“I’m sure he knows. They’re not together. My mom is kind of messed up. She left when I was young.”
“Let me guess, your dad travels all the time and that’s why your grandparents raised you.”
“Check and double check.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets.
“I’m sorry.”
“Everybody’s got something, right?”
She looped her arm around mine. “Come with me. I’ll get you something better than disgusting vampire blood.”
That evening we gathered in the conference room for our last mission review.
“So, is everyone good?” Anne asked, her eyes scanning from one side of the room to the other.
“There’s no way we can’t do this without sending Tyler in there?” Janine asked. “I hate thinking I may lose both of my children.”
“I could give him my blood,” Alena spoke up.
Hunter grabbed her arm. “Alena, no.”
I threw up my hands. “But if he’s beyond magic-blocking walls, you won’t be able to find him.”
“The vampire blood bond is different.” Her eyes dropped to the table in front of her.
“How do you mean?” I pressed.
“It’s supposed to be a bonding ritual. Vampires share blood with their mates so they can always find each other.”
Face contorted, Hunter knocked his knuckles on the desk in front of him. “So, no, we’re not doing that.”
“Wait”—I jumped to my feet—“we can confirm where Camille is.”
Tyler’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
Too excited to be thwarted by his aggression, I spun my seat to face Alena. “Before we came to Italy, she had some of my blood. She saw you give Hunter your blood and thought it would be a backup. I assumed it didn’t work behind magic-blocking walls.”
“But you’re not—” Grady threw his hands up. “I should have known you’re half vampire.”
“Only a quarter.”
Alena turned to face her mom. “It should still work, right?”
“Yes, it should.”
Orm rose. “I’ll get the map.”
Time seemed to stand still as we waited for Orm to return. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t mentioned it before. We wouldn’t have wasted days planning a mission on the wrong target. I sat with my head in my hands, waiting for the old witch to return.
Orm appeared with Chalondra on his heels. He spread a leather map on the table. “If you drop your blood on the surface, it should travel to Camille’s location.”
I slipped my knife from my boot and sliced my hand, letting the drops fall in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
“If Camille isn’t at the compound, does that mean Marcus deceived us?” Tyler asked.
Anne cleared her throat. “Let’s not jump to conclusions.”
I watched the blood trace east across Portugal and Spain to the Mediterranean Sea. It neared the island of Sardinia, but instead of cutting south, it turned north, stopping at the northern most point of the island.
I looked up at Anne’s image. “Do we know if they have a hideout on the northern part of the island?”
She paced away from the camera and back. “So, either Marcus was leading us into a trap, or he had no idea they moved her. I think I’ll bring him in. Chalondra, do you know a seer you can trust in Los Angeles?”
Chalondra shook her head. “Not one good enough to be sure with a powerful witch like Marcus.”
“Can we tell him the plan’s off and see how he reacts?” Alena questioned her mother. “He’s still going to want Gabrielle out.”
“We need intel on this site.” I wiped the map with a handkerchief Orm handed me. “We have no idea what they are doing with her.”
“Grady, are you familiar with Michael’s sites?” Anne asked.
His eyes were fixed on the table top. “I haven’t heard of one that far north.”
Anne turned her back to the camera and then spun to face it again. “Let’s be honest with Marcus. I can usually sense when someone is lying. I didn’t get that vibe from him.” Anne picked up her phone, tapping the screen.
“Wait,” Hunter interjected. “Only tell him it’s off, nothing else. If we tell him we know where she is and he’s double crossing us, then he’ll tip of Thanatos.”
“Agreed.” Anne depressed one additional button on the phone. We listened as the call connected.
“Hello.”
“Marcus, we have to cancel our meeting for tomorrow. My flight crew says flying is too risky.” Anne didn’t mention the mission, Gabriel, or Camille.
“But the weather looks beautiful,” Marcus insisted.
“We can’t endanger my people.”
“Well, can I come to you or send someone to meet you?”
Anne hesitated. “As long as they are your most trusted advisors?”
“My son, Elia, and two of his sons will be there.”
“Okay, I’ll text you an address. I need your party there at noon tomorrow. I’ll have someone pick you up.”
“Thank you.” The line went dead.
I hated that I wouldn’t be seeing Camille the next day but pushed through my disappointment. “What’s the plan?”
Anne crossed her arms. “If they show up, we make sure they aren’t lying to us. Then, we get Marcus to help with getting some intel on Camille’s location in return for helping to extract Gabrielle.”
The weight of my mistakes hit me like a ton of bricks, and I stomped from the room. I didn’t get halfway to my chamber before Hunter caught up with me.
“Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah, sure, wonderful.” I rolled my eyes.
“We’ll get Camille. It’s only a minor setback. It’s great that we can be sure of where she is.”
“Yeah, but I wasted two days in LA looking for Fahim. We’re out two days here on a plan that won’t work. Who knows what we’re up against at her new location?”
Hunter jutted his arm out in front of me, halting my progress. “But we’ve got Marcus.”
“We don’t know that.”
“Any plan that does not involve some other guy drinking my girlfriend’s blood I am good with.”
I turned to face him. “That would be weird. I’m sure Alena was just trying to help Janine.”
“Alena has a limitless ability to be compassionate.”
“You worried about her and Tyler?”
His eye shot to the ceiling and back to me. “She thinks she can save the world.”
“Isn’t that what this is sort of about?”
“Not everyone can be saved.”
“This about your brother?”
“Half-brother,” he corrected.
We’d reached the sleeping quarters, and I pointed to my door. “I’m going to change for a run. Want to join me?”
“Not trying to avoid anyone, are you?”
“Who, like Tyler or Grady?” I chuckled. “Yes, them.”
Anne suggested Fahim, Dimitri, two vampire guards, Orm, and Chalondra go meet Marcus, Elia, and his two sons.
I hated having nothing to do. “Let me go,” I said to them as they entered the garage.
“It’s unnecessary.” Orm waved me off.
“Give me something to do.” I opened the door as they reached the van.
Turing to face me before climbing in the back seat, he laid a hand on my shoulder. “Get a more detailed map, and find Camille’s exact location. Pull up aerial views on Google maps and start planning her rescue. You’ve got tons to do.”
Thinking my brain had been temporarily out of order, I went in search of a better map. I’d assumed the leather map they’d used the night before was significant, but Alena explained the smooth surface ensured the blood didn’t sink in. Searching the complex, I didn’t find a laminated or hard-surfaced map. Then I realized I could pull up a map on an electronic screen.
“Ever try this on an electronic screen?” I asked Alena.
“I’d never seen somebody located before yesterday.” She a
nd Hunter followed me to the tech room.
I approached the electronic table. “I feel so stupid. All of these little things I missed.”
“You’ve been running on fumes for two weeks. The lack of sleep is probably affecting your concentration.” Alena turned to face the other workers. “Can we have the room?”
No one questioned her, and within a minute we had the space to ourselves. “Anyone ever not do what you say?”
“Hunter usually.” She rolled her eyes and wrapped one arm around his waist.
He kissed her cheek. “You don’t want a lap dog for a boyfriend.”
“I also don’t want a dead boyfriend.” She made googly eyes at him and then faced the screen again.
I tapped on the keyboard and pulled up a map of northern Sardinia. Slicing my hand, I held it above the center of the screen.
“Wait.” Alena handed me a napkin. “One drop and we can get a more accurate point.”
“Good idea.” I covered the cut after letting a single drop fall. It moved north nearly to the edge of the island and stopped on top of an open space. “There’s no structure on that spot.”
“She’s underground.” Hunter tapped on the screen.
“The tunnels could originate from any one of these homes.” I drew a circle around five nearby buildings. “How much satellite data do you have access to? We’ll have to study everything going in and out of the area since the twenty-first.”
“Well, let’s get the tech people back in here. Hopefully Marcus passes Chalondra’s test so we can narrow down the time window.”
Turning my wrist over, I noticed it was nine o’clock. “Can you guys get the tech people on this? I’m going to find Aaron. We can use more brain power.”
I found him in the weapons room. He abandoned his cleaning task and followed me to the tech hub. We could use the boats to get to the island, but we had nine miles of land to get across. A vehicle or helicopter would be required. A helicopter would be too loud. But seeing an airstrip within eight miles gave us two escape routes, air and water. Figuring I could always run her to the coast, I stored that thought for plan C.
Our brainstorming got me to ten. I felt like I would jump out of my skin, so I changed and made my way to the gym. Unfortunately, Tyler and Grady occupied the weight room.
“Hi.” I waved and lay down on the bench under the arm press. I started lifting. After a few repetitions, Tyler appeared above me.
“Need a spotter?”
“No, I’m good.”
“When were you going to tell us you were part vampire?” He put his hands to his hips.
“When it was important.” I sat up and spun to face him.
“Well, lucky for you it helped us find Camille.”
“We got a better reading, exact coordinates. The tech guys are scanning the satellite data to find the entrance.”
Grady joined us. “What do you mean?”
I told them what we learned and about the brainstorming session with Aaron.
Grady flung his towel over his shoulder. “Let’s pray Marcus pans out.”
“Not sure he helps us if he wasn’t given clearance to know where she is.” I moved to the next workout station.
“I guess that’s right.” Grady followed me.
“You think the sword got moved too?” Tyler sat down opposite me.
“Well, that’s another question for Marcus.” I set the machine for fifty pounds. “Let’s finish weights, and we’ll stretch our magical powers.” I lay back down on the bench to work my legs.
“I’m happy to spar with you. I hope you’re ready because I’ve got a lot of pent-up anger against you.” Tyler lurked over me.
I sat up to face him. “It was Camille’s idea.”
“Just don’t think you have some kind of claim on her. She’s seventeen.” He jabbed his finger into my chest.
“I’m her herald. I like her, but this isn’t the fifteenth century. Camille can do what she wants.” It was an understatement. I loved her. I knew that would never change. But I wasn’t going to tell her brother that.
Shaking my head, I made my way to the track. I couldn’t run hard enough or fast enough to get the frustration out of my brain. After an hour, I showered and made my way to the cafeteria. Seeing Janine, I realized I hadn’t updated her on Camille’s location and added it to my mental list of shortcomings.
“Sorry, I should have found you earlier. We have new information on Camille’s location.” I detailed our findings and the working plan.
She pressed her fingers to her temples. “My head is spinning all the time. I just want my daughter back. I don’t understand why they’re even meeting with Marcus.”
I rolled my eyes. “Diplomacy, I guess.”
“I get that he wants to keep his family safe.”
“If he’s telling us the truth. You can’t assume these beings have good intentions. Camille and I have learned that the hard way.”
“I guess the same could be said about humans too. I’ve never really met anyone who was evil.”
“Me either, until Miguel.”
“Miguel?”
I shook my head. “Sorry, Dr. Antos.”
“I let this happen. If I’d been more vigilant in my research, if I hadn’t let her go to Italy—”
“We’re adults, or nearly adults. We have this calling, and we’re choosing to act on it. We wanted to go after Grady and my dad.” Camille wouldn’t blame her mom or want her to feel responsible for anything that had happened.
She set her hand on my arm. When I looked at her face, tears streamed down her cheeks. “How did you know they took them?”
“We didn’t. It was just a hunch.”
A light near the ceiling blinked, and Alena’s voice came over the speaker. “They’ve made contact with Marcus. We’re streaming it in the tech room.”
Grabbing some food for lunch, I joined Alena and Hunter in front of the video screens. Marcus and three other men sat opposite two vampire guards, Orm, and Chalondra, in the van.
Marcus’s eyes cut around the space. “Orm, I’m surprised to see you here.”
“I could say the same for you. We thought you weren’t flying in till later today.”
“I want to reassure Anne of my good intentions.”
Orm cleared his throat. “Yes, we would like to be assured of your intentions before we proceed.”
“You mean so you can kill us now?”
“Your words.” Orm folded his hands in his lap, and I wondered if that would be the only solution if we decided we didn’t trust Marcus. I guessed he knew too much.
“Why is Anne calling off the mission?” Marcus pressed.
One of Orm’s eyebrows shot up. “The better question is, do you know where Camille is?”
“All my intelligence indicated she was being held at the castle compound. Do you have different information? Can you tell me where you think she is? It may be a trap.”
“This is Chalondra.” Orm ignored Marcus’s questions.
“A seer I’m guessing?” Marcus shifted in his seat.
“Yes.” Chalondra stretched out her hand to Marcus.
His eyes cut to the men beside him. “This is Elia, my brother, and two of his sons, Orthos and Pantos.”
“Gabrielle is our sister,” Orthos supplied.
Marcus’s shoulders rose and sank, but he extended his hand to Chalondra. She took his hand, and closing her eyes, Chalondra’s lips moved as she chanted a silent incantation.
Over an hour passed, and she didn’t budge from her trance. I paced the area behind the row of desks, thinking this show was taking time away from searching for an entry point to Camille’s location. I approached Hunter.
“Is someone searching the satellite data?”
“Yes, they set up an algorithm. It will alert us if there is something of interest.”
Five minutes later, Chalondra opened her eyes. “The short answer is he has no ill intentions or plans against us. He only wants to prevent his co
ven from melding with Michael’s. He doesn’t know more than he’s told us.”
It felt like a yoke had been lifted from my shoulders. We hadn’t compromised Camille, Alena, or Hunter by taking Marcus’s offer of help. I’d worried we’d jumped too quickly because I’d pushed for any non-violent way to get in the castle. With Camille already in jeopardy, I couldn’t have another life on my conscience. But hopefully, Marcus would know of the location in northern Sardinia and give us some guidance on how to rescue Camille.
It took an hour more to clear each of the other witches in the van, and it was almost time for the evening meal before the group entered the compound. As soon as they exited the vehicle, the vampires locked metal bands onto their wrists.
“I thought we were allies,” Marcus noted.
“You understand we can’t take any chances,” Orm responded.
“And you realize you are holding a council member hostage.”
“You came of your own free will. You may leave any time.”
As they progressed to the entrance, Marcus stopped in front of me. “Jude.” His eyes blinked in rapid succession, and the corners of his mouth turned up. “Good to see you’re in one piece. Everyone had taken you for dead.”
Grady entered the garage. “I’m sure you thought me dead too.”
“They did assume you hadn’t made it. But there isn’t time for pleasantries. We need to get Gabrielle out today, as planned. How do you know Camille isn’t on that site?”
“You already asked that, friend.” Orm motioned for him to proceed inside.
“The trinity bond is very strong.” Alena fell in step with him. There was no doubt the girl lied well. I made a mental note and tucked her mother in the same category in my mind.
“A distraction at the main compound could help us,” Fahim put in.
Marcus stopped and turned to face him. “I was hoping there would be no footprint at all, that Gabrielle would just disappear. We’ll both be implicated if Camille is rescued the same night. But if you leave no trace, then the list of potential suspects would be long. I have officially embraced and outwardly appeared happy for Gabrielle’s union with Theron and our coven’s with Michael’s. Many other witches and vampires don’t want to see Michael’s coven multiply by almost two-fold.”
Kingdom of Honor (Kingdom Journals Book 3) Page 11
