Ordained (28 page)

“What have you done?”

“I don’t know.” Her hands cupped her nose and mouth. What
had
she done? And how long would it take the potion to affect his body? With humans, the potion acted immediately, within seconds. But pure vampires had no heartbeat to push the potion through the system faster.

“Abby?” His tone roughened. He whizzed to her at the speed of light and yanked her hand from her face, examining the ring closely. The needle was still extended. “How old is the potion?”

She couldn’t think. Her mind was woozy from the multitude of emotions plaguing her at that very moment. Her jaw twitched up and down but her brain offered nothing to voice.

“Abby!” His hands were on her shoulders, squeezing her powerfully, as if he were trying to ground her and snap her back to cognitive thought. As she looked to his face she could see it – the first signs that the potion was working. His eyes became heavy and his grasp lightened. He tried to shake the dizziness away, but it only worked momentarily.

“I’m sorry,” she choked. Tears began to descend her cheeks. “I have to do this alone.”

He was breathing now – large, deep breaths. His body wobbled and she threw herself around him. Together they slumped to the floor. She cradled his head to her chest.

Barely a whisper, Noel hoarsely said, “Don’t.”

She knew he wouldn’t understand her decision to strike three weeks early. She couldn’t in good conscience sit by and allow Morphus the opportunity to take more of them out. If there was any chance she could protect Emily and her friends, even Noel, by initiating the fight, she would, even if it meant she sacrificed herself as so many had foreseen.

Abby removed the ring from her finger, reset it and placed it in the pocket of his pants. They softly stared at one another as she stroked his cheek with her hand. He forced out a pathetic grunt.

“I know. I love you too. Always.”

Just as his warm brown eyes succumbed to the tranquilizer, Abby gently kissed his forehead. In his ear she whispered, “See you on the other side.” She wiped away the tears, ripped the wooden pole from the wall above him and continued on. She was afraid to look back. If she did, she’d see him propped awkwardly against the wall, completely vulnerable for however long the potion would last. Would she be able to move forward with her plan? Or would she run back to the safety of his strong arms? She had no idea which would happen in this moment. Part of her wanted desperately to remain behind, yet another part was eager to shove this pole down Morphus’ throat.

She didn’t risk looking. She turned the corner with her eyes closed tight.

In the arena, the hunters and advisors were cramped to the far side, avoiding the damaged areas. One by one, their attentions were drawn to Abby as she crossed the room, wooden pole spinning, her eyes set on the back of a man. Advisors fearfully backed away, their mouths open in awe, but soundless nonetheless. Hunters stopped and stared, confused by the look of enmity on her face.

“Abby?” Darby asked quietly, somewhat frightened.

Abby smacked the man hard across the back and neck. He collapsed and fell to the floor. Abby stood back and waited, glaring. Jayden rose and returned the glare, not at all surprised by her action. The advisors were stunned in silence. The huntresses tried to contain their smiles, but they too were astonished as Abby and Jayden’s bodies disintegrated. All that remained was the pole, bouncing up and down on the floor, shaking the individuals left with each echo.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Abby, what the hell have you done?

The arena was filled with unrelenting panic. Emily watched from the safety of the balcony as Abby struck Jayden and disappeared. She ran down the stairs, jumping three at a time. Many tried to pester her with questions about Abby and Jayden, trying desperately to absorb what just happened.

“What the hell happened to them? They just disappeared into thin air!” cried Anita.

“Who is she and what is she really doing here? And don’t say she’s a hunter cause she’s nothing like us!” exclaimed Christoph.

Emily wasn’t really paying attention. Her focus was on the Chancellor, who was being rushed in by Susan. Emily waved off those hassling her, grabbed Mira by the arm and dragged her just within hearing range of where the Chancellor and Lincoln were meeting.

“What?” cried Mira.

Emily shushed her and pulled her in closer, as if they were whispering to one another.

“What the hell happened?” asked the Chancellor.

“Abigail was our missing ordained huntress. She just performed a disappearing act that would shame Houdini,” he said quietly, still shaken.

“What?!” exclaimed the Chancellor, astonished. “How could we not know this before now?”

“There’s more,” he said with a hint of embarrassment. “It would seem Morphus penetrated our operations a while back. He just disappeared with her.” Lincoln flinched. He looked as if he had been expecting a physical reaction.

Quite contradictory, the information seemed to drain the Chancellor of all emotion. “Who?” he asked calmly, firmly.

“Jayden. The moment she attacked him they disappeared.”

“The fail-safe plan. Should one attack the other with intention to harm, they would be transported immediately to the next dimension.” He said it more for himself than Lincoln. “Did she actually know it was Morphus or was she finally fed up with Jayden?”

“I believe she knew. But I’m not going to pretend Jayden didn’t intentionally try to provoke her over the past two months.”

The Chancellor nodded in agreement.

Lincoln looked uncomfortably around the arena. Emily turned away just in time. “What if she doesn’t come back? There is no containment spell.”

“We must hope for the best but play the odds she won’t return. Arm every hunter, advisor and child. Should he win…,” he trailed off, “well, let’s just hope Abigail wears him down for us.”

With that, Emily left Mira without saying a word and went in search for Noel.

“Emily! Where are you going? You can’t leave now!”

Noel wasn’t in any of his usual spots: his bedroom, the library or the kitchen. The morning’s storms had given way to daylight, so he wasn’t outside. After five minutes of running frantically through the hallways, she found him sprawled out on the floor.

“Noel?” she asked, concerned and confused over why he was knocked out in the middle of nowhere.

His eyelids limped heavily. He tried to open them but they kept slamming shut. Groggy, he slurred, “Abee…dunt ley er go.” Had she not just witnessed the magic show for herself, she never would have understood him.

“It’s too late. She’s gone. Come on, we’ve gotta get ready.” She lifted his dead-weight body off the floor with ease.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Her body slowly materialized on the cold, stone floor. Torches magically sparked and lit the ancient room. Abby rose and scanned her surroundings. The ancient chamber room had no doorways, no visual exits anywhere.

Familiar hieroglyphics were chiseled into the stone walls. Words of comfort from her former self, trying to prepare her for what was about to come. It summarized what she had already learned from the journal, as if her previous self feared Abby would be transferred here without knowing why, without being properly prepared – her contingency plan. No other being could enter or leave this room. It allowed her the time she would need to prepare herself emotionally and physically for the task at hand.

Across the room, a stone table was covered with clay pots of herbs and miscellaneous ingredients, all long decayed and powdered. Off to the side was a rotting book two inches thick. As she approached, it opened and flipped a few pages. It stopped on the page that depicted her birthmark, the illusionistic symbol of the ordained huntress.

In the farthest corner of the room was a statue of Athena. Her attire was that of a warrior. Her left hand held a sword, her right held up in the ‘stop’ position. Before Abby could get close enough to examine it, the quartz amulet around her neck began to warm and her eyes began to glow. A bright blur came and went.

An explosion threw Abby through the air. Her body hit the floor hard
. Blur out and in again…
Lying down, a wooden stake is pierced through Abby’s heart. Her head rolled to the side and blood seeped from her mouth. Her eyes were opened wide and lifeless. Then, her body disintegrated into thin air
. Blur out. The warmth of the necklace and the glow in her eyes diminished once again.

Abby put one hand on her chest and the other over her eyes. It took a few minutes for the blinding stars to burn out. Looking to the statue, she annoyingly said, “I hope that’s not your idea of a pep talk.”

There was something odd about the statue. The hand of Athena had actual lines, crisp and scratchy – and familiar. Abby placed her hand side-by-side with Athena’s. The palm reading was identical. Were they the same lines as her previous self? Certainly, she wasn’t given lines that matched Athena’s.

Abby returned to the stone table and flipped through the book. Most of the pages were dedicated to potions. The book flipped on its own again and stopped at another spell. It turned out the spell had already been completed and placed within tied sachets in the bowl next to her.
The infamous containment spell
. After all her pleading, her previous self had not only left Abby the spell, but premade it in case she was unable to succeed.

Abby held the sachet in her hand. If it didn’t go her way, would she really want the temptation to save her life and contain Morphus, instead of fighting it out until the bitter end?

The muslin used to bind the ingredients so long ago had thinned but held together. Through the crosshatch spaces she could see fossilized stars of anise. The other ingredients had crumbled with time.

She sighed heavily.
Forgive me, Noel
. Abby emptied the sachet, inserted new random ingredients from the clay pots and carefully tied the sachet again. She tucked it into her pant pocket and patted it down.

Abby had scanned the chamber over and over again. The only weapon seemed to be in Athena’s hand.
One lousy sword
. She thought of telling off the statue, to let her know how helpful she’d been providing her with the tools necessary to fight off one of the most deadly demons ever, but even Abby wasn’t looking to tick off a goddess.

She grabbed for the sword in Athena’s hand. Specks of stone flicked off and fell to the floor once Athena’s firm grip finally relented. The markings on the wall told Abby to place her hand on the recessed handprint (which also depicted the lines on her palm). Her hand tickled as the stone liquefied and molded to her skin. The wall dissolved and created a doorway that rippled like rings on water. The invisible barrier was ice cold and thick like jell-o. She had to push herself through with force.

The walkthrough led her to a cavernous lair, lit throughout with torches. Once through, the magical entrance disappeared behind her. No recessed handprint offered a way back, as it was strictly one way. The fires fluttered and gave an eerie glow to the weapons and markings across the walls. Chiseled into the rocks were glory pictures of the Goddess Eris, as well as multiple deaths of ancient Abby; grisly depictions of stabbings, beheadings and burnings. She looked exactly like present day Abby.