Prophecy: Child of Light (21 page)

“No rowers?” he said.

“None. The men pushed them with a big stick,” she said and then frowned when she remembered what came next. “I followed the woman again. I felt I had to see her face. I wanted to know who she was. She had hair like mine and skin as white as snow. She kept laughing and twirling as she ran along this road that was surrounded on one side by buildings and on the other by water. She stopped at the end of it, on the wall, and fell.”

“She fell?”

“Straight into the water, but there wasn’t a splash. I think I ran then, ran to see what had happened to her. She was in the water, looking up at me. She told me not to be scared.”

He frowned. “How real did it feel to you?”

“I felt I was living it. I was there,” she said and his expression became even more pensive. “It felt like the dreams I’ve had of battles but they’d never felt as real as this. The witches told me to dream. They told me sleep would give me answers.”

She noticed that he was staring at the floor now, lost in his own thoughts. His brows knit together into a frown and his jaw tensed. It made her uneasy for some reason.

“Valentine?”

“Venice. You saw Venice. This cannot be a coincidence.”

“What can’t?” she said.

He looked at her briefly before standing up and extending his hand to her.

She slipped hers into it and stood with his assistance.

“Mathias telephoned the hotel last night. He has discovered the location of a retired curator who might be able to help us discover the whereabouts of the second half of the scroll. The curator lives in Venice.”

She could see the disbelief in his eyes and she couldn’t blame him. Her dream had been a vision. She’d been shown where to go to find what she was looking for. How? What higher power was guiding her?

She looked at the amulet on her hand and tensed when Valentine’s hand appeared in view. He took hold of her hand and turned it over.

“I know about the marks.” His tone was low, thick with unspoken anger. “What’s going on Prophecy?”

Raising her eyes, she saw nothing but hardness in his. He wasn’t going to let her get away without answering his question this time and she supposed that if they were going to work together as a team, he had a right to know what was happening.

She raised her hand. The candlelight shone off the purple stone where it sat against her palm.

“The witches marked me. They told me that the stars were there all along and they just made them visible and activated them. They wouldn’t tell me anything else until I asked them again last night.” Her eyes met his and she found they were still full of silent demand.

“How many do you have?”

“Eight of them.” She pointed to both of her shoulders, her stomach and her chest. “Each mark on my front has a corresponding one on the back.”

“What do they do?” he said and she could see the hardness in his eyes beginning to disappear.

“They focus something... it’s...” She hesitated, feeling foolish and trying to think of a good way to say it. “You won’t believe me.”

 “Does it have something to do with the amulet you are wearing?”

She held her hand up again. “It’s the key.”

“How is that supposed to unlock the prophecy’s meaning?” He turned her hand over so he could see the back of it and then looked at the front. She had expected him to be rough, but his touch was gentle.

She smiled. “It doesn’t unlock the meaning... it... um... well, it unlocks me.”

He looked confused and dropped her hand. “What—”

“Watch.” She cut him off and concentrated hard, focusing on her hand and smiling when the stone began to glow. It had come quicker than last night. The witches had told her she would need to practice in order to make it come without her having to focus so much. Lazy threads of purple arced between her fingers, interlacing with each other and sparking wildly as her focus lapsed and she looked at Valentine.

He was staring straight into her eyes, his own full of amazement.

Her hand began to buzz and her eyes widened when she saw the threads of magic were winding themselves into a tight glowing ball above her palm.

She bit her lip as the magic crackled, sparked and disappeared with a pop.

Trying to call it back again, she frowned and pouted when nothing came. She still had to work on her control of it. The witches had said that when she got to know the power she commanded better, she would be able to use some of the more potent abilities that it carried. There was a book that had been her mother’s. It contained spells that she would need if she wanted to win the battle they were heading towards. They would find it for her, and would contact her to tell her where it was.

“What... how?”

She looked at Valentine. He seemed more confused than ever. Her fingers idly ran over the amulet.

“I don’t know. The only thing I know is...” She trailed off and stared into the depths of the purple stone.

“What?”

She raised her eyes to meet his.

“It has something to do with my mother.”

* * * *

V
alentine kept his eyes fixed on his destination, not letting them stray to Prophecy like they wanted to. He still couldn’t believe what she’d told him. She could use magic. The witches had given her the key they had been seeking, but instead of translating the prophecy, it unleashed the magic inside of her. He’d been speechless when she’d shown him what she could do and he suspected that this was just a fraction of her power. She was just learning to control it and summon it, but he could already feel how strong the magic she commanded was.

She needed to be given time to practice. If she learnt to control it, the magic would help to protect her and it would be a useful weapon in the coming battles. He could feel the wave of battle building already, tugging at his feet and dragging him towards it. Before long, they would be lost in the midst of it, and the quiet they were currently enjoying would become something they longed to see again.

But they wouldn’t see it, not until they had been pushed to the limit and had fought for their lives. It was going to take a lot to get through this and live to see the other side, but he was sure they could do it. Prophecy had proven herself to be strong and capable, she just needed to shed her more impulsive side and learn to deal with situations like the nightclub without making rash decisions like killing someone.

It was asking a lot at this point. The world was still new to her, but she would adjust and learn with time. She would make a fine warrior, especially now she had such a powerful weapon in her arsenal.

He looked up to see the towers of Notre Dame silhouetted against the moon and broken cloud. It had been a long time since he’d been here. Prophecy had been quiet since they’d left the church in the suburbs, but he could sense she was on the verge of speaking again and he knew what she would ask. Why were they here? Why had he made her walk halfway across Paris under the pretence of getting to the train station?

She’d be right to ask him those questions. They could have easily taken the underground to the train station and left Paris in relative safety, but there was something he needed to do first, someone he needed to see. He knew exactly where to find them and it wouldn’t add much time onto their journey.

Her head jerked up and she looked at him with a frown. He felt the same movement she had on the edge of his senses. He stopped. They were in the middle of the square in front of the imposing arched door and dark, heavy façade of the cathedral. Exactly where Valentine had thought he’d find him.

“So she is with you?” The voice came from the shadows and he didn’t need to turn around to know whom the owner of it was.

“She is,” he said calmly and looked at Prophecy. She had tensed, her every muscle tightening like a coiled spring, and in her eyes, he could see her desire to let her face shift into demonic guise.

“Is this why you came this way?” she whispered to him, leaning closer.

He finally turned around to face the hunter, who was now standing a few metres from them.

“It is,” Valentine said with a smile. “It will not take long.”

“Is there a reason why a vampire of Aurorea as elevated as yourself is roaming Paris with a female Caelestis? A loyal soldier no more?” The hunter looked at Prophecy as he spoke, his eyes reflecting curiosity.

Valentine felt her step behind him and heard her growl.

“It is a long story, hardly one for a meeting like this.” He placed his bag down and straightened up again, looking the hunter in the eyes. He could see in them that the man was confused about his being with Prophecy and he wanted to keep it that way. If the hunter was distracted by trying to figure out what was happening, it would make the fight all the easier.

“Vengeance? Valentine, I’d thought you were above such a disagreeable act.”

He smiled, brushing the comment off. He wasn’t above vengeance at all, especially when it had an added bonus as sweet as fighting his favourite quarry.

“Did you seriously expect us to still be there when you arrived at the location where I’d killed the dart? You should know me better, Caden. I have been toying with you for twenty years.” He smirked when the hunter frowned, a glint of anger showing in his eyes. It was fun to play with Caden sometimes, a pleasure to lead him in circles and wind him up.

“Toying with me? Is that what you think you’re doing?” The hunter laughed mirthlessly and then stopped abruptly. “It’s only a matter of time before you slip up. I knew you wouldn’t be at the hotel, but I also knew you would be here tonight. I knew you would want to protect her.”

Valentine glanced at Prophecy. She was staring at the hunter with dark eyes full of hate. From where he was standing, she looked as though she wanted vengeance of her own and he had half a mind to let her take it, but it wouldn’t do to have her getting hurt again. Even with her newfound powers, she wasn’t skilled enough to fight Caden, not yet.

“What are you going to do if I win, Valentine? What will happen to her then?”

“You shall not win. You never do.” Valentine smiled casually, sure of himself as he flexed his fingers and hid the pain it caused in his shoulder. Even with the injury, he could still defeat the hunter if he chose to.

“This is madness, Valentine.” Prophecy grabbed his arm and he looked down at her. “Your shoulder... you can’t. We’ve no time for vendettas. We must go... please, Valentine?”

He considered her request for a moment, a part of him wanting to do as she’d asked if only to ease the worry he could see in her eyes, and then shook his head. “It’s too late to leave, the battles already begun.”

She glanced at the hunter, who was removing his jacket, and then back at Valentine. “It’s still madness to fight an unnecessary battle.”

He frowned and thought over what she’d said. She was proving to be quite the ambassador for peace. She’d said she would die if it brought peace between their families, that she would die for peace in general. Now she was giving him a lesson on only fighting necessary battles. Something told him that her answer to most fights would be the pragmatic option.

Talking wasn’t going to stop this fight.

He turned away from her and focused on Caden, shutting out the feeling of her nearby and silencing the voice in his head that was telling him that she was right—this was unnecessary.

But he couldn’t let the hunter do that to her and get away with it. Caden’s actions deserved retribution and this was the most satisfying form Valentine could find.

He quelled his desire to change into his vampire guise. Caden wouldn’t get the pleasure of provoking him into using the heightened strength it gave him. He would make sure that the hunter suffered at the hands of his weaker side so he would know never to touch Prophecy again or he would unleash his full strength upon him and end the merry dance they’d shared these past two decades.

It would be a shame to have to do it, but he could if he wanted to.

The hunter’s eyes narrowed, his feet shifted and his hand came up to reveal a slim shaft of wood.

Valentine shook his head. “Been grave robbing again?”

The hunter spun the piece of wood around to reveal the other end of it. “Found it in a church. At least I know it’s definitely blessed, not like that time in Budapest.”

Valentine raised a brow at the crucifix and heard Prophecy hiss behind him when she noticed it. He wanted to turn to look at her but taking his eyes off the hunter would be a childish mistake. The battle was close to starting. He could feel the anticipation building inside of him and it was reaching a crescendo. Soon, one of them would make a move and then everything would become a blur as the fight began.

He extended his senses to see how far from him Prophecy was. She was close.

Reaching his hand out behind him, he pushed her out of the way at the same time that he sprang forwards towards the hunter. He slammed his fist into Caden’s face, catching him hard across the jaw and smirking as the hunter stumbled backwards a few feet and tightened his grip on the makeshift stake. He was ready for the hunter’s retaliation and easily blocked the punch he threw and the kick that followed it.

Ducking down, he swept a leg out towards Caden’s feet and growled when his foe leapt over it. For a middle-aged man, the hunter certainly had a lot of energy. There had to be something driving him. Valentine just hadn’t figured out what yet.

He kicked Caden in the shin and then flipped backwards onto his feet, instinctively blocking the hand holding the stake as Caden thrust it towards him.

“Getting slow in your old age,” Valentine said and launched into a barrage of punches, each one hitting their target and knocking the hunter backwards. He growled and caught him hard in the stomach, smiling with satisfaction when Caden doubled over. Grabbing hold of the long dark locks of his hair, he slammed the hunter’s head down into his knee and let go of him.

Caden fell to the floor and pressed his hand to his head, his teeth gritted in obvious pain and his eyes screwed shut.

“Valentine!” Prophecy called to him and he turned to look at her. She pointed at something.