Page 26 of Voyage of Fury and Fate

“You can’t come with me.” I look around the room. “None of you can. I don’t need to be dropped off like a child at daycare. I have to do this on my own.”

“I’m coming,” Thorne interrupts.

I turn toward the man I’ve loved for three centuries. “I love you and will always love you, but you can’t come with me either. If she senses another vampire, it could destroy any chance we have of saving them.”

Thorne turns away from me and punches a fist-sized hole through the drywall. “Shit!” he shouts.

“Elsie, I told you I sense something inside of you. I know what it is.” Amelia moves in front of me. “Your strength. Your power lies in your heart and courage. Use it to your advantage.” She pulls me into a hug.

Luna lines up behind her, copying her movements. “Take some of my blood before you go.” She hands me a water bottle full of red liquid. “You’ll need your strength.” Before I realize it, everyone, even Fynn, has formed a line, coming in for hugs.

“Thank you, everyone.” I turn toward Thorne, who’s standing against the wall with a solemn look. “Take care of him,” I ask Amelia. She nods at my words. “Don’t let him do something stupid.”

Without another word, I move to the front steps and the road at vampire speed, stopping at the mailboxto take one last look at the house that holds the only friends I’ve ever had. I turn, running into the hard chest of my captain.

Without speaking, he pulls me into his arms, holding me tight to his chest. “Check in with me every hour through this.” He points at my head. “If I don’t hear from you, I will kill every last one of them.”

I nod with a silent promise. Thorne is strong but not strong enough to kill a horde of immortal children. “I will.”

I turn, leaving the man I love alone on the street, fighting the tears threatening to fall. I continue moving faster than the human eye can track, following the coordinates Micah dropped to my phone. I have to stop several times while the GPS catches up with my speed. Less than thirty minutes later, I’m standing in front of an abandoned building that matches the address.What the hell?In front of me is a once beautiful wooden structure with a tall steeple and two columns on the front—a church. It’s nestled between several live oak trees covered in Spanish moss that dwarf the dilapidated remains. There’s no turning back now. Everyone in that building knows there’s a vampire outside.

“I’m here,”I send to Thorne through our connection.

“Be safe,”he repeats his words from earlier.

I step up on the porch and take a silent breath. “Hello?”

Seagulls caw in the distance, answering my greeting.

The door is slightly ajar, seemingly welcoming me inside. The moment I touch the doorknob, the overwhelming energy of a vampire fills me from head to toe. Whoever or whatever is here is strong. “Hello?” I call again.

I push the door open to a large room. Long wooden pews are still lined up in perfect order as I work my way closer to the front. A large stained glass window colors the room in bright pink and blue hues as the sun lines up perfectly, casting a colorful glow into the room. In any other situation, this room would be beautiful. In this one, it’s terrifying.

I move to the stage area in the front. An old pulpit is still standing and holds several pieces of yellowed sheet music that look to have been torn from an old hymnal. Soft movement behind me grabs my attention. I turn, seeing something from nightmares.

“Hello?” a young boy greets me. He’s standing in the doorway that leads to another part of the church. “Who are you?”

The dark suit and tie he’s wearing accentuate his pale skin perfectly. His dark hair is perfectly combed, and a drop of blood covers the bottom portion of his lip.

“Elsie,” I answer. “Who are you?”

“Alexander.” He sniffs the air in front of him. “What are you?”

“I’m a woman.”

“I know what a woman is. You smell like Mother.”

“Whereisyour mother, Alexander?”

He moves closer, bringing the hair on my arms to attention. “I asked you a question.” His accent has a hint of another time.

“I’m the same thing as you,” I answer truthfully.

“What do you want?” he asks, moving closer still.

“I would like to meet your mother.”

He cocks his head, reminding me of a dog at the sound of a squeaky toy. “Why?”

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