Cronin's Key III (23 page)

“
But you think it’s
something else?”

They both nodded. “We do.”

“
It’s mirrored or reversed for a reason.”

Alec saw
where they were going with this. “This one, like the Göbekli Tepe
pits, opened the portal,” he said, pointing to the first drawing.
“And the mirrored one will close it.”

Jodis grinned at him and nodded.
“Yes.”

“
So
we need the
planets to make the opposite formation of when Alec was changed?”
Cronin asked.

“
Exactly,” Viviana
said.

“
When does that occur?”
Eiji asked.

Viviana showed them a page of mathematical equations and
orbital projections.
“Now.”

“
Awesome,” Alec said sarcastically. “So we have exactly no
time to find the pits somewhere in the world that match this
drawing?” He pointed to the second drawing by Saint
Peter.

“
Well, we already have,” Jodis said, handing Alec an iPad.
“Here.” There on the screen was a floor plan of one of the world’s
most famous churches. She then slid the hand-drawn planetary
alignment sketch Viviana had done, and it was easy to see the
circular formation was one and the same.

“
St
. Basil’s Cathedral
in Moscow.”

Jodis nodded
then clicked on the laptop keyboard, bringing up another screen. It
was an image from Google Maps of Moscow. The old city had been
built in a circular formation, and if it were a target, St. Basil’s
was the bull’s-eye.

Alec ran his hands through his hair
and sighed. He was tired, weary. Something he’d not felt since he
was human.

Are you well, m’cridhe?
Cronin’s soothing voice whispered into his mind.

It was like a warm blanket around him and it made Alec
smile
. Just
tired
.

Cronin frowned.
You
could stop time and rest?

Alec shook his head.
No, let’s finish this.
“This is the Muscovites calling.” He looked at Eiji. “We
need all the weapons and supplies we have.”

Eiji never questioned him, just raced
out of the room. Cronin on the other hand, tilted his head. “The
Muscovites?”

“
The elders from Moscow,”
Alec explained. “On the phone.”

The room was
quiet for a moment, then sure enough the phone on the table buzzed.
Jodis picked it up, but before she answered, Alec simply said,
“Tell them we’re on our way. The world elders will have to wait for
a council meeting. We’re out of time.”

Jodis
answered the
call, and even though Alec could hear every word spoken, he didn’t
need to.
The creatures you
asked about are here. They’re coming out of the crypts.

Eiji ran
back into the room with the bulletproof vests they’d used before
and some quivers and thigh holsters. He had a few wooden arrows and
stakes in each hand, though Alec saw he was worried they had no
crosses.

We’ll get some there
,
Alec reassured him.

Without a word, Jodis picked a thigh
holster and strapped it to her leg. Eiji smiled at her. “You’re
never so beautiful as you are when you’re kicking someone’s
ass.”

She
grinned at him as
she fastened the last strap. “And the same goes for you, my
love.”

Alec fixed
the clasps to Cronin’s vest and then Cronin did Alec’s. It had
become a bit of a tradition that they fit each other’s vests and
weapons before going into battle. Each man quite capable of doing
his own but relished the quiet moment of love and protection it
symbolized. When he was done, Alec walked over to Jacques. Alec
could see the internal debate the vampire waged with himself: torn
between wanting to fight alongside his coven family and wanting to
protect Kole.

Alec put his hand on Jacques
’ arm and spoke directly into his mind.
There’s no job more important to me and I know
it’s more than I’m entitled to ask for, but please stay and look
after him.

Of course.
Jacques
gave him a nod. Then he smiled.
You know you’re sounding more like Cronin every
day.

He’s wearing off on me.
Then with a glance at Kole and Eleanor, he said,
I’m transferring leaping to you
again. If you need it, get them all out of here.

Jacques nodded. “Of
course.”

Then it was time to face his father. Kole looked exhausted.
It was well after midnight and the dark circles under his eyes made
him look even older than his years.
“Dad,” Alec whispered, quickly embracing him. “Get some
sleep. I’ll be back before you wake up.”

Kole scoffed. “You know that’s not gonna happen. I’ll wait
til
l I know you’re back safe
and sound. Then I’ll sleep.”

“
Sounds familiar,” Cronin
said, now standing beside Alec.

Kole smiled at him. “Look after my boy,
’kay?”

Cronin bowed his head. “With my
life.”

Then
Jorge ran over
to Alec and jumped up into his arms. “Jorge come with
you?”

Jorge’s eyes were big and hopeful
. His little grin made his cheeks even chubbier, but
Alec shook his head. “No. You and Adelmo stay here. You’re safer
here.”

Jorge frowned. “We can’t see them. The
Zoan hides from us.”

“
They hide from me too,”
Alec said.

“
Alec hasn’t seen them in
many days,” Jorge said.

“
Nope. I
haven’t.”

“
Jorge doesn’t like it,”
Jorge said. “We can’t see them.”

Alec looked
deep into the boy’s mind, into the realm of vampires long passed.
He saw a swirling whisper of his mother’s face and her mouth
opened, though it was Jorge’s voice he heard. The little boy’s eyes
were solid black. “We can’t see them, Alec. Willem and Johan have
searched for anything that may help you, but they’ve found nothing.
If the portal is opened and Jorge is there, we may be able to guide
you.”

“
Jorge is to come with
us?”

“
It may be the only
way.”

Alec sighed
deeply, and Jorge shook his head, making the whites of his eyes
reappear. The little boy beamed with happiness and excitement.
“Jorge go with you!”

Alec
nodded and
looked to Adelmo. “I’m sorry.”

He felt
every ounce of the vampire-father’s anguish. “I will not leave him.
Where he goes, I go.”

“
I would never expect you to leave him,” Alec told him. “I
just wish there was another way.”

Adelmo bowed his head. “As do
I.”

Kennard, Benito
, and
Viviana were waiting alongside Jodis and Eiji. “So we are ready?”
Eiji asked. His smile was huge.

“
We have no plan, no maps of what’s underneath
St
. Basils, no visions of
what will happen, no clue what to expect, and no clue what the Zoan
are up to or what they’re really capable of,” Alec said.

Eiji grinned
impossibly wider and nodded. “Like I said, we’re totally
ready.”

Alec
resisted rolling his eyes, he took a hold of Cronin’s hand, and
then he leapt them all to Moscow.

* * * *

The room in Moscow where they landed was large and reminded
Alec of a
grand ballroom,
only with dark timber walls and floor. Even the ceiling was dark.
There were no windows at all, and although the place looked
somewhat foreboding, the three vampires who stood awaiting Alec’s
arrival were smiling.

Alec was
bombarded with a swift barrage of new mental voices and images.
Though he spoke very little Russian, most of which were curse
words, he could see in their minds that these coven elders were
harsh but fair. They were honest, with no hidden secrets lurking,
and even though Alec had only met them once before, he liked
them.

There were
three elders—each of them with specific talents—Feliks, Yevgeny,
and Asya. And they each in turn greeted Alec with a strong
handshake and a warm smile.

Feliks was
blond with a broad creased forehead. He was about forty in human
years, stood under six foot tall, but had broad shoulders. Alec
could imagine him as a lumberjack, and given his vampire talent was
incredible strength, it didn’t surprise Alec at all.

Yevgeny had
fine brown hair that swept down into his eyes. He wore a peacoat
and scarf, crossing the line between distinguished businessman and
Bohemian poet. Younger in human years, he was the oldest of the
three in vampire years at over two hundred and fifty. He was a
pyro, though only through touch.

And finally
Asya. She had a hard, angled face and her long black hair did
little to soften her features. Despite looking nothing alike, she
reminded Alec a lot of Jodis. Always the voice of reason, and quite
possibly the glue that kept the coven together. Her talent was an
empathic trait, in that she could sense if people were lying or
not. In her role as elder in Russia, it was a talent that had
served her and her coven well.

A brief
round of reintroductions was had, but not entirely necessary.
Though they never said so out loud, they were surprised to see
Jorge and Adelmo in their company. “Thank you for allowing us to
visit,” Alec said. “You have seen the creatures?”

Feliks gave
a hard nod. His English was brusque and broken. “Not directly. But
words from others say yes. You think it be lycan
creatures?”

“
Yes,” Alec admitted
bluntly. “Unfortunately, yes. That’s why we are here. I want to try
and stop it before it begins.”

“
And you think it involves
the Trinity Cathedral?”

Alec nodded.
He knew the colorful Moscow church had been called a few different
names throughout the years. “Yes. The design, the floorplan is an
exact replica of the Göbekli Tepe pits, which was a portal for the
Zoan. If you’re willing, I can show you in your minds what we
found.”

The three Russian vampires nodded, so Alec showed them the
aerial image
of the Göbekli
Tepe pits that Jodis and Viviana had showed them earlier. “This is
the portal the Zoan came through.” Then he superimposed the floor
design of St Basil’s cathedral over it making the two images merge
perfectly.

Asya whispered. “Nine
circles.”

“
It’s like a replica
,”
Yevgeny hissed. “The cathedral is another portal.”

Alec nodded. “So it would seem. The
circles represent the nine planets aligning in that particular
formation for the corresponding circular design for the portal to
open.”

Asya’s brows furrowed.
“When?”

“
Now,” Jodis answered.
“The sighting of a Zoan creature here cannot be a
coincidence.”

Yevgeny narrowed his eyes. “I’d hope
d you were wrong, Alec. But I have called for
Stas to come. He’s no doubt arguing with the leaper who was sent to
bring him back, but he will be here.” Then he added, “But if you
have the ability to leap him here without his say so….”

“
I do,” Alec allowed.
“Though I’d prefer not to take away his free will.”

Yevgeny smiled, and Alec could see
this pleased the Russian elder. “Good, good.”

“
Who is Stas?” Cronin
asked.

“
Stas is a vampire, even older than us,” Asya explained. “He
was here in Moscow when the cathedral was built. He is a recluse of
sorts, tends to go off-grid.”

“
How is that possible?”
Eiji asked. “Forgive me for asking, but if he is older than you,
why is he not considered an elder?”

Feliks sighed. “He refused. He decline
to be leader.”

Asya
furthered, more kindly. “Stas can read minds. He prefers the life
of solitude.”

“
Ah.” Cronin, Jacques, Eiji, and Jodis nodded in
understanding.

Alec smiled at Kennard, who hadn’t
said a word since they’d arrived. “What?” Kennard asked with his
usual snark.

“
Nothing,” Alec said, biting his lip. “Nothing at all.” He
didn’t want to give anything away. But he turned back to the three
Russian elders. “St. Basil’s,” he started. “I’m assuming there are
crypts not known to the public and this is where the creatures were
seen?”

Yevgeny
smiled. “Of course. Crypts and tunnels between the cathedral and
the Kremlin. Shall we go now? Or wait for Stas to
arrive?”

Alec looked
at the others, taking in their answers from their minds. He turned
back to Yevgeny and shrugged. Unfortunately daylight would soon be
upon them. There wasn’t any time to waste. “Now.”

* * * *

The interior
architecture and design of St. Basil’s cathedral was, for the want
of a better word, incredible. “Wow,” Alec whispered, taking in the
room they’d leapt to. It was the central church within the
cathedral. He took in every detail his perfect vampire sight
allowed. The craftsmanship, the brickwork, and attention to detail
was staggering.