A Shield of Glass (A Shade of Vampire #49)(50)

“I’m perfectly fine with that,” he finally said, his voice lighter than usual. “Your assistance will be much appreciated.”

“And needed,” I chimed in, giving Aida and Phoenix a half-smile. I’d hug them later.

The allies all muttered and nodded their agreement.

“We’ll start planning our positions around Luceria then,” Tamara said, glancing at the others.

“Indeed,” Wren added. “We’ll have to agree on who goes where and make sure we cover all angles. That is a big and nasty castle.”

“I have a question.” Zeriel lifted two fingers in the air, looking like the kid at the back of the class who’d been waiting to ask the teacher a silly question.

We all waited for him to go on.

“What happens if we kill Azazel, then?”

“You mean after we kill Azazel.” Jax sneered at him.

“Well, okay, you go ahead and be optimistic.” Zeriel rolled his eyes and mockingly shook his head, prompting Jax to give him a painful nudge in his side. “Ouch! Okay, fine! What happens after we kill Azazel? Has anyone thought about this?”

A moment passed before Draven spoke, running his fingers through his hair.

“After Azazel is vanquished and Calliope is reconquered, the other planets will fall back into place. Once Asherak’s curse is dispelled, the head will fall and the body will flounder,” he said. “We’ll regain access to the passage doors and the other planets. We will take the cities back from whatever opposition we encounter. They will be weak without Azazel anyway or, even better, they’ll recover their Druid form and spare us the trouble of more fighting. After that, we will rebuild Eritopia, brick by brick.”

“Best to leave this part of the conversation for later,” Hansa said. “Let’s get the snake first.”

We all agreed.

Draven then reached beneath the table for a small blade and a porcelain bowl, in which he’d prepared herbs and crystal powders I hadn’t seen before. He placed the bowl on top of the map and looked at us.

“I found an interesting spell while I was looking through the Druid archives,” he said. “A blood oath that forms an unbreakable connection between the members of a group. Up until now we’ve been using something similar but less potent from the swamp witches’ book, to communicate.”

“It’s a telepathy spell, then?” I asked.

“Not exactly, and yet yes, it is.” He smiled. “It’s ancient Druid magic, rather primitive for that matter, but extremely powerful. It establishes a link between individuals’ souls. It will enable us to be aware of each other’s whereabouts at all times, and reach out without any additional spell-casting. It only uses one word. Telluris.”

“Telluris?” Tamara raised an eyebrow.

“Why does that sound familiar?” Phoenix frowned, trying to remember where he’d heard it before.

“You’ve probably seen it on the notes taken from your skin during visions,” Draven explained. “It’s an ancient runic word for ‘allies’. I will need to draw blood from everyone here in order to perform the spell. I call it a blood oath because it requires absolute trust. Should any of us think of betrayal, the others will know. After all we’ve been through with Sverik, I’m sure you all understand.”

The allies looked at each other. One by one, they reached one hand out with the palm up, waiting for Draven to make a small incision and squeeze a few drops of blood into the bowl. He went around the table and got a sample from each of us. He stopped in front of me, his gray eyes dark and hooded.

“It’ll only hurt a little,” he whispered.

“It’s okay.” I gave him a warm smile and put my hand out. I flinched when the blade cut through my skin, but instantly relaxed when his fingers pressed on both sides of the incision and dripped blood into the bowl. His touch had that effect on me. His gaze softened as we looked at each other for half a minute, before he continued preparing the spell.

He dripped his own blood into the bowl before setting the concoction on fire. A bright red flame burst out, and he placed his hand above it.

“Telluris!” he intoned as his eyes glowed red, and a golden light burst outwards from the bowl and washed over us.

I gasped as I felt my whole body catch fire, and looked at my hands and wrists. My veins flickered in an incandescent amber for a split second before I felt my soul bombarded with the presence of others. It was difficult to describe the sensation, but I could tell from the looks on the allies’ faces that they were experiencing the same thing.

We looked at each other for a while, feeling truly connected. I’d been able to get a sense of their emotions before, but they were clearer and louder in my head now. Our souls were truly connected. The blood pact had been made.

“This will protect and uphold the alliance,” Draven said, his eyes flickering black as he adjusted his own body to the connection. “We kick off tomorrow morning. Serena and I will sail to Marton, while the rest of you are to prepare and travel to your agreed upon locations around Luceria and wait for our signal. The same goes for you, Inon.”

The Deargh looked up at Draven, but said nothing.

“I will let you know when to take the volcanoes down,” he added. “Now that we are connected, all I have to do is say the word ‘Telluris’ followed by your name, and I will be able to speak to you directly. The same goes for everyone else here. That is how the spell works.”