The final part of our plan was the airports. They had to know we were going overseas again to find the vial. We weren’t going private this time. With the IDs Donatello had arranged for us, we were clear to fly commercial. Javi would be going to go to Tampa International. The plan was for us to head on out to Lakeland International. It was almost an hour farther away than Tampa. Our thought was that they’d assume we’d be going for the closest airport and not risk the extra driving time. We were playing a dangerous game, as they might still follow us instead of Javi. Out on the highway, alone, in the early morning, we’d be easy prey if they decided to try to force us off the road. Or worse, continue following and figure out where we were going. I wanted the possibility of us meeting up with royal agents as low as possible when we got to Croatia.
The exit for Tampa was up ahead. This was when we’d know for sure how our plan was going. I stared at the green and white signs as they passed by. My heart beat a million miles an hour the closer we got to the exit. The sedan was still in my lane, following behind us. It made me nervous that they weren’t in Javi’s lane. At the last second, Javi swung hard right, taking theexit. It must have been his idea to make them think we were trying to get them to miss the same exit and have to double back. It worked. The car following slammed on its brakes and nearly did a U-turn to go after Javi’s van. That last little bit of drama was exactly what we needed to sell the act. My heart rate slowed as I watched the taillights recede up the exit ramp.
For the next hour, I kept glancing in the rearview mirror. Any headlights that appeared behind us quickly overtook us. It looked like we were in the clear. I never let myself completely relax, but things were looking good. Even the others in the van calmed down and let their nerves ease. Before long, I could hear Felipe, Sebastian, and Tiago having hushed conversations about sports and other banal subjects. Maddy reached over and took my hand as I guided the van up the exit ramp to Lakeland airport.
Once we were at the airport, the check-in process was the next most stressful thing. The identification Donatello had gotten us was good, but what if they had photos of us in advance? Facial recognition software, maybe? One look at a camera, and they’d have us in handcuffs before we ever got on the plane. Anything could happen.
We’d only brought carry-ons to prevent having to check bags and wait at the baggage claim at our next destination. We walked straight to the security gate. Given the early hour, there was no one in line but us. I pulled off my belt and shoes, did all the little dances they made you do at airports, and within five minutes, I was through. I looked back at Maddy as she too, made it through security. I smiled at her, then leaned in close once she was near. “Looking good so far.”
She glanced back at the others as they each made it through. “Yeah, looks like it.”
Maddy and I had booked ourselves on one flight while the three others were on a separate plane, leaving an hour later.Splitting up would make it more difficult for the royals to track us. Also, if anything happened to one group, the other would still be able to get away. That way, our families would know what had happened. I took Maddy’s hand and walked over to the three men.
I shook Tiago’s hand and hugged Felipe and Sebastian. “I better see you guys in Croatia. Understand?”
“We’ll be there with bells on, bro,” Sebastian said, some of his normal personality finally shining through. “Fuckers aren’t gonna stop this.”
With a nod of assurance, Maddy and I made our way to our gate. Our three friends headed in the opposite direction. I’d have been lying if I said I wasn’t worried that it would be the last time I’d see any of them, but I had to push down those thoughts of doom and gloom. The rest of the flight check-in went flawlessly. It was actually a little surprising that there were no hiccups at all. Even on a normal flight, I always felt like something was going to go wrong.
I’d opted for first-class seats. No reason to penny-pinch when we might not survive the trip. Why not go out in style? It afforded Maddy and me some privacy as we had the only two seats in the row. The sun had barely crested the eastern sky, and the flight attendant had already come around offering drinks. I gladly accepted the vodka and Sprite. Maddy took a glass of white wine. We both needed something to calm our nerves. The trip from home to the airport had drained both of us more than we’d thought. We only had one drink, just enough to take the edge off, but I felt much better for it afterward.
Maddy had been quiet for most of the morning and for a good portion of the flight. I didn’t know if she was worried or simply introspective. Now was as good a time as ever to go over the plan one final time. I nudged her. “Do you want to talk it through once more before we get there?”
She had been staring out the window into the morning sky. The morning had come on like someone had hit fast forward as we flew east at almost seven hundred miles an hour. Her eyes fluttered, and she blinked like she was coming out of a dream. “Huh? Oh… yeah, let’s get on the same page.”
I nodded. “Okay.” I pulled out my small tablet. The original scroll had been too old and brittle to carry around, so I’d taken a photo of it and loaded it onto the device. I pulled up the message Edemas had left behind. “Okay. From the location, this scroll shows the vial is in an underwater cave system right off the coast between the modern-day towns of Bakar and Kraljevica.”
Maddy shook her head. “How do you even spell that?”
“Don’t ask,” I said, chuckling. “Anyway, this explicitly says that only a descendant of Edemas can access the cave. The same witch he got to seal the vial and the vault where we found the scroll enchanted that location.” I sighed. “I don’t really like you going in there by yourself, but it’s the only way.”
She gave me a solemn nod. “It’s okay. I’ll be okay. I can do this.”
I didn’t answer, not wanting to think of what it might entail. The last time she’d nearly died from giving up most of her blood. Instead, I scrolled down lower. “It says here that only a descendant can ingest and hold the blood in the vial. Only a descendant would be capable of holding and controlling the power that comes with the vial. Anyone else will die almost immediately.”
Maddy put a hand on my arm. “Why are we talking about ingesting the blood? I don’t want any of that power. I want to destroy that vial, so the royals can finally stop going after it. End this whole thing once and for all.”
That was exactly what I’d have said in her situation. “I know. I don’t blame you for that either. The scroll still doesn’t go into detail about what happens if a descendant takes the blood. Thereare too many variables, too much that can go wrong, and I don’t want to put you at risk. That’s not an option, but—” I chewed my lip and looked into her eyes. “This isn’t my inheritance. I’m not a descendant. I can’t tell you what you can and can’t do with that vial. You’ll be alone in the cave. The final decision will be up to you. Whatever you decide, I back you a hundred percent.”
“Okay. But you don’t have to worry. I’ve already made that decision. That thing doesn’t need to exist.”
Hours later,we finally landed at Grobnik Airport. We didn’t wait around for the others. Their flight was still a few hours away. We stuck to the plan and rented a car at a kiosk. The language barrier was hellacious; apparently, there weren’t many English speakers who vacationed in Croatia—that, or they usually didn’t go through this particular airport. The sedan I thought I’d ordered ended up being a strange-looking hatchback from a car brand I’d never heard of before.
It took two hours to get to the villa I’d rented through an online vacation rental site. The place was right on the water, looking over the Adriatic Sea, and it was magnificent. The drive showed the house was at the edge of a fairly vibrant coastal town. Maddy and I decided the best way to wait for our friends was a nap. The jet lag had already started to sink in.
We awoke a few hours later to the sound of Felipe, Tiago, and Sebastian knocking on the front door. I stumbled out of bed and went downstairs to let them in. Everyone looked road-weary, but they were all healthy and here.
“Nice of you to finally join us,” I said.
“Yeah, yeah,” Felipe grunted as he pushed his way inside. “We stopped along the way to get groceries. I’m fucking starving.
He made his way into the kitchen to start putting up his haul. Sebastian put his suitcase down. “Can you believe the grocery stores here don’t have freaking Oreos? What kinda place is this?”
“We’re not in America, young buck.,” Tiago chuckled. “Not every place has the stuff we have back home.”
“Right, yeah, I get that but…” He looked at us in a confused and dejected sort of way. “No Oreos?”
I rolled my eyes and asked, “Anyone feel like they were followed?”
