A Shield of Glass (A Shade of Vampire #49)(70)

The Druids stilled, fierce shadows darkening their expressions.

“You know about our friends?” Dain asked.

“I do,” Draven replied. “And I also know you will stop at nothing to get them back in one piece. They’re under Azazel’s control now, forced to slither around as Destroyers, but they can be cured if we defeat him. Like you, they deserve to live in a kind and peaceful world, not this boiling pot of darkness and poison, and you know it.”

“We’re rusty,” Ori said. “And we’d barely made it to the Twentieth Circle when Destroyers raided the Grand Temple. We don’t know enough to be effective in a fight against Azazel. He was a Master Druid, after all…”

“We have all the knowledge and spells you need.” I gave them a reassuring wink. “We secured the Druid archives, and we have swamp witch magic on our side as well. We’ve got you covered.”

Another minute passed, during which they looked at each other. I recognized both glimmers of hope and jolts of fear in their eyes. In the end, when they glanced back at us, there was determination settling in among them.

“We don’t even know what’s been happening since we landed here,” Ori replied.

“Oh, we’ll fill you in on the way there.” I smiled.

They inched forward, one by one. Curiosity and the desire to destroy Azazel seemed stronger than their defenses. They’d been here for so long, I couldn’t blame them for desperately wanting to get out.

They looked at each other and nodded firmly.

“That creep ruined our lives. When do we leave?” Dain asked, his chin high.

I couldn’t help but feel relieved. Ecstatic, even. It had taken less than I’d expected to persuade them to join the alliance. Draven had made a good point of it the day before, when he’d said that young Druids are naturally full of energy—the best example he could think of was himself. They weren’t calm and composed and patient enough to settle into a home. Most importantly, they understood that their so-called safety wouldn’t last for much longer.

It was only a matter of time before Azazel’s forces came crashing down on them. Draven had given them all the arguments they needed to react, to stand up and join the fight. They probably would’ve come out fighting sooner, if someone had reached out to them. They’d been left to rot in the desert, with years of energy and hatred toward Azazel simmering beneath the surface. No wonder they were so revitalized once they heard about the alliance. They were itching for a fight about as much as we were, if not more.

Draven took my hand, sending warm pulses through my body. I felt his energy, his determination, and his eagerness to take the Druids home to Antara and bring the fight to Azazel. His mind burned with the many ways in which this could go down.

We both felt the same way—no matter what happened, we would fight together and take that monster down. The world depended on us.

We were on to something very good here.





Aida





A few hours passed, and I’d done my share of physical training in the grand hall, tossing Jovi around a couple of times before he knocked me off my feet. I washed the soreness off with a cold shower and decided to reach out to Vita again.

They were most likely out of Luceria by now.

I sat on the bed and tuned everything out. My projections worked better each time, as I’d finally learned to attune my own body to the universe, and pluck at the connection between us Oracles. I caught the invisible thread of Vita’s heartbeat and allowed the darkness around me to dissipate.

The clearer the image before me became, the colder my blood froze in my veins.

Dread took over, and my heart jumped into my throat, refusing to back down.

I was standing on the dreaded top platform of Luceria, where Azazel kept his Oracles.

Abrille and the other two were just where I’d left them, but a fourth glass sphere had been given an occupant. Vita was suspended in the clear liquid, slowly peeling her eyes open, her gaze finding mine.

“Oh, no, Vita…” My voice trembled, and the tears came up so fast I nearly choked on them. “What… What happened?”

Her eyes widened as she became aware of her surroundings. She called out my name—I could see it on her moving lips, but only a muffled noise came out from beneath the glass.

A loud bang startled me.

I looked around, but saw nothing that could have caused the sound. The platform was clear and the jungles silent around Luceria.

Another bang.

This time I understood it was coming from the physical world, where I’d left my body, in Stonewall.

Vita and I looked at each other, horror draining the color from our faces.

I wanted to stay there and see what had led to her entrapment, but a third bang ripped me back into consciousness.

“Vita, no!” I cried out.

I felt myself unravel, sucked back into my own flesh.





Aida





A fourth bang on the door made me shudder as I jumped out of bed. A fifth one followed, as the sound of footsteps rumbled out in the hallway.

“What the hell?” I growled, furious that I’d been torn out of my connection with Vita. She was trapped in a glass bubble, and there’d been no sign of Bijarki or Patrik anywhere. My mind instinctively assumed the worst, and my stomach tightened.