Haven: Revenge of the Viper (5 page)

“There is much to consider now,” he continued. “You know better than anyone, Bellisoria that it takes years to build trust, but only one lie to undo it all.”

Elessar and the other Elvin Ambassadors gathered their things quietly and left the room. She watched as Elessar walked away. The emptiness she felt inside was almost unbearable.

The remaining Majesty members looked on as Valteen approached the table once again.

“All good things must come to an end, and your time has come, Bellisoria,” he said, and with a smug grin he turned to the other Vampires. “We go,” he said. With that the Vampires stood and followed Valteen out of the chamber.

The Goblins, on the other hand, had not moved. In fact, Tobias had reached into his vest pocket and removed a small pipe. He filled it with tobacco and lit the pipe with one of the small floating flames in front of him.

“If I had to guess, that did not go as planned,” he said to Bellisoria.

His lack of respect infuriated Vallen, Demetrius, and Atamar, and they all stepped forward at once but Bellisoria held up her hand. “Wait, let him speak.”

Tobias smiled his hideous smile and puffed his pipe.

“You are going to need allies my Queen; you will need allies in numbers, vast numbers.”

“What are you saying, Goblin?” Atamar asked.

Tobias removed the pipe from his mouth. “What I’m saying, Wizard, is that the Goblins will be at your service, should you call upon us.”

Bellisoria tilted her head to one side and narrowed her eyes in thought. “At what cost?” she asked.

Tobias hopped from his chair to the floor; Tryson did the same. They both turned and began to leave.

“At what cost?” Bellisoria asked again, clearly agitated now.

Tobias stopped before turning the corner into the corridor and smiled. “For a fair price, but of course,” he said, then turned and left.

She watched carefully as the Goblins left the chamber, then turned to Demetrius and Vallen. She sighed and gathered her thoughts.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she said with a faint smile.

“How did Valteen find out?” Demetrius asked. He looked back and forth between Bellisoria and Atamar.

“I don’t know, but it confirms our suspicions that we have a spy amongst our agents.”

“Atamar, what of Holly, is she okay?” Demetrius asked.

Bellisoria placed her hand on Demetrius’s shoulder and her eyes met his.

“It was not Holly who was killed, Demetrius.”

“Killed?” Vallen asked.

“Yes, there were two Keeper Agents, Dante and Atticus, who were sent to the Blackfoot Mountains to send the monthly communication to Alisa,” Atamar said. “Somehow they were followed into the mountains and attacked. When they didn’t report in I assembled another team to investigate—Xavier and Gordon. Atticus was already dead when they got there and they found Dante barely alive. He was critically injured and barely able to speak. He said it was a Viper. The portal to Earth had already been activated. Dante said he lay there unable to move, but that he had seen something pass through the portal. After hearing this I updated Xavier and Gordon regarding the Dalcomes and sent them to Earth. Asha’s team arrived on the scene shortly after and recovered Dante and Atticus, then returned to the Majesty. Dante later died in the infirmary, so that is all we know.”

Bellisoria could see the remorse in Vallen’s eyes. He knew Dante and Atticus well; they had served together as a unit during the Great War.

“When Holly returned to the Majesty a day later I sent her to Earth as well. They were all given specific instructions to observe and not interact with the Dalcomes.”

“What? Why? We need to warn Alisa!” Demetrius said. His glare was centered on Atamar as he spoke.

“Demetrius, I share your concern,” Bellisoria interrupted. “But we are not sure what we are dealing with here. We cannot warn Alisa of something we are not sure of. There is too much at stake. Her children know nothing of this world; we could do more harm than good if we are wrong. Can you imagine the impact it would have on the Dalcome children to know their whole life has been nothing more than a cover-up to keep them safe? That everything they know about themselves and their parents is a lie?”

Demetrius stared at Bellisoria. His face was flushed, and his teeth clenched. Bellisoria took a step closer to him and met his gaze. Her voice was softer now, and her words were tender. “I know what they meant to you, Demetrius. I too lost a great friend in Rylan Dalcome, and trust me when I say the last thing I want to do is to see his family harmed. But, for their sake we must be sure; we must know what we are dealing with before we act. I promised Rylan I would keep his family safe, and I have no intention of breaking that promise now.”

Demetrius’s gaze slowly drifted from Bellisoria’s eyes to the floor and he nodded in agreement.

“When can we leave?” Vallen asked.

All heads turned to Atamar.

“Now. Asha and her team will be waiting for you at the portal. Should there really be a Viper on Earth, you are to retrieve the Dalcomes and return home with them. They will be safer here at the Majesty than alone on Earth with only a handful of Keepers.”

“Will Asha and her team be coming?” Vallen asked.

“No,” Atamar replied. “Not now with the Realms in chaos. We will need every Keeper Agent we have left to protect the Majesty and the portal. If I know Valteen, tonight was but a glimpse of a much larger plan.”

Chapter 4

S
am stared at the book for a brief moment before reaching down into the wall and removing it from its hiding place. It was surprisingly heavy for its size, which was probably due to the four gold medallions embedded in the cobalt leather cover.

The medallions were arranged in a circle in the center of the book; each was engraved with one of the four elemental signs: Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. The book was bound with a large clasp made of gold and silver ivy that traced elegantly around the cover, connecting in the middle to a large leaf-shaped lock with a small sapphire at its center. Sam had never seen a book like this before; it looked extremely old and foreign. The leather was soft and worn with small slender cracks that ran vertically down the cover.

He held the book in one hand and gently ran his fingers over the Water symbol. To his surprise, a small beam of light sprang from the symbol and encircled the Water crest. Sam trembled with excitement. The shear brilliance of the light was overwhelming. He had seen something similar to this back in the caves with the mirror, but this—this was incredible! To be so close, to be holding it in his hands, to
hold magic,
was nothing short of amazing! It made him feel like a superhero. No, it was more than that—it made him feel special and that was something Sam had never felt before.

As the book glowed, the luminescent Water symbol, with its rolling waves encircled by two thick bands, appeared between the rafters on the garage ceiling. Sam gazed up at it and could not help but smile.
Magic is awesome
. But at the same time, the symbol projected on the ceiling made him more than a little nervous. Magic had not turned out so well for him in the past, back in the caves with the floating mirror and the spiders. But the light coming from the book was so mesmerizing and overwhelming that Sam couldn’t help but be intrigued. Magic was real and he was holding it in his hands. He couldn’t stop now, he wanted to know more; he had to know more, and now was his chance.

Sam looked back down at the book and moved his finger to the next medallion. He touched it softly and, like the Water sign, it also began to glow, casting another image on the ceiling. This symbol was of three swirling gusts of wind that, to Sam, looked like fancy number nines. He knew this was the symbol for Air.

He continued this process until the symbols from all four medallions were glowing on the ceiling above him. Sam sat there, eyes wide in amazement, taking it all in. He was looking at something truly phenomenal, something most people only dreamed about, and he was holding it in his hands. As he reveled in the moment, he noticed that the images were beginning to fade in and out. He held the book tighter and gave it a light shake but it didn’t seem to help, and to Sam’s dismay the symbols abruptly disappeared from the ceiling.

He looked down and saw that the small sapphire at the center of the lock had begun to glow. Gradually, the faint blue became brighter and brighter until Sam had to turn away from the light and cover his eyes. The entire garage was now illuminated with the magnificent glow.

Sam slowly turned back around, giving his eyes time to adjust to the light. Still holding the book tightly, he looked down at the sapphire stone. His eyes shimmered with the magnificence of the scene before him and his breath caught in his chest as he felt a wave of anticipation swell up inside of him. The light was so intriguing, so inviting to Sam, but most of all, it was familiar. He didn’t know how or why. He couldn’t explain it—it just was. He felt the light pulling at something inside of him, drawing out a part of him that wanted or needed to connect with it. Sam gripped the book tightly. His hands started to tingle in expectancy and his muscles were tense. He felt a surge of power beginning to swell inside his chest. The energy coursed through his body, reaching every limb to the point where he felt he might explode.

Suddenly the sapphire went dark. The leaf lock snapped open, falling away from the book, and Sam felt a gush of emptiness sweep over his body as the energy left him. It was like he was a balloon and someone had just let all the air out of him.

He sat motionless, holding the book before him. His hands were still trembling, but the tingling sensation had passed. He looked down at the open lock that now hung loosely from the book. Carefully, Sam opened the ivy clasp and slid the book free.

Butterflies ricocheted around in his stomach, and his heart pounded so hard against his chest that he could see his hand twitching. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to see what was inside this book but he had to know more. He took the golden leaf that protected the corner and tried to open the book.

Sam soon realized that the book wasn’t a book at all, but rather a storage box of some kind. He lifted the lid of the unusual box and looked inside. It was lined in black velvet and smelled of lavender. Inside were several items: a silver ring, a photograph, a small scroll of parchment, and a leather pouch.

He picked up the ring and held it in his hand. It was large, heavy, and would definitely not fit the finger of anyone in his family. He examined it carefully; there was a ruby red jewel in the center of a star that was surrounded by a thin circle. Four smaller elemental symbols were engraved around the ring.
First the mirror in the cave, then the book, and now the ring—all with the same element signs.
Fear crept through Sam as he worked through the similarities. There were too many coincidences; they had to be linked somehow. But how?

How did the book get here? Did the stranger outside his window put it in the garage, or was he looking for it? Why were the elemental symbols on the mirror and the box and the ring? Sam sat on the floor, staring at the ring. Finally, he placed it back in the box and removed the photo.

It was a black-and-white picture of a small cottage with a lamp post in the center of the yard. There was a small sign that hung from the post but he couldn’t make out what it said. It looked like a nice place; peaceful, he thought.

Sam placed the picture back in the box and removed the pouch. It was made of black leather with a gold drawstring. It was heavy and from the sound it made as Sam picked it up, there was something inside.

Sam set the box on the floor and held the pouch in one hand. With the other he gently pulled on the pouch until it opened. Slowly, he emptied out some of the contents into his hand. A few black, triangular crystals slid out. They were thin and about six inches in length. They looked like they were made of Onyx; he could tell because of the thin gray swirls that ran throughout them. Sam would recognize Onyx anywhere; it was his father’s birthstone. He took out the rest of the crystals from the pouch and counted them. There were eleven in all.

He looked back into the box to see if he was missing one but he wasn’t.
That’s strange,
he thought,
why eleven?
He was expecting an even number. Most things came in pairs, but perhaps one had been lost, or maybe they could be used individually, whatever they did.

Sam placed the crystals back into the pouch and put it back into the box. Next he took out the scroll of parchment. He pulled on the small blue ribbon that held the scroll tight. The paper loosened as the ribbon fell back into the box. It was old and felt thick to the touch. He gently took the edge of the scroll and unrolled it with both hands.

Sam could see it was a hand-written letter. To his surprise, it was addressed to his mother.

He looked back at the box and then back at the letter. His skin began to prickle with sudden awareness.
This is Mom’s box, not the stranger’s.

Why in the world would his mother be hiding this in the first place? What made this box and its contents so important that she felt the need to keep it a secret? What was she afraid of? Sam looked back down at the letter, and began to read it.