“He didn’t pick up, so I left a message. I assume he can call me back on that number?”
“Yes, I will get you if he returns the call. So,” he folded his hands and sat down beside Jude, “we have some work to do.”
“I don’t know what happened. I’m sorry, Camille. You’re a really nice girl. That story was just too much for me.”
I steeled my jaw and looked at him. “I shouldn’t have shared that with you. My brain doesn’t work right. Dr. Antos thinks it’s some kind of vision mixed with a dream-like hallucination. It’s hard for me to know what’s real.”
“So, you guys are good?” Dr. Antos looked between us.
“I’m not sure we’re going to be close friends anymore,” I told them.
“That’s fine. We just need an amiable relationship if we’re going to be training together. Are we understood?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Yes,” Jude affirmed.
Dr. Antos reviewed the travel plans. As we would fly out of Reykjavik, he indicated he would accompany me home to pack some different clothes, giving me a little time to see Mom and Tyler.
“And this is free?” I asked when he finished. “How can you afford travel and lodging for all the potential witches?”
“There aren’t great numbers of you. My coven is quite large. We have vast holdings. Our members support each other. My practice is successful and I’m a best-selling author. Many of us do quite well.”
Dr. Antos wrapped up our session and sent us to our next activity.
“Your dad is MIA?” Jude whispered to me as we left Dr. Antos’s tent.
“Yes. Mom said she’d been trying to reach him for week.”
“Mine is too. Strange.”
“I think they took our dads so they couldn’t rescue us.”
“We can’t appear too friendly.”
“I know. I hate it.”
“Tonight, when it’s dark, we’ll meet behind the bathhouse.”
“Okay.” I pointed my nose in the air and turned the other way, acting as if I could care less about him or the conversation.
Over the next few days, I worked hard at appearing calm. Inside, a ball of fear had taken up residence. There were so many unknowns. I prepared Jude the best I could with all my knowledge, and I gave him the paper copy of my journal entries I’d kept on my hallucinations.
“I’m not sure I’m as much vampire as this Alena is,” he admitted the night before our journey to Italy.
“Maybe you’re only a quarter. But if we can be initiated into a coven, then we’ll have access to a full witch’s magic.”
“You would join their coven?” he asked.
“To get my full powers, yes.”
“We need to figure out all the rules. We don’t want to be stuck losing our powers if we turn against a coven to side with Alena and Hunter.”
“Agreed.”
My extra session with Dr. Antos was a good cover for the relapse story I gave Frida. She seemed so excited that we would be able to see each other after camp it saddened me to disappoint her. Plus, she’d been a good friend, and I would miss her.
I sat beside her on the bus back to Reykjavik. It felt bittersweet as the pretend disagreement between Jude and me had broken up our three-musketeer vibe. She hugged me once she’d gathered her luggage.
“Call me when you get back.”
“I will.” I gave her a squeeze.
She stepped back to face Jude “Okay, I expect you to be on your best behavior from now on. That is my friend.”
“Got it.” He pulled his cap over his ears.
Once all the campers left with their families, Dr. Antos had a car take us to my house.
Tyler and Mom helped me repack my things in my room.
“Are you sure you’re not doing this just to get out of school and hang out with that guy?” Tyler kidded me.
“This is serious,” Mom reprimanded him. “Camille, I don’t want you to go.” She rubbed her hand down my back. “I’m not comfortable with not being able to contact your dad.”
“Didn’t you file a report?”
“Yes, his assistant did in Egypt, where they last saw him. But I don’t think the Egyptian police care about a missing American.”
“Well, file a report with the CIA, State Department, or something.”
“I guess we could do that.” She rubbed her hands together and paced my room.
“Why are you still wearing the bracelet if it doesn’t work?” Tyler pointed at my arm.
I spun it on my wrist. “It helps some; it’s just not one hundred percent.”
“Did you have the same hallucinations as before?” he asked.
“No. But the ringing and the buzzing in my head returned. Sardinia is supposed to be one of the healthiest places on Earth.”
“And somewhere we couldn’t afford to live,” Mom added.
“Mom.” I wrapped my arms around her. You’ve done everything in your power to make sure I grew up healthy and happy. I’m old enough to take responsibility for that now. I’m going to be okay.”
“I know. This just seems so extreme.” She grabbed a tissue and blotted the tears from her cheeks. “And I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll come home for Christmas,” I told them, although I had no clue what waited for me in Italy.
Mom wrapped her arms around me. “I’m going to say goodbye now. I can’t walk you out.”
“I love you.” I squeezed her hard.
“I love you too, beautiful girl.”
“I’ll call or text every day.”
“At least we’ll have more communication than at the camp.” She released me and blotted her eyes. “Okay, bye, sweetie.” She pulled me into her arms again.
“I’ll carry your bags out.” Tyler hoisted my backpack to his shoulder.
Mom stood in the hall, and I waved to her before walking out the front door behind Dr. Antos and Jude. The tears I’d been holding back started to form as we neared the vehicle.
After stowing my gear, Tyler spun to face me. “Come back soon, okay?”
With tears pouring down my cheeks, I could barely speak. “Don’t tell Mom I was crying.”
“I won’t. I love you. Get better, okay?” He hugged me.
“I will.”
I backed away, turned, and slipped into the back seat of the car before I lost my resolve.
“Ready?” Dr. Antos asked.
Squaring my shoulders, I nodded. “Yes.” I kept my eyes aimed at the headrest in front of me as we passed my house, fearing a new onslaught of tears. Jude’s jacket lay between us, and he slid his hand underneath it, fitting his fingers around mine.
Thinking of him hardened my resolve to see this through. If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t be sitting in the car, traveling to certain entrapment in an evil witch’s lair. I reminded myself they just wanted Alena, Hunter, and me, and perhaps one of us would be enough. I was saving Alena and Hunter in a sense. Perhaps Jude and I could do more, help them find the sword.
We made our way to a hangar at the airport and boarded a private jet. Inside there were several partitioned rooms, and Dr. Antos led us to the back of the plane.
“Sorry, there are only two seats in this area. I have work to do in the next room. The flight is eight hours. With the time change, we land about six in the morning Italy time. The stewards will bring you anything you need.” He spun and exited our compartment, closing the door behind him.
I feel like we’ve been imprisoned already. I typed into my phone and sent the message to Jude.
At least we’re together. I’ve been working on my hearing so I’ll know when someone is coming. He grasped my hand.
“Okay,” I whispered, grateful I wasn’t in this alone.
“We should try to get as much rest as possible.” He let my hand drop and crossed his arms over his chest.
The compartment door opened, and a steward holding two trays walked in. “I have your dinner. There is about twenty minutes ti
ll takeoff. I’ll come for your plates just before then.”
“Thank you,” I said, wondering if the plane’s staff was all witches.
As we finished our meals, Dr. Antos entered the cabin. “I hope you two aren’t too uncomfortable back here. I figured you would just be sleeping. The rest of the plane is filled, so there weren’t many options.”
Jude cleared his throat. “We’ve come to an agreement to be civil to one another.”
“Well, that’s good. You should sleep. I’ll see you when we land. Make sure your bracelets stay on until we get to the compound tomorrow.”
As he left, the steward appeared, reviewed the safety instructions, and removed our trays. We took turns in the restroom before the plane backed up and taxied to the runway. I liked that once under the blankets we could move the armrests between us and hold hands. Head on his shoulder, I fell into a light slumber. When I woke, I realized my head had fallen to his chest. I listened as his heartbeat echoed through his warm skin. The rhythm reverberated in my ears, and it seemed like the best sound I’d ever heard.
“Camille.” I woke to him nudging me off his arm.
Stretching, I lifted the shade of the window beside me. The rising sun reflected off the water as the plane descended towards the island.
“Ha, I see you’re awake. We land in twenty minutes.” Dr. Antos retreated as fast as he appeared.
“Can he get any weirder?” Jude whispered.
“He doesn’t have to act like a concerned psychotherapist anymore.”
“No, now he’s a witch trainer extraordinaire.” Jude rolled his eyes.
“You’ve got to act like you hang on his every word.”
“Don’t worry, I will. What’s your plan?”
“Same, I guess. I’m kind of winging this.”
“Do you think the sword is here?” He leaned over and peered out the window.
“I have no clue.”
“I thought it would be warmer,” Jude exclaimed as we exited the plane.
Dr. Antos buttoned his black wool coat. “Temperatures in winter aren’t that different from Iceland. But we do enjoy a few more hours of sunlight.”
“You couldn’t have taken us some place closer to the equator?”
“Since when did you get to be such a pansy?” I rolled my eyes hating acting mean to Jude. But there was no way around it. I whisked past him and grabbed my bag from the stack of luggage and headed to the vehicle.
“So much for being civil,” Jude commented as he reached me.
“I’ve been scrunched in a seat next to you for nearly ten hours.”
Dr. Antos opened the car door, motioning me in. “Now, now. We’ll all get cleaned up and fed and tensions will ease. It’s just an hour by car and a short ferry ride.”
My heart dropped. “Ferry?”
“Didn’t you pay attention?” Jude asked. “The estate is near Carloforte on an island off the main island of Sardinia.”
“I guess not,” I mumbled under my breath, thinking I’d made the biggest mistake of my life. It was one thing escaping on land. If we were surrounded by water with only a ferry at our disposal, it would make a getaway harder. Plus, I didn’t know Italian. I’d taken French in school. At least the languages were both Latin based. I guessed I could find someone to understand me in a larger city but wondered if rural Italians would know French.
The landscape could have been pretty with sunlight, as snow covered the meadows. But clouds covered the sky and fog hung heavy in the air. Color seemed drained from the land.
From the airport, we drove through the interior of the island to the southern coast. We traveled over a land bridge to an island. Dr. Antos indicated we passed through the town of Calasetta. When we stopped, a small marina appeared through the fog.
Getting out, I zipped my jacket up to the top and fitted my hood over my head. Mist seemed to form from the air and envelope me as I slung my bag on my back. Along the boat ramp, the sea breeze carrying the frigid droplets pelted my face.
Our driver and an additional male employee escorted us up the boat ramp to the enclosed center room. We weaved through the crowd, to a small booth.
“This is Carmen and Alex.” Dr. Antos pointed to them as we sat down. “They’ll be available to you at the complex if you need help.
“Madam. Sir.” Each of them shook my hand and then Jude’s in succession.
The nagging feeling that I was to be a prisoner grew in my stomach.
“Coffee, madam?” Carmen brought me from my thoughts.
“I don’t mind getting it.” I scanned the packed room, wondering if my credit card would work.
“Madam, you’ll never get through the crowd. I will go for you.”
Although I’d had a cup on the plane, my fingers were like ice. I nodded and thanked him, watching agog as his huge form slid through the crowd almost effortlessly. When he returned two minutes later with a steaming coffee, he leaned in and whispered, “Magic always speeds things along.”
“Right.” I forced a smile and wrapped my fingers around the warm cup.
“Here.” Carmen placed some sugar packets and cream on the table in front of me.
The coffee tasted bitter as if it had sat in the pots overnight, but the sugar and cream made it drinkable. My muscles relaxed as they heated to a normal temperature.
“Better, madam?” Carmen asked as I set my cup on the table.
‘Yes, thanks.” I made sure to smile at him even though my brain and stomach were swirling with fear. I fought stealing glances at Jude. I figured Dr. Antos assumed me to be heartbroken from the betrayal and didn’t want to blow my cover.
As the boat cut through the fog, I saw the island in front of us seemed almost as big as the one we’d come from.
“The estate is on the opposite side, but the drive is only fifteen minutes,” Dr. Antos said as we gathered our bags to leave the ferry.
The wind and cold ocean spray hit my face as the boat rocked on the waves, and I clutched the railing for support. Although it was mid-morning, fog shrouded most of the landscape. The sound of cars, dogs, and muffled human conversation were the only indications we were in a bustling city.
“This way, madam.” Carmen fell to my side as I stepped onto the dock.
In the lot beside the marina, we stopped at a black sport utility vehicle.
“Will you be more comfortable in the front?” Dr. Antos asked as he opened the door for me.
“Yes, thanks.” I gripped the handle and pulled myself up into the high seat.
I wondered if Jude was as nervous as me and regretted that he’d been involved in this. The silence of the group perhaps spoke of our weariness from travel, but it held no solace. My stolen glance at Jude’s face was met with a hard stare and a shift in his gaze. I got it. We needed to appear disengaged. But what I wanted right then was a cheer squad, someone to buoy up my resolve.
Not that it mattered. We were too far in to flee, even if we wanted. Did I want to? Half my brain screamed yes. I could abandon the search for the sword without too much guilt. But the thought that they had my father kept me committed to the course. But what of Jude? Was he cursing my name? Did he still feel obligated to me, to finding the sword? His father had gone missing too. I figured he at least still wanted to save his parent.
We wound through the narrow streets, out of the city to the countryside. The grasses were brown, and patches of snow littered the fields under the lingering fog. We turned onto a narrow drive that seemed to stretch out forever. Unlike the highway, it was dry and clear of snow and ice patches. Mounds of white powder lined the lane as evidence it had been plowed.
Dr. Antos cleared his throat. “These are the grounds of the compound. The inner wall is designed to block all magic, incoming or outgoing, so you will be safe here. There are gyms and pools for your leisure. We have special bulbs installed to provide us with artificial sunlight.”
The compound, as he called it, sounded more like a prison by the minute. We approached a tall
brick wall. The rounded top was fitted with pointed triangle shaped pieces of glass.
“Ancient barbed wire.” Carmen pointed to the top of the brick.
I leaned forward to view it more closely as we drove through the iron gate. Cameras were mounted beside the gate and I guessed we were admitted by remote surveillance. In five minutes an outline of a tall dark structure came into view. We entered through a gate ringed by a shorter stone wall. Still several feet above the roof of the vehicle, the top was fitted with the same type of camera system. The road inside the enclosure was made of brick, and the car inched along the bouncing on the bumpy surface. I stared in awe as the structure rose above me, complete with towers and turrets.
When we looped around the side of the building, I could see the cliff dropped to a rocky narrow beach below.
“It’s low tide now. The water will rise up the cliff considerably,” Carmen said as he pushed a button on the dash, and a large set of wooden doors opened to reveal a garage structure.
“The view is very beautiful on a sunny day,” Dr. Antos added from the back seat.
The vehicle circled to an open space, and Carmen and Alex unloaded our bags. I swallowed hard as Dr. Antos positioned his finger on a scanner and then faced a retinal scanner at the elevator door.
“Who are you protecting yourself from?” Jude asked.
“Supernaturals, as well as common or not-so-common thieves. We have vast holdings that are priceless.” Dr. Antos pushed a button beside the word main.
“We, being the coven.?” I confirmed.
“Yes, my family, secretly a coven, is very prominent and wealthy by Italian standards.”
“By any standards.” Jude’s gaze traced to the floors, walls, and then ceiling as we exited one level up. “Do you have to be family to join a coven?”
“No, although most covens are family. You may take off your bracelets now. The sooner you get you used to the level of activity the better.” Dr. Antos spun to face us.
Sliding off the beads, I appreciated the warning as a steady low-level vibration hit my brain like a wave.
“Remember to let the magic move through you.”
I focused on my breaths and letting the forces flow through me, and the sound dissipated. Opening my eyes, I realized they were staring at me. Obviously, I was the weak one, and Jude had this mastered. Angry I didn’t have better control, I stomped away from them but stopped a few feet away, realizing I had no clue where I was going.
The Kingdom Journals Complete Series Box Set Page 40
