Kingdom of Darkness (Kingdom Journals Book 2) Read online

  “Why don’t you retire to your quarters for an hour before study time.”

  As he spoke, Alex and Jacob appeared behind him. Frustration broiled in my psyche. If I had to be flanked by those two ogres for much longer, I was going to lose it.

  In my room, I ignored that the canaries quieted as soon as I approached. Lighting a fire, I ran a hot bath. My layers had kept me warm enough, but I needed something to relax my nerves. Hoping to find something in the library that might offer us hope for escape, I sank into the warm liquid. I wished I had Jude’s memory so I had a better sense of the layout of the compound. I realized the library might aid me in that task too.

  That afternoon the library was empty save for the librarian who sat at a huge elevated desk of dark wood just inside the entrance. He nodded to Miguel and looked down his speckled nose at us as we passed. The silence penetrated my layers, and I shivered. Looking out the ceiling height windows, I cursed the swirling fog, thinking the island might be worse than Iceland in the winter. Refocusing on our path, I tried to catch glimpses of the titles as we passed. Most of the books seemed to be history texts.

  “So, is this library for like regular books?” I asked Miguel as we came to the table where we’d been seated the previous day.

  “Some, but many are texts belonging to our coven, stories and histories, spells, and incantations handed down through the generations.

  “So, you do use spells? When will we learn those?” Jude asked.

  “Perhaps when you’re a coven member. They’re reserved for the strongest of our coven. The books are spelled such that only those worthy may open them.”

  “Can I have a pencil and paper? It helps me to remember if I write things down?”

  “Of course.” Miguel twirled his finger in the air, and the spotted nose librarian appeared within seconds, paper and pencils in hand.

  “I travel fast for an old geezer, eh?” He laughed as I stared in amazement.

  “Sorry, it was rude to stare. You are fast. And he spoke to you with the request?” I looked to Miguel, whose mouth turned up on one side, forming a thin half smile.

  “If you’re asking about how he communicated his need, it was more of a command. The idea that I needed to bring paper and pencil to your table popped into my head.”

  “Just the same as we are learning with the animals. So basically, you could control anyone in the world to do whatever you wish.”

  “Well, in principle. Witches outside our coven would not be as open to the suggestions, but humans are quite malleable. But—” he wagged a finger at us “—that is not the way of witches. We are restorers of balance, healers, peacekeepers, protector of humans, as you have read in your texts. My use of the command was to speed delivery of the required articles.”

  “You think that one would think of using magic for anything else? She’s still torn up about the birds.” Jude rolled his eyes, pulled out the chair, and lowered himself into the seat, his legs outstretched and an arm over the back as if bored with the reminder.

  “Of course, Jude here is bored with our talk and wishes only to gleam the most of his time here.” Miguel spun to the librarian. “Thank you, dear sir.”

  The librarian nodded his head, turned, and loped off with a hobbled gait.

  “He’s one of our oldest coven members, knows everything about everything,” Miguel noted. “But I will leave you to your studies.”

  As soon as Miguel left, I wrote on the page and handed it to Jude. Can you help me make a map of the compound for me?

  He started to put the pencil to the paper, and I motioned for him to stop. Then, I had him describe what I should draw. I didn’t want him implicated as an accessory if I got caught. It took a while, but I got all three levels illustrated to his specifications.

  When we finished the map, Jude stood. “I need to use the restroom.” He winked at me.

  I did my best to wink back, but the gesture turned out to be a blink like always.

  You can’t wink. Nice to know. He spun on his heels and headed towards the back of the hall.

  “Where is Jude?” The librarian’s words startled me, and I jumped to my feet.

  “He said he was going to find a restroom.”

  “Miguel didn’t instruct you not to leave the table?”

  “No.” His words left me wondering if the lack of direction were a test. Not sure whether I had passed or failed, I sat back down, nervous to find out what would happen to Jude.

  Within a few minutes, Jude and the librarian appeared from between the stacks. “I guess there aren’t any restrooms in here.” He kept walking past the table in the direction of the exit.

  Pulling my jacket snug around my neck, I lifted the text I’d left off with the previous day and started reading. The history led me through the great flood, and how their numbers were diminished while the numbers of vampires, with their unique survival skills, stayed strong. Then it described how Michael granted his line additional powers, gracing them with telekinesis and telepathy. Desiring balance, the other archangels did the same with their families.

  Escorted by the librarian, Jude returned to the table. He picked up a book and started reading. “Guess we weren’t supposed to get up.”

  “I guess not.”

  When I needed to stretch my legs, I walked to the librarian’s desk and back. After three hours of reading, Alex and Jacob appeared to escort us to the gym. We had three hours till dinner, and I figured it was plenty of time for my covert trip. After warming up, weights, running, a swim, and a soak in the hot tub, I went to the locker room and started the shower.

  Figuring the best place to start again was the security room, I cloaked myself and exited the gym. The halls were more crowded, and I figured more workers were employed during the week. I made it to the tech center in a fraction of the time it’d taken the previous day. Observing the screens, I made mental notes of all the empty halls and their locations, figuring they might be the prisoner’s cells. Then, I tracked back to the locker room, washing and stopping the stream of water.

  When I exited the locker room, dressed for dinner, there was no mention of my time in the shower. I thought through my strategy as we sat in the dining hall. If there wasn’t as much traffic in the prisoner’s halls, there would be less chance of me getting there. Perhaps if I went at a mealtime, then a worker would be delivering food. I could fake an illness at lunch, go to the restroom, and then slip out.

  I put my plan in motion the next day. After a few bites, I covered my mouth with my napkin. “I’m sorry. I need to be excused.”

  “What’s wrong, dear?”

  “I just need a minute. Is there a restroom?”

  Miguel clicked his fingers, and Jacob appeared beside me. “Escort Camille to the ladies’ room and wait for her to make sure she’s okay.”

  Glad Maria hadn’t offered to come with me, I followed Jacob down the hall.

  “I may be a couple of—” I covered my mouth with the napkin, turned, and bolted into the restroom. Before the door shut, I cloaked myself and sneaked out. I only had one chance at this, I couldn’t be sick two days in a row, so I made my way to the elevator and was lucky enough to catch it to the bottom level with a worker who had a cart. He pushed the button for basement level five, and the elevator proceeded down. I watched as each number showed up on the display: B1, B2, B3, B4, B5. When the doors opened, I followed the worker down the hall as he stopped at a room and unlocked a windowless door.

  Just then a shrill alarm sounded.

  The worker abandoned the door as well as the cart and ran to the elevator. I followed right on his heels, praying the alarm wasn’t for me. On the main floor, the man jogged off the elevator towards the main entrance. I rushed to the bathroom, half opening the door and uncloaked myself.

  “What’s going on?” I demanded of Jacob.

  “Routine drill.”

  “It scared me to death.”

  “It will stop soon. You can finish your meal.”

  I fol
lowed him back to the dining hall. As I sat down, the siren stopped.

  “Must they do these things at meal time?” Maria asked.

  “Helps the staff be prepared if they’re caught off guard.”

  “What kind of threat are they preparing for?” Jude asked.

  “Vampire attacks mostly,” Miguel answered.

  “When was the last one?”

  “World War II. Vampires infiltrated the army and used warships to cross from Italy.”

  Something clicked in my mind. I remembered Alena saying Hitler had possessed the sword of Longinus. Had the vampires stolen it from Michael’s coven?

  Maria’s shoulders shuddered. “Enough talk of vampires. Are you okay, dear?”

  “Yes, I think I over did it in the gym, got over heated, and the food affected me wrong.”

  Tracing back to our rooms after the meal, I opened my window to converse with Jude.

  I thought the alarm was for you, Jude said.

  I did too.

  How far did you get?

  Basement level five. I followed a kitchen worker. It looked like he was delivering meals to locked rooms. There weren’t any windows in the doors. The alarm sounded before I could look inside any of them. I’m going back tomorrow at the same time.

  Don’t you think it’s too risky? he asked.

  What choice do we have? It’s the closest we’ve come to finding our dads.

  I guess.

  The next day I took a hot shower after exercising.

  “Oh, my. What happened to you, dear?” Maria grasped my arm as I sat down.

  “I don’t know. What’s wrong?”

  “You look flushed.”

  “I do feel warm.” I felt my forehead.

  “I hope you’re not coming down with anything.”

  “Do you mind?” I stood up. “I’ll be right back.” I started to walk away, and Jacob was beside me the next instant. Entering the restroom, I told him I’d be just a minute.

  As I had the previous day, I cloaked myself and slipped out the door before it closed. Seeing the same worker approach the elevator, I picked up my pace and made it through the doors just in time. Calming my breath, I followed to the first room. When the door opened, I got a quick glimpse of the space, bare except for gymnastics-like mats lining the floor, walls, and ceiling. It had to be a cell.

  The worker exited a minute later, carrying the same tray. It was covered, so it was hard to tell what had occurred. From the smell, I had guessed the cart to carry food. Perhaps there were animals in each room and a separate locked compartment containing them.

  He went to the next door, and I followed close behind him, entering the room. What I saw stopped me cold. A man, who could’ve doubled for Jude, save twenty years and twenty pounds less of muscle weight, sat on the floor. The worker lifted the cover off the tray, slid a sandwich onto the mat, and backed out of the room. Frozen for a second, I ran to catch up before the door slammed shut. Wondering if I’d missed a chance to see my dad in the first room, I stuck close to the employee.

  As he opened the door, a shrill whistling sound accosted my senses, and I dropped to the floor. The employee pulled the door shut and spun to face me. His eyes were wide with shock, and I knew my cloak had failed. Quicker than I could get to my feet, he pulled handcuffs from his belt with one hand and grabbed my wrist with the other.

  Thinking to enact the opposite of a healing spell, I grabbed his arm and pushed my magic into it.

  “You’re going to need more power than that, child.” The giant of a witch laughed.

  Summoning all my power, I threw it at the witch. The lights on the ceiling busted and the man fell back, pulling me with him.

  He rose. “This is child’s play. In a second there will be a dozen witches just as strong as me in this hall. Stop now while you’re ahead, youngling. They may let you see your father before they kill you.”

  “They need me.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  What had been a shrill whistle increased in pitch and volume, and it felt like my brain might explode. Grabbing my head, I dropped to the floor and all went dark.

  Light appeared behind my eyelids, and I fought the haze in my brain. Sensing someone near me, I shot back, and my head hit a padded surface.

  “You were in the same room with your father when you were discovered. So, sad you couldn’t be reunited.” Miguel’s voice was heavy with conceit. “I’m not sure how you tricked Guinevere or lasted three days with the brand, but I guess you are to be commended for making it as far as you did. I was certainly fooled. The only question remains is whether you had help.”

  “I just wanted to find my dad. Who would help me?”

  “Your drawings were quite good.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Are you sure Jude wasn’t helping you?”

  “Why would he help me? He’s only here for himself. He thinks I’m a crazy loon.”

  “Well, we have a more powerful Seer than Guinevere on the way. She’ll get the truth from him. Such a waste.” He ran his hand down my cheek. “You would’ve worn the crown, princess.”

  My mind reeled as I digested the information. His gaze left my face and traveled to the exit. “Keep her sedated. No drugs. Feed chamomile in through the vents.”

  I took in my surroundings. Every inch was lined with pads, white pads. My only thought was for Jude. I prayed he could evade detection and join the coven. That was the only hope for us. I had to put faith in the notion that somehow his vampire side blocked the Seer. I took comfort in the idea that they wanted me alive. I hoped they thought the same of Jude and our dads.

  The first night and the next day, the chamomile and my depression bested me, and I slept through much of it. But the next night a dream woke me. Images of Jude’s face, the dagger, and Alena and Hunter played through my mind. When I woke up, I knew I had to stay strong. If I lay there, my muscles would atrophy and my powers would fade. A guard brought me breakfast, a bagel sandwich. I held my palms out, and he let it fall into my hands.

  Day two, I thought. After eating, I marked the second day of my imprisonment by nipping the skin of my inner arm twice. Only one camera was mounted on the ten-foot ceilings, and I stayed under it, doing push-ups and sit-ups until my muscles seared with exhaustion. I used my scrub bottoms to practice magic, twirling them in a cyclone, commanding the legs to knot together.

  I kept up the routine, but as the days wore on, it grew harder to focus. I based each morning on the food they brought, eggs on a bagel in the morning, meat on bread at lunch and dinner. But there was nothing, no sound, no color, no human interaction, save the person who brought me three meals and took me to the restroom four times a day.

  “Camille.” Jude’s voice broke through my slumber. At first I thought it a dream, but he spoke again, and I opened my eyes to realize his warm arms were holding me.

  “How did you get in?”

  “We’ve got to move fast. Everyone is distracted by the ceremony.”

  “What ceremony?”

  “Something with the sword.”

  “It’s the solstice. I need to get there.”

  “We need to find our dads and get out. I’m guessing we only have a small window.”

  “Take me to the ritual and then go find our dads. I have to know what they’re doing with the sword, or we have been here for nothing.”

  “That’s stupid. The most important thing is getting out.”

  “We’re so close.” My eyes pleaded with him.

  “Fine, here.” He held out a bottle of liquid. “This will help wake you. I figured they had you drugged.”

  “Just chamomile. Did you join the coven?”

  “Yes, this morning.”

  “It didn’t change you?”

  “Yes, and no. I believe my vampire side prevents them from seeing my true intentions and having my allegiance.”

  “Are you still cold?”

  “Yes, colder than before. The
burden of the coven is strong.”

  He led me through the empty halls to a stairway. We walked up the five floors to the main level and snaked through several narrow, dark corridors. Gripping his hand, I struggled to keep his pace. We turned a corner, and light glowed in front of us. At the end, a narrow opening, just wide enough for a person to slide through, overlooked an amphitheater.

  Unlike the rest of the building that was formed from stone block, the space seemed to be cut out of the rock. Above us, a high jagged arched ceiling held chandeliers with hundreds of oil lanterns. Below, curved benches formed of smooth marble ringed an altar. Theron and Thanatos stood on each side of Sonia. The dagger lay on the table in front of them. The reflection of the flames danced off the metal scabbard, making it shine like gold.

  “Camille.” Jude tugged at my arm. “We should get our dads now.”

  I spun to face him. “You really came for me. You aren’t one of them.”

  “Of course not. Did you think I was lying to you this whole time? You’ve seen the sword, let’s go.”

  My eyes bore into his. “I’m sorry.” I looked back to the dagger. “I need to stay here.”

  “What?” He pulled me away from the opening. “You’re going to be discovered. Now is our chance to get away.”

  “Stick with the plan. Go get our dads and meet me back here.”

  “I don’t like this. I’m not leaving you.”

  “Be smart. It doesn’t help if we don’t know what we’re up against.”

  Jude’s large eyes pleaded with me. “Camille, you’re not thinking clearly.”

  I switched tactics. Gripping his hands, I fixed my gaze on his. “Jude, be fast. Go get them and come back. It’ll give me enough time to figure out what they’re doing down there. Then we can escape together.” I couldn’t say, wouldn’t say, that the glimmer of the sword had me transfixed. Yes, I wanted information, but I also wanted the dagger. It belonged to me, and I intended to get it back.

  “Do not leave this spot, and do not get caught.” Jude squeezed my hands, and then his lips were on mine. His soft lips, warm and smooth, reminded me of everything I loved: him, my mom, Tyler, Dad, and the haze of the lance lifted for a second.