I closed the distance between us quickly and grabbed him by the collar. I pulled him away from the pavement and took a right down a narrow cobbled street filled with market stalls and teeming with people. Wrestling the gun out of his hands, and checking him for any other weapons he might have been carrying, I pulled him through the crowds. I stopped at the other end of the street where there were fewer people and hauled him down a narrow alleyway. I slammed him against the wall, pinning him there by his shoulders.
“Who are you?” I hissed as he struggled beneath my grip. “You’re a hunter?”
He nodded, scowling at me. “Who the hell are you?”
“Derek Novak.”
His jaw dropped. “Novak?” he croaked.
“That will be the last word you utter if you don’t listen to me,” I whispered, digging my fingertips into his flesh. He winced as I applied heat.
“What are you?” he whispered.
“Human. Hunter. Vampire. Fire-wielder. I have, and have had, many titles. But none of them define who I am.” I shook him. “Do you understand me?”
He cried out as a surge of heat passed through my fingertips and seeped into his flesh. Sweat dripped from his forehead.
“You almost killed a person who was trying to accomplish the very thing that you spend your days fighting for,” I snarled. I picked him up and slammed him against the opposite wall. “Not all supernaturals are the same, just as not all humans are the same. There are evil and good among all races.” I bashed his head against the wall again. “Get that into your thick skull before you go shooting at an innocent person again.”
“What are you doing here?” he gasped.
“We have just spent all day traveling through countries trying to protect the lives of humans,” I said through gritted teeth. “Something you almost killed my wife for doing.”
He looked shaken enough by now, his face drained of all color, so I let go of him, though not without first jolting him with another wave of heat.
He staggered back further down the alleyway, stopping and staring at me.
“My family and my people are your allies, not your enemies,” I said, trying to calm the storm raging within me. “The black witches are the ones you need to focus your energy on ending. They are the root of all this trouble now.”
“Black witches,” he breathed, “they are the ones who stole those teenagers from the school?”
I nodded grimly.
He frowned. “But some vampires are still our enemies. You forget about the incident in Chile. It was caught on camera, a vampire tearing through innocents’ throats. Do you know the vampire who did that?”
My voice caught in my throat. The hairs at the back of my neck stood on end. Clenching my jaw, I shook my head.
“I don’t know that vampire.” I breathed out heavily. “But what I’m saying is that the black witches are the primary threat now. They are the ones we need to be focusing on. So just… don’t just go shooting at any vampire you see, all right? Especially if you suspect that they are one of my people.”
The hunter nodded. I stepped aside, handing him his gun back, before he raced away.
“I don’t know that vampire.”
The words echoed around in my head long after the hunter had disappeared. It pierced my heart to realize that it was true.
The man I’d seen in that footage was not my son.
At least, not the son I knew.
Chapter 18: Ben
The Oasis. Once the home of the Maslens.
I stared around at the lavish atrium, barely believing what Jeramiah had just told me. My parents had told me about this place, the history it held. My mother had been imprisoned here by Borys Maslen. It was also where Benjamin Hudson had lost his life, as well as my uncle, Lucas Novak. The Oasis held a lot of meaning for my family. None of it good.
I was already unsure about the decision I’d made to join Jeramiah’s clan. Now the situation just seemed even more inauspicious. I glanced at Jeramiah, who seemed to be watching my reaction closely. I did my best to conceal my shock.
“You have a very impressive place here,” I said.
Jeramiah smiled. “Shall I give you a tour?”
“Sure,” I said, my mouth dry.
Jeramiah began leading me forward along the ground level that encompassed the beautiful gardens in the center of the atrium. Most of the doors we passed by were closed, but Jeramiah pushed the occasional one open to reveal luxuriously furnished chambers and apartments. They were all decorated similarly—opulent Egyptian furniture, shiny marble flooring, bright murals on the walls, warm, soothing lighting. A few of the doors Jeramiah pushed open were dark and I could hear snoring coming from them.
“Most of these scoundrels are sleeping now,” Jeramiah said. Letting down his dark shoulder-length hair, he shook it out before gathering it up above his head and tying it back in a bun. “You’ll get to meet them soon enough.”
“How did you find this place?” I asked.
“This place is legendary. Most vampires know of it. It had been thoroughly destroyed by the hunters when they destroyed the Maslens’ coven. But since then, we’ve managed to not only rebuild it but also reinstate security. We have a number of witches living here with us. Hunters still know about this place, but they can’t get inside.”
Having walked full circle, Jeramiah gestured toward the glass elevator.
“You’ve seen this lower level now, more or less,” he said. “Of course there are the human chambers. They’re down in the basement.”
“Where do you keep your half-bloods?” I asked.
“Most of them live among us. Those who serve us stay in servant quarters built into our apartments.”
“What about the man I just half-turned, Tobias?”
“Oh, yes. I put him down with the humans for now until he stabilizes a little. Then we’ll decide where to put him up…” Jeramiah frowned at me. “I haven’t offered you any blood since we arrived. Would you like some?”
I ran my tongue over my lower lip. Truthfully, I could really do with some blood. I nodded. “Please.”
“In that case, let me take you straight to my apartment—my refrigerator is fully stocked. You can explore the other levels another time. They’re mostly just filled with apartments and halls similar to what you’ve seen on the lower level anyway.”
We ascended in the elevator up to the highest level and stepped out. I followed him forward. He stopped after we passed the fifth door. Withdrawing a key from his pocket, he slid it into the keyhole and the door clicked open. It was dark inside. He flicked a switch and the lavish apartment lit up.
“Jeramiah?” a groggy female voice called.
Jeramiah smirked. “That’s my half-blood, Marilyn,” he muttered. Raising his voice, he called, “Hey, baby.”
He led me toward a door at the end of the hallway that was ajar. He pushed it open to reveal a huge, dimly lit bedroom. A blonde girl lay stretched out on the bed, apparently naked but for a sheet wrapped around her. I backtracked into the hallway, leaving Jeramiah and his girl alone.
“So you brought Joseph back with you?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Jeramiah replied.
She appeared in the doorway, still wearing nothing but a thin white sheet, Jeramiah standing behind her. She was pretty with large brown eyes and pale, freckled skin. She gazed up at me, squinting in the light.
“You’ll have to excuse my girlfriend,” Jeramiah said, sliding his hands around her waist and kissing her shoulder. “Marilyn can’t be expected to look presentable at this time of day.”
“Hi, Joseph,” she said, winking at me. “Nice to meet you.” Her eyes roamed my body as if she were undressing me in her mind.
Apparently noticing, Jeramiah gripped the back of her head and pulled it down as he planted a forceful kiss on her lips. “Watch where your eyes wander,” he said.
He rolled his eyes at me before leading me away from the bedroom. I caught Marilyn still eyeing me from the
doorway as we walked away. Jeramiah took me into a large kitchen. There was a beautifully carved rosewood table in the center. Stored in cabinets above the sink were silver cutlery and a number of crystal glasses.
The vampire strolled over to the tall fridge in the corner. When he opened it, it was filled with shelf upon shelf of jugs filled with blood, except for the bottom level, which appeared to have some human food—Marilyn’s, I assumed. He pulled out two large glasses from one of the cabinets and set them down on the table. He filled them up with blood and handed one to me. I eyed the glass, sniffing it before taking the first sip.
The cool liquid glided down my throat like sweet ecstasy, lighting up my taste buds. This was the most delicious blood I had tasted since turning into a vampire.
Jeramiah was watching my reaction with mild amusement. He raised his dark brows. “Good?”
“Yeah. Really good. Where do you get this blood?”
Jeramiah flashed a smile. “Let’s save some surprises for later, shall we?”
He began drinking from his glass, draining it in seven gulps. He poured another glass for himself, then topped mine up. I stopped after three glasses. I could have consumed more, but I was still holding out hope that I might be able to wean myself off human blood and replace it with animal blood. So while I was here I wanted to accept only what was absolutely necessary for me to not feel hungry.
“Shall I take you to your room now?” Jeramiah asked. “You look like you could do with some rest.”
I gave him a faint smile. I doubted I’d be able to sleep, but I was eager to be alone. “Yeah, I’m pretty exhausted.”
Jeramiah stood up and placed the blood back in the fridge. He gestured casually to the glasses. “My servant will clean those up.”
“Marilyn is your servant?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“No, no. She’s my girlfriend. There’s another half-blood living in the rooms at the back of my apartment.”
Truth be told, I was surprised that Jeramiah had made a girlfriend out of the half-blood. I had just expected them all to be used as servants. It made me feel at least a little better about this place, that not all half-bloods were enslaved.
We exited Jeramiah’s apartment, stepping back onto the open veranda connecting all the apartments. He pointed to a door on the same level, on the opposite side of the atrium.
“We lost a member of our coven recently,” he said. “He used to live over there. You can have his place now.”
“What happened to him?” I asked.
“He tempted fate. Got drunk out of his mind one night, ended up leaving our base and wandering around outside in the desert… You see, our witches have secured this place from the hunters. But the protective boundary only stretches so far around The Oasis. This vampire was foolish enough to step outside of it. Hunters are notorious for having people positioned around this area. Our coven has annoyed them too many times for them to give us an easy ride anymore. So let that be a lesson to you. Don’t go more than five miles from this place if you want to avoid being burned from the inside by a hunter’s bullet.”
“Thanks for the tip,” I said grimly.
We arrived outside the door to the apartment. It wasn’t locked, so Jeramiah pushed it right open. He switched on the lights to reveal an apartment very much like his own. He took me on a short tour, showing me the master bedroom, two smaller bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large kitchen, a sitting room, servant quarters right at the back, and to my surprise a sauna—at least, it looked like a sauna.
He noticed my confusion as I looked at the wooden room.
“Yes, this is what it looks like. A sauna. Just a basic courtesy for the half-bloods living among us. Since they are not fully vampires and only display partial symptoms, being cold all the time can become uncomfortable. Saunas help to ease some of the discomfort.”
“I see. Well, I won’t need any half-bloods in my quarters,” I said.
Jeramiah gave me an odd look, holding my gaze for a moment, before shrugging. “As you wish… I’ll leave you now. Have a good rest.”
I saw him to the door and closed it as he left. I leaned back against the wall, taking in the atmosphere of the apartment. There was a subtle aroma of sandalwood in the air—incense perhaps. I walked into the master bedroom. One entire wall was taken up by the mural of an exotic-looking beach. I smiled bitterly. It reminded me of my mother’s Sun Room. How far away I am from there now…
I headed into the en suite bathroom, turning on the golden taps and relishing the cool water. I raised my head and stared at myself in the mirror. My eyes weren’t pitch black as they had been, but they were still a much darker shade of green than usual. Hopefully, if I was able to abstain from killing, they would return to their usual lighter color.
Jeramiah was right about me looking like I needed rest. Still, I had no desire to even try sleeping. I stripped out of my soiled clothes and stepped into the shower. The water gushed down onto my back, soothing me like a massage. I still couldn’t get over the facilities of this place. How lush it felt. I never would’ve dreamed in a million years that we were in the middle of the desert. They certainly wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without the witches. I wondered how they had gotten them on their side to begin with and how many were here altogether. I had only seen one so far—Amaya.
I reached for one of the soft white towels hanging on the rack and dried myself. Wrapping the towel around my waist, I headed back into the bedroom. Opening one of the cupboards, I found a pile of clean cotton pants and shirts. I pulled one of each off the shelf and dressed, then sat down on the bed directly opposite the mural. I stared at it, my vision unfocused.
I just have to keep my head down and wait this out. At least I won’t cause any more harm to anyone while staying here.
Chapter 19: Ben
I passed the next several hours lying on my back, staring up at the ceiling.
I replayed everything that had happened since I had left The Shade over and over in my mind, trying to make sense of my behavior—why I couldn’t have just transformed like every other vampire in The Shade.
It was a relief that at least I was able to think straight. Those hours I had spent in the submarine, submerged in darkness, had been one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. It had been like being on a trip I’d feared I would never come down from.
It had been a while now since I had killed someone. I could only assume that my theory was correct—blood in itself didn’t bring about that extreme reaction in me. It was the actual killing, giving into my urge to claim life. To consume. To devour.
I wondered what was going on in The Shade now, whether Rose had returned, and what was happening with the black witches. Whatever the island was going through, I knew that my parents and my people were better off without me. I would only be adding risk to an already treacherous situation.
I still didn’t know exactly what Jeramiah wanted me for. He had said that I would be useful in half-turning humans. I would have to explain to him that the only way I could half-turn a human was if he or she was sick. There was no way I would agree to touch a healthy one. I didn’t trust myself to not kill the human in an instant.
Yet I wasn’t sure that half-turning humans was truly why Jeramiah had shown interest in me. Michael, Jeramiah’s comrade whom I’d met back in Chile when I’d first come across them, had said that if they needed newly turned vampires to create half-bloods, they could just create a new vampire themselves. Besides, I wouldn’t be newly turned for long. A fair amount of time had already passed.
But whatever Jeramiah’s true intentions were, there was no point in reading too much into them now. I just had to watch my back and keep to myself as much as possible. Hopefully I would feel in a fit state to return to The Shade sooner rather than later.
* * *
As midnight approached, there was a knock on my door. Opening it, I found Jeramiah standing on my doorstep. He held a glass of wine in one hand. He was shirtless and wor
e dark pants, similar to the ones I was wearing. I noticed the tattoo of a black cross etched into his right bicep.
“I hope you weren’t sleeping?” he asked, a slight slur to his voice.
“No.”
“Good. I wanted to introduce you to some of the others. They are awake now.”
The last thing I felt like doing was going down to meet a crowd of people, but I couldn’t just refuse. They were letting me stay here. I had to put at least some effort into being sociable.
“Sure,” I said.
I followed him out the door. We walked along the open veranda toward the glass elevator.
“We’re out in the open tonight,” he said.
We ascended one level in the elevator and stepped out onto the glass-walled platform that overlooked the entire atrium. I looked up to see that the trap doors in the ceiling were wide open, the light of the moon streaming in. As we climbed the stairs toward the exit, the temperature became warmer, although as we stepped onto the sand it wasn’t as hot as I had expected. There was a cool desert breeze.
Looking around, I was surprised at how many men and women I saw—vampires, half-bloods and a few whom I guessed were witches. Exotic music filled the air from a corner where four women sat playing stringed instruments I didn’t recognize and a tambourine. To their left was a long table filled with containers of blood and alcoholic beverages. Men and women were dancing, and scattered loosely around the dance area were large cushioned chairs. Dozens of vampires shot glances toward Jeramiah and me as we began making our way toward the drinks table. Five men and women—half-bloods—stood behind it, serving drinks.
“What do you want?” Jeramiah asked me.
“Nothing, thanks.”
“Oh, come on. You need something to hold in your hand.”
“A small glass of blood then,” I said. “But don’t add alcohol. I don’t drink.”
Jeramiah faced the young woman looking tentatively at us from behind the table. “You heard him.” He turned to me. “Why don’t you go and take a seat over there.” He gestured toward an empty chair. “I’ll top up my drink and bring yours over.”