Vitrian Secrets by Dele Andersen (book club reads txt) 📕

Wanda looked at Petter as he answered his call, but her mind was on how to avenge her family and hurt the rebels.

“I didn't know you had Petter here,” Sofia said to her daughter. “I'll be upstairs in my room.”

“It's all right, Mum, Petter is family . . . more or less, and I'm sure he understands what we’re going through.”

“Have you looked around the house? Some of your things are in the room upstairs.”

“I haven't been upstairs, but I'll figure that out later,” Wanda replied. She couldn't care less what items were in the house for her or what the rooms upstairs looked like; she only wanted one thing, and that was for Jason to be healed.

“There must be something the hospital can do,” Wanda murmured in a low tone so as not to disturb Petter, who seemed wrapped up in his conversation. He had walked toward the front door so he could talk freely.

“There must be something, Mum,” Wanda repeated louder.

Sofia turned her face to the side.

“I mean, we can't let him die.”

“No, Jason is not going to die,” Sofia answered. Her voice was firm and strong as she faced her daughter. “The Vitrian elders have met. They decided to launch a raid on the rebels.”

Wanda could see in her mother's eyes and in the way her mother's voice broke that there was more to the news than the raid on the rebels.

“I thought they didn't know where the rebels were located?” Wanda said, trying to figure out what her mother was hiding.

“Well, I'm not sure if they do or not, but they can track them, I’ve been told.” Sofia looked toward the end of the room. Her eyes changed like she was remembering something. “It's one of the best things Alexis and I have agreed to in years.”

“So they should be able to get the Healing Méndez,” Wanda said. “They can heal Jason with it, Mum.” The excitement rose in her voice.

“Yes,” Sofia said. “They can, but I understand it will not be easy . . .”

She broke off, and Wanda picked up on her mother's disquieted reaction.

“Mum. What is it?”

“Bathe told me the rebels will need a trade-off to release the Healing Méndez. If not, there will be an intense battle, and they cannot guarantee that at the end of it, we will have the Méndez.”

“What trade-off?” Wanda asked.

“I wouldn't worry yourself about that.” Sofia turned away. “I'll be in my room; I need some rest.” She walked to the stairs.

Wanda remained silent; she focused her attention on her mother as she went up the stairs. She could sense her mother was avoiding discussing the trade-off, and she didn't want to let the discussion go.

“Are you all right?”

Wanda turned and saw Petter as stepped beside her.

“I'm sorry about Jason. The elders decided to launch an attack tomorrow.”

“Yes. Is it true the rebels will need a trade-off?”

“Where did you hear that?” Petter asked, but Wanda could see in his eyes he was hiding something.

“You are lying, Petter.”

“I haven't lied,” Petter responded, shaking his head. “I only asked a question.”

It occurred to Wanda what the trade-off might be. She had heard about her being the person the rebels wanted. The thought of why Bathe was suggesting the trade-off came to her memory, and it worried her, but she waved it off.

“So, what is the trade-off?” Wanda demanded.

“I don't think you should—” Petter started.

“I want to be there.” Wanda fixed her eyes on Petter.

“What? What are you—”

“I want to be there when the Vitrians go after the rebels,” she interjected again.

“You must be joking. You aren't even trained to fight demons.”

“I want to be there.” She raised her voice but kept it low enough for her mum not to hear.

She and Petter stared at each other for a few seconds in silence, then Wanda calmed down, controlling the tempo of her tone and speaking slowly. “I'll kill every one of them for what they’ve done. They will pay; they will pay for everything.”

“‘Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord,’” Petter said, quoting one of the phrases he knew from the Bible.

He continued to explain the consequences of her going out there to the rebels, but his words were only babbles to Wanda's ears. She had made up her mind and was not going to carry the weight or guilt of Jason's death. She pushed past Petter and rushed to the entrance door.

He caught up with her and tugged her right arm. “Where are you going?”

“To the House!” Uncontrollable anger burned in her chest.

“I can't let you do that. Your mum, Jason—”

At the mention of her brother's name, Wanda pushed Petter off and ran toward the House. As a sprinter in school, she'd never had any problem covering short distances. She stopped when she got close to the entrance of the House.

The House was huge and positioned within a massive roundabout at the center of the fortress. The roads leading to the roundabout were controlled by traffic lights at every junction and an outlet to the four main roads leading to the House. With the roundabout mostly empty at night, Wanda hurried across to face the main entrance.

“What do you want?” one of the big guys at the gate asked.

There were two of them, one of lighter coloring and the other brown-skinned.

“To see Alexis. My name is Wanda Troms.” She raised her head as she spoke but didn't look directly at the men. She noted they were tall and big, but her mind was on getting inside to meet Alexis and the elders.

The brown-skinned man who asked the question moved aside, allowing Wanda access as if they had been told to grant it to her when she arrived.

She stepped into a massive garden. The compound was covered with properly trimmed grass, visible because of the big floodlights lighting up several sections of the compound. She walked on the interlocking stones, designed as the walkway to the House, and continued for several paces before Petter caught up with her.

“Have you thought of what to say?” Petter asked.

Wanda lifted her lips at one end in satisfaction that Petter was on her side. He had finally accepted he would not be able to stop her.

“You know me, Petter,” she answered. “Talking has never been an issue.”

When they stepped in, Wanda was immediately relieved Petter was beside her. The House had several rooms and doors, and she could not figure out where to go.

“Here, to the left,” Petter said, and then led her.

Wanda followed him, and together they went up the steps to the next floor.

Petter walked to a pair of massive doors facing the stairs they ascended from. He placed his hand on one of the door handles. The antique door was dark chocolate in color and had two huge hands designed on it.

The design showed two palms clasped together as if in prayer. The tips of the clasped fingers faced each other.

Wanda studied the doors and saw that in the center section where the two doors met was the same Greek symbol she saw everywhere at the fortress. It was a pointed object like a peg, held with the tip facing upward. It had wings at the top and two snakes wrapped around from the bottom to the top where the wings attached to the peg. The symbol was quite big; it ran from the top of the door down to the bottom, about eight feet in length.

“Think about it, Wanda,” Petter warned as he positioned one hand on one of the door handles. He turned back and looked into her eyes. “I really don't want you to do this. I was asked to bring you here—”

“Bring me?” Wanda cut him off. “Then open the door.” She stiffened her neck, not allowing Petter to dissuade her.

“This is giving yourself over to the rebels. They would—”

Wanda took a step forward, ignoring Petter's comments. She placed a hand on the handle and the other on Petter's hand and pushed the two doors open.

The doors opened into a big room designed for conferences and meetings of at least fifty participants. At the other end of the conference room and directly opposite the main door was a massive screen for teleconferencing. On the side, in front of the teleconferencing screen, sat Alexis, Bathe, and a few other people.

“Wanda!” Bathe stood up as the doors screeched open. Wanda heard the mixture of surprise and happiness in his voice.

“I want to be a part of the attack.” Wanda marched down the hallway and stopped in front of Alexis and Bathe.

“What!” Bathe looked surprised. He turned to Alexis, and they stared at each other before Bathe turned back to Wanda, who was a few steps away.

“I want to be a part of the attack on the rebels.”

“You aren't ready for such a battle,” Bathe warned.

“I'll do whatever it takes,” she said. “I have to be a part of the attack.”

She went quiet as everyone gazed at her. Her anger was boiling like a viper’s, ready to spit out the venom in her. “They have to pay for what they did to my family.”

Alexis giggled. The inappropriate sound caught everyone's attention, and they turned to look at him. Wanda could see he wasn't using the camouflage, so his scar was clearly visible, covering his expressions.

“Wow!” Alexis tried to look surprised, but everything in him showed he had been waiting to see Wanda's anger in full action. “I admire your rage. I wondered when it would burn in holy fire.”

What was he talking about? Wanda tilted her head as she pondered what Alexis meant.

Alexis adjusted his position in the chair. “You know the prophecy, foretold and forgotten for almost two centuries now. About changes and going forward as Vitrians. It says the one to change things would roar with a rage never seen before.”

With the camouflage gone, Wanda could not tell if he was mocking her, or if he truly believed she was the one to fulfill the prophecy, the prophecy she knew nothing about.

“Wanda.” Bathe stepped down from the single step that elevated the main stage of the conference hall from the rest of the room. He placed a fatherly hand on Wanda's shoulder and took a deep breath. “You don't have to. You have lost enough.”

Wanda heard the concern in Bathe's voice, and it mystified her; she had expected Bathe to throw her out there. Wanda looked into his eyes and saw his concern was genuine. But a sense of deception flashed through her mind as she studied Bathe's face.

She heard a man's voice and instantly adjusted herself to see him.

“I agree with Bathe, Alexis.” The man, the last adult among the five people in the room, had a solid, polished English accent. He was dressed in a French suit, which made Wanda wonder if he was coming from an occasion. The suit was black, smooth, and beautiful, with a red scarf folded and placed in the left-hand pocket of the jacket. His hair was black, and so were the pair of lace-up shoes he wore. Wanda could tell everything the man wore was expensive.

“Nathaniel.” Alexis called the name of the man in his deep voice. “I also agree with you and Bathe.” He turned from Nathaniel to Bathe, Wanda, and Petter. “You were here at the elders’ meeting some minutes ago when Bathe again explained the uniqueness of the demon he fought yesterday. How the demon crossed a barrier Bathe had set with the Praying Méndez. No such thing has ever occurred to anyone before. If the rebels can call on powerful creatures that haven’t been seen in centuries, the casualty rate might be more than we can bear. She is The Chosen. I doubt if any evil can befall her.”

“I am sure we have enough Vitrians,” a boy behind Nathaniel said.

He was about Petter's height with short hair, and Wanda could tell the boy was young, probably a year or two older than her. But it wasn’t