Forbidden Blood

Chapter 25: Clara

"Wait out here while we go talk to them. We don't want you getting hurt."

I nod, watching as Zarro, Zoë, and Johnson walk into the cave. Within seconds they disappear into the darkness, and I start to feel uneasy. If they make one wrong move, everything could be screwed up.

"What happens now?" Agatha asks.

"We wait for them to come back out." Vincent says.

"Hopefully in one piece." Rina scoffs.

Agatha rolls her eyes. "That's not funny."

"I'm just saying what everyone's thinking. Where's the harm in that?" Rina retorts. She walks over to a thick tree a couple of feet away. Grabbing on to the branches, she begins to climb until she reaches the top.

"Why is she going up there?" Agatha whispers. Rina appears to hear us, because she starts to shout.

"The western vampires won't find you up here. If they really hate the witches, it might be safer if you were out of sight."

Agatha crosses her arms. "You've got to be kidding me. I can't climb that!"

"C'mon, it'll be safer up there. Let's just get it over with." Vincent suggests. Even though Agatha is afraid of heights, it would ultimately be safer for her in the tree with us.

"How will we get back down?" I walk over to the bottom of the trunk and start to climb. "Um, you're not actually going up there, are you Clara?"

"I don't want to be number one on the vampire hit list, Agatha. Rina's right. It's safer for us up here."

"Well I'm not going." she crosses her arms. "I'm staying here."

"Fine. But when they come out of the cave, you're going to be the first one they see." Vincent says, climbing up behind me.

"First one they eat." Rina corrects him.

She hesitates, a worried look spreading across her face. "Oh, fine!" she runs to the trunk and starts to climb up the tree. Once we all get to the top, we sit on thick branches and hug the trunk of the tree for support.

"I feel sick," Agatha mumbles.

"Just don't look down and you'll be okay. Keep breathing." she closes her eyes and relaxes, calming down a little. I look at Vincent and he flashes a reassuring smile, telling me that we're all going to be okay.

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It feels like it's been a few hours before I hear noise coming from the cave entrance. I lift my head from where it used to rest on the trunk. I see Zarro and Johnson exit the cave with three other vampires. Zoë holds the back as they walk into the middle of the field.

"Let's go," Rina says. Vincent and I help Agatha climb down to the ground. She gives a huge sigh of relief once she lands. Zarro leads the others towards us and I begin to get a good look at the western vampires.

One of them looks younger than I am, with mousy brown hair and golden flecked eyes. She has freckles sprinkled across her face and thick eyebrows, giving her a harsh, tough demeanor. The one next to her is much taller, and is staring me straight in the face with harsh black eyes. His messy locks fall into his eyes as he moves his head. The last one, whom I'm assuming is the leader, is well-built with reddish hair and blue eyes. Her face looks like she means business.

"Guys, these are the vampires who are going to help us take down Tarynn and Adriana. This is Hana," he gestures towards the one with the red hair, "She's the leader of the western vampires. And this is Jak and Martha." he points to the boy and the girl. "They are the in-lines."

"This is Rina and Vincent, they're our backup vampires. Clara and Agatha are the witches who are on our side." The leader bristles when Zoë mentions that we're witches, and suddenly I wonder if Zarro forgot to mention us.

"I've got some bad blood flowing with the witches, and I owe Zarro a favor from a long time ago." Hana says, glancing at Zarro. "We don't like the western witch coven. There have been... complications in the past that prevent us from getting along."

"Well, we don't know anything about the western witches. Maybe you won't hate us as much as you hate them." I say.

"Maybe so," she raises her eyebrow. "So what's this about an enchanted map book?"

"It shows the true location of the owner and anyone else they've put into the book."

"So we'll use this to find the witches you guys are after... What exactly did they do to you again?" Shouldn't Zarro have explained all of this already?

"They lied to us about our history with the vampires and undid a dangerous spell. They can't be trusted and they can't be reasoned with. Believe me, we've already tried." Agatha spills, "There's no stopping them unless we use force."

"These witches have spunk in them. I like it." Hana smirks, approving us. "And your story matches up with the one Zarro told us, so I believe you."

"You mean you'll help us?" Rina smiles.

"Count us in."