A Shade of Vampire 16: An End of Night (3 page)

Once the wolf had bounded away, Mona and Matteo turned to us. “Okay,” Mona said. “Let’s get out of here before there are any more distractions.”

A
strong sea
wind whipped against my skin when our feet hit solid ground again. When I looked around, we were all standing on a small rock formation. Its surface was covered with a slimy moss-like substance and was uneven, dipping now and then to form shallow pools. My stomach churned as I caught sight of a massive spider crab about a foot away from where I was standing. I clutched Caleb’s arm and squeezed it.

“Gross,” I breathed, pointing to the creature.

Caleb looked amused by my reaction. “There are plenty more where that came from.” He gestured toward a mound about a hundred yards to our left. It was swarming with crabs scuttling in and out, carrying what looked like oysters and small fish between their razor-sharp pincers.

“Those things are fierce,” I said.

“Hunter crabs,” Caleb replied.

“Well I don’t want them hunting me,” I muttered.

“You had better toughen up, Rose,” Mona said darkly. “Those crabs are the prettiest things you are going to see while we’re here in The Cove. I promise you that.”

I shuddered.

After everything I had been through, all the horrors I had seen, one would have thought that I would have overcome my fear of spidery creatures. Now I wasn’t sure I would ever overcome it.

Ashley gripped Landis’ arm none too gently as she eyed a couple of crabs near her. She stumbled out of the way as they started scuttling straight for her.

At least I’m not the only one.

I’d been too occupied with the crabs until now and hadn’t looked properly at our surroundings. Beyond the small rock formation we were standing on was ocean, and further still, all around us were clusters of countless more islets, spreading out as far as we could see. The Cove, it seemed, was one massive, sprawling archipelago. Still gripping Caleb tightly in case I slipped, I moved toward the edge of the rocks and stared down. The water was dark and murky, and was tinged a dark green from the dense sea flora growing within it.

“Okay,” Mona said. “Listen up, everyone. We need to tread very carefully. We can’t afford to have anyone slipping into these waters.”

“What would happen if one of us did fall?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Just don’t. Inside the archipelago, these waters are the merfolk’s private property. It’s simply not done. We’re going to have to try to get someone’s attention while we are up on these rocks. Merfolk are hostile enough as it is. We need to try to extract information from them about Magnus, and any of us falling in might prove to be a fatal blow to any chance we have. So just… watch your step.”

“So what now?” Micah asked. His claws were extended, digging into the moss to keep his hold on the ground, and his paws were sopping wet.

“We’re going to travel from islet to islet, using magic of course,” Mona said. “And we all need to scan the waters surrounding us. Tell me if you see anything.”

With that, we all cautiously began spreading out toward the edge of the islet. I could still see nothing but murky green as Caleb and I made our way around the islet. It didn’t take long for all of us to finish scoping out the rocks. Mona magicked us to the next rock formation and we continued our search.

Perhaps it was just my imagination, but there seemed to be even more crabs on this island. It was hard to concentrate on the waters when I was constantly checking my feet to see if one was scuttling over me. I ended up admitting defeat and climbing onto Caleb’s back.

“Whoa,” my mother said behind us. Caleb hurried over to her with me. She was pointing toward the waves. The water churned violently, and as I strained my eyes, I could make out an enormous black shape.

“It’s a shark,” Corrine said.

“If you’re right, that is one long-ass shark,” Ashley murmured.

Corrine was right. A shiny fin protruded above the surface before sinking back down again seconds later.

“Just another reason why nobody should go slipping into these waters,” Mona said.

Once we had finished that second islet, we moved on to a third. This time it was Caleb and I who spotted something strange in the water. At first I thought it was some kind of long red stringy flora, but then it began to move and swirl. Caleb caught sight of a pulsating oblong object the same color as the stringy things, which turned out to be giant tentacles. The creature moved backward in one sudden motion.

“A squid?” I gasped.

“Looks like it,” Caleb said.

The others came over to look at what we had spotted.

“Yes, a squid,” Matteo said.

“Everything here is supersized,” Ashley said.

“Let’s keep moving,” Mona said.

We reached the fourth islet. Here we spotted black-striped sea serpents gliding through the water. I looked around at the seemingly never-ending archipelago. “How long is it going to take us?” I said, more to myself than to anyone else.

“We’re going to have to hope that we spot some merfolk sooner rather than later,” Mona said.

We were about to move on to the fifth islet when a shrill scream broke through the calm. I turned in time to see Helina flying backward, a bright red tentacle wrapped around her waist. She was pulled off the rocks and out of sight. There was a splash.

“No!” Matteo, Kiev and Erik yelled at once.

The three men were a blur as they raced toward the edge and dove into the water after Helina.

“No!” Mona shouted. We all rushed to the edge and looked down. None of them were visible—all we could see were ripples in the murky water where they had disappeared.

Biting her trembling lip, Mona faced Corrine and Ibrahim. “Hover over the water with me and help me create a whirlpool.”

The three witches floated off the rocks with their palms facing downward. The sea beneath them began to churn, slowly at first, but quickly gathering momentum until a swirling vortex of water had formed. We all stared down into the eye of the whirlpool. I spotted the redness of the squid showing in the wall of water. Then Helina’s scream echoed upward. The tentacle was still wrapped around her waist, and no matter how much she clawed at it, it wouldn’t let go. I caught sight of the shadow of the three men in the water, about ten feet above Helina. They were closing in on her fast, even through the force of the whirlpool.

“Pull back!” Mona screamed down at the men. But it was too late. They reached the squid and began attacking it in the water, even as they continued to swirl around and around. “No! They shouldn’t be attacking it! It will only strengthen its grip around her. Corrine and Ibrahim, keep up the whirlpool while I go down there.”

She began drifting downward into the eye of the swirling mass of water. A burst of white-blue fire shot from her palms, aimed directly at the squid’s giant head. It took about ten bouts of fire from Mona before it finally exploded. Bright red liquid stained the water, and finally Helina was free from the tentacle.

Mona swooped down and lifted up Helina from the waves. She rushed up to us and laid her down on the rock before returning for the three men. We gathered over Helina. Her face scrunched up in pain, she was gripping her abdomen. Blood soaked her hands—at first I thought it might just be the squid’s blood, but as Corrine bent down and loosened Helina’s hands around her waist, there was a nasty-looking gash near her navel.

“I would rather use magic to heal this,” Corrine said, looking at her husband. “It will be faster than waiting for Helina’s natural healing capabilities to kick in. This is a deep gash.”

Ibrahim bent down next to her and they began working on healing the vampire. Mona appeared on the rocks moments later with Erik, Matteo, and Kiev.

“Is she okay?” Matteo panted.

“She will be okay,” Corrine said. “Just… don’t come too close. We need space.”

Silence fell among us as we stared down at the waters. The waves were settling and the corpse of the giant squid had bobbed up to the surface.

“Well, I’m sure we’ve attracted the merpeople’s attention now,” Mona said, her forehead creased with worry. “Just not the type of attention we want…”

“
W
hat do you mean
?” my father asked Mona.

“We just killed one of their pets,” the witch replied. “We came here to get information about Magnus. The odds of getting that from them were slim to start with… Now, I’m debating whether we should just leave. I have a bad feeling about staying in this place even a minute longer.”

“We can’t just leave,” my mother replied. “That would be giving up. The Cove is the only thread we have to cling to.”

Mona looked toward Matteo. “What are your thoughts?”

Matteo didn’t look any less worried than Mona. He shrugged. “I’m not sure we have a choice but to take this risk. As Sofia said, if we leave now, then what?”

Mona gulped as all eyes turned to her again.

“Okay.” She walked back over to the edge of the islet. The corpse of the squid was still floating above the waves, lapping against the rocks. Outstretching her palms, she uttered a spell. The monster’s body vanished in an instant. “Let’s hope nobody witnessed what just happened.”

We gathered around the witches and traveled to the next islet.

“We should get down on the ground this time,” my father said. “It will make it harder for squids to take aim at us.”

Despite the crabs, I got down on all fours along with the others. Crawling to the edge and looking down at the water, I was surprised to see that it was tinged with a darker reddish color. “The squid’s ink,” Caleb said, following my gaze. “It’s spread through the waves.”

Great
.

I almost leapt out of my skin as a high-pitched screech pierced the air. Mona swore beneath her breath. “Gather around,” she hissed. “We’ve got to move to a different area.”

I hurried toward Mona. Just before we vanished, I was able to catch sight of the source of the noise. Shooting out from the ocean fifty feet away, seated atop a giant horned seahorse, was a creature unlike any I had seen before. Half woman, half fish, she had skin consisting of green scales. She had a head of thick purplish hair, and her tail was long and slimy. Baring her teeth, she revealed a sharp set of black fangs.

Wow.

That is no Little Mermaid.

My heart was pounding in my chest as we reappeared in a different location. I could no longer hear the screeching and there was no tint of red in the ocean nearby, so I could only assume that Mona had taken us far away.

“Okay,” Mona said, wiping sweat from her brow. “They know. It’s only a matter of time before word spreads. We
must
find someone to speak to before that happens. I’m going to go down and try to find someone myself,” she said, even as she looked terrified at the notion.

Kiev gripped her arm. “You said we couldn’t enter the water without their permission.”

“We don’t have a choice now.”

“Then you are not going alone,” he said. “I for one will come with you.”

“No, Kiev. One person entering is bad enough, two people will just get their guard up even more. I will go alone. Meanwhile, Corrine and Ibrahim will stay with you.”

“But Mona,” Ibrahim said, looking concerned. “What if we need to move? How will you find us?”

“We will find each other.” Mona cast her eyes around at the archipelago. “I will shoot up a flare once I am ready. If you detect any merfolk or other creature drawing close, vanish everyone a mile or so away from here. I will try to be back as fast as possible.”

“I don’t like this,” Kiev said. He was still holding on to his wife.

“Neither do I,” she replied, a pained expression on her face. “But we have no choice.”

She shook herself free from Kiev and, without delaying a moment longer, dove into the water. I supposed that she would cast a spell on herself to allow her to survive beneath water.

The silence was chilling as Mona disappeared. We all looked at each other. Kiev had an agitated expression on his face.

“Let’s keep to the center of this rock,” my mother said, “as far away from the edges as possible.”

“Just three of us should remain by the edges to check for anyone approaching,” my father said. “I will keep guard. Who else would like to volunteer?”

He was deliberately avoiding looking toward my direction, but I called his attention, and Caleb followed me.

My father rolled his eyes. “You and Caleb can watch one corner, together.”

“You think I would be able to sit while my wife is down there?” Kiev scowled. “I’ll watch the third corner.”

My mother joined my father on the side opposite us.

Caleb and I got down flat against the rocks and crawled to the edge, navigating past the crabs as best as we could. We lay on our stomachs and watched the gentle waves. A light breeze blew over us, causing goosebumps to run along my skin. The quiet was eerie. I could hear an occasional strange noise in the distance, but otherwise my ears were filled with nothing but the muttering of someone in our group and the lapping of the waves. I would have admired the beauty of this place were it not filled with such horrors.

Caleb reached for my hand and enveloped it.

“If something happens, promise me you won’t do anything stupid,” he said.

“Define stupid,” I replied.

“You should be an expert at that definition by now.”

I poked him in the shoulder.

“I define it as putting your life at risk,” he said.

“I’ll try not to. I mean, I
would
like to be alive for our wedding.”

Caleb rolled his eyes.

I guessed that I wouldn’t be of much use in this environment anyway. Unless a creature actually shot out of the water and I managed to aim my fire before it fell back in, the water would extinguish my flames. The most I could do, it seemed, was help keep watch.

“Rose! Caleb!” Micah shouted from behind us. “Watch out!”

I whirled around to see a fat black-striped snake slithering toward us along the rocks. Caleb gripped my waist and jerked me backward away from it.

My breathing steadied as the snake made no motion to attack. It continued along its path, apparently uninterested in us. We waited until it had passed by and slithered downward, back toward the sea.

“And we are the ones who are supposed to be keeping watch…” I muttered.

We got down on all fours again and crawled back to our spot, resting on our stomachs.

“I was distracting us,” Caleb said.

We spent what felt like the next hour in silence. There was still no sign of Mona.

“Something has happened,” Kiev said. “I’m going down to look for her.”

“You might end up causing more trouble than good,” Matteo said. “If she’s in the middle of some kind of negotiation, your presence might mess it up… Mona is powerful enough to look after herself.”

Kiev scowled. “I’ll wait half an hour more. Then, Corrine and Ibrahim, I will need you to cast the same spell on me that Mona put on herself.”

Kiev’s nerves were getting to me. I was beginning to imagine the worst. Even though I knew Mona was a powerful witch, we had no idea what was within the depths of this ocean.

Half an hour passed quickly and then Kiev approached the witch and warlock. “I just want to find Mona. If I see she is in the middle of a conversation, obviously I won’t step in. I just want to locate her and know that she is safe.”

Corrine and Ibrahim looked reluctant, but they gave in to Kiev’s request. Once Ibrahim had finished casting a spell on him, Kiev removed his shirt, revealing his prosthetic arm, and dove headfirst into the murky waters. I shivered watching him disappear.

“I hope that wasn’t a mistake,” Matteo muttered.

Somehow, I couldn’t help but feel that it was. Although I understood how Kiev felt. I would have reacted the same.

A screech echoed around the rocks. It sounded much closer than any I had heard in the past hour and a half. Too close. I looked back toward my parents. They too looked alarmed.

Now we had both Kiev and Mona beneath the water. If we left, it would be relatively easy for Mona to locate us, but what if Kiev didn’t manage to find Mona and surfaced looking for us? How would he find us again?

“Over there,” Aiden whispered, horror in his eyes.

I followed the direction he was pointing toward and gasped. Through a thick film of sea spray, I could make out dozens of merfolk—male and female—seated atop the same giant seahorses as the one I had seen earlier and carrying long, razor-sharp spears. They shot out of the water, reaching high into the sky—high enough to see above the islets. If I had thought the previous screech was loud, now the noise had intensified tenfold. They all screeched at once, racing toward us at an alarming speed.

My father had seconds to decide what we were to do. Stay here and try to head them off, or flee and risk Kiev being lost.

“Ibrahim. Corrine. Put up a shield. Now!”

Caleb caught my hand and pulled me farther toward the center as the warlock and witch secured the islet.

Sweat was dripping from Corrine’s forehead. “Neither Ibrahim nor I have encountered creatures like this before,” she said. “We have to hope our shield will keep them out.”

We all backed close to each other in the center of the rocks, watching as the creatures came within thirty feet, twenty feet, ten feet…

We braced ourselves as they shot straight toward our islet. Ten soared through the air on their fierce-looking seahorses, but to my relief, they hit against the barrier and slid back into the ocean. My father walked closer to the barrier as more began hitting up against it. The merpeople let out angry hisses, revealing long snakelike tongues. Matteo approached behind my father.

“We are not here to harm you,” Matteo said. “We have come to ask some simple questions and then we will leave.”

I wondered if the merpeople could even understand what Matteo was saying. They continued to hiss and glare up at us as they bobbed in the waves.

The three closest to the front exchanged glances. The looks on their faces told me that they were open to anything but to talking now.

My heart pounded as several of them leapt up toward us again, their spears aimed directly at the barrier. I took a step back involuntarily. Thankfully, the barrier held up, or a number of us would have likely found ourselves with holes through our chests.

They slipped back down, and then to my surprise, dipped beneath the waves and disappeared.

I hadn’t been expecting them to disappear so quickly. From the look on everyone’s faces, nobody had been. But the fact that we knew for sure that so many were now in this area—so close to where Mona and Kiev had disappeared—was worrying. Especially if they caught Kiev on his own. He only had one arm.

“What now?” I asked.

“We wait some more,” my father replied. “We shouldn’t leave the spot now until they have returned.”

I hated to voice such a question, but I couldn’t help myself. “What if they don’t return?”

My father shot me a sharp glance. “Let’s just take this one hour at a time.”

I was about to take a seat back down on the rocks when a chilling sight arrested me. A wave was rolling toward us in the distance. A towering, monstrous wave.

“What the—”

My spine tingled as it seemed to be picking up speed, now only three islets away from us.

“Uh, Corrine,” my mother said, her voice trembling, “This barrier should be strong enough to withstand water, right?”

Corrine and Ibrahim’s mouths hung open as they stared at the wall of water.

“Water, yes…. B-But that?” Corrine gasped as she pointed toward the base of the wave.

Now that it was nearer, I realized what she had spotted. The base of the wave was oddly discolored compared to the rest. There was a dark brown shadow.

“Oh my God,” I rasped. “It’s a… creature.”

Barely had I said the words when a set of jagged jaws the diameter of eight grown men poked through the wall of water, followed by two slanted pitch-black eyes. A spiky fin ran from the top of its head down along its spine and stopped at the end of its gargantuan tail. The only way I could think to describe it was as some kind of prehistoric sea monster. Or Frankenstein’s piranha.

Hurtling straight toward us, it smashed headfirst into the rocks. There was a deafening crack as the base of the islet shattered beneath the sheer force of the monstrous creature. The ground beneath us disintegrated, the ocean gushing up and consuming us. Sucked down into the water, I feared that the suction of the sinking islet would hold me under long after my lungs gave way. I splashed about, having no idea where Caleb was, or any of my family and friends. For all I knew, I could have been floating inches away from some kind of dreadful creature, perhaps the sea monster itself.

Relief washed over me as a strong warm hand gripped my arm. I didn’t need vision to know that it was my father. He pulled me upward until we reached the surface. I gasped for breath, wiping the water from my eyes.

“Where is everyone else?” I panted.

“We need to find them,” he said.

“There’s Corrine!” I pointed out at the sky to see a battered-looking Corrine hovering above us.

Before she could make it to us, a deep bellow rumbled through the water and vibrated through my insides. My father and I looked behind us in horror to see a mass of dark shadow beneath the water. An overwhelming suction pulled us downward and we were submerged once again in the ocean.

I opened my eyes underwater even though it stung. Ten feet away from us were the gaping jaws of the sea monster. It was sucking us toward it. Even my father was helpless against its strength. In a last-ditch attempt, my father and I tried to summon our fire powers—it was useless, of course. Like trying to light a wet match.

No.

Just as the monster’s teeth were a few feet away from closing down around us, a sudden weight from above hit hard against my shoulders. I found myself being dragged down further into the sea, narrowly missing being gouged by the monster’s lower set of serrated teeth. My father was pulled down too next to me. I looked down to see that it was Corrine. She had grabbed both of our ankles and was yanking us down, out of direct aim of the monster.

Caleb hurtled toward the head of the creature. His right leg was covered in blood and his chest marred with cuts. He held one of the merfolk’s spears in his right hand. I opened my mouth to scream as he made contact with the creature’s skull. Balancing himself above it, he drove the spear through the roof of the monster’s mouth. A deafening bellow filled the ocean as it thrashed violently. Its movement sent Corrine, my father and me hurtling further down into the depths of the sea.