Kingdom of Darkness (Kingdom Journals Book 2) Read online

  “Very resourceful,” Miguel commented and sent them swirling again. “Jude, use the air.”

  Jude’s eyes shut, and I could see him straining to call the elements. The knick-knacks slowed and stopped.

  “Okay, put them away.”

  One by one, we levitated each thing back to its spot. When finished, Miguel placed his hand on the mat at our feet. The castle shook under us.

  “You’re doing that?” Jude asked.

  “You try.”

  Remembering Thanatos could do the same, I wondered why Miguel would show us magic that could harm him. Figuring he was more powerful than both of us put together, I sat on the floor cross-legged and pushed energy into the plane under me.

  “Whoa.” Jude jumped from the mat to the wood floor.

  I put my hand to the surface, and it singed with pain. Pulling it away, I saw it already blistering.

  “Well, you can heat things,” Miguel said, floating through the air.

  “And you can fly?” Jude asked, his voice barely a whisper.

  “I need some medicine for this.” I held my fingers in the air.

  “Give me your hand.” Miguel held out his palm.

  When I placed my hand atop his, he closed his eyes. Within a few seconds, the burning stopped and he opened his eyelids. “Look at it.”

  I lifted my finger to see the skin had returned to normal color. “Can you fix my bruises?”

  “No, those will remind you of today’s lesson.”

  “Right, watch your back,” Jude said under his breath.

  “Tremors take a very skilled, powerful, calculated, honed touch,” Miguel instructed.

  “Why did you even ask us to try it then?” Jude asked.

  “One doesn’t know what one can and can’t do until it is tried. You must learn to think about all the different elements, earth, air, water, fire, and how you can manipulate them. I will leave you two to spar again.” Miguel sauntered out of the room.

  “So, he can control a group of things at one time, as if they were one entity.”

  “Hopefully not people,” I whispered.

  Jude’s eyebrows shot up. “That is an interesting observation.”

  “Well, try it, try levitating everything at once.”

  Jude closed his eyes, and I studied his face, his brow furrowing. Glancing about the room, each item wiggled in its place. Slowly, they began to rise.

  “It’s working,” I whispered, and a smile formed on his face. Then I felt my body become lighter and was lifted off the ground.

  “I think I’m flying.”

  “You’re floating?” he asked eyes still closed.

  “Yes, but if I use the air…” I called to the wind, and I moved forward along with each of the items in the room. I concentrated, and everything started swirling around the room, me included.

  Jude’s eyes popped open. “You’re flying!”

  “So, what are you standing there for?”

  “My head is killing me.”

  “Oh.” I stopped the air and everything froze in its place.

  “How do we get all this stuff back without breaking anything? I’m out of juice, and I can’t hold this much longer.” Jude’s eyes darted from one side to the other.

  “You focus on the small ones, I’ll get the big ones.”

  I tried to command a group of items, by pushing the thought that everything should return to their proper shelves, but nothing moved. One by one, I started using the wind to direct each item back to a shelf. Jude worked on the little ones, and within a couple of minutes, we’d completed the task.

  The doors opened, and Miguel appeared before us. “So, I see you are equally capable of teamwork. Nice job. Carmen and Alex will escort you to the gym for some free time.”

  Thinking scheduled free time defeated the point, I crossed the room to Carmen. “You ready?”

  “Sure.” He motioned for me to join him.

  “You don’t like Jude?” Carmen asked.

  “He’s fine.” I shrugged.

  “You have history, I’m guessing?”

  “He thinks I’m crazy.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I am.”

  “Why do you say that?” Wondering if I could gain Carmen’s friendship, and perhaps help in the future, I decided to tell him about the visions. “I had these dreams, sometimes during the day, I was hallucinating—”

  “You had visions?”

  “Maybe. It was before I knew about being a witch. Dr. Antos thinks they were trying to awaken my magic.”

  “You mean Miguel?” He pushed the button for the elevator.

  I nodded. “But I believed the characters were real and tried to get Jude to help me find them.”

  “But you must have had some reason to believe he would.”

  “I guess I felt something that wasn’t there.”

  “And what do you believe now?” We exited the elevator, and I followed him down a hall.

  “About Jude or the visions?”

  “Both.” He held the door open for me to enter.

  “I’ll tolerate Jude till we’re done with this. I’m grateful to Miguel for having a program that found me. I’d be a mess if I hadn’t figured why I had all those hallucinations.” I stopped in front of the women’s locker room and turned to face him.

  “What about your family?” he asked. “Does it bother you being away from them?”

  “I miss my mom and brother. My dad hasn’t lived with us since I was three. Still, I’m worried about him. He’s an archeologist, so I’m not sure what kind of trouble he’s gotten into. No one ever told me about my heritage.”

  “Oh, sorry.” Carmen’s eyes traced to the floor then back to my face. “Miguel has the tech guy looking for your dad, though. They’ll find him.”

  “Yeah.” I looked towards the dressing room and back to him. “It’s okay if I go in there alone, right?”

  “Of course.” His cheeks turned pink.

  “Thanks.” It was amazing what one simple normal conversation did for my psyche. I avoided the mirrors, not wanted to see how bad my bruising looked, and changed quickly. The room was empty, and I inspected the space. As one of the few rooms with a normal ceiling height and modern finished walls, there had to be an escape route I could use. Several air vents were fitted in the ceiling, and I figured they had to lead outdoors. At least they could serve as a hiding place in a jam.

  Exiting the changing room, I noted Carmen had switched his clothes too. “Do you run?”

  “I was going to lift some weights.”

  “Okay, I’ll be on the track.” I jogged to the lined path. Thinking of hiding, I wondered if the bracelet would keep me hidden inside the compound. With the level of technology, I guessed they might possess heat sensors though. Was there a way to make myself invisible, untraceable by magic, and leave no thermal signature? I’d have to brainstorm with Jude.

  Seeing Jude start his run, I practiced evening out my breath. It wouldn’t do to have anyone catch on to my emotional response to him.

  Are you okay? I pushed to him as he passed me.

  Yeah, I was faking the head pain.

  Smart. Glad you weren’t really hurting.

  Miguel had me drink another cup of that tea and sent me on my way.

  I glanced his way as he rounded the curve opposite me. Guess it’s a catch-all thing.

  I’m sick of the stuff already. Jude stuck out his tongue. Hopefully we won’t have it at dinnertime. I could do with some more Champagne or wine.

  We need to focus. Do you still have your bracelets?

  Planning an escape? He winked at me as he passed.

  No, trying to figure out how to sneak around this place without getting caught.

  You’d need to be invisible.

  We should start working on that spell. I glanced his way.

  Do you know if it’s possible?

  I have no clue. I caught him out of the corner of my eye, wishing we could run side by side.

&n
bsp; We should get in some weight training after this, Jude replied.

  I kept my pace, but it was a push as my bruises had me hurting everywhere. When my watch signaled the three-mile mark, I slowed to a walk. Jude trailed me to the weight room, and I fought looking his way. When I laid down on the bench press, Carmen appeared above me.

  “Do you want a spot?”

  “Sure, I don’t lift much, so I’ll start with something small.”

  “The bar weighs eight.”

  I instructed him to put five more on each end, thinking I should be able to lift that much. I strained to lift the load and gave up twenty seconds in. We took the weights off until I could lift the bar, ended up with one pound on each end.

  “So much for strength training. This is more like wimp training,” I told Carmen.

  “We’ll have you stronger than an ox in no time,” Carmen replied as I finished my set.

  “Not sure I want to be an ox.” I sat up.

  After that I did some legwork, hand held weights, sit-ups, push-ups, and chin-ups. As I lowered my body after the tenth chin-up, Carmen’s watch dinged.

  “Dinner is in an hour, miss.”

  “We’re working out, and you’re still calling me miss?” I dropped to the ground.

  “I am very old and set in my ways.”

  “How old?”

  “One fifty.”

  “That’s not old. Miguel said he was over seven hundred. Where were you born?”

  “In Rome, mid-eighteen hundreds. Seen both the world wars, Italy rise and fall.” Carmen held a towel out to me.

  “That’s cool. Do you know what that means?”

  “Yes.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m old, but I don’t live under a rock.”

  “Good to know.” I patted my forehead and swung the towel over my shoulder. “Do you have to escort me to my room?”

  “Yes.” He turned to Jude. “Come now, sir.”

  “Got it.” Jude stood and stretched, his bare chest glistening with sweat. I swore he took off his shirt just to taunt me.

  “This is a nice change from Iceland,” he noted as we made our way to the dressing rooms. “I was sick of wearing all those layers all the time.”

  I glanced at his bronze skin, thinking I might go mad. “The unlimited hot water is the best.”

  In the women’s area, I toweled off and slipped on a jacket and sweatpants, wondering about laundry. When I asked Carmen on the trek back to our rooms, he indicated a twice-a-week cleaning and laundry schedule. All we had to do was leave our things in the hamper, and they would be returned clean and pressed as per appropriate.

  “I like this place more by the second,” Jude said as we reached our doors.

  Except that I’ll probably be sacrificed in some hedonistic ritual.

  Well, there’s that. His mouth turned down as he entered his room.

  I showered and dressed in a blue cocktail dress and nude heels.

  “Well, the blue at least matches your bruises,” Jude noted as I joined them in the hall.

  “Watch it, or I’ll give you a bruise on that beautiful face of yours.” The words came out before I could repeal them.

  “I thought you hated me.”

  “I do. It doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate your physical attributes.” I traced my eyes from his face to his feet.

  “I’m not some man hunk here for your appreciation.”

  “We’ll see about that. Anastasia said I had a strong aura, and I could be a princess for all you know.”

  Alex cleared his throat. “Anastasia doesn’t say those things lightly. You should heed her warning, sir.”

  “See.” I tossed my curls over my shoulder and stepped into the elevator.

  “Sheesh. Teenagers have gotten worse over the decades.” Carmen pushed the button for the main floor.

  Carmen and Alex led us to the smaller dining room.

  “Looks like everyone has returned to their homes,” Maria noted as we sat down.

  I set my napkin in my lap. “Please tell me they weren’t here to meet us.”

  “Oh, no, dear, well partially, we gather often on the weekends. Most of our coven live on this or the adjoining islands.”

  “I’m ready for a huge steak.” Jude picked up his water glass.

  “How is your head?” Miguel asked.

  “Good as new.” Jude shot him a strained smile.

  Over dinner, Miguel outlined the texts we should be focusing on and our testing schedule. Our knowledge of one section would be assessed at the end of each week. We were to read on our own time. His instruction would be centered on honing our powers using the four elements of earth, air, water, and fire. I figured there would be many late nights of studying and wished I had a photographic memory like Jude.

  When we retired to our rooms, I phoned Mom. I hated that she sounded sad and made sure to tell Tyler to spend extra time with her. She was concerned about Dad and relayed she hadn’t gotten any information from the Egyptian police. Wishing I could turn myself into a fly and search the compound, I said goodbye before my teary eyes got the best of me.

  Even though the air was frigid, I cracked my window. Opening it, I realized there were new metal bars fitted over the space. Positioned about every four inches, there was no way a person would be able to squeeze through. I wondered if our flying antics had them rethinking the security. Jude. Jude. I pushed to his room. Do you have new metal bars over your windows?

  Took you long enough.

  Sorry, I was talking to my mom.

  Well there goes our flight escape plan. We need to find other options.

  It’s freezing.

  Make a fire.

  What? I walked to the hearth. I don’t have a lighter.

  Use your magic, silly.

  Focusing on the stacked logs, I willed them to heat. The edges of the closest one glowed, and a flame erupted on the bark. I did it.

  See, we got this.

  Do you think we could turn ourselves into flies?

  You want to be a fly?

  No, I want to search every room of this compound for my dad and the sword.

  Patience.

  We could set the compound on fire.

  If your theory is true, they’d let you burn before they let you escape.

  I need to read, I told him.

  Me too. Goodnight, I hope you sleep well. And you looked beautiful tonight by the way.

  My cheeks warmed even though he wasn’t in the same room. Bruises and all?

  More beautiful because of them.

  That’s sweet.

  It’s true.

  Thanks, I—I will find a way out of this. I’d almost said it, told him he was beautiful, and I’d never met anyone like him, and that I loved him. How crazy was that? I’d only known him a month. Teenager brain, I told myself.

  We’ll find a way out, he said.

  Thanks for this.

  No problem.

  Closing the window, it occurred to me if I could get Jude’s messages with the window open I might be able to hear Alena and Hunter. Alena? Hunter? I sent to the wind. Sitting on the bench in front of the open pane, I focused on their images. I waited several minutes, but nothing happened. Italy was one hour ahead of Iceland, so we were about seven to nine hours ahead of them. They’d be awake still, but I couldn’t afford to sit there all night. Leaving the window cracked, I wrapped a blanket around my back and sat in front of the fire.

  I opened the book I’d started reading the previous night. It outlined what Miguel had told us about the creation of witches and the families born of Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. My head drooped as the begats began. Standing and crossing to my bed, I read on.

  AND GOD DISCOVERED THE ACTS OF THE ARCHANGELS, AND HE WAS NOT PLEASED. THEREFORE, THE SOULS OF THE DEPARTED OFFSPRING NEVER ENTER INTO HEAVEN, BUT FOREVER ARE TRAPPED IN SHEOL. FURTHER, TO LIMIT THEIR NUMBERS, THE OFFSPRING ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ABIDE LONGER THAN A TENTH OF A SCORE IN ONE VILLAGE.

  Suddenly the room felt too ho
t. Was this the slavery the prophecy spoke of? Were Alena, Hunter, and I meant to free the souls of the witches? To break the curse mandated by God? Why would Sonia and Michael’s coven want to prevent a soul from being at peace? What could she do with the sword?

  I ran to the window and pulled the pane wide open, letting the cold sea air rush over my face.

  What part did you make it to? Jude’s voice entered my mind.

  Our souls will never enter heaven?

  Unless you, Alena, and Hunter release them, I’m guessing.

  Well, that’s not weighty at all.

  Weren’t Alena’s family vampires? Why would they want the sword? How are they imprisoned?

  I have no clue. Why does Sonia’s coven want to prevent the prophecy? What do they want with the sword?

  Good question. I’m beat though.

  Me too, goodnight, again.

  Goodnight.

  My alarm woke me, and I opened the curtains to another gray foggy day. Wondering if the hour of sun we’d had the prior day would be all we’d get, I washed my face and dressed in leggings and a sweatshirt. Then I packed my backpack with the text and extra gym clothes.

  As was the routine, Jude and I followed Carmen and Alex to the dining room to meet Maria and Miguel. I asked about the search for my dad, and Miguel said he would check in the technology center.

  “Why did bars appear on the windows?” Jude asked.

  “Oh, they were probably off for window cleaning. Don’t want someone to fall from that height.”

  “That would be disastrous.” Maria blotted her mouth with a napkin.

  “I thought it looked like a fun cliff-diving spot.” Jude chuckled.

  “I guess it’s a good thing the bars are back on. I hadn’t thought of wild teenager stunts,” Miguel said.

  “How many recruits do you have a year?” I asked, curious as to whether they really ever had anyone else come to the compound from one of his camps. Perhaps it was the only camp he’d ever held, and it was designed to capture me. It seemed an elaborate hoax, but not out of the realm of possibility for a supernatural being with seemingly endless funding.

  “How many would you say, dear?” Miguel turned to Maria. “Several a year on average.”

  “Some years none, and some years five to ten.” She nodded in agreement. “I love our jobs with the coven. Now that our children are grown and scattered, it’s nice to feel like a mother again.” Her hand clasped mine. Not knowing the extent of her abilities, I didn’t want her to touch me. But I figured it would look odd if I’d recoiled too quickly.