Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
the ursuline convent
To the unsuspecting human eye, we look like a group of macabre performers heading to the nearest stage.
To the paranormal community, we’re a group of powerful beings, heading to the fight of their lives or certain death.
I understand Erick and Phillipe’s apprehension about coming to our aid.
Their lack of enthusiasm is unmistakably attributed to Harrison Chamberlin.
Honestly, it’s nice to know that my maker pisses everyone off…
not just me. I don’t know what we’re about to walk into, but my instincts tell me it’s not going to be pleasant.
We move through the familiar streets of what is quickly becoming the tourist area of New Orleans.
In the short amount of time I’ve been away, several of the older buildings that were once falling-down relics of a time past have begun receiving a well-needed makeover, covered in questionable-looking scaffolding.
Terrin stops in the middle of Chartres Street, and the rest of us follow suit.
“He’s in there,” he says, pointing at one of the most iconic buildings in New Orleans.
The white stucco building, looming over everything that happens in the city, is the former Ursuline Convent, now a boarding school for boys.
Harrison and I laugh in unison. “You can’t be serious,” he says rudely. “The convent?”
“Yes.” Terrin looks confused by Harrison’s question. “I have no reason to lie.”
“Please excuse Harrison’s rudeness.” I glare at my maker, daring him to contradict me.
“That building is the basis of many vampire stories,” I answer the unasked question.
My brain reels over the stories of the casket girls that have been passed down through the centuries. “Are you positive Cyrus is there?”
“Yes.” He pauses. “But he’s not alone.”
“Of course he’s not,” Harrison mumbles.
“Who’s with him?” Gideon asks. “Vampire or lycan?”
“Vampire. It feels like more than one, and the energy feels…old.”
I look around our small group. “Does anyone else feel anything?”
“Nothing lycan,” Stella answers. She turns toward the immortal child. “Can you hide us from whoever is inside?”
“I’ve been doing that since we left the cathedral,” he admits. “I can feel something poking at the cover, though.”
“What do you mean?” Lucien asks.
His tiny forehead wrinkles. “It feels like someone is bumping into me, but there’s no one there.”
“Callum,” Harrison announces. “He knows something is off, and he’s trying to find it.”
“Has he poked through?” Lucian asks, ignoring my maker.
Terrin shakes his head. “Not yet.”
“That gives us the element of surprise,” Gideon announces.
“Has anyone else thought about the fact that we have no plan? Or is it just me?” Simon crosses his arms across his chest in rebellion.
“Son, even if we had a plan, there’s no way we could’ve imagined this scenario or what could be waiting for us in there.” Gideon steps to the front of our group. “What is this building used for?”
“Currently, it’s a school for boys,” Harrison answers. “It’s been many things over the years, but the stories have remained the same.”
“What stories?” Simon asks.
Harrison smiles the smile that tricked me into trusting him for an innocent walk along the river.
“That is a story for another day.” He turns his attention back to the convent.
“If Callum is inside, you don’t stand a chance.
” He scoffs, pissing me off once again. “I doubt you’ll even make it through the front door. ”
“You’re an asshole,” I say louder than intended.
He bows grandly. “At your service, daughter.” I recoil at his words and turn my attention back toward the convent.
“I can get in,” Terrin says, interrupting the awkwardness that is Harrison Chamberlin.
“I won’t let you do that,” Lucien says. “That’s where I draw the line.”
Terrin moves toward the warlock. “With all due respect, Lucien, I am the one in charge. I appreciate everything you have done for me, but I am an immortal child vampire with powers that even you don’t understand. I’m going inside.” His words are final as he turns toward the building.
“Okay,” Lucien whispers in response. “I respect your choice.” The warlock lowers his head in submission. A move that makes me question Lucien Creed’s power. Or perhaps the better question is, how powerful is Terrin that Lucien backed down?
I move in front of the young boy. “If you get into something you can’t get out of, we’re one call away.”
“I know,” he says with a smile. He’s at the front door a heartbeat later. Without hesitation, he swings open the heavy door, disappearing inside.
“I don’t like this,” Lucien whispers.
“I’m inside,” his young voice sounds through my head. “No one has noticed me.”
“Terrin?” I ask.
“It’s me!” he answers with more enthusiasm than I expect.
“How are you in my head?” I think back to Harrison’s brief description of how he and I were able to communicate through our minds.
“I’ll explain that another day.”
“He’s talking to me,” I tell the group.
“How?” Harrison asks.
I shrug. “In my head. That’s all I know.” I resist the urge to roll my eyes at my maker. “He says he’s inside and no one has noticed him.”
“I’m following the energy,” he whispers. I relay the information to the group, who move closer to my side. “It’s upstairs. I’m going up.”
“What’s happening?” Simon asks. I open my eyes wide, using the universal sign for be patient.
“I think they’re in the attic,” he whispers through my mind. “The energy is growing stronger. I’m moving toward it.”
“He thinks the energy is coming from the attic. He’s heading there now.”
Lucien moves away from our group without a word. Stretching his arms out wide, he chants words that remind me of senior year Latin class. With a clap of his hands, he disappears, leaving nothing but a cloud of smoke behind. “What the hell?” Simon asks. “Did Lucien just disappear?”
“Terrin?” I whisper, ignoring my lycan friend. He doesn’t answer. “Terrin,” I call again, receiving the same nonresponse. “He’s not responding,” I tell the group.
“No answer is our answer. We have no choice,” Gideon announces. He looks between his children. “I won’t leave the boy to die alone. I’m going in. I do not expect anyone to follow.”
Stella and Simon instantly shift into giant wolves.
Gideon smiles before copying their movement and shifting into a larger-than-life wolf.
“I’m coming with you,” I answer, moving behind the lycan.
Harrison’s number one worry is himself. I don’t notice if he’s joined our group, and truthfully, I don’t care.
Instead, I follow the lycan through the front door, heading toward ancient vampires that I cannot fight.
We’re standing in the oversized foyer a heartbeat later. Just like Terrin said, there’s no one inside. It’s as if the school has been abandoned. I point at the large staircase in front of us. “He went up there.”
Our small group makes it to the second-floor landing a few steps later.
“He went toward the attic,” I whisper. The lycan are on my heels as we stop at a narrow hallway.
I turn my attention toward one end of the long hallway, searching for a hint of familiarity and finding nothing.
I do the same in the other direction and am met with the same thing… nothing. “I don’t feel him.”
“Terrin!” I call through my mind once more. “We’re trying to find you!”
“Left,” his tiny voice answers.
I don’t hesitate. I move vampire speed down the narrow hallway with the lycan directly behind.
The hall is lined with narrow doors, leading to unimportant rooms. “Stop!” Terrin says.
“They’re in there,” he says as we stop at the door near the end of the hall.
Unlike the doors that line the narrow hall, this one is older, made of thick wood, and covered with a heavy silver cross.
The moment my hand touches the door, pain shoots through my arm, traveling to my body. My knees buckle as electricity burns down my legs. I fight the urge to scream with the pain that it brings. Backing away from the door, I study every angle of the contraption made to keep vampires out…or in.
Gideon’s nose shoves me to the side as he runs and slams into the door using all of his body weight. The door budges, but barely.
Even with Terrin’s protection bubble, with the amount of noise we’re making, our entrance is no longer a surprise. Stepping away, I make a decision that could possibly kill us all. “Callum O’Brien!” I scream loud enough to be heard by everyone, even humans. “We’re here.”
The silence surrounding us is overwhelming. All three wolves stare with wide eyes, waiting on something…anyone.
“We’re here for Cyrus,” I continue. “Give him to us.” Magically, the door unlatches, opening no wider than an inch.
Gideon resumes the role of protector, stepping between me and the crack. Slamming into the wooden frame, he knocks the door open, bouncing it off the inside wall. The sound of breaking glass and splintering wood echoes through the space.
The lycan alpha squints his eyes, giving me a silent warning. I nod in response. He enters the room with Simon directly behind him. Stella and I let them take the lead.
The room reminds me of my grandmother’s attic. White sheets cover large pieces of what I assume is furniture, protecting it from the elements of Louisiana summers. Boxes are stacked neatly along the edges of the rooms and cover most of the perimeter.
“Show yourself,” I warn. My voice sounds weak, even to me. A testament of how unprepared I am to meet whoever or whatever is here.
Behind us, the heavy door slams shut, while the sound of sliding metal tells me that we’re locked inside. “We’re not scared of you,” I continue.
A soft laugh echoes off the brick fireplace. “You should be,” a deep voice answers. “There are quite a few things you should be scared of.”