Kingdom of Darkness (Kingdom Journals Book 2) Read online

  “I hope they’re good at getting down,” Frida commented as we made our way back down the trail.

  “I’m pretty sure there’s nothing that Jude can’t do,” I commented.

  “Speaking of Jude, how’s your cut?” Beth Anne asked.

  “It’s completely gone.” I held my finger up in front of her face.

  “Wow, you can’t even see the line. I thought it was way deeper.”

  “Me, too.”

  As we reached the beach, we headed back north to the towering rock form. Jude jumped the last several feet to the sand and ran towards us.

  “That was awesome.” He shook out his arms and stretched his legs.

  “Here.” I handed him a bottle of cranberry juice from my pack.

  “Thanks. I think we should eat when John gets down.” He circled back to the bottom of the rock, watching John’s descent.

  The group moved to the boulders lining the sand, and we took out our lunches. Finishing mine, I lay with my back on the rock, face to the sun.

  “You got sunscreen? That white face of yours is going to fry,” Frida commented.

  “Oh, yeah.” I slid some sunscreen from my bag and slathered it on my face and neck.

  With the sun warming my body, I could have laid there the rest of the afternoon.

  A shadow appeared over me. “So, are we kayaking?” Frida asked.

  “I’m game.” I sat up and slid my sunglasses over my eyes.

  The five of us—Frida, Beth Anne, John, Jude, and myself—hiked towards the buses.

  “I got some shots of you guys on the top of the rock.” I showed Jude and John the frames.

  “And I’m sequestering your camera.” Jude took it from me, snapping some pictures of the group. “Why do some people not like to be photographed?” he asked.

  “Well, I can’t speak for other people, but I just don’t think I look good in pictures. Then I realize I look the same way I always do, and then I start believing I’m not attractive. It’s a vicious cycle.”

  “Girls are the worst.” John caught up with us. “My sisters are so picky about pictures.”

  “Some people like them. Like me.” Frida joined our line. “I think it’s fun to take pictures and make them look crazy.”

  “I guess I’m too self-conscious.” I shook my head.

  “I will never get that,” Jude commented.

  “Well, Mr. Oozing Confidence, I’m surprised they even let you in this camp. So, if you’re schizophrenic like blondie here, what do you see when you have your episodes?” Frida challenged Jude.

  “Freaky stuff, war, death.” He shuddered.

  “All your worst fears?” Frida asked.

  “I guess.”

  “How about you Camille?” Frida spun to face me, hiking backwards in front of us.

  I didn’t really feel like being specific. “I see these people and their lives.”

  “These people are real? You know them?”

  “No, pretend.” I hedged, realizing some little part of me still believed they might be real.

  “And they do normal stuff?”

  “Sometimes, but they are witches and vampires.”

  “So, you’re into paranormal fiction?” She continued her interrogation.

  “I guess. Who doesn’t want to be young forever?”

  “Be young, but not forever,” Beth Anne said. “All the people you love would be gone.”

  “But you find more people to love.” Frida spun to face forward.

  “I’m with Beth Anne. I just want to have a good normal life,” John said.

  “So, you’d become a vampire if they were real? Even with the drinking human blood thing?” Jude asked me.

  “Ew, no. I’d want to be a non-human eating vampire.”

  “Hey, there’s Inga, Janna, and Hilda,” Frida exclaimed, running in their direction with Beth Anne and John on her heels.

  “So, what about being a vampire appeals to you the most?” Jude asked.

  “You’re really taking this conversation seriously. Let’s see, photographic memory, speed, strength, immortality—that about sums it up.”

  “So, you’re scared of getting old, losing all this?” He flexed his bicep.

  “I’m just scared in general.” I couldn’t believe the words escaped my lips. What was it about this boy that made me say exactly how I felt? And was I really scared all the time? Certainly, my disease kept me figuratively looking over my shoulder. I spun the bracelet on my wrist. But maybe I’d be free of that with Dr. Antos’s lodestones. “I’m sorry. That was too intense.” I looked to his face, and his blue eyes bore into mine.

  “You’re being honest. I think most people walk around scared.”

  “But that’s what this trip is about, learning how to not be scared.”

  “These give us control.” He held up his wrist, exposing the bracelet.

  We’d reached the others, and I loaded the bus with the rest of the girls to change into wetsuits. The guys changed, and we hiked to the beach.

  “We’re together, right?” Frida asked, hooking her arm in mine.

  “Yeah, sounds good.”

  Fitting our life jackets on, we waded until the water reached our knees and then got into the boat. As it was low tide, and the breeze was light, the water stayed calm as we rowed north and then turned around and headed south again.

  “This is awesome, I could do this all day,” Frida said.

  “Or until my arms give out, which may be soon.”

  “You’ve got to work on your upper body strength. When we get done with this camp, we should meet up at my gym on the weekends. I can’t have any puny friends.”

  “Puny? Wow, thanks.”

  “Just calling it as I see it.”

  “The tide is coming in fast,” I commented as we floated to the top of the wave.

  “It’s not much farther,” Frida told me.

  I noted we weren’t too far north of the parking lot but had strayed farther from the shore. A cloud passed over the sun, and the winds started picking up, rocking the boat. Descending to the trough between the crests cut off our view of the other boats.

  Friday glanced back at me. “I hope you got enough juice to get back.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I said, putting all my effort into my strokes. “Maybe we should cut over at a diagonal so the boat doesn’t tip on its side.”

  Just then I heard a large whoosh of water, and our boat rose with the huge swell. Praying we’d be on the other side when the wave broke, I clutched my oar in one hand and the side of the kayak with the other.

  “Oh, crap, we’re going over!” Frida yelled.

  I’d been focused on holding on but looked up to see the wave breaking on my left. It tipped to its side and then flipped upside down. Releasing the oar, I pulled my legs out of the kayak and scanned the murky water around me. Seeing light above me, I swam to the surface. The kayak lay between me and the shore and I searched for Frida. Not seeing her, I kicked to the top of the wave and scanned the surface. I ducked under the water. With no sunlight and the silt-filled surf, I couldn’t see past my outstretched arm. As I peered around the black ocean, the cold permeated my suit. I pushed to the surface when I ran out of air.

  With the boat just beyond arm’s reach, another large swell broke on top of me and slammed me back under the water. Surfacing and gasping for breath, I noticed the wave had sent the kayak zooming to shore. I spun in circles yelling for Frida, calling her name over and over.

  An arm wrapped around my chest, and I turned to see Jude.

  “We have to find Frida.”

  “You’ve been in the water too long.”

  “No.” I struggled in his arms. “We need to find Frida.” I pushed away from him and ducked under the water. Resurfacing, I waited for him. “I can’t see anything.”

  “I think I see her, you get to the boat.” He let go and disappeared under the water.

  Forcing my arms and legs to move, I backstroked to our kayak.


  John reached me. “Where did Jude go?”

  “I think he dove for Frida.”

  “How long ago?”

  “I don’t know. How did he get to me?”

  “He said he was a swimmer and dove in.”

  “How long has he been in the water?” My teeth started to chatter.

  “Just a couple of minutes. How long has Frida been under?”

  “Two minutes maybe.” I rubbed my shoulders to keep them warm.

  “Get in the boat with me. You’re going to freeze.”

  There was barely enough room for me to fit in the seat with him, but I sat on his lap, and he wrapped his arms around me. I couldn’t take my eyes off the water. They had to surface. Why had I told Jude to get Frida? If something happened to him too, I would never forgive myself.

  “I can’t believe I told Jude to get Frida. If he doesn’t make it—”

  “Don’t think like that. Jude seemed pretty confidant. He wouldn’t have gone in if he—”

  Two heads appeared above the water. I jumped into the front seat, and we paddled to them. John straddled the boat and pulled a limp Frida onto the back of the kayak.

  “I don’t know CPR.” John stood over her.

  “I do.” I climbed past John.

  “Stabilize the front.” Jude instructed.

  Jude rolled Frida over, and I beat on her back. Water poured from her mouth. When the water stopped, we flipped her. I tilted her chin and checked for breaths and a pulse. She had neither.

  “I’ll breath, and you do compressions. You know how?” I asked Jude.

  “Yep. On it.” Jude locked his hands, placed them on her sternum, and counted thirty compressions.

  I lowered my cheek to her face, feeling for a breath and checking for chest expansion. Seeing none, I puffed once into her airway. Nothing changed, and I breathed again for her.

  Checking for a pulse, Jude resumed compressions.

  As he finished, I pressed my hand to her neck. “There’s a pulse.” I waited for her chest to rise, but it didn’t. Giving her another breath of air, we watched for movement.

  Her head jerked up, and she began to cough. I slid under her and wrapped my arms around her chest.

  “You’re going to be okay,” I told Frida as I scanned the water. As the boat rose with the next swell, I spotted Hilda and Allen paddling towards us. I locked my arms around Frida and waited for them to reach us.

  “Is everybody okay?” Allen asked, pulling aside our kayak.

  “They are now.” Jude confirmed.

  Allen handed Jude a blanket, and we covered Frida. “We’ve got to get her warm,” I told them.

  “There’s heat on the bus.” Allen pointed their kayak at the beach.

  John and Jude paddled to shore. When it was shallow enough, Jude jumped from the kayak and lifted Frida from my arms. We followed him up the path to the bus. He laid her shivering form across two seats.

  “You get the wetsuit off, and I’ll find some towels and blankets.” I stripped her suit off and Hilda retrieved Frida’s pack

  Once we got her in dry clothes, I rubbed her arms to warm them. “Frida,” I whispered as I raked her hair from her face. “Why isn’t she waking up? And where is the nurse?”

  “They’re getting her from the beach.”

  Frida coughed and opened her eyes. “I knew you’d be the one I saw first. Are we dead?”

  “Would we be on a bus if we were?” I asked her.

  “Highway to Hell.”

  “Well, you just spent one of your lives.” I rubbed my hands on her legs, trying to warm her further.

  “How did I get here?”

  “Jude pulled you from the water.” I turned to Jude. “How did you find her?”

  “She activated the light on her vest.”

  “Thank God.” I looked back at Frida, whose color had started to return. “Do you feel okay? Remember who you are? Where you are?”

  The nurse and Dr. Antos boarded the bus, and we moved over to make room for their exam.

  “You are one lucky girl,” the nurse told Frida.

  “Jude pulled me out.”

  “I can’t believe he found her so fast,” I told them. “The high surf came out of nowhere.”

  “I think there’s a front coming in,” Dr. Antos noted.

  “Does this mean we don’t get hot food at the lodge?” Frida asked.

  “If you’re up for it, I don’t see why not. We’re doing a head count right now. We’ll get everyone changed and warmed up and then decide.” Dr. Antos looked at me. “Are you okay? You’re pale as a ghost.”

  I looked at my hands and realized he was right. “I’m just cold. I’ll be fine when I get changed.”

  Hilda brought me my backpack, and I moved to the back of the bus to change. Even with my wool socks, warm tights, and wool shirt, I couldn’t stop shivering.

  “Here.” Hilda handed me a towel. “Your hair is soaking wet.” She blotted it. “You okay? You don’t look so good.”

  “I’m fine, just cold.” My shoulders trembled as I spoke.

  “You’re going to go into shock if you don’t warm up.” Jude slid beside me and wrapped his arms around me.

  “Oh, my God.” I shuddered as the heat from his body engulfed me. “How are you so warm?”

  “I have a naturally high body temperature. Yours, on the other hand, is probably a little lower than 98.6.”

  “How would you know that?”

  “You have a small frame and low body fat.” He tapped his temple. “Photographic memory, remember? I read a lot.”

  “We were lucky you were so close. Thank you.”

  “As if you didn’t need counseling before this.”

  “Poor Frida.”

  “What are you poor Frida-ing me for?”

  I looked up to see Frida standing over us.

  “Scoot over, I’m freezing.”

  I stood and Jude slid into my seat. “What are you doing?”

  “You’re still shaking. Sit on my lap.”

  “God, girl, don’t make the man ask you twice.” She shoved me onto his lap and lowered herself to the bench beside us.

  “How are you totally okay? Do you really feel fine?” I asked Frida.

  “Well, fine is a relative term. My lungs burn like hell from the seawater, and I’ve got a killer headache, but other than that, I’m ready for a hot bowl of clam chowder. I’m just glad they’re not taking me to the hospital.” She snuggled under the blanket Jude and I were sharing.

  Unlike the drive to the beach, the bus was silent. Thinking the day couldn’t have ended much worse, I laid my head on Jude’s shoulder. Before I knew it, he was calling my name, trying to rouse me from sleep.

  “Camille, we’re stopping to eat.”

  I didn’t want food. I just wanted to sleep forever. As I stood, my muscles resisted movement.

  “You could hop on my back,” Jude said as we exited the bus.

  “I’ll be okay.” I clutched my jacket to me, suddenly cold from the loss of Jude’s body heat.

  Inside, Jude, John, Frida, and I slid into a booth. Everyone except for Jude ordered clam chowder. He opted for the bread and cheese plate appetizer.

  “I’m going to sleep really well tonight,” Frida said.

  “I still feel like I’m floating on the water. I guess that pretty much nixes the one fear I didn’t have,” I told them.

  “Yeah, I’m not surfing any time soon,” Frida added.

  “Good thing it’s going to be winter, I guess,” John noted. “I can’t believe you can swim that fast.” He looked to Jude.

  “I told you I was a swimmer.”

  “Yeah, but with the current and everything...”

  “I’ve done several triathlons. One in the Pacific.”

  “I don’t care how you did it. Thank you.” Frida linked her fingers in Jude’s.

  “She’s the one that made me look for you.” He cocked his head towards me.

  “So, you were just going to let m
e die?”

  “I wasn’t sure Camille was going to make it to the kayak.”

  “I told you I could, and I did,” I told him.

  “I will never doubt you again.” He smiled, and for a few seconds all I could see were his blue eyes locked on mine.

  Frida cleared her throat. “Well, that wasn’t freaky. Hey, your bracelets are gone.” She held up Jude’s arm.

  “Wow, I should go see Dr. Antos. Excuse me.” He stood and walked towards the psychiatrist.

  There wasn’t much conversation the rest of dinner and on the bus ride back to camp. When we arrived, John, Jude, Frida, and I were allowed to call our families.

  I took a deep breath before dialing Mom’s number. A tear escaped, and I swiped it away, determined to appear strong for her.

  “Camille, is something wrong?” She answered, her voice an octave higher than usual.

  “I’m fine. We just had an incident.” I proceeded to tell her how our boat had capsized and we’d saved Frida.

  “But you’re okay?”

  “Yes, everyone’s okay.”

  She expressed her empathy for our disrupted day at the shore, and I messaged her some of the pictures I’d taken.

  “Do you need to come home?” she asked.

  “No, I’m good. I want to be with my friends.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re making friends. No more hallucinations or incidences?”

  “Nope, vision and buzzing free.”

  “That’s good. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Finishing the call, I headed to my tent. I slid into my sleeping bag thinking I could sleep a decade. Letting my body relax, the sensation of floating returned, and with my eyes closed, a vision of murky water surrounding me appeared in my mind. Propping up on one arm, I whispered to Frida, “Hey, are you awake?”

  “I almost wasn’t.”

  “I keep feeling like I’m still on the ocean, and as soon as I close my eyes, I see the water. You aren’t freaked out?”

  “That’s the third time I flatlined. Although it was the first time I hadn’t done it on purpose.”

  “Wow, that’s scary.”

  “Funny thing… I wanted to die so many times, but when it wasn’t my choice, all I could think was I wanted to live.”