The Eternal

by Bianca Hunter

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Blake followed the road to the graveyard and turned the car onto the field. The sun was starting to rise, but the only thing it managed to achieve was lessening the gray of the clouds. I twisted my hands nervously on my lap and tried to calm my rapid heart.

  “If anything goes wrong, can Viktor stop Serena?” I asked, my voice constricted.

  Blake stopped the car right next to the forest and turned to me. “If anything goes wrong, we will persevere, we will find another way. I will not stop until the witch is executed.”

  I took a deep, steadying breath and unfastened my seat belt. “I’m ready.”

  I followed Blake into the dark forest, keeping my eyes on the ground of pine needles, moss, and tree roots. Every few minutes I glanced at Blake. I was so grateful that I had him by my side. It turned out that having Blake was better than not having him. I couldn’t imagine doing any of this without him. My stomach clenched at the thought that after we had defeated Serena and Astara, I would never be able to see him again. How long would I remember him for?

  “We’re here,” he said as we arrived at a wooden cabin nestled among the trees.

  It looked at least three hundred years old and completely derelict. How had Lorenzo lived here for so long? I followed Blake up the wooden steps, onto the filthy porch, and through the door. The house looked like an old, neglected hunting cabin.

  “How are we going to find anything in this?” I gaped, looking around at the hundreds of dusty old books and papers on the floor.

  “Does anything look familiar?” Blake asked as he made his way through the room toward the stone fireplace. I glanced around the cabin.

  “No, I mean, all I see are books. Where does that go?” I asked, pointing at a wooden door next to the fireplace.

  “Bedroom, I think,” Blake said, moving to the door and opening it with a creak. I followed him into the bedroom, looked around, and slumped.

  “It’s just as bad as the other room,” I whispered.

  “We need some underlings,” Blake said, walking back out of the bedroom.

  Okay, Evelyn, come on, there must be something in here. Astara wouldn’t have sent you for nothing.

  I started picking up books and flicking through them, but after the twentieth dusty old novel, my shoulders slumped, and I glanced around the room again. Nothing. I looked down and noticed an old Persian rug on the floor.

  There was a trapdoor in Astara’s memory.

  It was a long shot, but I didn’t have anything to lose at that point. I started moving the books and the papers from the floor to the bed until the entire rug was free. I threw it to the side.

  “Blake,” I called. Before I could turn and call him again, he was at my side.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “There’s a trapdoor here,” I said, leaning forward and trying to lift the heavy wooden door by the iron latch. “I can’t do it.” I stood up straight and turned to him.

  “How the hell did Ravenna and Tristan miss this?” he whispered, stepping forward and pulling the door up easily. The stone steps seemed to lead into a deep tunnel.

  “They probably just looked through all the books,” I murmured. “Do you want to go first?”

  “You are not going in there, little mortal,” he said, raising his brow.

  A scowl developed on my face. “The hell I’m not. We’ve wasted enough time trying to protect me and, therefore, endangering everyone else around me. I’m going in.”

  Blake’s eyes narrowed, but he seemed to be fighting a grin. “All right. But, I’m going first whether you like it or not.”

  I nodded and moved out of the way. Blake shone his phone flashlight into the tunnel; it seemed to have stone stairs spiraling down into the darkness.

  I waited for Blake to descend and followed. We climbed down what felt like a hundred steps until we finally reached the bottom. It seemed to be a tunnel of stone.

  “Where do you think this goes?” I asked, my voice echoing through the tunnel.

  “I imagine it’s connected to the one in Astara’s cottage,” Blake replied.

  I followed him deeper into the tunnel until we finally arrived at a wooden door. Blake pushed it open, and a gust of wind and dust hit us.

  “No one has been in here for a very, very long time,” he said as we walked into the room.

  “Wow.” I gaped as we glanced around the circular stone room. It was full of shelves that contained letters and books.

  “Is this an altar?” I asked, walking up to the square stone slab in the center of the room.

  “I know this place,” Blake spoke, his voice thin.

  “You’ve been here before?” I looked at the engraving on the altar. More fallen angels.

  “No, but it’s an exact replica of one I have been in before,” he muttered, walking up to one of the shelves and picking up an old manuscript. “It’s the room that Aurelius sacrificed mortals in. He has one in Romania.”

  My heart sunk. “What?”

  “About four hundred years ago, Aurelius had the chest as agreed, and in the final year of his century, he invited the mortals in the village to attend a feast. He lured them into the room and opened the chest.”

  “But, he’s already immortal?”

  “An experiment,” Blake said. “More power.”

  “What happened to them?” I asked, knowing what the answer would be.

  “They all died, and Aurelius gained new abilities and subsequently, more years.”

  “Who built this one?” I asked, my heart racing and my mouth dry.

  “The only person who would know how. His son, Lorenzo.”

  “Blake, something about all of this ___ it feels like there’s something bigger going on. What if Victoria was right, what if Serena has a bigger plan?” God. Astara, Lorenzo, Nero, Serena—they were all connected to Aurelius. My stomach twisted, something was very, very wrong, I just couldn’t tell what or why.

  Blake turned to face me. “Evelyn, we have to get out of here,” Blake said, walking up to me. “Now!” He grabbed me, but as he did, the door slammed shut, and the torches on the walls burst into flames.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  “Hello, Evelyn,” I heard Serena whisper from behind us. “Blake. I’m surprised it took you this long to figure out what was going on.” Serena was as calm and composed as ever, in fact, she looked mildly bored, her eyes drifting around the room. I clenched my jaw and looked around desperately trying to find a way out.

  “Serena, this is why you’ve been so desperate to get Evelyn here,” Blake said, pulling me closer to him. There’s no way out, we’re trapped.

  Serena turned and gazed directly into my eyes. “She has the ability we need to resurrect Astara. You didn’t actually think she was going to get out of this alive, did you?”

  “Clever little witch.”

  “Yes, you see, this place,” she said, waving her hands around the room, “is the only place in Greyhaven where immortals who have not been invited in can come and go freely. Lorenzo built it when we first arrived. Of course, it was built for a very different purpose then, but your wretched father killed Astara, and all our schemes and plans were for naught. But, here we are, the place where Nero can come and resurrect his sister so we can continue with what we were always meant to do.”

  Did she say I was always meant to die? But she told me not to die—until Astara is resurrected. Blake seemed to have figured out what was going on. Why couldn’t I? What was I missing?

  “Nero is on his way,” Serena added. My heart pounded. This had been a trap the entire time. This was the reason Astara and Serena needed me to come here.

  “Why the wild goose chase, Serena? Why not just force Evelyn to come in the first place?”

  “If Evelyn had listened to me in the first place and come here to start with
, there wouldn’t have been a chase,” she said softly. “Nero has been waiting at the towns boarders this entire time, but Evelyn simply would not listen. Had you come here when Astara first told you to, I could have taken your mortal life, and Nero could have taken your immortal life. It would have been so simple, no one needed die at all dearest. Well, save you of course.”

  “So, you’re just going to kill me?” I said, my throat as dry as a cotton pad.

  “Yes, but don’t you see. Your death will return Astara and ensure that the prophecy never needs to come to pass.” She said gently. “You dying will save thousands of immortals.”

  I glanced at Blake who happened to look at me at the same time. For a second, I could swear I noticed the slightest grin.

  “Enough, Serena,” Blake said, his tone almost mocking. “This has all been very entertaining, as has been every encounter with you in my life thus far, but this comes to an end today.”

  A brief look of surprise crossed Serena’s face before she recovered and smiled. “You do know who you’re talking to, don’t you?”

  “Yes. The pathetic little scrapper of a witch that my mother pretended to take sympathy on so she could use and bend you to her will, and here you stand, Serena. Five centuries later still, still pining for her.”

  “You dare speak to me like that?” Serena whispered, taking a step toward us.

  “Goodbye, Serena.” Blake smiled.

  Why the hell is he smiling when we are both about to die?

  I watched her expression turn from anger to confusion, but before anyone could make another move, a massive, blinding bolt of lightning hit directly next to her. My entire body jumped as if someone had touched me with a live wire. Serena began backing away, but the lightning continued to strike around her. I squeezed Blake’s hand and tried to jerk us away as an entire lightning storm encircled the room as it shook.

  Is Blake doing this?

  I turned to Blake, who seemed calm and collected.

  “Come here,” Blake said, scooping me up as he had done earlier. I nestled my face against his chest as my heartbeat accelerated with every strike of lightning. I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to shut out the desperate fear I was feeling. I eyes flew open on the sound of Serena’s cry. She seemed completely surrounded by a curtain of lightning. Blake took a step forward and then everything disappeared in a blur. I shut my eyes again, and when I opened them, we were next to the Range Rover.

  “Are you okay?” Blake asked, setting me down. I walked toward the cemetery and then turned around and walked back to Blake. Adrenaline coursed through every vein and every nerve.

  “Is she dead?” I asked, looking back at the forest.

  Calm down, it’s okay, you’re safe.

  “No, that wouldn’t have killed her, but it will destroy the room,” he said. “We’ll destroy the rest of the tunnels and lock down Greyhaven. Now that we know they want you, this comes down to some simple protection spells.”

  “Was that you?” I asked. “The lightning?” My heart hammered against my ribcage with so much force I thought it would explode.

  “I told you I would never let anything happen to you. Now, let’s get you back to Ravenna,” he added, opening the passenger door for me. How was he this calm? Evelyn, something isn’t right, this was all too easy. Something isn’t right. Victoria’s warning echoed in my mind.

  I climbed into the car, my entire body shaking. I closed my eyes and let my head rest on the seat as Blake started the engine.

  It’s all to easy Evelyn.

  My stomach lurched, and I turned to Blake.

  “She still has Gwenn,” I gasped.

  He turned his gaze to me. “We will find Gwenn. Serena only has her as leverage. Gwenn will be safe until we find her, and we will find her.”

  I bit my bottom lip and nodded as he started driving over the field. I glanced back at the forest, half expecting Serena to be standing there, but she wasn’t.

  “Blake, I, I just can’t let go of this feeling that this cannot have been her plan. It just seems too simple, too easy?” I whispered as we arrived at the hill to the manor.

  “We need to destroy those caves,” Blake replied, ignoring my question and picking up his phone. A number dialed over the handsfree, and I heard a dial tone.

  “Blake,” a man’s voice answered.

  “Dylan, I need you to listen carefully,” Blake spoke as we arrived at the iron gates. “There is a cave network that spans from Astara’s old cottage through the forest, toward the cemetery, and out of Greyhaven. It needs to be destroyed immediately.”

  “I’ll get it done,” Dylan confirmed.

  “Start from the outside in. Call me when it’s completely destroyed,” Blake said before ending the call and driving into the courtyard where Ravenna was already waiting for us, probably having heard the car.

  Blake stopped the car right next to her, and she pulled open the passenger door. “Thank God you’re okay,” she said, helping me out of the car.

  “Thanks to Blake,” I replied, turning to watch Blake walk around the car and join us.

  “Why, what happened?” Her eyes darted from me to her brother.

  “We’ll catch you up inside. Evelyn needs to eat and get her heart rate down,” he said. The very last thing I wanted to do right now was eat.

  She nodded and linked her arm with mine before we followed Blake into the manor. I didn’t ever think I would feel relief walking back into the entrance hall, but I suddenly realized it was the most familiar place I had now.

  “Nelly,” Ravenna called as we made our way to the lounge area.

  Nelly must have been lingering nearby because she appeared as soon as Ravenna called. “Ah, Nelly, Evelyn needs another fattening meal double-quick, please.”

  Nelly nodded as we kept walking.

  “Serena still has Gwenn,” I whispered as we walked into the lounge. Before Ravenna could say anything, Bastian bolted toward me and threw his arms around me.

  “You’re okay,” he said, stepping back to examine that I really was, in fact, okay.

  “I am, but Gwenn—”

  Bastian narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. “We’ll find her. Serena needs her. She’ll be okay.”

  “Serena’s plan was to lure Evelyn and Nero into the same place and for Nero to kill Evelyn and gain her ability, apparently if Evelyn were to become immortal, she would have the power to resurrect immortals,” Blake said as Ravenna followed him to the bar at the end of the room.

  “What?” Ravenna said, turning to look at me. I nodded as Bastian and I followed them.

  “Lorenzo created a series of tunnels under Greyhaven that were immune to the spell of Isabel,” Blake explained while pouring himself a drink. “They created the same sacrificial room that Aurelius has in his hovel.” He poured Ravenna the same drink.

  “Where is Serena now?” Ravenna asked, glancing at me again.

  “Buried under a mountain of stone and dirt,” Blake replied. “But that won’t keep her down for long.”

  “God, what are we going to do?” Ravenna asked as she took a sip of her drink.

  “We’re going to recast the concealment and protection spell over Greyhaven and shut them out. As soon as Tristan gets back, we’ll start looking for Gwenn. Once we have her back, Serena has nothing left.”

  “That still leaves us with the problem that Evelyn can never leave Greyhaven,” Ravenna replied. “As long as Serena is out there, Evelyn will be in constant danger.”

  “No, Sister. I intend to hunt down the immortal that Serena has bound herself to, kill the head of the snake and all. As soon as we’ve done that, the cloaking spell on Gwenn will lift, and we can find her.”

  “This all seems a bit too easy,” Ravenna replied.

  Yes, it does. Ravenna clearly felt it too. Why didn’t Blake?

 
Something in me felt empty, like this wasn’t over by a long run.

  “She could be playing another game, getting our guards down,” Ravenna added.

  “The best defense is a good offense,” Blake replied, now putting down his drink and walking out of the room. “And today was the last day that Serena was a step ahead of me.” We watched him leave.

  “Do you think this is it?” I asked, looking at Ravenna.

  “I know that witch better than Blake does,” Ravenna replied. “And if I’m certain of anything, it’s that she has a plan B, I don’t even know if her Plan A was really her Plan A. I hate to admit it, but Serena is clever, and manipulative. Something does not feel right about any of this.”

  “Do you think Blake will be able to hunt her down?” Bastian asked as we made our way to the sofas.

  “He’ll most likely be able to find the immortal who is keeping her alive,” Ravenna replied.

  “What are we going to do?” Bastian asked.

  “As horrible as it sounds, we are going to prepare for the masquerade tomorrow evening,” Ravenna said, rolling her eyes. “As much as I loathe the thought of parading around with The Enlightened, it’s going to be the safest place to be.”

  “I can’t go to a masquerade while Gwenn is trapped somewhere alone and terrified,” I mumbled, shaking my head.

  “Blake, Tristan, and the Dark Soldiers will find the immortal who is keeping Serena alive. Once they do, then we can actively help Gwenn. Until then, it would be like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles. Serena wouldn’t dare come to Verto, so at least you’ll both be safe for one more evening.”

  “I feel so useless with this stupid mortal body.” Bastian scowled, his eyes darting around the room.

  “I know how you feel,” I said, suddenly feeling extremely fragile in the world of monsters I had been sucked into.

  The door opened, and we watched as Nelly and another mortal carried in some trays. Bastian stared off into the distance while Nelly set down a tray of lasagna for each of us. I knew exactly what he was thinking because I was thinking the same thing. Becoming immortal had suddenly become better than being mortal.