“There, boy,” I said, grabbing his enormous head between my hands and giving him a generous ear scratch. He settled down contentedly at my feet.
I looked around the cabin to get a better look at our newly arrived passengers. The first sight that met my eyes made me break out into a wide smile. Liana and Cameron sat opposite us. Cameron’s body shook with tears of joy as he held Liana in his arms and showered her with kisses.
And next to them sat Claudia and Yuri. The feisty blonde had placed herself on Yuri’s lap, her small legs wrapped around his waist. They kissed as though they were having a competition of who could get to the back of the other’s throat first. I diverted my gaze, feeling uncomfortable watching a scene that was escalating too rapidly to belong anywhere other than their bedroom. I caught Derek’s eye and we both broke out giggling. When we noticed Eli sitting at an awkward angle nearby, positioned to distract himself from the couple, we laughed even harder.
Taking pity on him, Derek tugged on Shadow’s collar. “Come on, boy. Stand up. Go to Daddy over there in the corner. He looks like he’s in need of some company.” Eli glanced over at us and smiled with embarrassment, mouthing a “thank you” to Derek when Shadow got up and made his way over to his master.
Then my eyes fell on Vivienne in the far corner and any joy I’d just felt vanished. Her eyes were fixed on the ground and beads of tears trickled silently down her cheeks. Landis sat next to her, an arm placed around her shoulder, although he too looked devastated.
Derek followed my gaze and, on noticing her too, he looked back at me. “My sister deserves more than this. She’s sacrificed more than any of us.”
“I-I don’t think Xavier made it, Derek,” I whispered, recalling the state of his body when the Elder had transferred to me. I hadn’t seen him since and neither had Ashley. It seemed that Yuri and Liana had no news of the man either.
Derek held his head in his hands and fell silent, a silence that lasted until Craig addressed him.
“We’re back at the port. What now?”
“We’ll drop you off here,” Derek said. “You’re free to go back to Headquarters.”
Craig looked suspiciously at Derek, but then he nodded and limped his way out of the boat. He scurried away from the port and drove off in one of the buggies still parked up on the beach.
I looked up at Derek in question, as did Gavin. “He’s of no use to us any more. And I don’t want him knowing the location of our new home.” Then Derek said, “Liana, you’re the most experienced captain on this boat. I need you to navigate us to the beach where our new house is.”
Liana pulled herself away from Cameron’s arms and stood up.
“Well, I’ll do my best. I really hope there are some decent maps here.” She began searching through a drawer beneath the controls and pulled out several large maps, spreading them out against the dashboard. Derek went over to her, gave her the address and helped her locate our villa. Once Liana seemed to be confident of our destination, she took Craig’s place and the boat went shooting forward.
“We need to hurry,” said Derek. “We’ve only a few more hours until the sun starts to rise.”
By the time we arrived at the villa, daybreak looked about half an hour away. Liana steered the boat toward the shore until it hit shallow waters, at which point we all abandoned it. We jumped into the ocean and rushed across the sand, and then up the stairs to the boulevard our house was situated on.
A wave of nostalgia hit me as we arrived outside our charming home. I remembered all too clearly visiting the place months ago with Derek. I remembered how we’d fantasized about raising a family here. A dream that now seemed destined to be elusive.
Derek was the first to arrive at the front door. He reached for the keys from his pocket and unlocked it. We all bundled inside, leaving a trail of dirt behind us on the white floors. Shadow shook his giant mane, spraying the pale walls with mud.
My immediate concern was the impending sunshine. Thankfully, the house had come furnished and blinds lined the windows.
Once we’d closed the blinds, it was clear that everyone was itching for some rest, or in a certain couple’s case, privacy. It had been a long, stressful night.
“Is there a basement here, Sofia?” Eli asked me politely, Shadow trailing along behind him.
“Um… let’s take a look.” We found the door to a large basement located in the washing room. We descended the steps and Eli looked around, nodding.
“This looks like a good place for Shadow to rest for now, out of everyone’s way.”
Shadow padded over to a corner and nestled down. Then I took Eli upstairs to find him a bedroom that hadn’t already been snagged by the others. It turned out that he had to share with Landis. The two couples had already locked themselves up and Vivienne must have already retreated into a room by herself.
I wished Eli and Landis goodnight before heading off to find Derek. He wasn’t in the master bedroom that had been left for us to share. I went down the stairs and into the living room, but only saw Gavin lying on the sofa.
Then voices came from the kitchen. Derek stood leaning against the kitchen counter, in conversation with a tall dark-haired man I immediately recognized as Ibrahim.
As soon as Derek saw me enter, he said, “Ibrahim, I hear what you’re saying. But let’s please discuss all this in a few hours once we’ve had some rest. The bedrooms are all taken but if you want to stay here, there’s plenty of comfortable sofa space in the living room.”
Ibrahim nodded and gave me a brief smile before leaving the room.
“How come he’s here all of a sudden?” I asked.
“Sofia,” Derek said sleepily, “let’s talk about it in a few hours. We both need to get some rest.” Without waiting for my response, he picked me up and whisked me to our bedroom.
We undressed and tucked ourselves under the freshly starched sheets. A suspicious noise was starting to emanate from the direction of Claudia and Yuri’s room. I cuddled up next to Derek and muttered, “Well, this sure isn’t the housewarming party I would have expected.”
Chapter 29: Derek
I woke up after six hours of sleep. The temperature in the room had risen considerably. I moved the sheets away from my body and looked down to see Sofia still asleep, her head against my chest. I lifted her head gently onto the pillow and wriggled down in bed so my face was level with hers. I placed a hand against her back and pulled her closer, pressing my lips against her neck and breathing in her scent. She stirred after several minutes and looked up at me. Confusion spread across her face.
“That was strange. I thought for a second that I was back at your penthouse in The Shade,” she said, rubbing her eyes. Then she squeezed my hand and looked at me seriously. “We need to rescue The Shade, Derek. Our people are in a terrible state, I can’t even begin to describe…”
“That’s partly what I was talking to Ibrahim about last night.” I slid out of bed and began getting dressed. “Let’s go down and continue that conversation with you present this time.” She found a clean dressing gown in the bathroom cupboard and fastened it around her.
When we arrived downstairs, Ibrahim was already waiting for us in the kitchen. We both greeted him with a nod and took seats next to him at the table.
“So, as I was saying,” Ibrahim said, “the council’s next plan is to finish wiping out the gates to Cruor. I’ve just come directly from destroying the gate at The Underground. Now the only gate to Cruor that remains is the one within the witch’s temple at The Shade.”
“I’m curious,” Sofia said. “Why do you witches even need our help in wiping out The Shade’s gate when you seemed to be able to ruin The Underground’s without much problem?”
“Because,” Ibrahim replied, “the job at The Underground was easier. The vast majority of the Elders have gathered at The Shade because that’s where most of the vessels and humans are.”
“And how exactly do you propose that we destroy The Shade’s gates when the plac
e is swarming with Elders and vessels?” I asked.
“Firstly, none of the vampires here would accompany us. That would just provide them with more vessels. I would call on some more witches to help from The Sanctuary.”
Gavin stepped into the room, followed by Zinnia.
Momentarily distracted from our discussion, I asked Zinnia, “How on earth did you get back?”
“Oh, it wasn’t too difficult. I just shifted the blame to you two. Told them that you and Gavin must have run off with the vampires and that I had nothing to do with it. Tyler didn’t seem to believe me, but I managed to get Joshua on my side, who convinced him to let me go. They dropped me back at the port where I called Gavin’s number. I stole one of the boats and here I am.”
Sofia placed a hand on my arm, resuming our conversation. “I understand why vampires are of no use to this mission, and the same for humans”—she looked pointedly at Zinnia and Gavin—“but the others aren’t going to like this. They’re going to want to fight for The Shade.”
“In which case, to avoid wasting time arguing with them, we should leave now before they all wake up,” Ibrahim said.
Sofia tensed up beside me and tightened her grip on my arm. “You didn’t finish explaining the plan to Derek,” she said. “How exactly are you going to go about this?”
“We’ll have to play it by ear. We don’t know what the exact situation will be before we arrive,” Ibrahim said. “But we’ll have help. And as with The Underground, we have the advantage of surprise on our side. As long as we’re quick… I’m hoping the Elders at The Shade haven’t yet received news that the witches ruined The Underground’s gate.” He snapped his fingers and a dozen witches and warlocks wearing dark grey robes entered the kitchen.
I hugged Sofia and looked deep into her eyes. “Keep everyone safe. Don’t allow anyone to leave the house. But you’ll need blood. Zinnia and Gavin will stay here and help you cope.”
Then, before I could offer her words of comfort that I knew she desperately needed, Ibrahim’s hand rested on my shoulder, and the next minute, I couldn’t see anything at all. A blur of colors shrouded my eyes.
Chapter 30: Derek
When my vision eventually returned, I was floating in the sea beneath a starry night’s sky. Ibrahim swam beside me along with his army from The Sanctuary. It didn’t take long to spot a familiar outline in the distance; we were about a quarter of a mile away from my lighthouse.
Ibrahim nodded and we swam to land, hoisting ourselves up on the rocks just below the tall building.
“The sooner we reach the temple, the better. Derek, try to remain hidden from view.”
The witches gathered around me and I crouched down so that my head was not visible above them as we walked. We moved away from the rocky area, past the Port, and entered the woods, moving swiftly toward the Sanctuary. My whole body tensed when a symphony of screams pierced through the atmosphere.
“What was that?” I whispered to Ibrahim.
“You don’t want to know.”
It felt like we had been running through the woods for about half an hour, the screams unrelenting. Eventually we reached the spot where the trees ended and the clearing outside the temple began. We crouched down in some bushes and surveyed the situation.
Several tall figures were huddled around the fountain. One of them I recognized instantly: Ashley. The other faces were familiar but I couldn’t put names to them—vampires whom, although they were citizens of The Shade, I had never personally spoken to. And then I spotted a vampire less than half the size of the others and I realized it was Abby.
The group stood in front of our destination, the temple. There was no way we could walk past them without being noticed.
I looked sideways at Ibrahim through the shrubbery. His brows furrowed, he appeared to be thinking furiously. This surprised me, because our next step seemed obvious to me.
“Just do your disappearing trick. Vanish us from here and manifest us again inside the temple,” I whispered.
He shook his head and looked at me like I’d just come up with the most stupid idea in the world. “Just trust me, all right?”
Then, without any warning, he sprang out of the bushes. My first instinct was to grab him and pull him back, but two witches yanked me back down into a sitting position. I wasn’t used to being kept in the dark and following orders blindly.
“Shhh. Just watch, Derek. And have faith in Ibrahim. We will tell you when to move and what to do when the time comes,” an elderly-looking witch next to me said, patting my shoulder with her wizened hand.
As soon as the group of vampires caught sight of Ibrahim approaching, they froze and stared at him. At first, I feared the worst—the Elders had already got wind of the witches’ gate-wiping rampage. But it appeared that they had not.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the Ageless’ cousin himself. What brings you here, warlock?” Ashley stepped forward. Although her eyes were clear like Sofia’s had been, the strange yellowing of her skin was evidence enough that she too was being inhabited by an Elder.
“Yes, do tell. You’d better have a good excuse for disturbing us,” Abby piped up.
Abby apparently hadn’t had the same treatment as Ashley and Sofia. Her eyes were glazed over with a translucent film and her mouth split open in an awkward smile, her expression mismatched with her age.
“I’m here to meet with the Elder in charge.” Ibrahim’s voice remained steady and if he was frightened even in the slightest, he didn’t show it.
“That would be me.” Ashley held out her hand to him with a smirk on her lips.
Ibrahim declined her offer of a handshake. “Good. I wish to talk privately with you. The temple will be a good place, I think.”
Ashley eyed him. “Why has the Ageless sent you here in her place? I’m accustomed to dealing with her directly.”
“She asks for your forgiveness. She has been very much preoccupied in dealing with the Hawks. They’ve been growing more and more demanding these days. In fact, that’s what I’m here to talk to you about. But, due to the sensitive nature of the subject, I would like some privacy first and foremost.”
As soon as Ibrahim mentioned the Hawks, Ashley’s face twitched. “Very well,” she said. “This had better be worth my time.”
Ibrahim and Ashley made their way toward the entrance of the temple and soon disappeared from sight through the wooden doors, swinging them shut behind them. As soon as they had done so, one of the warlocks a few feet away from me whispered “Now!” and the elderly witch tugged on my shoulder.
We all rushed out from our hiding places. The remaining vampires by the fountain were shocked enough to stand rooted to the spot for a few seconds before chasing after us. But by the time they’d caught up, it was too late. We’d formed a circle around the temple and the witches had begun to recite their magic, uttering a low chant. Just as the vampires closed in around us, little Abby heading straight for me, an invisible force field shot up around the temple. As soon as the vessels made contact with it, they were hurled back several feet.
Enraged, they attacked the force field again, their mouths stretched open in what I imagined would have been wild screams. But we heard nothing. The force field, it seemed, also kept out sound.
I stepped back from the circle of witches and neared the entrance of the temple. I was at a loss as to what my role was to be in all of this. I sought out the elderly witch.
“What should I do?” I asked.
“Follow Ibrahim into the temple. But go silently! He will need you when the time comes.” Her face twisted in concentration as she focused on keeping the shield intact against the vampires. To my alarm, I now caught sight of a crowd of nearly fifty more vampires emerging from the woods. They must have heard the vessels’ screams and come running to assist. The witches were outnumbered. I prayed that they had it in them to sustain their magic long enough for us to complete the mission.
I pushed open the temple’s door, sliding inside
the dim corridor. Ibrahim and Ashley’s voices sounded up ahead. I crept along, closing the distance between us as noiselessly as possible, until I was about ten feet away from the temple’s innermost chamber. The pair had already entered it and their shadows bounced off of the stone wall opposite the open door.
“In short, we at The Sanctuary have decided to cut our allegiance with the Hawks and support the Elders in full,” Ibrahim explained. “The Hawks have simply been asking too much of us recently. We can no longer cater to their demands. It’s reached the point where we cannot remain neutral any longer. We must choose sides, either yours or the Hawks’.”
“And what has made you want to choose us?”
“Frankly, we believe that the Hawks are the lesser threat. We’d rather have them as enemies than yourselves. We will create more immunes and continue to allow you access to this realm. We will also put all our efforts into trying to recreate our powers so that we have the ability to manifest new gates, since I’m aware that the Hawks managed to eliminate the gate at The Blood Keep…”
I was so engrossed in their conversation that I failed to notice someone approaching me from behind. By the time I realized, it was too late. I felt a blow to my head and went tumbling to the ground, in full view of the open doorway. A vampire guard towered over me and Ashley’s eyes fell on me.
“Derek Novak,” Ashley hissed, striding toward me.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Ibrahim take advantage of the distraction and rush over to a hole in the floor.
I scrambled to my feet and steadied myself. “Yes, that’s my name.”
Without warning, Ashley’s claws shot out and she flew at my throat. I ducked and launched into a sprint down the corridor. I didn’t know where I would lead them to, and I was beginning to worry about hitting a dead end. I had no witch to assist me in protecting Ashley. If I was forced to ignite flames to protect myself, I would burn Ashley’s body to ashes.