted through her vision, curious about her presence in their world. Roberto waited in the distance and she sensed his growing agitation. She was impressed by his fearlessness, but it wasn’t like The Summoner could kill him again. Or at least Samantha didn’t think he could.
Focusing her magic, Samantha took a deep breath, then willed herself to where Roberto waited. When she arrived, she found the graveyard eerily vacant except for him.
“What the hell?” she exclaimed, confused by the emptiness that filled the cemetery. Not one fragment of a memory remained. The graves were black hollows.
“He’s done the same thing here as he did in Fenton. Burned up the ghosts to feed his power.” Roberto jerked his head in the direction of San Antonio. “Whatever is going down is going to happen soon. Look at that.”
“Fuck my life,” Samantha muttered.
The miasma of black magic encircling San Antonio greatly resembled the grotesque portal that had opened in Cian’s mansion. Fingering the fine thread of Amaliya’s connection to her, Samantha wondered if they should dare to follow through. Already The Summoner had fooled them into losing their most valuable warrior.
“I’m ready,” Roberto said, staring at her with his hollow eyes.
“Are you sure?” Samantha stared at the churning cloud of darkness.
“I’m dead, Samantha. The worst he can do now is banish me to the abyss, which will soon take over this world, so what’s the difference?” Roberto shrugged. “At least I’ll be doing something other than waiting.”
Resting her hand on the ghost, Samantha lifted her fingers, the fine tendril of necromantic power humming in her grip. “Follow this to her. Find out what you can. Let her know we’re not giving up on her, or the fight.”
The energy of her command flowed out of her and trembled in a visible cloud around Roberto. It sank into his being and he nodded.
“I will.”
Samantha carefully laid the thread in his hand. As soon as his fingers wrapped around it, his body was swept away along the link.
Returning to her body in Austin, Samantha opened her eyes. “He’s gone.”
Aimee nodded somberly. “Now we wait.”
The tension in the Victorian mansion could have been cut with a knife. Jeff sat next to Alexia on the couch in the family room as she worked on her laptop, her face scrunched with concentration. Benchley was playing a video game on the Xbox, while Cassandra spent half the time glowering at the television and the other half trying to reach her mother. Eduardo wandered into the house close to sunset and served himself some leftovers from the refrigerator before settling on the loveseat to watch Benchley’s game play. If could have been just another day around the house if not for the major magic going on in the library.
Brushing his fingers through his hair, Jeff cast a longing look toward the hallway. He kept hoping Samantha would appear with some good news.
“Everything is fucked,” Alexia muttered.
Jeff completely agreed. In the beginning of all of this they had all believed they could somehow build an army to fight The Summoner. Instead, they were on their own, abandoned by everyone. The Assembly was in shambles, the vampires were waiting for the eternal night, and the human world was obsessed with the possible end of the world when the Mayan calendar ended.
“Did you find anything?” Jeff asked Alexia, leaning over to observe her screen.
“More missing people in the San Antonio area. Escalation of violence. Those weird tremors are continuing and scientists can’t figure out why. And the Christmas shopping season is in full swing. It’s Black Friday.” Alexia’s head flopped back against the sofa as she gave Jeff a tired frown. “Christmas is coming. Maybe. Ugh. Stupid shopping crowds. As if things weren’t bad enough.”
“You went the wrong way,” Eduardo said to Benchley, gesturing at the screen between bites of food.
“Yeah, dude. I know,” Benchley growled, his fingers nimbly punching away at his controller.
Alexia pointed at the computer screen. “I’ve been tracking the violent crimes in Austin like you asked and it’s actually holding steady. But...more missing women. Another one last night.”
“Where?”
“Well, weirdly, Cian’s old neighborhood. About two streets over. Speculation is that she’s in the sink hole. Which is all over the news, by the way.” Alexia pointed to the picture of the missing dark haired beauty with blue eyes in the news report
Jeff’s shifted his gaze to Eduardo, who was eating leftover jambalaya and not paying attention to anything other than the video game Benchley was playing. “Thanks, Alexia. It’s good work.”
“I emailed all the people who are still active in The Assembly this morning to give them an update and in hopes of someone coming to join us.”
“And?”
“No one answered.” Alexia showed Jeff her inbox. “More than half bounced back because the email addresses don’t exist anymore.”
“So it’s just us.” Jeff regarded the people in the room thoughtfully.
“Yep.”
“Dude, you keep going the wrong way,” Eduardo complained from across the room.
“I got turned around. I’m nervous!” Benchley wiped at the beads of sweat dotting his brow. “I’m almost to the big boss fight.”
“Heh. Aren’t we all?” Eduardo continued eating.
Scrutinizing Eduardo, Jeff pondered the options before him. The sun was sinking below the horizon and Cian would be up soon. Hopefully, Aimee and Samantha would emerge from the library with some good news. Baptiste had been on the phone with his relatives in Louis
iana earlier in the day, but Jeff hadn’t had a chance to discuss with him what he had learned.
Scratching at his knee, Jeff decided that none of the options before them seemed particularly good. In fact, he wasn’t too sure how they could possibly live through what was coming, but he wasn’t willing to just give up.
Footsteps in the hall drew their attention and compelled them to sit bolt upright in anticipation. Benchley paused his game and Eduardo shoved his empty plate onto the coffee table.
Baptiste entered first, followed by Aimee. The witch immediately joined Cassandra, wrapping her arms around the dhamphir. The looks on their faces made Jeff very uneasy.
“Where’s Sam?” he asked.
“Here,” Samantha answered, stepping into the room with Roberto close behind. The ghost looked entirely solid and almost alive. Samantha had infused him with a lot of her magic. Jeff’s fiancée came to him immediately, sliding into the spot between him and Alexia.
“I take it the news isn’t good?” Benchley remarked.
“Did you reach Amaliya?” Jeff’s gaze darted to the four people who could give him an answer.
Roberto took up the spot before the television and clasped his hands behind his back. “I was able to.”
“And?” Alexia prompted.
“We should wait for Cian,” Samantha said, chewing on her thumbnail. She rarely bit her nails.
“I’m here,” the vampire said from the hallway. He sounded groggy and a quick glance out the window revealed that the sun was still setting. Lingering in the shadows of the hallway, Cian was barely visible. “I woke early. For once.”
Roberto stared at his old friend and the man he had betrayed with a strangely compassionate expression. It unnerved Jeff.
“Tell them,” Samantha instructed the ghost. It was more of a command. She was trembling in Jeff’s arms. Obviously, she knew what Roberto was about to say and was terrified. Jeff felt his heartbeat accelerate and his stomach clenched in apprehension.
Roberto didn’t raise his eyes as he spoke. It was evident to Jeff that the ghost was frightened, too. “The haven of The Summoner is near the downtown area of San Antonio. It has many spells cast on it to hide it from not only from supernaturals but from humans. The only reason I was able to see it and slip inside was because of the connection between Amaliya and Samantha. The thread between them cut right through the wards like a knife and I was able to travel along the connection through the barriers.”
“How bad is San Antonio on the magical end of things? The crime reports today are off the charts,” Alexia said.
Jeff knew the coming answer was going to be bad when the Roberto actually shuddered. “The Summoner’s witches are casting powerful spells that are infecting the entire city. I’ve never seen anything like it. There are enormous pockets of negative energy all over the city that are ready to erupt. He’s going to plunge the city into chaos.”
“Why?” Baptiste asked. “A diversion?”
“The violence and blood will feed his spells,” Roberto grimly answered.
“If the energy build up is as bad as you say, then that’s a whole lot of violence and blood,” Alexia pointed out, then her eyes opened wider. “Shit.”
“And it’s going to get worse,” Samantha said sourly.
Aimee shifted in her seat next to Cassandra, her arms tucked around her girlfriend. The witch appeared close to crying, which frightened Jeff even more.
“Eh, it always gets worse,” Eduardo said nonchalantly.
“But you saw Amaliya, right?” Cian sounded like he was half-asleep, but his tone was commanding and laced with anxiety.
“Yes. I saw both Amaliya and Bianca. They’re trapped in a room with The Summoner. When I arrived they were confined to the bed in the room, unable to leave. The Summoner was in a trance. Preparing.”
“He’s not possessing Bianca?” Benchley squinted. “Huh?”
Roberto nodded. “Amaliya says he’s found a way to create a corporeal body, at least as long as he’s in the presence of the Sword of Lucifer.”
“What?” Cassandra’s eyes flashed open. “What? It’s formed?”
The ghost shifted on his feet, the edges of his body blurring. He appeared reluctant to answer. “Not yet. Almost. The black witches summoned the last ring this morning once The Summoner had Amaliya. It’ll possess the person closest to it and force them to bring it to The Summoner.”
“Mom!” Cassandra lurched out of her chair, her phone clutched in her hand. In a panic, she tried to pull up her mother’s number on the screen.
Aimee clutched Cassandra’s arms and forced her to sit down. Holding her close, Aimee said, “Cass, we’ll find her. We can find her.”
Silence filled the room as Cassandra sobbed. “He has her, Aimee! He has my mom!”
Cian dared to enter the room, keeping to the shadows. He embraced his daughter from behind. “Cassandra, we’ll find her.”
“Galina had the ring,” Alexia said, stricken at the realization of what must be happening.
Aimee nodded sorrowfully. “We hid it in a box under her house. We thought it would be safe.”
“So when they called the ring, she was the closest one to it.” Benchley covered his face with his hands. “Oh, shit.”
“Where was she?” Cian asked, his hand gently rubbing his daughter’s back as he tried to console her.
“Tennessee. Near Nashville,” Aimee answered.
“Did you know about this?” Jeff asked Samantha.
“I knew they were calling the ring, but I didn’t realize Cass’s mom had it.”
Baptiste leaned forward to pat Cassandra’s leg gently. “Cass, I’m sorry. I know how it is about family.”
Alexia was typing away on her keyboard and scrolling through information. “It’s about a fourteen hour drive to San Antonio. Maybe fifteen with stops for the restroom, food and gas. If they called the ring today, then she’s probably still on her way.”
“Assuming she drove,” Benchley said, wincing.
“I can check flights.” Alexia started typing again.
Cassandra clung to her girlfriend, sobbing. “We need to find her, Aimee.”
“Cass, baby, I need to start working on a tracking spell right away.” The witch carefully disengaged herself from Cassandra’s grip. Giving Cian a significant look, she kissed Cassandra then ran out of the room.
Cian climbed over the back of the loveseat and drew his daughter into his arms. Holding her lovingly, he stroked her hair as she wept. “What else did you find out, Roberto?”
The sun was below the trees now and the vampire was more lucid and appeared much more dangerous.
Roberto rocked back and forth, heel to toe, his gaze on the floor in front of him. “Amaliya told me that The Summoner can tear down the veil at any time once the sword is restored. There is a ritual to maintain the tear and allow the abyss to consume the world. They’ve been preparing for it for months.”
“You know where his haven is, so we’ll go there immediately,” Cian said.
“The ritual won’t take place there. It will take place in a Mayan temple.” Roberto raised his eyes and Jeff wished he could read the expression in them.
“We have to go to Mexico?” Benchley gasped.
“No.” Roberto shook his head.
“It’s under San Antonio,” Samantha spoke up. “The Mayans had a temple in the area of San Antonio and it is still there. Buried underneath the fuckin’ junction of Highway 1604 and Interstate I-35. Bianca told Amaliya about it.”
“Holy shit,” Benchley said. “Holy shit!”
“He’s going to bring it forth,” Roberto continued. “And then tear the veil. He doesn’t have to wait for December 21, 2012 to do it either. He can do it as soon as the sword is formed.”
“And with the ring on its way...” Baptiste rubbed his hands over his bald head. “Shit.”
“It’ll happen tonight,” Alexia breathed.
“Yeah.” Samantha raised her eyes, tears filling them
.
“So, it’s time to save the world,” Jeff said, finding it hard to take a breath. “Tonight.”
Chapter 26
The ambience of the room continued to weigh on Amaliya’s mind and body as she lay on the bed waiting for the night to come. She had tried several times to walk across the room to the door only to feel an intense lethargy that started to paralyze her limbs. Each time, Bianca had pulled her back to the bed. At last she had relented to the reality that she was trapped as surely as Bianca was. Pulling on her discarded tank top and panties, she’d lit another cigarette and contemplated the situation while Bianca drifted back to sleep curled into Amaliya’s side.
When Roberto had slipped into the room, hesitant and fearful, she’d been startled at his sudden appearance, but in retrospect wasn’t really surprised. Samantha had been diligently working on her abilities. Though it was difficult to feel it through the layers of mind-numbing energy filling the room, Amaliya was grateful for the fine thread of magic that connected her to Samantha. She was even more grateful for Roberto’s bravery at breaching The Summoner’s defenses.
Their conversation had been quick, thorough, and anxiety-inducing. Amaliya had watched the silent, kneeling form of The Summoner while Roberto had hid in the shadows. She’d told him everything she had discovered, then watched him vanish.
Now, she was on her last cigarette and feeling more hopeful than she had earlier when Bianca had revealed that much of what she, Cian, and the others had believed to be true was actually wrong. Exhaling, Amaliya ruffled Bianca’s wavy hair with her fingers. The stillness of the other vampire’s form was strangely comforting. She could almost pretend it was Cian next to her, but the illusion was broken by the feminine softness of Bianca’s body. No matter what happened next, Amaliya vowed to not abandon Bianca. She could find a place in her home and heart for the girl. Bianca had tried to save her once and failed. Now Amaliya was determined to find a way to save Bianca. She was sick and tired of people dying for her.
It was difficult to maintain her focus in the presence of the nearly reconstructed sword, but her stubbornness was benefitting her. Every time her mind would begin to drift to The Summoner’s promise of the new world and her role in it, she would force herself to remember her grandmother. It helped fight off the mind-altering power of her bond to The Summoner and the black magic writhing in the air about the nearly completed sword.
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