“I’ll be ready in five minutes, my queen.”
†
The jungle seemed to become denser as they travelled in a south-easterly direction. Copernicus consulted the map in his hand. He had spent a great deal of the early morning hours studying the map. There was a small river, most definitely a branch of the Amazon running a few miles to the east, with a curve of the Amazon lying in the direction they were moving. He frowned and looked up from the map. Syria was way up, leading the procession. He needed to talk to her. Without any preamble, he pushed past the men on his way to Syria. Just as he had reached her, she spun around with lighting speed. Copernicus fell back against the man behind him, eyes wide in fear. He relaxed gradually as he noticed the coiling body of a snake around her hand, its head held in a firm grasp.
“No rash movements.” She tossed the snake into the greenery. She turned to glance in the direction of Chuey and Copernicus found him watching Syria closely. “Just give us a moment, please,” Syria snapped as she motioned for the men to join them. “You wanted to say something?”
“Yes.” He held out the map. “There is a large curve of the Amazon ahead of us.” He licked his lips. “I don’t like the idea of crossing the river. It would make it twice as difficult and dangerous to return.”
Syria seemed to accept his point, for she turned and walked over to Chuey. They spoke for a few minutes and then she was back. She didn’t look happy at all.
“The village is situated on the other side of the river. Too many incursions such as the lodge and the town itself, as well as by visitors from the lodge had forced them to move to preserve their way of life.”
It all made sense, but why hadn’t Chuey shared that information with them? They needed a new strategy. As if reading his mind, Syria echoed the same sentiment.
“Here’s what I think we’ll do.”
†
Trinity was groggy as she looked at the baby Gabriella was holding up. At four hundred years, she was still too young to stay awake during the day. But when Gabriella had shaken her awake urgently, she had instinctually thought to protect her family. As soon as she had opened her eyes and sat up, Gabriella had rambled off something in a panicky pitch and was now asking her if she saw ‘it’. Not knowing was ‘it’ was, she had studied her grinning daughter from head to toe and had seen absolutely nothing strange on the baby.
“I…I don’t see anything,” she finally conceded and worried a little when Gabriella’s eyes widened in disbelieve.
“Look closer, honey.”
Trinity did so, knowing that she needed to find something, lest an irate Gabriella dragged her out into the sunlight. “Her diapers! You’ve changed brands.” She noticed Gabriella staring at her as if she had grown two heads. “Or not.”
†
“When did it happen? No, wait! How did it happen? Why?” Clarissa was swaying dangerously as she stood before the crib, looking down at her daughter. Raven was at least three inches taller than when she had put her to bed a few hours ago. She looked at Jessica, who was chewing her nail as she looked from the baby to her.
“What is Tahlia saying about this?”
“She’s sending Jonas and Pierre to Peru to find Syria. She might know what is happening.”
Good plan. “As the only Pillar able to speak now, that’s a great plan.”
“There’s more.”
Clarissa frowned. The fact that Jess didn’t come out and tell her what it was, told Clarissa to prepare herself. “There is?”
“Jemima is turning human again.”
“WHAT?!” She threw an apologetic glance at a sleeping Raven. A vampire turned human! That was unheard of. She raised her trembling hand to rub her face. It didn’t look like she was going to get any sleep after this. “How did this happen?”
“There are a few theories, but it’s believed to be linked to the babies’ inexplicable growth spurt.”
“I’ve only been asleep for three hours?” she inquired carefully and saw a small smile tucking at the corner of Jessica’s lips as she nodded. “Just checking.” She moved closer to Jessica on shaky legs and felt relief when her lover held her up. “How could so many things go wrong in the space of three hours?” Jessica kissed her gently on her temple. “You’re sure I didn’t have anything to do with this?” She glanced away. “I didn’t do something to…”
Jessica chuckled softly. “No, my darling. If you want to take the blame for anything, then I’d say you’re to blame for Raven’s gorgeous looks.”
Clarissa smiled and nestled closer to her lover. She loved this woman so much.
†
“Where are you going, honey?”
“To get answers,” Trinity said as she tried for the fourth time to stand on her wobbly legs. “There must be something I can do.”
Gabriella rolled her eyes. “Yes, there is. You can go back to sleep and be refreshed and ready to take on the world tonight.” She gently steered Trinity back to the bed and helped her stretch out.
“Will you join me?”
“Yes. I’ll just have to put Noa down.”
“Bring her here.” Gabriella did so and an enthusiastic Noa clambered onto her mother. The enthralled look on Trinity’s pale and sunken face was something to behold as she cradled her daughter. Gabriella had never thought of becoming a mother herself, but the choice was always there. It had not even been a probability for Trinity. To suddenly be the recipient of such unconditional love must have quite an emotional effect on the vampire. Gabriella mentally reminded herself to see the world and her own life, especially, more through her lover’s eyes. She lovingly brushed over Trinity’s coppery locks and did the same to the coppery fluff on her daughter’s head.
She’d been taking too much for granted in her life.
IX
Chuey was furious.
Although his face looked blank and composed, Syria could feel the waves of rage coming off him. The sudden change in the plan was not winning his approval and if there had been any tiny doubt that he didn’t mean them any harm, it evaporated at that moment. Chuey had made plans for them.
All of them.
“You must admit that this is very sudden, senõr,” he said as he fixed Copernicus with an unblinking stare.
“I know,” Copernicus said, doing a superb job of sounding apologetic. “Our initial belief had been that the village was closer and that some of the men could return to welcome another group who will be arriving anytime now.”
Chuey didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. “In that case, I’ll have some of my followers escort them to the lodge. The jungle can be deceiving and they might get lost.”
Nice try, psycho. “That won’t be necessary. But thank you.” That drew his attention to her and Syria saw a flash of hatred in his eyes before he gave her his trademark crocodile smile.
“In that case, we should get moving. The village is still an hour’s walk from the river bank.”
Syria walked over to the men who would be returning to the lodge. “Keep your eyes open. I’m sure there’ll be some of his men hidden in the jungle.” She looked at Jeremy, Harry’s second-in-command. “You have used the invisible markers to show the path as I’ve instructed?” At his nod she smiled. “Good. Now go back to the lodge and hire a boat, a large powerful one and take the river all the way around to the bend and wait for us.”
“Copy that, team leader.” She gave the men a few minutes to huddle together and then Jeremy led his team back the way they had come. Chuey was glaring at her now.
“Ready?”
“Ready when you are,” she responded. They made their way over to five canoes. The canoes could accommodate four people at the most with two of Chuey’s men to do the paddling. Syria divided the men. She and Copernicus were in one canoe and the rest of the men were spread over the other four. She made sure not to put a man in the canoe that held Chuey. No one deserved to be close to that vile person, if it could be helped. The river was wide and only the expertise of the
skinny men managed to keep them from capsizing as they maneuvered through some tree trunks and a strong current.
As they neared the opposite bank, Syria noticed a few things. The jungle on the other side of the river was eerily quiet, as opposed to the side they had just left. The bird and ape calls, as well as the crackling of branches as the primates went about their business, were absent. A second thing she discovered, was that they were being watched. Chuey had arranged for a welcoming party to meet them.
“Can you feel them? All those eyes?” Copernicus asked from behind her.
“Yes. We’re at their mercy now.”
She caught a whiff of Copernicus’ fear and she felt oddly satisfied by it. He had dragged them here, so he could get something that Syria knew was no doubt going to be used, either against the Royals or her sisters. If it wasn’t for the need to keep him alive until the other’s had grown into their powers, this trip would’ve been an excellent opportunity to make him disappear forever. But the survival of the race depended on him being kept alive and that was what she was going to do. She had some powerful allies who’d help her to stay the course.
They reached the bank and Chuey waited for them all to disembark before he led them into the jungle. The jungle was quiet and dark. It also smelled of decay. That could be because the sun didn’t penetrate the canopy of trees. Looking up, she noticed that the treetops had been tied together to purposefully keep the sun out. Supernatural beings who shunned the light. It sounded awfully familiar. However, she was convinced that Chuey was not a vampire.
“We should hurry,” Chuey said suddenly. “Darkness comes early in the jungle.”
Syria covertly studied the area around them. There were shadows flitting in the darkness just beyond the footpath they were travelling on. Those ‘invisible eyes’ were following them now. She tightened her hand on the tube of invisible ink, expressing tiny drops as she followed behind Chuey. The men had brought goggles that would make the markings visible to them. With her preternatural vision, she would spot them easily.
†
The one thing about this part of the jungle she liked the most, was that darkness came early. She could move about at five p.m. already. And that was what she was doing right now as she stalked through the jungle towards the lodge. She stood and allowed her senses to feel out the place from where she hid in the darkened jungle. Her eyes flashed a bright red.
They were gone. All of them.
She felt her fangs drop and her hands transform into claws. Had she waited too long? But she hadn’t. She had only risen a few minutes ago. Syria could not have been up earlier than that. She glanced at the reception’s office. There was one other way to find out. She took a moment to compose herself and then she walked up the bamboo walkway towards reception. Outside the office, she hesitated. She hadn’t smiled once in eight months. Would she be convincing in there? She felt her face pull, muscles protesting at the unaccustomed act. Well, here goes. She sauntered into the small office. A beautiful girl looked up from a laptop screen.
“Hi there,” she said in a cheery voice and the girl immediately smiled back.
“Good evening, ma’am. How can I help you?”
“Oh, you see, I was supposed to meet my uncle and his entourage here, but my flight was delayed for two days in Brazil. His name is Copernicus Bohme.”
“Just a moment.” The girl consulted the computer and then she looked up. “I’m really sorry, but you’ve missed them. They left this morning on a jungle expedition and are expected back in two or three days.”
This morning? That’s impossible. Unless Syria had risen and followed them. She looked at the girl, conjuring up her most disappointed look. “Bummer, I told him to wait for me.” She shook her head. “I’ll have to make a phone call. I’ll be right back.” She left the office and using the shadows, waited until she was far away from the lodge before she used preternatural speed. Except for the river, there was only one other path leading into the jungle. If Syria had set off a few minutes ago, she might just catch up to her. She was halfway down the pathway, when she noticed the metallic blue markings on the leaves. With her speed, they seemed to flare up like a lighted highway. She stopped to study them closer and realized that it was invisible ink. Someone had come down here and marked the path for their return. She lifted her head suddenly and sniffed the air. Someone was up ahead. She sped forward and just as she came across a bend, she stopped. Three men were huddled together, back to back, swinging stun gun batons at weird-looking, thin figures. Two men lay at their feet, either dead or heavily injured. The attackers outnumbered the men two to one and were testing the stun gun wall from all angles.
Time to tip the balance. She may not be human anymore, but she wasn’t going to stand by and watch them being massacred. She slipped into the jungle and stalked the creatures from under the cover of darkness. The first one wasn’t aware of her presence until she was upon him. He glanced up at her with deep eyes that held split pupils. She snapped its neck and moved on to the next one. They might’ve been a threat to the humans, but against her, they were way out of their league. When she had counted ten dead, she dragged one of the smelly corpses with her and stepped out of the dark. The men swung in her direction, ready to attack. She held up her hands.
“I’m not here to hurt you.” She pointed to the odd creature. “What are these?”
“We’re not sure. They’ve been following us and attacked as soon as it got dark.” The man studied her with hard eyes. “What are you? Do we need to be worried about you too?”
“No. I’m backup for Copernicus. Just arrived.” She kicked the corpse. “We need to burn these. Any of you have lighter fluid or something?” She was going to be sorry. If this is what had attacked the men, then she was going to run into more of them. “Burn the corpses and make your way to the lodge. But there is something I need to do first.” Using preternatural speed, she knocked them all out. The other two, she found weren’t dead, but unconscious. Just to be on the safe side, she wiped their memories of her too. She grabbed one of the men’s water bottle and doused them. They all came to and she stood back.
“Hey, guys. I was on my way towards to the river when I happened upon you. You need any help?”
They groggily came to their feet. “No, no thanks,” the one she had spoken to earlier said. He looked around him and when his eyes fell on the corpse of the creature, he cursed and grabbed his stunned gun. “What happened to them?”
“I did. They were rude when I asked them to lay off you guys.” She shrugged. “I had to defend myself. The men gaped at her. “Say, you guys don’t know which way my colleague went. Tall, short hair, hazel eyes. Responds to Syria.”
They glanced at each other and back to her. “How do we know you’re a friend?”
“The fact that I took out ten of these creepy guys and thus saved your lives?”
The team leader stared at her long and hard. “Just so you know, Syria is not someone to mess with,” he said after a while. “That said, I really hope you’re a friend, for they will need help where they’re going.” He continued to give her directions. “You’ll also need a boat where you’re going.”
She grinned. “I’ll make a plan. Be sure to burn the corpses. You don’t want them to wake up and finish what they started.” With that she left them, disappearing into the night.
†
Tahlia stood on the tarmac, looking at the plane lights disappearing. Paloma stood silently next to her. She had come to see the group off and that in itself was not a common thing for her to do. If only she could shake the feeling of impending doom.
“What is bothering you?”
She glanced at Paloma. “I can’t shake the feeling that I should’ve been on that plane with them.”
“And Jemima?”
Tahlia sighed. Yes, what of Jemima? They had been walking on eggshells around each other the whole day. Tahlia had deliberately avoided their suite, not wanting to bump into Jemima. Things were awkward as it w
as and now it was worse after Paloma had planted that stupid idea in her head of Jemima falling for her again. What a silly thought.
“Jemima would understand.”
Paloma hummed next to her. “Which one?”
“What do you mean?” Tahlia snapped as she glared at Paloma.
Paloma shrugged. “Jemima, the vampire or Jemima, the human. You need to specify.”
Not sure how to respond to that, Tahlia only shook her head and walked to where their car was parked. Cruz opened the door for her and she got in. She saw Paloma walk to the other side of the Rolls Royce and Tahlia was childishly tempted to lock her out of the car. Paloma got in and glanced at Tahlia.
“For a moment I thought you might lock me out.”
“I’m not that childish,” Tahlia muttered as she looked out the window. “But you had cause to worry.” She heard Paloma chuckle and joined in. For a moment they were back on the sunbaked mud roads of their childhood, selling cakes and flowers. Laughing at the drunken soldiers and swiping roasted nuts from the baker’s stall. They were happy and so young. Now they were old, with the weight of a family and a whole race resting on their shoulders. How they had grown. She reached out and placed her hand over Paloma’s, her face serious.
“I don’t want any of them to get hurt in Peru.”
“They won’t.”
Tahlia scoffed. “You’ve become quite the optimist lately.”
“I have.”
“How can you be so sure that they’ll be safe?” They were driving down the rainy streets towards the bunker. Tahlia watched the reflection of the lights in the pools of rain on the tarmac.
“Because we’ll be there to make sure nothing happens to them.”
Tahlia’s neck swirled to meet Paloma’s gaze. “We will? How?”
“We give it a few days. If your anxiety hasn’t lessened by then, then we pack up the whole house, babies and all, and go to Peru. We rent or buy a villa, leave enough guards and then we go get our people.”
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