Vampire Shadows

Kara***

“We are really just wasting our time Heather” Josh whined. I can't blame him though. He was exhausted and so were we. Doing the same thing over and over again and not getting a clue that can take us forward is the most depressing thing. We have  checked every inch of this room but without success.

I stopped checking a while ago though, I took out some interesting books about vampires and it's kind of refreshing. One thing I've noticed is that no book actually tells why and how the war started, that's something I'm curious about.

“Kara, what are you doing?" Heather asked, she then grabbed the book I was holding.

“What the heck heather?“ I yelled even though I didn't want to, I don't want any issues with her. Right now isn't the right time.

"We aren't here to read books kara, we are here to find clues,"

“Well, I don't think we are getting anywhere with that. I was just taking a break” I said, trying my best to not sound rude.

"Break? Do you really think this is the time to take breaks? We are in the middle of a war. Everything is depending on us!" she paused, took a deep breath, then added.

"You can't take the stress, I wonder why they brought you along. If you keep taking breaks, you'll end up messing our mission up"   that was it how dare she talk to me like that?

I get it that I'm way younger and I'm not as strong or experienced as they are. But that doesn't mean I'm okay with her being a mom!

"You're an ass!" I said before running out of the library. I could hear Josh and Max calling me and as they run after me.

"Kara, chill we'll talk to her," Max said grabbing my arm from behind. Yeah right they'll talk to her,  I wonder why they didn't do that when she was yelling at me. It's like they can't challenge her. Is it because of her good looks? Well that sucks.

"I want to be alone," I said, freeing my arms from his grip.

He moved toward me again, but Josh held him.

“Just let her," he said. I don't know if he agreed to stop following because of that,  I didn't stay around to find out. I ran to the closest room I could find and locked the door behind me.

That's it, I finally let go of all the burden I have been holding back.

Tears!

I didn't  walk out just because I was mad, but also because I didn't want them all to see me crying. That'll only prove Heather's words right.

Whatever Heather said was true though, I was a weakling and I'll only make their journey more complicated than it already was.

I laid down and closed my eyes, my mind filled with thoughts.

.

I cried, slept, and woke up, but I still didn't feel like returning to Max and the rest. I wish I had a book or something to take my mind off what's going on right now.

I wonder if they have found something that'll help. Sincerely,  I didn't feel like joining the mission any longer, being the useless one is quite tiring. I'll just tell max to take me back to Layla. It'll be better if I stay back and help Nathan.

What's this? I thought to myself when I felt something in my waist bag.  Unzipping it I dipped my hands in and to my surprise, I found a book.

Yes, I remember dropping a book in my bag when we were at mom's library,  I totally forgot about it.  It's really small, like a pocket journal, it's old and dusty.

"Richard Bartholomew" reads on the front page. The next line read

"Journal"

Heck, this is my grandfather's journal. I've had it with me the whole time and didn't even notice.

Scanning through the pages,  I could see it had a lot of info even though it was small. The book had more pinned letters than writing. All the letters were from the same sender. King Regaleon. Each letter asks him for help on how to solve a certain issue. The good part though is the fact that my grandfather has written down possible solutions and his personal opinions on the issue.

One of the letters that caught my interest had something to do about the war.

I guess it was the oldest cause it was signed prince Regaleon, not king. I wonder the type of ink they used cuz I could still see the writings clearly. Only a few were faded.

The letter read.

"Good day Richard, it's your pal again. The king just had a meeting with the council. I gave my opinion on the issue but they would not agree to it.  The black coven king sent a message demanding  us  to return the stone..."

That's all I could get as the other parts of the letter were torn. My grandfather's opinion on the matter read, "This would not be happening if the king did not steal the black covens stone in the first place.  there will be a war any time soon. There will be great danger if the king doesn't return the stone that is rightfully theirs. The only option we have is to return it“

Oh my God.

What did I just read?

The stone doesn't belong to the white coven but the black? That means all this while they have been trying to get what is rightfully theirs.

I kept scanning through until I got to another interesting one.

It read “Sir Bartholomew, it is quite wrong to cause you such inconvenience, but as I  have said before, you are the only one I can trust, you are the only one that can keep the stone safe. I know you don't support the idea of keeping the stone away from the black coven members. But they are going to use it for evil and I'm sure you wouldn't want to let innocent people get harmed. Please accept to keep it with you”

My grandfather's note on this was quite short but helpful.

It read "It will be safe in my cabin"

So we have been checking the wrong place. The stone isn't here, it's in my grandfather's cabin, wherever that is.

.

I ran out of the room and toward the library.

Finally a lead.

I walked in through the open wall, Max Heather and Josh were all sleeping. They must be exhausted by all the blind and fruitless searches.

“Max, Max, wake up!“ I said tapping him lightly. He looks so peaceful in his sleep that I feel like waking him up could be a sin. But now is not the time to think about that.

“Max, wake up!“ I said this time, hitting him hard.

“What?“ Max said, looking startled.

I left his side and ran to heather and then to Josh.

“Kara are you okay?“ Max said squeezing his eyes.

“Kara, look I'm sorry about the way I behaved earlier” Heather started.

"Look Heather, I don't have time for all that shit now," I said a bit high-pitched.

“What, I'm trying to apologize and you are being a bitch!" she said and I couldn't believe my ears, did she just call me a bitch? But then, that's not what I came here to deal with.

"Josh, Max, I found something," I said, totally ignoring Heather. I brought out the journal and showed them the letter that I saw. And also my grandfather's note about the Stone's whereabouts.

“So, we are checking the wrong place? The stone is in his cabin?“ Josh furrowed his brows.

"That's great news! Now we know the stone's actual location!“ Heather beamed.

"Yeah, now all we need to do is get to his cabin," I said.

"Yeah, but how do we get there? It's not like we know where it is" Max chirped in.

"I know Kara wouldn't know, but Max, you too? He's your grandfather" Heather asked in her annoying voice.

“What is that supposed to mean?“ I asked before Max could give her a reply.

"Nothing! I only said it cuz Max is older, hence, he should have to known your grandparents" she said sounding ridiculously innocent.

“Yeah right”

“I'm just 25. They died ages before I was born” Max said, keeping a straight face. He also seemed to be annoyed with Heather's behavior.

"Chill guys, I know where the cabin is located," Josh said when our argument was on the verge of becoming a mini war.

“You do? Why didn't you say so?“ Max asked.

“I just did” was his care free reply.

“A little earlier??“ Max pressed.

“Nah, it was fun watching you all. Why should I ruin the fun!“ he replied. 

“So, do we teleport there?“Heather asked, obviously trying to change the topic.

“You know it's dangerous, so no” Max said.

“Actually, why don't we use the same method we did when Nathan got hurt?" I asked not sure they will agree to it.

"Kara you are a genius," Josh said giving me a big smile.

“What will we be without you” he added, wrapping his arms around my shoulder.

“Stranded?“ I joked.

"haha, Good one" Max laughed.

"Come on guys, we have a stone to fetch and a war to end," Josh said.

.

.

“And the last” josh said, and we all sighed in relief.

We have been teleporting,  for hours now. I can't believe we are finally there. Although I can't see any cabin here, it's just a thick forest with nothing but trees and owls.

“Where is it?“ the impatient heather asked.

"Chill, it's just a few steps away," Josh said as he lead the way.

.

When he said a few steps I'm sure he didn't mean it. The cabin was so far, I forgot the reason I was even in the woods, after the long walk, we finally got to it.

A very small old cabin built with logs.

.

"The doors are jammed," Max said, battling with the knob.

Of course, they are jammed, and this place has not been touched for ages. God only knows when last it was opened.

"Let's break it open," Josh said. Both he and max moved backward, creating enough distance between them and the door.  Then with the speed of light, they ran toward it, hitting it with a lot of force.

With a loud thud  that woke all the birds and creatures of the forest, the door fell to the ground.

We all walked into the pitch dark room. I couldn't see a thing but I was sure it wasn't a problem for the rest. Sucks to be a half vamp.

“Here,” Max said picking up a log of wood and lighting it with his fire.

"Thank you,"

"Let's start another search," Josh said clapping his hands.

"We don't even know where to start. Your grandpa didn't specify" Heather barked.

“Well at least this place is really really small, so it won't take time to find it” I comforted.

“Yeah right. What if it's hidden in some kind of secret place” she said. I'm sure she's feeling exhausted  don't care though.

We'll definitely find it this time. I can feel it!