A Shade of Novak

  Her words sounded strange to my ears. Although we’d stopped kidnapping humans and drinking their blood almost two decades ago, this was the first time in centuries that the vampires of The Shade were opening their minds to the possibility that our responsibilities might stretch outside of our own little world.

  “So, what’s the first step?” Yuri asked.

  Eli turned to look at his brother.

  “There’s only one option. Reach the latest kidnapping spot as soon as possible after the disappearance. I suggest that Ibrahim or another witch vanishes us to the location, and that way we can escape quickly if an official approaches. As I said, we may find nothing… or we may find something. I suggest we bring Shadow, since he has the best senses of all of us.”

  “So where was the last crime scene?” Landis asked.

  “Cancún. A bunch of humans went missing along the beach all on the same evening, leaving no trace of any struggle. According to the reporters, they just vanished.”

  “Cancún,” Sofia repeated, alarmed. “Mexico.”

  Eli nodded.

  “All right,” I said. “For now, I suggest just a handful of us go. It’ll be easier to appear and then make a hasty exit if need be. Myself, Sofia, Eli and Shadow I think will be a good idea to start with… and a witch.”

  “I’ll come,” Ibrahim said.

  “That’s settled then,” I said.

  Eli, Sofia and Ibrahim all nodded.

  I dismissed everybody. Sofia and I remained seated until the dome was empty. She was breathing deeply and I didn’t miss the slight tremble in her hand. I pulled her against my chest. Kissing the top of her head, I said, “I know what you’re feeling. But Rose and Ben will learn the truth sooner or later. They’ve got these last two months of oblivion on their little island. When they come back, we tell them.”

  Sofia nodded. “I know. And we’ll make use of their time away to work on this problem. I-I just…” She stopped short, choking up. “I just don’t want anything to happen to them again.”

  I brushed my thumbs against her cheeks and kissed her forehead.

  I wanted to promise her that nothing would ever happen to our twins. I wanted to reassure her that they would never be put in harm’s way or threatened ever again.

  But I couldn’t.

  Because I didn’t know what the future held. Neither of us did.

  Everyone had been expecting Ben and Rose to grow up with some kind of supernatural ability—given my fire powers and Sofia being an immune when they were conceived—but so far they’d shown no sign of it. I knew that this made Sofia more nervous for them. They were just normal, fragile humans.

  “Now that they’re almost adults,” I said, “the best thing we can do for them is arm them with knowledge and train them to stay out of danger.”

  “I know.” She inhaled, her voice deep with resignation. “And to do this, we first need to figure out what kind of danger is surrounding us.”

  Chapter 4: Rose

  The journey went smoother than either of us was expecting.

  Corrine left us at the Scottish island without much fuss and we stayed the night there. The next morning, we checked out and took the ferry back to the mainland where we travelled by a combination of bus and train to Glasgow airport. Direct flights weren’t available for when we wanted them, so the journey took longer than we had expected, but finally we touched down in Honolulu.

  As we passed through arrivals, I spotted Kristal and Jake waiting for us. Kristal was eighteen, while Jake was nineteen. They were both tall, like us—though Ben was still the tallest among us. Being almost six foot already, he was well on track to reach our dad’s height. Kristal and Jake both shared the same blond hair and blue eyes.

  I looked at Ben for a reaction on seeing Kristal. He scowled and shoved me in the shoulder. “Stop it,” he whispered, as we approached.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Hey, you guys!” Kristal squealed. She ducked beneath the barrier and wrapped her arms around me, kissing either cheek. Ben’s cheeks flushed ever so slightly as she did the same to him.

  “Hi, Rose.”

  I looked up to see Jake staring down at me.

  “Hi, Jake,” I said.

  I gave him a quick hug and kissed either cheek politely. He smelled of expensive aftershave.

  They led us out of the airport toward a parking lot where we stopped in front of a shiny black limousine. I looked up at Kristal.

  “Seriously?”

  She beamed. “Hop in.”

  We all climbed into the back and the car moved forward.

  “So this is yours?” I asked.

  “Nah, we rented this especially for you as a surprise.” Kristal smiled. “Though Andre in the front there is my dad’s driver.”

  “You really shouldn’t have,” Ben said.

  “It’s our pleasure,” she replied, touching Ben on the shoulder.

  Kristal and Jake’s parents were divorced. Their mother lived in New York, while their father—a wealthy businessman—split his time between Hawaii and San Francisco. Kristal had explained that their father often allowed them to stay in his condo by themselves during the summer.

  After about an hour of driving, we pulled up in the underground parking area of a towering block of apartments. We exited the car, heaved our luggage out and took the elevator up to their condo.

  I breathed out slowly as Jake pushed the door open and we walked inside. Everything about the place exuded luxury and class. The external walls of the apartment consisted almost entirely of tinted windows. The floors were white marble and looked clean enough to eat off, beige carpets sprawling out at strategic positions. There was a massive flatscreen TV in the sitting room and a black leather couch. It didn’t have the homely feel of our penthouse in The Shade, but it was certainly more flashy.

  Kristal showed me to my spacious room next door to hers, while Jake led Ben further along the corridor. Once we’d settled in, Kristal ordered some pizza and French fries. We all sat down around the kitchen table to eat.

  “So,” she said. “Is there anything in particular you’d like to do while you’re here?”

  “Party,” I blurted out, through a mouthful of Pizza Margherita.

  “What kind of partying?” Jake asked.

  I shrugged.

  “Just whatever kind you normally do.”

  “All right,” Kristal said, chewing thoughtfully. “We’ll head out to the beachfront at nine. There’s a party going on down there tonight, near one of our favorite bars. A few of our friends are supposed to be there too. You could meet them.”

  “We’ll have to buy drinks for you, if you want them,” Jake said.

  “That won’t be necessary.” I fetched the passports from my handbag and placed them on the table in front of them, pointing to the dates of birth.

  Jake and Kristal’s mouths dropped open.

  “These are fake passports?” she gasped.

  “Just changed the date on the real ones,” Ben said. “A friend of ours is, uh, very good with things like this.”

  They looked at us, stunned.

  “Wow,” Kristal said. “I might want to get the phone number of that friend.”

  I laughed nervously and changed the subject as we finished eating. Then Ben and I retreated to our rooms for a nap before the party.

  The party was only a few minutes away, so we walked. Ben wore a loose shirt and jeans, similar to what Jake was wearing. Kristal wore a miniskirt, a low-cut blouse and thick high heels designed for the sand, while I wore a flowing summer dress and sandals. High heels made my feet ache and I always felt awkward wearing short skirts and dresses. It gave me constant anxiety that a rogue gust of wind might creep up on me, revealing the color of my panties to the world.

  “You’re such a dork,” Kristal said, laughing, after I told her.

  “Maybe.” I smirked, nudging her in the shoulder. “But at least I’m a comfortable dork.”

  Music boomed and lights flashed as
we approached the party. Everyone appeared to be young, in their late teens or early twenties. Kristal grabbed my hand and led me deeper into the crowd. I looked around for Ben but I could no longer see even him above the sea of bobbing heads.

  Kristal led me until we reached a patch of sand with enough space to breathe. A man came up with a tray of canapés and champagne. I accepted both and thanked him. Kristal just took a glass of champagne.

  I finally spotted Ben and Jake approaching us, already holding glasses. My eyes settled on Jake, his white shirt slightly undone at the top. When he made eye contact with me, I hurriedly looked back down at my drink. We stood together awkwardly for a few minutes, sipping from our glasses and glancing around. Eventually I just stared at Ben, since it was more convenient than having to keep thinking of places to look other than Jake. My brother looked down at me and widened his eyes.

  “What?” Ben mouthed.

  I rolled my eyes and looked down at my toes. Then Kristal moved away from me.

  “Well, our friends still haven’t arrived,” she said loudly over the blaring music. “I guess we may as well start without them. Do you want to dance, Ben?”

  I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading over across my face as Ben swallowed a mouthful of his drink a little too quickly.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Sure.”

  He took her hand, following her to an empty spot a few feet away. She started dancing as soon as they reached it, placing her arms around his shoulders and moving her hips to the beat.

  Jake cleared his throat next to me.

  Oh.

  He looked down at me expectantly, a smile on his lips. He nodded his head toward a spot next to them.

  “You want to dance?”

  “Uh. O-okay.”

  He held out his hand and led me toward a spot near Ben and Kristal. Ben threw me an exaggerated wink as soon as he saw me. I rolled my eyes.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Jake was looking down at me, frowning.

  Crap.

  “I-I was just making a face at Ben.”

  “Okay,” Jake said, smiling now—though he still looked a little disconcerted. “Because if I’m boring you and you’d rather dance with someone else, just say.”

  “No! No. Of course not!” I blurted out the words so quickly it made the situation feel even more awkward.

  My cheeks blazed.

  I felt uncomfortable dancing. The girls in skimpy dresses all around me were dancing like they’d been born in a club. I felt clumsy and out of place in my flowing dress and brown sandals.

  Sandals. What were you thinking, Rose? I was shocked to find myself wishing that I’d borrowed one of Kristal’s short dresses.

  I tried to concentrate on the rhythm and beat of the music. But the music felt so foreign to me, it was hard to flow with it. The more I tried, the more I pictured myself as the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz.

  Ben and I had been exposed to music aplenty. But not this type of music—club music. Stuff that people our age listened to.

  Our father had encouraged Ben and I to take up musical instruments from a young age. I’d played both the harp and piano since I was six years old, while Ben played the piano and guitar. Our dad had taught us both. But our dad’s taste in music was rather old-fashioned, as one would expect from a man born in the fifteenth century.

  “They’ve arrived!” Jake shouted over the music, pointing toward a group of girls and boys our age who’d just broken through the crowd. He let go of me and walked toward a tall, skinny blonde girl in a black glittery minidress and heels so high they made my feet ache just looking at them.

  He wrapped his arms around her waist and reached down to kiss her on the lips.

  Oh.

  I see.

  Kristal’s newly arrived friends all dressed and danced like goddesses. Just like Kristal herself and apparently every other girl on this beach except me.

  Jake pulled the blonde toward an empty patch of sand and she started gyrating against him. All the other boys seemed to have arrived with partners.

  Ben was still dancing with Kristal. She hadn’t left him as Jake had left me. And he was coping better than I was with the music. Much better. Then again, Kristal was doing most of the dancing against him; he just had to follow along with her, supporting her moves. He looked like pretty much any other guy in the party.

  “I’m going to take a break.” I didn’t know why I said it out loud, since nobody could have possibly heard me.

  I thought back to the brochure my mother had given me of that Scottish survival course.

  Maybe I would have been better suited wallowing around in one of those mud pools.

  I walked over to the bar and, flashing my passport, picked up another glass of champagne. I sat down in the corner in view of the dance area and downed it in one gulp. The bubbles shot up my nose and I descended into a coughing fit. Thanks to the music, nobody noticed except for the bartender. I stood up and picked up another drink from the counter.

  Or maybe I just need to be drunker. All these girls seem pretty drunk. Maybe that’s how they dance so well.

  I downed one glass after the other until my head felt lighter, and my discomfort started to dull. But when I looked around the party again, I couldn’t spot any guy free who was good-looking enough for me to want to approach.

  I waited for about half an hour, sitting and looking around hopefully. But the only men who looked available appeared older. Much older.

  The heavy electro music reverberating around the party was starting to make my eardrums hurt. I walked toward the border of the dance area and turned around to glance back at Ben and Kristal. When neither noticed that I’d even moved from my place, I split from the crowd. Removing my sandals, I walked onto the sand toward the dark ocean. I breathed in deeply and approached the waves, dipping my feet in.

  I think I can dance now. I just need to find someone…

  Oh, my.

  Almost as soon as the thought entered my head, a dozen young-looking guys walked along the beach toward the party. There were no girls in sight.

  My eyes fixed on the young man at the front. He looked around Jake’s age, maybe slightly older.

  He is… handsome. Very. Handsome.

  He wore black jeans and a smart navy shirt. He was tall—several inches taller than Ben—and well built, the muscles in his arms flexing as he walked. His strong jawline was covered with just enough stubble to give him a rugged, sexy look, while his dark hair brushed the sides of his face. He had deep chocolate-brown eyes.

  Quick, Rose. Move!

  Flinging my sandals into the waves, I raced toward him barefoot across the sand.

  “Hey, you,” I said, stumbling in front of the young man before he could enter the dance area. I stared up at him, panting. He looked even hotter now that I was closer to him. My breathing became heavier. “D-dance with me.”

  I held out my hand.

  His eyes locked on mine. Then he took a step back and I watched as he looked me over from head to foot.

  I thought for a moment that he was going to refuse, but then, wordlessly, he took my hand and pulled me toward the dance area. His hand felt cold for such warm weather.

  I hiked up the end of my gown and attempted to fashion it into a shorter dress by tying some of the excess fabric around my waist. I glanced around at the other girls once more as I prepared to unleash my newfound moves. But before I could start, he caught hold of my waist and began to lead the way, guiding my every movement.

  I didn’t even need to think. I just had to move where he was positioning me.

  Oh, this is much easier.

  Why couldn’t Jake have just done this?

  This guy was good. He was making me look good.

  I glanced around at the crowd until I finally caught Ben’s eye. I gave him a huge wink.

  He laughed and got Kristal’s attention. Kristal, her cheeks pink and forehead shining with sweat, looked over the stranger I was dancing with and gave
me a thumbs up.

  Okay, now we’re finally back on track to this being a good night.

  “How did you learn to dance so well?” I shouted into the stranger’s ear.

  “I dance a lot.” His voice was deep and husky.

  “Oh,” I said.

  I couldn’t think of further conversation. But it didn’t feel awkward not talking, because he kept me moving and barely even gave me a chance to talk even if I had wanted to.

  I found it a little disconcerting the way he kept looking around at the other men he’d arrived with as we were dancing. I thought that perhaps he was checking out the girls they’d hooked up with. I looked around myself. Each of them seemed to have found partners by now.

  He bent down and whispered into my ear, “Care to take a walk outside?”

  “Yeah,” I slurred. “Sure.”

  He gripped my hand and led me away from the crowd. It was getting hot and the cool sea air felt welcome. His muscular arm wrapped around my waist as we walked along the sand.

  “So,” I said, looking up at his face. “What’s your name?”

  “Caleb.”

  “Caleb,” I repeated. I liked the sound of his name rolling off my tongue, so I said it again. “Caaaa-leb.”

  We walked side by side for about fifteen more minutes, the disco music and lights draining in the distance, until we were approaching a quiet part of the beach. When I looked around, I found it strange that his friends had all left at the same time with their girls, and we were all walking in the same direction.

  Even in my drunk state, I found this odd. I stopped in my tracks. It was only now in the natural light of the full moon that I noticed just how pale his face was.

  My breath hitched.

  I’d seen enough vampires in my life. There were small differences in the formation of the upper jawbone—extremely subtle, but noticeable.

  “A-are you a vampire?”

  I felt crazy saying the words out loud. But his eyes widened and he took a step back from me. “What?”

  “I’ve never seen you before in The Shade, but—”

  “The Shade?”

  He gripped my arms so tightly it hurt, his deep brown eyes narrowing on me.