I walked over to the other side of the cage and stared out again at the brightening sky. A cold breeze caught my hair, bringing along with it the scent of freshly blooming flowers.
I tried to calm my mind, stop thinking about what these hunters were about to put us through.
Soon enough, the sound of the small chopper returning roared over the mountaintop. A crowd of humans bundled out of the helicopter. More than a dozen of them. Men and women, young and old. They approached the men sharpening their tools and stared into the cage at us. Hatred burned in their eyes.
Anthony stepped forward with a young woman and an elderly man. “Meet Stacy, my wife, and Raymond, my father-in-law. Do you remember kidnapping Tobias? My brother-in-law? No, I didn’t think so.”
Another hunter stepped forward, his lip trembling as he held the hand of a teenage boy. “What about Justin, my son? Why don’t you explain to Sean where his brother is?”
More hunters stepped forward, one by one, introducing themselves. I looked down at the floor of the cage, no longer willing to look into their eyes.
“You see, vampires.” Anthony broke through the crowd again. “There are many more like us. What you see here is just a small sample of lives you’ve affected.”
Now that the Hawks were no longer on earth to manipulate the hunters’ cause, the agenda of these humans was simple. Vengeance. And none of us vampires could blame them. Hell, I’d join their cause if I weren’t a bloodsucker myself.
“Our organization is small now. But we are rebuilding fast. Gathering funds. Investing in weapons, surveillance systems, aircraft, training new recruits. Many are still afraid. That’s why occasions like this are important. Occasions where we demonstrate that, behind bars, you’re nothing more than animals. Animals that can be tamed… perhaps. We shall see how much desperation can tame you.”
He paused, his cold eyes surveying the cage. They stopped on Frieda, who lay curled up in a corner, still nursing her bloody stumps.
“We’ll start with the weakest first, shall we? Put her out of her misery.”
There were murmurs of approval from the crowds behind them.
Frieda squealed, backing further into her corner against the bars of the cage. Two hunters circled the cage with stakes, poking them into her back to force her to the center of the floor. Five men aimed guns at us as Anthony approached the entrance of the cage.
“One movement from any of you, and my men will take you down.” His eyes were fixed on Frieda. “Come here, girl. Come on.” He beckoned her over as one would a dog.
Her eyes sparked with fury at his humiliation. But she was helpless. We were all helpless. One movement, and the bullets would be lodged in our bodies, burning us from the inside out. Anthony entered the cage, gripping Frieda by her arm and holding a gun against her temple. He dragged her out even as she screamed. A woman fastened the door behind him as he stepped out into the clearing. He dropped her to the grass, in clear view of all of us.
“Make sure you all watch this,” Anthony said, addressing the crowd of hunters. “Spread out if you have to.”
He gripped a machete and brought it slamming down against her right arm. Steel sliced flesh. Blood spurted everywhere, soaking the grass. Frieda’s screams could have brought hearing to the deaf.
She writhed around on the grass so violently, four men had to bend over her to keep her still. As she tried to lash out at them with her remaining claws and bite them with her fangs, one man lodged a metal ball into her mouth, choking her, tying it around her head like a muzzle. The other men raised stakes to the air and brought them down, digging straight through her shoulders and pinning her down against the soil.
The crowd’s eyes flickered with anticipation. Hungry for blood. Hungry for death.
Anthony hovered over, cutting away her clothes with his blade. Then, using its tip, he etched the mark of a hawk into her skin. Blood seeped from the brand.
They didn’t prolong her pain much longer. Anthony grabbed a stake from one of the men and stabbed it through her throat. He pulled it out again, and finally pierced her heart.
The first weak rays of the sun were now beginning to peek out from behind the horizon. I dropped down to the floor along with the other vampires to avoid being hit by them. A few more minutes, even half an hour, and the sun’s angle would make it impossible to avoid its rays any longer. We’d burn alive, unless they decided to kill us first.
“Don’t worry,” Anthony said, his eyes gleaming as he severed Frieda’s head. He dug a stake into the ground like a mast and mounted her head on top of it. “We won’t keep you here long enough for the sun to have all the fun.”
Chapter 10: Sofia
I ended up staying the night in the Sanctuary. I’d had to ask Corrine to pay a late-night visit to Derek. She explained to him that I’d decided to have dinner with her and we’d ended up having a little too much to drink. She said I’d already fallen asleep on her sofa and would return tomorrow. It wasn’t the most plausible of stories, since Derek knew it wasn’t in my character to get drunk, but it was the best I could come up with in my panicked state.
To my dismay, as the clock struck half past three the next day, I still hadn’t turned back.
“Corrine,” I said, my voice shaking, “you and Ibrahim need to step in for me.”
“Hey, I didn’t sign up for this.”
“I know. I know. But all of this will be for nothing if they don’t at least have one meeting together where they behave civilly, as themselves—”
“That’s all very well said, but what do I tell Derek? He’s going to wonder where the hell his wife is.”
“Just…” My voice trailed off as I desperately racked my brains. “Just tell him I’m at Anna’s place. I left the Sanctuary and decided to visit her and Kyle.”
Corrine stared at me, her eyebrows raised. “That’s ludicrous. Derek’s never going to buy this. He was doubtful enough about the story I told him last night. Besides, he’s going to wonder why Kiev turned up on his doorstep.”
“Just tell Derek that I invited Kiev round for lunch without telling him, hoping they could both make amends. In preparation and without my knowledge, Kiev came to apologize yesterday, to make sure things weren’t awkward over lunch. Tell Derek I invited you too. He’ll have to assume that I’ve gotten held up with Anna and you can suggest that I’ll probably be back home soon.”
“But—”
I crossed the room and gripped Corrine by the shoulders… a little too hard.
“Ouch,” she said irritably, wriggling away from my grasp.
“Sorry. But look, please Corrine, I’m begging you. You have to step in for me. I know it’s a stupid story. But we just need to get them together, okay? Ibrahim can go with you.”
She paused, biting her lip. “Ibrahim!” she called.
I breathed out in relief.
He appeared in the room.
“What?”
“As you can see, Sofia still hasn’t turned back, so she’s going to have to stay here while we go and help Derek with his lunch guests.”
Ibrahim looked less than enthusiastic at being roped into this.
He opened his mouth but I bulldozed over him. “Just try to keep the conversation away from the visits they made to each other yesterday—by any means necessary. They won’t be very talkative, so you two must take the bull by the horns and lead the conversation places where the subject won’t crop up. Remember, Mona will be there too. She’s smart enough to realize what might have happened and she’ll help in keeping the conversation on other topics.”
Corrine looked less tense at mention of Mona. “All right. I’ll do my best.” She looked again at Ibrahim. “So, will you come with me?”
He sighed. “All right.”
“Good job vampires are easy to feed,” she muttered. “I suppose I’ll have to cook something for us witches though, and the twins.”
“You’d better hurry,” I said glancing back up at the clock to see ten more minut
es had passed. I prayed that Kiev and Mona wouldn’t arrive early.
Corrine grabbed Ibrahim’s hand and they vanished.
I sighed heavily and sat back down in a chair. I drummed my fingers on the table, watching my hands closely, hoping to detect any sign of change.
But another hour passed, and Derek’s large hands showed no signs of shrinking even in the slightest. I stood up and started walking around the chambers of the Sanctuary, trying to distract my mind. But it was impossible to stop thinking about the time.
A second hour passed. And then a third.
I was surprised that Corrine and Ibrahim hadn’t returned by now. I had expected the lunch to last one to one and a half hours at most. This could mean only two things: either the lunch party was going exceptionally well, or most horribly wrong.
Sweat formed on my brow as I made my way back into Corrine’s dining room and resumed my seat at the table.
Leg hair. I should have pulled a damn leg hair.
Finally, Corrine and Ibrahim reappeared in the kitchen. My stomach dropped on seeing the expressions on their faces.
“What happened?” I said, leaping to my feet.
Corrine walked up to me and held my hand.
“Vivienne’s had another vision. I tried to delay this as long as possible, but you need to return to Derek now.”
“But—”
Corrine ignored my protests. She gripped me and we both vanished.
Chapter 11: Caleb
“We’ll take the leader down last,” Anthony said. “It’s only right that his pain be prolonged.”
The five men resumed aiming their guns as Anthony once again entered the cage. He dragged out Demarcus. I couldn’t bear to watch this time, but Demarcus’ cries were enough to tell me that they were no less merciful to him than they had been to Frieda. I winced at the sound of gargling, and the final tearing of flesh.
The sun was now treacherously high. Its rays singed my right shoulder. I tried to huddle closer into the shade, but all of us vampires remaining had the same idea.
One by one, Anthony came in and pulled out the rest of them. Someone from the crowd kept insisting that Anthony was ending them too soon, and since Anthony obliged, my wait was prolonged.
By the time my last companion’s head had been mounted on a stake, my skin was on fire. I’d torn off my shirt, trying to cover myself with it. But the fabric was torn and thin.
The gate creaked open for a final time as Anthony stepped inside, his heavy boots thudding against the cage’s metal floor.
He reached down and gripped my hair, placing the barrel of his gun against the base of my neck. He dug the metal in hard, forcing me into standing position. As I stepped out of the cage, the morning sun blinded me. I had to squint, and even then it was all a blur. Anthony tore away the shirt from my hands, and now the sun hit my bare chest. My body erupted in agony, as though a thousand daggers were piercing me all at once.
He pushed me down on my knees. A chain tightened around my neck like a collar. They were going to humiliate me before killing me, watching the life drain out of me as I lay helpless as an animal.
No.
I may die this morning, but not like this.
I forced my eyes open and scanned the edge of the cliff. I couldn’t imagine I’d survive the fall. But I preferred to take my own life rather than have these hunters take it from me. Of course, I might end up with a bullet lodged in my back before I ever made it off the cliff. But it was worth trying. It wasn’t like I had anything to lose.
I didn’t have any semblance of a plan. My adrenaline took over.
I took a deep breath, my heart hammering in my chest. Just as Anthony had finished sharpening the stake and the men had begun to approach me to pin me down, I sprang up, slamming my elbow backward and catching Anthony square in the jaw. My sudden motion knocked him off his feet. I had a few split seconds before they started firing bullets. I reached Anthony just in time. Gripping his neck, I held him before me as a shield as I backed away, closer to the edge of the cliff.
Men tried to run up behind me but I was too fast. I’d reached the edge of the cliff too quickly. There was no way they could fire a bullet without hitting Anthony. Anthony tried to struggle against my grip, but without his weapons, he was no match for my strength—even with the sun’s torture. I extended my claws and dug them against his neck.
“Stop struggling, or I’ll slit your throat,” I growled into his ear.
He chuckled dryly.
“So what’s your game plan, vampire? Pray tell. Once you kill me, there will be nothing stopping these men shooting at you. And even if you don’t kill me, there’s only so long you can stand here with me before the sun cooks you alive.”
He was right, of course. I doubted I’d last more than an hour, at most, standing here with the sun beating down on me. Ten men now stood armed and ready to shoot the moment I gave them a chance.
Attempting to calm my racing heart, I pushed Anthony to the ground in front of me. A symphony of bullets erupted. Facing the sun and the edge of the cliff, I kicked with all the strength my legs could muster and dove. Bullets grazed my skin just as I fell.
My limbs knocked against overhanging rocks, bone splintering, as I spiraled down in a free fall. I was sure I’d broken my leg. The wind rushing past my ears deafened me. I didn’t know where I would land, whether I would hit water deep enough to survive. I hadn’t had time to calculate before I jumped.
The hunters had taken us to such a height because they’d thought not even a vampire would be so insane to jump from it.
They had grossly underestimated the insanity of Caleb Achilles.
Chapter 12: Sofia
We reappeared in the penthouse. I was afraid to open my eyes as I felt the soft living room carpet beneath my feet. Gasps erupted around the room.
Derek sat on the couch, an arm around Vivienne, who was trembling uncontrollably in his arms. His jaw dropped to the floor as his eyes fell on me. Xavier sat next to them, equally stunned. Ben and Rose, also hovering over the couch, stared in my direction with a mixture of horror and bewilderment. Their eyes travelled from their father to… their father.
I expected to see Kiev and Mona. But neither were in the room. I supposed that I should have been grateful that at least Kiev wasn’t here to witness this second Derek.
“What the—?” Derek swore. He looked like he’d just seen a ghost. I imagined how bizarre it would be to see myself across the living room floor.
“You asked for Sofia,” Corrine said, nudging me forward.
I stepped forward, wincing as I looked at my husband. “It’s me,” I said in Derek’s baritone voice.
“Wha—How?”
“It’s a long story,” I said. I was about to cross the room and place a hand on Derek’s shoulder, but I held myself back. Touching my husband would hardly make him feel more comfortable. “I’ll explain it all to you, I promise. But…” I walked closer to the sofa, looking down at Vivienne. “What happened?”
Since everyone still appeared to be recovering from the shock of seeing me, Corrine answered. “Vivienne came a few minutes after Kiev and Mona left. She’s had a vision. It seems she’s still having one now.”
I approached my sister-in-law.
“What’s wrong, Vivienne? What did you see?”
She moaned and continued shaking in Derek’s arms. Vivienne was so in a world of her own, she didn’t seem to have noticed that Derek’s double had just appeared in the room. I reached down and brushed her cheek gently with a hand.
Her eyes flickered open, though they were glassy and distant. Her lips trembled as she parted them.
“Time is slipping,” she said in a voice barely louder than a breath.
“What do you mean?” I urged.
“It’s drawing close. Too close.”
“What is?”
I looked at Derek, who was still staring at me in bewilderment.
“What do you see, Viv?” Xavier urged, forcing his
eyes away from me to look back at his wife.
“Derek and Sofia,” she murmured. Her eyes rolled and she closed them again. Her lips moved, but no more words came out.
Xavier stood up, carrying Vivienne in his arms. “I think she needs to rest.” His voice faltered as he looked at us.
“Stay the night with us,” Derek said, “I want to be able to check on her.” He stood up and led them to the spare bedroom.
Now I was alone with my twins. They stared at me, their mouths agape.
“Mom?”
“Yeah,” I sighed, running a hand through Derek’s hair.
“How? Why?”
I was about to answer when Derek reentered the room. Glancing at Corrine, he gripped me by the arm and pulled me out of the living room into our own bedroom.
He closed the door behind us and glared at me.
“Explain.”
I sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed.
“I wanted to break the ice between you and Kiev,” I said. “So, I initiated apologies from both of you. I took a potion, two potions, one to turn into Kiev—”
“You turned into Kiev?”
“Yes,” I said, steeling myself. “I came to visit you in your room and apologized. Likewise, I visited Kiev as you and invited him round to dinner…”
Derek gaped at me. “I can’t believe you would do that.”
“Really?” I said, my blood pressure rising. “If you hadn’t been so stubborn, I wouldn’t have been driven to such desperate measures. You think I enjoy being a hairy man? Huh? And now the spell’s not even wearing off—” My voice broke. It was disturbing, hearing Derek’s voice get all sentimental like a girl’s.
“What? What do you mean it’s not wearing off?”
“It was supposed to wear off yesterday,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady and swallow back my tears.