Blood Oath (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book Two)

by T. L. Clarke

  I felt Chaos’s hot, penetrating stare, but his eyes were unreadable. My jaw tightened determinedly as I looked at Thallo blankly.

  "I don’t know where the Book of Eternals is. So, you can either let us go or waste more of your time asking me the same question over and over. Either way, it’s going to be a really long night," I responded rudely.

  Priscilla burst into the chamber with her blonde hair flying around messily. She screeched to a stop, looking from Justice to me silently.

  Thallo’s eyes narrowed coldly. "Okay. You want to play hardball? Well, let’s see how long you can stand the heat." She nodded at Orion. "Lock them up in the North Tower."

  Priscilla gasped with shock and started to storm over to stop him, but Chaos gently held her back. I saw a quick, unfathomable look exchanged between them, and suddenly Priscilla’s eyes were cold and uncaring as she looked back at us.

  Orion looked over at the Eternals grimly. "You heard Thallo. Take them to the North Tower."

  Two burly Eternals grabbed my arm roughly and dragged me across the chamber. Their grip was so hard, I winced with pain.

  Justice’s face tightened. He shoved the two Eternals angrily. "Hey, you don’t have to be so rough with her. She’s going with you peacefully."

  One of the Eternals swung around and shoved him away. Justice flipped around and kicked him so hard that he went flying back with a hard thud. Eternals swarmed in from the sides, pinning Justice in preparation to really do some damage.

  Chaos instantly swung into action. "Eternals, stand down," he barked quickly.

  I watched with my heart in my throat. This was definitely not turning out as I had expected. I heard the faceless whisper again. "Be steady, Akasha. Your time of vindication will come."

  "We’ll go peacefully," I responded softly.

  Orion nodded approvingly as they marched us out of the chamber. I gave Priscilla a sad look. Why didn’t she speak up for me? But as I was marched unceremoniously past her, Priscilla did something totally unexpected. She winked at me quickly before anyone could see. I knew then that she would figure out a way to get us out of this mess.

  When we got outside the chamber, it was like a freak show, the way we were marched down the now-packed hallway with Eternals looking on with angry eyes. And it was worse when they marched us across the still-packed courtyard. I guess word had spread about the missing book, and the crowd erupted with jeers of anger and rage.

  I heard a Circle scream out loudly, "The Book of Eternals is missing, and you hold one of our own? This is a plot by the Banished."

  That caused the crowd to rumble angrily.

  An Ares yelled over the roar, "First an attack on our queens and now the Book of Eternals is gone. We must strike back and strike back now."

  The crowd erupted with angry rants and screams.

  I looked at the crowd with terror. Something about this whole situation was so utterly wrong. Grandma Celeste was right. Someone was plotting against the Eternals, and I had walked right into the middle of it like a pawn.

  The Eternals quickly marched us through the castle, down to a side door that led to what looked like a basement. I could barely see my hands in front of my face as we were dragged along a very damp-smelling passageway. Finally, we reached the part of the passageway that was lit with torches anchored to the walls, at the end of which was a large, brightly lit room. I looked around the room with dismay; it looked like something from an old horror movie. It was cold, old, and very uninviting.

  Orion stormed over to a huge wooden door and unlocked it. I didn’t know what was behind it, but if it was anything like the rest of it, then this was going to be a very long night. Orion nodded toward the door, and the Eternals pushed us in unceremoniously.

  I was relieved, to say the least, when I noticed that the room was actually a suite with two adjoining doors at the opposite end of it.

  Orion spoke briskly to the Eternals. "Gabrielle will go in the room on the left and Justice on the right. Two Guardians will be stationed at each door with rotating shifts until we sort this mess out."

  Orion looked at me coldly. "Come with me, Neophyte." For all of his brusqueness, I was surprised when he placed his hand on my elbow softly, gently escorting me toward the door. I snuck a peak at Justice, who smiled at me reassuringly.

  Orion opened the door, gesturing for me to enter. I looked around quickly. To my relief, the room was not a dark dungeon cell, but a luxurious room with comfy chairs and a flat-screen television.

  He closed the door behind us with a soft click. "Make yourself comfortable because you’re going to be here for a while," he barked, then stormed away. Suddenly he stopped, his big, burly hand tensely grasping the doorknob. "Be warned, Gabrielle. You’re but a pawn in this game, and you may not have the will or the heart to do what’s necessary to win." He opened the door, then firmly shut it behind him.

  Exhausted, I flopped down on the overstuffed couch and just stared into space. I had to figure a way out of this mess because I knew that it wouldn’t take them long to figure out who my other partners in crime were. In fact, they were probably heading over there right now to interrogate them, and I wasn’t sure they would be able to withstand the heat without cracking under pressure.

  With agitation, I jumped up from the couch and walked over to the wall-to-wall windows that overlooked the castle grounds. For all I knew, the Eternals had already gotten the book back and were now plotting some fiendish punishment to inflict on me and Justice. We could be locked up indefinitely without food or water; the Eternals were crazy enough to do it.

  I needed Justice’s help badly. Right now, he was the only one who I could rely on and trust to help me out of this very bad situation. And he was locked up with me. Tired and mentally worn, I dragged myself over to the couch. Exhausted, I drifted off to sleep plotting how to escape.

  chapter

  TWENTY-ONE

  Hours later, the hard knock on the door woke me up abruptly. Wiping the dribble from my chin, I looked over to see Priscilla quickly approaching with a tray of some delicious-smelling food.

  The Eternal Guardians peered at me coldly before shutting the door firmly behind her.

  Priscilla looked at me blankly as she quickly walked over to a wooden table and dropped the tray with a clang. She held a finger to her lips, indicating silence before pulling me over to the windows.

  She smiled with relief, grabbing me into a big bear hug. "Sweet pea, you’re in a hornets’ nest of trouble," she whispered.

  I sunk into her hug with relief. "I thought you were mad at me, or worse, mad at me and on their side," I grumbled into her shoulder.

  "Never. I would never leave your side, Gabi. Ever. I was going to whip fire on those Eternals’ butts when they grabbed you like a bunch of heathens, but Chaos convinced me not to, and rightly so."

  I looked at her with shock. "Chaos?"

  Priscilla looked at me warmly. "Sweet pea, you’ll learn very quickly that people in our world are not what they seem. Chaos and I are smart enough to smell a rotten plot from a mile away. And this is a plot of major proportions." She sniffed the air, scrunching her nose as if she smelled something foul. "Can’t you feel the darkness looming?" she whispered.

  My senses went numb for a second, bursting into action at the actual foul smell in the air. It was filling the air with a pungent, musky scent that smelled like day-old wet gym socks. Horrible. I scrunched my nose with distaste.

  "I have for a while, Priscilla. This thing with Grandma Celeste, the queens, and Vineswell Academy are all connected, but I just can’t figure out how," I whispered with frustration. A pained expression flitted across her face. I instantly knew that something was terribly wrong.

  "Tell me, Priscilla. What’s going on?"

  "The Book of Eternals has been stolen," she whispered quickly.

  I sagged with relief. "I know. We stole it." I looked at her sheepishly. "No, I mean we borrowed it."

  Priscilla looked at me quickly. "No, sweet
pea, the book is gone. Rosalinda stole the Book of Eternals."

  My heart froze. "Why would she steal the book? I mean, it was all my idea to get the book from the Eternals’ chamber in the first place."

  Her eyes narrowed questioningly. "Was it? Or was it an idea planted by someone using you to steal the book for them."

  "That’s crazy! Why would anyone want to steal the book? More importantly, why would Rosalinda want to steal it?" I couldn’t believe that she would betray our friendship.

  Priscilla looked out the window. "I fear that she stole it for other reasons. Like her mother’s dark influence."

  I could feel my body freezing as I remembered the brief glance at that mysterious woman in the courtyard. "But Rosalinda’s mother is dead; I mean, all of our mothers are dead. Why are we even talking about this?" My chest was actually seizing as my voice raised at least five octaves. I was totally going to pass out from the shock.

  Priscilla grabbed my face. "Sweet pea, you have to calm down. Listen to me carefully because time is of the essence. Rosalinda’s mother is very much alive and is working with Hannah to destroy the Eternals and Elementi."

  I scoffed, looking at her like she was insane.

  Priscilla looked at me steadily. "Just listen, but not with your heart, and you will know the truth. There is a dark history with Rosa and Hannah that is far too long to get into right now. But somehow they got to Rosalinda, and now she is working with them."

  "But she would never betray us," I whispered softly. But my instincts told me that she would and that she had.

  "You have to face the new reality. She has betrayed us, and we must now work to get back the Book of Eternals." She sighed loudly. "Do you really think that all this anarchy around here is just a coincidence? Nothing, I mean nothing, in our world happens just by chance."

  "I’ve made a mess of things, playing right into their hands." I sat down on the cushy window seat, staring out sadly. "I mean, what can I do to fix the impossible?"

  Priscilla sat down next to me, hugging me comfortingly. "There’s nothing impossible in our world. There are always ways to nudge the gods to help us find solutions for righting the wrong." She looked over at the door quickly. "But, we have to work fast. The first thing is breaking you out of here, then finding Hannah. For wherever Hannah is, the Book of Eternals won’t be far."

  I swallowed nervously. "How do you expect to break me out of here? I mean, the door is guarded twenty-four-seven by Eternals, and there is no way that we’re slipping past them."

  Priscilla stood up, smiling. "You just let me worry about that part." She glanced over at the tray of now-cold food. "Just be ready. You never know when an opportunity might pop up." She walked over to the door and fixed her face into a cold mask as she knocked on it.

  The Guardian unlocked and opened the door, looking at her expectantly. "Are you done, High Priestess Priscilla?"

  She looked over at me coldly, flinging her hand toward me. "Yes, she still will not divulge the location of the Book of Eternals. I must go back immediately and report this to the Eternal Council." She winked at me secretly before storming out of the room.

  I had to stop myself from giggling at the way Priscilla sauntered out of the room like a movie star running from the paparazzi. I leaned back tiredly; now, I just had to wait for my breakout opportunity.

  I was annoyed, tired, and plain old mad. It was late, and dark outside, and my patience was running very thin. Plopped on the couch, I flipped through the channels on the wide-screen television with disinterest. I settled for thumping music blaring from a video to calm my nerves and dull my overactive senses.

  Even over the blaring television, I could hear something moving on the other side of the wall. I quickly turned down the volume. Then I heard it again, first soft, then loud, scratching coming from inside the bedroom. I waited, and then I heard the scratching again.

  I quickly jumped up from the couch and cautiously walked over to the bedroom. Peering into the dark room warily, I couldn’t see anything that was out of the ordinary. The scratching sounds started again, but now I could clearly pinpoint the location. It was coming from the inside the closet. I walked over hastily and yanked the closet door open, peering in.

  He whispered urgently, "First leveler, it’s me."

  My eyes popped open with shock. "Justice?"

  "Who else do you think it is?" he mumbled gruffly. "There’s a hidden door at the back of the closet. Just look for the latch and snap it down."

  I quickly ran my hands across the walls, stopping when I felt the sharp, protruding latch wedged into the corner. Grasping it quickly, I pushed it down. The wall creaked open softly, revealing Justice, standing impatiently on the other side with a familiar bored look on his face.

  I was so happy to see him. Momentarily forgetting my caution with him, I rushed over and wrapped my arms around him joyfully. He looked at me awkwardly, his body tense and arms hung stiffly at his side. But I didn’t care; I was just so relieved to see him.

  Justice suddenly reached his arms around me, hugging me back awkwardly.

  I sunk into his warm embrace before tilting my face up, noticing that his eyes had transformed from light gray to a dark gray. "How in the world did you know that this door was here? Never mind, I could kiss you right now. Thank you, Justice," I whispered.

  I felt warm, safe. I don’t know what got into me, but before I could second-guess myself, I reached up on the tips of my toes and kissed him softly on his cheek.

  His body froze. He cleared his throat noisily, pushing me gently away and holding me at arm’s length. "Hey, it’s no big deal, Gabi." He ran his hand through his hair quickly.

  I smiled at him awkwardly. "No big deal? Oh, the big, strong middle leveler is being modest for once."

  He smiled, humor glinting in his eyes, "Yeah, for once. Don’t get used to it. Anyway, really, it’s no big deal. I was snooping around one day and found a treasure trove of old blueprints for this castle. I studied them just in case things got real hectic for me and I needed a backup plan. You know, a backup plan for escape." He winked at me.

  Something in his essence was shifting. It was like he was undecided about something, kind of like he was backing away from me mentally. This hot-and-cold thing with him was truly getting exhausting.

  I backed away from him, giving him his space. "Well, that’s really cool, Justice. I’m so sorry for getting you involved in this whole mess. Now you’re whole Ares path is probably ruined."

  "Nah, it will be okay. Helios and Chaos will get over it." He smiled slightly. "Eventually."

  I looked around the room anxiously; it was an exact replica of the room that they had locked me in. "Okay, so how do we sneak out?" I asked quickly.

  He eyes turned chilly. "I’m not sneaking out. You are," he responded briskly.

  I looked at him with alarm. "What? You can’t stay here; they’ll kill you when they find out that I escaped."

  He looked at me mysteriously, touching my hair softly. "Your concern is very touching, first leveler. But I’m already in a lot of trouble.

  Heck, I’m always in a lot of trouble, so it can’t get any worse. Besides, Priscilla wants you out, and fast."

  He looked at me tensely. "You have to get out of here and find the Book of Eternals before they get even crazier than they are now." He looked around distractedly. "Chaos told me that the wards around the Isles have been broken and that the Trackers are picking up the scent of the Banished in the woods. It’s not safe for you here."

  This was going from bad to worse. I looked at him worriedly. If the Banished were lurking around on the Isles, no one was safe. And with all of the Eternals gathered here in one location like easy pickings, this would be a blood smorgasbord for the Banished.

  But something in the way he was worriedly looking at me told me something else, something more dangerous and scary.

  My eyes widened with realization. "Wait, you think the Banished are here to kidnap me."

  He look
ed at me silently, but his eyes said everything. The Banished were here to get me, and just like at Vineswell, they would slaughter everything in their path to get to me.

  I grabbed his arm; all I could think about was all of the Neophytes unknowingly exposed to the Banished. This would be a massacre of major proportions.

  "I have to help. Maybe if I give myself to them…" I said desperately.

  He laughed bitterly. "And then what? Don’t you get it? The Underworld wants to use you for their war; they’ll break you if you don’t cooperate."

  My face tightened. "Don’t you think I’m strong enough to resist them?"

  He grabbed my arms tightly. "No, I don’t. No one is," he spat vehemently. "They’ll break you, Gabi. I’ve seen those broken by the Underworld. It’s…" His face tightened. "I don’t want to see you like that."

  I tried to pull away, but his grip tightened.

  "I already have to live with what they did at Vineswell. I can’t…" My voice cracked embarrassingly. "I can’t do this running away thing while everything around me dies. Everyone is always trying to protect me, keep them from me, but exactly how long do they think that they can continue to do that before everything around us is destroyed?"

  I winched my arms away painfully. I could feel the stupid tears welling up in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

  Justice groaned. "Don’t do this, Gabi. Not now." He touched my cheek. "Look, don’t you understand how important you are?"

  I gasped with shock. What was he talking about? I was important to him?

  He sighed, "I mean that you’re very important to the Eternals and the Elementi."

  For some reason his response deflated me.

  He continued urgently. "If you die, or if the Underworld breaks you, everything will be destroyed, and that can’t happen." His jaw tightened, and he looked at me coldly as he pushed me away from him with disgust. "Look, don’t get all clingy on me. Just go already. We can take care of ourselves, first leveler. In fact, we’ve been doing just that for centuries before you showed up."