THE LAST SECRET KEEPER Secret Keeper series books 1-4

CHAPTER 1

Heads rolled, unseeing eyes gazing up at the heavens one last time.

The earth refused to swallow another drop of the vile silver as vampire blood ran like a river through the valley and nearby village streets, rivaling the aftermath of The Great Massacre. 

Fintan pressed close to his father's side before squeezing his eyes shut tight, but not fast enough, the sight of Lugh shoving a severed head onto a spike ensuring the boy would have night terrors.

"They've done far worse to our people," King Storm's voice was low and soothing, barely heard over the screeches of the dying, calls for mercy disregarded.

The tables, at last, had turned.

Fintan shuddered as he lost all color. What could be worse than being spiked?

As though his father could read his thoughts, King Storm whispered, "...skinned alive. One of our great leaders was dragged naked through the streets, then hung upside down before he was publically skinned alive. His crime? Supporting Uncle Wolfstein in his quest to keep the vampires out of their territory. These vampires don't feel any pain now. Their deaths were swift, but their heads raised high on a spike will serve as a warning. Do you understand now why Lugh has spiked each of the vampires he has slaughtered?"

Fintan wasn't sure if he should nod or shake his head, no. 

"I want to go home, please."

King Storm smiled at his son who was a long way from being a bloodthirsty warrior. Perhaps the gods had been mistaken when they had pronounced his destiny. Or just maybe...

"We will return home soon, but first, I promised your mother that she will have a trophy if she is a good girl. You've been very brave so I would like it if you brought home two trophies for your mother. Do you see those vampires who are begging for mercy, running for the hills? They would make a perfect gift..."

Fintan didn't hear the rest of King Storm's sentence, unsheathing his dagger as he ran toward the retreating cowards who would be shown no mercy.

"You should have thought of that sooner," Lugh grinned, wiping blood on his thigh. "That one would do anything for his mother."

The god wasn't far wrong. The king and every one of his children would give Lanecea the world, including Fintan overcoming his greatest fear to bring her back a trophy - or two.

"Let none escape!" Fintan called out to his older brother as the two ran after the retreating vampires, jumping over carcasses strewn in the valley. "Block off their exit - they are heading for that tunnel, Taran."

Taran wasn't used to being bossed around by his little brother but complied - just this once. Everyone knew Fintan was a Mamma's Boy but just maybe, in this very moment, his brother was embracing his destiny, the god of war arising within his spirit.

The older gods of war followed close behind keeping a protective eye on the young princes, watching as the boys herded the vampires like a couple of sheepdogs instead of putting an end to their misery.

Queen Lanecea would be very happy, her sons capturing at least forty vampires, although neither of her boys had shed a single drop of blood. That was definitely something they would have to work on.

The vampire captives had nowhere to go as Lugh hedged them in with a circle of blue electricity. It was laughable to see the naked fear in their eyes as they looked up at the birds feasting on the spiked heads, empty eyesockets a stark reminder that they never should have left the underworld. At least they had met a quick end. The captured vampires wouldn't be as lucky. Single file, surrounded by a blue hedge, they faced an unknown future, each vampire silently wishing they had been spiked instead.

"Here," Frey drew King Storm and the princes' attention as he pointed to a spot between the two jagged cliffs, just a hint of a moss-covered, overgrown staircase seen from their vantage point before being blocked off by impenetrable earth. "The Great Massacre took place in this valley so this must have been the passage the vampires used when they emerged from The Underworld. Look, it's obviously been sealed off and, even with my magic, I am unable to re-open the ground. The whispers, therefore, must be true. Zurreddell really did cut off their means of escape."

The king rubbed the back of his neck, deep in thought.

"According to the map, this passage would run parallel to the tunnels that branch out from the castle. Whoever constructed the escape route must have known what lay beneath..."

That Secret, also, had been lost to time. 

Frey met King Storm's eyes, but neither said what they were thinking out loud.

"If the same people who had constructed their escape route were familiar with the vampire's original lair, was it, in actuality, an elaborate trap?"

"Let's go home," King Storm said instead, thankful Lanecea was with Storm rather than at the castle, the queen prepared to flee into the tunnels if and when they were attacked. 

It now appeared that she had every reason to be afraid, and not because Lanecea didn't know how to find the north direction without a compass. His queen and the children may not have emerged from the tunnels alive. The king was more grateful than ever for Thorson's offer to take care of Lani and the children but was determined to get to the bottom of the matter and have a better plan B for when the vampires retaliated. It was just a matter of time before they would seek vengeance.

History always repeats itself.

"We need to head West!" 

The gods looked over at the king as he changed the plan last-minute, but nodded as they changed direction leaving the slain behind them for the birds to finish off.

Vampires don't deserve the honor of a burial.

The kingdom, surrounded by the sea, with the only escape route those tunnels, was no longer a refuge.

"Take these to the fortress. They will gather reinforcements and will strike back. If we don't attack first..." Frey called out to the gods who had joined them on the raid.

"We'll return home soon," King Storm placed his hand on Fintan's shoulder, the boy looking back as they turned in the opposite direction, away from their kingdom. "We need to attack the vampires before they attack us."

Taran looked over at his brother as he gripped his dagger. "We have to be ruthless, Fintan, or they will kill Mother and our siblings. It is up to us to stop them."