“I’ve noticed. Why is that?”
“Supposedly somewhere the spells and directions for how to use the sword are written down, but we haven’t found them yet.”
“So, there’s another piece after getting the sword? What if it doesn’t happen? What if you can’t find it?”
“That’s the beauty of living a thousand years. We’ve got all our lives to look.”
“I wasn’t thinking of this as a lifetime commitment. You really think it’s worth it? I mean witches and vampires have been living for six thousand years this way. What if nothing exists? No God, heaven, hell, Sheol, no actual angels. What if witches are like vampires and we’re evolved humans?”
She slowed to a stop and looked me in the eyes. “Who can do magic? After becoming a full witch, you still doubt?”
I shrugged. “I’m a realist.”
“Funny.” She jogged away from me, and I forced all my energy into my legs and arms to match her stride.
“We didn’t do religion in my family.”
Her eyes bore into mine. “A woman I knew all my life, who was like a mother to me, is gone. I will never see her again. How is that right? Vampire souls should be just as eternal as humans. Think about your mother. We don’t know if half vampires have souls or not. Can you live with her ceasing to exist?”
I cut my eyes to the track and back to her. “I don’t know.”
“This prophecy will finally end the feud between our peoples. I’m going to do everything in my power to see it fulfilled. So, you are either with us or against us.”
I blinked, and she was gone. Wondering if I could be satisfied spending my life in search of a prophecy that might be a huge farce, I channeled the angst into my run. A puff of air made the hairs on my neck stand up, and Alena appeared beside me again.
“You need to let this thing with your dad go.”
“What? If your dad was being held, you would be doing the same thing.”
“I wasn’t given the choice to know my father. Do you see me searching for him? No.” She made bug eyes at me.
“Are you sure you don’t believe that if you complete the prophecy he will come?”
She didn’t answer, and I let her stew with her thoughts for a lap. Then, proceeded with my questions. “So, who created this loophole in the curses? God?”
“I don’t know.”
“How do we know it will work?”
“Faith. Obviously, the sword has some power. Sonia is immortal.” She shrugged. “You know we could rescue your father when we go in for the dagger.”
“We don’t know the sword will be in the castle. Plus, having two missions at once will jeopardize both. We need all hands on deck when we go for the sword.”
“And you are willing to go in when we extract the sword?”
“I go wherever Camille goes.”
“What if Camille doesn’t get her magic back? Will you still be on the team?”
I took a quarter lap to think about it. “Yes, I would help you.”
Alena cut her eyes to me and back to the track three times. “You can use Marcus.” A gust of wind caused my skin to form chill bumps, and Alena disappeared as fast as she had appeared. Wishing I had her speed, I called to the wind and tested my power.
Tyler found me in the weight room two hours later.
“Exercise much?”
“Like you don’t work out three hours a day.”
“True. Mom, or Janine, I guess, is ready to turn in, she wanted me to tell you.”
“Okay.” I set the bar on the ground. “Let me shower, and I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Camille’s smile was all I needed to realize that I wouldn’t leave her. If she committed to this quest, then I would too. Sitting on the bed, I took her hand. “You didn’t have to wait up for me.”
“I wanted to see you before I went to sleep.”
I glanced around the room. Seeing we were alone, I shed my shoes and lay down beside her. “I love you.” I kissed her nose and then her lips.
“Someone could walk in at any time,” she whispered when the kiss ended.
“I don’t care.” I gave her another quick kiss. “But you should sleep.”
“Will you stay with me?”
“I never want to be away from you.”
She closed her eyes, but they popped open again. “Do you think this is going to work, that my magic will return?”
I took her hand. “I think that one way or another, we are going to get your magic back.”
“Well, aren’t you two cozy.” Greta’s voice woke me, and I jumped from the bed, realizing it was the first night I hadn’t had a nightmare about my dad in nearly two weeks.
“Ha, ha, couldn’t resist. I have breakfast.” She rolled a cart towards us.
After the meal, the doctor drew blood and did the lab tests for kidney function. All of Camille’s vitals looked good, so we fixed the bracelets to her wrist and ankle again. Greta hooked her up to a blood bag and connected the lines to draw out the poisoned blood.
The doctor checked all the lines and measured her vitals by hand. “Can never be too careful with automation. I’m guessing by your hair and eyes we pulled half the metals from your system yesterday. Hopefully we can get the rest today.”
As the day went on, Camille’s hair continued to lighten, and her eyes returned to the brilliant green I remembered. The process drained her physically, and I hated seeing her so weak.
“Stop worrying,” she told me as I set her lunch tray on the table.
“I’m not worried.”
“You are. You’re getting wrinkles on your forehead.”
“I’m not getting wrinkles.” I stood and checked my reflection in the glass.
“You’ll be an old man soon. Don’t fret, this is working.” She squeezed my hand.
“I’m the one who’s supposed to be pepping you up.”
“You should get a workout in.”
Even with Janine there, I hated leaving Camille. But my body and powers needed to be stronger. I bent down to speak to Janine.
She put her hand up. “I know the drill, go.”
“Thanks.” I jogged out the door. I didn’t plan on being gone long, but I needed to contact Marcus. Finding Orm, we walked to the communications room. All our calls were re-routed so they couldn’t be traced. Even though Hunter and Alena had given me the green light to contact Marcus, I still needed to run it by Anne. Since we hadn’t briefed her on my desire to rescue Dad, the conversation started with an explanation of the goal and plan to use Marcus to get Dad a message.
“It could be as simple as Gabrielle’s rescue.” I finished my pitch.
Anne tapped a pen on her desk. “Do we even know that your father wants out? What if he is on their side? He’s been branded. We can’t trust him.”
“I had the brand removed. He can too.”
“If he wants it removed.”
“Grady told me my Dad probably joined them to help me.”
“I’m not sure how far we can push Marcus’s goodwill. We may need him for other projects.”
“All he has to do is tell my dad when and where to meet us.”
After Orm explained there was a possibility my dad could be helpful in deciphering the prophecy, she approved my request to speak with Marcus as well as use their resources.
Since Orm was more familiar with Marcus, he made the call. After he’d sent Anne’s greetings and discussed Gabrielle’s wellbeing, he handed me the phone. Marcus agreed to speak with my dad once the plan had been formalized. With a renewed sense of purpose, I made my way to the gym and ran a fast three miles on the treadmill.
Showering quickly, I shot back to the infirmary.
“Look!” Camille picked up a strand of her hair as I entered the room. “It’s all blond again. Look at my wrist.” She turned over her arm. Where the blood vessels were stained black, they had returned to their normal state. “My ankle looks normal too.” She lifted a foot.
“This is grea
t!” I hugged her.
The doctor hung a new blood bag on the IV pole. “We’re going give her one more pint to make sure her system is clear.”
“Go get Alena and Hunter,” Camille instructed. “I want to try some magic.”
Tyler pointed at her. “Remember, it’s a muscle. Maybe you want to take it easy for a day or so.”
“No, I want everyone here.”
“Okay, I’ll go get everyone.” He jogged out the door.
I sat beside Camille. “This is the best day we’ve had in a long time.”
“California was great,” she reminded me.
“That seems like a lifetime ago.”
Her hand wrapped around mine. “Now we can start planning how to rescue your dad.”
“You’re on strategy, not on the extraction team, remember?”
“If I get my magic back, I can help.” She turned my face, forcing me to look into her eyes.
I blinked to clear my thoughts. “I told you. You’re not getting anywhere near that castle. Alena is coming on the boat, and you and Hunter are staying here.”
“I thought Alena needed Hunter as a guide. Isn’t that how you found the shore?”
“Maybe Hunter can be on point, but you’re staying here.”
“But I could help.” Her voice rose as she spoke.
“If you come, then I’d be worried about you.”
“What about leaving our me unguarded?”
“There’ll be plenty of people here with you.” I almost added she’d have her magic back, but didn’t want to give her false hope. We had no idea if her powers would return.
I heard her voice in my head. You’re shifting your eyes. What aren’t you saying?
“You have your magic.” I wanted to pick her up and spin her around. I took her hands and pushed a message to her. I love you.
Seems almost too easy.
After six chelation tries and two days of draining your blood?
Well, if you don’t count that.
“What’s going on? You guys just going to sit there staring at each other?” Tyler’s voice came from behind me.
As I stood, Camille lifted her arms and a breeze started.
“You got your magic back.” Alena hopped to Camille’s side and hugged her. “We’re going to have a party, with cake and everything. I’m going to tell the kitchen. She grabbed Hunter’s hand, and they ran from the room.
Over the next hour, Camille hosted a parade of visitors, all lined up to congratulate her. Alena’s party decree set off a chain event, and the day became a holiday.
“I think the full moon helped pull the toxins from her cells,” Alena asserted over dessert.
“Could be,” Orm agreed.
“Wait.” I checked my watch. “It’s the twenty-sixth? That means there are only five days till Imbolc.”
“I wonder who Theron roped into being his goddess?” Hunter rolled his eyes.
I set my fork down, ready to start planning Dad’s rescue. “I have to get to work.”
A hand grabbed my arm. “Stay.” Camille’s eyes pleaded with me. “Can you leave it till tomorrow? One night of no missions?”
Exhaling a breath, I released the tension building in my chest. “Of course, sorry. Now it’s your turn to reel me in.”
“Finish your cake.” She held the plate out to me.
Returning to my seat, I tried to stay focused on Camille and her joy.
“I’m going to Italy with you,” Camille insisted the next day as we discussed strategies.
“She’s right. The trinity must stay as close together as possible,” Hunter confirmed.
“Fine. To Italy, but you’re staying in the safe house.”
“I don’t think any of them should be going on this mission,” Tyler asserted.
Hunter stood and rubbed his hands down his pants. “Alena might be the only one able to get you back to the shore.”
“And I need Hunter as a beacon.” Alena wrapped her arm through his.
We planned to use three boats as we had with Gabrielle’s extraction. Dimitri, Aaron, Grady, Tyler, Alena, and I would be on the lead boat and stage the rescue attempt. After we’d hashed out the details, I put a call into Marcus. He agreed to get a message to my dad the next evening when he traveled to the castle for the Saturday night meal.
“Will you be at the Imbolc celebration with Michael’s coven?” I asked.
“No, Theron has chosen a bride from another coven.”
Hunter crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t you mean someone has chosen for him?”
“I am not privy to Michael’s coven’s political strategies. I know that the coven that agreed to send a maiden has sold their souls.”
“So, is there bad blood between your coven and Michael’s?” Alena asked.
“Not openly. Nothing has ever been said, but they didn’t try to take another girl from my coven.”
“Why would they give up?” Hunter questioned and paced to the wall.
“It’s probably easier to manipulate a smaller, weaker coven,” Alena put in.
Marcus cleared his throat. “Speculation gets us nowhere. This isn’t any of my business anymore. I will call you on Sunday with your father’s response.”
We ended the conference call and made travel arrangements. Anne procured another safe house that we would use as a staging location. Although the original compound had been destroyed, the location with the boats stayed secure.
“Are you okay with going back to Italy?” I asked Camille when we’d taken our seats on the plane.
“We could be in Italy right now for all we know.”
“True.”
“Are you worried about your dad? How is he going to go against the coven and agree to come with you?”
“He isn’t.” From what I understood, it’d be physically impossible for my dad to leave the compound if he’d been told to stay. I planned to take a couple of different sedatives to get him to the boat. All I needed was for him to be outside the compound on the shore side. The message Marcus would deliver would only tell him to be on the western lawn the night of Imbolc to receive an important message for Michael’s coven. I counted on Dad’s curiosity and Marcus’s persuasiveness and prayed they would lead to the outcome I wanted.
We made our preparations, and the night of Imbolc arrived. I hated leaving Camille, but she had Orm, Chalondra, and twenty vampire guards at the safe house. In addition, her connection with Hunter and Alena would enable her to keep tabs on our progress.
After nightfall, we drove to the boat house, loaded our gear and set out, leaving Hunter with five vampires on the shore.
“The weather looks good,” Alena commented as we set our course.
I glanced at the stars above. “Let’s pray it holds. Sardinia in winter is like the Bermuda Triangle. I think we only saw the sun one day in a month.”
“God’s speed, I say.” Dimitri moved the throttle, accelerating the boat over the waves.
I’d taught Grady and Tyler to use the ropes, and we laid out our gear on the deck. I’d be lead, and they’d use my lines to ascend the cliff below the castle, followed by Dimitri and Aaron if needed. Nearing the island, we tested our communications gear. We anchored the boat off the shore and lowered the dingy to the water line. Hoisting the ropes to my shoulders, I jumped down to the vessel.
Alena’s head twisted up towards the castle and she threw one leg over the side of the boat.
I pointed at her from below. “You’re not coming,”
“Yes, I am. It’s here.”
Grady grasped her arm. “What do you mean, it’s here?”
“Get your hands off me. The sword. It’s here.” Alena started to jump to the dingy.
Tyler grabbed her other arm. “That is even more reason why you should stay behind.”
Alena’s eyes shifted between Tyler and Grady. “They’re using the sword. I can sense it. We have to stop whatever they’re doing.”
“We don’t have the manpower for
—” I started, but Alena slipped from Tyler’s grip and jumped over my head, landing behind me.
I spun to face her. I caught the shimmer of a blade two seconds before she pinned my arm to my back. The cold steel of the knife pressed into my windpipe. “I need to get the lance.”
Grady landed in front of me. “Alena. You know the sword draws you. Camille got captured, and you nearly were too because of the sword’s pull. Think rationally. We’re coming back for the sword when you, Camille, and Hunter can get it together.”
“Alena, you can’t go up there,” Tyler yelled from above. “It’s not safe.”
I rolled my eyes, thinking that was the last thing he needed to say.
Bending my arm to my shoulder blades, she pulled me to the back of the dingy. “You don’t tell me what to do,” Alena hissed at them. “I need to go to the sword.”
Glad I packed well, I slid my hand in my pants pocket. I wriggled the cap off the syringe barrel and plunged the needle into her thigh.
“Ahh!” she screamed before she dropped.
“Glad she didn’t know I had those sedatives.” I spun around and scooped her up.
“What did you give her?” Tyler yelled.
“Just a sedative.” I took slow steps to the larger boat and lifted Alena into Dimitri’s arms. Jumping to the deck, I set three more syringes beside her. “Someone has to stay with her. As soon as she starts to rouse, give her another. We’ll have to pray there’s enough to keep her down.”
Dimitri shook his head. “Alena is not going to be happy with you when she wakes.”
“You saw her. She wasn’t going to back down. We’re wasting time. Let’s go.”
Dimitri, Aaron, and Grady climbed into the dingy behind me. We’d planned the landing for low tide and jumped out of the boat onto the sand once we reached the shore. Looking up the cliff, I secured the harness around my waist. “I’ll lay lines, and you come up after me,” I instructed.
Dimitri laid a hand on my shoulder. “What if it’s a trap? You’re a herald, and Miss Camille will kill me if I let anything happen to you.”
“You know how to get up the cliff?”
“We’re vampires. We can scale this without the use of ropes. Let us go first.”
“Fine. Signal with a whistle if you need me to come up.” I dug in my pocket and offered him a set of syringes. “The red ones are sedatives, green for adrenaline.”
The Kingdom Journals Complete Series Box Set Page 70