The Kingdom Journals Complete Series Box Set

by Tricia Copeland

  “What’s wrong with the door?” The first guy stopped and turned around.

  Moving in the other direction down the hall, I prayed Grady and Tyler made it through. I felt a tap on my back and stopped. The second guard pulled the door shut.

  “Just closing slow, I guess. It may need oiling.” He rejoined the first guard.

  Following Grady and Tyler, we tailed the guards as they made their way to a room with a small kitchen, sofa, and television. After stowing their food, they continued down the hall to an elevator.

  If we get all the guards together, we take them out at one time, I told the team.

  I confirmed by getting a thumbs up from each member as we waited for the doors to open. In the small space, I dared not breathe and pulled my blood flow to my core as Alena had taught me. Fortunately, the elevator car moved fast. There was only one floor, but we traveled too far for it to be a single flight down, and I guessed we were some distance, perhaps thirty or so feet, underground.

  Pressed against the elevator walls, we waited for the guards to exit and jumped out of the cart before the doors closed. Trailing the guards down the hall, we approached another two guards seated at a desk in front of a door.

  From the silence, I guessed there weren’t any others in the structure but knew I could be wrong. The walls might have been constructed of soundproof material. Still, we’d gotten this far. So, either we waited until the extra two guards left, or we took them all out. Thinking I didn’t want to waste too much energy cloaking, I indicated to the team we should shock the four guards. Each of us positioned ourselves beside one guard to take them out, and I counted down: three, two, one.

  Alarms sounded the second they fell. I wasn’t about to stop and discuss what that meant, because there was no way to know. I slid a crowbar from Tyler’s pack and ran to the locked door. It took me prying with all my might and Alena using all her force to get it open. Inside, another hall stretched out in front of us.

  The doors lining the hall were solid with no windows. We split into two teams, prying the doors open and checking inside.

  “This is going to take forever.” I ran to the next door and banged on it. “Camille.”

  The others started doing the same, but there was no answer.

  “Back to the other strategy, I guess.” Grady lifted the crowbar and slammed it against a doorknob. I ran the length of the hall. The end was a concrete block wall that matched the rest of the walls.

  “We have to get out of here sooner rather than later.” I released my magic, throwing a blast of energy at the nearest door. The hinges popped, and it fell into a dark room.

  “What if Camille is in the path of that?” Grady yelled.

  “There’s got to be a better way. We have no idea when we’re going to have company, and not the good kind.”

  “Use your blood. It will lead you to Camille.” Alena handed me a blade.

  I sliced my palm and let the drops fall to the floor. It rolled to the edge and up the wall.

  “She’s upstairs.”

  Jogging back the way we’d come, I removed the guards’ keycards.

  “I think we better make these guys a little more permanently unable to do us harm,” Grady noted.

  “Tyler and I will lock them in a room.” Alena grabbed one of the men by the arms and pulled him down the hall.

  Grady and I bolted for the elevator, using a keycard to open the doors.

  “There’s got to be a control room, somewhere we can access some intel, maybe get this darn alarm off.”

  “Good thinking. I don’t think we should split up though.”

  “Or we could use this.” Exiting the elevator, I reopened my wound and let the drops fall to the floor. The trail moved forward, away from us, and we followed it past the door to the garage. “Control room.” I stopped at a room lined with monitors, all dead. “The alarm must deactivate their systems,” I told Grady as he caught up with me.

  “Use the keycard.” He grabbed it and held it up to the scanner. The alarms silenced, but the monitors were still black. “I’m going to play around with this.” He ran his hands over the keyboard, punching buttons.

  “This is wasting time.” I went back into the hall and cut my hand again. The blood traveled in a straight line in front of me.

  I darted to the first door and then the next three. They were all locked as were the rest on the hall. No light shone from underneath any of them, so I dropped my blood on the floor again. It moved away from me, and I followed it until it stopped. There was a door on either side of me.

  “Grady!” I yelled.

  He helped me open one door. Inside, I felt for a switch. Flipping it did nothing, and I held up my flashlight and panned it across an empty floor. Crossing the hall, I prayed the vampire blood-mate bond hadn’t steered us wrong. Using my magic, I popped the door from the hinges. As the echo of the metal door hitting the floor ceased, I heard a voice calling for confirmation from the control room.

  Incoming, I pushed to Alena and Tyler, hoping the message would make it downstairs. I turned to Grady. “Maybe you better go try to slow them down.”

  “On it.” Grady jogged away.

  Refocusing on the room, I moved the light across the walls, stopping when I found a cot. A human form lay curled up under a blanket. Seeing long dark locks, my heart sank. Still, I darted towards the girl. As soon as I touched her shoulder, she roused. Even through the blanket, I could feel her cold skin. Her face turned towards me. “Camille?” Her skin looked ghost white, and dark circles replaced the warm glow of her cheeks.

  “Jude?” Her eyes opened halfway, and her tongue ran over cracked lips.

  Sliding my arms underneath her, I scooped her up. “It’s okay. I’m here. We’re going to get you out.” I’ve got her, I announced to the group.

  Her head fell limp on my chest. Taking fast strides down the hall, I reached the control room. “Grady.”

  His eyes grew wide as he took in her form. “Is she?”

  “She’s alive! Let’s get out of here.” I cocked my head to the exit.

  Tyler jogged towards us. Seeing Camille, he stopped short. “Is she…?”

  “She’ll be okay. Where’s Alena?” I looked over Tyler’s head.

  “She said she sensed something and wanted to check it out. She’ll be right up.”

  “Is she crazy? Are you crazy?” I spat at him. “Come on. Let’s get Camille out of here.” I motioned to the garage, and Grady took point. Hearing vehicles in the distance, my heart thudded in my chest.

  Cloak, I sent to them.

  As we exited the garage, I remembered Antonio, and I slid over to him. “Alena’s—

  He jumped at my voice. “Sweet mother earth, you’re as quiet as a cat.”

  “Alena’s still inside. We’re taking Camille to the car. I’ll be back to make sure Alena gets out. Wait for me here.”

  We took off across the field to the trees where’d we’d left the vehicle. Mario jumped from the driver’s seat, opening the back doors for us. Grady got in, and I slid Camille into his arms.

  “If I’m not back in five minutes, or if things go south, leave without me.”

  I used the wind to fly back to the building, stopping beside Antonio.

  “Heavens,” he exclaimed. “I’ll never get used to witches.”

  “Go back to the vehicle. I told them to leave in five minutes if I’m not back with Alena.”

  “My orders are to stay with Alena.”

  “Fine, but I don’t have enough juice left to cloak me and you, so stay here.”

  Cussing the female vampire hybrid under my breath, I reestablished my masking spell and jogged into the garage. The sound of approaching motors grew in the distance and I wondered why this place didn’t have better security. Maybe they thought we’d never find it. Inside, I checked the main floor but there was no sign of Alena. The elevator was disabled, but I found a stairwell at the back of the control room. Jumping over the rail, I let myself fall the three storie
s, calling the wind to buoy me at the bottom. When I inched the door open, I found I was in the middle of the locked portion of the hall. Hearing Alena speak and a male voice respond, I froze.

  Aiming my ear their way, I held my breath to make out their conversation.

  “You’re drawn to the sword. That’s why you’re still here. You know you’re close. Why do you think I’m here instead of out looking for Gabrielle?” the man said. “I knew you’d find Camille eventually and come for her. I’ve been waiting for you.”

  Theron. Theron was here. My mind raced.

  “What about Gabrielle? Don’t you even care that someone kidnapped her?” Alena asked.

  “No, I love you. We should be together. We’re the only two of our kind. We are the god and goddess.”

  I turned my head and saw him take her hand.

  She pulled her fingers from his grip. “Theron, come with me. Join us. We can make history. There won’t be any more fighting. Our peoples will be at peace.”

  “What, go back and admit to my brother that I was wrong? Watch you two drool all over each other?”

  “Yes, I like Hunter. That’s not the point. We are the future of our kind. We need to lead our people in the right direction.”

  I had to get Alena away from him. Alena, we’re out of time. Camille is in the vehicle with Grady and Tyler. They’re going to leave with or without us in three minutes.

  Her head cocked to the side.

  “What?” Theron asked.

  “Come with me.” Her hand wrapped around his wrist.

  “You don’t understand,” he insisted.

  “We have to go, come and explain.”

  “No.” His voice hardened. “You stay with me.”

  “I can’t do that. I have to go.” She released his arm and stepped back.

  “I could lock you up like I did Camille.” He matched her step, his face a mere inch from hers. A thin smile spread across his face.

  NOW! I yelled at Alena.

  Before I could blink, he dug his teeth into his wrist and pressed the wound to Alena’s lips.

  I charged towards them at the same time she blasted him with a wave of energy. Grabbing her hand, I drug her to the stairwell. Arm firm around her waist, I called to the air and shot up the middle.

  “I got it,” she yelled, pushing me away as we landed.

  Using a cloaking spell, I flew to the exit. My rage threatened to erupt as I felt magic come off her in waves.

  “We have to get Antonio.” I rounded the garage wall as a vehicle pulled into the driveway.

  Alena grabbed one of his arms. “Grab his other arm!”

  I jumped as I locked my arm in his, and we went sailing through the air to our vehicle. Landing, I let go and slid into the waiting car. Alena followed me in and slammed the door.

  “Go!” I yelled.

  Mario put the vehicle in gear and sped towards the road. As the car bounced over the rough terrain, my eyes adjusted to the lack of light. Seeing Camille limp in her father’s arms, my fury with Alena evaporated.

  “How is she?” I knelt in front of them.

  Grady put his fingers to her wrist. “I don’t know. She’s breathing, but barely. Her heart rate is slow. I don’t know what they did to her. She opened her eyes but didn’t say anything.”

  “Camille,” I whispered, placing my hand on her forehead. “She’s freezing.”

  “I know.” He hugged her to him.

  “Let me hold her. Move.” I motioned to Tyler who scooted over. Seated beside Grady, I supported Camille’s back and shifted her to my lap.

  “Guys, we’ve got company. Any way to get us out of this?” Antonio called from the front.

  My eyes locked on Alena’s. “Cloaking spell?”

  “With all four of us it might work. Everyone put your palm on the metal.” She placed her palm on the ceiling.

  Hand to the vehicle frame, I poured all my magic into the spell. “Is it working?” I called.

  Antonio’s eyes cut to the back mirror. “They just stopped.”

  “Okay, we’ll hold the cloak for a while longer. Let’s take a less direct route.”

  “Got it.” Mario tapped on the map on the dashboard.

  I held Camille against my chest with one arm and with the other pressed my palm to the wall of the vehicle. Mario wound through a neighborhood, descending to the coast and cutting south to the boat dock. Stopping, we surveyed the surroundings before we released the cloaking spell. Seeing the boat blinking its lights, we flung the doors open. Outside Grady put his arms out. I can take her.

  “No, I’ve got her.” I ran to the ramp and jumped onto the boat. As soon as all of us were on, the engine roared, propelling us out onto the dark ocean. Seeing the lights bouncing off the fog, I cursed the weather. Two boats with four vampires in each trailed ours, and I started to let myself think we were safe. Of course, we had Alena in our boat, and she could be tracked anywhere.

  With Camille in my arms, I made my way to the helm. “We need to get aside the other boats. Get Alena on a different path.”

  “What are you talking about?” Grady asked.

  “What’s going on?” Alena approached us. “You need to sit down with Camille.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “We need to get you off this boat.”

  “Jude.” Alena’s eyes locked on mine. “We’ll be fine. Let’s not do anything rash. It’s a half-hour ride.”

  The only reason I held my tongue was to keep the crew on task. Plus, I figured if I kept her secret for a while, she might divulge why she felt she needed to hide what happened. I could think of many reasons, but I wanted to hear her story. Her pride would keep her from telling them about him forcing his blood into her mouth. He’d tricked her, lured her in, and turned on her. I had to admit I sort of even believed he loved her. He was either lying or did in his own sick way. She wouldn’t want Hunter to know his half-brother had sucked her in. It would seem like a betrayal. Camille had gotten caught because of her draw to the sword. Alena might have fallen under the same spell. Whatever her reasoning, I wanted to know. I just prayed there was a way to rid her of the mate bond before Theron and his family found her and us.

  Camille drew in a deep breath, and I returned to my seat. Focusing on the face in front of me, I saw her eyelids flutter. Her eyes opened, and irises dark as the night that surrounded us greeted me. She blinked, and her eyes fell shut again.

  Rubbing my eyes, I turned to Grady. “Did you see that?”

  “No, what happened?” He studied her face.

  “Her eyes are black.”

  “What?”

  “Her irises are black,” I repeated.

  Grady opened her lids and her eyes, dark as ebony, rose and fell in their sockets. “They poisoned her with something. But we’ll figure it out. She’ll be okay.” He nodded his head, and I wondered if he was trying to convince himself.

  We sat there in silence. Five, ten, and then fifteen minutes passed. As I was about to ask Grady if he’d contacted Janine, the lights went out.

  “What happened?” Grady yelled.

  Carrying a flashlight, Antonio entered the main room. “All the electronics are gone on all three boats.”

  “How is that possible?” Tyler asked.

  “We don’t know, but without navigation, this could be a long trip.”

  “We’ve got to make it back before daybreak.” Alena stood and walked out the door towards the helm. We followed her to the small control room.

  “The engine is still going, but if it cuts out, we don’t have electricity for the starter,” the captain told us. “I’m keeping the course steady. We should hit ground at some point.”

  “Are you kidding? How did all three boats lose electronics?” I turned to Alena. “Is this magic?”

  Grady flipped switches on the control panel. “I don’t see any other explanation.”

  The darkness seemed to suck the sound out of the room. We stared into nothingness as the boat bobbed on the ocean. Five,
ten, and then fifteen minutes passed.

  The captain craned his neck. “We should be nearing shore, but I can’t see anything. Never seen fog like this.”

  “Wait, what’s that light?” Alena pointed out the window.

  “I don’t see a light.” I said to the group, and the others concurred.

  “No, it’s right there. You guys don’t see it? It looks like a white glowing buoy. Or”—she approached the glass—“a glowing man.”

  “Does it have wings? Maybe we’re all dead or have crossed over into some alternate plane. I’d believe anything right now.” Tyler paced the small space.

  “We follow the light. Let me take the wheel.” Alena approached the captain.

  “Have you driven a boat before?” I asked.

  “I know how to steer. It’s probably Hunter signaling from the shore. Maybe that’s why only I can see him.”

  “And the other vampires can’t?”

  “Stop being so negative. That’s not going to help anything. Let me drive. I know this is the signal for the location.”

  “Okay, madam.” The captain relinquished the steering wheel to her.

  I wasn’t sure what Alena was seeing, but she followed whatever it was, and within a few minutes, we saw blue and red lights signaling from the shore.

  Tyler pointed to the beach. “Now those, I see.”

  “That’s weird.” Alena let go of the wheel, and the captain returned to his post.

  “I don’t care how we got here.” The captain steered the boat to the beach.

  As the bow hit sand, I transferred Camille to Grady and jumped over the side. He lowered her to my arms.

  Hunter met me as I trudged out of the shallow surf. “Is she okay?”

  “She’s holding on.”

  “The vehicles are waiting.” He cocked his head to the lot beyond the beach.

  I made my way up the hill and got in one of the vehicles, hoping Alena and Hunter would pick a different one. Within minutes Grady and Tyler climbed in the vehicle. When Alena’s head appeared in the doorway, I shook my head.

  “Take another car.”

  “No.” She climbed into the seat in front of me.

  “What’s going on?” Hunter asked as he got in after her.