Chapter 159

Sebastian

Caroline strolled over to the vault and began typing away on the computer that was attached to it. Liam kept watch at the door; his entire body was trembling as the nerves started getting the best of him. Sebastian couldn’t help but wonder if Xander tried to brainwash him, or if he did brainwash him. But he seemed to be helping and it was because of him that they were able to get into the study in the first place.

“You’ll be with your sister soon enough,” Sebastian assured him. “She’s waiting for us outside.”

Liam looked to have calmed down slightly, but Sebastian could still see the worry in his eyes.

“What if we’re caught? Xander will kill us. My mother will be so upset with me…” Liam breathed, staring down at his feet.

“We aren’t going to get caught,” Sebastian said darkly.

Liam looked uncertain, but he didn’t say anything else in return. Soon, Sebastian heard a latch and a door opening. He turned to see that Caroline had the vault opened. She looked at Sebastian and beamed.

“Okay,” she said happily. “It’s open. Now I need to find my locket.”

As Sebastian went toward the vault, Caroline dug through Xander’s desk. As soon as Sebastian entered the vault, he could already feel the pull of the moonstone scepter. The moon goddess was luring him to it. The vault was filled with different gems, stones, and items that have different meanings and powers that are attached to them.

The scepter was kept on a pedestal in the center of the vault. It was wrapped in a maroon cloth.

“I hear somebody coming,” Liam said, his words quivering. “I think it’s Xander.”

“Shit,” Sebastian muttered.

“I’ll hide Liam,” Caroline said quickly. “Stay in the vault.”

“What?” Sebastian asked, but before Caroline answered, she shut the vault, sealing him inside.

This was just fantastic. He looked around for a hiding spot; his scent was still concealed so even if Xander was inside the vault, he wouldn’t be able to smell Sebastian. But there wasn’t much for hiding. He found a dark corner and sat, piling some boxes in front of him for extra coverage. He then heard some talking, it was muffled, but he knew whoever it was, they were inside the study.

“You told me you’d find her by the time I got back,” Xander growled to whomever it was he was with.

“I know, sir,” the other guy said sheepishly. “We’ve looked everywhere.”

“You lost her, you find her,” he growled. “She’s a werewolf. How hard can it be to sniff her out and find her?”

The other guy was silent for a moment before answering.

“What if they have magic to conceal their scents?”

“Then we’d have a traitor witch amongst us,” Xander said in return, his voice darkening. “And if we have a traitor witch, then we must deal with that. Do we have a traitor witch, Gabriel?”

“It’s unclear sir. The wolf king’s sister owns the witchery shop in Vamp City. I went there to search for them, but she claims she hasn’t seen either of them. She could have been lying.”

“Then I suggest you find out the truth,” Xander growled. “Don’t return unless my future queen is in your custody.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Oh, and Gabriel?” There was a pause. “If you come back empty-handed, it will be your life that pays the cost.”

There was more silence that followed. Sebastian could feel Xander approaching the vault; he ducked further into the corner, keeping himself hidden. Vampires were known to be able to see clearly in the night, he just hoped that Xander wouldn’t spot him hiding behind these boxes. He saw a blanket on one of the nearby shelves and decided to drape it over his head as an extra precaution.

The vault opened and Xander stood before him. But he didn’t see Sebastian, he made his way over to the scepter and placed his hands on the moonstone.

“Tonight,” he said slowly to the moonstone. “Tonight, I will have the ultimate powers. Tonight, I will leave this unruly land and rule these kingdoms without any vessels needed. Tonight, I take what is mine.”

The moonstone glowed slightly under his touch, with caused Xander to smile.

Xander had everyone on the lookout for Hannah, Sebastian needed to get her out of there. Once Xander left the vault, he heard the vault clicking in place. Sebastian came out of hiding and grabbed the scepter from the pedestal. He tucked it away inside his coat; now he just needed to wait for Caroline to get him out.

As he waited, his eyes caught something on one of the shelves. It was a glimmer of gold on a small manikin neck. Once he got closer, he realized it was a locket. It had the letter C on it. It must have been Caroline’s locket; the one Xander had stolen from her. He wondered why Xander would go out of his way to steal and keep this locket. As he picked up the locket, her could feel the slight glimmer of magic surging through him like electricity. The locket held magic; Caroline failed to mention that part.

Sebastian jumped back as he heard the sound of the vault unlatching and the door slowly opening.

Could Xander have forgotten something? Was he returning?

He exhaled once he saw Caroline’s head popping in.

“He’s gone,” she said. “For now.”

Sebastian nodded and made his way out of the vault. Liam was trembling violently and had tears in his eyes. He was terrified. They needed to get him out of there just as badly as Hannah.

“I still haven’t found my locket,” Caroline said; she was about to go back to his desk until Sebastian help up the golden chain. She gasped. “You found it!”

“It was in the vault,” he said, handing it to her. ”Probably because of the magic attached to it. You didn’t tell me it was a magical locket.”

She nodded.

“It’s a long story,” she said softly. “But we need to leave. Now.”

…

Hannah

I waited outside for what felt like an eternity. I kept myself hidden in the shadows and prayed to the moon goddess that they would be able to escape undetected. I soon heard the window on the top floor being pushed up and Caroline’s thin and dark figure emerged through the frame. She looked down at me with a faint smile as she flawlessly made her way down the side of the building.

I was never going to get used to her moving like that. I wondered how she learned all of this in such a short time. Maybe she’s always been like this, and I never noticed. Maybe the underworld changed her that much. She landed her feet on the ground.

“We almost got caught,” she breathed. “Thankfully, Liam makes for a great lookout.”

I gasped at her words.

“Liam?” I repeated in shock. She smiled and glanced up. I noticed Liam was coming out of the window and I could hardly contain myself. They got my brother out?!

Liam looked frightened, but thankfully, Sebastian had thrown a rope over the edge of the window, and it came tumbling toward me. Caroline grabbed the end of the rope and began instructing Liam who had another rope wrapped around his waist.

“We got you, Liam,” she said confidently. “Nice and slow!”

Liam made his way slowly down the side of the building. It was a long way down, but with the help of Caroline and Sebastian, he managed to reach the ground. I ran to him and hugged him tightly.

“Liam,” I cried. “You’re here…”

“I’m here,” he repeated softly, hugging me back. His body was trembling slightly; I could feel how frightened he was. I placed both my hands on each side of his face and forced him to look at me.

“It’s okay now,” I assured him firmly. “We are going to be okay. We are going to get you back to your body.”

He nodded and for a moment, I saw a hint of relief in his eyes.

Sebastian was on the ground beside me soon enough. I ran to him and hugged him tightly; I felt whole again, being in his arms.

“I shouldn’t have let you go with her,” he breathed against my ear. “I’m so sorry…”

I went to say something to him, but Caroline interrupted.

“Can we save this happy reunion for later? We need to get out of here.”

“Where are we going to go?” I asked, looking between Sebastian and Caroline.

Caroline was the one who answered.

“My underground home.”