Prophecy: Caelestis & Aurorea (15 page)

Mia lowered her gaze to the floor. “I love Valentine like a brother, we both do, but this is something that you need to do alone, Prophecy. You know in your heart it is true and that is why the Tenebrae lord is not by your side.”

Prophecy frowned. Mia was right. The reason she hadn’t brought Venturi with her was because she had wanted to be alone, not only to find the book, but to find Valentine. In her heart, she wanted to be the one to save Valentine and prove her strength, both to herself and the rest of the world. She knew that she could do it, but in the recesses of her heart and her mind, there was a lingering doubt. It told her that she would fail, that something would happen if she were alone. She needed someone to back her up. She needed someone strong.

Raising her eyes, she looked at Dmitri and then at Mia.

“I’ll find someone else to help.”

“Who?” Dmitri stared hard at her.

She coolly met his gaze. “Hyperion.”

He laughed and Mia stepped forwards. “He will not help you.”

“He might. It’s worth a try. After all, no one else is going to help me and time is running out for Valentine. I can’t take on Arkalus and Kalinor alone.” She turned on her heel and started towards the door.

“Will you not stay the night?” Mia called after her.

Prophecy paused but didn’t look at them. “I’ll come back, when I’ve rescued Valentine. I’ll come back and you two can explain to him why I was alone.”

She ignored the growls and snarls of the werewolves and walked straight out into the night. She didn’t stop when she reached the woods. Instead, she doubled her pace and gradually built up speed until she was running. It was a few miles to the city. She could make it back to her hotel before sunrise and could contact Mathias to tell him what she’d discovered and her plans.

Taking the steps out of the basement two at a time, Venturi hurried to reach the ringing phone. He growled obscenities about Mathias while he threw the books aside trying to find it and breathed a sigh of relief when he finally grabbed hold of the receiver.

“Hello?” he said.

“Venturi?” The sound of Prophecy’s voice filled him with relief. After their phone call the other night, he’d doubted that she’d ring again. She sounded tired and he wondered if she’d been sleeping enough. Maybe she still couldn’t sleep properly.

“Are you all right?” he asked, sitting down.

“Fine. I’m in Russia.”

His brows rose. “Russia? What the Devil are you doing there? I thought you were going to Paris.”

She giggled quietly. He leaned back into the chair and smiled at the sound of it.

“Mia knows where Valentine is being held. Can you get Mathias for me?” she said.

He hesitated for a moment, wondering why she couldn’t tell him where Valentine was, and then told himself not to say anything that would push her away. He was never going to win her over if he kept doing that.

“One moment,” he said and then put the receiver down onto the table.

Walking briskly through the house, he stopped at the bottom of the steps and stared up at the top of them.

“Mathias!” he hollered and waited a few seconds before continuing. “Prophecy is on the telephone. It sounds urgent. She has found…” He swallowed, gritted his teeth, and then forced the word out. “Valentine.”

Mathias appeared at the top of the stairs looking a little flustered. Venturi stood to one side to allow him to pass. Moving across the hall, he stopped at the door and leaned against the doorframe. He folded his arms, listening hard to the conversation Mathias was having with Prophecy.

“Yes, Venturi told me about the book,” Mathias said and then went silent.

Venturi closed his eyes, wishing that he could hear what Prophecy was saying about him, if anything.

“It would make sense. Our bloodline has kept a house in Russia for many centuries. It is beyond the Validus’ palace, just as Mia has said. The houses there are few and far between. I believe it is over three miles to the Aurorea mansion from Hyperion’s home.”

Another pause and Venturi tapped his foot, opened his eyes and stared at Mathias. By the sounds of things, Prophecy had really found Valentine, and she was going to attempt to rescue him.

“Alone? I do not think that is such a wise … I see … Dmitri can be difficult … I know, but you cannot face this alone. Let Venturi come to you.”

He stepped forwards, eager to hear what the outcome would be of what Mathias had said. Would Prophecy accept his assistance? He didn’t think it was likely that she would. She’d set out alone to find the book, and during their last phone call, she’d made it clear that she wasn’t coming back without Valentine.

“Hyperion?”

He raised a brow at the mention of the lord of Validus’ name. It seemed to be coming up a lot during the conversation.

“I do not think he will offer you help, Prophecy,” Mathias said and looked at him.

Venturi frowned. She was going to see Hyperion about helping her. She would rather have a complete stranger assist her in finding Valentine, than have him come to her. He told himself that it was only because of the amount of time that it would take him to get to Russia on the trains. That was the only reason. It had nothing to do with his feelings or hers.

“Be careful,” Mathias said into the phone while giving him a deadly serious look. “If we have not heard from you within three nights, Venturi will come for you.”

Mathias placed the phone down. Venturi stepped into the room and tapped his fingers against the table, trying to calm himself.

“Be ready to leave.” Mathias sat down in the chair and sighed. He took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “If she does not make contact, you will have to travel to Russia. It will be quickest to check the Aurorea mansion first and then go to see Mia and Dmitri if you cannot find her there. I hope she knows what she is doing.”

“She is going to see Hyperion?” Venturi asked.

“She is,” Mathias said.

“Will he even see her?”

“He has not released his guardians and continues to want no part of this war. There is a chance that he will see her, but it will not be easy for her to get an audience.”

“The Watchmen,” Venturi said flatly. The guards of the Validus were so old, strong and ever-vigilant that they had been given a special name. The Watchmen. They were almost legendary. To get an audience with Hyperion was impossible if he didn’t want to see you. There was no way of getting into the palace without first getting past the Watchmen posted at points around the grounds. No one had ever succeeded. All who had tried, had been killed.

He hoped Prophecy knew what she was doing.

Heavy clouds hung low above Prophecy, blotting out the stars and the moon, and making the night feel as though it had drawn close around her. She ran over her plan in her head, trying to find a fault in it and hoping that everything would turn out the way she expected it to. Asking Hyperion for help was a million to one shot, but it was all she had. She didn’t have time to wait for Venturi to show up, and even if she did, she didn’t know whether she wanted him helping her. Now was a time for calm and calculated action, not backstabbing remarks that would make her blood boil and destroy her concentration. She would never be able to focus with Venturi helping her, and if she couldn’t focus, then her magic wouldn’t come or she’d slip up and get herself killed.

She slowly walked along the path outside the palace walls. There were breaks occasionally where decorative wrought iron panels had been set into the wall and through them, she could see the house in the distance. It wasn’t dark and gloomy like Dmitri’s bastion, or even as imposing as her own home. It reminded her of the Venia’s palace on the other side of St. Petersburg, only even more grand and impressive. Even the rain-soaked grass and paths couldn’t dampen its appearance.

The breeze blew through the trees, creating a haunting sound when the leaves brushed against each other. There was a sense of foreboding about the noise. It had already rained tonight, soaking her to the skin. She didn’t want any more bad weather. The millions of tiny drops of water brought everything that they hit alive, and it fogged her senses with false signatures, leaving her vulnerable to attack. She ran her thumb over the back of the silver star that hung around her neck, letting the feeling of the marks on it soothe her a little.

Rounding a corner, she dropped her eyes to the gates and assessed the situation. This wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d first thought.

The two guardsmen shifted when she approached but their eyes remained forwards, their gazes fixed on the distance.

She swallowed hard and moved to stand in front of them. They didn’t look at her; they just kept staring blankly over her head. They were standing on either side of the grand wrought iron gate and fiery torches flickered on the wall behind them. Both men were as tall as Valentine, and even more imposing in their uniforms. Long dark cloaks hung from their square shoulders and the breeze that blew strands of her hair across her face seemed to have no effect on them. They didn’t shift in the slightest, not even in the strongest gust of wind.

Venturing a step forwards, she jumped when the guards moved in perfect synchronisation, their arms extending so the long staff-like weapons they held crossed each other, forming a barrier in front of the gate. Her eyes fixed on the blades that adorned the ends of the black staffs. They gleamed menacingly in the low light.

Backing away a little, she looked at the guard to her left again. He was looking at her now, his dark purple eyes showing her that he really was of the Validus bloodline. She couldn’t see most of his face. His hair was hidden beneath the black helmet he wore, and his nose, mouth and jaw were covered by a matching black mask. All she could see were his eyes and they bore into her.

She dropped her gaze and frowned when she noticed he was wearing armour beneath the cloak. The action of holding the staff out to one side to block her path had revealed it. It was black and moulded into the shape of muscles. She wondered if it was metal. It didn’t look as though it was. There were intricate patterns engraved on it in another colour. They barely stood out, but she could see them in the torchlight.

Their armour reminded her of the kind she had seen in books in her family’s library. It was the type that the dragon hunters of her species used to wear. It had been a long time since the old beasts had roamed the earth and all that was left of them were the accounts of the vampires living back then.

“State your business,” the one on her left said.

She stared blankly at him for a moment, unable to speak while he was looking at her with such intense eyes.

Straightening up, she tried to look a little more confident. She really hadn’t expected to be faced with guards like these. They made her family’s and that of the Aurorea’s look like younglings just pretending to be a high guard.

“I wish to see Hyperion,” she said in a trembling voice.

His eyes narrowed and she swore he was smirking at her behind his mask.

He raised his staff up and, for a moment, she thought he was going to let her through, but then he lowered it to point at her.

“Leave,” he said.

She frowned. “No.”

“You will not be warned again,” the second guard said.

She looked at him and found he was staring at her too now, the blade of his staff held barely a few inches from her.

“I need to see your lord,” she said and stood her ground. Something about these guards said they weren’t joking when they’d told her to leave and threatened her. Mathias had said nothing about the people that protected Hyperion’s home. She was beginning to wish he’d given her a little warning about them.

“Impossible,” the first guard said and then paused. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them again, looking directly at her. “State your business.”

Her brows knit and she wondered what was happening. A moment ago he had told her that it was impossible and the very next minute he was asking her to state her business again. Had he received communication from the house somehow? Is that why he’d paused and closed his eyes?

“I wish to see Hyperion,” she repeated her earlier words.

He gave her a look that said he was losing patience and she realised that it was obvious she wanted to see Hyperion. He didn’t need to be told that. He wanted to know why she had to see his lord.

“I seek his assistance in a matter of great importance.”

“And this matter is?” he said.

“The rescue of someone.”

He shook his head and blocked the gate with his staff again. The other guard followed suit. She was starting to get the impression that it was nigh on impossible to get past these guards. How many people did they turn away on a nightly basis?

There was no way she was going to let them turn her away.

“Let me see him.” She almost growled the words at them.

The first guard stared at her.

“Please?” she said and furrowed her brows. She stepped towards them but backed away again when they both growled at her.

Her fingers tingled but she ignored them. Now wasn’t the time to use magic. She’d learnt that lesson from Valentine. There was a time and a place for it, and this definitely wasn’t one. She had to at least attempt to get Hyperion on her side and killing two of his guards would make that impossible.

“You don’t understand. I have to see Hyperion. If I don’t, there’s a chance that I won’t be able to save Valentine and if I can’t save Valentine, I don’t see the point in saving the world,” she said and listened to the rustling of leaves as it filled the silence. She held the first guard’s gaze, not giving him the option of looking away and showing him that she wasn’t about to back down.

The storm split the sky above them and rain poured down, but she still didn’t move. She wasn’t going to give up now. If Hyperion wouldn’t help her, then she was going to have to do exactly what Mia had said. She was going to have to go in alone against Arkalus and Kalinor. There was a high chance she wasn’t going to survive the fight that would ensue, but she had to try. She couldn’t give up just because no one was willing to help her but she hated the fact that Dmitri and Mathias were right.