“So, you think that I could have another witch line in me, and that’s why I have a different mark?”
“It’s a theory. But Hunter, this is not something you need to be thinking about. Focus on the next mission. We may never know what your mark means.”
Grabbing my backpack, I headed for the door. “Don’t worry, Anne. I’m ready.”
Exiting my room, I ran smack into Alena. “I was just coming to find you. It’s not like you to be late.”
“Yeah, well, your mom is playing genealogist, so…”
“What’s going on?”
“We don’t have time now. I’ll tell you on the plane.”
“Do we have time for one thing?” She stepped towards me until our faces were centimeters apart.
“Always for that.” I pulled her into my room and kissed her hard.
There hadn’t been any time for us to hang out alone with the hurried schedule. I hoped all this would be over soon. I just wanted to be a normal seventeen-year-old guy again. Squeezing her hand, I led her to the garage. The others had already loaded up, and we climbed into the SUV.
We were in the air not four hours before landing on a private air field in the southern strip of Turkey surrounded by Syria. The vehicles took different paths through villages to the safe house. We spent two days acclimating and firming up plans. The third day, Alena, Camille, Chalondra, and Orm rented an apartment near the Church of Antioch, and we scouted the location, ensuring all our intel was correct. Deciding all to be well, we approached the front of the building. Passing through the narrow entrance, a feeling of calm washed over me. I patted my chest where the first piece of the lance lay secured in a revolver harness, which held a stun gun as well as dart gun fitted with venom darts. If Thanatos was building an army of vampires, we weren’t taking any chances. I had enough venom to keep at least twenty vampires down for an hour.
Evoking a cloaking spell as guards swept the church near closing time, we wandered through the structure. Further into the dwelling, the ceiling and walls were formed from the rock mountain above. At the back, stalactites hung from the cave ceiling. An altar made of stone sat in the center of the space.
Alena. I called to Alena and Camille.
We’re here, they spoke in unison, and I jumped at the sound of their voices. They appeared in front of me.
“Any magical feelings yet?” Alena asked.
Camille viewed the cavern. “This place is like one big magical hot spot.”
Circling the space and searching every inch, we found no trace of the lance piece. We weaved back to the tunnel opening.
“It must be in there.” I pointed to the dark passageway.
“I don’t like it.” Aaron’s eyes cut to the entrance of the building. “There’s only one way out.”
“We don’t have a choice.” Alena moved into the tunnel.
Aaron, Dimitri, and Grady hung back to guard the entrance, and the rest of us proceeded inside. The cool dank air clung to my skin, and I shivered. Our research told us that St. Peter founded the church at Antioch, and Europeans from the crusades built the front façade. If you were going to hide something important, it made sense to put it where not many would wander. Still, I sided with Aaron. I hated having only one exit.
Flapping wings caught my attention, and I ducked as a bat whooshed past. We took slow deliberate steps, raking the walls, floor, and ceiling with our flashlights. About a hundred feet in, a stone arch framed the end of the tunnel formed by large boulders piled floor to ceiling.
“Let’s hope the lance is here because this place is getting super creepy.” DJ pushed on one of the rocks blocking the path.
Inspecting the formation above me, I found a cross. “There.”
Alena fitted her foot in my linked fingers, and I lifted her up. The cross was embedded in the stone, but she pried it loose within a few seconds. Jumping to the ground, Alena held the wooden cross in front of the flashlight beam. It was fashioned of several carved-wood pieces and bound together with twine. When she unraveled the twine, the four points fell away, leaving a single rectangular portion.
“That’s it. Try to fit it together with the point.” Camille rubbed her hands together and ran them along her arms. “Hurry, it’s freezing in here.”
I slid the point from under my jacket. With the tip in my palm, Camille set the middle portion next to it. Both pieces started to glow, and they snapped together with a click.
“It’s the right one. We found it.”
Letting out a breath, I moved to tuck the lance under my shirt again. The new middle portion shot to the ground.
Camille bent over and picked it up. “Maybe we’re supposed to keep the pieces separated until we have all three.”
“Makes sense. If we each keep one portion, then they’ll be safer. Camille, as healer of the group, it seems fitting for you to take the center portion.” Alena offered her a cloth to wrap the piece in.
Camille slid the piece in her backpack. “Let’s get out of here.”
“You guys can go. We got the piece. There’s no reason for you to drain yourselves.” I motioned to her and Alena.
“Okay, bye, see you soon.” Alena squeezed my hand, and she and Camille disappeared.
“I’m never going to get used to you talking to invisible people.” DJ walked towards the tunnel exit.
“I knew you were stupid, but not this stupid.” Theron’s voice drifted to us as we approached the main hall.
Looking up, I saw Aaron’s, Dimitri’s, and Grady’s bodies on the ground behind Theron. Their chests rose and fell, and I figured the same rules as in Italy applied. He couldn’t or wouldn’t kill on sacred ground.
Broadening my shoulders, I stopped in front of him. “I’m not sure what the purpose of your visit is.”
Then, I felt it. Like a cold pit in my stomach, a gnawing hunger. My eyes were drawn to his hand. He had the sword of St. Maurice. I signaled to DJ, Jude, and Tyler to stay behind me.
“Still pilfering churches, I see. Some weird fetish you developed, or what? I’m still trying to figure it out.” Theron paced away from me.
Almost quicker than I could register, he hurled the sword past me. DJ jumped, trying to avoid the weapon, but it grazed his bicep. As it hit the ground, Tyler darted to the blade. Theron lifted his palm, and the sword shot to it.
“You guys really should practice speed. What happened there?” Theron pointed at DJ’s arm.
Anger grew in my chest, and I didn’t stop its release. My voice boomed through my throat, rumbling through my head and bouncing off the walls of the cavern. “You have no power here. Get out.”
Theron’s eyes grew wide for a split second. “I may be outnumbered today. But it will not always be so.” He pointed at DJ. “You’ve been marked.”
He sped away, leaving a cold gust of wind in his wake. I ran to DJ. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, man.” He twisted his arm in the socket. “Fine. The scratch is already healing.”
“What did Theron mean? He’d been marked?” Tyler joined us.
“Do you feel okay?” I held DJ’s stare. “You know who you are? Who I am? What we’re doing here?”
“Of course. I’m DJ, you’re Hunter, Jude, Tyler.” DJ pointed at each of us.
“Okay, good, you’re fine. Just a scratch.” I patted him on the back. “Let’s see about our friends.”
Aaron, Dimitri, and Grady stirred and, within a few minutes, stood. Bewildered, they questioned what happened. I interrogated Aaron and Dimitri until assured they hadn’t been body snatched by Theron and St. Maurice’s sword.
“Why would Theron come alone again?” Jude questioned as we made our way to the vehicle.
“I have no clue. I do want to know what he meant by being marked though.”
“The cut bled.” Grady pointed at DJ. “That means he has traces of his blood on the blade.”
I nodded. “So he can trace DJ?”
“What, now they’re coming for me?” DJ closed the va
n door behind him.
“We’ll make sure you’re safe. Just keep the bracelet on, and you’ll be hidden from any locater spells. Everything’s going to be fine. Your arm is healed. You’re still you. We got the segment of the lance. We’re that much closer to ending this.”
I spoke the words more for myself than anyone. We had no clue what we were dealing with, but it wouldn’t do any good to speculate. I focused on our surroundings as we made our way to the second safe house. As we pulled into the garage and the doors lowered, Alena and Camille met our vehicle.
“What happened?” Alena wrapped her arms around me as I stepped onto the concrete.
“Theron showed up. He’s fast. But I saw it. Did you guys notice that?” I wrapped my arm around Alena. “Theron had to obey me. I have the power to command him.”
“What did you say?” Orm joined our group.
“It’s true.” Jude spoke up. “He couldn’t check his reaction in time. Hunter can control Theron just as he can Grady, Tyler, and myself. We learned his weakness tonight.”
“I wouldn’t get too confident. Theron may have been caught off guard, but he’s likely to develop a work-around.” Orm shook his head. “It is very interesting though.”
“So, that’s it?” Camille laid her hands on her hips. “Theron showed up, you told him to leave, and everyone’s fine?”
“Seems to be.” Jude took her hand. “He grazed DJ with the sword, said something about him being marked, but he’s still DJ, no soul swapping.”
“Marked?” Orm rubbed his forehead.
“You know what that means?” I asked. “His blood was on the sword.”
“They can trace DJ, but our magic blockers can combat that, right?” Alena’s eyes cut around the group.
Orm shuffled to the door. “We should be safe. We’ve acted on the premise that they already have Hunter’s blood and we haven’t been found yet.”
We grabbed food and briefed Anne via video conference. As the others retreated to their rooms, I followed DJ.
“You still doing okay?”
“I guess.” He rubbed his neck. “I feel normal.”
“Good, listen, let me know the second anything feels off.”
“What should I be doing? Staying awake? Going to sleep? I’m kind of freaked out here.”
I gripped his shoulders. “Everything’s going to be okay. We’re safe here. The bracelets will ensure Theron can’t find you.”
“Okay. Hey, whatever happens, I’m glad I did this, met you.”
“Don’t talk like that. You should get some sleep; you look like the dead.”
“Leave it to a brother to be brutally honest.” Pulling me into his chest, he patted my back. “You’re looking pretty worse for the wear yourself.”
“Yeah, I’m going to turn in soon.”
“See you tomorrow.” He waved as he walked away.
Winding to the front of the building, I took up a post in the security room with several of the guards.
“You look exhausted. You need to sleep.” Alena wrapped her arms around my neck. “DJ is fine. Everyone is safe.”
I leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I know. I won’t stay up too late. You should go rest.”
My mind buzzed with the excitement of the day, and adrenaline coursed through my veins. I couldn’t relax. Theron bested us. He was fast, too fast. No, I assured myself. You have the power.
“Dude.” I jumped as Dimitri’s arm landed on my shoulder. “Get some rest. You’re not going to be of any use if you’re exhausted and brain dead. I’ll come get you if anything happens.”
“You guys should do the same.” I slapped the table as I stood.
“That little nap Theron blessed me with will hold us over for a week.” Dimitri chuckled. “That guy is slick. Didn’t sense him coming until he was right in front of me. He’s got stealth and speed. We’ve got to figure how to deal with him.”
“A problem for tomorrow, though.” Aaron pointed at me. “Go sleep.”
“Fine. Thanks for today, guys. Sorry about your naps.”
“Like he said.” Aaron motioned to Dimitri. “Nicest nap in weeks.”
“Okay, I’ll see you in a few hours. Don’t let me sleep past eight.”
I wound back to my room and set an alarm on my phone. Lying on the bed, I took deep breaths, willing my body to let go. When sleep came, I fell into a deep state, not waking until my alarm pinged. Four hours, I thought, hitting the screen to silence the chime. Four hours was an hour more than minimum. Plus, we had nothing to do that day but recover and figure out how to be faster than Theron.
Sitting up, I pulled a shirt over my head. The compound seemed quiet, and I figured everyone was sleeping in. Outside, the hall was empty, and I made my way to the kitchen. Turning a corner, I ran into DJ.
“Oh, hey, sorry, man. Didn’t sense you there.” I took a step back.
He held my gaze for a second, and then his head swiveled around to one side, then the other.
“Hey, are you all right? Are you sleepwalking or something?” I gripped his arm.
The skin under my fingers felt ice cold, and I jerked my hand away. Placing both hands on his shoulders, I reached out, trying to access our familial connection. No magic pinged from him. Even with the bracelet on, I always felt something. I yanked the band from his wrist.
“DJ. DJ!”
Glazed eyes met mine again. “Scusate. Non capisco.”
“What?” I studied his face.
With a puff of air, Alena appeared beside me. “What’s going on?”
“DJ is gone.”
“That was Italian.” Alena took a step back. “Does DJ know Italian?”
“I have no clue.”
A blast of magic energy coursed through me, and not hesitating, I grabbed DJ’s arm. “Stop.”
The current subsided. “Non capisco.”
“It means: I don’t understand.” Alena linked her fingers in mine. “I think DJ’s really gone like Gregor and the rest of the missing vampires.
My heart thudded in my chest, as disbelief and anger washed over me. “That must be what Theron was talking about.”
I swiped DJ’s bracelet from the ground and held it out to him. “Put this on.”
“Non capisco.” The person, whoever they were, said again.
Slapping the bracelet on his wrist, I gripped his bicep and dragged him down the hall.
“Hunter, it’s DJ. You don’t have to be so rough.” Alena trailed behind us.
“It’s not DJ right now. We’ve got to keep this witch locked up until we can figure out what they did with DJ. Hey.” I motioned to one of Anne’s security team. “Do we have a containment room? Like magic proof, escape proof?”
“Sure, what’s going on?” The soldier rose.
“Take us to it.”
We escorted DJ to the room and locked him inside. Shutting the door, I studied the shell that used to be my brother. How could this be happening? I’d failed him, put him in harm’s way, and he was paying the price.
Alena tugged at my fingers. “It’s not going to do any good to stare at him.”
“I can’t believe this is happening.” I rubbed both palms down my pants.
“We’ll figure it out, come on.”
We headed to the surveillance room to scan the video feed. I steeled my emotions as we viewed the footage. DJ appeared normal sleeping in his bed. Then, at just before eight, he drew in a deep breath and sat up. Eyes wide, he surveyed his surroundings. “Non capisco.”
“Are those the only words he knows? How can this be happening? He’s a witch. It’s some spell, some trick of Theron’s.” I paced the room.
Alena traced her hand down my arm. “Could you sense him at all?”
“No, dammit.” I slammed my fist into the wall. “That’s not DJ. He’s gone. I should have been more careful, made him stay in the compound. He’s not a full witch. They linked his body through the blood and swapped out his soul for some dead witch’s essence or whatever.”
“Like we’ve been saying,” the guard shook his head, “vampires don’t have souls. That’s how they’re taking us over. They’ve got to be stopped, or it’s going to be vampire Armageddon.”
“Oh, I’m going to stop them if it’s the last thing that I do.” Storming out of the room, I jogged down the hall.
“Hunter.” Alena ran after me. “Where are you going?”
“Wake everyone up, get all the gear and weapons that we have. See”—I gripped her hands—“I was right to keep you away from these missions. What if that were you?”
Panic grew in my chest, and a chill passed over me. I doubled over to reset my blood pressure. Head spinning, I stood. Still, bile rose in my throat. They’d possessed DJ, and Alena wasn’t safe either.
Alena placed her hands on my cheeks. “Make me a full witch. I’ll be safe.”
“No.” I backed away from her embrace. “You’re not going anywhere near them, not till we have that sword. Dang.”
Pumping my fist into the air, I spun around and continued to the command room. I pushed the alert button, sounding the alarm. Once everyone had gathered, I briefed them on the situation.
We spent four hours performing every spell that might possibly find DJ’s soul, reunite it with his body, bring his consciousness back, or expel whoever was inside him. The mate bond, blood links, locator spells, nothing worked. I decided the best course was to have DJ transferred to Anne’s main compound. The most important thing would be to keep him in our control until we got St. Maurice’s sword from Theron.
“It’s going to take huge numbers to take down Theron, Thanatos, and Sonia, especially with how well guarded their headquarters are.” Grady shook his head.
“Wasn’t everyone for getting the sword away from them? That’s what you argued before,” I countered.
Anne cleared her throat. “The numbers climbed exponentially overnight. As of five minutes ago, the tally is over a thousand vampires missing.”
“What?” Alena bolted from her seat. “Yesterday it was ninety.”
Kingdom of War (Kingdom Journals Book 4) Page 9
