Vanquished. Part 6

"And each one of you-of us-must be as strong as we can be. I have been casting magicks since your graduation, and I believe I can create more doses of the Hunter's elixir. Enough for all of you hunters."

"Too right!" Jamie shouted.

When he hadn't received the elixir, he'd nearly packed it in and left. But to have a second crack at it . . . his faith in miracles was restored.

Holgar grunted. "Hunter elixir on top of werewolf strength? That would make me hard to beat."

"The same is true for Antonio," Father Juan said. "Which is why we must be sure of him."

"You said you could only make the one dose," Jenn cautiously reminded the good father. "Because of the ingredients. And all your other supplies were burned up in the fire."

Father Juan nodded at Jenn. "It's true that my things were destroyed. Including the single most important ingredient: the petals of a rose that grew in the garden at Salamanca-a rose called las Lagrimas de Cristo, the Tears of Christ. It took two years of cultivating the rosebush to harvest enough petals for one dose. But I've had word that a similar flower grows along the French and Spanish border, in the maquis."

"I was changed into a vampire in the maquis," Antonio said, his voice subdued. "I know the terrain. I should go with you, Father."

"No," Father Juan said. "You need to go to Romania. And I want Jenn to go with you. And as backup, Jamie."

"Holgar can be backup," Jamie insisted. "I'm looking for Skye."

"My son," Father Juan began, "let's think this through. We've no way to get in touch with Skye. I tried to reach the Circuit to ask them for news, but they're not responding. We need more information-"

"d.a.m.n it to h.e.l.l!" Jamie shouted. "We need to track her down."

"I'll go with you to get the rose," Esther told Father Juan.

"No," Jenn's ma protested, but Esther patted her hand.

"Yes, dear," Esther murmured. "We all have to do our part. You look after Sade."

Yeah, so much for that one helping out. Sade was a freak and a wreck.

Father Juan seemed to catch the old woman's determined expression, and dipped his head. "Thank you, Esther. Accepted."

"Can you . . . can you use this elixir to change Heather back?" Jenn's mom asked, her voice small and agonized. She slid a glance toward Antonio. "Though I suppose you'd have already done that. Unless he likes being a vampire."

Antonio frowned, clearly offended. But Jamie thought what she said held some truth. Immortality, superstrength-lots of men would trade their souls for that.

Father Juan looked at the others. "Jamie, you may go look for Skye." He picked up the gym bag and unzipped it, retrieving a rectangular white crystal.

"This scrying stone may alert you when you're closing in on her. The range is approximately twenty miles."

"Finally," Jamie said, grabbing it. He'd been wondering how, with all his magicks, the priest hadn't offered anything in the search for Skye. It was about time.

"Then I should be the one-," Holgar began, but Father Juan shook his head.

"There will be werewolves after you, Holgar. You will also go to Romania. You have a better chance of fighting them off with Antonio and Jenn than you would alone, distracted by so personal a mission."

Now it was Holgar's turn to sigh. Jamie reveled in Holgar's defeat.

"When did you make this stone?" Jamie asked. "How long have you planned to give me leave to find her?"

Father Juan's only answer was a philosophical shrug. "There are billions of square miles on the planet, Jamie. That will only work when you're within twenty miles of her."

"It's a start," Jamie insisted.

Father Juan gave Jamie a measured look, then turned to Jenn and Antonio. "You two and I have something to discuss before we part." And then he said to Jenn's grandmother, "Senora Esther, please go into the next room and tell Father Sebastian that we accept the offer of the Brotherhood of Saint Andrew, and that Antonio de la Cruz will travel in the company of Jennifer Leitner and Holgar Vibbard."

"Yes, Juan," Esther said. Jamie liked her. He remembered how well she had run her camp in Montana. She was worth twenty of Jenn any day.

Sade was starting to rock back and forth.

"Who's looking for Heather? Why didn't you make a-a stone for her?" Mrs. Leitner cried.

"We'll find her, Mom," Jenn said. "You have to trust Father Juan. And-and me." Her voice was tight and anxious. But she didn't go over to hug her mother. Jamie took note, and filed that information away.

Sade wrapped her arms around Jenn's mother. Tears spilled down her cheeks, and the two held each other.

"Here are new cell phones for all of you," Father Juan continued, dipping into the bag. "I've programmed everyone's numbers, but I want you to take the time to memorize them. I've already given one to Noah."

At Noah's mention, Jenn's cheeks reddened. Jamie's eyes narrowed. Oh, she fancied him, then? Had Antonio figured that out? That would make their trip to Romania all the more interesting. Now Jamie was almost sorry he wasn't going along.

"Now, for other matters," Father Juan said to Jenn and Antonio. "Private ones."

Father Juan led Jenn and Antonio into a side chapel separate from where he had given Jenn's mom the terrible news about Heather. There was one small pew, barely big enough for two people. At the end of the pew, a statue of St. John of the Cross stood elevated above a row of flickering candles. Antonio and Father Juan dipped their fingers into a small silver font attached to the wall, bent their knees, and crossed themselves. Jenn just waited, feeling the odd person out.

"We don't have much time," Father Juan said, "and so I'll be blunt."

Jenn's chest tightened. It seemed that every time they spoke in private, there was more bad news. Reflexively, she began to reach for Antonio's hand, then stopped herself. Those days were over.

But they weren't. Antonio firmly slid his fingers around hers and squeezed. Her throat tightened, and she had to shut her eyes to keep the tears away.

She didn't squeeze back.

She expected Father Juan to start with a prayer, as he usually did. Instead he asked, "What am I going to do with the two of you?"

"Pardon?" she asked.

"Padre?" Antonio said.

"You heard me right. You spent two years at the Academia pining for each other, neither admitting your feelings. But I knew, I watched you, and every time I sent up a prayer or cast the runes, the answer was always the same."

Jenn sucked in her breath, terrified of what he would say.

"The two of you belong together." The priest laced his fingers together in demonstration. "Spirit. Mind. Body."

Jenn was shocked. And strangely hopeful. Happy. And then dizzy with fear. Antonio was a vampire, and nearly a priest.

She felt Antonio move beside her, leaning toward Father Juan. He let go of her, and she tried to fold her hands quietly in her lap. Instead she clenched them, determined not to lose her composure.

"But I'm a Cursed One," Antonio murmured. "And I have lost my soul twice. I can't be trusted. Ever."

"But according to the runes, G.o.d trusts you," Father Juan said.

"Runes are magick," Antonio protested, "and I'm a Catholic."

"My son, look at the Bible. G.o.d doesn't choose the mightiest, the most virtuous to carry out His grand plans. He chooses the weak, the flawed, the outcast. He chooses those who are willing to do as He asks even when it seems impossible."

And this is why I don't believe, Jenn thought. Antonio was right. He couldn't be trusted. He'd turned his back on her. He believed his rampage in Las Vegas was a result of losing focus, and he'd rededicated his body, mind, and soul to the Catholic Church, which had turned its back on him.

Antonio dipped his head. "But in this case . . ."

"This is no different," Father Juan interrupted him. "We are living in terrible times, and great things will be asked of us all if we are to survive. But the greatest thing G.o.d requires of you is faith, and even more than that, love."

Jenn's throat tightened. Father Juan was practically forcing Antonio to declare that he didn't love her as much as he loved his Church. Please, Father Juan, just shut up.

Unaware of her turmoil, Father Juan laid a hand on each of their heads. "I know you think it is a fool's errand to go to Romania. But nothing He asks is foolish. Antonio, you need to overcome your vampiric urges. And Jenn, you need to find your faith. Only then can we win this war. Only then will you, too, find the love G.o.d wants for you."

Jenn didn't know which task was more impossible, finding faith or being with Antonio. Maybe it was time for her to throw the runes. Because she sure wasn't going to pray for guidance.

"You must find a way, or you will be lost. And the world will be lost too. Now go in peace."

"Peace? That's a joke, right?" Jenn asked, as the priest lifted his hands from their heads.

Beside her, Antonio crossed himself and pressed his lips against his thumb.

CHAPTER FOUR.

What is Father Juan trying to tell us? I don't understand. But I hope . . .

. . . I can't even write it down.

Because it's impossible.

-from the diary of Jenn Leitner,

retrieved from the ruins

EPPING FOREST, ENGLAND.

SKYE.

Skye had walked these forests since she was a small child, and she'd always had a sense of wonder. Now it felt like some dead, decaying thing. The trees were still green, the animal tracks in the ground fresh, but the vitality, the joy, were gone. And just beneath the surface, evil twisted and turned, growing ever stronger.

They've done this to us, the Cursed Ones, she thought bitterly. They've slaughtered humanity and poisoned the Earth herself.

Skye thought of her parents, her sister, and all her kin. They let it happen. They should have been the protectors and stewards of this world.

Tears streaked down her cheeks, unchecked. She prayed to the Lady that they might water the earth beneath her feet, returning to it that which was lost.

But they were only tears, not magick.

She balled her hands into fists, as something powerful broke loose within her. An it harm none, do what thou wilt. It was the creed of her people. She had clung to it blindly even through the most desperate nights, trying to restrict and regulate her actions accordingly.

But there were things worth fighting for, things worth dying for, and things worth killing for.

And because she had refused to kill anything but vampires, people had died. Their blood was on her hands.

"Never again," she whispered.

The wind caught at her words even as they left her lips. A warning or an affirmation?

"Never again," she said, louder.

She could feel something stirring in the woods.

"Never again!" she shouted as loud as she could. Her nails dug into her palms. She fell to her knees and fed the earth with her blood and her tears. The forest sighed around her, and the ground beneath her seemed to shudder.

"I am a daughter of the G.o.ddess, and I will defend you," she pledged to the Earth. All the fear, the uncertainty, the frustration poured out from her, and she breathed in courage, purpose, and clarity.