I wasn't sure what to expect, as this was so different from the other circle that I had sat in. I felt like I was drifting off to sleep, but I was aware of everything going on around me.
"We're finished," Gessilyn announced, and I opened my eyes. I didn't feel or look any different, but I hoped that I would be able to handle the sun now.
Clara walked over to the curtains and said, "It's about 7:30 so there should be sunlight now. Shall I open the curtains?" She reached for the curtain and I was behind a door across the room hiding before she could even touch it.
"Wow, you must have had some experience with the sunlight." Clara exclaimed.
I looked around the door and scowled at her. "You think?"
She grabbed the curtain and I pulled my head behind the door again for cover. I wasn't taking any chances.
"You don't have much faith in me, do you?" Gessilyn asked with mock offense. She smiled at me. "Come on out. I assure you that you'll be fine."
I hid behind the door like a scared little mouse.
Clara sighed loudly. "What was the point of coming all the way over here to get you your blessing back if you won't even use it? Come out here, you baby."
"You can call me what you want. I'm not budging."
They both came to me, grabbed my arms, and pulled me out into the light that was streaming from the window. I closed my eyes and struggled against them, but noticed no daggers or heat on my skin. I stopped struggling and opened one eye.
I was directly in the sun, and it wasn't bothering me in the slightest. I opened the other eye and smiled. "Yes."
They both let go of me and I walked over to the window and looked out in amazement. It really hadn't been all that long since I had lost the blessing, but it had felt like a lifetime.
"Thanks, Gessilyn," Clara said. "What do we owe you?"
"It's an honor to be able to help the princess," she said. "It's my gift."
"Are you sure that you don't want anything?" she asked.
"Someday I may need something," she said, smiling.
"Well I definitely owe you," I said, not taking my eyes off the sunny outside view.
"Let's get going, Alexis. We have a lot to do."
"Has the time has come to fight the Moretti's?" I asked.
"Yes, and we need to find Cliff. He was really determined to find my sister and destroy her. I hope she isn't with the Moretti's, because with Cliff's state of mind he would march in there by himself."
We started walking to the door and Gessilyn snuck the now-blessed jewelry in my hand with a wink. Clara didn't see the exchange at all.
"Thanks for everything."
"Yes, thank you for being so readily available to help us out," Clara added.
"It's my pleasure," Gessilyn responded. "Let me know how everything goes with the Moretti's."
"You know I will," Clara said with a wink as we walked through the door.
When we got outside, I asked, "What's our plan?"
She looked at me. "You're going to need to be the one who devises the plans pretty soon, you know. You're going to have to princess up."
"Am I going to get any training in the meantime?" I asked. "I missed our previous appointment. You know, getting abducted and everything."
"Don't remind me. That was horrible timing. I need to get back to the house before your parents think I've gone missing and freak out. Then I have to find Cliff and get you some training so that we can battle with the Moretti's."
"We?"
"You didn't think it was just you and Cliff, did you?" she asked.
"Nobody tells me anything around here," I reminded her. "All I know is that the prophecy says I will defeat them."
"Yes, but not by yourself. We're going to have plenty of help going in with you."
"So am I going to meet you somewhere for training?" I asked. "I obviously can't go home."
"No, you can't. Your parents won't let you out of their sight once you return, plus there will be a ton of publicity. You'll have to wait until we finish off the Moretti's. Meet me in the woods where we first met, in a few hours. If I have to skip school, I will."
"So you and Natalie have been going to school, like nothing's wrong?" I asked, hurt.
"Your parents want us to feel as normal as possible. Natalie's having a horrible time. I've tried reassuring her that you would be okay, but I don't think she'll believe it until she sees you."
I felt bad. "We need to take care of the Moretti's as quickly as possible. I can't stand to think of what my family is going through."
"That's right, which is why I need to get going. I'll see you in a few hours."
"I might have some other vampires with me that you can train. I'm sure they'll probably want to help."
"You've made friends with common vampires?" she asked. "Well, we can use all the help that we can get." She ran off and was out of sight in a couple of seconds.
I closed my eyes to get my bearings and started running towards the house where Tanner and the others were. It actually wasn't too far away. I had almost traveled in a circle from there to Brooke's house and then to Gessilyn's apartment.
I ran the whole way back to the house without stopping. It felt wonderful to be running in the daylight again. I hoped I would never again lose that sun blessing.
When I got to the house, I went through a wall in the back, listened for the others and didn't hear anything. They might have heard me and were being quiet in case I was someone else.
I walked up the stairs to the closet that Tanner and I had hidden in, hoping that they would still be there. I didn't want to have to track them down. I had an uneasy feeling. Something was wrong.
They were all in the closet. Tanner looked like he was going to be sick, and Brad and Eric had tear-stained faces. That's when I noticed Kayla laying on the floor.
"What happened?" I exclaimed.
Brad sighed and said, "We went out to get some blood and ran into some of Vince's runaways. There were a lot more of them than us, and we fought them. You should have seen Tanner. He killed at least five by himself. But Kayla got injured and she hasn't woken up. There was no silver liquid from her anywhere so we think she's still hanging on."
"It's hard to tell since we're already dead," Eric said. He hadn't moved from her side.
I had a feeling that I should be able to do something to help. I sat down next to Kayla and placed my hands on her head. I thought I should place my hands on her stomach. I could feel some kind of sharp vibration. "I think this is where the injury is," I said, closing my eyes and imagined a vibration of healing, radiating from my hands to her injuries.
Just when I was beginning to wonder if I was helping at all, Kayla sat up. She looked around and asked, "What's going on?"
Eric pulled her into an embrace. He said, "You were injured when those vampires attacked us. Alexis just healed you. I wouldn't have believed it, except that I saw it with my own eyes."
She looked at me. "I don't know how you did that, but thank you."
"I don't know how I did it, either. I just did it."
"Did you have the jewelry blessed?" she asked.
"Yes." I gave everyone their pieces.
"Let's go try these out," Brad said. "It's been a couple of years since I've been able to even look in the direction of the sun."
"I can't even imagine," I said. "The short time that I couldn't go into the sun was torture."
They all ran downstairs where the light was brightest.
Kayla began dancing around. "Look at this glorious sun. Look at us in this glorious sun."
"Where should we go first?" Eric asked.
I looked at Tanner. "I have a battle that I need to prepare for. It's against the Moretti's. I think that their leader might be the same Vince that you keep hearing about. I could be wrong, but it's too strange to be a coincidence. The Moretti's are trying to take the throne, and it only makes sense that they would be creating vampires for just that."
"A battle?" Kayla asked.
"What throne?" Eric asked.
"There is a queen and king vampire who rule the entire vampire world," I said. "The Moretti's are jealous and power hungry. They want to take down the king and queen and rule the throne themselves. They are cruel, but the current king and queen rule with kindness and justice."
"I'd be more than glad to use my new vampire strength on them," Tanner said.
"There's more," I told Tanner. "Samantha is still alive."
He gave me a look of total shock.
"As it turns out, she is a descendant in a line that was removed from the throne, and she's working with the Moretti's. Because she's still a royal vampire, even though she's not on the throne, she can only be killed with a stake made of one of the rarest types of wood on the planet."
"I'm going to…."
I looked away. "Cliff is already on it."
"What? Cliff is back? When did this happen?" He looked very disappointed.
"Sometime while we were away," I said. "As soon as he heard what she did with your ring, he took off again, this time to kill her."
Eric looked at Kayla and said, "I feel like I should help out with this. When I'm done, we can meet up again. I will only go if you're okay with it. Especially after what you've been through."
She looked disappointed and sighed. "It's okay Eric. You know where I'll be."
He nodded.
"Since we're going to be in training soon, we might want to get something to eat to give us strength," I said.
"Food or blood?" Tanner asked.
"It would probably be best if we have both," I said. "Also, even though we can go out into the sun, we should still be careful because everyone is looking for us."
"Why?" Brad asked. "What did you do? Wipe out a whole neighborhood or something?"
I laughed. "No, nothing like that. We were abducted by the vampires that Tanner killed and now our families and our pictures are all over the news. After we finish fighting the Moretti's, we can go back home, but not before."
"Your human families?" Kayla asked. "How recently were you turned?"
Tanner laughed nervously. "I was turned a couple of days ago."
"Dude, you're going to keep getting stronger for a few weeks. Take full advantage of it while you can!" Brad exclaimed.
"I plan to," Tanner said.
"I'm going to get going," Kayla said, looking at Eric. "I am looking forward to getting out into the sun."
Eric gave her a hug and said, "I will come back to find you."
"Hey guys, let's go to the kitchen and see if there's any food," I said, trying to give Eric and Kayla their space as they had done for Tanner and I. "Bye, Kayla."
"Bye, and thanks for everything. You don't know how much this means."
"I do, actually," I said. "But you're welcome."
Tanner, Brad and I went into the kitchen and found it pretty bare.
"Where are we going to find food?" Brad asked.
"Where do you guys usually find your food?" Tanner asked.
"We eat what we can find at night, and then of course, feed on people as they sleep."
"It might not be easy finding people asleep during the day," Tanner said. "We could feed on some animals."
I looked at him. If we can get away, we can feed on each other. I'm still part human.
He smiled at me.
***
Tanner, Brad, Eric and I were waiting for Clara in the exact spot that I had first met Clara. We had come across a large group of die-hard campers and had more than enough blood to fill each of us. We figured they had been up into the wee hours if they were sleeping in so late. Our gain.
Clara showed up. "You weren't kidding when you said you'd have company."
I introduced her to the three guys and she said, "So, I finally get to meet the famous Tanner."
"Famous?" he asked.
"Sure. You're all over the news. I've also heard a lot about you before that, you're giving Cliff a run for his money."
He grinned and stood taller. "Well Alexis needed a good friend, and I didn't see anyone else stepping up to the plate."
"When did you become a vampire? That's an interesting twist that I wasn't aware of." She raised an eyebrow at me.
"Just a couple of days ago," I said. "Samantha left him for dead and I was trying to save him. I ended up turning him instead."
"That's convenient," she said. "It also adds some complications that I'm sure you know nothing about."
"Complications?" I asked. "What kind of complications?"
"It's complicated," she said, smirking at me. "Too complicated to get into right now. You'll have to put your curiosity on hold for now. I'll explain it all later."
"Can't you tell me something? The suspense is going to drive me crazy."
"It should, because you've really complicated things," she said. "You fit in perfectly with our side of the family, Alexis. You can take the vampire out of the family, but you can't take the family out of the vampire."
"That doesn't even make sense," I said.
She laughed. "But it does."
"So what's this training all about?" Brad asked. It was obvious that he was anxious to get on with the program.
"The Moretti's are a very strong and powerful group of vampires. We need to make sure that everyone fighting them is prepared. The rest of us have had plenty of training, but you four have not been raised as vampires, so you have much to learn. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of time."
"It's a good thing that I'm at my strongest," Tanner said proudly.
"Have you all watched nothing other sparkly vampire movies?" Clara asked. "We don't sparkle and newly transformed vampires aren't the strongest. There is an initial surge of power for a few weeks, but it dies down. As vampires get older, we get stronger. Even with your power surge, you are no match for me, and I'm only a couple hundred years old. None of us are a match for the king and queen. We have to think fast to be able to beat an old vampire."
"Oh," Tanner said.
"So what's the plan?" I asked.
"I'm going to hunt two of you at a time, and you need to show me what you've got. I'll help you with your weaknesses when I see what they are. The two that I'm not helping will hunt each other."
"Okay," I said. "Who are you going to start with?"
"Whomever I find first. I will probably spend the most time with you though, because you play the key card here as the one who is supposed to win the battle."
"What?" Eric and Brad asked at the same time.
"There's a prophecy about this battle that Alexis is the one who is going to be the one to finish it off."
"Yes. It's a sure win." Tanner smiled.
"That doesn't mean that it's going to be easy, and we still need to be prepared," I said. Even though we took out Adam's group, I was not confident that I was ready to face the Moretti's. "Let's get started."
"Why does she play the key card? Why is there a prophecy about her winning?" Brad asked.
Clara rolled her eyes at me. "You complain about people not telling you anything. She's the princess of all vampires and after she changes, she will be the most powerful vampire around."
Brad and Eric stared at each other.
"At least we're on the right side," Eric said.
"I can't believe it," said Brad.
"Be amazed later," Clara said. "We have limited time to train. You two go off in one direction, Tanner and Alexis in another. I'll be hunting for you, and you need to keep your senses alert to be aware of me and fight me off. When I say stop, stop. Now go."
Tanner and I ran off one way while Brad and Eric ran off in the other direction. Clara stayed where she was. I wondered how long she would wait before going after us. We zigged and zagged, trying to take the most unusual route possible. We wanted to make sure that she was on top of her game too.
Finally, we decided to stay in one spot, and we waited a long time.
"Why do
you think she's taking so long?" Tanner asked.
"I don't know. It's pretty weird," I said. "Do you think something happened?"
"Maybe we kept our trail well covered by taking such crazy paths."
"I hope that's it," I said, but I had an uneasy feeling.
We sat in silence for a while and then I heard something. I sat up slightly, trying to tell if it was Clara or an animal. I still had a very unsettling feeling that something was wrong. The pit of my stomach felt twisted.
The hairs on my neck and arm stood up. "It's a predator," I told Tanner. "Let's hope it's Clara."
I looked around and used my other senses to figure out where she was. If it was her, that is.
"It's coming from the northeast," I said.
"That's what I'm sensing too," he agreed.
"Let's go tackle her," I hissed, and jumped out of our hiding spot. He was just a step behind me and we took our predator to the ground.
"Okay guys, you win," Clara said.
I folded my arms. "Not much of a training session. I was expecting some tips and critiques."
"You certainly know how to hide your trail," she snapped.
"That's a good thing, isn't it?" I asked, confused at her irritation.
"I've been looking for you because I have to tell you something."
My heart sunk. "I knew that something was wrong. I had a really bad feeling about it. What's wrong?"
"Cliff has been captured by the Moretti's."
My face went white and the whole world shrunk away from my vision. "How do you know?" I asked, as if in a dream.
"Samantha called me to brag," she muttered.
"Did she happen to tell you where they have him?" I asked.
She snickered. "Yeah, because she's such a kind soul."
"So what's the plan?" I asked.
"We're going to meet at Brooke's and we're all going to devise a plan together. It's going to be a group effort this time, princess."
"What about Brad and Eric? Did you find them already?"
"They were actually harder to find than I thought they would be. They'll be pretty useful for our battle. I was surprised at their skill for common vampires. They're waiting in my car for us."
"Are we all going to drive to Brooke's?" I asked.
The Transformed Box Set: Books 1, 2, 3, 3.5 Page 31
