Of Gods and Goddesses: Book 3 (Lords and Commoners Series)

by Lynne Hill-Clark

  Chapter 73 South America 2034 A.D

  Not long before sunset and the curfew for all to be under ground in the protection of the tunnels, Val pulled her girls aside. “Now that you’re big girls, it’s time for you to start donating blood. Every person who is able needs to do their part.” This came out mechanically — a rehearsed lie. It was the first time Val had lied to her daughters and it would also be her last.

  The girls were glad to help. Eva was determined, yet she still worried that the needle would hurt. She was thrilled when it was only a tiny prick.

  “I can do this!” Eva exclaimed with a broad smile.

  “You can do anything, my love. I’m proud of you two. Thanks for being brave.” For the first time Val thought she may cry. Val gave them each a sucker. “Now run along to your father.”

  Val had the last ingredient — the most important ingredient and it was time for her and Elda to go.

  First she had to change into more appropriate attire. She took her dingy blue jeans off and dressed in a long velvety crimson gown. Perfect for a sacrifice — blood red. Val studied her reflection in the mirror.

  She gathered her pack, which contained a dozen premium quality crystals, a cloak and the small ice-chest with two pints of blood surrounded by heat packs. She headed for her “shift” to watch over their “prisoners”.

  Before she reached the cell. Elijah stepped out from around a corner.

  Val jumped.

  “What are you up to?” Elijah crossed his arms in front of his chest.

  Val tried to keep her heart beat normal. “It’s my shift to watch Elda and Silvia.”

  “Dressed like that?”

  “I wanted to feel womanly for a change.” This was very unlike Val and she knew Elijah would not believe her.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong or what you’re planning but whatever it is you can tell me.” Elijah placed his arms on her shoulders.

  “Thank you but I’m fine.” She moved away.

  He gently took her by the arm. “Please talk to me. Something is amiss; you have been acting strange — giving away your most prized possessions. What’s this about?”

  Val forced herself to look into his troubled eyes — the grey storm was raging. The silly things they had been fighting about these past months had been an utter waste of time. It could have been time that she spent in his arms. Val regretted that. “You have to trust me,” she finally whispered.

  Elijah nodded and released her arm.

  Val had to command her feet to walk away — no kiss or even an embrace goodbye. If he were to hold her to his chest, she would falter. I have to save my daughters and set the world right, she reminded herself. Love swelled inside her as she was reminded that Elijah truly loved her. He had always let her make her own way. He knew something was terribly wrong but let her go anyway. He has never tried to force his will over me. This thought made her feel warm and overwhelmed with sadness at the same time. She regretted that their last years had been filled with turmoil. Yet we did have many happy lifetimes together. She tried hard to focus on those years as she made her way to Elda’s prison cell.

  Samuel was glad to be relieved of his shift, as always. He didn’t even look twice at Val’s unusual attire.

  As soon as she was alone with the prisoners, Val unlocked the cell door and handed Silvia a folded piece of paper. “Please give this to Elijah tomorrow but not before.”

  Silvia looked confused which gave Elda time to slip out the door and lock Silvia in.

  “What’s going on?” Silvia demanded.

  Elda reached for Silvia through the bars. “I love you.” Elda ran her hand down Silvia’s cheek.

  “Elda … no.”

  “Goodbye.”

  “No!” Silvia tried to grab Elda’s hand, narrowly missing it as Elda pulled away.

  Val pulled a black cloak from her pack and swung it over Elda; then they were speeding through the tunnels avoiding others when possible. They could hear Silvia rattling the bars, trying to free herself.

  At least Elda gets to say goodbye. Val tried to push away the bitterness.

  In order to get through a couple of crowded areas Val and Elda had to slow down. Elda shadowed her face with the hood of the cloak and Val tried to act normal. Soon they were outside. They performed the spell of Circumscription. No vampires would be able to leave the tunnels. In no time they were heading to the nearest clearing.

  Silvia quickly gave up on the thick reinforced steel bars. She did not want to yell; that would only draw attention to whatever it was Elda was doing. She did not want Elda to get caught. Silvia only wanted to be with her. Why would she leave me? I can help.

  Silvia flipped through the grimoire. There’s something I remember seeing in here. It was a spell of … transport — or was it transference. Here! She ran her finger quickly through the text to find what it required. Only a possession of great importance to the person you wish be with. Perfect. I have Elda’s grimoire. Silvia began chanting the spell from the ancient book.

  Chapter 74 South America 2034 A.D

  Vallachia and Elda made their way south to the open meadow where Eva had learned to ride horses. They placed a circle of ten crystals around them. Each woman held a crystal in her left hand and the blood in a copper chalice in her right. The copper helped to kept the blood from going cold too quickly.

  “We pour the blood on the ground at the same time, then recite the incantation,” Elda said.

  Val nodded. “Sounds simple enough.” She wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible, before she did something crazy — like change her mind.

  Elda suddenly looked to the sky. Vampires and lots of them were headed straight for them. “Now,” she said.

  They poured the warm blood on the ground and dropped the empty chalices. Elda took Val’s free hand and chanted. Soon John and his men surrounded them. Val tried to concentrate on the incantation but then she caught a glimpse of Riddick. His arms were shackled in front of him and he was on his knees.

  “Riddick!” Val yelled and she moved toward him.

  Elda tightened her grip on Val’s hand. “We have to complete this — now!”

  A puff of white mist obscured Val’s view of John and Riddick. This caused everyone to pause. As the mist evaporated Silvia appeared before them.

  “What… How…” Val managed.

  “Cast a protection spell around us so that we can complete the curse,” Elda yelled to Silvia.

  Silvia did just that as several bullets went whizzing by, the last of which bounced off the green see-through shield that now surrounded the women.

  “Stop … whatever it is you’re doing,” John’s voice rang out.

  Val and Elda resumed their chanting.

  “You’re going to enact the curse? But where are the girls?” Then Silvia’s eyes widened. “You’re going to sacrifice yourselves?”

  “Stop now or he dies.” John held a sword to Riddick’s throat.

  “No!” Val yelled.

  “Focus! Once this curse is unleashed they’re all dead anyway,” Elda said.

  Val and Elda continued reciting the spell until a hole formed in the earth between Val and Elda, at the place where the girls’ blood had been spilled. Golden sunlight swirled until it became an eddy in the ground.

  “We did it! It worked,” Elda said.

  Val instinctively stepped back from the vortex. But Elda jumped, disappearing into the golden light — the self-sacrifice.

  “No!” Silvia yelled.

  Val was glad it was not a grotesque and painful sacrifice, simply a leap into an abyss. She stepped into the vortex. Val’s last thought was that she wished she could save Riddick.

  Val found herself dangling in a sea of spinning bright light. She looked up to find that Silvia held her by the wrist. It was all that was keeping Val from falling into oblivion.

  “Let me go!” Val demanded.

  “Elda! Where is she?”

  Val looked down. There was no sign of
Elda, only a bright yellow abyss. “She’s gone.”

  Silvia’s closed her eyes tight and moisture escaped from them. She struggled to keep Val from falling.

  “Let me go. Two must die or this will not work.”

  Silvia shook her head no. She looked around, desperately trying to decide what to do. She pulled Val upward.

  Val tried to grab onto something to stop her ascent out of the hole but there was nothing to grasp. “Please stop! You must let me go. Don’t let Elda die in vain.” Val twisted her wrist trying to free it from Silvia’s grip.

  “There’s no need for you to die.” Silvia lifted Val out of the hole and threw her with all her force. Val tumbled across the ground. She leapt to her feet and ran for the hole but Silvia stepped into it. The hole disappeared behind her. Instantly a loud explosion came as a column of golden light shot from the ground into the sky. Val was thrown back, as were John and the others.

  The deafening silence rang in Val’s ears after the shock of the blast. She tried to focus. There were claw marks where Silvia had dug her fingers into the ground in order to pull Val out of the vortex. Val looked up to see a strange light raining down like a giant umbrella across the night sky. It began to spread and spread quickly. The Curse of the Powerful. The deadly light will move throughout the entire earth. “Riddick!” Val yelled. She ran to where John and Riddick were. They still looked dizzied after the blast. She leapt into the air and kicked John in the chest sending him flying backwards. Silvia’s protection spell had vanished with her, so Val bent over Riddick and put up her own protection spell as golden yellow rain fell around them. Val felt herself tire. All this magic was draining her. She would not be able to keep the protection spell up for long. Let alone for forty days and nights.

  John and his men screamed in agony as the rain pelted them. Val watched as red welts formed on their skin. A sizzling noise could be heard as the vampires eventually caught fire. Val covered her ears and shut her eyes to block out the torturous screams. “John,” she whispered in sorrow, “I should have saved him...

  “No.” Riddick said. “You shouldn’t have saved me either.” He averted his eyes.

  Val collapsed and Riddick caught her with his bound arms.

  “I haven’t saved you yet. We have to get to the tunnels … before … I don’t know how long I can keep the curse out,” Val managed.

  Riddick glanced around. “It’s difficult to see through the light or the rain or whatever it is.”

  “You have to try. I’m growing weaker by the second.” Val’s head fell against his shoulder.

  Riddick took flight. Val had to concentrate to keep the spell around them as they sped through the air. They could see the rain rolling out across the land faster than Riddick could fly. No vampire would be able to outrun the curse. Riddick was barely able to make out the odd bends in the river that told him where the tunnels were.”

  “We’re almost there. Don’t give up.”

  Val closed her eyes. Don’t fall asleep. Don’t fall asleep. It was as if the curse was fighting against her protective barrier. Blow after blow, it pounded against her powers. It took all her energy to keep it intact.

  Riddick shook Val. “My Lady, please don’t leave me.”

  “Will you ever stop calling me that?” Val muttered.

  “No.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Her voice was barely audible, even for a vampire. My Lady is a better title than whore, which was what he called me the last time I saw him. This thought helped to distract her from the relentless pounding rain.

  It seemed like ages passed before Riddick barged into the tunnels with a severely weakened Vallachia in his arms.

  The Circumscription spell only keeps vampires locked in, it does not keep them from entering, Val noted with interest.

  As soon as she was under the more powerful protection spell over the tunnels she gave up her fight against the curse. It was as if she had been holding the weight of an entire ocean on her shoulders and the water suddenly turned to mist and vanished. She stood from Riddick’s arms and took deep breaths. She was still tired but no longer to the point of passing out.

  There were many curious humans and vampires at the main entrance.

  “We can’t get out.”

  “Where did you go?”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Elda and Silvia escaped.” These were but some of the many comments thrown at Val and Riddick.

  Elijah made his way through the crowd.

  Val ignored everyone and ran to embrace him. The tears could finally fall but now they were tears of joy, not despair.

  Chapter 75 South America 2034 A.D

  Vallachia told everyone what had happened and that the curse was spreading quickly over the earth. “Vampires must stay in this tunnel for forty days, unless they wish to die.”

  “What about us?” Bray asked.

  “Humans are free. The curse will not hurt you. Any vampires out there will not survive. You may leave the tunnels forever and begin to rebuild your lives.”

  “You know this, that if we leave the tunnels we will die?” Elijah asked.

  Val nodded. “Yes. I saw John and his men perish. It was … a horrific death.”

  Elijah closed his eyes and pursed his lips. “John.”

  “I’m sorry, Elijah. I know he was always by your side for most of your life.”

  “He truly did betray us,” Elijah said.

  This brought Val’s attention back to Riddick. “Why were you with John?”

  Elijah’s head snapped up. “You were with John?” He rounded on Riddick.

  Val stepped in between them. “Riddick had been imprisoned by John. Please let him speak.”

  “Elijah’s right, you should throw me out of the tunnels and let the curse take me.” Riddick knelt in front of them.

  Val’s eyes widened. “You were the second betrayer?”

  “No,” Elijah whispered. “Not you.” The despair on Elijah’s face was almost more than Val could take.

  “I was angry … at you.” Riddick lifted his head to gaze at Val. “I was angry that you slept with Teller. I was angry that you abandoned us. Months ago I decided that I had had enough of this place. … that I would go to the winning side. Not to mention, it was a way to get back at you. Of course, I didn’t find Elda. I found John. I only told him that what remained of the Court was hiding in the Amazon. His scouts searched every night. It was only a matter of time until they found us during the day when we were out and about. Then I would be on the winning side, once again.”

  Elijah placed a knife to Riddick’s throat. Elijah clenched the handle tight as he considered using it.

  Val placed her hand over Elijah’s to stay him. “Why did John have you as his prisoner?”

  “I returned to the tunnels one day, only to find two beautiful little girls who looked like you. Everything all fell into place. I understood why you did what you did. In order to have them you had to be with Teller. In order to protect them you had to stay away. It dawned on me that I would have done the same, if it meant getting to have children of my own. I regretted going to John. The lovely girls reminded me of my wife when she was young. Perhaps our unborn child would have looked like them.” Riddick shook his head in sorrow.

  Elijah and Val only stared at Riddick, so he continued. “John expected more information. He wanted exact locations and details about our camp and he wanted to know the whereabouts of our allies overseas. I withheld this at first, dangling a carrot, playing the game. I could not hold him off much longer. At our next rendezvous, a couple of days ago, I had promised to tell him everything he wanted to know. I went to tell John that I would no longer help him. I had hoped, even begged for him to kill me. But John, with his stupid law about not killing vampires, kept me alive but not free. He imprisoned me. He and his men brought me back to the jungle. His plan was to torture me until I led him to the tunnels. But there was no need, as we caught your scent and followed it to the meadow, where
we found you.”

  “I’m so sorry I hurt the two of you. That was never my intention.” Val hooked her arm in Elijah’s and placed a hand on Riddick’s shoulder.

  “What I did can’t be forgiven,” Riddick said.

  “You forgave me,” Val said.

  “But what I did was much worse. You can never trust me again. I’m nothing but a piece of shit traitor.”

  “I forgive you.” Val then turned to Elijah for his reaction.

  “I don’t know what to think.” Elijah lowered his knife. “All I know is that I can’t kill you.”

  Like Riddick, Elijah didn’t have any fight left in him. He was solemn and even more pale than usual. This broke Val’s heart twice over. Time will heal them, she thought. At least we are alive and together.

  The air was thick with excitement as the humans prepared to leave the tunnels — for the last time. They were finally free. There was much work to do. The first order of business would be to set the remaining humans free from their prisons.

  Valentina ran to her daughter and hugged her tight. “I knew you would find another way. I’m so proud of you!”

  “Thanks for believing in me, Mom.” Val then turned to greet her daughters. She scooped them up into her arms. She thought she might never let them go. There was no holding back the tears.

  Bray had her pack loaded with provisions and all of her belongings, which didn’t amount to much. She approached Elijah and the others. “This looks like a terrible time but…”

  Elijah turned to find Bray staring at him.

  “I wanted to say … thank you for everything and to … say goodbye.”

  Elijah shook her hand. “Good luck out there.”

  “Our goal is to set as many people free as we can.”

  Elijah nodded. “Good — they may not make it forty days in their cells without food.”

  Bray looked back one last time with a longing look before she disappeared in the crowd of humans who were heading out.

  “She’s truly fond of you,” Val said.