I was about to turn right and begin making my way around the atrium when I caught sight of a girl on the terrace opposite me. She was slumped on a bench, a bottle of wine in her hand. Her complexion was white, and as I looked closer, I realized that she was Jeramiah’s half-blood girlfriend. Marilyn. She was drunk out of her mind. Her head lolled back against the wall. She was muttering inaudibly to herself, and I couldn’t be sure whether she had noticed me or not. I walked swiftly forward, acting as if I hadn’t noticed her.
While most people seemed to be sleeping after a night of drinking, I wanted to take this opportunity to explore this place at my own pace, without Jeramiah’s gaze on me. I doubted it would bring me any closer to discovering who had branded me, of course. For that, I’d have to wait until people started waking.
Avoiding the elevator, I walked down a flight of stairs to the level beneath me. I circled the entire level, trying a few doors behind which I couldn’t hear snoring, but most were locked. Jeramiah had said that the apartments on these levels were the quarters of vampires and witches in any case. I imagined they’d look much the same as my and Jeramiah’s apartments. I descended level after level in the atrium until I reached the ground floor. Mixing with the sweet aroma of jasmine, the scent of human blood was strong. Strong enough to cause my mouth to water, even though I had only recently topped up on blood.
Clenching my jaw, I moved toward the room I had waited in while Jeramiah had disappeared with the human I’d half-turned, Tobias. I approached the door, clutching the handle and expecting it to be locked. It wasn’t. I was able to push it wide open and step inside the dark, bare room. My eyes fixed on the door at the opposite side of the room that Jeramiah had carried Tobias through.
I was still afraid of my inability to control myself around fresh, hot blood. But this was a part of The Oasis I hadn’t seen at all yet. I felt I needed to explore it at least once.
I breathed in deeply, trying to reel in my cravings, before reaching for the handle and twisting it.
This door was locked.
I looked around the room for a key. Never mind a key, there wasn’t anything in this small, dusty room.
Bending down on my knees, I peered through the keyhole. This seemed to be a basic lock, nothing sophisticated. I was confident that I’d be able to pick it, if I had something long and sharp. I was unsure of where to start looking for a suitable object. Then I realized that I might be already be equipped with what I needed.
Looking down at my hands, I extended my claws. If this was going to work at all, the claw in my forefinger seemed to be the best fit for the job.
I inserted two claws through the keyhole and began to pick the lock. My claws worked surprisingly well. I’d been worried that they might be too thick. After a minute, I managed to get the door to click open.
If I was quick and didn’t get caught by anyone already in the basement, nobody needed to know that I’d ventured down without permission.
The scent of blood intensified as I stepped through the door and found myself standing at the top of a narrow winding staircase. My gut clenched. I hoped that I wouldn’t regret this decision.
Reaching the basement, I was met with a much less primitive prison than I had imagined. Thanks to my foray into the territory of the black witches, I was used to dungeons being separated into cells by mere gates, with no bedding to sleep on or even clean water to drink.
This place, however, looked civilized, at least on first glance. I found myself standing at the end of a narrow corridor lined either side with doors. I peeked through the thin strip of window at the top of the first door to my left. I found myself looking into a small room with a bed, a sink, and even a door that apparently led to a toilet. It also looked relatively clean. A man who looked middle-aged was sleeping on the bed, a blanket pulled up to his neck. I kept moving, looking through window after window, hoping to find Tobias. It was clear that I was in the wrong section though. I could only smell human blood among these rooms, no half-blood.
Another thing that surprised me about this place was the fact that all of these humans seemed to have a room to themselves. One also wouldn’t know that one was in the desert down here. It felt like there was some kind of air-conditioning system.
I didn’t understand why they held such high standards for their prisoners. I wasn’t used to seeing prisoners being treated like this by supernaturals. It was odd. Especially considering—I assumed—they only ended up using these humans for blood anyway.
I finished traveling along the corridor to meet with another door. This one was not locked. I pushed it open and continued walking forward. I could detect half-bloods now.
This area was lined with similar rooms, but they seemed to be bigger and had a more comfortable feel to them. More effort had been put into making these people feel at home. I noticed bookshelves in some of them, and even the occasional mini-fridge. I continued looking from chamber to chamber, passing half-bloods of all ages and genders. Finally, at the end of the long winding corridor, I found Tobias. It was impossible to tell what state he was in because he was fast asleep. Still, he was alive.
Now I just had to hope that his life wouldn’t be worse here than if I had just let cancer claim him.
The area Tobias was in led to yet more corridors lined with rooms. I walked further for about five minutes, and still hadn’t reached the end of them. I was shocked by just how many people they kept down here.
If someone came down, it would be impossible to avoid them. The corridors were narrow and there was nowhere to hide. I decided it was time to return upstairs even though I hadn’t finished looking around.
Passing back along the various corridors, I climbed to the top of the stairs and walked back out into the small room where I had picked the lock. I closed the door behind me and, sliding my claw into the keyhole, I fiddled around with it again until it clicked shut.
Then I walked back out onto the terrace outside. Unsure of where to roam next, I found myself walking absentmindedly toward the lush gardens in the center of the atrium. I walked past the various exotic plants and flowers, barely appreciating their beauty and the effort it must have taken to grow them. My thoughts were lost elsewhere.
It was only when I passed by a pond covered with blue water lilies that something caught my eye. A stone slab, fixed into the ground at the edge of the water. It caught my eye because the grayness of it was so at odds with the lush surroundings. I strayed from the narrow path and crossed the grass to stand over it.
Even though I had perfect eyesight, I was convinced that I’d been imagining things.
But, as I bent right down close to the stone, there was no room for doubt.
Etched into the stone were the words:
“In memory of Lucas Dominic Novak.”
My jaw dropped.
Lucas Novak?
Who on earth would have installed this here?
It had to have been done since this coven had arrived here. Jeramiah had already told me that they’d rebuilt this place from scratch.
Could it be possible that one of these vampires or witches used to be a friend of his and knew that The Oasis was where he had met his demise?
Shaken by the idea that I could be in the presence of a close acquaintance of my family, I headed straight back to my apartment. Whoever had erected this wouldn’t be a well-wisher of my parents. Lucas and my father had been bitter enemies, and he had met his death at the hands of my grandfather while trying to murder my mother.
No friend of Lucas would be a friend of mine.
Locking the front door behind me, I headed back to my bedroom. I almost jumped as I laid eyes on a blonde girl sprawled out on my bed. Marilyn. She was naked but for a sheet pulled up to her chest. Still holding a bottle of wine in one hand, she looked up at me through hooded eyelids.
“Don’t mind if I sleep here, do you?” she slurred.
“What are you doing? Where’s Jeramiah?”
She scowled. “He said I drank too m
uch tonight. Didn’t want me in his apartment. Said I snore too much,” she replied, before taking another swig from her bottle.
I snatched the bottle from her and shoved it out of reach.
Her frown deepened.
“You can’t sleep here,” I hissed. “Find a spare room in someone else’s apartment.”
Her lips formed a coy smile. “I’m not used to sleeping alone.” I looked away as she sat up abruptly in bed, the sheet slipping to reveal her bare form.
Jesus Christ.
Keeping my eyes fixed on the door, I said through gritted teeth, “Get out. Now.”
“If you’re worried about Jeramiah, he doesn’t mind really. He shares me all the time…”
He shares you, or you share yourself?
To my discomfort, she leapt out of bed and flung herself at me. I brushed her away, grabbing another sheet from the bed and wrapping it around her tightly so that her arms were trapped within it. I looked toward the door before turning back to face her. Her eyes were glassy and bloodshot.
“If you want to stay here, you’re going to answer some of my questions,” I said, my voice low.
“Sounds fair enough, I s’pose.”
I sat her down on the bed, before leaning back against the wall, watching her intently.
I showed her the mark on my right biceps.
“Who did this?” I asked.
She eyed the tattoo. “I dunno. We all get them once we arrive here. I’ve got one too, see.” She struggled to show me her tattoo, but failed miserably due to the tightness of the sheet around her.
“So one of you did this to me?”
She shrugged. “Who else would have done it?”
It was clear that she wasn’t going to contribute much on this topic, so I changed the subject.
“Why is there a memorial stone by the lily pond for Lucas Novak?”
She frowned, as though struggling to understand what I’d said.
I asked the question again, slower this time.
“Stone,” she slurred. “Oh, yeah. That old thing. I wondered the same thing when I saw Jeramiah clearing away the weeds from it one day.”
“Jeramiah?” I leaned in closer.
“Yeah, my supposed boyfriend who kicks me out of his bed whenever he feels like it…”
“Tell me more,” I urged, careful to keep my voice low.
“He also lies and says I talk too much when I’ve had too much to—”
“No! More about the memorial stone. You saw Jeramiah cleaning it. Was he the one who installed it by the pond?”
“Yeah… For his dad.”
My voice caught in my throat.
“Dad?” I breathed.
“If you could call him that,” she replied. “Jeramiah told me that he never even met his father. He doesn’t even think that his father knew of his existence.”
“H-How could that be?”
“Jeramiah said his father was…” She paused, smirking. “Let’s just say that in his youth he wasn’t great at keeping his pants on. Something I wish you weren’t great at right now…” She cast me another longing glance before licking her lips and continuing. “Jeramiah’s mother was the daughter of a poor mill owner. She was just sixteen when Lucas knocked her up. According to Jeramiah, she didn’t realize that she was pregnant until two months later… but by then, Lucas was nowhere to be found. Moved on, I guess. Left town. Who the hell knows. Perhaps the Elder had even gotten him by then… Poor ol’ Jera. His mother died when he was still young. And he’s always had a chip on his shoulder for growing up as a bastard child. He never used Novak as his surname. Titled himself Jeramiah Stone.”
My mind was one blur of confusion. A hundred conflicting questions and doubts crowded my head at once.
“How…How is this possible?” was all I managed to voice.
“How is what possible?” Her mood changed to irritation. “I don’t get what’s so surprising. The Elders are famous for tracking down members of the same bloodline. Once they found a lineage that worked for them, they’d try to snatch up as many blood relations as they possibly could. And the Novaks, apparently, were one of their favorite families. They targeted everyone who was even remotely related to a Novak. Apparently, that family always had a leaning towards darkness…” The obvious finally dawned on her. “Why are you so interested anyway? Did you know Lucas Novak?”
I shook my head. “No,” I said truthfully. “I was just curious.”
That seemed to be enough of an answer to direct her attention away from me in her drunken state.
“I have to leave,” was the one thought circling my mind now.
This was just one bad omen too many.
I couldn’t be sure whether Jeramiah knew that I was a Novak or not. But something had obviously drawn him to me. Whatever it was, I wasn’t about to hang around to find out.
The son of Lucas Novak was someone I had to get as far away from as possible.
I looked around the room, forming a plan. I headed first for the closet by the bed and began emptying it of all the clothes I could find. Grabbing one shirt after the other, I pulled them over me until I had a thick layer of shirts covering my skin. Then I did the same with pants, though I was only able to pile on two pairs. I headed straight to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. I was relieved to see containers of blood there. I emptied the fridge of the blood and tied the supply up in a bed sheet. Next, I searched the apartment for something that I could use to shield myself from the sun. I found an umbrella sitting on a shelf in a cupboard in one of the spare rooms. It looked flimsy, but it would have to do.
Making sure that the sheet was wrapped tightly around the blood, I picked it up and flung it over my shoulder. I took one last look around the bedroom to see if there was anything else I could possibly bring with me before heading toward the door.
“Where you going?” Marilyn asked, standing up and padding toward me. “What are you doing? Why don’t you want to stay the night with me? I answered all your questions.”
Ignoring her, I freed her from the sheet I’d tied around her before hurrying to the front door. I pulled it open and raced along the terrace toward the elevator leading up to the very top floor. Emerging beneath the trap door that led straight up to the desert, I climbed up the final set of stairs and pushed upward hard against the ceiling. It didn’t budge.
Dammit.
As I remembered it, it had been a witch who’d opened it before.
I tried pushing against it once again with all my strength, and to my relief, this time, there was a crack and one of the doors pushed open. I winced at how much noise I’d made, but it couldn’t be helped. I climbed up through the roof. A wave of heat engulfed me as I emerged in the desert. Beyond the boundary in the distance, the sun had already risen. Hence the need for all these extra layers and the umbrella to cover my skin.
Fortunately, I could run fast. And I had some blood to keep me going for a while. I just had to hope that there would be some settlement or sign of civilization not too far away.
Although I cursed myself for coming here in the first place, I could hardly blame myself. I’d been at the end of my tether, unable to see how I could stop attacking humans in broad daylight even while trying to keep myself stranded in the middle of the ocean in a submarine.
But now, even that situation seemed preferable to staying here. Everything about the atmosphere felt wrong. I couldn’t stand to stay here even a moment longer.
It was a hive of my parents’ enemies. My enemies.
After I’d taken the first steps away from the trap door, a sudden burst of pain shot through my right arm. It was emanating from my tattoo. I stopped, momentarily stunned. I pressed my left hand hard against my bicep, trying to soothe it. But that only made it more painful. I continued walking. The pain only increased until I was clenching my jaw against the pain and forcing myself forward with all the willpower I possessed.
Despite the agony and the heat of the almost-midday sun beating down be
yond the boundary, I continued racing forward as fast as I could.
Just keep going.
I was sure that I had run at least one mile already. I remembered how Jeramiah had said to stay within five miles of the boundary to avoid hunters. I would have to hope to slip by them silently. Because staying wasn’t an option.
After what felt like five miles, I was about to brace myself for the hunters when I slammed into an invisible barrier. I staggered back, staring in horror at the patch of sand I’d been unable to walk past.
My tattoo prickling more than ever, I moved further up and tried to pass through in a different spot. Still unsuccessful, I tried several more areas even further along and in different directions.
Each time, my attempts were in vain.
I was trapped.
* * *
What’s next?
So Caleb and Rose finally got their Happy Ever After.
Though their story has ended, The Shade has not!
From the ruins of the final battle, a new hero has emerged. A hero who will take The Shade into unchartered territories. Who will usher in a new world order, in which no predator may ever be safe again. And who will experience and learn to love, like no man has ever done before…
Pre-order A Wind of Change now from Amazon!
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I can’t wait to meet you back in The Shade!
See you soon,
Love,
Bella xxx
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