The Kingdom Journals Complete Series Box Set

by Tricia Copeland

  The witch of Uriel’s line pours a few drops of blood in the middle of the table. Holding her hands over the liquid, she repeats a phrase in Latin. “Monstare, sanguis, origo.”

  The red drop begins to flow, moving towards the witch for Michael’s line. It stops when it reaches him.

  “This is ludicrous,” Thanatos bellows. “No one from my house has sired a hybrid being, especially not a crazed monster.

  “Let the next line perform the spell.” Marcus calms Thanatos.

  The lines of Raphael, Gabriel, and then Michael perform the spell.

  “Monstare, sanguis, origo,” Michael’s witch repeats. Even when she stops chanting, the blood continues to move, dropping over the edge of the table, rolling across the floor, to stop in front of Thanatos.

  “You can’t believe that I sired the being,” Thanatos bellows. “Why would I be that stupid?”

  “Someone in your family must have. These spells don’t lie.” Marcus takes a side step away from Thanatos.

  “Thanatos and Sonia offered to sign the peace treaty if we helped them sire and protect hybrids,” I announce to the group. All eyes fall on me, and I swallow hard. “My friends can attest to the same. Sonia came to my room in 1899 and offered the deal.” I hold out my arm. “Who is a seer? I’m willing to be tried.”

  Sybella, a witch of Uriel’s line, reaches for my arm. Marcus grabs her hand and looks to me. “You understand that she will know all?”

  “I have nothing to hide.” I twist my hand over, offering my palm to her.

  “I won’t accept the words of just one seer. One from each line must witness,” Thanatos demands.

  “And so, it will be. London has many witches.” Marcus orders the witch of his line to call for additional seers.

  While we wait, Sybella stretches her arm out to me. Swallowing, I place my hand in hers. I keep my eyes locked on her face. She closes her lids. Gasping, her eyes fly open, and she drops my hand. “Her family was murdered by a coven of witches.”

  “We know this, go on.” Thanatos’s stare holds mine.

  I refocus on Sybell as she wraps her fingers around mine. “She was raised here in London by a family friend. She and her love Alec were betrothed, and he was murdered by a warrior.” She opens her eyes, and they trace to Will.

  I block the feelings as they threaten to play out on my face.

  Thanatos shakes his head. “Again—”

  Marcus raises a hand. “Nothing more, Thanatos.”

  Sybell closes her eyes. “There’s a native warrior, a hybrid, and she kills him. Black Crow.” Tears form in Sybell’s eyes, and they spill down her cheeks. “Sonia and Thanatos, I see them in her chamber. Yes, it’s true.” Sybell loosens her grip on my hand.

  “This is a conspiracy against my line.” Thanatos’s voice vibrates the walls. “This doesn’t prove we had any part in Hitler’s lineage. We can’t control every member of our line." He turns to face me. “I’m sure you agree that you can’t police every vampire on this planet.”

  Marcus paces away from the group and back. “We need to test everyone in Sonia’s coven.”

  Sybell lifts her hand as if requesting permission to speak. “What of Anastasia? She can see a person’s origins from just a few drops of their blood.”

  Thanatos shakes his head. “How do we know she would tell the truth? We need two at least, and there isn’t much blood left.”

  “Guinevere.” Marcus paces behind Thanatos. “She’s a strong seer of truth. They’re both of your line, so you can’t argue that they would be biased against your coven members. Use Anastasia to see the hybrid’s lineage and use Guinevere to make sure Anastasia is telling the truth.”

  “You think my eight-hundred-year-old mother lay with a vampire and sired a child? You know that’s impossible.” Thanatos storms from the room.

  “We must take this to the council. They’ll decide how to proceed,” Marcus announces.

  Will raises his hand to request audience. “Who is to safeguard the blood? It could be switched out for another’s.”

  Marcus lifts the bottle and pours half into a glass vial. “You may take half, and I will not let the other half out of my sight. Agreed?”

  “Yes.” I take the vial from him and slip it in my waistband.

  Arrangements are made for Guinevere and Anastasia to meet us in Rome. Once there, we gather in a basement under a church used to bury those of Michael’s line.

  “Well, if this isn’t creepy…” Will’s eyes trace around the rock walls as we descend a stone staircase.

  “The dead have no power. We are safe,” Orm assures Will.

  “Or we’re not, and we will all die.” I hold the light up, illuminating the tunnel ahead of us.

  “Or, I will eat them for dinner.” Jacob laughs.

  At the end of the passage, candles ring a circular room. Marcus, Thanatos, three witches from the three other lines, and two witches, whose skin is so wrinkled and thin it looks as if it may disintegrate with a touch, stand around a stone table.

  “This is Anastasia the seer and Guinevere the truth seer.” Marcus motions to the old witches. “You have the vial?” He extends his palm to me.

  I drop the vial of Hitler’s blood in his hand. Anastasia takes it and pours the liquid down her throat. She closes her eyes, but they pop open the next second.

  Guinevere lays a hand on Anastasia’s shoulder. “We have a name.”

  “Test this vial.” Marcus produces the other half of the blood sample from his pocket.

  Again, Anastasia drinks the blood and closes her eyes. Opening them, she holds her hand out to Guinevere. Guinevere wraps her fingers around the other woman’s palm.

  “The name is the same,” Guinevere utters, her eyes cutting to Anastasia and then Thanatos. “Sonia is de Fuhrer’s mother.”

  Thanatos lifts his hands, and flashes of light burst from them. A blast of energy hits me, and I’m flung to the wall. As I hit the stone floor, I slip a dart from my pocket and fling it at Thanatos’s calf. He grabs his leg and crumples onto the ground.

  Marcus bends to pick up the syringe. “What is this? What did you do to him?”

  I jump to my feet. “It’s vampire venom. He’ll be fine in a couple of hours. Until then, we need to decide what to do with Sonia. She has to pay for her crimes.”

  Marcus rises. “She sired a hybrid being. That’s not forbidden by witch law. Witches don’t police who our people love. Even if it were a crime, she has to be tried and convicted by a jury of twelve.”

  Taking a deep breath, I lay my palms on the cold stone table. “Are you saying you believe Sonia has done no wrong? She has terrorized our people for centuries and sired a being who killed millions of humans. She needs to pay for this.” I study the faces of those gathered. “Surely you agree?”

  “I agree with you.” Marcus’s eyes meet mine. “But finding those to stand against Sonia’s coven will be a challenge.”

  “We’re not asking them to stand against. We just want a fair trial.”

  “I will judge.” Anastasia lifts a palm.

  “As will I,” Guinevere volunteers.

  Each of the other witnesses also volunteers to stand as judges. Marcus agrees to let these witnesses enlist others from their lines, and they set a trial date for the summer solstice. We remain in Italy, keeping tabs on Marcus and Thanatos.

  Days turn into weeks as we wait, and I grow anxious.

  “I like Italy. We should stay here.” Jacob smiles as he sips his wine on our patio.

  Will’s shoulders shudder. “Too many witches. I feel like my skin is crawling with insects every second.”

  “I second that.” Elizabeth takes a seat beside me. “I’m ready to go back to California.”

  “We will when all this is done.” I take a long drink from my wine glass as I pace the veranda. I haven’t rested since we’ve been here, and I’m ready to be finished, to have Sonia out of the picture for good. Then, we will be free.

  The night of the solstic
e, we agree to be blindfolded to follow Marcus to the location of the trial. It’s comical that they believe the blindfold would impair us from finding our way out or to the location again. With our keen sense of smell and direction, we could retrace our steps, blindfolded and with ear plugs. We descend under the city, winding through narrow passages. A rush of cool air alerts me to a larger space ahead. My nose itches with a scent I’ll never forget. Sonia.

  When we’re allowed to remove our blindfolds, my eyes adjust to the light of a hundred candles lining a circular arena. Sonia, with bent spine and rounded shoulders, lined skin and stark white hair, sits in the center. Twelve witches, the judges, sit at a long table in front of Sonia. Behind her, the room is filled with more witches who have gathered to observe the trial.

  “I’m sure we’re getting out alive.” Jacob’s words drip with sarcasm.

  “They wouldn’t dare,” I whisper to them.

  “Who would know?” Elizabeth wonders aloud.

  “We left guards at the entrance. Everything will be fine,” I assure them.

  Hairs on my arms stand as we move farther into the room, and the hum of magic pulses through me. We follow Marcus to the front row and sit down. Thanatos sits across the aisle from us, but I fix my eyes on Sonia. She orchestrated the death of my family, enslaved or killed Lucas, and sired a hybrid who caused the deaths of millions of humans.

  Each judge lays a hand on Sonia and poses questions, some spoken and some not. It seems odd there are no witnesses for and against. Only the information pulled from Sonia’s brain serves as evidence. Further, we’re not allowed to know what the judges see. What if Sonia has plotted each one of her interactions with her mates knowing this day may come? She could pretend to be in love with a vampire and lure him into her bed. I gag at the thought.

  The judges finish their inquiries, circle around Sonia, and lock hands. “What’s happening now?” I whisper to Marcus.

  “They’re discussing whether she’s guilty or innocent telepathically. Be prepared to wait a long time.”

  Minutes and then hours pass, and we spectators mill about the room, stretching our legs. After four hours, Will starts to get antsy.

  “If it’s much longer, I’m going to eat someone,” he hisses.

  A humming sound draws our attention, and we follow the others as they retake their seats. The sound grows, and the walls start to rumble. Sand and rocks fall from the ceiling above.

  Will clutches my shoulders. “We should go.”

  “No, wait. I want to see what happens.”

  “Perhaps from the opening.” Will pushes me into the aisle and pulls me to the back of the room, with Elizabeth, Orm, and Jacob close behind.

  I cup my hands over my ears as the electricity shoots through my head, and then there’s silence. Opening my eyes, I see the twelve judges drop hands.

  Anastasia approaches Sonia. “What say you in your defense?”

  Sonia stands and faces the audience. The witches in the circle step back and form a line behind her.

  Straightening her spine, Sonia lifts her chin. “You all know of the prophecy for which I have spent centuries with the aim of fulfilling. There’s nothing of greater importance than freeing the souls of our fallen brethren from the purgatory they’re damned to. Do you look forward to your soul’s internment? It weighs on my heart when I look to my son and know that he, like myself, will live out our days in the darkness of Sheol. The Creator did not want this for us. That’s why he created a pathway for breaking this curse. What others of you can say you’ve done everything in your power to see this curse lifted? How dare you judge me?”

  A blast of energy shoots through the room and pierces my skull. I drop to the ground as the searing pain shoots through my nerves. Fight it, I tell myself. She can’t hold this forever. Stretching my hand to my pocket, I slip a dart into each hand. As the hum subsides, I run up the aisle towards Sonia, dart at my side, ready to thrust it in her chest.

  Not a foot from her, my body hits an invisible wall. I whirl around to face the others. “You can’t let her get away with this. I fight for freedom for my people too. You don’t see me killing with no regard?”

  Marcus strides towards me. “Let the judges speak.”

  The twelve judges look between each other. Guinevere takes a step forward. “We find Sonia guilty of siring the hybrid the humans named Adolf Hitler, responsible for his upbringing, and rearing. We don’t know if she entranced or coerced him to commit murder, or if he himself devised those massacres, but he has paid for his crimes.”

  My heart sinks as I start to realize Sonia may go free.

  “But,” Guinevere continues, “murder is not tolerated in our people. We have looked into her mind and seen the faces of those hundreds of lives she has taken. Because of the crimes against the vampires, they lash out at our people. We can’t, in good conscious, let her go free.”

  Marcus clears his throat. “So be it. What shall be her punishment?”

  Guinevere raises her chin. “We hereby decree that Sonia be entranced into a torpid state until such time as her soul passes from this earth.”

  “Then it shall be.” Marcus approaches Thanatos. “Would you like to say goodbye to your mother?”

  I stride towards them. “Where will she be held? How can we ensure she will never be set free?” My eyes cut to Orm for assistance. “The vampires should be given her body.”

  Thanatos strides to me. “This is witch business now. Your presence is no longer welcome.”

  “She has killed countless vampires. We need assurances that she will not be raised.”

  Marcus motions to the exit. “You have my word. She will be enshrined in the house of Uriel, the line of wisdom and light. There all is known, and none may plot her release without being discovered by his house.”

  “Is this correct?” I look to Orm.

  Orm nods.

  “We’ll witness her entrancement and transfer to Uriel’s house. This is non-negotiable. I have an army of three hundred in this city, ready to end you at my word.”

  “You’re bluffing. This is a witch matter. We will not allow it.” Thanatos’s voice booms through the room.

  For the first time as Chancellor and Queen, I revel in the knowledge that I have the upper hand. I fit my fingers to my lips, sounding a whistle high above the range of human hearing. I listen and wait. The sound of footsteps on rock start low and begin to grow. My army streams in by the hundreds, surrounding the witches and lining the exit corridor.

  Heart racing, senses piqued and ready for battle, I lock my eyes on Thanatos. “You are outnumbered four to one. As I said, we will witness Sonia’s entrancement and entombment in the house of Uriel.”

  Thanatos crosses to his mother and hugs her. She kisses him on the cheek and whispers something in his ear. I hold my breath, so I may hear the words, but the sound of her voice doesn’t reach my ear drum.

  He takes a step back, bows, and returns to his seat. The judges encircle Sonia again and start to chant. Sonia closes her eyes, and the witches fall to the floor.

  “You won’t take me,” Sonia hisses.

  I snap my fingers, and my archers raise their bows. “Each of these tips are laced with our venom. You don’t stand a chance against my army. Submit and go with dignity or fight and risk all your brethren gathered here.”

  Sonia’s eyes meet me. “Very well. But mark my words. You will regret this.”

  Sonia lies down on the rock floor and folds her hands atop her stomach. The judges rise and begin their chant. My eyes cut to Thanatos, whose eyes are locked on his mother. I watch as her breathing slows and her heart struggles to pump blood through the vessels. The muscle issues a last beat, and all is quiet.

  The judges drop hands. Guinevere approaches Sonia and lays a hand on her chest. “It is done,” Guinevere whispers.

  Striding towards Sonia, I kneel beside her. No breath draws into her lungs, and no blood rushes through her veins. “I hereby witness.” I step back as Thanatos ap
proaches his mother.

  He picks her up and walks towards the exit. My soldiers line the walls to let him pass. The other witches follow him out, and we walk behind. They take a different path than the one we arrived by, winding through the passages and up into a courtyard. Marcus opens a set of double doors in a structure at the center of the space. Thanatos enters and lays her body on a table in the front hall.

  “It’s finished,” Marcus calls to the group. “Please leave the family to grieve.”

  I signal to my soldiers, and we retreat into the dark streets.

  “When does Marcus arrive?” Will inquires as we enter a rented home on an isle off the coast of Ireland.

  “Two days,” I respond, crossing to the window and letting the breeze blow into the structure. “Tonight and tomorrow we’ll celebrate ahead of the talks.”

  “I still can’t believe Sonia is gone.” Jacob throws his bag across the room and jumps onto the couch.

  Elizabeth pushes his boots from the cushion. “This is not an excuse to live like a heathen.”

  “I believe this is the perfect occasion to take a break from life and celebrate our triumph in every way possible.” I grab a bottle of wine from my bag and pull the cork out. “To us and defeating Sonia.”

  “It would never have worked if the witches weren’t in agreement that she needed to be put down.” Orm wags a finger at me.

  “All the better, I say.” I tip up the bottle of wine and take a long swig. “We’re finally aligned with the witches on the matters of peace, and we can seal a treaty at the conclave in two days. But for now”—I sip from the bottle—“I’m going swimming.”

  “Aye, I’ll come along.” Will jumps to his feet.

  Running down to the beach, I strip my clothes. Even with the elation of our victory, I’m not completely happy. I jump into the waves and let the water take me where it may. The fight for breath, the struggle for the next lung full of air, helps me forget who’s missing from this celebration, the ones we have lost because of witches, my parents, Alec, the many soldiers of my army, Mambi, Lucas.

  31 December 1998 – Los Angeles, California