Prophecy: Child of Light (26 page)

They frightened her most of all.

His hand slipped free from hers as he stood. “You should get ready. My contact will be expecting us, and she hates it when people are late.”

Jealousy flared up inside her while she watched him leave. His contact was female. She glared at the far wall and wondered why he’d neglected to mention that earlier and then reasoned that he probably hadn’t thought it would matter that his contact was a woman. She huffed and threw the covers aside. It damn well mattered to her.

Tugging her combats on, she frowned the whole time. She slipped into a black vest top and grabbed the piece of string off her side table. Pulling her hair back, she gathered two long strands of her red hair and let them fall down the sides of her face like a fringe. She tied the rest of it back, and then put her boots on before walking into the other room.

Valentine was waiting for her. She noticed that he wasn’t wearing his jacket tonight. He was just wearing his shirt and trousers along with his boots. She gave him a black look and started towards the door.

“Prophecy,” he said. She turned to see him holding her shirt out to her. He looked at her shoulders. “It is best that you hide those from prying eyes.”

She looked at the mark on her left shoulder. He wanted her to hide the stars? Why? Was it because he didn’t want her drawing attention to them while they were out in Venice, or was it because he didn’t want his contact seeing them?

She was tempted to ignore his thinly veiled order but took the shirt instead. He would have a good reason for wanting her to cover the marks, even if it was only to stop himself from staring at them. She slipped the shirt on and held her hands out by her side.

“Better?”

He raised a brow at her irritated tone and then nodded. She brushed her hair from her face and opened the door.

“Good. Let’s go see this woman of yours.”

* * * *

V
alentine glanced across at Prophecy as they walked. He’d known she would react like she had done back at the hotel. She had a jealous streak a mile wide. He smiled, amused by the fact that he could make her jealous. He couldn’t remember ever having that effect on someone before.

She had been silent since leaving the hotel and he didn’t push her into speaking. She looked as though she was brooding while she walked beside him with her eyes locked on the ground. She couldn’t have made it more obvious that she was avoiding looking at him if she’d tried.

He led her over the wooden bridge and she raised her head, a frown marring her features. She glanced at him and when she found he was looking at her, she dropped her gaze back to the floor. He raised a brow. She wouldn’t be able to keep up the silent treatment for ever. Eventually, she would crack. He could see the questions bubbling up inside of her.

Besides, he knew she wanted to mention her previous vision of Venice and she had every reason to. After all, he was leading her along the same route it had taken her.

When they walked down the other side of the bridge, he could see the imposing church of Santa Maria della Salute lit up in the distance. It disappeared from view as they turned down one of the narrow alleys.

Prophecy sighed. She was looking at their surroundings now.

“Familiar?” he said.

She nodded, the tiniest of frowns knitting her brows.

“I thought it would be.”

When they reached the end of the promenade, he stepped up onto the wall. Her eyes widened and she moved towards him, fear written in the lines of her face.

“Valentine!”

She beckoned to him, trying to lure him away from the edge. He stepped down off the low wall and held his hand out above the water, flattening his palm as he ghosted it over thin air.

“Can’t you feel it, Prophecy?”

Prophecy frowned. There was nothing there. She couldn’t see anything but lights of the buildings across the water and couldn’t sense anything either. She watched his hand as he continued to move it like a mime feeling an invisible wall and then shook her head.

“Can you feel it now?” he said and her breath caught in her throat when he pushed his hand forwards and it disappeared.

“Valentine?” Her voice trembled as she struggled to understand what she was seeing.

He drew back and his hand reappeared.

“Don’t be scared,” he said.

Her stomach dropped. That’s exactly what the woman in her vision had said. She mustn’t be scared. She moved towards him, closing the gap and holding her hand out in front of her, waiting to see it disappear as his had. When he extended his other hand to her, she slipped hers into it and held it tightly, using the feeling of his fingers against hers to bolster her courage. He stepped up onto the low wall and then walked out onto the water. Her eyes widened in alarm when he disappeared, leaving only his hand holding onto hers. She furrowed her brows, closed her eyes and followed him. There was a rush of cold air that chilled her to the bone and an overwhelming sense of power before her foot landed on solid ground.

His strong grasp tugged her towards him and she opened her eyes to find herself staring into his. She went to speak but he forced her face into his chest as he buried his own into her neck. His arms encircled her, his hands locked against her spine. Her body ached for his touch, her mind racing to imagine the feel of his fingers against her bare flesh. Intense need filled her. She panicked at the new feelings and how strong they were. She wriggled and then stilled when his grip on her loosened. When he released her, she fixed him with a hard look and tried to gather herself.

He pointed behind her.

She looked over her shoulder to see two vampires disappearing through a shimmering blue-white portal. It must have been the way they had just come in. She watched it as it swirled and rippled, and then vanished.

She turned back to say something to Valentine but he was no longer standing next to her. She spotted him a short distance away, walking further into the strange place they had arrived in.

“Are we still in Venice?” she said and then noticed his clothing. He was no longer wearing his black shirt and trousers. He was dressed in black breeches, long boots, and a black tail coat. She frowned, completely confused by what was happening. “What...?”

He stopped, turned on the spot and smiled at her. When his eyes dropped to her body, their green depths now a smouldering flame, hers did too. She stepped back, stunned by what she was seeing and no longer surprised that he was looking at her so hungrily. He wasn’t the only one whose clothing had changed.

She was now wearing a corseted dark blood-red dress with a wide skirt. Gold beadwork decorated the velvet bodice. She stared at her modest cleavage where it had been pushed up by the corset, put on display for everyone to see. It wasn’t the only thing on display.

“Um... Valentine... I think we have a problem.”

When she raised her head, she found he was already striding towards her. She pointed at the star on her chest that was now visible to the world. He removed his jacket and held it out to her. She stared at the loose white shirt he was wearing and smiled at how clichéd he looked. She’d read all manner of stories about male vampires in frilly white shirts with tight black leather trousers and she’d laughed every time. He’d had the smouldering look only moments ago. The only thing he was missing was long hair to his shoulders and a highly charged sexual appetite.

He shook his jacket impatiently. She took it from him and slipped it on, standing in silence while he buttoned it up for her, making sure that the mark on her chest was hidden again. She wondered why he wanted to hide it. Was it something to do with the person whose power she could feel in this place?

Something told her that he didn’t wholly trust his contact.

“We are still in Venice,” he said. “The woman who created this place has cloaked it so only demons or the magically inclined can find it, and only if they’re searching for it. The change in clothes is because she likes the old world. She’s clinging to it.”

He started walking again. She followed him, absorbing the scene around them. There was a large house a short way away on their right. On their left was the canal, its waters black like tar. In the distance, she could see more buildings but she couldn’t quite make out what they were. One of them looked like a tavern but the street was lit with oil lamps that burned low, giving the place a dank and dreary look, and making it difficult to see far even with her enhanced vision.

When he came to a halt in front of the large house, she ran her eyes over it.

It seemed to loom over her. She could feel the power that had created it and it was strong. She grimaced when the stars on her skin began to itch and her fingers tingled. A sense of foreboding crept through her, making her flesh crawl and her chest tighten. She stepped backwards, away from the building. Her senses screamed at her to leave. There was something wrong about this place, something that made her magic rise up as though she needed to protect herself.

“Are you all right?” Valentine said.

She automatically shook her head, her eyes never moving from the house.

There was so much dark power, so incredibly strong. A part of her wanted to flee, but an even deeper part of her was telling her to fight.

“We have to leave,” she said.

He looked confused. “Everything will be fine. The vision told you to come here, did it not? Why would it lie to you?”

She didn’t know why. She had been shown this place for a reason, but now she felt as though they had interpreted it wrongly.

“Maybe I shouldn’t be here. Maybe I’m not supposed to meet this witch. Maybe I should be doing something else.” She knew she sounded panicked, but every instinct in her was telling her to leave.

“You are right. She is a witch. The only reason you want to leave is because everything here is created by her power and therefore we can feel it the whole time we are here. It takes people many visits to grow used to the feeling and overcome the sense of fear it instils in them. I felt the same way as you once.”

His little speech did nothing to calm her nerves, but she could see that he wasn’t going to allow her to leave like she wanted to. Maybe he was right. She was probably just overreacting. But the magic here was strong. It felt stronger than the power of the Three.

“Come. Nothing terrible will happen. I promise.” He held his hand out to one side, intimating the house.

She took a reluctant step towards it. He passed through the iron gates and walked up the steps to the door. Stopping just before the gates, she looked up at the two columns towering either side of the dark wooden door and then down at her amulet. She removed it, slipping it safely into the pocket inside her skirt. A feeling of calm washed through her when her magic lost its point of focus. She took a deep breath before starting up the steps after Valentine.

He was waiting for her by the door. When she reached it, it swung open to reveal a brightly lit reception room and a young woman. The maid smiled, bowed and let them in. Prophecy’s eyes stung as the brightness of the lights hit them. She heard the door close behind her but didn’t hear what Valentine said to the maid.

The house looked even bigger on the inside it. It was grand, with two staircases that swept up either side of the room to meet at a balcony in front of her. The walls were highly decorated with beautiful white and black marble with the occasional accent of green. She frowned at the floor. There was a mosaic. The design of it seemed familiar but she couldn’t put her finger on where she’d seen it before. It was a circle that contained a star, and within the star was a heart. There was a snake threading its way through the points of the star, and symbols that she felt she should know marked its path. She stared at it, trying to remember where she had seen something like it and hoping to decipher what it meant.

A sense of power rushed through her and she pressed her hand against her chest as the star there burned. Her head shot up. She stared at the woman who had appeared on the balcony. The woman was shrouded in darkness. It clung to her like a veil, hiding her features as Prophecy tried to see past it to catch a glimpse of her face.

Prophecy shrank back as the woman moved forwards, still hidden by shadows as though they were following her. She was about to turn to leave when she felt Valentine’s hand in hers. Latching onto it, she used the sensation of comfort it gave her to calm her unsteady nerves and soothe her.

The woman extended a bony hand and crooked a finger.

A chill ran through her.

She felt powerless to resist the command behind the single word the woman uttered.

“Come.”

P
rophecy moved forwards, her feet carrying her towards the stairs even as she tried to resist and turn away. She struggled against the power that was forcing her limbs to move of their own volition. Panic filled her, making her every vein hum with fear and her skin prickle.

“Valentine?” She could hear the desperation in her own voice, as though it wasn’t her that had spoken.

“Leave her alone, Elena.” His command seemed to break the spell.

Prophecy clung to the banister for fear of falling as control of her legs came back and they wobbled beneath her. Strong hands caught her under her arms before she could collapse into the railing.

“Got you,” he whispered into her ear. She closed her eyes, her whole being crying out over the safety those two words made her feel.

“I was just playing.” A voice drifted down from above her.

She leaned into Valentine, seeking the comfort of his arms as coldness swept through her again. He pulled her up onto her feet and turned her around to face him. Opening her eyes, she stared straight into his.

“She likes to test people’s will. Try not to let her get to you, understand?”

She nodded, unsure of whether she would be able to resist the witch but ready to try her hardest. She raised her eyes to the balcony, wanting to see her but finding it was empty.

“Ready?” Valentine said as he walked past her, heading up the stairs.

She took a deep breath and followed him up to the balcony, her sense of unease growing with each step. What kind of witch had the power to control someone? Did she have that power?