The Crystal Jade: Book 1 of the IceBrood Chronicles

Chapter 7: The Haunting Legacy

"He stole the crystal jade," said Moretti as he walked into the room.

He smiled as he stared at us. Clive Brannondark was standing at the side of the bed, Hollie was sitting on the bed, and I was sitting on a chair next to the bed. We had been discussing the deeds of the Devine family for a few minutes now.

Of course, it all began with Hollie's great-great-grandfather, who had stolen the crystal jade from us many years ago. How he had come by the jewel when no one else was able to find it was still anyone's guess. But did that mean that I was right to kidnap Hollie from her home, despite what Clive said about her family?

Hollie was the first among us to speak. "What is the crystal jade?" she asked as she looked at everyone else but me.

"The crystal jade was the most coveted treasure of the vampire world," said Moretti. "It was said that anyone who gets the jewel would be very powerful indeed. Many people have searched for the jewel for many years, but they have never found it."

"What did this treasure look like?" Hollie asked him.

Moretti smiled and showed her a picture of a necklace of blue steel with charms showing a written phrase, a doorway and a sword, a unicorn and fangs in relief, and a pair of gauntlets and a fire within a shield shape.

"That is the crystal jade," Moretti said. "It was rumored that the necklace was created by a sorcerer in order to control vampires. My father inherited it from his uncle and passed it to me when I was turned. Well, your great-great-grandfather stole it from us and since then, the vampire world has been threatened with extinction unless we can get it back. There is one way we can retrieve it...and that was by capturing YOU."

He stared at Hollie and said, "That is why you cannot return to your home; if you did leave, your parents would find you, and they would have some explaining to do in terms of the theft in the Devine family."

I frowned, knowing that there had to be a good reason that I took Hollie from her home and why I fought her grandmother. I mean, Mary Spenner Devine had to be a descendant of Hogarth Tillingdale, the man who stole the crystal jade. That man who had been responsible for this, our clan being in danger. To make matters worse, she was trying to teach Hollie to be as cruel and stubborn as she was, which was a very bad idea in itself.

Yet, we members of the Icebrood Clan have had every right to go after the Devine family for their crimes against our clan. Since Mary Devine was a cruel and scheming woman who forced her son and granddaughter to study vampirology in the hopes of them becoming vampire hunters, both Alan and Hollie knew way more about vampires than they should.

Then again, I realized that the Devine family had had dealings with our clan before. They just don't talk about these things. Not unless they themselves wanted to be known as monster worshippers.

Moretti then said, "Your family and my clan have had dealings before, but I do know that you know nothing about these dealings. We will find your father and question him about what he knows of the crystal jade."

He then left the room and Hollie and I stared at each other. She said, "Why is he now targeting my father? What has HE done to deserve this?"

"He is the son of Mary Spenner, is he not?" I mocked her.

"Don't mock my family!" Hollie snapped in anger. This girl was really starting to get on my nerves now. "You don't even know them!"

"Yet I know you, Hollie Devine," I laughed as she growled at me. "We all know about you. I know you like to read those trashy teen novels and you like all those fashion trends. You're quite remarkable, considering the circumstances  you are in right now. You're in a house filled with vampires, and yet you have not been eaten. That is a miracle in itself."

"So why did you attack my grandmother?" Hollie is really trying my patience today.

"Plain and simple, she tried to kill me," I said. "But the manner in how she tried to dispose of me was so bad it was quite...laughable. Stakes and crosses; they can't protect you from vampires at all."

"That's what old Bram Stoker suggested," Hollie cried out in terror.

"Foolish girl," I said as I slapped her again. "You should not utter the name of that man in this castle! That man has done nothing but vilify vampires and besmirched the vampire lifestyle. However, he isn't alone in this venture; Anne Rice has done a better job with her books, but they are still making us vampires look like we're evil. As for Stephenie Meyer, she was about a second and a half from revealing who we really are. Her books are quite dangerous; something you can't touch lightly."

"What does this have to do with me?" Hollie snapped in anger.

"You have a lesson to learn about what it's like to be among vampires. Everyone else has their own opinion about vampires, but I say that it's time you learned the truth. Starting now, you will study the history of our clan and you will learn the rules here. There will be no misbehaving or I'll gladly hand you over to Clive; he has quite a way of handling headstrong young women such as you here."

Clive then added, "I would advise you to start believing in vampires, Miss Hollie Devine. You're with us now."

Nothing put a smile on my face than seeing the horrified look on Hollie's face. As bad as things seemed to be going for her right now, they were just about to get even worse for her...