Prophecy: Child of Light (Vampires Realm Series Book 1) (Reading Sample) - Felicity Heaton (novels to read for beginners .TXT) 📗

“Whenever your heart fears.”

“My heart fears? Fears what?” She frowned, not understanding what they were saying. She wished they would tell her straight, not confuse her mind with their riddles.

“We do not know.” The first one picked up the box.

“Your blood is pure.”

“Powerful.”

She kept her eyes on the box as the witches carried it over to her and then peered inside when the youngest one opened it. There was some kind of jewellery sitting nestled in amongst the plush purple velvet lining.

“The key?” She looked up at them and they all nodded. “This is the key to the prophecy? How will this help us translate it?”

They smiled.

“It will unlock what it is supposed to unlock.” The tall witch moved the box closer to her.

“It is a key.” The short one picked up the object.

“A key you must wear.” The youngest one held her hand out.

Prophecy wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do so she just looked up at them, hoping they’d give her more information.

“Which hand is strongest?”

“Which do you write with?”

“Fight with?”

She held up her left hand and they smiled again.

“Perfect,” the tall one said.

“Wear the amulet on your right.” The short witch took her hand and slipped each ring onto her fingers before shutting the clasp around her wrist.

“Like your mother.” The youngest witch smiled broadly.

“My mother? You keep mentioning my mother. Did you know her? Am I like her as you said before?” She looked at the amulet they had placed on her. “Has she worn this?”

“It was hers to keep.”

“To protect.”

“Until death.”

She swallowed hard. “She’s dead then. That’s what you’re telling me. My mother is dead?”

They nodded. She stared at the amulet. A ring fitted on each of her fingers and her thumb. There were strange silvery twisted threads of what might have been metal running from each one. On the back of her hand, they joined and formed an intricate star before attaching to the solid bracelet around her wrist. On her palm, all the threads met to support a dark purple stone. It shone in the icy blue light, and when she looked closely, she swore she could see movement in its clear depths. She flipped her hand over. It was exactly opposite the star. She remembered the night she’d been here last and the marks the witches had been drawing. All stars.

She looked up at them and was about to open her mouth to ask more questions about her mother when they spoke.

“You have memories locked inside,” the tall witch said and she remembered what Valentine had said about her memories and Arkalus.

“They will give you answers.”

“They’ll find their way out in time.”

“How do I use this? What does it do?” She held her hand up.

The tall witch looked at the other two and they both nodded several times. She got the feeling they were talking to each other without speaking again and she wondered what it was about. Her question had been a simple one, or so she’d thought.

The tall witch gave her a sinister smile that sent a shudder up her spine.

“It is time you learnt your true power.”

* * * *

Prophecy stared at the amulet as she walked. Her fingers still hummed and her whole body was buzzing. She couldn’t believe the things the witches had told her. She’d had a mother. She’d had a powerful, brave mother.

She lowered her hand when she heard a noise and then thought nothing of it when it didn’t come again. She continued along the dark streets, heading back towards the hotel. The sky was clouding over. Small streaks swept across the moon, glowing silver-grey as they passed it. She’d lost track of time when she was with the witches and couldn’t tell how late it was. The sky was still pitch black and the lights were still lit on the Eiffel Tower and other landmark buildings. There weren’t many people around though. She’d only seen a couple since leaving the witches.

The witches had told her to be careful.

She decided that she wouldn’t have felt so jumpy if they hadn’t said that.

She walked out of a small road and into a large square. It was dimly lit and the moon had disappeared completely behind cloud, leaving the world in darkness. She sharpened her senses so she would be able to pick up on anything out of the ordinary. She considered changing into her vampire guise so she could see better and then decided against it. There were still people around and she didn’t need to add any other crimes to her already growing list.

She frowned when she sensed something and looked around her at all sides of the square but couldn’t see anything in the shadows. Walking faster, she kept her eyes fixed on the road that would lead to the hotel, and sharpened her senses. Her imagination conjured images of werewolves and vampire hunters. It wasn’t far to the hotel. She could make it.

Something moved again. It was stronger now, which could only mean it was closer.

She jumped when a cat ran across her path.

“Stupid kitty.” She watched it go and tried to relax. That’s all it had been. Just a cat.

She froze.

Instinct forced her to change as her senses screamed of danger.

She turned on the spot and stared at the man standing not fifteen foot from her. His face was hidden in shadow, his scraggly hair hanging to below his jaw blocking the light. She sized him up, assessing the situation and all possible outcomes. He wasn’t of a broad build like Arkalus, or tall like Valentine. He seemed average in every way. Her instincts told her not to underestimate him when he moved forwards into a more brightly lit section of the square and she saw his face.

There was hardness in his eyes, and a sparkle of wisdom and calmness that set her nerves on edge.

“So you’re a Caelestis,” he said in a deep voice that made her stomach flip.

He knew what she was. He knew the bloodlines. He wasn’t a vampire; he was human. A hunter.

Her mind raced and she considered whether this was the hunter that Valentine had spoken of. She wished he were here with her. She couldn’t fight a hunter alone. She’d never met one before and she didn’t know what to do. If Valentine had never been able to kill this one, then how could she?

She backed off a step, wanting to place some distance between them and hoping she could get closer to the alley that led out of the square. She had been stupid to walk straight across it when she couldn’t see into the shadows. She should have walked around the perimeter, keeping to the shadows herself.

The hunter moved with her and her eyes were drawn to his hands. He had a weapon. She flexed her fingers, trying to focus but finding it impossible when the hunter raised the crossbow and pointed it at her.

“Why don’t you fight?” he asked with a frown.

She glanced at the alley and then at him.

“There’s no escape. I hadn’t realised that you were a Caelestis. I thought you’d be an Aurorea too.”

It was him. He was the one who had followed them when they’d first arrived in Paris. What did she do? It was obvious he wasn’t going to let her go, not without a fight first. She didn’t want to fight him. There was something about him that made a part of her not want to hurt him. He was familiar somehow.

She looked at the alley again.

“Not going to fight me then?”

She shook her head, wanting to run but finding her feet didn’t want to cooperate while he had the crossbow trained on her. She flexed her fingers again and he looked down at her hand, frowning at it and cocking his head to one side as he did so. When he lowered the crossbow a fraction, she bolted for the alley.

She had made it out of the other side when she felt something impact in her shoulder. She didn’t stop running as the pain erupted and every vein in her body felt as though it was filling with ice cold liquid.

She stumbled and fell, landing hard on her knees and left hand as she tried to stop herself from damaging the stone in the amulet she wore. Her head ached and spun, the world spinning with it as her mouth turned dry. She swallowed repeatedly but it had no effect. Pushing herself up onto her feet, she clutched at her head as it swam and her stomach turned, making her feel like throwing up. She cringed as the points on her shoulders, stomach and chest began to burn and the ice in her veins was replaced with a fire.

When she moved her arm, she felt the dart in her shoulder and reached over, trying to grab hold of it but failing.

She was hot, too hot.

She wiped her brow with her hand, stunned to find sweat coating her palm as she brought it away. She turned around, her eyes shifting in and out of focus as she tried to see if the hunter was nearby. Her senses were off the scale, as though a million people were surrounding her but not at the same time. She couldn’t concentrate on anything but the intense pain that ebbed and flowed through her.

She had to get to Valentine. He’d know what to do.

Pushing onwards, she clung to the walls of the buildings as she made her way back to the hotel at a painstakingly slow pace. Everything was getting darker, as though a black film was coating her vision and was getting worse as time drew on. She was barely conscious and had to force herself to keep her eyes open and keep moving. Her limbs were heavy as she approached the turning that led to the hotel. She felt numb, cold and hot at the same time. She reached again for the dart she could feel in her back and then pressed herself into the wall. She rubbed her back against it, gritting her teeth and crying out in pain when it didn’t shift the dart. It just hurt.

She looked up to see the hotel sign and forced herself to keep heading towards it. She stumbled through the lobby, ignoring the calls of the concierge and staff when they saw the state she was in. She needed Valentine.

Valentine would save her.

Fumbling with the little buttons in the lift, she tried to focus on them as they swam in front of her eyes and she pressed the one that she thought corresponded to her floor. When the doors opened, she fell out into the hall and tried to stand but found she didn’t have the strength.

She was so tired, so very tired. She just wanted to sleep. She crawled along the carpet, heading for the door to their suite by following her muddled senses. She could smell Valentine. She could smell his blood. He would fix her and make the hurt go away.

Reaching the door, she clawed herself up into a standing position and pressed her hand into it. Her head spun and she barely managed to stop herself from passing out as the world around her twisted and distorted in front of her eyes.

Mustering up the strength, she managed to bang her fist down once on the door before slipping into unconsciousness.