Was Jess safe?
Urgency ticked inside him, counting down to God only knew what. He pressed his foot harder on the accelerator and prayed that no one tried to stop him.
Once inside the city limits, he slowed his pace and blinked hard against the damage to his vision. The last thing he needed right now was a speeding ticket, and he certainly didn’t want to hurt anyone.
His muscles had been drained of essential minerals, causing wicked spasms in his legs and back. He clasped the steering wheel hard and pushed through the pain in order to maintain control of the vehicle and make it back to Jess. Strangely, he felt cold and sweaty at the same time. Swiping at the heavy moisture on his brow with the bottom of his shirt, he turned onto the street in front of Calmet’s home. Suddenly, the car died as if an electro-magnetic pulse had wiped out the engine.
Thank God there wasn’t far to go, because he’d have to manage on foot. Another spasm worse than the others wreaked havoc with his legs, forcing him to drop to the ground. Clenching his jaw against the pain, he pushed to his feet and forged on.
Near the place where Calmet’s house was situated, he blinked. Jess and Regent were still locked in a stalemate in the middle of the road. But why were the vampires merely watching from the sidelines, now that the bubble was no longer keeping them out?
As he neared Vlad’s vampires, it was apparent they’d been frozen in time. He was able to walk past them without even a sideways glance from a single one.
With his muscles screaming in pain, he managed to reach Jess at last.
Seeing Vasilli’s intent focus on Calmet, Britt figured that it either meant he didn’t care that Britt had returned, or he was unable to stop him. Either way, he did nothing to stop him from reentering the circle and standing beside Jess.
Vasilli pointed a crooked finger at him. “John Brittain, you have been a pain in the ass since I went to New York and brought Uriel to you. I assumed Uriel would win the day and turn you all into vampires, but no—you had to save him.” Saliva flew from his mouth, and his voice shook with anger. “You won’t be able to save yourselves today, Calmet or not. I’m stronger than all of you, even without the magic you somehow managed to destroy.”
Vasilli raised both hands over his head, and the bubble reappeared, in a show of force that proved to them he didn’t need the magic of the lab under Longina’s house.
But Britt sensed a weakness in his effort. Nothing about what Vasilli had just done felt as strong as it had been the last time.
Veins of blue light started pulsing inside the newly produced bubble’s thin veil, as if it were alive, while Vasilli continued to use shock-and-awe battle techniques.
Britt glanced at Calmet, who had done nothing to help as far as he could tell. On the other hand, everyone was still unharmed.
“Regent, are you okay?” Jess shouted, grabbing Britt’s hand and pulling him closer to her brother without interfering with Regent’s efforts.
Regent managed a nod, but his hands were shaking. Had he been holding that book aloft the whole time Britt had been gone?
Vlad and Veronique stared straight ahead. They too, had been frozen. It seemed this battle was meant only for them—Jess, Britt, Regent, Morana and Sinclair. To everyone else, time seemed to be moving at a different pace.
That might explain why Britt’s vision had seemed so grainy outside of the bubble. It was now clear again.
Sinclair had slumped to the ground. He looked truly old now, and his mass had shrunken considerably. He had obviously been affected by the loss of his lab.
Meanwhile, Morana stood strong, and fully aware of the events unfolding. Why had she been allowed to stay in the present? Because she was a vampire? Or because she was as evil as Vasilli?
“IF YOU TRULY are our father, you won’t hurt us,” Jess shouted at him, breaking his concentration. His elevation off the ground suddenly lowered.
“I am your father. And you should be proud to know that.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Jess said, standing even closer to her brother.
Morana suddenly appeared on the other side of Regent. Had she come to help? Jess leaned forward to monitor her, but the look Morana returned wasn’t the least bit convincing.
“If we are your children, you won’t harm us,” Morana shouted at him. “You’ll install us in the hierarchy of your regime.”
Vasilli laughed at that. His body size grew several inches, and the blue glow emanating from him turned slightly grey. His glow had become tarnished over the ages, along with his intent.
“Not likely,” Vasilli said. “I will use your abilities to upgrade my own. I’ve waited for the two of you a thousand years now. You will expand my power exponentially, because I will drain you of everything that you are,” he said, raising one hand and sending an electrical current into Regent, making him drop to his knees. Somehow, though, he managed to keep the book aloft.
Recognizing that his daughter was in trouble, Sinclair jumped to his feet and ran toward Vasilli, his arms flailing. “Don’t hurt Morana. You never cared what happened to her. She is my daughter now, not yours.”
Vasilli flicked his hand sideways and Sinclair was thrown to the ground, his face pushed hard into the pavement.
Morana cast a quick glance at him, then looked back at the seemingly all-powerful Vasilli.
In order to give him strength, Jess touched Regent’s shoulder. She felt his warmth. It was as if his energy had zinged from her fingers straight to her heart. It was he who gave her strength.
“Touch Regent,” Jess shouted to Morana.
She scowled at Jess and didn’t move.
“Do it now!”
With one more glance at Sinclair, Morana reluctantly reached out and touched her baby brother’s shoulder. The book fired up even more. It sparked and produced a halo of electricity now.
Morana shouted in fear when the energy drove into her body. “How is this happening?” she shouted.
“You’re being influenced by the evil inside that book,” Vasilli said, lurching forward, but being driven back by the arcing light. “Take your hand off Father Vandermire if you want to survive this day, Morana.”
Jess lowered her eyelids and gritted her teeth. “Thank God we were adopted. What a lousy parent you would have made.”
Vasilli grinned at her, but his eyes flashed with fury.
With the three of them touching, the book vibrated the air around them, then created a blast wave that deafened everyone for just a second.
Vasilli staggered, then laughed, though it seemed forced. “Corvus is nothing but light and mirrors,” he said, as if it had been a revelation. “A mere pretense of power.”
Then he looked at the daughter who’d made him proud. “Morana, touch your sister’s hand quickly. You don’t understand the kind of power you will have. You want the power. Take it!” Vasilli shouted, suddenly looking more human than Watcher. Most of all, he looked afraid.
“The book is draining him,” Jess whispered to Regent. Her brother nodded, but didn’t look her way. His sole attention was still pinned on Vasilli.
“But it won’t last. Corvus is speaking to me. He says we have to hurry. We have to use our uniquely individual power of belief against him, or else he’ll win,” Regent said.
“How do we do that?” Jess asked.
Morana eyed Sinclair on the ground again, then reached down and helped him to his feet, while maintaining her hold on Regent.
Jess wondered if her heartless sister really cared about this man. It might have taken a moment like this for Morana to realize it, but she took his hand in hers.
Jess tried not to think about the fact that Morana had killed innocent women. She’d been their Underground Killer, and no matter what she did today, she’d have to pay for her crimes. But those thoughts were too dark, and she neede
d light right now.
Regent’s mouth opened, and without his lips moving, another voice spoke through him. “Touch hands twin vampires. Touch and see the truth of your existence. Show Vasilli that it will not make him stronger!”
Jess moved toward Morana. She needed to see the truth.
Morana seemed more hesitant.
“Please, we need to do this. If not for me, do it for Sinclair. He needs your strength right now.”
Sinclair looked like he’d been hollowed out. He’d lost his fight against Vasilli, and his eyes were those of a drone, a zombie. He was completely under Vasilli’s spell.
“Maybe you can give Sinclair his life back?”
Morana spat out a vile stream of curses. “I’m not like you, bitch. I don’t care about humanity, or Watchers. I only care about myself.”
“It’s not true, sister. You and I have the same genes. I know deep inside there is a remnant of the person you were. A person who wants to do the right thing.”
“You’re delusional.”
Vasilli, meanwhile, seemed to be focusing on the book. He was trying to regain his power, and it seemed to be working. The electrical charges that had been flowing into the book were now going back into Vasilli.
His feet were gradually lifting off the ground again.
Calmet seemed unwilling or unable to help them. He stood to the side as a reluctant witness. Jess implored him with her eyes, but he merely shook his head, telling her silently that he couldn’t help.
Regent took his hands off the book, and it hovered in the air in front of him. Regent grasped Jess’s hand, then he did the same with a reluctant Morana.
Jess felt Regent grow stronger. Then Britt stepped up and took Jess’s hand, forming a line against Vasilli.
The voice of Corvus grew stronger again, too, and the electricity reversed once more. “This is not your time, Vasilli. It never has been. You’ve gone against our laws. You are an abomination against all Watchers, and the time has come for you to change your ways or be judged.”
Vasilli laughed. “You can talk, stuck in that book, Corvus! I was born to rule. I don’t care if it’s vampires who become my army. And even you can’t discount the prophesy of the vampire twins. They are the key to giving me the ultimate ability to rule over the vampires of the world.”
The voice inside the book said, “The prophesy doesn’t say the twins will rule. Just that they will be the catalyst for change. Have you not considered that change may be for the better? For a world with an understanding between vampires and mankind?”
Vasilli sputtered at that. His face reddened, and his eyes bulged.
Suddenly, Vlad’s vampires became animated again and completely surrounded them.
“Why is Morana part of your group?” Vasilli said. “She is a serial killer, the one you’ve been hunting—she’ll kill more if you let her go. She has no remorse. She’ll never be one of you.”
Morana railed at his words and tried to pull her hands free from Regent and Sinclair. “I’m not yours, either, you bastard,” she said. “You did this to me, didn’t you? You’re the one who gave Sinclair the potion. He’s been your pawn all along.”
Sinclair’s head drooped, and his cloudy eyes implored Morana to forgive him.
Jess might actually have felt sorry for him if they hadn’t been in such a dangerous position right now. She glanced sideways and was surprised to see that Britt’s body had grown to the same size as Vasilli and Calmet.
Vasilli roared suddenly and raised both hands. The ground under them rumbled and bucked, some of the older buildings tilted precariously, and a few of them fell to the ground with a loud crash. It was as if the earth itself screamed to be released from Vasilli’s hold.
Jess eyed Morana on the other side of Regent. They weren’t quite strong enough. What if she really did have to touch her sister for this to happen? “Britt, release me. Let me take Morana’s hand,” she said.
“You can’t do this without my agreement,” Morana said, baring her teeth.
“You don’t want to save your city? Do you really want this maniac to rule France? To rule over you?”
Morana eyed Vasilli with disgust then looked down at Sinclair again. The pawn of his master, he’d lost all of his power and now lay prostrate on the ground.
Maybe it was instinct, but Jess believed Morana had to agree for this to work.
“Don’t do it, my favorite daughter. Look at your sister. She’s trying to trick you. She wants all of the glory for herself,” Vasilli screamed, spittle flying from his crazed lips.
“Morana, you and I don’t agree on anything, but you have formed a bond with Regent. He would never betray you. You know that. Vasilli doesn’t care about any of us. All he wants is absolute power, and he’ll do anything to get it.”
“You’re lying. He wants me to be his daughter. You’re just jealous.”
Morana played the heartless vampire, but deep down she didn’t want to believe her own father would use them to augment his power. “Did he protect you when the demons attacked the city?” Jess said. “If he was so concerned for you, why didn’t he protect you then? I was the one who saved you from the attack, not him.”
Morana’s mouth opened in protest, but nothing came out.
Had Jess managed to get through to her?
Morana surveyed their surroundings and settled on Sinclair again. “Are you okay, Papa?” she asked, suddenly sounding like a little girl.
“I will be. Do what you think is right, Morana, and don’t worry about me. I’ve lived a very long life. If I die, I’ll die happy knowing that you and I have the kind of bond I’ve always dreamed of having.”
Vasilli screamed, and Sinclair was lifted into the air and shaken like a rag doll then thrown across the road, slamming into the side of the invisible protective shield.
“You just made a big mistake,” Morana shouted, and reached out to Jess. “You will no longer torment my father. And if he’s dead, you’ll wish you were too.”
The minute their hands connected, Jess remembered everything that had happened from the moment Vasilli had the vampire bite her baby sister. She’d died then, and the pain of that loss, their connection, made something protective grow inside her. The vampire bit her next, but couldn’t turn her. Morana’s loss had protected her.
After that, she saw her life with Regent up to this moment. It all happened in a flash. She felt every moment of pain and joy.
And she understood why her sister had killed those women—she’d been driven to it by the drug that Vasilli had created and forced Sinclair to give to her.
Jess shook her head in sadness, and her gaze met her sister’s. “I’m sorry,” she said. “It wasn’t your fault.”
A tear spilled from Morana’s hard gaze. “It was my fault. I’m the one who killed them. And I will pay the price.”
Sinclair moaned from his position on the ground.
“Are you ready, sister?” Jess asked.
Morana nodded.
They still held hands with Regent and Britt, a wall against tyranny and oppression for both vampires and humans.
Vasilli suddenly dropped to the ground and ran at them. His hands had become huge claws. He was going to try to physically tear them apart. They stood against him without letting go of each other.
He ran at them like a raging bull. Not one of them budged.
It was then Britt’s heartbeat registered with Jess, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Vasilli. Britt feared for her, but this madman, her biological father, had to be stopped, and she, Morana, and Regent were the only ones who could do it.
The book lay on the ground in front of Regent now. It still glowed, but suddenly, it flipped open, its pages turning as if the wind had come up.
The second Vasilli’s claws sliced toward Jess’
s face, he was thrown to the ground by an unseen force. Jess glanced at Morana in surprise.
Vasilli was writhing in pain, screaming and cursing in the vilest way. His evil knew no bounds, and it showed on his twisted face.
“What’s happening?” Morana asked.
Vasilli started sliding toward the book. He tried to grab their legs, but was being pulled by a force stronger than himself. His long claws ripped at the ground, opening the pavement in his wake, but he slid faster and faster toward the book until he was sucked inside. Then he was gone.
JUST BEFORE THE book slammed shut, an immense shadow figure flew out. Had Vasilli escaped again?
A man’s image formed in front of them. A glowing image of a blond man who looked very much like Calmet.
Jess quickly looked to her right, where Calmet had been standing. Only he was gone.
“Calmet?”
The lookalike nodded. “I’m the one who was trapped in the book. I’m the one who orchestrated my rescue from the prison Vasilli himself had built for me.” He smiled. “I learned from Corvus, and together, we devised a way to make sure Vasilli will never escape from the unbreakable prison inside—a place where he won’t be able to manipulate others. He made a mistake when he trapped me inside, there was a loophole that allowed me to live a virtual life outside my prison. It was only with my abilities could I attain a solid form for a very short time. That kept me sane.” Calmet held a hand over the book and said a prayer that Jess recognized. He followed it with words from an ancient language.
The last thing she heard was the bubble popping and Vasilli’s screams fading away inside the book.
Calmet picked the book up. “I’ll put this where no one will find it again,” he said.
Regent blinked suddenly and sagged against Britt, who held him upright.
“What happened?”
“You helped Calmet stop Vasilli,” Jess said. “It wasn’t just the twins who were necessary—you were the most important person in this whole thing because you had the book. It imprinted on you.”
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