Bloodstone Heart (45 page)

Dimitri turned to them in acknowledgement and said, "Good. Are the others coming?"

One of them said, "Yes," as the others nodded. The five of them headed down the tunnel towards a light at the end. The door was open and the room was more or less rectangular aside from the walls fluting out from the door. Above the room was a circle of natural light maybe sixteen feet in diameter. Josh had no idea where the windows were; maybe on the foundation of the gazebo he had seen on the grounds drawings. The altar was in the middle of the room and there was a huge hearth at the opposite end. There were rooms off the main room, but now that they were here, all Josh knew was there was no Lanie. Three more vampires were waiting for them in this room, leaving only two unaccounted for. There was talk among the men in the room when Josh turned to Dimitri and demanded his attention, "Where is Lanie?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? She won't be joining us for this - she's a little...tied up...you might say."

"Where is she?”
 

"Oh, I suppose she’s about up to her eyeballs in water about now," he laughed.

The others in the room were laughing too at Josh's duress.
 

"And since we are on that point, give me the stone."

"Not until you give me Lanie."

"This isn't a negotiation. Give me the stone or I will take it less politely.”

Josh could hear Devon, Blake, Anton, and Dean all telling him they were on their way. Blake also told Devon to tell Darby it was time to head to the altar room.
 

Dimitri was not happy with Josh's hesitation in answering him and said, "Well?"
 

"I want to know where Lanie is, now!" Josh growled.

Dimitri stared at Josh a little surprised by his boldness, but he only hesitated for a moment then told his vampire army, "Boys, take it from him. Do what you must to find it."

Chapter 34

The six vampires formed a circle around Josh, hissing and showing their glowing crimson eyes and sharp deadly fangs. One from behind raked his hand from Josh's shoulder, diagonally across his back, shredding his leather jacket like tissue paper, and at the same time ripping into his skin through his shirt, like four hot pokers. Another yanked his arm, knocking him back and pulling his jacket off. The vampire tossed it aside and the bloodstone heart tumbled out onto the floor, landing near the altar.
 

Dimitri picked up the stone with a smile of victory and said to the others, "Do with him as you will. We have no further need of him."

Again the vampires closed in around him.
 
Josh, standing there bleeding, was starting to panic and a cold sweat broke out over him.
 
A vampire to his left saw the fear in him and he was the first to lunge. A blur passed Josh's face, pulling him out of harm’s way and Dominic had the young vampire by his neck. With one quick twist of his other hand, the vampire’s head was on the floor and the rest Dominic tossed onto the hearth.
 

With his fangs showing brightly in the dimly lit room, he said, "Would anyone else like to try that again?" He had Josh behind him at this point. The other vampires, though startled by the beheading, surrounded Dominic and Josh. Dominic hissed his displeasure at their choice.

Dimitri was at the altar, aware of what was going on, but in total awe of the stone. He put it into the indention of the altar and closed his eyes as he started to chant in some ancient language Josh had never heard. Into the room entered Devon, Blake, Anton, Dean, and Rowan. Dean and Rowan were in their wolf form and Devon, Blake, and Anton edged towards Dominic. All the while Dimitri kept chanting, but faster now.
 
The altar was glowing. It started from the stone and edged out from there into a starburst of purple and blue, getting stronger with each word of the chant. Darby, Sally, and Alyssa were next to arrive and set out immediately to stop his chant. Alyssa started first and the other two fell in behind her, holding hands as Alyssa chanted, adding their power to hers as they walked closer to the Dimitri.
 

My gypsy blood it does empower

Pulses through me and gives me power

This spell he casts, must not be heard

Silence each and every word.

Dimitri kept speaking but nothing was coming out of his mouth. The glow of the stone grew weaker.
 
He grasped at his throat as if something was there preventing his voice to sound, but when he couldn't find anything he cast his sights on the three girls facing him.
 
The hate in his face was uglier than anything Alyssa had ever seen. She gasped. Behind them she heard Dean growling and Rowan scratching at the floor.
 

Sally and Darby knew what would come next and it wouldn't be pretty. Darby held tight onto Alyssa's hand and drew her gaze to that of Dimitri's. From her eyes emanated a light so bright and white that it blinded Alyssa, at first, but once she blinked a few times, she saw the same thing happening to Sally's eyes, although her light was more of a yellow-green color. A crack of electricity snapped around them. Alyssa could feel the magic all around her. The three of them were in a bubble. Darby said to her, “We need your help. Vampires are very strong especially older ones, concentrate on our bubble and add your power if you can.” Alyssa concentrated as she had been asked and added her power to the bubble, making it glow a tiny bit orange.

Darby screamed at Josh to get out and meet Mark at the end of the tunnel. The others gave him space to escape behind them. As Josh ran out of the room, Dimitri was livid and he lunged towards the girls, hitting the bubble like a brick wall. He bounced back hitting one of his minion vampires from behind which lurched the other vampire forward.
 
Though it was not Dimitri’s intention, that was when the fighting started - a blur of teeth and claws, both vampire and werewolf, in a chaos of growling and hissing, grunts of pain, and snapping bones.
 

The girls took this opportunity with Dimitri being away from the altar to come forward, engulfing the altar into their bubble, while their loved ones fought for their lives. It was time to destroy the stone that lay in the altar in the very indentation from which it had been carved.
 
As the girls neared the bloodstone heart, it changed color from purple to red and it pulsed as if it were a real heart. Dimitri screamed and fought to get into the bubble, but it was too strong. Seeing Dimitri trying to get to the girls, Dean quickly spun himself and Dimitri into the heat of the fight with the others.
 

The girls began and as if the stone knew what was about to happen, it pulsed even brighter at their chant.

Ancient relic - heart of stone

Made of love by the witches Crone.

For greed, evil and power, dark vampires did so take

To consume and enslave all humans, murder is their wake.

But the stone is stronger when around those of good.

Ultimately it will protect them, as it knows it should.

We call to you Crone, Maker of this token

To protect mankind from evil the heart now must be broken

Help us now to shatter it into a thousand pieces

Dust to dust and ash to ash, but its love never ceases.

With each line spoken, the light coming from the stone grew brighter and brighter. As the last line was spoken, the whole altar was illuminated and it rumbled and shuddered. Suddenly as if erupting, it burst into a billion sparkling red and gold pieces like a July 4th fireworks grand finale. It was beautiful, but loud.
 
The shock of the explosion blew through the bubble and into the rest of the room.
 
As it passed, each of the girls felt something astonishing and unexpected.
 
Comforting warmth enveloped them and glowed within them and then dispersed, leaving a glittery glow on their skin for a few short seconds, and when they turned to the fighting behind them, the shockwave of the explosion was moving in what seemed like slow motion.
 
As it passed through the fighting vampires and werewolves, it blew Dimitri and his men to the outer walls of the room and then, like the altar, they exploded into black dust floating slowly to the ground. The shockwave passed through Anton, Dean, Rowan, Blake, Dominic, and Devon as it had the girls. The girls watched as the comforting warmth they had felt was now in their friends and loved ones.
 
They knew what they were feeling and smiled as the glow exuded to their outsides. They all looked around stunned.
 

The stone had protected them all, taking with it the danger that had been fighting them for their lives. Like a flash of lightning, it was over and they stood looking at each other astonished at the power of the stone.

Josh came shooting out of the tunnel like a rocket to find Mark standing guard with two vampires grounded by his little crossbow. Obviously he had startled Mark, since the crossbow was now aimed at Josh.
 

"Holy crap, you scared me," Mark said lowering the crossbow. "Everything okay?"

"No. We have to find Lanie."

"She wasn't in there? That would have been too easy," Mark said sarcastically. "Where to?"

"I don't know! Dimitri just said she was tied up and up to her eyeballs in water about now."

"Well, that doesn't seem good."

"No. I just don't know where to even start looking."

"Can you try that projection thing?"

"I guess. I've never tried to do it when I was wide awake and this stressed out."

"It's worth a try. Can't you focus on her frequency like you did when you linked us?"

"But I can't read Lanie, never could. As far as I know, no one else can either."

"Again...that's not good."

Josh sent his thoughts to Devon, Blake, and Anton -
Can you get anything from Dimitri or his men on where they have Lanie?

Devon was the first to answer,
No. I've got nothing, but that's not really my forte.

Anton replied,
All I can get is that he's awful pleased with how he did it and something about water.

Josh added,
Yes. He told me that she was tied up and made some comment about how she was probably up to her eyeballs in water about now.

Blake blurted out,
A boat - she's tied in a boat - a boat taking on water, but I can't see where.

If you get anymore from him, let me know
, said Josh.

I will
, Blake answered.

Josh said to Mark, "She's tied inside a sinking boat."

"Where?"

"I don't know, but it’s a start. Come on."

He ran to the boat tied to the dock and jumped in, starting the motor. "What's the plan?" Mark asked as he untied the boat and they started to pull away from the dock.

"I guess we circle the island looking for sinking boats unless you have another idea?"

"Not a one."

They headed east going slow as they paralleled the shore. The south side of the island was lined with docks to accommodate the tourists on ferryboats visiting the castle. They carefully perused that area, looking under and around the docks, even for ropes going nowhere in case the boat had sunk.