CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
The sun rose too soon, and Valeria felt restless. Being surrounded by friends reminded her that more than her own life was at stake. She had even been tempted to order them to stand down or sneak out by herself, but she was a sensible woman. There was no way she could hide from Asher now, nor Sera and Violet. As for Ian and Finn, they were attached to her as some kind of debt and wouldn’t go away, to Violet’s visible and vocal displeasure.
At the edge of the Lancaster estate, Valeria closed her eyes. She could feel the invisible wall in front of her. A protective spell she knew too well. It had been her primary fault; she relied on what she trusted, never questioned anything until now. But deep down she knew she was on the verge of getting answers.
Asher stood silently by her side, awaiting her next move. Part of her wanted to send him back to safety, but she knew better than to ask him. He was determined to see this through, to stay by her side no matter what. Now, if Soren was true to his word, and had lessened the High Council’s protection, they would be able to approach as close as the first safeguards. And for that, she would need Sera and Violet. They had to remain as invisible as possible, even in the rising dawn, as if detected, she feared for her mother lying helpless in her room, a potential leverage that her father could use, and it didn’t reassure her. She needed to focus if she wanted to come out of this alive.
Violet came to her side and whispered low in her ear. “The guards are retreating.”
Valeria nodded. “Guys, it’s important that you wait for Sera or Violet’s signal for each step. If we trigger one protective barrier, my father’s guards will be upon us like angry hornets.”
“We’ll follow your lead, Valeria.” Asher's voice was warm and so full of trust, it steadied her.
Pushing fear from her mind, she followed one step behind Sera and Violet at a slow but steady pace. Soon, her friends stopped, detecting a weave, a spell acting like a spider’s web. The best she could, she instructed them how to remove it. Time passed, but they were successful and continued. From the corner of her eye, she saw something shiver. As she expected, her father still did all the outer protective barriers, using secret Lancaster signs, and old symbols created by her family long ago. She started drawing symbols with her fingers to show Sera and soon the curves and lines appearing like a shimmering golden light in the air from her friend’s fingertips.
It was a tiresome exercise, but it was imperative to have the right sequence. Once she felt the sequence fit, she told Sera to let the symbols float.
Again and again, they faced traps, and each time Valeria dug into her mind to instruct her witch friends on how to take it down, until they reached the demarcation between the end of the woods and the beginning of the property. They had walked around, and were in direct line with the circle of stone behind the manor.
“Guys, this is the last gate. I just hope my own personal key still works.” And she pushed them forward. The gold started buzzing and jumped and swirled as if caught in a vortex. The invisible wall became tangible. Thousands and thousands of symbols intricately woven like a high wrought-iron gate. Then her symbols turned red and expanded, starting to beat like a heart. A swooshing sound, rhythmical.
Valeria let out a breath when the red section opened up. She nodded to the little troop and moved forward.
All on alert, Valeria took the lead. She knew that all the safeguards were placed in the forest, just at the property’s edge. As they arrived at the circle of stones, they would be relatively safe and undetected. Also, it would be the closest point to approach the manor from the woods without requiring an invisibility spell.
The woodland started to clear, and the sunlight piercing through the colorful trees created a slight mist in the forest, cloaking them even more. The air was very humid, but as they advanced, something caught her nose. When she turned to Asher, she saw him and Ian frowning, looking around, already trying to detect the smell and its location.
They stopped in an instant. Valeria wasn’t skilled enough, and it seemed that the nose of a dragon couldn’t compete with those of two wolves. Asher and Ian took the lead as the women followed, Finn bringing up the rear. As they entered the clearing, Asher and Ian stopped so suddenly, Valeria and Violet bumped into them.
“What’s going on?” As the men stayed silent, Valeria sidestepped them and cursed.
The stone circle she knew so well looked like a blood bath. No sign of corpses, but by the quantity of blood, there had to be more than one person murdered there. And by the flies, a couple of days had passed since the execution. Or ritual. It seems that her father had performed dark magic after all. Seeing the blood and the lingering magic confirmed her greatest fear. However, when she turned to the werewolves, they hadn’t moved or blinked. Valeria called their names, but they didn’t respond, and when they approached the wet stones, they all followed. Sera and Violet’s moods were questioning, but Finn’s was somber. And then it clicked in her head.
According to the ritual, a shifter had to be sacrificed. On that particular night, Valeria realized that not only one, but two werewolves died in the hands of Lionel and his sadistic plans. Robert and Ellen were gone.
On the edge of the circle, Asher fell to his hands and knees, his head bowed. Valeria didn’t need to see his face to know the extent of his heartbreak. With the new link between them, she felt his rage, despair, and sorrow as acutely as if they were her own. When his shoulders started shaking, Ian kneeled beside his Alpha, tears running down his face also. Valeria came to his other side and started stroking his back. She poured all the comfort, compassion and support she could into his heart, but knew that little could be done to ease his pain. At one moment, she sensed he was about to howl his grief, but stopped him.
“Asher, no. We’re on enemy land, you’ll give off our position, making us vulnerable. I’m sorry, my love.”
The werewolf nodded and lifted his head, sniffing the air. “After all this is done, I will need to find their bodies.”
Valeria nodded. “We’ll help you with that. They will have a proper burial at Sanctuary.”
Sitting on his haunches, he wiped his face angrily and accepted Ian’s hand to stand up. Both men hugged before turning to her.
“Let’s go.” Valeria offered him her hand. When he took it, he brought it to his mouth to kiss it.
Valeria glanced at Violet and Sera who nodded in agreement, grief also on their faces. Finn stayed a few steps back, glaring at the spilled blood in disgust. As they walked toward the edge of the woods, Valeria halted and crouched down. Something was bugging her, and she signed for all of them to gather around her, trying to keep her voice as low as possible.
“Something’s wrong.”
Sera frowned. “Magic wise? I don’t sense anything…”
Valeria shook her head. “Not that, so far, the safeguards are exactly as I expected. Too much.”
“What do you mean?”
“After two years being gone, and the High Council investigating him, I’m surprised that he didn’t add another layer on top of the old one.”
Violet nodded. “Okay. But what if he thought it was enough?”
Finn acquiesced. “I think I know where Valeria is going with this. What if he made sure that we could enter?”
Valeria sighed. It seemed that the vampire and she were in sync on this one. “Worse. On the first attack on Sanctuary, what if I wasn’t the target? What if I was the diversion?”
Everybody frowned, and she continued as the thoughts coalesced in her mind, her idea taking shape. “What if the first attack was to abduct Robert? He was a former Alpha, still strong. And as Ellen was with him, both were kidnapped for the ritual.”
Sera started to follow her train of thought. “And when you found Finn in the woods?”
“I don’t know. It didn’t feel like a setup.” And as to confirm her thoughts, she peeked at the vampire.
“I agree. It wasn’t a setup. They didn’t expect for me to be freed, and certainly not by Valeria. However, I think that they used that excuse for the second attack.”
“What?” Asher narrowed his gaze and look back at her. “The second attack was to recapture the vampire. They followed our combined scent. It was an easy guess that we would take Finn back there.”
“It was risky. A vampire at full force, surrounded by shifters. And surprise, two weredragons? And didn’t you find it strange that they retreated?”
“What else do you think they would gain by attacking us again?”
Valeria hesitated. “I think that they’ve been steering us in one direction from the start. Here. They observed us, knew we wouldn’t leave each other defenseless as we built our group. They knew I was sniffing toward my father’s implication and would confront him at some point. And here we are. All of us, together. Two-quarters of the rituals have been completed. Two still need to be done. We’re bringing him a vampire.”
Violet winced. “With all his followers, finding a witch would have been easy. And all there is left for Lancaster to find is a fae. And we’ve left two of them, within Sanctuary, not defenseless, but almost.”
Ian fished out his cell phone in his pocket and tried to connect with Sanctuary. After a few curt words confirming that all was in order back home, he asked to speak with Genevieve.
Time passed, and Valeria could feel dread clutching at her heart. When Ian’s face darkened, she had her answer.
“I spoke to Patricia. Everything is calm, nothing and nobody in sight, but Genevieve and Maya are gone.”
The silence between them was heavy with the repercussions. Sera swallowed hard. “The waning moon starts tonight. Do you think they’re inside?”
Valeria turned to admire the Lancaster manor, bathed with morning light. “If that’s the case, we’ve brought him a vampire on a platter.”
Finn growled. “I’m not sure I like the image. And I’m far from helpless.”
Violet looked at him. “It’s daylight, you’re not at full strength.”
Cold as ice, Finn frowned at the witch. “I’m not going anywhere until the one ordering my capture is dead.”
When his green eyes turned to Valeria, they softened but stayed determined. She understood his motivations. In other circumstances, she may have tried to save Lionel Lancaster, but as she was well-aware that each passing minute brought her closer to her own death, the only final goal she would focus on was to make sure all the people around her were safe.
“I suggest that we split up once inside. I’ll go for my mother with Asher. Ian and Finn, stay with Sera and Violet, they’ll be able to take care of any magic you encounter. Check the house, try to find Genevieve and Maya and get them out of there. Finn knows the layout best. Just be careful.”
Everyone agreed. Violet and Sera gestured for all of them to come closer, and as they had planned, they created an invisibility cloak for them, allowing the group to remain invisible from any possible eyes watching through the numerous windows.
Valeria prayed for them to be safe and squeezed Asher’s hand as they walked toward the greatest danger of all.