Forbidden Blood

Chapter 21: Vincent

We are standing outside waiting for Clara and Agatha to come back out. Rina is sitting on a log, staring into space, while Zarro, Zoë, and Johnson are loitering by the entrance. I walk over to sit next to Rina. She doesn't seem to notice that I'm here. Her blonde hair falls in her eyes as she stares at the stars.

"You ever wish you could go back and change something that you did?" she asks.

"I think everyone does... I know I do."

"Like what?" she smirks, "Falling in love with a witch."

"No," I laugh, "I'm glad Clara's in my life."

"Even after all the trouble she's caused?"

"Nothing that has happened was her fault. Her coming into our lives just set off a ripple effect of other disasters and such. I don't blame her for that." The crickets grow louder as the cold air whips through the branches of the trees overhead. It takes Rina a while to respond.

"It's all just so stupid. Like... why do the witches hate the vampires? I get that Adriana went off the rocker and turned a little psycho, but..." she sighs, "I just don't get it."

"Hopefully this can all be changed once this is all over."

"Yeah, and when will it be over?" she raises her voice a little, "How long is that going to take? I don't want to be dragged into this anymore."

"That means a lot coming from someone who likes to stir up trouble." she nudges my shoulder and laughs.

"Whatever I stir up doesn't usually last for more than a day. But this... this has been ongoing for weeks now. I'm sick of it." We sit in silence for a minute. She has a sad look in her eyes. That look quickly fades away and turns into frustration. "Like what even was the purpose of coming here? Talking to them? That is a lame plan, V. Someone like Adriana will never listen. And neither will Tarynn, by the looks of it."

"Yeah... I guess I'm just trying to stall."

"Well, it's not working."

"To be honest, I don't even know what I'm doing. We just need to do something. We can't sit around here and do nothing."

"You'd better be thinking of some better plans. Otherwise, I'm not gonna be your sidekick on these missions. They're boring!" Rina's usual self returns and I see the sparkle in her eyes. I smile, knowing that she doesn't feel sad anymore. But at the same time, I wonder what it was that she regretted.

Suddenly, Agatha and Clara come bursting out of the entrance with a huge book in their hands. I stand up, alarmed at their presence.

"Major, major news!" Agatha cries. "We know where they are and they're not anywhere near here."

"How do you know that?" Zoë asks.

"This book," Clara turns the pages, showing the others what she's found. "It shows the map of the entire area, called Authern. Apparently that's where we live."

"You didn't know that?" Johnson asks.

"No... we weren't taught geographical history. Why? Were you taught about Authern?" The girls look confused.

"Yeah... what do you mean you weren't taught about it?"

"Okay, well, anyway, it's not important. What's important is that this book is an enchanted map book. It tracks the true location of the owner, Adriana, and anyone else who has been put in the book."

"What do you mean, true location?" Zarro asks.

"The location in a locator spell can easily be forged, but this book is special. Every location you see is the verified location. And you can tell who someone is based on these little dots." she flips to the last page of the book. "This page shows exactly where the owner of the book is. It moves as the owner moves."

"Whoa. So where are Adriana and Tarynn?"

"They're in the western part of Authern, according to the last page of the map." Agatha points to the dots on the page.

"Western?" Rina mutters to herself, "Isn't there another vampire area around there?"

"Yeah... only, they aren't too friendly. They have no ethics. They go in straight for the kill and leave the body." Zarro says, "I met a Western Vampire once. She was... she was just... not nice."

"The thing is, there's another witch village there too. We think Adriana and Tarynn might be going there to seek their help. The witches here won't listen to Adriana anymore. One of the elders has taken over until they can appoint a new leader and Adriana's lie has been exploited. She's not allowed back into the village."

"So now everyone knows the truth?" Zarro asks.

"Yeah." Zarro looks embarrased.

"So what do we do now?" Zoë asks.

"We need to think of a better plan." Rina chimes in, "I mean, coming here to talk to them? Seriously? Where was that supposed to get you? Back to square one?"

"I think she means that--" I try to interrupt.

"This was a terrible plan!" she exclaims, throwing her hands in the air.

"Well, Rina, if you have a new plan, we'd love to hear it."

A smile begins to form on Rina's face, and she gets excited. She smirks and raises her eyebrow.

"Oh, do I have a plan."