Prophecy: Dark Moon Rising (2 page)

“We should have a look around. Keep your eyes and ears open. There will be other Aleaeries waiting for us.” He held his hand out to her.

She was surprised to hear what he’d said. When the Aleaeries had attacked them, he’d wanted to run in order to protect her from danger. Now he was telling her there may be more but they should take a look around the place anyway. She frowned and narrowed her eyes on his face, trying to search out the reason behind his change of mind. Was it because they had defeated these two? Did he feel confident now that they could take on any more that might be lurking in the buildings around them and win?

Maybe it was just curiosity getting the better of him now that he knew Elena wasn’t here. The Aleaeries were no match for them.

“We’ll look in the house. If we don’t find anything there, then we’re leaving,” she said and walked towards it.

He fell into step beside her and she couldn’t stop her eyes from roaming to his face. She studied his profile, her gaze tracing the line of his slim nose and the curve of his lips, down to his chin. Moving along the line of it, she smiled when she reached his neck and saw the marks on it. The scar was still there, dashing down the right side of his throat and reminding her of Dmitri. They would have to contact Mia and Dmitri soon. They hadn’t left on good terms and even though they had spoken to each other in the mean time, she could still sense the bad blood between them. Hopefully Dmitri would have had time to calm down by now and would be feeling suitably guilty for not helping her find Valentine when he’d been kidnapped.

Her eyes lingered on the bite marks that were visible just above the collar of Valentine’s black jacket. Her stomach growled and hunger made her teeth itch. She wanted to taste the rich sweetness of his blood again. Something about biting him and sharing his blood was addictive. She didn’t know whether it was the taste of it, or the closeness and intimacy it placed between them.

She just loved it.

She craved it like she’d never craved anything before.

Following him up the steps to the house, she hung back a little, calling the magic to the amulet. It idly wound itself around her fingers. She waited for him to push the heavy door open. It was hanging off its hinges and when he pushed it, it fell, slamming down onto the marble floor inside the house and making a loud boom echo around the interior. He stepped inside, walking over the fallen door. She looked up at the balcony at the top of the twin staircases when she entered. The cracks in the marble that she had seen the last time she was here were worse now. Patches of it had fallen away from the walls and some of the spindles in the banisters were missing. They were strewn across the floor, littering it along with the chandelier that used to hang above the symbol that was inlaid into the floor.

The whole place was falling apart. The paint was coming off the doors to her left and right, peeling away even as she looked at them.

“Elena isn’t here,” she said to Valentine and he nodded in agreement. “This place is deteriorating. Her magic no longer protects it.”

She walked up the stairs to the balcony and went into the room where Elena had been the past two times she’d been here. The furniture was scattered across the room, broken and tattered. The curtains had been torn to shreds.

Her eyes widened when she saw a pile of bones in the corner. She moved across the room to them and bent down, picking up a fragment of black cloth. She brought it up to her nose and sniffed it.

The maid.

What had Elena done to her?

A low growl made her freeze to the spot and she looked out of the corner of her eye. She could sense the animal behind her. She swallowed and stared at the piece of cloth. Elena hadn’t done anything to the maid.

She slowly stood and turned to face the owner of the growl. It snarled at her, baring its fangs as the tattered grey fur on its back bristled. She dropped the cloth and kept her eyes locked with the milky white ones of the dog. It growled again. Blood and saliva oozed from between its teeth and she curled her lip up in disgust at the stench of it.

Reaching out with her senses, she frowned when she felt the presence of more creatures like the one in front of her. She listened hard and could hear the scratching of their claws in the rooms all around the house. Her stomach dropped. The bones of her face shifted, distorting to allow her canines to extend, and her eyes switched to their emerald green state.

“I think we are not alone,” Valentine hollered up to her from the entrance hall.

“I would have to agree,” she whispered. The second the dog looked over its shoulder in the direction of Valentine, she ran at it. She kicked it hard in the face when it turned back to look at her. It slumped to the ground and she ran as fast as she could when she heard more of the zombie dogs coming towards her.

She vaulted over the banisters, landing soundly on the floor of the main entrance hall. Valentine moved at the same time as her, his hand gripping hers tightly as they bolted back out into the street. She could feel the dogs closing in. There had to be at least two dozen of them. Far too many to fight without getting hurt.

“Maybe it’s time to shut the door on this place permanently.” She glanced across at Valentine.

“I agree,” he said and tightened his grip on her hand.

She called the magic and looked over her shoulder for a split second, enough for her to make out whereabouts the dogs were. She could see their white eyes shining in the dim light, could smell them and sense them close by. Casting a glowing ball of magic over her shoulder, she listened to the pained yelps of those she’d hit and then focused on getting to the portal.

The stars on her body began to hum, burning with pain and magic while she called it to her hand. She would need a lot of energy to counteract the portal that Elena had created to her own little world, possibly more than she had.

The portal shimmered into life in front of them, its silvery blue swirling reminding her painfully of when Valentine had been taken from her. She held onto his hand even tighter, not caring if she was hurting him. She had to feel he was there, had to know in her heart that he was safe, so when she landed on the other side she could immediately unleash her magic on the portal.

She leapt into it and turned the second she was through. Raising her hand, she let go of Valentine’s and brought her other hand up to steady her wrist as she released the magic. She growled and gritted her teeth, steeling herself against the pain that tore through her as the two spells collided. She could feel how close she was to destroying the portal but it wasn’t close enough. She redoubled her effort, splaying her fingers and on the verge of screaming when the magic began to drain the last of her energy. She had to hold on. She only needed a little more strength.

Her other hand dropped to her side and she furrowed her brows, fighting against the power of the portal as it resisted succumbing to her magic. Even without Elena inside, it was still too powerful for her to destroy.

She needed a little more strength. She could feel the dogs pushing at the other side, trying to get through and get to them.

She tensed when Valentine’s hand slid in hers and she looked at him with bleary eyes and a heavy head. She blinked to keep herself awake and pushed herself past the limit, drawing strength from the way he was tightly holding her hand, supporting her in the only way he could.

The portal flickered and twisted, the colour of it changing from a light blue through to black. It glowed red around the edges and then began to shrink, shooting threads of red magic in all directions.

When it disappeared with a pop, she collapsed against Valentine. His strong arms encircled her, holding her tight while sleep beckoned her. She didn’t resist. Closing her eyes, she slipped into the comforting darkness.

Valentine looked down at the girl in his arms while he walked across the dark runway. In the dim light from the hangar he was heading towards, he could see how pale she was. Her lips were almost as white as her cheeks, drained of colour just like she’d been drained of energy. The magic had taken everything from her, every ounce of strength and even some of his. When he’d held her hand, he’d felt the pain inside of her. He’d felt the intense pull on her energy and how she was beginning to falter. The magic had bound their hands. He’d watched threads of it weave around their fingers and then melt into his flesh, stealing energy from him to feed itself and help Prophecy close the portal for good.

The pain he’d felt was just a fraction of what she’d experienced, and he hadn’t been surprised when she’d passed out. Destroying his family’s mansion in St. Petersburg must have been child’s play compared to obliterating the portal and Elena’s little world.

He gently adjusted her in his arms so her head was resting against his chest and then walked into the brightly lit hangar. He headed straight towards the Cessna jet that was awaiting him and mounted the steps.

“Tell Christophe to get off the ground as soon as possible. I want to be back in Prague before daybreak,” he said to the stewardess when she hurried towards him.

“Yes, my lord.” The stewardess nodded and gave the briefest of glances at Prophecy before walking off up the length of the cabin.

He was surprised that one of his bloodline was taking the presence of her so well. The others back at the mansion had done nothing but glare at Prophecy, much like her family glared at him whenever he entered their house.

It was hard enough getting his house to obey him, getting the two houses to work together was going to be nigh on impossible. It had to be done though. If they were going to win the war that he could feel on the horizon then they had to work together. He wondered how the two families would react to having to work with the Tenebrae too. When he’d last spoken to Mia, she had told him that the Venia had sided with Elena against them. The Nocens had not forgiven Prophecy for what she had done to their family in Budapest and the Vehemens were also in league with Elena. The only family yet to choose a side were the Validus. He couldn’t see Hyperion lifting a finger to help Prophecy or Elena, not when he was so concerned with the fate of Ineru.

He settled Prophecy down onto one of the padded seats, making sure that she was comfortable before buckling her in. He was thankful that his new position within his family afforded them a better means of transport. Flying by private jet was far less dangerous and far quicker than travelling by train.

The engines of the Cessna whined into life. He sat in the seat opposite Prophecy and fastened his seatbelt, his eyes never leaving her, not even when the stewardess returned.

“Christophe has a window. We should be back in Prague before sunrise. It will be close, but I am told the winds are with us.”

He nodded his thanks and rested his right elbow on the arm of his chair. He propped up his chin on his thumb, curled his fingers around and pressed his index finger against his lip. She looked so pale.

“Is there anything I can get for you, my lord?” the stewardess said. “A cloth? Or some blood perhaps?”

He considered her offer for a moment and then shook his head.

“Does she require anything?”

He was surprised to hear the question and looked up at the stewardess. He held her gaze, trying to see if she had asked that question out of anything other than obligation to him as her lord. She smiled, her eyes filling with nerves over his studying her.

“No,” he said and held his hand up when she went to leave. “But thank you … for asking.”

She smiled again and gave him a little nod before disappearing into the back of the jet.

It was strange to have an Aurorea other than himself concerned with Prophecy. Mathias had always cared for her, but then he hadn’t been close to their family, not like this stewardess was. It was hard to tell whether her concern was genuine or whether she was only asking because of who he was. Maybe it was who Prophecy was. She was the lady of Caelestis after all. The seven pure bloodlines had always been courteous to the lords and ladies of the others. Maybe he needed to remind his family of this fact when he got back. Prophecy could probably subtly remind hers too. He was getting tired of the whispered comments and dark looks.

He relaxed back into his seat when he felt the jet taxiing for take off. In a few short hours, he would have her back safely at her home.

The engines roared and he closed his eyes, focusing his senses on the plane and almost feeling the rush of the wind against the nose of the jet when it charged the runway. He felt the lift and the split second of weightlessness as the plane took off, leaving Venice far below them as it climbed high into the atmosphere. When it levelled off, he opened his eyes and looked at Prophecy.

The seatbelt light switched off and he immediately unbuckled his safety belt.

Kneeling beside Prophecy, he unlatched her belt and looked at her. She hadn’t stirred since passing out after destroying the portal and it was starting to shake him up. His stomach twisted with worry, tying itself in knots and making him feel sick. He brushed the dark hair from her face, revealing just how pale she was when the lights above illuminated it.

Fear and a sense of desperation filled him. He grabbed hold of her shoulders and shook her.

“Prophecy? Prophecy!” He frowned when her head lolled forwards from the force of him shaking her.

Carefully sitting her back up again, he cupped her cheek, his look becoming one of anxiousness. He smoothed her hair back into place again and tried to think of a way to rouse her. When an idea came to him, he turned her sideways in her seat, resting her shoulders and head against his right arm. He held her gently, cradling her to him and not taking his eyes away from her face while his fangs descended.

He flinched when he stabbed the tip of his left index finger with one of his canines and then squeezed it between his thumb and middle finger until a droplet of blood broke to the surface.

This had to work.

Bringing it to her face, he wafted it close to her lips. Her nose wrinkled when she sniffed and between her open lips, he could see her teeth extending.