Prophecy: Caelestis and Aurorea [A Vampires Realm Novel]

by F. E. Heaton

  "Where did they take him?” She didn't hold out much hope of Elena knowing. Her blood-brother was clever, and from what Valentine had told her about Kalinor, she knew that he was probably even more intelligent than Arkalus. They would have devised a plan to keep the witch in the dark about their intentions for Valentine.

  "I ... I do not know.” Elena sank into her chair again, curling up and holding her knees to her chest. She looked like a scared child, nothing like the powerful necromancer Prophecy had met during her last visit. “They had me transport him to St. Mark's Square. They took him from there before any of my servants could reach it. I wanted them to report back to me. I knew you would come and you would need to know where Valentine was. If I had realised how much you and the power you hold needed him ... I would have let them kill me."

  "Don't talk so. I will find him and I will learn to govern my power."

  "It is not your power."

  Prophecy frowned at the note of spite in Elena's voice. Drawing herself up, she looked down at the witch.

  "It is my power to command.” She saw Elena's eyes drop to her hand when she flexed her fingers. “You know where it comes from. I have seen this same star as a scar upon your hand. You have met my mother, haven't you?"

  Elena lowered her head. “She was a powerful witch. I thought she had died many moons ago and now I know she had. To give you this gift, she would have sacrificed herself and cursed herself to an eternity wandering the earth, unable to rest. Her power should have gone to the grave with her, giving her a chance at a good afterlife."

  "She gave this to me so I could fulfil my destiny and she lives on in my heart. She's no wandering spirit and she isn't cursed. I have seen her. She is at peace.” Prophecy ran the tips of her fingers over the stone of her amulet and it glowed white. Looking back at Elena, she frowned when she saw she was again staring at her hand. “Why did they take Valentine?"

  "I told you I do not know anything about their plan. I was just a small part of it. I was only told to bring him to the square."

  "Why didn't they take me?” Prophecy cursed the tears that rose up on saying those words. All throughout her journey to Venice she'd been plagued by that question. It haunted her, stealing her sleep during the day and pushing her to the edge. Her fatigue caught up with her. She hadn't slept since the castle. Each passing minute drained a little more energy from her and made her feel one step closer to breaking down under the pressure of everything. She swallowed hard and her eyelids drooped. They felt as heavy as her heart, but sleep wouldn't come.

  A strong hand caught hold of her arm and her eyes slowly moved to it. After everything she'd done, Venturi had come with her and was now supporting her. He seemed to be able to sense her tiredness. Raising her eyes to his, she saw the concern in them and wondered if the reason he had come with her was purely because he'd pledged his allegiance to her, or whether there was something else at work.

  "Who is this you have brought with you?” Elena's voice broke into her thoughts and Prophecy looked around at her.

  "He is Venturi and he is now the lord of his bloodline thanks to you."

  "Me?” Elena looked stunned and ran her eyes over him. “He seems like another loyal dog. You do have a power over them, don't you? But do they have power over you in return? Valentine seems to."

  Removing Venturi's hand from her arm, Prophecy straightened up and forced the tiredness from her body. She couldn't trust Elena or appear weak in front of her. Even though Elena's power had been diminished by Arkalus and Kalinor stealing her blood, it would be foolish of her to presume that Elena would always remain that way. Prophecy had to stay strong and show Elena that she was a force to be reckoned with.

  "It was your words that sent me to Romania, even against Valentine's better instincts. I should have trusted him over you."

  "But you had a vision—"

  She didn't let Elena finish her sentence. “I did have a vision and I don't know how you knew about it, but your interpretation was wrong. The lord of Tenebrae was going to offer his assistance to me, not destroy me."

  "I too had a vision and believed it was the same as you had,” Elena said.

  Prophecy tilted her head back and looked down at her. “I find it strange that it was you who sent me there and it was you who took Valentine."

  "But the marks ... can't you see that I'm telling you the truth?” Elena swept her hair aside in one frantic motion and then extended her arms.

  Prophecy stared at the marks that littered them, slicing through the pale skin and staining it red with dried blood.

  "I was the only one powerful enough to create that portal and they were aware that I knew of your location ... that is all. You must believe me!” Elena dropped to her knees and looked up at her.

  Prophecy frowned, her eyes narrowing on the witch in front of her. Elena had fallen and was far from the person she had previously met, but there was still something about her that made her feel she couldn't be trusted.

  "You are not the only one powerful enough to create that portal.” Raising her hand, Prophecy clenched her jaw and watched the magic spiralling around her fingers. “You breathe one word that I was here or about what we spoke of, and I will show you the true extent of my power."

  Turning on her heel, she ignored Elena's feeble cries and headed straight for the door. Walking down the steps and across the hall, she renewed the vow she'd made at the castle.

  She would save Valentine.

  When she found him, she was going to make sure she had her vengeance.

  Arkalus and Kalinor were going to pay with their lives.

  Chapter 2

  Prophecy didn't look back as the portal from Elena's hidden world disappeared. She kept her eyes forwards, her mind racing a mile a minute to think of a plan. She knew who had taken Valentine, but she had no clue as to their whereabouts. Arkalus and Kalinor weren't fools. They wouldn't keep Valentine hidden anywhere near Prague.

  They had to have taken him somewhere she didn't know of.

  As the Chosen Daughter of her bloodline, she knew of all the safe-houses and mansions her family kept. They were spread across the world, each major city having one and some more remote regions housing places where her kin could hide if they needed to.

  It would take too long to search them all, and without Valentine, she had no way of travelling by plane. Her only method of transport was the trains now. The journey to Venice from Romania had seen her and Venturi having to hide at each border crossing so they weren't caught without a passport. She wished that Venturi shared Valentine's ability to alter perception, but he didn't seem to have any special skills like that.

  She glanced across at him as he kept step beside her. His old world clothes had been replaced by the long black jacket and trousers he'd been wearing before. His eyes were fixed intently on the bridge just ahead of them. He looked so different to Valentine. There was nothing regal about his features. They had Italian beauty, but weren't noble. His brows were fine, his lips full and his nose straight. He reminded her of a gladiator she'd seen in a television program. Sometimes though, there was something in his blue eyes that made her realise that there was darkness inside of him just as his bloodline's name said. He had a wicked streak and she was sure it was going to come out one day. She believed that Valentine would take pleasure in killing, but this man had a look about him that said he would revel in it.

  When his eyes moved to rest on her, she looked away and sighed.

  "Where now?” Venturi's voice echoed along the quiet alley.

  She frowned thoughtfully and then stared at the bag he was carrying. When they'd left the castle, she'd made him stop by the inn so they could pick up hers and Valentine's belongings. She patted her pocket and ran her fingers along the outline of the tube that contained the first part of the scroll.

  There was only one place they could go.

  "Mathias."

  Venturi raised a brow and she remembered that he didn't have a clue who she was talking about.


  "He's a friend of Valentine's. He helped us before and promised to translate the scrolls if we brought them back to him. We have the first half of it, but are yet to find the second. If I take him the scroll and tell him about Valentine going missing, he may be able to point me in the right direction."

  "And where is this ... Mathias?” Venturi said, his eyes falling to rest on her hand where it still rested over the scroll case in her pocket.

  "England. It's going to be hard to get there without passports, but we have to try. From there I will be able to contact Mia and Dmitri again and see if they've learnt anything about Valentine.” Leading the way over the bridge, she tried to remember how to get to the train station. If she could find the Rialto Bridge then she would know roughly where she was going. She went to turn and go down the steps on one side of the bridge but Venturi stopped her.

  "It is quicker to go through Piazza San Marco,” he said and tugged her arm, leading her down the other side.

  Her stomach twisted and turned at the thought of having to pass through the place where Elena had transported Valentine to not once but twice. The last time she had been in the square, she had been forced to fight for her life and had then been abducted by Arkalus. She tried to focus on the time she'd been there before that. She had been with Valentine. He'd promised her that when they had fulfilled the prophecy, he would take her to see inside the cathedral.

  She caught sight of it as they rounded the end of the square, passing the two columns and the beautifully ornate buildings either side. She looked up at the campanile and then at the people milling around the square. Her stomach growled, reminding her that it had been too long since she'd fed. The deer blood that Valentine had got for her in Romania had worn off long before she had left the castle but she hadn't felt the hunger inside of her, all she had felt was the remorse and pain of losing him.

  Her teeth itched but she held her vampire guise at bay. There was no time to hunt and feed. They had to get to England as soon as possible and tell Mathias what had happened. She hoped that he would have some answers for them.

  * * * *

  Venturi stared at Prophecy who sat looking out the window of the train. She was beautiful. He hadn't expected her to look like this and he hadn't been prepared for how drawn to her he would be. There was something in her eyes and her movements that mesmerised him. He hadn't been able to stop himself from following her when they'd met at the castle. The sight of her had lessened the pain of losing his sire, forcing it to the back of his mind. She was powerful, but it was her beauty that was devastating.

  He leaned his left elbow against the arm of the long couch seat he was sitting on and brought his fist up to his mouth. Supporting his chin on his thumb, he splayed his forefinger and index finger out against his cheek and curled his other two around, pressing his ring finger against his lips.

  He couldn't stop watching her.

  It was wrong, he knew it, but no matter how hard he tried to keep his eyes off her, they kept wandering back again.

  She had turned the lights off in the compartment when they had entered and had muttered something about wanting to see the outside world as her excuse. He knew it was more than that. He could almost feel the weight of sadness she was feeling and it was written in every line of her face. As much as he wanted to, he had no way of stopping her from feeling that way. All he could do was try to take her mind off it for a short while. The witch they had met with was right. Prophecy was affected by the loss of the Aurorea she seemed to have feelings for. It had hurt her deeply.

  He frowned when they passed a station. The lights shone on her face for the briefest of moments and caught on the tears in her eyes.

  She sighed. He watched her bring her hand up, discreetly wiping her tears away but making no effort to hide them from him.

  Sitting up, he tried to think of something to say to break the silence and get her mind off the Aurorea.

  "I wish I could sleep,” she whispered.

  "You can sleep. I will keep watch,” he said. She shook her head and smiled, showing him it wasn't that she didn't feel safe enough to sleep, it was that she couldn't. He leaned forwards, his eyes reflecting his curiosity.

  "Sleep brings me answers sometimes and I'm sure it would have one for me now.” She brought her eyes away from the window and looked straight at him.

  "Answers?” he said, feeling even more confused. There was so much about her that he didn't know but she was revealing it all to him little by little. The marks she bore and the amulet that was fitted around her hand gave her the ability to use a power that she had because she wasn't wholly a vampire. He'd wondered what that meant from the moment she'd said it. It had been going around his mind the whole time she was confronting the witch. The anticipation of hearing more about Prophecy was overwhelming.

  "I have visions. It was one of these visions that Valentine saw when we first met and he bit me.” She idly stroked the marks on her neck.

  Venturi's stomach tightened when he realised that they were the Aurorea's and not her sire's. There were so many of them, some of them fading away but others remaining prominent. How much blood had they shared? Had she tasted him too? He shunned the jealous thoughts that rose up at the back of his mind and focused on what she was saying.

  "These visions are of the future. I remember seeing you in one. They guide me on the path to my destiny. If I sleep, I know one will come to me and it will help me find Valentine. My power is strongest when my heart fears, and right now, I'm petrified. One has to come to me. I need guidance. I need to find him."

  He struggled with his words, torn between wanting to reassure her that they would find the Aurorea and wanting to block out all mention of him. He focused on what she'd said about her visions. She'd seen him in one of them. He wondered how it was possible and then remembered that with magic anything was possible.

  "Where are you from?” she asked.

  He almost laughed at her abrupt change of subject. “Venice, originally, but that was a long time ago."

  "How long?” Her eyes filled with curiosity but he could see her thoughts and attention weren't wholly with him. She was mostly making conversation to take her mind off what had happened but he was happy to give her a little respite by telling her about himself.

  "A thousand years,” he said.

  She didn't appear at all stunned like he'd expected.

  "I've met a few as old as you. Mathias is over a thousand and the previous leader of my bloodline, Iona was. I can't imagine what it's like to live as long as you have. Valentine has told me wonderful things about the world and the changes that have taken place, but he's ... well ... I don't know how old he is really. I'm sure he must have mentioned it.” She smiled to herself and he wanted to know what thought had evoked such a real look of happiness. “Three hundred. I remember hearing Mathias say it."

  "He's a youngling.” He regretted his words when she scowled at him.

  "You don't know him. He's smarter than you. He's a hunter and he got me this far. Without him, I would be dead."

  Venturi swallowed and bit back the words he wanted to say. He wanted to defend himself, but knew that it would only make her angrier because he'd end up saying something offensive about the man she was protecting.

  "A hunter? We are all hunters.” Leaning into the back of the couch, he held her gaze, not letting her look away. He could see that she wouldn't anyway. She was determined not to let him win.

  "Not like this. He's unique. He hunts the vampire hunters. I've seen him fight them. I've seen him fight werewolves that are older than you and stronger than you'll ever be."

  Her jaw tensed. His stomach twisted, tightening up with anger over her words. She didn't know how strong he was, or how skilled. She had accused him of saying things about her precious Valentine when he knew nothing about him, yet here she was making offensive remarks about himself. He wanted to turn her words against her and make her see what she was doing, but found that he couldn't. As much as he
wanted to set her straight, he didn't want to upset her further.

  "Let us agree to disagree. I am not here to fight you, Prophecy. The last thing you need right now is another enemy. In time, you will change your opinion of me."

  "I didn't mean—” She cut herself off and looked ashamed.

  He leaned forwards and reached out to her but she ignored the hand he offered.

  "You take everything to heart,” he said with a slight smile, hoping she would see it and come out of her shell again. “I have spent seven centuries as high guard to my lord, or should I say the man who was my lord."

  "I am sorry about what happened,” she whispered it with a weight of emotion that went straight to his heart.

  "You believed you were doing the right thing. Many people have made such mistakes. It is in the past now and cannot be undone."

  "But you were his guard, surely you were close to him? How can you be so calm about it?” She sat a little straighter and fixed her dark eyes on him. There was such intent in them and he knew what she was thinking. He wasn't unfeeling though. He did care about what happened, more than she could understand.

  "He was more than my master,” he said and looked out of the window, watching the blurred scenery rushing by. They would have to change train soon. Dawn was approaching and they were due to arrive in Milan before it.

  "More than your ... oh!"

  He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She was biting her lip, her eyes wide with realisation.

  "I ... were..."

  He smiled at how awkward she suddenly looked, as though this made what she had done even worse and her knowing that the man she had killed was his sire would automatically make him hate her. He couldn't hate her. He'd sworn to protect her with his life. He couldn't hate the one person who was destined to save them all from the jaws of Hell.