Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

" D id they really go home?" Eve asked.

I slumped to the chaise Apollo had been sitting on. "I sure as hell hope so. Artemis understands the consequences of remaining on Earth. I don't think she would sneak off like Apollo did last time." I grabbed the glass Apollo had been drinking from and tipped it back. I spit it out a second later. "Ugh. I thought that was whiskey."

Damon chuckled. "It was ambrosia. You'll feel slightly sick for a few hours if you swallowed any. It's not meant for mortal systems."

"Unh," I grunted as I got up and rushed to the pool. I scooped up some water, swished it around in my mouth, and spit it out. "I didn't."

I stood up and put my hands on my hips. We were potentially stranded on a deserted rock in the middle of who-knew-where. And as usual, the only thing we had in abundance was our sarcasm and snarky comments. If only that was enough to help us find the tear in the veil.

"Alright, brain trust," I began. I crossed my arms and looked at the others. "Where do we think this tear might be located? "

Eve was the first to speak. "We could try scrying for it. You know, use a crystal or a mirror to locate the tear." She really was the enthusiast for all things mystical. I loved how she always dove right in without hesitation. I could feel her fatigue, but she was ready to continue.

Faith nodded thoughtfully. "Scrying could work, but we'd need something to focus on. And considering we have no idea what the tear looks or feels like, we might be at it for a while."

"Okay," I replied. "I hate spinning my wheels and there is no use having you waste your energy, Eve. Any other brilliant ideas?"

Tegan grabbed a pear from one of the trees and bit into it. "What about the ley lines?" Juice dripped down her chin as she talked, making me hungry. "We could try to find where they converge. The tear might be at a point of high magical energy."

I snagged a pear of my own. "That sounds promising." I took a big bite and almost moaned out loud. It was so damn good.

Eve shook her head. "That's not any easier than scrying. Navigating invisible lines of energy across the globe is not a piece of cake. We could do it, but it will take a long time. That should be a last resort."

Damon had been listening quietly and finally spoke up. "We could start by looking in the places where the gods appeared. It makes sense that the tear would be near a spot of significant divine activity."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, let's go on a wild goose chase across the world, hoping to stumble upon divine hotspots. Why not?"

"Hey, it's as good a plan as any," Damon shot back in a slightly defensive tone.

I shot him a look of regret. "Sorry. That was unnecessarily mean. Your suggestion is a valid point. Do you know where your father first appeared? Was it at his sanctuary on the Greek island?" That seemed like a possibility to me.

Faith pulled out her kubotan and started fiddling with it. " That might have been rude, but it's frustrating as hell that you don't know where your father appeared, Damon. I was hoping to have an easy answer."

Damon shrugged, a hint of annoyance flashing across his features. "Hey, give me a break," he retorted. "It's not like I was there to witness it. I've been helping you with this whole thing."

Tegan tossed the core of her pear to the side and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "You've been very helpful. We wouldn't have gotten this far without you. We will figure this out. We just need to stop and think it through."

Eve nodded thoughtfully while her mind churned through the problem. "We could try looking into any reports of anomalies," she suggested. "Perhaps it caused an earthquake in a place that rarely ever gets them. Or maybe sunnier weather for this time of year. Anything like that."

Damon's expression was contemplative. "You know, my father's appearance probably didn't cause any anomalies. The power wouldn't have been enough to cause that big of a disturbance because it wasn't his power being used to open the veil."

I groaned and wanted to kick my ass for the millionth time since I'd pulled Artemis through. "No, that would have been mine. I will be regretting and paying for that until the day I die. In hindsight, I feel like I was a toddler throwing a tantrum when mommy wouldn't pay attention to me."

"You need to forgive yourself for that. You didn't do it on purpose. And you needed her help," Tegan said with a reassuring smile. "So where do you think he could have come through?" she asked Damon.

Damon shrugged and considered the possibilities. "Well, there are a few places that come to mind," he said. "Maybe one of his ancient temple ruins in the desert. I would say the sanctuary in Santorini, but we've been there twice, and I didn't pick up anything of significance. "

Eve nodded. "There are several temples. It'll be faster to check them out one by one than trying to find it along the ley lines."

"Wait a minute," Tegan interjected excitedly. "Artemis first appeared on Earth in my vault. We should start there! It could be there and is easy enough to visit."

Eve lifted a hand to Tegan, and she slapped it with one of her own. "Brilliant. I wasn't thinking of that at all. And if we're looking for a location with strong ties to the gods, Tegan's vault is a good place to start." It was Tegan's ancestral magic that I believe gave my plea the boost to pull Artemis here in the first place. After all, it was infused with the energy from thousands of relics. No way am I powerful enough to do that without something like that.

Faith's eyes were bright with anticipation. "Sounds like a plan," she said. "Activate that portal, Nishi. We need to get back to Tegan's vault."

"Text Greyson and ask if he can change the destination to her house," I countered. "Unless you want to get waylaid by Caton and Lucinda." Faith yanked her phone from her pocket. Her frown told me everything I needed to know. "There's no signal, right?"

Faith snarled. "No. Freaking deserted island."

Eve rubbed her hands together. "Let me see if I can boost the signal like a satellite phone." We watched her do her magic with bated breath.

I lurched forward and caught her when she wavered on her feet. "It's okay, we will deal with those jerks. You did good," I reassured her.

Eve smiled up at me. "It should have worked. Check it, Faith."

Faith glanced at her phone and whooped. Her fingers flew over the device, and she signaled me to activate my portal crystal a second later. We waited for the flicker of the light before we stepped through.

"Alright, off to Tegan's house we go," I said, trying to muster some enthusiasm. "Hopefully, we'll find a clue. I'd settle for some decent coffee." We all needed it.

"I vote for both," Tegan replied, flashing me a smile as we walked into the portal.

I barely noticed the disturbance of portal travel because I was worried about Eve. We needed to get her some food and rest. Although, Hunter would step in and force her if she was in really bad shape so we could finish this at least. The thought made my chest ache. A good friend wouldn't take that attitude. We needed to stop after this and get some rest for sure.

We appeared in Tegan's living room. Her house was a cozy, Victorian home with a garden that could have been lifted from a fairy tale. The change from the heat of the jungle to a chilly evening in Virginia made me shiver. It took me a few seconds to adjust. So many drastic temperature changes were maddening. It was a good damn thing I didn't have MS like my mother's close friend. Going from extremes always made her disease act up.

Shaking myself, I glanced around. The living room was charmingly cluttered, with magazines and books scattered around. There were pictures of Tegan's daughter on the walls and the faint smell of lavender lingering in the air. I followed Tegan to the kitchen where we encountered Spencer. He was sitting at the table, his face buried in a book.

The tension between them was palpable the moment he looked up and saw Tegan. Unlike her, his eyes softened. And there was a brief moment where the world seemed to pause. He clearly still loved her dearly.

"Spencer?" Tegan snapped, clearly surprised. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be staying at Delila's mansion with the vampires?"

Spencer closed his book and stood up. "I was. I am. But I didn't want to let our marriage fail without trying to make things right. It's my fault we got here, and I want to fix it."

Faith and I exchanged glances and tried to melt into the background. Though, it was hard to disappear entirely when there was a mission to complete. Tegan narrowed her eyes on her husband. "This is not the time to talk Spencer." My heart ached when I heard the waiver in her voice.

"I can see that," Spencer replied, and his gaze flicked to the rest of us. "What's going on? And who is this?" The jealousy was evident in how his eyes turned color and one fang poked out of his mouth.

Tegan took a deep breath. "This is Damon. He's Apollo's son and helping us handle a case with high stakes. Right now, we need to get into the vault. We're looking for something important."

"Nice to meet you," Damon told Spencer.

Spencer didn't acknowledge him, but his expression shifted to concern. "Is there anything I can do to help? You know I want to be here for you."

Tegan spun around and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. "Actually, yes. I need you to stay here with our daughter. After we're done here, we still have more to do. I don't want to leave her alone and I can't take her into this mess with us."

There was a moment of silence. It was filled with unsaid words and old memories. Spencer nodded slowly. "Of course. I'll do anything to help."

I was taken aback by the depth of feeling in his words. It was clear Spencer still had strong feelings for Tegan. And judging by the way she looked at him, those feelings might not be entirely one-sided.

"Thank you, Spencer," Tegan said softly. "I appreciate it."

He gave a small smile. "Just be careful, okay? And promise me that we will make time to talk about us soon."

"We're always careful," Tegan replied, then turned to us. "Let's get going."

I could feel Spencer's disappointment as we trudged toward the basement where the vault was hidden. "Well, that was awkward."

Tegan shot me a look. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Tell me about it. I'm just not ready to commit to anything. I haven't even had time to think about us and while I prefer it that way, it leaves me in an awkward place where I'm not prepared for any kind of discussion. He doesn't know what really happened the night we hosted Clark for dinner and I'm not ready to talk about it."

"I can see why you don't mind the back-to-back cases. You have a whole soap opera going on here," I teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Tegan smiled and brushed her shoulder against mine. "Life's full of surprises," she said before leading us down the stairs.

The basement was cool and dimly lit. Tegan unlocked the door, and we stepped into her family vault. I was immediately struck by the gravity of the place. It was a hallowed chamber of secrets and legacy. A sacred space infused with the quiet hum of ancient magic. The door swung closed behind us with a resounding thud. It sealed off the mundane world and thrust us into an atmosphere thick with the essence of centuries.

I couldn't help but shiver as the air seemed to change around me. The room retained the ethereal ambiance cultivated by Tegan's mother during her tenure as the vault keeper on top of what the generations that had come before had done. The symbols etched into the stone walls pulsed softly. They were a reminder of the formidable task Tegan was charged with. She had to find, recover, and safeguard relics that held the threads of her family's destiny.

The candles lining the walls flickered to life. The muted light honored the lineage of courageous women who had embraced this calling before Tegan. This was a living tribute to the past. I could almost hear the faint echoes of rituals performed over generations .

In the center of the room stood an ornate pedestal where the Chronicles of the Guardians rested. It was her family grimoire of sorts. The book's cover was weathered by the relentless march of time, yet the intricate golden patterns adorning it were still vivid. Magic at its finest. The parchment pages within, though fragile, had a resilience that spoke of the same magical preservation.

Damon walked closer. He extended a hand over the tome. "This place is incredible," he murmured reverently.

Tegan nodded with a proud yet solemn look on her face. "It's been in my family for generations. Every guardian has added to its magic, its protection."

Damon nodded in understanding. "It's like stepping into a different world. It feels very serene. I like the energy here." He turned and peered at the wall with an air of casual respect. "This is the kind of place where secrets are kept safe."

"How will we know if the tear is here?" I asked. It hadn't hit me until that moment that I had no idea what that meant.

Eve lifted a shoulder. "Do you know, Damon?"

He lost a little color and shook his head. "I'm not sure. It'll be powerful, but in a place as flooded with magic like this, it might not be as obvious. We should look around for something that feels foreign."

The vault was a decent-sized room, and we spread out. Each of us took a section of the vault. As we searched, I glanced over at Tegan. Despite the tension and the danger, there was a determination in her eyes that I admired. Underneath the cases we handled, she was fighting for something important. Something that mattered deeply to her. I didn't know if that meant she would be able to save her family or not, but I sure as hell hoped she could. There was something between her and Spencer that was next to impossible to find.

I moved aside a stack of old scrolls and said, "Here's hoping we find what we're looking for before another mythical creature decides to crash the party. "

"Agreed," Eve said from across the room where she was moving a chest. "Because I don't think I have another monster fight in me today."

"We will get some rest after this," I promised her.

We continued our search, the only sounds being the rustling of papers and the occasional murmur of frustration. It was a daunting task made harder by the fact that we had no idea what we were looking for. Eve looked behind an enchanted mirror. I found myself staring at a shelf filled with vials of various glowing liquids. Each one was labeled in a language I couldn't read. I didn't see anything that felt like a veil.

"No tear here," Faith called out after a few minutes of fruitless searching. She sounded annoyed. The determination in her eyes as she moved to another stack of artifacts was admirable, but I couldn't muster the desire to continue.

Eve shook her head, stepping away from the wall. "Nothing on this side either," she said, sounding equally frustrated.

Tegan let out a sigh of irritation and ran a hand through her hair. "It's not here."

Damon, who had been standing silently at the entrance, stepped forward. "I doubt it's here at all. It would be far more obvious. We need to use my blood again to locate the trails of my father's energy. If we focus on where it's strongest then we might be able to find it."

I raised an eyebrow. "Are we sure that's safe? Last time, it was kind of a disaster."

"We don't have much of a choice," Damon replied. "If we want to find the tear this decade, this is our best bet."

Spencer stepped forward, startling me, as I hadn't realized he had followed us to the vault. He held Tegan's gaze and spoke up. "I can help with that." He closed the distance to Tegan and picked up her hand. His eyes held a mixture of determination and something softer. "I know you're not thrilled about my involvement, but it can make it painless for Damon. "

Tegan looked at him. Her expression was more than conflicted. "I can't be the one to answer that." She pulled her hand from his and crossed to a shelf where a dagger was on a stand. "Since Damon will be the one being bitten, he should make that choice.

Damon looked from the dagger Tegan picked up to Spencer. "I'll take the vampire. We've been through enough today."

Spencer took the small, wicked-looking dagger from Tegan. It had an obsidian amulet at its hilt. The Sanguine Tracker was going to help us locate Apollo's energy. The amulet was etched with twisted runes that seemed to writhe and squirm when observed closely. A glass vial was affixed to the hilt as well. That's where Spencer would put the blood that he collected from Damon.

"Hold still," Spencer said to Damon. His demeanor was professional despite the macabre task at hand. My hand went to my kris knives and stayed there. Spencer was a new vampire. I didn't think he would offer to do this if he was going to lose control and attack Damon. Doing so would only drive Tegan further away and force Faith and me to take drastic action. He had to know we would kill him before we allowed him to hurt anyone.

Damon rolled up his sleeve to expose his wrist. His eyes met mine with a mixture of determination and resignation. "This is going to suck so badly. Pun intended," he chuckled, offering his arm to Spencer.

Spencer had a look of grim determination as his vampire nature came to the forefront. He knew his wife was not going to like seeing this. He kept his eyes on Damon when his fangs elongated with an almost audible click. The sight sent a shiver down my spine, and I wasn't alone in my reaction. Faith wrinkled her nose and Tegan's expression tightened. Eve took a cautious step back.

"Are you sure about this?" Tegan asked .

Damon nodded. "I prefer less pain involved to get the blood we need."

Spencer took Damon's wrist in his hand. His grip was firm but not overly tight. He glanced up at Damon one last time for confirmation. Damon nodded, and Spencer's fangs sank into his wrist with a swift, practiced motion. I winced but Damon didn't so much as move. Spencer lifted his head and blood welled up immediately. It was dark crimson against Damon's skin.

The sight of blood and the intimate nature of the act made my stomach churn. Spencer proceeded to suck the blood with a deliberate slowness. His eyes remained on Damon and the dagger. His body language screamed that he would have rather done anything but display for his wife what he had become. But he did so because he wanted to show her that he supported her and wanted to be there. His consideration was moot when we all heard the sound that was soft but unmistakable, a wet, rhythmic slurp that echoed in the vault's silence.

Tegan looked away, clearly uncomfortable. "I will never get used to that," she muttered under her breath.

Faith, on the other hand, was watching with a mix of fascination and revulsion. "It's like something out of a horror movie," she whispered to Eve, who nodded.

After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, Spencer stopped. His lips were stained red. He tilted his head to the side and spat the blood into the vial attached to the hilt of the Sanguine Tracker. The glass vial filled slowly. The blood was thick and dark.

Damon flexed his wrist and watched a small rivulet of blood trickle down his arm. "Do we have enough?" I expected him to be horrified or not want to do that again, but he didn't seem bothered.

Spencer wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and nodded. "That should be plenty." He handed the dagger to Tegan, who took it with a look of distaste .

"Well, that was disgusting," she said. "But it got us one step closer."

Tegan took a deep breath, holding the Sanguine Tracker carefully. "Alright, let's see if this works."

As she prepared to activate the relic, I glanced back at Damon. He was already healing, the puncture wounds closing with remarkable speed. "You okay?" I asked, needing to make sure.

He gave me a small, reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Seriously. I had worse a few hours ago from that creature on the island."

Tegan placed the dagger on the pedestal and performed the ritual to activate it. The runes on the amulet began to glow, pulsating with an eerie, dark light. The air in the vault began to smell like burnt copper. When the blade came to life, we all leaned in. I was holding my breath as we watched.

The vial of blood shimmered, traveled through the glass, and coated the blade. Several images flickered to life above it. Damon's face grew serious as he studied them. "It's one of these," he said decisively. "I can feel it. I just don't know which one."

Faith exhaled slowly and her shoulders relaxed a fraction. "Fantastic. Now we just have to get to these places without getting ourselves killed."

"Piece of cake," I replied, sarcasm dripping from my voice. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Damon rolled his eyes at us and said, "Focus on the strongest images. Remember what they look like, and we can portal to them."

Several pictures popped up, blurred at first but then becoming clearer. The images were strange and disjointed. They seemed more like fragments of a dream. I looked up when they finally stopped. "That was a lot of places, but I agree with Damon. We should start with the strongest images. That way chances are smaller that we will be off on a wild goose chase when Miletus takes over the world. "

Tegan chuckled. "I prefer not to let the world end. I know you said we'd rest, but it feels like we can't afford to waste any time."

I shook my head. "As much as I hate to wait, we have to get some rest, or we will be useless. We have no idea what we will face and I'm in shitty fighting form if we encounter Milens or other creatures."

Tegan sighed and nodded. "You're right. We will meet at the council chambers first thing in the morning."

Faith grinned as we left the vault. "I'll bring the coffee for the early morning field trip. At least we get to start the day pissing off Lucinda. That always brightens my outlook."

I chuckled, feeling a little lighter. "It's becoming one of my favorite pastimes. The ridiculous bimbo is so uptight she makes it easy."