An End of Night

  “We should be tied together,” Caleb said.

  “Yes,” Ibrahim said. He and Corrine went about casting the first spell over us—I couldn’t feel any difference once they had finished, but I assumed that I would feel it once I dove into the water. “Now,” Ibrahim continued, “if I am to tie everyone together, we need to decide in what order we are going to be swimming. Who will go in front?”

  My father was already ordering us all into a line. He suggested that Aiden go at the back, then Caleb, me, Corrine, Ibrahim, and himself at the front. Standing in this order, I felt something thick wrap around my waist and tighten. It felt like a rope, though it wasn’t visible to the eye.

  Next, the warlock and witch made us all invisible. I reached behind me and felt for Caleb’s hand. I squeezed it tight.

  “This invisibility won’t help us much,” my father said. “We’ll still be disturbing the water currents and producing a scent and taste in the water. So we need to move as fast as we possibly can.”

  My father tugged us all forward and we dove into the ocean. I trusted that Ibrahim and Corrine’s breathing spell had worked—and indeed it had. It was the strangest thing. I no longer felt the need to inhale. It wasn’t a strain keeping my mouth closed because I felt no desire to open it. I wondered how long a spell like this could last on a human body. Hopefully long enough.

  I also wondered if Mona had placed this invisibility spell on herself when she had entered the ocean. Kiev should’ve had it done to him too. He hadn’t even given Corrine or Ibrahim the chance to suggest it; he had been in such a hurry to go after Mona.

  As we swam deeper and deeper through the dark green weeds, Caleb’s hands rested at my sides. I was still terrified of what we were about to encounter, but his touch brought me at least some reassurance.

  The water became less murky as we descended deeper, and soon all the weeds had disappeared. I could barely believe my eyes at what I saw beneath me… a stunning underwater kingdom.

  My father stopped swimming, causing all of us to pause. I assumed that he was looking around and deciding in which direction we ought to head first.

  It wasn’t long before he started moving again, guiding us all downward after him. My skin crawled at all the creatures that were now in full view. Creatures of my nightmares. Giant sharks, water serpents, more bright red squid, more crabs—much larger than those we had seen on the rocks—and bizarre-looking fish that came in various shapes and sizes. The only thing they all had in common was that none of them looked friendly.

  I was petrified that we might collide with one of the creatures head-on. Especially at the speed my father had begun to drag us downward. He didn’t seem to be concerned at all by what we were passing by. Apparently, we were heading directly for the entrance to the kingdom. As we neared it, a merman came into view. He held a tall spear and was prowling around near the pearl-studded entrance gates.

  I wanted to ask what on earth my father was thinking as he hurtled so close to him. But before I could, the merman’s spear shot right out of his hand and vanished—I could only assume beneath my father’s touch. The merman looked shocked as he stared around. Then the man vanished too.

  Oh my God. My father is taking him hostage.

  I just hoped that this would not end in disaster.

  “Where do you keep your prisoners?” My father’s voice drifted through the water.

  There was much hissing and protesting on the part of the merman, but it seemed that my father was not letting up.

  “Tell me,” he growled. “And I might just spare your life.”

  I could hear the sound of a struggle and we were all pulled forward and backward several times before my father finally overpowered the creature.

  “All right,” the creature gasped. “I will lead you.”

  “And no misleading me,” my father said, his voice nothing short of menacing. “This spear will be lodged deep into your throat if I detect even the slightest bit of deceit from you.”

  To my surprise, we headed upward. I was expecting us to enter the city. We began traveling at a much faster speed—I guessed that the merman was doing much of the work in pulling us forward with his powerful tail.

  The base of an islet came into view. Swimming up to it, the merman led us through a hole that was drilled right through its base. He led us into it. Traveling along a dark tunnel, we surfaced in a pool in the center of a dark cave. We hauled ourselves out of the water. It was empty but for three figures lying on the ground. Mona and Kiev were lying in one corner, while my mother was in another. I lurched toward her and clutched her face. It shook me to see how she’d been tied up. Like an animal. I pressed my ear against her chest, afraid that I might not even hear a heartbeat. But I did, however faint it was. The rope Ibrahim and Corrine had connected us with tugged around my waist as others must have been walking toward the other end of the cave.

  “Loosen the rope,” my father said, his voice some distance away. For a moment, I wondered why he hadn’t immediately rushed over to my mother. But then I remembered that he was still restraining the merman.

  The rope around me loosened.

  “Gather them up quickly,” my father said. “We don’t have long.”

  I felt Caleb next to me as I slid my hands beneath my mother’s body. He placed his hands beneath her legs and we both stood up, lifting her up with us. But as we motioned to move back toward the entrance of the cave, something held us in place.

  “They have fastened her to the ground,” Caleb said.

  A chain had been locked around my mother’s right arm. We were forced to put her back down. The chain clanged as Caleb attacked it, but it seemed that he was having trouble loosening it from the ground.

  “Corrine,” he called across the cave. “Are Kiev and Mona fastened to the ground?”

  “Yes,” Corrine replied, her voice filled with worry. “Ibrahim and I are trying to break the chains. They are made of—”

  My father grunted, then yelled out, “No!”

  The merman he had taken hostage came into view. He had broken free from my father’s grasp and dove into the water.

  “Hurry,” my father said, now rushing over to us. “He slipped from my grasp. We need to get out of here, now!”

  “I don’t know what these chains are made of,” Ibrahim said. “It’s stronger than any material I’ve ever encountered. We’re trying to break them.”

  My father attacked the chain connected to my mother, but he had no more luck than Caleb had.

  “I wonder if burning it might help?” I suggested.

  “Pick her up again,” my father said.

  Caleb and I did as he had requested. A moment later, a blaze of fire scorched the ground where the chain was connected. It still remained fixed.

  “We figured it out!” Ibrahim called. We turned to see him carrying Mona in his arms, free from any chains.

  Corrine hurried over to us and Ibrahim started to work on Kiev’s chain.

  “All right, hurry,” my father said.

  My heart leapt into my throat as a hissing sound filled the cave. Five mermen surfaced in the pool and hauled themselves up onto the ground.

  They all carried two spears, one in each hand, and they looked more fierce than I had ever seen these creatures looking before. My mother still being attached to the ground, Caleb and I crouched down on the ground with her, keeping contact with her so that she remained invisible. The mermen must have been warned that we were invisible foes. Spears outstretched, they began whirling them around wildly.

  Oh, Lord.

  I crawled over my mother and lay down against her as flat as I could as one merman headed straight for us. One of his blades grazed the air, inches above my ear. I gasped, fearing that he was about to strike again. Instead he yelled and staggered backward. Two nasty gashes appeared across his face—claw marks. I heard Caleb’s heavy breathing as the merman lashed out again with both spears.

  “Make everyone visible!” my father bellowed somew
here across the cave.

  “No!” I cried. I couldn’t understand why my father would order that. But my protest went in vain. I became visible, as did every other person in the cave. It was then that I caught sight of Caleb standing several feet away from me, blood soaking his claws.

  The mermen launched forward now with confidence.

  My father’s purpose for such an insane order finally became clear to me as he yelled, “Duck!”

  He wanted everyone in sight so he could be sure he wasn’t about to scorch anyone.

  Although they looked confused, everyone obeyed his commands and billows of fire shot from his palms toward the two mermen nearest him. A wave of heat hit my face. The creatures screeched and staggered back as the flames engulfed them. They launched toward the exit of the cave and dove into the water to extinguish themselves.

  The merman closest to me had spotted my mother and me on the ground. He motioned to move toward us. I shot to my feet and released a burst of fire. I was surprised at how quickly it sprung from my palms. His eyes widened in shock, and he hurried backward, but he wasn’t fast enough to escape my fire. As with the other two my father had targeted, he dove screeching into the water to extinguish himself. Only two mermen remained in the chamber now. They were harassing Matteo and Caleb.

  “Duck!” my father and I yelled at once.

  The mermen already knew what was coming. They didn’t wait around and moved their slimy bodies straight for the pool. Our flames only licked their tails.

  My father then walked over to the entrance of the cave and remained standing over it, positioning his palms above the water threateningly in case any of them got the idea to come back in. The moment they raised their heads out of the water, they would be burnt to a crisp.

  Now that the mermen were out of the way, Corrine raced back over to my mother. She managed to detach the chain from her, allowing me to finally pick my mother up with the help of Caleb and carry her toward my father. Ibrahim brought Mona, while Erik carried Kiev’s unconscious form over to us. Once everyone had gathered round, and we had done a headcount just to be sure we hadn’t left anyone behind this time, my father turned to Corrine and Ibrahim.

  “Take everyone to safety now.”

  “What?” I said, gaping at him. “You’re coming too.”

  He shook his head and glared at Corrine.

  The witch gripped my arm and my father, along with the cave, disappeared from sight.

  * * *

  As we were reunited with the rest of our group on the rocks, Caleb and I laid my mother down gently. I leapt up and clutched Ibrahim’s arm. “Why did we leave my father?”

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m going back to get him.”

  “But why did we leave him?”

  Corrine placed a gentle hand over my shoulder. “He’s going to try to get the information we need about Magnus. Without that, our entire trip will have been a waste.”

  “How will he get that information?”

  “Just… Have some faith in your father, Rose,” Ibrahim said, and a moment later, he had vanished again.

  Blood still pounding in my ears, I made my way back over to my mother and placed a hand over her head. Then I bent over and kissed her cold cheeks.

  Corrine approached beside me and began examining her. She reached for my mother’s ripped shirt and pulled it down so that the skin of her shoulders was revealed. The witch ran a finger over a bright red spot. At least, I had thought it was a spot. She bent down closer and, after a moment of fiddling, pulled out a small bullet-shaped object from my mother’s flesh.

  “A poison dart,” Corrine said, sniffing it.

  “Poison?” I said, horrified.

  “Yes, but it’s not lethal.” She gestured toward the other side of the rock. “Why don’t you sit over there while I treat your mother? I have my own nerves to contend with without yours too.”

  I didn’t want to leave, but I figured that Corrine would work better without me there, so I did.

  I approached Caleb, who was sitting on the ground, nursing his injured leg. He had ripped the bottom half of his trousers off to reveal a deep cut just beneath his shin. It was so deep, I thought I could almost see bone.

  “Why isn’t it healing?” I said worriedly, bending down.

  “It will,” he said through gritted teeth. “I think those spears are tinged with something that makes the healing process slower.”

  My eyes fell to his chest. That seemed to be healing a bit better than his leg. I gripped his head, winding my fingers into his hair and pressing my lips against his, kissing him passionately. I pulled away, staring into his eyes.

  “Sometimes stupid pays off.”

  He let out a weak chuckle. “Sometimes.”

  “Let’s just hope it pays off for my father…”

  I walked to the edge of the rocks we were standing on and looked down at the water.

  Come on, Ibrahim, what’s taking you so long?

  I heaved a huge sigh of relief when the two men finally appeared on the island. My father had more cuts than when I had last seen him, but he seemed to be all right. I hurried up to him and flung myself into his arms.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  He looked around at everyone grimly. “I waited in a corner to trick the mermen into believing that we had all gone. As soon as they pulled themselves up out of the water, I managed to grab hold of one and coerce him into speaking to me. The long and the short of it is, Magnus is no longer here in The Cove.”

  Everyone’s faces dropped.

  Oh, man.

  “Then where is he?” Aiden asked.

  “The merman didn’t seem sure of the vampire’s whereabouts,” my father replied. “Apparently he hasn’t been seen in these parts for at least a century. The merman advised to try searching for him in The Woodlands. I wasn’t able to stay long enough for him to explain what The Woodlands is. Does anybody know?”

  “The werewolf realm,” Micah said instantly.

  We all eyed one another.

  “Well,” Ashley muttered, scowling as she stood next to Landis and nursed a wounded elbow, “looks like this has officially become a goose chase.”

  Chapter 10: Rhys

  We took Lilith’s unconscious form up to a bedroom. Isolde and Julisse bathed her, then laid her down on a bed. We all looked on as she breathed gently, her eyelids still shut. It was bizarre seeing Lilith in this youthful form. I was so used to seeing her as a corpse. Of course, she wouldn’t remain like this forever. But it would be long enough to complete the final part of the ritual.

  “Aunt,” I said, “would you step out of the room with me for a moment?”

  Isolde looked confused at my request, but she turned to Julisse and said, “Stay here with Lilith.”

  I led my aunt out of the bedroom and along the corridor outside until we were well out of earshot.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “About the final step,” I said, bracing myself for her reaction. “Our plan needs to be modified slightly.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that I have a way to make the ritual less prone to failure. We both know how fragile Lilith’s existence is, even in her young form. It’s possible she won’t make it through to the end—and that is a possibility that we can’t afford to entertain. The bond she had with Magnus… it has been enough to sustain her until now, but this ritual will put levels of stress on her that she has never had to bear before.” I paused, studying my aunt’s face for a moment before continuing. “Isolde, I went against Lilith’s wishes.”

  “What?” she whispered.

  “I imprisoned Magnus.”

  My aunt’s jaw dropped. “What? How?”

  “When we first came into contact with Lilith and I learned about her secret, I confronted her about Magnus. I told her that we couldn’t afford for anything to happen to him. Even as a vampire, he was and is not invulnerable. I knew that we needed to keep him alive for a long time. Any
thing could happen to him before we were ready to carry out the ritual. But Lilith refused to even entertain my suggestion. She wouldn’t tell me why, she just rejected it outright. She said that nothing would happen to him and imprisoning him wasn’t necessary. I tried to press at the time, tried to make her see reason, but she wouldn’t hear me out.” I shot a look down the corridor to check that we were still alone. “So I took matters into my own hands. I tracked the vampire down and placed him somewhere… secure.”

  My aunt looked dumbstruck. “All this time,” she breathed, “you never told me. Why?”

  “I didn’t tell anybody,” I said. “Not even my sisters. There was no point until we were ready to call upon him. I didn’t want to worry you. You had enough on your shoulders already.”

  “But… We can’t just bring him in front of Lilith. If she finds out about your deception, your disobedience, she will be furious. God knows what she might do.”

  I gripped my aunt’s arm and led her further along the corridor, lowering my voice even more. “She will thank me for it. It will be a shock, no doubt about that. But having Magnus present with her in the flesh will make the bond she has with him as strong as it can possibly be.”

  “All this is just your speculation. You have no idea how she will react.”

  I breathed out impatiently. “We won’t reveal Magnus until the ritual has started. Do you really think that she would interrupt it?”

  Isolde still looked doubtful.

  “Look,” I said. “This is just a risk we have to take. And I need you on my side.”

  She swallowed hard, then said, “All right. Where have you kept the vampire?”

  “I will explain later,” I said. “Now, while Lilith is still recovering, I am going to fetch him and bring him back to the castle. We’ll keep him locked in a room until we are ready to begin.”

  “I hope you are sure about this, Rhys.”

  I nodded. “In the end, Lilith will thank me for it. As will generations of witches in the future.”