A Call of Vampires (A Shade of Vampire #51)(45)

We gathered around him, putting our hands up. He used a small knife to draw a few droplets of blood from each of us, collecting it in a wooden bowl filled with dry herbs and black crystal powder. He topped it with his blood before he set it on fire, his eyes glowing red for a split second.

“Telluris,” Draven commanded. The contents of the bowl flared up, and a bright golden light expanded from it, washing over us.

It cut my breath short, before I relaxed and felt the spell’s effect seep into my very core. My body hummed gently on the inside, as if resonating with the others. I glanced around at our group and noticed familiar expressions—we could all feel each other’s presence, far beyond the physical realm.

“This is it?” Blaze asked, looking at his hands, as if hoping to see more of the spell’s effects than the short-lived incandescence of his veins.

“It’s a spell of absolute trust.” Draven nodded. “You’re all joined through an unbreakable bond. You will be able to sense each other wherever you are, for a few weeks, sometimes up to two months before it fades out. The bond can be broken prematurely only by death, which you will all feel if you lose one of your own.”

“I thought this was just a recon mission.” Heron grimaced. “Why are you making it sound so gloomy?”

“He’s simply explaining how the spell works,” Jax replied with a raised eyebrow directed at his younger brother. “You’re the one making a drama out of it.”

“Am not,” Heron scoffed, and Jax stifled a smirk.

Viola came to us with a piece of black chalk in her hand. Draven took a few steps back, motioning us to stay together.

“You’re all connected to me now, too,” he said, moving farther away, while Viola drew a circle around us. “I will be able to reach out to you by calling out your names after saying ‘Telluris’. You will be able to do the same, regardless the distance between us. Remember that. I only ask that you notify us of your safe arrival once you land on Neraka, and that you check in every six hours.”

“Unless it’s an emergency,” Aida added, coming over to Draven’s side. “Then reach out, no matter what, obviously.”

We all nodded, watching curiously as Viola drew symbols around the black chalk circle, while Phoenix got involved and placed bundles of crystal powders and dark red herbs at the center of each drawing. My pulse accelerated as I mentally prepared myself for the actual travel to Neraka.

Rewa moved from the Mara wards flanking us and came between us. Jax instinctively stiffened, his features harsh and a muscle thumping in his jaw. The Exiled Mara’s jade eyes were wide and innocent, and I somehow felt that Jax’s behavior toward her was a little too much. Whatever her forefathers had done, she shouldn’t be blamed or treated poorly over it.

“The swamp witches devised a spell that summoned pure energy from the atmosphere,” Viola explained as she added more symbols around the circle, making it look like a very strange but beautiful chalk mandala, with repetitive swirls and geometric elements spreading outward. “All these symbols are catalysts and conductors, designed together to harness this energy and use it to take those inside the circle from one place to another. All I need now is a physical object from your destination.”

Rewa nodded and handed all the red beads over to the Daughter of Eritopia.

“One is enough. You can keep the rest for later,” Rewa said softly.

“The beautiful part about swamp witch magic,” Viola continued, taking the beads and putting them in her pocket. She kept just one between her fingers, glancing at it for a second, “is that anyone with the right formula and words can practice it. Patrik, for example, has been an excellent student, and will be able to perform the return spell after your mission is done. He has everything he needs for it.”

We looked at Patrik, and he gave us a reassuring nod, crossing his arms over his chest. He wasn’t one for onesie battle suits, and had opted for dark blue pants and vest, white shirt, and knee-high leather boots that looked just as good on him. His height, curly black hair, sharp lines, and piercing blue eyes worked well with pretty much anything, anyway. No wonder Scarlett had a hard time looking away from him—the guy was sizzling.

“Now, it’s time for you all to go to Neraka,” Sofia said, coming closer, followed by Derek and the others. They all came around, a beautiful and heartwarming display of hopeful, concerned, and excited expressions, as Viola muttered the spell under her breath.

“Good luck out there.” Field gave us an encouraging nod.

“And make us proud.” Derek winked, making me grin.

Once Viola had finished the first part of the incantation, she dipped the marble in a thick black liquid, then set it on fire. She placed it in the middle of a powder and herb bundle, then stepped back, her lips constantly moving as she watched the spell progress.

Thankfully, the dragons of The Shade had grown lax over the years about their archaic rule of never allowing themselves to be transported by magic—it had become too impractical for missions to have them flying everywhere on their own, even if their speed was supernatural, and the dragons had finally come to accept it. If they hadn’t, Blaze wouldn’t have been able to accompany us now.

The powder and herb bundle lit up, and then the flaming bundle moved all on its own, tracing every line drawn with black chalk until it reached the next bundle. It burned through it, then continued its flaming roll through the swamp witch mandala, until the entire spell design flared up, glowing white and brighter with each moment.