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By the time we got home, Leo and Kaylin had warded the land as best as they could. It felt better--stronger, like we had a cushion separating us from the forest. I decided to spend the afternoon combing the pages of A History of the Vampire Nation, while Rhiannon flipped through the The Rise of the Indigo Court.
We needed to familiarize ourselves with both bloody worlds as much as possible. Most of the texts seemed Biblical, in that there were long lists of names--who begat whom and who sired whom--and brief encounters by people who had lived and died centuries ago.
The afternoon slid by and as evening arrived, Kaylin and Leo made a beeline for the local fried chicken joint and returned with a couple of buckets of chicken and biscuits. As they came through the door, I looked up.
"You made sure that they don't have any cross contamination with fish there, right?"
Rhiannon nodded. "Not a problem. Not a fin or scale in the joint. Just chicken." She sat the food on the table and gathered some napkins and plates for us. "What are you doing?"
"Reading till my eyes have crossed. And I finally found something that I think we need to know. Listen." I reached for a drumstick with one hand as I held the book open with the other.
The Najeeling Prophecy (see Chapter 7: Examining the Book of the Undead) speaks of a member of the Indigo Court who will rise to power, hand-in-hand with his traitorous love. Together, they will bring about the necessary events that will set in motion the final war in which the Vampire Nation will go to war with the Indigo Court. The outcome of the war is not known; the investigator who translated the Book of the Undead died in a freak accident before he could finish his translation, and the actual Book of the Undead disappeared.
"I think this is talking about Grieve and me." I tapped the book with my other hand as I took a bite of the drumstick. Though the word "traitorous" made me uneasy.
"How can you be sure, though?"
"Crap. I knew I forgot something." With all the commotion, I realized I still hadn't told them about my meeting with Crawl. Quickly, I sketched out my visit to the Blood Oracle. "I was going to tell you earlier, but with Grieve . . . and the visit to the Marburry Barrow, it got lost in the scuffle."
"You went to see the Blood Oracle and you didn't think it was important to tell us? Christ, Cicely, you can't just shut us out of stuff like that. We're all in this together, you know." Leo looked huffy and I was beginning to see that he really didn't like feeling left out of things. Either that or he was feeling touchy because until I'd returned, the vampires were his territory.
"I meant to tell you, and I just did. So much is happening, it's hard to keep everything sorted out. But yes, Crawl seems to think I'm 'the one' and I have a feeling that this connects to what he was talking about." I shrugged. "Like it or not, the vampires think I'm their special-needs girl. Frankly, I'd rather be anonymous to them. This is why they want me to spy on the Indigo Court--they think that by doing so I'll start this big war between the two and they expect to come out victorious."
"Meanwhile, members of the Indigo Court are kidnapping the magic-born to create their own army of vampiric magic using slaves to fight in the war. Think of the chaos if they manage to harness a group of witches as powerful as Marta and Heather--the havoc they could wreak." Leo rubbed the bridge of his nose and I knew he was thinking about his sister.
"They'd be almost invincible." I stopped as Ulean touched my shoulder.
Something is happening outside. You need to attend to it. Be cautious. They're approaching.
"Trouble, guys. Ulean just warned me." I put down the book and the food, and cautiously peeked out the front door, Rhiannon on my heels. There was something--I could feel it--on the periphery of the land.
"Wait," I whispered.
She paused, glancing over my shoulder. "Something out there?"
I nodded. Turning, I scanned the yard, not sure what to look for. Ulean, can you hear me?
Yes . . . over at the boundary. Leo and Kaylin did their work well, they cannot approach.
What's out there? I can hear it . . . feel it.
Ulean whisked past me, leaving me with the dizzying scent of lavender and lemon, calming and yet invigorating. It washed away some of the gloom from my aura and I inhaled deeply, letting out a slow breath while I waited. After a moment, she returned.
You come to a crossroads . . . be careful, Cicely. Please, don't rush into action. Listen carefully. Words carry deception even if they come from someone you love.
A shiver raced down my spine. What the hell was going on? I slowly descended the steps, Rhiannon behind me. Leo and Kaylin followed.
As we crossed the yard toward the ravine, I felt like we were standing on the edge of a precipice, over a crashing ocean full of sharp, jagged rocks. And one of those rocks was rising to meet us.
Out of the ravine, trailed by a cloud of mist that swirled in their wake, walked five figures. The mist was quicksilver, sparkling indigo, and gray, coiling like serpents in the chill night. The forest fell silent, at least to the ear, but I caught sounds on the wind: the spinning of webs, the shuffle of spiders, the rustle of twisted creatures who had no names.
I stepped over the hose, and when it hissed and became a snake, I forced myself to avoid looking down. Rhiannon gave a little gasp from behind me but I kept walking, my shoes squeaking lightly on the snow. My gaze was fastened on the figures, silhouettes in the night, but their auras were shining with brilliant swirls of cerulean and silver.
The Indigo Court.
We approached one another, across the lawn, but they stopped fifteen yards from the edge of the forest, waiting. As I gauged their distance, I realized they'd stopped right at the line where the men had warded the property. They'd done a good job: The enemy could not pass.
I kept walking and Rhiannon caught up to me, pacing by my side. Kaylin and Leo had our backs and we came to a halt a few yards away from the shrouded figures. I held up my hand and waited. Let them be the first to speak.
