Soulstone (8 page)

“It’s simple…” Drew said. “People are more willing to believe someone is working toward good if that is the front they present. I have no doubt the Acta Sanctorum lied and deceived the witches in order to gain their support. The utter destruction of their coven is proof of that. Whatever promises were made were obviously not kept. Now, we can argue all night about what happened and why, but the fact still remains, it did, and now Lysander’s crystal has been taken.”

“Don’t you think the ‘why’ is important, though?” I asked. “If the Acta Sanctorum was able to get to the witches, wouldn’t it stand to reason that they could get to others close to us? What about other vampires or werewolves?”

“They have what they want,” Crystal said calmly. “Drew is right. How and why does not matter any longer. We must figure out how to proceed next.”

“They have Lysander’s crystal. Is there any way to track them down and get it back?” I asked.

“It could take weeks to track them down. We don’t even know where to begin,” Crystal’s tone softened. “And… we may not have that long before it’s too late.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Crystal looked up to Drew. They exchanged worried glances as if having some silent, mental conversation. I looked over to see Zuri and Nicholas exchanging similar looks. Whatever it was they were about to say, it was something they’d all been keeping from me.

I glanced over my shoulder and watched Fallon for the same suspicious behavior, but she appeared as confused as I was.

After what felt like an awkward silent eternity, Drew finally spoke up. “We hoped we could avoid this. But we think that the crystal will not be able to hold Lysander forever.”

My jaw dropped in shock. “What?”

 Drew continued. “We’ve noticed for some time now that it had been getting weaker. The blood-red color would fade and so would the strength of Lysander’s spirit. It was Ariana who helped us to understand what was happening. It was dying; and with it, so was Lysander’s spirit. We’ve been trying everything to keep the crystal alive.”

I stared at them in disbelief. Of all the things they could have said, I never expected something of this magnitude. “And you kept it from me all this time. The secret meetings, the backfiring potions and dead bodies in the basement…”

“We knew how you would take it. You’ve been so on edge lately, we didn’t want to worry you any further.”

I took a deep calming breath and blew it out slowly. As angry as I felt about being kept in the dark, I understood why. “So, how long do you think the crystal will last?”

Drew shrugged and leaned his head against Crystal’s. “We don’t know. A week… maybe more, maybe less.”

“Then we really do need Santino’s help. He has intimate knowledge about the Acta Sanctorum and how they operate. If anyone would know where they might be, it’s going to be him.”

Drew let out a sigh and looked to his mate. “She’s right, love. We’re going to have to work with him if we hope to save Lysander. Can you do that?”

“Fine,” Crystal grudgingly agreed. “But I’ll only deal with him when it’s necessary to do what is needed to retrieve Lysander’s crystal.”

The look of sheer hatred on her face was impossible to miss. She snarled toward the hallway, where Santino had stood last. 

Unhappy about it or not, at least she’d agreed, and that was as much as we could hope for with her. Crystal had never gotten over her anger toward Santino, not that I blamed her. After finding out he’d massacred an entire pack of werewolves out in Colorado — werewolves that had been as close as family to Crystal — I could see where her anger came from. It didn’t matter whether Santino was working for our side or not.

“Fallon, please go and get Santino,” Drew asked.

She nodded and stood.

Drew nuzzled in close to Crystal and whispered in her ear, “We’ll get this sorted quickly. You won’t have to deal much with him, okay?”

She nodded but didn’t say a word.

Meanwhile, Fallon slipped off down the hallway to tell Santino we were ready for him, and Ariana began to stir. My own simmering anger began to boil as I saw the witch’s eyes crack open. The fate of my Lysander hung in the balance, and it was all because of her coven.

Nicholas must have sensed my unease. Before I could get up from my seat and approach Ariana, he was at my side. “Don’t be rash, Little Warrior.” The words came out calm, but the warning look in his eyes said otherwise.

“We at least need to find out what she knows,” I responded.

“We will… but not with force and anger. Wait until she has recovered and then we can question her.”

Zuri, still close by, looked over her shoulder and saw Ariana was waking. “You got some explaining to do, sista’.” Her tone was serious but lacked the anger I thought she should feel.

Ariana, groggy and disoriented, tried to sit up. She groaned as she pushed herself, favoring her right hand over her left. With deep breaths and a few painful gasps, she managed the task.

“You okay?” Zuri asked.

“No… I don’t think I am,” Ariana replied. “I think I broke something.” She grasped her left hand and slowly wiggled her fingers and wrist, wincing with each small movement.

“Well, you’re alive. That’s more than can be said for the rest of your coven,” I said without holding back my anger.

“What do you mean? Where are the others?

“Dead,” I blurted the word out.

“They’re… dead?” Ariana gasped. “All of them?”

As much as I wanted to hate her at that moment, I couldn’t. She wasn’t faking the shock, or the tears that began to stream down her face.

“We were ambushed,” Zuri explained. “You’re looking at all of the survivors, honey.”

“Ambushed, but who would do that?” she sobbed.

“You mean to tell me you don’t know what happened?” I narrowed my eyes as I looked down to meet hers.

She didn’t shy away from my gaze, which I found extremely surprising. She knew the mental control we were capable of if necessary, and I took this as a sign she accepted my use of it.

I reached out with all of my power and delved deep into her mind. “Tell me the truth,” I said slowly.

Her whole body shuddered. Her words came out in shaky gasps. “I… don’t know … anything.”

“Let her be,” Nicholas said harshly and grabbed me by the shoulders. “She’s telling the truth.”

I growled in frustration and blinked away the mental connection. He was right, though—I felt no deceit from Ariana, only fear. Whether that fear came from having five angry vampires staring down at her or the unknown depravity of the enemy who had attacked us, I couldn’t tell. Neither satisfied my anger. I needed an outlet for it. I needed someone to blame and punish for what had happened. I punched a hole into the sheetrock wall.

“What are you planning to do with me?” Ariana asked, her voice still shaky.

Zuri put an arm around her. “Honey, we aren’t gonna do anything to you. We’re not like that.”

“No. Nothing will happen to you,” Nicholas sat down on a moss-green fabric-covered bench along the wall near the back windows. “But, since it appears your coven is at fault, you will help us in any way possible to fix the situation.”

Ariana was quick to reply. “Anything. Of course.”

Santino emerged from the room and stood in the hallway with his arms crossed. “I’m told you want me to stay now.”

“It would appear we need to work together again,” Nicholas responded.

“Yeah. Tell us everything you know. Where would the Saints take the crystal? Why do they want it? Who’s running— ”

“Calm down, girl. One thing at a time,” Zuri said.

“Hey, after spending all this time in the dark, thanks to all your secrets, I think it’s high time I was given the info.”

“Alyssa, we told you… We didn’t want to worry you,” Crystal said, sounding a little annoyed.

Santino cleared his throat. “Standard procedure for the order would be to catalogue any unnatural artifact first, before sending it to Rome. If we are quick to act, we might be able to intercept it at one of their repositories.”

“What are we waiting for, then?” I asked. “If you know where we should go, then let’s get a move on.”

“It’s not so simple, girl,” Santino snapped at me. “We can’t just waltz in and take what we want. There’s bound to be heightened security in place. We need a plan.” He glanced over to Crystal. “And we need to assess our current injuries.”

“I’ll heal on my own,” Crystal said.

“Only after the poison shrapnel had been removed,” Santino replied.

“My mate can handle it.” She squeezed Drew’s hand. He looked down and nodded.

“Where is this repository, and have you been inside before?” Nicholas asked.

“Years ago, yes. It’s in an old church,” Santino said.

“Surprising,” I said with a laugh, which earned me a dirty look from everyone in the room.

Santino let out an impatient sigh. “Below the chapel, in the crypt, there are various rooms used by the Acta Sanctorum. One such room is the artifact repository. All the local unnatural artifacts are stored there unless Rome has a particular interest in them. I would guess that the crystal will be held there until transport can be arranged.”

“Wait, does that mean every city has a repository?” I asked.

“No. They are set up in major areas. Luckily for you, Boston happens to be where the local repository resides for the New England area.”

That was a stroke of luck for sure.

“Being a church, and one currently occupied and in use, will pose some problem,” Santino continued. “There will be civilians and clergy there… even during the evening hours. If indeed they were after the crystal as an item of interest, it will be under heavy guard. You can expect to see more soldiers on patrol.”

“Would it be better to go in during the day?” I asked.

For the second time in only a few minutes, all eyes were on me as each person in the room gave me dirty looks.

“What I mean is, we have non-vampire friends who are not limited to night time, and may not be known to the Acta Sanctorum. Would it be easier to send them ahead of us to scout what they can?”

“Anyone you sent in there would be putting their life at risk,” Santino said. “And I doubt you have any friends the Acta Sanctorum doesn’t know about. They were meticulous in setting up this ambush. I can guarantee they’ve been keeping an eye on anyone you might be in acquaintance with. Even your human friend.”

I crossed my arms and let out a desperate sigh. “Then we’ll just have to go in with force.” It seemed like we’d been backed into a corner that was impossible to get out of.

Nicholas approached me and put a hand on my shoulder. He looked down with what I assumed was meant to be a reassuring smile. “We’ll get him back. We’ll figure out a way. Try to relax.”

CHAPTER 10

Relaxing was the last thing on my to-do list. We spent the day trapped inside, helplessly waiting for the opportunity to retrieve Lysander’s crystal.

As night fell, Santino, Nicholas, Ariana, and I assembled and headed toward the old church. Drew decided to stay behind to watch over Crystal and Ian as they healed from their injuries. Zuri went back on her regular patrol, which was part of the duties of being a member of the Olde Town Pack.

None of the clan wanted me to go with the raiding party, but I wasn’t taking “no” for an answer. If Lysander’s crystal was in the old church, that’s where I was going.

Ariana insisted she be allowed to go too. She demanded the opportunity to prove her innocence in our betrayal by offering her services, and magical knowledge, to help make our mission easier.

The evening felt unbearably cold. Perhaps it was the fact I hadn’t fed since sharing blood with Ian, or that I was still not used to the New England winters. Whatever the reason, even through the layers of clothes I’d piled on, I felt like my whole body was slowly turning into a popsicle. I found myself moving slower and trailing behind the others.

“I’m not sure of what to expect when we get in there. You will listen to everything I say. If I say run, you run. You hear me?” Santino warned as we approached the old red-brick building with its pristine white steeple.

“Let’s get on with it,” Nicholas grunted. I could tell he wasn’t pleased with having to take orders from Santino. Being a former Roman Legionary hadn’t ever left him. Battle strategy and giving orders were his areas of expertise. 

The place didn’t give off the foreboding vibe it should have, given that the people inside were all bent on killing me and my kind. Wrought iron gates and low bushes surrounded the church. A heavy coating of snow covered them, reminding me of a Christmas-themed snow globe or a picture on a holiday greeting card.

Beyond the borders of the tiny churchyard and protective fence was the city. Narrow streets in all directions converged at the entrance, each of them housing three- and four-story brick row houses, shops, and commercial buildings. Along these narrow streets were tightly packed parked cars. Lamps dotted the thin sidewalks, casting small circles of light below, but leaving plenty of shadowy areas too. There were plenty of places for someone to hide.

“Wait,” Ariana whispered as we edged along the silent street, our feet crunching on the snowy ground. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a few silver chains. On each chain was a pendant of twin crescent moons with a circle between them. She held them up to us in her gloved hands. “This is a symbol of the goddess. Put these on, and she will protect us.”

“No offense, but she didn’t do much protecting last night, did she?” Nicholas said in his snarkier-than-thou voice.

“I’m trying to help,” Ariana grumbled, and held out the chains.

While I felt much the same as Nicholas, untrusting of our witchy companion, I reached out and took one of the necklaces. “Better to be safe than sorry, I guess.”

“Since when have you been concerned with safety, Little Warrior? Is someone beginning to grow up?” Nicholas asked.

I caught the hint of a genuine smile in his otherwise stony face. If I wasn’t mistaken, it sounded like he’d attempted to praise me for my caution. However, as usual, it came out in a sarcastic and antagonistic way. I didn’t bother to respond and risk ruining the moment.