“That’s it. That’s all we’re meant to have, I guess.” Tyler walked to the stairs.
“Wait.” I kneeled beside the altar and ducked underneath.
In the middle of the underside of the stone top, an image was carved. Three figures, hands locked above their heads, held a dagger. A semi-circle was placed above the dagger.
Alena kneeled beside me. “The sun or the moon?”
“I think the moon. Wouldn’t the sun have beams coming from it?”
“Didn’t the sky darken on the day of Christ’s crucifixion?” Tyler pointed at the drawing.
“There was an eclipse.” Jude inspected the carving.
“Guys, you’re making me nervous.” Dimitri shouted from above.
Retrieving my phone, I snapped some pictures of the image and then the rest of the room. I waited as the others ascended the stairs, taking one last look at the space. Seeing nothing else, I jogged up the stone staircase. As soon as my second foot hit the main level, the rocks moved behind me, closing the opening.
“Once laid out then nevermore,” Jude repeated. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself.”
“Let’s get out of here.” I examined the expansive hall around us, thinking my brother Theron would appear any second.
He couldn’t know about the lance or the scroll. It had to be protected until we could translate and preserve it.
A guard approached, and I froze. Motioning to the others, each did the same. He strolled by as if seeing nothing, and I exhaled in relief. We circled around the outside walls to the exit.
Use magic to unlock the door. Alena’s voice sounded in my head.
Too obvious. We need a back entrance.
We followed the guard to the back of the structure and into a section of offices. He entered a room filled with monitors. Tiptoeing past, we found an exit door. But he’d see the door open, it would sound an alarm. Feeling a cold blast of air, my heart jumped. I’d only felt that chill in the presence of one other. Lucifer? Thinking fast, I summoned my magic and froze time. My chest heaved as my heart slowed. Sending a quick blast of energy to the door, I engaged the handle. Releasing the spell, I jumped through the opening, pulling Alena with me. Camille and the others stumbled though the doorway behind her.
I gasped for air and fell to one knee beside Alena. “Are you okay?”
She wrapped her arms around her middle. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t want the door opening to be caught on camera. We couldn’t leave a trace.” I surveyed the others. “Everyone okay.”
Seeing Camille nod, I motioned for everyone to move away from the church. We wound round to the Vatican entrance and slipped through, finding our vehicle waiting. Inside, the weight of the task caught up with me, and I fell into the seat.
“What the bloody hell was that?” Dimitri yelled at me. “You gave me a heart attack. A little warning would be nice.”
“Sorry. We needed out fast. I can’t explain it. I just got this feeling. Let’s get out of here.”
“Your wish is my command.” Aaron put the SUV in gear and started backing out of the parking space.
In my pocket, my phone buzzed. I slid it out and viewed the screen. Theron. The car lurched forward as I answered the call.
“Hello, brother, good to converse, you know, in a non-magical way. Where are you? I thought I’d see you here, you know, at St. Peter’s.”
Had the chill I felt been Theron? Dang, he was getting fast. But it wouldn’t have mattered, we were stronger than him. I focused on the buildings blazing by. “I’m not sure at the moment.”
“What are you up to?”
“I don’t know. Maybe ask your father or grandmother.”
“He’s your father too.”
“Only on paper, brother. I have to go.” I ended the call, hoping they weren’t tracking the signal.
I needed a different phone. Thanatos had all the records for this one. What was it about phones that made them feel like an extension of yourself? I crushed the screen, broke the device in half, rolled the window down and tossed it out.
“Why did you do that?” Alena’s head whipped back.
“I shouldn’t have had that phone in the first place. My father gave it to me. All my stuff is backed up. It’s fine.” I clasped her hand.
“What did Theron say?”
“Couldn’t figure out how he missed us.”
She squeezed my hand. “He’s getting fast. We couldn’t have been in there more than five minutes.”
“Aaron, how long were we in there uncloaked?”
“Four minutes, forty-two seconds.”
“That’s right, baby. We’re just that good.” Jude smiled.
Grady shook his head. “Let’s not celebrate till we’re back in the safety of Anne’s compound.”
Tyler slapped Grady’s leg. “We got the lance. This is what you’ve been looking for your whole life. Aren’t you a little bit proud or something right now?”
“If you guys weren’t in the middle of a war between species, I might be. This is exactly what I tried to keep you from.”
“Dad.” Camille reached out to him. “We’ll figure it out. We’ve gotten this far. We can’t let these people down.”
The vehicle slowed, made a turn, and descended into an underground parking garage. Doors slid closed behind us. I shivered as the weight of our accomplishment registered in my mind. Shouldn’t I feel relieved? We still had no clue how to break the curse. What if there were no curse, and it was just a made-up story to give generations of witches hope for redemption? What if the angels created the tale so someone would find the lance for them?
Did it matter? We would decide where to go from here, no one else. The SUV stopped, and we piled out. I waited till everyone exited both vehicles.
“Guys,” I called out, motioning for them to gather around. “Thank you to our vampire comrades. This is a good day and a great achievement for all of us. Tonight, we celebrate.”
Cheers went up, and staff from inside joined our impromptu celebration. As others dispersed, Alena, Camille, Jude, Tyler, and I stood in a circle.
“It’s kind of surreal. I can’t believe it’s done.” Alena smiled.
Sliding the pack from my back, I lifted the lance up. With a white point, the blade seemed to be made of stone. “Wouldn’t a Roman soldier have a metal sword?”
“Metal swords were around a thousand years before Longinus,” Jude added.
“Should we see what happens if the three of us grip it at one time?” Camille took a step towards me.
I held the blade out between us. Alena and then Camille stacked their hands on mine, gripping the lance.
“Guys, are you sure about this? Maybe we should wait for Chalondra and Orm, get my dad or something.” Tyler closed the gap between himself and Alena. “Alena hasn’t transitioned to a full witch yet.”
Frustration rose in my psyche. I wished he didn’t feel this connection to Alena.
She planted her feet. “It’ll be fine, Tyler. No one has ever pieced this sword back together. We know as much or more about it than anyone.”
“And we still have no clue what we’re doing.” Jude took a step forward, positioning himself behind Camille.
My brother’s absence pricked in my brain, but I focused on our hands and the lance. An image of a man writing appeared, as soon as he lifted his hand from the page, it burned to ash. Another hand held a quill, dipped it in ink, and began to etch on a scroll, then another and yet another. Each time the pages combusted in flames. Another man, dressed in modern attire, sat at a desk writing in a journal. He tore the page from the binding, folded it and handed it to a child.
“That was Jude’s father. It must be the poem that has been handed down to his family.” Camille’s eyes cut to Jude.
“So, the poem is the key?” I struggled to comprehend the images.
“Concentrate.” Alena closed her eyes again.
No more visions appeared, and after c
ounting to sixty, I gave up. “I don’t think there’s anything else to see. I’m exhausted and starving.”
Camille stepped back. “I could go for a hot meal.”
“We have to safeguard the sword.” Alena released her grip on the handle.
“It’s not leaving my possession.” Opening my jacket, I slid out the blade Aaron gave me and fitted the lance in its place.
Inside, each person we passed congratulated us. We loaded our plates in the kitchen and made our way to the conference room. Anne, Chalondra, and Orm sat in front of the camera as we took our seats.
“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it’s done.” Chalondra looked wide-eyed at the blade. “You are truly the chosen trinity.”
Still, neither Chalondra nor Orm knew what we were supposed to do with the blade. Anne reported she reached out to Thanatos and then Marcus to express her regrets over the massacre, but neither took her call.
“Peace is fragile. We must do something to alleviate the tension.”
“Let’s sleep on it.” I pushed my seat back and stood. “Perhaps rest will bring clarity.”
Every muscle of my body ached from the stress of the past weeks, and I rubbed my hands down my pant legs.
Alena laced her fingers in mine as I stood. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just wiped out. I’m going to turn in. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I leaned over and kissed her cheek.
Winding down the hall, I realized finding the lance felt anticlimactic, surreal. I think I expected Heaven to open up, light beams to shine down, something dramatic. Maybe we should have created more of a ceremony. Perhaps I needed to step up and lead it, but with the prior day’s tragedy, and hundreds of vampires, including DJ, missing, it didn’t seem appropriate. Nothing was going right.
Except you have the lance. Closing my door, I slid the blade from my jacket. The wood felt like soft cotton on my palm. I swiveled it in my palm, getting a feel for the weight. Its point was worn, I guessed from centuries of weathering. I wondered whether we could carbon date it. How old would the stone be? Could we guess the true master by knowing its origin? Was carbon dating even that accurate?
Sliding the lance in my pocket, I washed up. I lay the blade in front of me, never taking my eyes off it as I changed into clean clothes. As I slipped under the covers, I tucked the lance under my pillow.
Lucifer circled me. “You know you need me. You’ll never get your brother back. How long till the soul makes his body a permanent home, till he forgets the person he was? The witches are more united than ever. You’ll never persuade them to side with you now that the vampires slaughtered a coven. They want the power of the sword, Sonia’s sword. They don’t care about their departed brethren or their souls’ futures. They’re concerned about their lives here and now, protecting their loved ones from the evil vampires. Sonia can do that for them. She’s got an army, and you’ll never get to her without my help.”
Lucas swooped down from the sky. “Don’t listen to him. You must break the curse.”
“The answer is no, right, Lucas?” Lucifer hissed.
Lucas spun to face me. “You have the power. Once the curse is broken, Sonia won’t be able to abduct any more vampires. The witches will start to believe. They will see that peace is the answer.”
Lucifer chuckled. “Peace is the answer to the problems with the soulless vampires?”
“Be gone.” Lucas snapped his fingers and Lucifer disappeared.
I woke with a start, sweat covering my face and chest. Reaching for my phone to check the time, I remembered ditching it. Shivering, I checked for the lance. My fingers found the hard blade, and I pulled the covers up to my neck. Eyes growing heavy, I fell asleep again.
A humming sound grew in my head, and my skin tingled. I felt witches, lots of witches, were on the move. Pulling on clothes, I slid the lance in my pocket and ran to the control room, a buzzing still sounding in my head.
“Something’s wrong. The witches are up to something. They’re going to strike the vampires.” I took a seat in front of a keyboard beside Aaron and Dimitri.
Punching some keys, I pulled up a satellite map. “I need a phone.”
The guy next to me slid me his and I dialed Orm’s number.
“Hello?” he answered.
“Orm, it’s Hunter. Where are you?”
“Still at Anne’s compound.”
“Tell her to warn all of the vampires. Make sure they don’t retaliate. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The witches are going to attack.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know. Just warn Anne, now.” I ended the call.
I had no clue where they were going, just the knowledge that they were in transit.
Camille burst into the room. “Do you sense it? Something’s happening.”
“Yeah, got that feeling five minutes ago. We need to be there. Stop them from attacking.” I approached Dimitri. “How fast can I get a plane?”
“An hour?”
“Not good enough. Camille, get a coat. We’re leaving now.”
Jude appeared behind Camille.
“You sense that?” I asked.
He nodded and I motioned for them to follow. Heading to the living quarters, I knocked on Alena’s door. Not finding her, we weaved through the halls to the gym. She met us just in front of the doors.
“What’s going on?”
“You feel the hum?”
“No, what hum? I could sense that you were anxious, but that’s it.”
“It’s like a low-level buzzing in my head, like lots of witches are congregating. I think they’re making a move against the vampires. We alerted your mom. Camille and I are going to try and stop them.”
Her hands rested on her hips. “What do you mean? You and Camille. What about me?”
I tugged at her arm, but she didn’t budge. “We don’t have time for an airplane. I’m taking Camille. It’s too dangerous for you. Ahhh—” A jolt of electricity shot through my head, and I doubled over.
Camille fell to her knees beside me.
“What happened?” Alena wrapped her arm around my back.
Standing, I shook my head. “I have no clue. Camille, we have to go.”
I started down the hall towards the front of the house. Alena trailed me. “Do you even know where they’re going? How far you’ll have to travel?”
“I’ll be able to sense them.”
“I’m worried about you. What if Theron, Thanatos, or Sonia are there?”
“We’ll deal with it.”
She dug her nails into my forearm. “You could get killed.”
“I’m strong, Alena, very strong. I can feel it. They can’t hurt me. We have the lance. It’ll help our case.”
“You don’t know that.” Alena bit her lip, and a drop of blood formed.
I rubbed my finger over the cut and licked it. “Wish me luck.”
“You’re kidding, right?” She reached into my pocket and pulled out the lance. Running the blade along her arm, she drew blood. “At least drink this.”
I pressed my mouth to her wrist and sucked hard. The first time I’d drunk vampire blood, it tasted of salt and metal, and I nearly heaved. But it’d become such a part of the routine of my life, I didn’t think anything of it.
Standing, I wrapped my arms around Alena. Her blood always left me in a daze for a minute, and I smiled down at her. “Thank you, love.”
“You’re so cute when you’re high on vamp blood. Almost makes me not mad at you. Almost.” She glared at me.
“You ready?” Camille called from down the hall.
“Yep. You juiced up?”
“She’s ready.” Jude appeared behind her, and I guessed he’d fed her his blood.
“We need a vote on this.” Alena trailed me down the hall. “Jude, get Tyler.”
“What’s going on?” Bleary-eyed, Tyler appeared from around the corner. “I can’t get this buzzing out
of my head.”
Alena brought Tyler up to speed. Frustrated, I flung open the door and walked outside, motioning for Camille to join me. As soon as she stepped onto the porch, I threw up a barrier spell.
First Jude and then Alena and Tyler hit the invisible wall.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Alena complained.
“A lot of witches and vampires are going to die if we don’t stop this. Jude, Tyler, guard Alena. We’ll be back.” I jogged down the steps to the lawn.
I rotated, locating the direction of the magical pulses and pointed north. “That way.”
“I agree.” Camille joined me.
“Okay, hold on.”
“Let me out of here.” Alena yelled from inside.
Camille locked her arms around my middle, and I shot up into the air.
She’ll forgive you. I heard Camille’s voice in my head.
If we’re successful.
We can’t risk her being taken.
An image of Theron popped into my head. Do you see Theron? I asked Camille.
He found the safe house.
He must have sensed my movement.
We can’t go back. Too many lives are at stake. The barrier spell will hold. Focus, Hunter.
Blocking out the image, I concentrated on following the pings of magic. They led me due north, and I pooled all my strength into the flight. Still, I couldn’t help but keep tabs on Alena. We zoomed through the air, but I reestablished my connection with Alena.
“So, my brother has gone and left you. Where’s he off to this time?” Theron sauntered up the steps to Alena.
“Trying to save our two species from slaughtering each other,” Alena answered.
“You think he can do that? I mean no one knows him. He has no reputation, clout, position, no power.”
Jude folded his arms over his chest. “You’d be surprised.”
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Theron stood opposite Alena.
“No way in hell.” Tyler balled his fists at his side.
“But aren’t you in Hell?” Theron held Tyler’s stare and then cut his eyes to Alena. “I am, what with all this sword business. I say we get rid of all these old geezers and start new. What do you say, Alena?”
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