“So that’s the starting place for our quest,” I said. “Norway.”
“It appears so,” Mary said. “We can’t provide a witch to get you to your location, as doing so might break the peace with other kingdoms—or even with the Vale once they discover that Prince Jacen has turned on them. But that won’t be a problem, since you can command Geneva to transport you.”
“Actually, I can’t,” I said, and she tilted her head, clearly curious for me to continue. “Rosella told me that only one other can accompany me on the quest. If I bring more than one person with me, I’m doomed to fail. I’m also doomed to fail if I bring the wrong person. So I’ve asked Jacen to join me, and he’s accepted.”
“But the ring…” Mary’s eyes darted to the sapphire ring on my finger and then back to my face, alarm shining in her eyes. “It’s no secret how dangerous it could be in the wrong hands.”
“I understand.” I twisted the ring off my finger and held it out to her. “Which is why I’ve decided to give Geneva’s sapphire ring to you.”
Mary stared at the ring, not moving to take it. “Are you sure about this?” she asked. “Geneva’s powers could benefit you greatly on you quest, if you were careful with the wording of the commands you gave her.”
“I’m sure,” I said, and my angel instinct glowed warmly in my chest, as if affirming my decision. “The best place for the ring is at the Haven—where its powers won’t be taken advantage of—and you’re the leader of the Haven. You’re the only person I trust with this ring. If you don’t believe me, then I hope you can at least believe my angel instinct, because it’s telling me that it has to be you.”
“Thank you.” Mary took the ring from me, and just like that, the transfer was done. “And I hope you know that if you ever need a safe space with no questions asked, the Haven will welcome you for as long as you need it.”
“I appreciate it.” I watched her slip the ring onto her finger, realizing that now that I was a Nephilim, I no longer needed Geneva’s magic to keep me safe. I was no longer a weak human.
I was able to protect myself.
I’d had a taste of strength when I’d drank Jacen’s blood, and more of it while drinking Princess Stephenie’s blood to disguise myself as a vampire princess, but now the strength was truly mine.
Having the ability to keep myself safe was an incredibly freeing feeling. But remembering what it had felt like to drink the vampire blood made me wonder something…
“Now that I’m a Nephilim, what would happen if I drank vampire blood?” I asked. “Would it make me into a super powerful Nephilim when it was in my system?”
“Supernaturals can’t drink vampire blood,” Jacen replied. “But does that apply to Nephilim?” He looked at Mary to answer, since she was the only one in this room who’d been alive before the Nephilim were all killed in the Great War.
“It does,” she confirmed. “Vampire blood makes Nephilim sick, the same way it does for all other supernaturals. The Nephilim are not as different from us as they’d like to think.” Her eyes glimmered with amusement at that last part.
“How sick?” I asked.
“Your body would reject the vampire blood,” she said. “You’d throw it up until it was out of your system.”
“Yuck.” I shuddered, the awful memory of that time I’d gotten the stomach bug crossing through my mind. I still remembered the final meal I’d had before getting sick—fried shrimp—and couldn’t stomach the idea of eating it to this day.
It was a good thing I hadn’t had pizza for that meal. I couldn’t imagine a world where the thought of pizza made me nauseated.
“To thank you for giving me Geneva’s sapphire ring, I’ll acquire the proper forged documents for you and Prince Jacen to take on your journey,” she said. “Jacen doesn’t really need it since he can use compulsion, but it’ll come in handy for you in case the two of you get separated. I’ll also call on a chartered plane to get you to the Tromso airport.”
“Thank you,” I told her. “We’d appreciate that a lot.”
“It’s the least I can do,” she said. “But remember—once you leave the Haven, you’re on your own.”
“No, she’s not.” Jacen reached for my hand and gave it a small squeeze. “Because she has me.”
Camelia
“We need to send vampires to scout the wolves’ location,” Scott said from the head of the boardroom table. “It’s the only way we can be ready with a plan of attack once we have Geneva’s sapphire ring.”
Laila had only been gone for a day, and Scott had already called a meeting for him to lead as acting king. The public still didn’t know that Laila was dead, but when we’d told the guards that the queen had gone away for a business trip and left Scott and I in charge in her absence, they’d believed us.
Of course, the bit of compulsion the vampires had used when telling them had helped. But all that mattered was that they bought the story. Because this was the business trip the queen would never return from. It was the business trip we were going to claim had resulted an altercation with the wolves, and therefore, her death.
It was the only way to do this. If the citizens knew that she’d been murdered inside her own palace—inside her own throne room—they would fear their safety more than ever. Fear led to chaos, and chaos led to the crumbling of kingdoms.
A rebellion led by our own people certainly wasn’t something we needed to deal with on top of everything else going on.
“There’s no way that can be done in a stealthy manner,” I pointed out. “The wolves will be able to smell the vampire scouts. We’ll just lose more fighters—fighters we can’t afford to lose, given the war on the horizon.”
“I never said we’d send out vampire guards.” Scott smirked, and a shiver raced down my spine.
“Then who do you want to send?” Stephenie chimed in. “Civilians?”
“Bingo.” Scott pointed at her and grinned. “They’ll wear charms to hide their scent, like the wolves did when they attacked the Vale.”
“The wolves will still be able to hear them,” I said. “And see them, if they accidentally get too close. Most of them will be discovered and killed. And besides the fact that we shouldn’t be putting civilians in danger like that at all, we need those charms for Prince Jacen’s mission. Without those charms, we lose our chance of a sneak attack on the Nephilim, which means we lose our shot at getting the ring. It’s not a risk we can afford to take.”
Especially not for me, since I was depending on controlling Geneva to get the spell to turn myself into a vampire queen.
“A valid point.” Scott nodded. “I suppose we’ll need more charms then, won’t we?”
“Those charms were made with dark magic,” I reminded him. “Dark magic isn’t practiced in the Vale.”
“I know all about dark magic,” he said. “For it to work, it requires the blood of one killed by the witch’s own hand. We certainly have enough humans in the dungeons ready for slaughter, so I fail to see the issue.”
I took a deep breath, annoyed by his ignorance—and his selfishness. He knew the effects dark magic had on witches. But apparently, he needed a reminder. “Once a witch starts using dark magic, it weakens their ability to perform natural magic.” I spoke as calmly as I could, given the awfulness of what he was requesting. “In laymen’s terms—they get addicted to dark magic. Since my natural magic keeps the boundary up around the Vale, and we all need that magic to keep the Vale protected, I’m unable to perform dark magic. At least, not without weakening my ability to keep us all safe.”
“You’re not the only witch in the Vale,” he said. “Surely one of the others can do this for us.”
“You can’t ask that of them.” I curled my fists under the table, disgusted by Scott’s suggestion. “Even if you do, none of them will agree to it.”
“I can ask it of them,” he said, his eyes flashing with determination. “And I will—even if it means compelling them to follow orders myself.”
&
nbsp; “You won’t be able to compel them.” I instinctively reached for the wormwood pendant that I always wore around my neck. “You know very well that they use wormwood to protect themselves, just as I do.”
We didn’t just wear the protective charms—those were mainly for show. We also ingested wormwood daily. Living in a kingdom of vampires, it was the only way to ensure we maintained autonomy over our decisions.
“Well, then,” Scott said. “I’ve decided upon my first command as acting king.”
“What’s that?” I sat as straight as possible, even though the coldness in his tone chilled me to the bones.
“Signing a new law that from now forward, not only humans are forbidden to use wormwood to protect themselves—but that witches are, too.”
Annika
Mary stood by her promise of acquiring Jacen and I fake papers—along with a private jet to take us to Tromso, Norway. The jet was stocked with more food and drinks than we could possibly consume, including bagged human blood for Jacen.
I silently thanked Mary for thinking of everything.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t enjoy the jet nearly as much as I would have in any other circumstance. I was too busy trying to analyze what Rosella had told me regarding my destiny. Jacen listened to me and tried to help, but it was no use. Besides the coordinates, we didn’t have enough information to go on to come to any solid conclusions.
By the time we arrived in Tromso, we were no closer to figuring out an answer than we were when we’d taken off.
I shivered when I got off the plane, glad that Mary had also given me winter gear for the trip. Jacen, of course, was unaffected by the cold.
A car waited for us on the tarmac—a black Jeep Wrangler, with huge extra headlights attached to the front. I supposed those were necessary in a place where the sun was barely out in the winter.
However, the sun barely being out was a good thing, since Jacen was only at full strength at night. While vampires could go out during the day, it weakened them more and more the longer they were out in the sun. Jacen needed to be at full strength for the entirety of this mission, which meant avoiding the few hours per day that the sun was out in northern Norway.
A man stood next to the car, and he introduced himself as Tom. “Here are the keys to the Jeep,” he said, dangling them in front of his chest. “Who’s driving?”
“Me!” I rushed for those keys faster than a feral vampire ran at a freshly wounded human.
Jacen was by my side in an instant. “You sure about that?” He raised an eyebrow and chuckled.
“I haven’t driven in ages.” I pouted. “Not since being taken to the Vale. And this car…” I sized it up, smiling in approval. I’d always wanted a cool car, but my parents had insisted on getting me a boring SUV. This was far more in tune with my tastes. “I’m a good driver. I promise.”
“I believe you,” he said. “But you’re also from Florida. Have you ever driven in snow before?”
I looked around at the snow-covered mountains and frowned, because he made a good point. Not only had I not driven in snow, but I’d also never driven on terrain that wasn’t flat.
“Fine,” I muttered, since I didn’t come all this way to have the quest end in a car accident. “You can drive.”
I handed the keys off to Jacen, and he swung them around his fingers, looking at the Jeep in excitement.
“There’s a survival kit and some cans of petrol in the back, in case of emergency,” Tom said. “You can never be too prepared in these parts.”
I opened the back trunk, curious to see what we had. Water, canned food, and bagged blood—apparently Mary’s special requests went far. Next to the gasoline was a kit with a flashlight, matches, a flare gun, and the like. There was a first aid kit as well—not like we’d likely need it, due to our accelerated healing abilities. There was also a shovel and ice pick—things we didn’t need in our cars in Florida, but were apparently standard here.
They also could make good weapons, if necessary.
With that thought, I brought them up to the front seat, just in case. I hoped we wouldn’t need them, but like Tom said, it never hurt to be prepared.
“Ready?” Jacen said, hopping into the driver’s seat.
“Ready,” I said.
He plugged the coordinates into his phone—a borrowed phone, of course, since he’d left his at the Haven so the vampires of the Vale couldn’t track us—and we were off.
Annika
We were only five minutes into the drive, and I was already glad I’d handed Jacen those keys.
The narrow, snow-covered roads wound around the mountains and fjords—it was about as opposite from Florida driving as you could get. It was so remote that there were no street lamps, and I was grateful for the heavy duty headlights attached to the Wrangler. Even with our enhanced supernatural sight, it would have been tough to see otherwise.
There was apparently no direct way to get to where we were going—likely because of the mountains and fjords—and we wound around the roads so much that it felt like we were going in circles. I only knew we were driving north up the coast thanks to the GPS on Jacen’s phone. When we’d started the drive, there were a handful of other cars on the road, but now there was no one but us.
I gazed out the window, glad Jacen was driving so I could take in the scenery. It was truly beautiful—I felt like we were driving through another world.
“In point five miles, your destination will be on the left,” the robotic voice of the GPS lady said.
I looked around in confusion. There were no hints of civilization in sight—just the mountains to our right, and the ocean to our left.
Where on Earth were these coordinates taking us?
We were nearly to the other side of a bridge when a huge animal leapt from the mountain and onto the road.
Jacen pumped on the brakes, and the Jeep skidded to a stop only a few meters away from the animal.
Now that it was right in front of us, I gazed up in shock. Because that wasn’t an animal. At least, it wasn’t any type of animal I’d ever seen.
It was a troll.
It was as tall as a house and wide enough to take up the entire two-lane road, blocking our exit from the bridge. Its skin looked like bark, and the rest of its body looked like rocks. It held onto a walking stick, and while it didn’t directly say, “Thou shall not pass,” that was the vibe I was getting from its stance.
It didn’t move to attack—it just stood there and watched us, as if it expected us to turn around and drive in the opposite direction. That was what any sane person would have done—but we needed to get to the location of those coordinates, and judging from the map, this road was the only way there.
“Is it just me, or is that a troll?” I asked, wanting to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating.
“It’s not just you,” Jacen confirmed. “It’s definitely a troll. And it apparently doesn’t want us getting to where we’re going.”
I reached for the shovel, ready to use it if necessary—and glad I’d brought it to the front. “Drive forward,” I told him. “See if it moves out of the way.”
I doubted it would move—our Wrangler couldn’t take on the troll, and I bet it knew that—but it seemed worth the try. Jacen apparently agreed, because the car started to move slowly forward.
The troll slammed his walking stick into the ground straight ahead of us, and Jacen braked again. The stick was only inches from the car this time.
If Jacen had gone past the edge of the bridge, the front of the Wrangler would have been scrap metal.
“That was close,” I said.
“It’s not attacking us,” Jacen said. “It’s just not letting us past the bridge.”
“We need to get by,” I said. “And I don’t think it’ll be open to reasoning with us.”
“It can’t hurt,” he said.
I gave him the side-eye, not needing words to let him know how insane I thought that sounded.
“It seems like a be
tter plan than fighting it,” he said. “Especially since we don’t have any weapons.”
I reached for the ice pick and handed it to him, keeping my grip on my shovel. “Take that,” I said. “Just in case.”
He frowned at the ice pick. “That big guy will crush this,” he said.
“Just take it.”
“Fine.” He held tightly onto the ice pick and got out of the car.
I did the same, gazing up at the hideous troll looming overhead. With each step we took, my instinct told me that this wasn’t going to work. But Jacen was right—anything was better than fighting this thing.
“Hi.” I smiled and lowered my shovel, forcing myself to sound breezy and confident. “We need to continue down this road, if you wouldn’t mind letting us pass.”
The troll leaned down and reached forward, as if to shake my hand. His skin looked even more bark-like up close—he truly was made up of stone and wood—and he held eye contact with me the entire time.
I stepped forward, hoping we were establishing some kind of understanding.
The moment I crossed onto land, he knocked me to the ground and plucked the shovel from my grip, tossing it into the sea.
The hit to the ground knocked the wind out of me. But I took a pained breath inward, forcing myself to stand.
As I was getting up, Jacen ran at the troll in a blur, stabbing its arm with the ice pick.
The troll grunted and slapped Jacen to the side, as if he were a bug and not a super strong vampire.
Jacen landed on the bridge and recovered quickly, standing up and brushing the snow off himself. Now that he was back on our side of the bridge, the troll had returned to ignoring him. But Jacen still had the ice pick in hand, and he narrowed his eyes at the troll, looking ready to try again.
The Vampire Fate (Dark World: The Vampire Wish Book 4) Page 10
