Unearthed (6 page)

“Anastasia?” Gavin asked, rushing forward. I followed on his heels, wanting more answers. “Anastasia, can you hear me?”

“She passed out.” I picked up her hand, letting it drop back to her side. She was out cold. “What do we do now?”

“Take her back to our place.”

“What? How will we get her down that hill, and past all of the villagers? They’ll be swarming us with questions.”

“They’re just going to have to get over it.” He bent down and started to scoop her up. “We’ll have to have Greta and Denise distract everyone. Can you lift her legs? I can carry her from here.”

I lifted her feet and then swung her legs up and out of the coffin, arranging her body so Gavin could lift her up and into his arms. “Be careful, Gav.”

“I will, love. Grab the Book of the Ancients. Come on, let’s get out of here. We need to wake her up and find out what the hell is going on.”

The Book of the Ancients was tucked under my arm in less than a second. We high-tailed it out of the tomb and back to the main village, both ready to collapse by the time we made it back to the house. The trek from the castle down the valley hill, although exhausting, wasn’t the worst part of the journey. Amaranthians had followed us, pestering us with questions the entire way home, and we’d managed to ignite a wave of worry from the castle all the way to the main village. Greta and Denise had shooed people away, assuring them they’d get answers soon, and had also made sure Ava was brought home safely while Gavin and I did our best to carry Anastasia into the house. We’d covered her with a sheet, doing our best to shield her face.

But it wasn’t enough.

We shut the door the moment we stepped inside, locking up and drawing the curtains to avoid the suspicious, impatient glares and hollering voices on the street.

I leaned against the door with a relieved sigh. “What do we do now?”

“We’ll make sure Ava gets something to eat and then we’ll put her to bed,” Greta offered soothingly. Gavin and I nodded our appreciation and watched quietly as she and Denise led Ava out of the living room.

Anastasia lay on the couch, still out cold but breathing softly, letting us know she was at least conscious, and not dead. “This can’t be happening,” I muttered, grumpily chucking the Book of the Ancients onto the table.

“We’ll figure this out,” Gavin said, wiping his brow with his sleeve. “Let’s hope she wakes up soon.”

“Maybe we can wake her ourselves.” I walked over to the Samira look alike to gently shake her shoulders. I waited, then shook again. Still nothing. “I’m going to warm up some soup and make some tea while we wait.”

Gavin nodded silently, his head in his hands as he ran his fingers over his hair. “Hey, Cam?” he called to me from the living room rocking chair.

“Yeah?”

“Samira must’ve known about the castle passageway, don’t you think?”

“I would guess so,” I said, stirring the pot of soup in the kitchen. “She kept your mother hidden away all those years. We know about the tower, but that passage went farther back. We didn’t finish our search.”

Gavin mumbled in agreement, leaning on his elbows and rubbing his knuckles, lost in thought. “When things settle down outside, I should head back to the castle and dig around some more. I need to find out where the entrance is in the conservatory.”

I stilled my stirring. “I don’t want you going back there alone, Gav. Who knows what else is lurking in that damn tomb.”

“Someone needs to stay here with Ava. Greta and Denise can’t stay here all night.”

“I could ask them if they wouldn’t mind.”

“I don’t know,” his voice lowered, his eyes flicking to mine, communicating something.

“We’re going to need help when this thing blows up, Gav,” I answered with a warning, letting him know I received the message loud and clear. Greta and Denise were good, dependable women—except when they let my daughter wander into secret tombs with coffins—but we couldn’t chance any rumors getting out when villagers were already in a panic over what was happening. There was no hiding what we’d found, though.

“Besides,” I continued with a whisper, “there’s no use trying to keep Greta and Denise from this. They already know everything we know, now.”

“Now, yes. But when Anastasia wakes up, we might need to keep whatever she has to say close to the chest for a while, until we figure out what to do with whatever’s happening here. We’ll ask them to leave. You can stay here with Ava and I’ll run back to the castle and see what else I can find.”

“What if Anastasia wakes up while you’re gone?”

“She might. Just see what you can find out.”

I resumed stirring the soup, moving on to the tea next. “Please be careful?”

“Of course.” He stood and walked to the kitchen, kissing me on the cheek before turning for Ava’s room, his expression still miles away. “I’ll let Greta and Denise know we’re going to take things from here.” He disappeared around the corner and I turned my gaze to Sleeping Beauty on the sofa. Her chest was still rising and falling with even, peaceful breaths.

I only hoped some of that peacefulness would stick around when she finally woke up.

6

“Camille?” Anastasia’s voice stirred me, her accent throwing me into a time warp. It was so similar to Samira’s, I could’ve sworn it was Samira herself standing there right in front of me, holding out a mug to me in offering. “Tea?”

I stretched and stifled a yawn as I sat up in the rocking chair, closing my notebook. It had been propped open on my lap. I’d tried writing after Greta, Denise, and Gavin had left. I’d had some soup and must’ve dozed off. Every human defense was on red alert as I sat up straight and accepted the tea, my tired eyes turning focused as I took a hesitant sip. My attention was drawn to the absence of long, red nails.

This was not Samira standing in front of me.

“So, are you going to tell me who you are now?”

Anastasia’s eyes darted around nervously. She sipped at her tea and carefully sat down across from me. “You were meant to find me. You and your husband. I’ve been summoned as a link to give you a message.”

“A link? So, this
does
have something to do with the original witches?”

“Yes, you could say that. I am—was—an original witch.”

“Okay…”

“Yes,” she smiled shyly, shakily setting her mug down on the table, “and I was meant to be a hybrid.”

“As in…frozen soul and witch hybrid, like Samira?”

“And like Gérard, yes.”

“Wait.” I scooted forward on the rocking chair, trying to grasp this. “There are more hybrids?”

“No, not that I know of.”

“Why do you look almost identical to Samira? Sorry,” I laughed, baffled, “but if you’re here to give us a message, you must know we have tons of questions.”

“Yes, of course.” She tucked her black hair behind her ears and began to fidget. “I’m sorry I fainted like that, but this is all just as much a shock to me as it is to you. I was murdered, you see. And being as I was, well…
dead
, you can probably understand why I’m shocked to be alive right now, sitting here, speaking to you.” She flashed me another small smile, one that obviously begged for a little sympathy.

Murdered? Awakened? Holy crap, she really was Sleeping Beauty. Well, sort of. “Yeah, I can see how that would be…difficult. Can I ask who, who killed you?” Sensitive etiquette, be damned. I had to know.

“Samira.”

My legs sent my body catapulting straight up from the chair. “Excuse me?”

“Samira, my sister. We’re twins, in case you haven’t noticed.”

It must’ve been all the blood that rushed to my head when I stood too quickly that sent me dropping back to the rocking chair seat. I landed with a thud, my hands reaching and gripping the arm rests. I gulped. “I’m sorry, can you say that again?”

Her responsive smile was offering up sympathy now, instead of requesting some. “Samira and I are twins. She—along with your friends and some others—awakened me, as a link.”

“Awakened you...from Earth?”

“Yes. They have been trying to find a way to undo Gérard’s spell, the one that keeps you all trapped here, in this realm, even after his death. Spells by original witches, no matter how strong, usually don’t have permanent power like the one he left behind did. Once a witch dies, their spells are often broken. Of course, there are always exceptions. There are all kinds of conjure loop holes. The other originals believe Gérard’s spell was cemented due to a mixture of those loop holes and the fact that he was a hybrid. We aren’t positive, but it’s a theory.”

“You’re telling me Samira and my friends back home sent you to communicate with us? And that Samira, your sister…
murdered
you?”

“They’ve been trying to reach you for years, ever since they returned to Earth. Samira and I have a long, troubled relationship. She acted out in rage.” Her head dropped, as if she was ashamed of something. “I can see what led her to her actions.”

My body surged with adrenaline and I found myself back on my feet, moving toward her. I couldn’t believe this woman was justifying what her sister had done. Samira had a twin sister, and she was communicating to us with our friends, from Earth. Audrey, Gabe, Josh, Arianna, and Gavin’s mother, Erica…all trying to reach us.

Total and complete craziness.

“Anastasia,” I began slowly, calling her gaze back to mine. “You
do
realize you’re being awfully nonchalant about your sister killing you, right?” I moved to sit next to her, swiveling my rigid body to face her. Was this woman for real?

“I know how it must sound,” she laughed dryly, giving a shrug, “but I hurt her.”

“And you believe that warrants murder? Of a family member?” I knew Samira was responsible for immeasurable bloodshed, long before her journey to the good side, but killing her own sister? That was outrageous, even for a vicious vampire queen.

“I was originally promised the Amaranthian throne, long before the realm was ever created. Gérard seduced me, telling me he’d be my king, promising me all these wonderful things. But then he went and fell in love with Samira, and I was eventually cast aside. He never looked at me the way he looked at Samira. I was just a plaything for him.”

“That sounds like Gérard,” I said quietly, feeling a shiver roll down my back. It felt so wrong, saying his name aloud, almost like if we spoke it, we’d summon him back to life. Images of Scarlet invaded my train of thought, as did the recollection of her affair with Gérard and how it had crushed Samira. The new knowledge that Samira had endured the pain of other affairs, alongside Scarlet, cut me deeply. So much loss because of one man.

One monster.

“At first, I didn’t mind,” Anastasia continued assuredly. “Honestly. I wasn’t interested in being a mistress or second best, and they seemed truly happy together. They were in love. But Gérard’s infidelity always got the best of him. There were always other women. He began to pursue me again, and I resisted for a while...”

“But you gave in.”

“He was very persuasive.” Her words sent another chill down my spine, as I recalled the raw, dangerous, sensual power he yielded with one simple word, with one small touch. It was terrifying.

“We began to have an affair, and when Samira found out, she lost control. She was convinced I was plotting to steal the throne he had promised to her, in this new realm he was planning to create. I tried telling her that he had promised me the same thing before he ever fell in love with her, but she wouldn’t listen. She was so stubborn. Eventually, she wound up pregnant, and Gérard took her away to Amaranth. But before she left, she came for me one night and took a dagger to my heart. My magic was no match for her hybrid strength. Right before I died, she leaned over and said something to me.” A heartbroken, haunted look flashed in her eyes and her breath faltered. “She said, ‘
Venom is far too kind for a thief like you.’
She took my life with a human weapon, knowing it would be more painful than a quick bite to the neck.”

Anastasia’s voice broke on a sob, and I found myself moving to hand her the mug of tea she’d set down.

“I’m so sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“When I woke in the tomb, when I felt the link, I knew I must be in Amaranth. The link showed me what she’d done. She brought me here and buried me in the tomb, wanting my body close by. That’s why I look like this,” she gestured to her flawless beauty, “because she placed some kind of spell on me, to preserve me…so she could visit my grave and remember me just as I was, any time she wanted. I saw how Gérard betrayed her, too. Her regret for taking my life over him was deep.”

I watched as the betrayal and hurt passed over her features. The sorrow was palpable. “Our friend Vivienne, she was an original,” I said. “She helped us figure out how to destroy Gérard. She never mentioned you. Did you know her? Do you know why that is?”

“Ah, yes. Vivienne.” She dropped her chin with a wry smile. “I knew of her, yes. Samira and I were never close. We led very separate lives. Wouldn’t see each other for years at a time. She never spoke of me, never even acknowledged to anyone that she had a sister, especially after I began seeing Gérard. I was dead to her. Why do you ask?”