KIngdom of Embers (Kingdom Journals Book 1) Read online

  “Can’t have any witnesses.” Aaron winked at me as they dropped the people in a heap outside.

  “Did you?” I pointed at the limp bodies.

  “No, we didn’t kill them. They’re passed out drunk or high or something.”

  Inside, Aaron asked me to try running, and I shot to the other side of the room. Doubling over, I faked nausea as I assumed a human might after zipping across the room vamp speed for the first time.

  “You’ll get used to it,” Dimitri told me.

  They had me do sprints back and forth across the room, and after a few minutes, Aaron left me in Dimitri’s care. After I went through jump and landing instruction and practice, he dropped a cinder block in front of me.

  “You need to be stronger. Start lifting weights.”

  I picked it up over my head twenty times until my muscles tired.

  “Not bad, for a newbie. Okay, throw a punch.” He held his hands up.

  “I thought Fahim said just the basics. Why do I need to know how to fight?”

  “You want a witch to take you? You should be mentally and physically prepared. A fight’s brewing, I can sense it. We need all the soldiers we can get.”

  “Why would you think I’d want to fight with you?” I swung at his hand.

  “People usually fight with their own kind.”

  “I’m a halfling. I have a human home. Why would witches and vampires fight each other anyway?”

  “What does everyone want? Power.”

  He taught me how to jab and duck and had me practice a couple of kicks. I wondered why he cared so much about training me. It couldn’t just be for his army. It didn’t make sense.

  “Why are you helping me?” I asked as we walked back to Fahim’s shop.

  “Fahim told me your dad’s gone. My dad left when I was a youngling too. I told myself if I ever had a kid, I wouldn’t leave them. I don’t have a kid. But if I did, I would want them to be as strong as they could be. I’m guessing your mother hasn’t taught you to fight.”

  He was right. Mother believed in non-violent resolution. I wondered if she knew a war loomed. It was too bad I couldn’t tell her. But she had eyes and ears everywhere. It could be that Dimitri and Aaron were her warriors. The thought made me second-guess my relationships with them.

  Dimitri held a bottle out to me. “Here, take a hit.”

  “What is it?”

  “What do you think? It will make you strong.”

  “I’ll pass. My hair and skin were a little tinged after Friday night.”

  “Yeah, you have light skin. I can see that.”

  “Okay, well, I’ll see you tomorrow.” I waved to him as I walked to the front room to retrieve my school bag.

  Eating some nuts on the walk back to school, I pondered the idea of a war. I’d never read anything about witches and vampires fighting. Maybe this was yet another unrecorded prejudice my family kept from me. I tried to grasp why they would. To reduce any bias? To ensure I held no preconceived ideas about any species? The more time I spent at Fahim’s, the more I learned, and it could only serve me well.

  “What were you doing?” Sophie asked as I entered the locker room.

  “Why?”

  “You’re already sweaty.”

  “Oh, I was almost late, so I ran from the bookstore.”

  “Which one did you go to? That freaky one?”

  “Yeah, it’s actually not that bad. I think if you’re seriously looking for something, they are fine.”

  “If you say so. That place gives me the creeps.” Her shoulders shuddered.

  I guessed humans had a pretty good warning system after all.

  The conversation had me thinking of keeping Hunter safe all through practice. Why I felt the heightened drive to protect him, I wasn’t sure, but my mind spun through alternatives. After the workout, I noticed Sophie putting on her jewelry, and the solution came to me.

  “You seem chipper,” Orm commented as I plopped into the seat beside me.

  “It was a good day. That Ganby kid hardly bothered me.”

  “What of Mr. Nicholas?” Orm looked at me in the rearview mirror.

  “Nick is fine.”

  “Fine?”

  “He’s a good friend.” I looked out the window to avoid eye contact.

  “I get the impression he’d like to be more.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I know, but I’m not feeling it.”

  “That will leave a mark. On him I mean.”

  Wishing I could grill Orm on all my newly acquired info on vampires and witches, I picked at my snack. Anxiety made me too upset to eat. After two workouts and a third looming, I should’ve been pouring the food down my throat, but my head was too much of a jumble.

  The next day Hunter and I met at the garden again. Seeing his eyes light up as he caught sight of me made my heart thump in my chest, and I wondered if the sight of him would ever get old.

  “Hi, beautiful.” His smile reached his eyes, and their blue hue seemed to intensify as he looked at me.

  I stood on my toes and kissed him. “Hi, handsome.” He took my hand. “I can’t keep it cool for long.”

  “That’s okay. The weather’s cooling. If we lived in Alaska, they would feel good.”

  “So, I have an idea, come on.”

  We walked down each path, making sure the block was empty. Then I found the most secluded area beyond an arch and sat cross-legged on the bench.

  “I brought this for you.” I took a leather bracelet I’d gotten in Seattle, twisted it around his wrist, and hooked it on.

  “Wow, we’re like really tight now I guess.”

  “If you ever need to know where I am, you can put your hand on the bracelet and picture where I am by thinking of me.”

  “Why couldn’t I call you?”

  “Well, you could, but I don’t know. There are rumors among my people that something is off.”

  “Like witch people?”

  “Yes. Do you have a bracelet or something of yours I could have?”

  He turned his arm over. “I always wear this.” He spun the leather strap around. “My grandfather made if for me.”

  “It doesn’t have to be that. Anything of yours.”

  “No, here.” He took the bracelet off his arm and wrapped it twice around my wrist. “I trust you.”

  “I won’t let anything happen to it.”

  “Can we try this?”

  “Sure. Stay here, and I’ll hide.”

  “Just like old times.” He smiled.

  “Just like old times.” I smiled back at him.

  I weaved through the paths to the fountain. Within minutes he appeared before me.

  “Did it work?”

  “That was seriously freaky. I could see what you were seeing.”

  “Cool, right?”

  “Do you need to practice? Make sure you can find me?” he asked.

  “No. I’ve got it.” I smiled at him, thinking the universe fated us to find each other.

  My week progressed with me meeting Hunter for lunches and Dimitri in the afternoons. Thursday came, and the meet-up with Mother’s friend loomed like an albatross around my neck. I wondered what the event would be like, what the woman and boy were like. It all felt weird. I’d rather be on one of Mother’s mystery missions than sit at a baseball game for two hours with a stranger.

  Following Mother through the crowd outside Dodger Stadium, I spotted our targets before she noted them. The woman vampire oozed power, and the vampire beside her would have made any girl’s head turn. With olive skin, dark hair, and deep blue eyes, he looked as if he walked out of a magazine.

  “Marta.” Mother kissed the woman’s cheeks as we reached them.

  “Anne.” Marta returned Mother’s kisses.

  “You must be Alena. Wonderful to meet you.” Marta planted her lips on each side of my face, and I guessed her to be eastern European from her accent. “This is Theron.”

  A chill ran down my spine as she said his name, and I s
teeled my back to keep from shivering.

  “You are more beautiful than your pictures.” He kissed one of my cheeks. My face flushed as I thought it weird that he had seen a picture of me. Unlike his mother, his speech had no hint of foreign inflection.

  “Thank you. It’s nice to meet both of you.” I smiled at each of them.

  “Shall we. Our seats are this way.” Marta spun and headed towards a ramp leading to the stands.

  Theron motioned for me to follow them. “After you.”

  Nervous, I spun Hunter’s bracelet on my wrist.

  “Is that yours?” Theron’s voice came from behind me.

  “Oh, yeah. I picked it up in some second-hand shop. The leather is really soft.”

  “It’s cool.”

  “Thanks.”

  Finding the entrance to our section, we walked down the steps to the first row. The sound and commotion from the surrounding stadium had my ears burning and my eyes darting from body to body.

  “You have to kind of dial down your senses. Mom likes to meet here because no one can hear anyone over the noise. And of course because she gets her picture in the tabloids.” He rolled his eyes.

  Wondering what Mother had roped me into, I took a seat between her and Theron. Seeing Mother laughing and chatting with Marta, I wondered if another soul possessed my mother’s body.

  I felt Theron’s warm breath on my neck. “So, what do you like more? Your vampire or witch side?”

  My pulse raced as I digested his words. We’d found another being like me? Meeting his blue-eyed gaze, I realized it wasn’t worth pretending I didn’t know what he was talking about. Obviously, he’d been privy to more information than I had.

  “I’d pick vamp any day.” His hot breath cascaded down my back, and I leaned forward to get some fresh air.

  “Not me.” Even though training with Dimitri had me feeling stronger than I ever had, the thought of using that strength horrified me.

  “I guess witchcraft is a more feminine art. But you’d never say that if you met my father.”

  I glanced to Mother and then back to him. “You know your father?”

  “Yes. I live in his house. He travels a lot, but your mother has met him. He’s the High Priest.”

  My mind riveted with the information he’d given me. So the Chancellor of the Vampires and the High Priest of the Witches both sired illegal beings under the noses of all their subjects. Again, the idea that I’d been bred to create some master race itched in my brain. I sat beside a man who might be the only other creature like me on the planet. I folded my arms over my chest, wishing I could disappear.

  “Hey.” He tapped me on the arm. “You want to go get something to drink?”

  “Sure.” Right then I didn’t care how I got away from Mother. I wanted to get as much distance from her as possible.

  When I stood, he placed his hand on my back and leaned towards our mothers. “Do you need anything from the concessions?”

  “A person will come around, Theron,” his mother said.

  “I know, but we wanted to stretch our legs.”

  “Okay, well, of course.” She smiled a thin smile at him, and I looked to my mother who shared her same forced grin. I hoped she felt as uncomfortable as me. It would serve her right for arranging this whole evening.

  “Wow, that was intense down there,” Theron said once we made it up to the vending area. “I could use a beer.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Almost eighteen. But I pass for twenty-five all the time.” Taking in his broad chest and height paired with his square jaw, I had no trouble believing him.

  Following him to the line, I ordered a red wine at the counter. I pondered the realization that three weeks ago I would’ve never lied to my family or broken the law. My desperation for answers had me walking a very thin line, and I hoped the house of cards I’d built around myself didn’t come crashing down.

  “Why didn’t they ask for identification?”

  “Because I suggested they not.”

  How I’d missed his use of magic on the worker, I wasn’t sure. Perhaps the noise level and hum of all the electronics masked it.

  “Come on, this way.” He took my hand and pulled me to the stairs. Unlike Hunter, his palm felt warm as our body temperatures matched each other. I didn’t try to pull it away as we weaved through the crowd since I could barely sneak through the web of people. At the top level he stopped, dropped my hand, and reclined against a half wall.

  “Finally.” He took a long sip of his beer.

  We finished our drinks in silence, and he cocked his head to the end of the hall. “Want to get out of here?”

  “I guess.” I shrugged and followed him as he set his glass beside a trashcan and walked to a set of double doors.

  They were locked, but he popped the metal latch off as if he were breaking a toothpick. Scanning our surroundings, he held the door open for me.

  “Ladies first.”

  Inside the dark space, I heard the hum of engines from what I guessed to be the ventilation system. “You’ve been up here before?”

  “Yeah. It’s quicker than scaling the outside of the building, and we’re less likely to get caught.”

  “We’re going to the top of the stadium?”

  “You don’t climb buildings?” he asked.

  “I’ve been up a few fire escapes.”

  “No wonder you think being a witch is better.”

  Dodging pipes, we made our way to yet another door where he popped the lock. A stairway led to another locked door and to the roof. Before I could even take a breath, he was gone. Seeing him at the edge, I shot to him.

  “Wow.” I leaned over the railing. “This is amazing.” I surveyed the city’s lights, the string of white sand beaches on the coast, and the water rippling under the moonlight. “Okay, I can see the appeal.” I raked the hair from my face.

  “I do this all the time. There’s probably not a skyscraper in this city that I haven’t been to the top of.”

  Feeling like a sheltered, naïve child, I faced the other direction, looking out over the rest of the city and beyond to the desert. He seemed to know everything about me, so I asked about his school and activities. Getting braver, I asked about his coven training.

  “Almost finished. My birthday is December twenty first.”

  “Wow. That’s not far away.”

  Thinking I was treading into dangerous waters, I retreated to safer topics. “Pali? Palisades High. They’re a rival school to Uni, right?”

  “Right. I hear you have a date for Homecoming? A football player?”

  “Is there anything you don’t know about me?”

  “Do you like him?”

  “As a friend. I mean we’ve only been here three months, and school started a couple of weeks ago, so I don’t feel like I know anyone that well.”

  “Moving must suck.”

  “Try being the new kid with pale skin and allergies,” I said.

  “It’s high school. We’ll be done in eight months.”

  “Thank goodness.”

  “Hey, we should get back. It’s the last inning.”

  “Thanks for this. It was cool.”

  “No problem.” He smiled at me. “You can come building hopping with me any time you like.”

  Downstairs, we made our way to the front row. As we neared our spot, he leaned down to me. “This wasn’t a horrible blind date, right?”

  “I wasn’t really thinking of it as a date.”

  “Okay, well, do you think I could call you and not have a date again? There is an awesome view from the Hollywood sign.”

  I figured he might have additional information as he was closer to becoming a full witch. “I guess we could hang out sometime.”

  “I’m not sure we’re going to have a choice anyway. Those two look thick as thieves.” He pointed at our mothers.

  “Don’t they know if you want a teenager to do something, you tell them not to do it?”

>   “Newbies.” He rolled his eyes.

  “Was he nice?” Mother started grilling me the second we were in the car. “Where were you for the whole game?”

  “We walked around.”

  “What did you talk about?”

  “Him. He already knew everything about me.” I fought the impulse to make bug eyes at her.

  “I may have over shared with Marta. Anything else?”

  “He asked to see me again.”

  “That’s good.”

  Tears threatened to spill over my eyelids. “Mother, I hate this. Even if he is nice and good looking, I still feel trapped, like I have to like him.” Honestly, thinking of Hunter had me more upset than anything. All I wanted was to be in his bedroom, snuggled in his arms, safe from the sea of unknowns that surrounded Theron.

  “You know his father is High Priest, right?” I asked her.

  “Yes. When I met his mother, she divulged that secret to me.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  “We have the common goal of seeing our children grow up to be happy.”

  “Why would you risk exposing me to them? Does the father know about me?”

  “Yes. We are both very powerful people who have come to a mutual secrecy agreement for the good of our peoples. Each party knows the price for divulging the other’s secrets.”

  “War? Is the price war?”

  “What? No. Why would it be war?”

  “I don’t know. Nothing else popped into my head. For the good of our people? What does that mean?”

  “You will understand once you have completed your coven preparations.”

  “But I want to understand now. I want to know everything I should know.”

  “Dear.” She placed a hand on my cheek. “This is a process that has worked for many millennia. Trust it.”

  “Do you know all of the witches’ secrets?”

  “Not all, I am sure. They are a private people, and their numbers are small since the trials of Salem.”

  Tired of all the heavy conversation, I came up with a quick out. “Can I go to Sophie’s?”

  “Not on a school night, and I made plans to see Marta and Theron on Saturday. There is another baseball game. I guess Marta has season tickets.”