The Kingdom Journals Complete Series Box Set

by Tricia Copeland

  “If we break the curse, take the sword of St. Maurice from Sonia and imprison her, it will make a difference. No one will have to fear her again.”

  “And therein lies the problem, how to get to Sonia.” I slammed my fist into the wall.

  Gripping my shoulders, Alena twisted me to face her. “How long has it been since you slept? Get some rest, and we’ll figure something out tomorrow.”

  I relented but couldn’t wind down, so I showered and then lay on my mattress, staring at the ceiling. As the adrenaline cleared from my system, sleep came.

  “We aren’t making any progress with the witches. None of them will side with us against Sonia. You’ll have to break the curse first. Maybe then they will rally.” Orm paced in front of the video camera.

  “You guys were the ones trying to convince me to deal with Sonia first.” I shook my head. “What is it going to take to convince the witches? I’m almost ready to tell the vampires to start moving against witches myself. Maybe then they will care. Can’t we at least tell them the trinity exists?”

  Chalondra shook her head. “Not until the sword is united. All the forces of Hell will rally to make sure the curse isn’t broken.”

  Camille’s eyes grew wide. “What kind of power will Sonia have in Sheol? Could she gain enough to affect this realm?”

  “It seems that Lucifer believes her soul will be passed to Hell where she will become a dark angel.” Orm rubbed his chin.

  “So now we have to worry about Sonia becoming some evil spirit with the power to haunt us for eternity?” Alena asked.

  “No one has ever seen one of them till Lucifer contacted Hunter. He must be desperate.” Chalondra shook her head.

  Standing, I paced to the far wall. “We’re getting nowhere. I say we go to Italy and retrieve the third piece of the sword, break the curse, and rally the witches. We’ll talk to you once we’re in Italy.” I punched the button on the phone and ended the video call.

  Not able to take in more, I stomped from the room. DJ had to be okay. It just wouldn’t be fair for him to be hijacked and never return to his old self. I wondered if Sonia and Thanatos targeted him to get to me. We were lucky to have been able to keep him. If he’d been taken by Sonia, we’d probably never get him back.

  While Anne’s team worked on our travel arrangements, I sparred with Jude. The problem of how to get the witch community behind us weighed on my mind. If they wanted what Sonia was offering, domination over other paranormal beings, how would I convince them? Wasn’t it enough to live some thousand years and have your soul pass to Heaven or wherever our freed souls would find peace? Why did they feel trapped? Of course, now that every lifestyle seemed accepted, I guessed it could feel more stifling that witches had to hide our nature.

  “What if there were some way for us to tell the witch population about what we’re doing? Who we are?” Jude commented.

  “It’s impossible.” I shook my head. “I’ve thought of every angle. It’s too dangerous for Alena and her mother.”

  “But what about me? My mother’s no one, and Sonia already has my father. I’m a full witch. Camille, you, and I could tell our stories. I bet we’d get some support. Theron may be enticed by the promise of living a free life without fear of persecution for being a hybrid. We could at least get the Vampire Council to change the rules, and then Alena would be safe.”

  “It’s not a bad idea. We must get the sword first. We’d be naïve to think this is just going to change overnight. It hasn’t even been a hundred years since Hitler.”

  His face sunk. “We are nothing like Hitler.”

  “Hunter. Hunter.” Alena shook me awake.

  “What?” I rolled over to face her.

  “Vampires attacked a coven in Northern Europe, Orm’s former coven. They slaughtered all of them.”

  I jumped to my feet. “What?”

  Bloody tears pooling in her eyelids, she explained how a group of vampires attacked a village of witches living in Siberia.

  “Thanatos contacted Mother. He’s demanding the vampires responsible be executed.” She covered her face with her hands as red tears ran down her cheeks.

  Wrapping both arms around her, I kissed her head. “This is horrible for both species. The witches shouldn’t be surprised though.”

  Shaking her head, she fiddled with her blouse. “Mother sent an army of five hundred to find the attackers.”

  “Will she execute them?”

  “The council rarely uses capital punishment. They prefer to imprison offenders. It is far worse a fate for vampires.”

  Releasing her, I swiped a shirt from the floor. “We have to get the last piece of the sword before both species are in full-out war.”

  She caught my wrist. “We’re the most powerful beings on Earth. We have to stop this.”

  “We will once we get the sword.” Pulling the shirt over my head, I headed for the door.

  We made our way to the command room and called for an emergency meeting. The others trickled in, and Alena and I briefed them. I couldn’t imagine what Orm must be feeling. Part of me reasoned the vampires were justified. Witches took their loved ones, but not those witches. Perhaps the vampires had a bigger plan. Were they trying to lure Thanatos and Sonia out?

  I spoke first. “We have to go to Italy and get the last piece of the sword before this escalates further.”

  “You mean becomes too dangerous for witches to go anywhere. Who knows what vampires are planning.” Camille’s eyes cut to each one gathered. “We have to do something to stop this.”

  “Let’s confer on the plane. Dimitri can you get us out of here within the next few hours.” I looked to the vampire sitting at the desk.

  “Already on it.” His fingers flew across the keys.

  We dispersed to our rooms to pack. I thought of the lance. We had its point from France and middle piece from Turkey. The handle lay in the Dome of St. Peter. I laid the point and mid-portion on my bed wondering how we were to break the curse. To be honest, it scared me. The relics represented everything insane about my life, and while I’d embraced it, I fought against the reality, willing to wake up from a tumultuous dream in my bed in Los Angeles. If Alena and DJ could be part of that alternate reality where I still played guard on my basketball team, it would be perfect.

  “What are you doing?” Alena’s voice brought me out of my trance.

  Wrapping the lance pieces, I shoved them in my pack. “I think we should take these with us when we go to the dome.”

  “We?” Her eyebrows rose. “You’re letting me go?”

  “What are you talking about? Letting you go? Of course you’re coming.”

  “Camille and I are coming to the Basilica with you and the others to find the last piece of the lance? You never let us come before. You insisted on us staying hidden the other two times.”

  I grabbed her hand. “For the record, it wasn’t me letting you or not letting you. We all decided it was safest for you to project your spirits to the locations. We don’t have Orm and Chalondra. There isn’t time to get them here to protect you. I think these”—I held up my bag—“will lead us to the last piece. Once we have it, we can break the curse, and we’ll be closer to figuring out how to free DJ and the other vampires.”

  We made our way to the front room where everyone gathered. A large SUV waited in the drive, and we piled in. Looking out the window, I shook my head. It’d been stupid to waste time seeking out the faeries. I wondered if Titania would come to the forest or if she knew I wouldn’t show. After seeing Lucifer there, I never wanted to go back again. My shoulders shuddered.

  “You okay, dude?” Jude clicked his seatbelt in place.

  “Yeah, just trying to figure out how this got so out of control.”

  Jude shook his head. “It was in control before? We’ve been flying blind since the beginning of this crazy ride.”

  Thinking about Camille, Jude, and Tyler, I realized they’d been thrown into this life too. Was there a choice? We committe
d to this; the fight was worth it. This age-old war between our species had to end. I wasn’t sure how to do it without killing Sonia and Thanatos, perhaps even Theron. Their souls seemed to be pure evil, bent on controlling the witches, ending the vampires. Evil vampires, I thought looking to Alena. She smiled and wrapped her hand around mine. I would never believe she was evil. Witches also needed to be free of fearing the vampires and the afterlife of purgatory in Sheol. Was it any better to believe your soul would be trapped forever no matter your actions than to believe you had no soul? I prayed breaking this curse changed that for the vampire species.

  It seemed the witches had lost their way, forgotten their places in the world. They felt imprisoned by the need to hide their nature rather than empowered to do good in the world. I thought about what my mark on Earth would be beyond breaking the curse, how I might make my community a better place.

  The vehicle stopped, and I lurched forward, the seatbelt catching me before I got too far.

  “You’ve got to break out of this funk, man.” Jude slapped me on the back as he exited the SUV.

  We waited in the hangar as the pilot inspected the plane. My mind swirled with the implication of finalizing our quest for the sword. I recited the last two lines to the poem in my head.

  Once laid out then nevermore, only he may open the door.

  Within the Book that lays the tale, the blade’s true master shall be restored.

  The words haunted me since the day the books revealed the location of the three pieces of the lance. Before then, I believed Jude to be the one to open the door to his family’s house. But with the new information about the lance, I wondered if it might only be used once more, to break the curse, I guessed. Did breaking the curse open a door leading to the Book that would restore the lance’s true master, Longinus, the Roman guard?

  After piercing the side of Jesus, Longinus regained his sight, and he became a crusader for Christ. Imprisoned for his beliefs, he lost his teeth and tongue but still spoke as if he’d never been harmed. His blood restored the sight of the Governor that had him beheaded. Was St. Longinus to be resurrected?

  “Hunter, you coming?” Alena’s voice brought me back to the present.

  We spent our time on the plane planning the extraction of the lance’s handle. As before, we’d enter as tourists and cloak ourselves until the Basilica closed. Then we’d put the guards to sleep and disable the alarms.

  “Anne is having ten additional vampires meet us in Rome,” Aaron explained.

  I shook my head. “We need a witch outside, maybe two.”

  “Jude and me.” Tyler pointed between them.

  “No, we need you with us.” I paced away from them. “We need more muscle. If Orm and Chalondra could be there, it would be perfect.”

  Alena wrapped her hand around my arm. “We can’t put them in harm’s way.”

  “Because they’re old, or because they know so much?”

  “For either of those reasons.”

  “There isn’t anyone else we trust.” I slouched back in my seat.

  “My father.” Tyler spoke up.

  “Where is he?”

  “I’ll message him.” Tyler walked to the back of the plane.

  If Tyler and Grady could be outside, then we’d have three full witches, a hybrid, and two vampires inside. It would be enough.

  Our time in the air seemed to drag on, but we finally landed just after midnight. On the way to the safe house, we passed Vatican City, and my bag started to rumble.

  “What was that?” Alena grabbed my bag.

  “I don’t know.” When I opened the pack, the two portions of the lance glowed.

  “Freaky. Guess that means we’re on the right track.” Jude rubbed his hands together.

  I hugged the bag to me as if it might fly away. Praying we’d made the right choice in abandoning our search for an army, I zipped my pack shut and secured it between my feet.

  Sleeping in the next morning, I made my way to the kitchen when my alarm sounded at ten. After breakfast, I joined the others in the gym. We sparred and warmed our muscles until mid-afternoon. Then, we dressed in typical American tourist outfits and loaded into the SUV. At St. Peter’s Basilica, my bag warmed on my back. Trying to ignore the uncomfortable temperature, I followed Alena up the stairs to the top of the turret.

  She slid her hand in mine. “One day, I want to come back and really see the city.”

  “It feels good to have you here with me.”

  Pushing to her toes, she kissed my cheek. “I should have been every time.”

  “Okay, guys, focus. Please. I don’t want to lose my head today.” Dimitri strode away from us.

  Winding down the stairs, we toured the interior of the Basilica. Finding an empty alcove, we waited till closing time and cloaked our presence. As the church grew quiet, a hum rose from my back.

  “It’s time.” Alena proceeded to the altar.

  “What about the guards?” Dimitri asked.

  “I think we’ll be out of here soon. These relics want to be united as much as we want them to be.” Kneeling on the ground, I slid the pieces from my pack and laid them on the altar.

  The fragments started to glow. A light flashed above us and we jumped back.

  “There.” Alena pointed to the top of one of the wooden pillars.

  Pushing off with my feet, I jumped into the air, stopping to hover in front of the glowing space. With a rumble, a wooden shaft broke from the rock ceiling. The piece shot past my face and floated to the altar. Descending, I watched as the other mid-section and point of the lance rose. The intensity of light increased as the three parts swirled around each other, dancing in their own light. They slowed, and the handle positioned itself above the center of the altar. The other two pieces floated above it, closing in the distance between them until popping into place, forming a complete lance.

  It began to twirl and descended to eye level. Circling the altar, the lance swirled between the three of us. Power surged through my veins as it stopped in front of me.

  “It chose you. Take the lance.” Alena’s voice sounded as a floating whisper in my ear.

  “Once laid out, then nevermore. Only he may open the door. Within the Book that lays the tale, the blade’s true master shall be restored.” Camille recited the last two lines of the poem.

  I held out my hand, and the lance lay on its side and lowered itself to my palm. The wood of the handle felt soft on my skin, and I wrapped my fingers around the shaft. A loud thud echoed through the church, and the floor trembled beneath my feet. Stone tiles under the altar buckled and fell away, revealing a tunnel.

  My legs shook as I walked towards the opening, and I balled my open palm into a fist to quiet my nerves. I considered my options.

  “Are we supposed to go down?”

  Alena slid to my side. “I guess so.”

  “Here.” Camille handed me a flashlight.

  Wiping my hand on the fabric of my pants, I took the light and clicked it on. The beam revealed dust beginning to settle on the stairs. Glancing at Alena and Camille, I stepped onto the first stone shelf. I descended into the darkness hand tight around the lance. Behind me, Alena held up her light, illuminating a stone altar.

  “What’s going on? Where did this tunnel come from?” Jude’s voice echoed through the chamber.

  “Stay there. Guard the entrance,” I yelled up to him.

  “You don’t think we need witnesses?” Camille looked between Alena and me.

  “Never mind. Bring Tyler down here,” I yelled to Jude.

  Refocusing on the altar, my beam found a scroll of sorts. A thin strip, what appeared to be made of leather, wrapped around two wooden rods. “Is this Roman?”

  “I’m guessing so. It would be St. Longinus’s text, right?” Alena stood beside me.

  Camille leaned over the book. “Or St. Peter’s?”

  “What’s going on? Is that the lance?” Jude’s wide eyes bore into mine.

  “It appears so.�
�� I rolled my hand over.

  “It chose him.” Camille held my gaze.

  “But why?” I shook my head. “I thought we were supposed to be equal. It doesn’t make sense.”

  Alena held her flashlight above her head. “It makes perfect sense. Camille, you believed as soon as you saw Jude’s magic, right?”

  Camille nodded.

  “I was raised a witch. Hunter, you were the only one who had to be convinced. I still feel like you haven’t fully committed and need to be reminded of who you are.”

  “I haven’t committed?” I held the lance out in front of me. “I’m holding a two-thousand-year-old sword I grabbed out of the air. I walked down a staircase that I had no clue where it would lead.” Those were the words I uttered, but I knew she was right. I held back, but for good reason, the power that burned inside me only wanted more power, and I feared if I gave it a voice, it would never stop. I had to balance that part of myself with reason—bridle it, guide it, so it didn’t consume me, make me evil like my father and brother.

  “What’s going on down there?” Dimitri’s voice invaded my inner monologue. “We can’t stay here all night.”

  “Dimitri’s nervous. We should go.” I lowered my backpack to the floor and slid the lance inside.

  “Take the scroll.” Alena’s hands hovered over the pages.

  “Are you sure?” I took a deep breath.

  “I’m thinking if it lets you take it, it’s yours.” Tyler surveyed the space.

  Rubbing my palms down my pants, I took hold of the ends of the rods. The scroll was heavier than I expected, but it lifted easily enough, and I slid it into my bag.

  “We should see what else is here.” I held the flashlight over my head. “The poem reads: once laid out then nevermore. What if we can never enter this space again?”

  The stone walls formed a circular room, not ten feet across. We inspected the blocks of the floor, walls, and ceiling but found nothing else, no writing, no objects. The only thing in the room besides the altar seemed to be the scroll.