A Shade of Doubt

  It was a struggle to even feel the guilt amid the waves of pleasure crashing over me. It was only once my father managed to pry me off the girl that I realized what I’d done.

  I’d just claimed my first life.

  The life of my ex-girlfriend, Yasmine Renner.

  Chapter 17: Derek

  I could hardly believe my eyes. I was hoping that somehow this was a dream. That I’d wake up and Ben would still be locked safely in his bedroom. And yet here I was, a young woman’s blood soaking my hands, staring at deep wounds in her neck caused by my own son.

  At first I hoped there might be some hope of saving her. But I soon realized that she was cold in my arms.

  “No,” I breathed. “No.”

  It was the third human casualty within the space of a few days, after we’d gone years without a single violent death on the island.

  The girl still lay on the floor of our apartment in a pool of her own blood. My first priority had to be getting my son away from the other girls still standing outside the door, shellshocked at what they’d just witnessed. I hurled myself at him, dragging him back toward his room. He gave no resistance. Blood still dripped from his lips and stained his clothes. His face was ashen as he stared at the body on the floor, his breathing harsh and uneven.

  Ben’s expression reminded me too much of the first time I’d killed.

  The rush. The pleasure. The horror.

  Pushing Ben back into his room, I locked the door before racing back into the hallway. I glared at the girls.

  “Leave now,” I said hoarsely.

  All the blood had drained from their faces, and they lost no time in scampering away. Looking down once again at the corpse, I cursed beneath my breath. We knew Yasmine’s parents personally. How will we ever tell them?

  As I wrapped the corpse up inside the blanket it rested on, I heard a gasp behind me. I looked up to see Sofia, hand clasped over her mouth.

  “No,” she breathed, kneeling down next to me and staring at Yasmine’s corpse. “No.”

  Brushing Sofia’s hands away from the rug, I proceeded to wrap Yasmine up. I carried her outside and laid her down outside on the veranda.

  “Where is Ben?” Sofia choked.

  I nodded my head toward the direction of his bedroom and she hurried away.

  I cast my eyes around the bloodstained room. We’d been worried about werewolves attacking our humans. Now we had to concern ourselves first and foremost with protecting them from our own son.

  I stared at the medical equipment Sofia had brought in and dropped on the floor as soon as she’d seen the corpse. Then my eyes fell on the jug of blood we’d tried to feed Ben, still perched on the kitchen table.

  In a fit of rage and frustration, I grabbed the jug and smashed it against the counter. Blood soaked the surface, dripping down to mix with Yasmine’s on the floor.

  Chapter 18: Rose

  When Annora still hadn’t returned by the afternoon, Caleb went looking for her again. He returned a few hours later, unsuccessful.

  Truth be told, I was expecting him to look more worried than he did as he swung back up onto my branch. While he certainly looked concerned, I wondered if he also was secretly hoping something had happened to her. It would relieve him of the responsibility he seemed so bent on having for her. It would be an easy way out.

  “I wonder if she perhaps saw us across the lake,” he murmured.

  Oh, I so hope that she did.

  “Perhaps,” I said. “I have a feeling she’ll return though.”

  He sat down on the bunk next to me. Reaching for my hand, he planted a kiss on the back of it. My cheeks grew warm. I cleared my throat, leaning back against the truck of a tree and trying to make myself more comfortable next to him. I ought to make the most of this time I had alone with Caleb. I didn’t know when Annora would return and then how long it would be before we had time without her.

  “So, Caleb Achilles… ” I threw him a sideways glance. “It seems you have a type.”

  He raised a brow at me, a small smile curving his lips.

  “Tall, long black hair…” I continued, unable to hold back a grin.

  He rolled his eyes, but indulged me. “Perhaps I do,” he said. “But I’d need more of a track record for you to conclude that.”

  “Was Annora your first?”

  He nodded.

  “And… what number am I?”

  “I’m not sure I feel comfortable placing a number on you, princess.” He twined his fingers with mine. “But if you’re asking if there was anyone between Annora and you, the answer is no.”

  He reached for me suddenly, pulling me back against his chest. He ran his fingers through my hair, pulling my head backward until the base of my head touched his collarbone. He was so strong, it felt like he could snap my neck in two. His rough cheek brushed against my face and settled near my neck.

  “What about you, Rose Novak? Do you have a type?”

  I felt heat rise in my cheeks again.

  The truth was, I’d never really had a crush before Caleb. Sure, I’d met boys I’d thought were cute. But never the heart-stopping, all-consuming passion I felt for Caleb.

  “I… I don’t know.”

  He loosened his grip, his eyes fixing on me intensely. His expression was suddenly serious as he studied every flicker of emotion that crossed my face.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re my first.”

  His eyes softened, and he looked at me like I was the most precious thing in the world. As though those three words I’d just spoken had made me seem fragile, vulnerable.

  “Why do you look so surprised?” I asked, trying to break up his seriousness with a grin.

  He ran a hand through his hair. His lips parted, then closed again. I didn’t understand what had rendered him so speechless.

  “Are all the young men in The Shade blind?” he said finally, staring at me incredulously.

  I laughed. “No. But I’m not the only girl there. I guess it also doesn’t help being the daughter of the most intimidating vampire on the planet.”

  Caleb fell silent. I reached my hands around his neck and brought his head down so I could place a kiss on his lips. It had been a mistake mentioning my father. Caleb always fell silent and grew serious when he turned his thoughts to him.

  Realizing that I was hungry, I reached for a coconut in the corner of the bunk and attempted to smash it open against a nearby branch. After my third failed attempt, Caleb took the coconut from me and split it open with the pressure of his hands alone.

  “Thanks,” I muttered as I took the two halves from him. He reached for a long sharp leaf and helped me to loosen the flesh from the shell.

  “Shall I feed you while I’m at it?” he teased.

  He was joking, but I took him up on his offer all the same. I slid down his chest until my head rested on his lap, opening my mouth in expectation. He smiled, then slid the first piece of flesh into my mouth.

  I stared up at him as I chewed. I brushed my hand against his strong jawline, tracing my fingers over his rough stubble.

  As he slid the last piece of flesh into my mouth, I caught his hand before he could draw it away, pulling his thumb toward my mouth. I sucked on it, then gently dug my teeth into it.

  Moving the coconut shells aside, I sat up and, holding his shoulders, pushed him backward. He had a questioning look in his eyes, but leaned back as I was requesting. Placing my legs either side of his hips, I crouched down over him. I lowered my head down to his neck, kissing his cheek along the way. I pressed my mouth against his throat and grazed my teeth over his cool skin.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, amusement in his voice.

  “Practicing being a vampire,” I whispered back.

  His chest shook as he chuckled.

  The moment he chuckled, I wanted to look into his eyes. They lit up on the rare occasions that he laughed. I lifted myself up, still sitting on top of him, and spread my palms out over his che
st.

  I’d already decided that when the time came for me to turn into a vampire, I wanted Caleb to do it. I didn’t dare mention it now though. He’d have to get over the trauma of his turning Annora first before I even dared bring up the subject with him. He was still far too broken from that experience. He’d been afraid he might ruin me just by kissing me back on the boat. At least we seemed to be past that stage. He seemed comfortable being close and intimate with me now.

  Though there were still boundaries I knew he wasn’t yet ready to cross. And I had to be careful not to make him feel uncomfortable about that.

  Caleb’s arm shot out toward a nearby tree. When he withdrew it, he was holding a large purple hibiscus. My heart fluttered as he brushed the hair away from the side of my face and tucked it behind my ear.

  I lifted myself off him and lay down by his side, positioning myself so that my face was level with his. He had discarded his ripped shirt by now, and wore only his pants. It pained me to see all the scars he still had from the bullets he’d endured back in Brazil and Venezuela. I could even see the dark shadow of many of them beneath his skin.

  Caleb Achilles. My beautiful, broken warrior.

  We lay in silence for the next few minutes as both of us became serious. We just lay there, staring into each other’s eyes. When he finally did break the silence with a husky whisper, it let loose a thousand butterflies in my stomach.

  “You’re beautiful, Rose Novak.”

  If only Annora would just vanish, I could happily spend the next few years alone on this island with Caleb.

  Chapter 19: Annora

  I climbed up onto the edge of the old cracked well, staring down into the starry black abyss. I was almost sucked down instantly. Drawing a deep breath, I leaped into the gate.

  I twisted and turned in the void as I rushed downward at what felt like the speed of light. I barely had time to be nervous at what might be waiting for me on the other side. Which was a good thing. I couldn’t afford for them to detect apprehension in me.

  I braced myself as I detected the light at the end of the tunnel. Placing my hands over my chest to cover myself, I finally shot out of the tunnel, landing in a heap. I scrambled to my feet as soon as I could, adjusting the leaves around my waist to cover as much of me as possible and bunching my hair over my chest.

  I took in my surroundings. I was standing on a long, wide beach. Ocean stretched out in front of me for as far as the eye could see. Behind me was a towering stone wall. Behind it, I could make out the peaks of the massive black mountain ranges that this realm was famous for. My eyes traveled along the wall, and rested on a giant iron gate, spiked with human skulls.

  I drew in a deep breath. I had only been to the realm of the ogres once before and it was a memory I would not easily forget. I’d gone with Isolde, to accompany her on a negotiation. The black witches would supply ogres with humans in exchange for their own kind’s blood, which was the ingredient of many rituals we carried out, along with some other favors.

  Although I’d known about this trade between the ogres and the witches for a long time, I had never been directly part of it since that meeting and I hadn’t known exactly where the gate to the ogres’ realm was located on earth. It was such luck that Caleb had led us all right to their primary point of trade.

  I realized with a shudder that it was likely some black witches had also been present that night we heard the screams, to carry out the exchange through the gate.

  Brushing the sand off my body, I tried to get my thoughts in order. I knew the king and queen of this island would recognize me from all those years ago. And if I played my cards right, they would have no reason to suspect I was without magic now. Ogres both feared and revered black witches. I would have to play on this knowledge if I was to get what I wanted. I knew how dangerous it was to invoke the order of the black witches fraudulently. But right now, the vision of Rose and Caleb embracing across the lake still fresh in my mind, I was willing to risk the consequences. I was in trouble with the black witches anyway if they found out about my helping Rose and Caleb escape Julisse and Arielle. One more notch on my reputation wouldn’t make a whole lot of difference to the punishment I would undergo should they ever catch me.

  I snapped myself back to reality. I was standing here topless, with nothing but a breaking wreath of leaves around my waist. I had to somehow make myself presentable before entering the ogres’ kingdom…

  I scanned the shoreline once more and noticed a cluster of small boats in the distance. I ran up to them as fast as I could and peered into the first one. It was empty. As were the second and third boats. When I climbed aboard the fourth boat—about twice the size of the previous three—I finally found something I could work with. A large black cloak—belonging to an ogre no doubt—rested over the back of a chair. It was so heavy my arm muscles felt strained just picking it up and so long it dragged along the floor behind me.

  I walked to the cabin at the front of the ship, rummaging around in a large chest a few feet away from the giant wheel. I found an array of weapons—daggers, swords, axes… I picked up the sharpest dagger I could find. Laying the cloak down on the ground, I used the knife to shorten it to my height.

  I pulled it over me. Although it looked baggy around my chest, this would have to do for now. I tried to tidy up the hems so that it looked less obvious that I’d just cut it with a crude knife. But then I had no more time to spend on this.

  I threw the excess cloth over the edge of the boat into the sea, replaced the dagger in the chest and then left the vessel. I raced back toward the wall, my eyes fixed on the nightmarish iron gates.

  The gates of hell, they were often called. For, as the saying went: He who ventures in doesn’t venture out.

  My breathing quickened as I reached the gates. What I was about to do would be suicidal if any of the ogres found out, or somehow knew already, that I was a rogue witch. Their belief that I was still with the black witches would be the only thing keeping them from frying my insides for dinner.

  I tried to tame my long hair a bit, brushing through it with my hands and winding it into a tight bun at the top of my head. Then I ducked down and, picking up a rock, slammed it against the iron three times. The eerie sound of the echoing metal sent shivers running down my spine.

  My mouth dried out as I waited, my stomach churning.

  I prayed that the royals would remember me from my visit before. I hoped I didn’t look too different now that I was a human.

  My heart leapt into my throat as the clank of a bolt being drawn broke through the silence. The gates creaked open slowly until I stood face to face with a bulging ogre who looked almost five times my size. His bright yellow eyes glinted as he stared at me, frowning.

  I spoke before he could come to too many assumptions of his own about my presence.

  “My name is Annora. I am on commission here from Rhys and Isolde. In service of the order of our Ancients, I am here to see His and Her Highnesses.”

  His eyes widened the moment I mentioned Rhys and Isolde. He grunted, beckoning me forward. While ogres generally despised the witches of The Sanctuary, mention of the order of the black witches was enough to invoke reverence and fear in this guard.

  I entered through the gates, burying my hands within the robe to hide the way they were shaking.

  “Their Highnesses usually rest at this time, after lunch. But I will see if Anselm is awake,” the ogre boomed into my ear.

  Anselm. I racked my brain to remember who he was. Of course, I couldn’t ask. I needed to appear as knowledgeable about these ogres as possible. So I nodded, despite the fact that I had no idea what I was about to walk into.

  “May I carry you, witch? It will be faster.”

  Eyeing the grotesque ogre, I nodded. “You may.”

  “Or, of course, you could simply magic us inside, if you are familiar with the castle.”

  “I am not so familiar with the exact location,” I said. “It’s better if you carry me.?
??

  “As you wish,” he mumbled.

  He reached down his hand and laid it flat on the floor like a step. I stepped onto it, and he lifted me up to lean against his shoulder as he began thundering forward. My heart pounded in my chest as he sped up to an even faster pace. I hoped he wouldn’t wonder why I was barefoot. I would try to hide my feet with the hem of my cloak when I was presented before this Anselm, whoever he was.

  We traveled along a dirt path, lined either side by gnarled black trees, which led into a clearing filled with tombstones. The royal graveyard. I remembered passing by this before. The foot of a mountain lay up ahead. There was a massive wooden door at its base. The ogre drew keys from his pocket and pushed the doors open. Chilly air crept down my neck as he entered the base of the mountain and locked the doors behind us.

  We passed through one cavernous hall after another. The walls were lined with long, blood red and deep orange tapestries depicting various pastimes of their ancestors of old. Mostly involving consumption of human flesh.

  I was beginning to lose track of how many chambers we had traveled through when the ogre finally stopped and set me down on the ground.

  “Please wait here.”

  Turning his back on me, he walked up to a door to our right and knocked. It swung open after several seconds. I couldn’t see who was behind the door because the guard’s imposing form was blocking my view.

  “You have a visitor. A black witch. Her name is Annora.”

  There was a pause before a deep male voice said, “Show her in.”