Ordained (19 page)

She settled down in the middle of the jungle and dumped the contents from her bag: wide set white pillar candles, a small vial of myrrh oil, a lighter and the journal written by her previous self. She circled herself with the candles, anointed them with the oil, lit them and tossed the book back onto the bag. Sitting in the lotus position with her feet resting atop her thighs and her hands palm up on the knees, she began to meditate.

The wind wrapped around her body and whipped her hair. The plants in the conservatory began to sway faster and faster. Sparks of energy transformed into small lightning bolts.

Abby opened her eyes and turned around. Valerie was watching from the safety of the pebble path. She raised her right hand to make a fist and the wind and lightning slowly died down. Valerie moved to Abby’s line of sight.

“Emily died the night you met her, didn’t she? You weren’t able to save her in time. That’s why she keeps having nightmares.”

Abby didn’t answer. She knew the longer she stayed here, the more visions Valerie would have about them. Denial was pointless. If Valerie felt affronted by any of them, she might seek comfort elsewhere, perhaps even the Order.

“How’d you do it? How’d you bring her back to life?” she pushed.

“I performed a reincarnation spell. She was reborn the next day. Before anyone even knew what happened.”

Valerie kneeled down on the ground outside of Abby’s circle. “Reincarnation is rebirth from the beginning of life. How’d you get Emily to come back at the same age?”

“Let’s just say I tweaked it a little,” Abby said, mentally recalling the time it took for her to perfect that spell. She wasn’t even sure at the time if it would actually work.

“Is that how you’ve stayed alive this long?”

“Valerie, you know how I’ve stayed alive this long and you know it has nothing to do with magic. The spell only works on mortals. I spent decades creating it. It wasn’t perfection but it worked well enough.”

Confused, Valerie responded, “She seems normal. Is there something wrong with her?”

“Emily’s body should have renewed itself completely but she came back with scars. An unfortunate reminder, but they actually helped convince the Order she was the one who killed Eraticus. All we had to do was make the injuries look fresh.”

Valerie was overcome with a sudden eagerness - she really needed to get out more. “So how does it work?”

Certain she had already seen something in her vision to make her ask this question, Abby told her it was complicated. “I have to have the body, a personal possession and the spell has to be completed within the first day of death, before the body begins to decompose.”

Valerie pulled back, slightly perturbed. “Wait a minute. You reused the same body?”

“There lies the reason why I have to have the body,” Abby said wryly.

“But the body died. You put her back into the body that died on her?”

“The spell heals the body so it can support life again.”

“Interesting,” she said, drumming her fingers on her thighs. Teasingly, she said, “So, Emily is basically a zombie. The walking dead.”

“No, Emily…,” Abby paused, thinking, “just died for a little while.”

“Uh-huh,” Valerie responded. “Didn’t
you
just have to die a little while to go through your transformation?”

Abby was prepared to rebut but stopped herself short. Apparently Valerie didn’t know
every
thing about her condition. “Not the same thing. But for your sake, I wouldn’t let any one of us bite you.”

“Funny,” she said, but there was a hint of anxiety in her voice. Valerie gazed upon the book next to Abby. Recognizing it, her mouth dropped open. Eagerly, she burst, “Is that –?”

“No,” interrupted Abby.

“But it looks like –”

Abby once again interrupted, more stern this time. “Valerie, stay out of my head on this one. This information is for me and me alone.” She didn’t want anyone telling Noel what was in this book. He would never approve, never accept what had to be done.

Valerie was taken aback. Anxious, she responded, “I haven’t learned anything about it. I only recognize it.”

“Good. Keep it that way.”

“I –”

Abby raised her hand and signaled silence to Valerie. She stared out the window.

“What?” Valerie asked quietly.

The wind outside carried a whisper that Valerie couldn’t here. “I hear screaming.”

With Valerie left in her wake, Abby rushed out of the manor, through the break in the trees and all the way to the arena balcony in the children’s building.

“What the hell is this?” She was appalled by the sight before her eyes. Fourteen girls ranging between four and sixteen and one eight year old boy were on the arena floor. Advisors, some Abby had never seen before, were off in the shadows making notes on their performances.

Six vampires had been set loose. They were athletic, their human faces distorted as they presented their fangs. Pale and sallow looking, they seemed underfed, as if the Order had deliberately imprisoned them for a long period of time to make them weak, yet excruciatingly hungry and violent.

The eldest female hunter burned a vampire using a large cross with sharpened ends. She then twirled the cross and staked him through the heart. The vampire disintegrated into thin air.

Annabella, the little girl Abby had already met, was crying and running scared. Abby momentarily stared in disbelief, then braced herself to jump the balcony. Valerie reached out to stop her.

“Don’t worry,” she said breathlessly. She pointed to several advisors positioned up high, each following a separate vampire with their crossbow. “They won’t get hurt.”

“Did they do this to you?” asked Abby, still astonished.

“Well, yeah. Before they realized I was clairvoyant. All hunters are tested this way.”

“I don’t remember this.”

“I don’t think they did this in your day. The Order has bounty hunters that trap and deliver live vampires to us.”

Abby’s head shook sideways as she watched the advisors above with their arrows and the ones below with their pens.

“No one’s ever been hurt. They only release a few at a time and they’ll shoot any that gain the upper hand.”

The final vampire was staked. The advisors continued to write on their clipboards.

“And here I thought there was nothing more the Order could do that could possibly make them appear more disgusting to me.”

Their fear sent jolts down her spine and screamed in her head, particularly from the little ones. She wanted nothing more than to rip the heads off the advisors standing by watching the sweet, little Annabella run and scream in terror, even after the monsters had been slain.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Noel frantically tossed books from the library bookcases. He knew it was here somewhere, but he had to make sure it wasn’t hidden in this room before he could move on. Hundreds of books were already on the floor.

“Noel, stop.” Was that annoyance or urgency in her voice?

He turned. He hadn’t sensed Abby, nor had any idea how long she had been watching him from the doorway.

“You’ve already gone through every book this place has to offer twice. It’s not here.”

Frustrated, Noel ignored her request and continued to toss books. “It has to be. Athena wouldn’t go to this much trouble and not leave you the containment spell.”

He heard her sigh from inside the room. She had moved closer. Calmly, she softly said, “Maybe I’m not meant to trap Morphus this time. Maybe I’m meant —”

“No,” he interrupted. “You will
not
be fighting him. You’re going to trap him, just like your previous self did. Get in, get out.”

“Noel,” she said softly. She was patronizing him now.

“No!” he cried, knocking several books on the floor as he spun around. “There’s a reason you trapped him before. He
kills
every
thing.”

“So did Eraticus,” she contested.

“Yeah, including you, remember?” he added hotly.

“He didn’t kill me,” she rebutted bluntly.

“He won that fight and you know it! The only reason I let you –”

“Let me?” she roared.

“—fight him again was because we found the weapon forged to destroy him. We haven’t found a weapon that destroys Morphus. There may not be one. So I’ll be damned if you’re going into that fight without a containment spell!”

He suddenly felt hot. He snatched the water bottle from the table and finished it off. When done, he threw it aside and returned to the bookcases.

Why is she so freakin’ stubborn?!
After a moment, Abby broke the silence. “Do you wanna talk about what’s really bothering you?”

No.
He tried so hard not to think about it. His silence didn’t stop her.

“There’s a chance I may not be coming back from this fight. And you can’t slip in to help me cause I’ll be in a dimension off-limits to you.”

He didn’t answer but he did stop. He felt the disturbance in the air as she stepped beside him.

“Noel, we knew this day would come. Just because I’m destined to be in this fight doesn’t mean I’m destined to survive it.”

He hung his head and sighed. “I always thought we’d have more time.”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

“I always thought that if one of us went…” He trailed off.

“Then we both went,” Abby finished.

“Yeah. A battle to the death. I was ready for that. Not a battle where I have to sit on the sidelines waiting to see how badly you’ll return. Or if you return at all.”

Her arms wrapped around him. Reluctantly, he turned to face and embrace her. She buried her head in his neck.

“Look, maybe the reason the spell isn’t here is because it’s in the next dimension.”

“Hmm?” he mumbled as he pulled her in closer, breathing in the familiar, alluring scent from her hair.

“I’m the guardian, right? And I’ll be transported to a chamber outside his lair. So, maybe –”

Relieved, he interrupted, “It’s in the chamber. Protected so you’d be sure to find it. That’s it!” he cried. “Oh, thank you God.”

Noel happily bent down and buried his head into Abby’s neck. Pressure suddenly released; he felt lighter.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Abby wandered the hallway dazed, tracing the lines on her palm. She snapped out of her trance and looked over her shoulder as she rounded the corner. No one was there. She waited a few seconds, then turned backed again. Jayden was nearing the edge. He jumped back when he realized he’d been caught.

She wanted desperately to slam him against the wall, but remembering her promise to Noel, she withheld the urge. Annoyed, she abruptly asked, “Why are you following me?”

“I’m not,” he sneered.

Abby grabbed his throat and slammed his body against the wall with such force the aged wall sprinkled flakes into the air. He gripped her forearms tightly.

“Let’s try this again. Why – are – you – following – me?”