The altar matched the one above except for its occupant. A body dressed in white robes. The figure held a bouquet of dried flowers and an athame. A ring of fire surrounded the stone, burning two feet high. The glow of the mage overpowered even the light of the fire. But that wasn’t what really caught my eye.
The walls were stacked deep with vampires. Not just two or three. But in some areas, five and six.
The fire helped burn off some of the smell, but even then, it was a lot. My gut urged me to leave. Run. But I couldn’t. I needed to get to that alter.
Lucas growled, and grabbed my arm, pulling me behind him. “I don’t want either of us to go in that room. Not one bit.”
Neither did I, but I didn’t have a ton of options. I patted his hand and he let go. “You can stay here.” I started to step past him. “But I need to go in.”
He pushed the long sleeves of his T-shirt up to his elbows. “Like hell you’re going in there alone.” He stepped through the doorway. “Let’s do this fast.”
We paused as we reached the fire. Sweat rolled down my hairline and I brushed it away. “Can you lift me over?”
“Can’t you put it out with magic?”
Something in my gut told me that was a really bad idea. This time, I wasn’t going to ignore that instinct.
I glanced around the room again, and then at the fire. “I think that’s the booby trap part. Any magic done in this space could make the vampires wake.”
“How do you know?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling.”
He grunted, and then grasped my waist. “I’m going to have to throw you, okay? I don’t want you to get burned.”
That seemed like the best plan. “Okay.”
“On three.” He counted down, and then I was air born for a split second.
I came down on the ground hard.
“You okay?”
My ribs ached and my feet throbbed, but nothing was broken. I stood up and brushed myself off. “Fine.”
The mage on the altar looked to be asleep. The purity of his soul had saved his body, perfectly preserving it. His eyes were closed, with both arms crossed over his chest. Long white hair cascaded over his shoulders, braided in thin sections. The only thing that told me he was dead was the dried out, leathery look of his skin and the fact that he wasn’t breathing.
I reached out to him with shaking hands. I didn’t want to touch him. Disturbing him felt wrong. Only the thought of saving Raphael kept me moving forward.
What was I supposed to take?
I wondered if I could get away with taking a little hair. Hair was used in a lot of spells. It could be enough for Raphael.
But what if it wasn’t enough?
I didn’t travel all this way to come up short.
“Hurry up. All these vampires staring at me…”
“They’re frozen. They’re not staring at you, Lucas.”
“No, princess. Their eyes have been following us the whole time.”
I spun around. “Shut the fuck up.” I slapped a hand over my mouth. I’d never said that word out loud before. Fear was getting the better of me.
His lips were pressed in a thin line. “I’m not joking. Watch their eyes.”
He took two steps to the side. Then two more. I watched the vampire behind Lucas. It was slight, but its eyes tracked the motion.
A shiver rolled down my spine. “This is bad.”
“I know. Get what you need and get back over here.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. “I’m sorry for disturbing you, but you’ll be stopping a very evil witch. Thank you for your gift.” I grabbed a handful of the mage’s long white braids and pulled. They slipped easily out of his dried scalp. I wrapped them in a knot and placed them in my purse next to my cellphone.
Then I noticed the ring on his hand. It was a thick band of silver with a large ruby in the middle. The aura glowed white around the ring, but the ruby had a different aura. It was a hundred shades of red, separate yet all together at the same time. It took me a second to get the ring over his thick, gnarled knuckles, and put that in my purse, too.
Now, I just needed a bone. But what? It had to be something small—something I could take in my purse—but something that held a lot of power.
A hand. That was the implement that we used the most when practicing magic. If I could dislodge his hand…
My stomach roiled at the thought, but I had to try. I hoped it would be enough. I grasped the mage’s hand like I was going to shake it. The whole thing fell off at the wrist.
I screeched and jumped back, nearly dropping it.
“Calm down!” Lucas shouted.
“Sorry.” My heart was racing. “Sorry. I just…” I turned toward him to show him. “I have a some hair, his ring, and a hand. I think I’m done here. That’s all I need to—”
When I turned all the way around, my stomach dropped.
Father Valentine stood in the hallway.
Lucas had been right. Someone had been here before. Someone really bad.
Father Valentine waved his hand in a spell-like motion.
“No!” I finally found my voice. I pointed behind Lucas. “Stop him! Now!”
Lucas lunged, but he was too late. The fire was out in an instant and the doors swung shut with a deafening thud.
We were alone. In the dark.
With at least a few hundred vampires.
Chapter Twenty-Two