A Shade of Vampire 7: A Break of Day (17 page)

Craving solitude, I grabbed some fish for Vivienne and brought it up to her on a tray. Then I left for my own room and spent the rest of the daylight hours in bed. It was too much for me to keep engaging in conversations with people who were oblivious to the fact that my husband was in mortal danger.

Just as the sun was setting and I was preparing myself to spend a night alone in bed, there was a soft rapping at the door and to my delight, Derek entered.

His face had gained a few new scars and his arms looked cut up and bloody, but other than that, I couldn’t complain about the state he’d been returned to me in. He had survived. That was all I cared about.

I flung myself against him, winding my legs around his waist. His body was still sweaty from battle. Before I could start asking questions, he said, “We did it. We ruined the gates. The Elders are gone, forever.”

I lowered myself to the ground and my first instinct was to breathe out a sigh of relief. But something was off. Why wasn’t he smiling down at me, instead of furrowing his brows and chewing on his lower lip?

“Why aren’t you happy?”

“The witches,” he muttered. “They haven’t destroyed their gates yet. Something is up. Ibrahim has promised to shed more light on the matter once we’ve returned to The Shade.”

Return to The Shade.
I couldn’t keep the excitement from bubbling up within me at the thought of returning home. Yet, at the same time, I was filled with dread at the state we might find it in. I had no idea how many had survived, or how many we had lost.

“And Rose,” I said. “Will it be safe to have Corrine return with Rose?”

“I would rather that we wait until I understand better what twisted plans are going on in the mind of that bitch. For now, let’s just gather everyone up here and return. I already met Gavin and Zinnia on my way up here and they’ve started alerting the others.”

Within five minutes, everyone stood around the kitchen table, except Shadow and Ibrahim who were on top of it.

“Lock arms,” Ibrahim ordered. Once we were all touching each other, he began reciting a chant. He placed one hand on Derek’s shoulder and the other on Shadow’s back. As soon as he made contact, his magic rushed through us. Violent wind blew against me and I was forced to shut my eyes. When I reopened them, I was met with the sight of The Shade’s Port. A salty breeze wafted past and the fresh scent of trees filled my nostrils.

We were home.

None of us spoke a word. I knew all of us shared the anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach. After the Elders’ conversation about what they’d been doing to the humans and vessels, I felt scared about what I might lay eyes on each time we turned a corner.

What if there are no humans or vessels left? What if they already took them all back to Cruor?

We walked through the forest until we reached the clearing just in front of the Sanctuary. Vivienne was the first to rush forward and examine the bodies lying on the ground. Most of these vampires I did not know the names of, but then I saw a little familiar figure lying on the ground. The witches who had accompanied Derek there were all huddled around the vampires, nursing them back to health. I was relieved to see Abby lying on the lap of an elderly witch, her eyes open, despite looking exhausted.

“Where’s Ashley?” Derek asked one of the witches. “You know, the female vampire the head Elder had possessed.”

“She must still be in the temple,” the witch said. “We haven’t reached the bodies in there yet, there have been so many out here to deal with.”

“Take me to her!” I said, grabbing hold of Derek and pulling him in the direction of the temple. He led me along a corridor toward the center of the building until we reached a passageway where a wrecked Ashley lay sprawled on the floor. Beside her was a vampire guard, also unconscious and in a similar condition.

Derek picked Ashley up and said, “Let’s bring her outside. I’ll send someone back here to take care of the guards.”

We moved toward the exit but when we passed the entrance to the innermost chamber, I called out to Derek, “Go on without me, I’ll catch up with you.”

I recalled that this chamber had been the last place I’d laid eyes on Xavier. I walked from one end to the other and all around the edges of the room just to check I hadn’t missed his body concealed in any shadows. But he was indeed gone. It pained me beyond measure that Vivienne wouldn’t even have his body to bury.

By the time I’d exited the temple, two witches were already bent over Ashley. They examined her closely.

“What are her chances?” I asked in a hushed tone.

“She’s a few hundred breaths away from death,” a witch said. I crouched beside them and watched with bated breath as they worked their magic.

“Derek! Sofia!” Zinnia’s shrill voice echoed through the courtyard. I looked around to see her and Gavin rushing toward us. “We need you at the Cells
now
! Hurry!”

I felt torn between leaving Ashley or going to aid Zinnia and Gavin. I looked up at the two witches and knew that she was in capable hands. My watching over her wouldn’t have any impact over whether she lived or died.

I grabbed Derek’s hand and we followed Zinnia and Gavin through the woods. Gavin ended up jumping onto Derek’s back and Zinnia onto mine, since even with their weights on our backs, we could still run ten times faster than either of them on their human legs.

When we arrived outside the entrance to the Black Heights, Gavin and Zinnia slid off of us and pushed open the creaking door. The smell of damp and decay flooded over us. I remembered what it was like to walk through the Cells all those days ago, the conditions our people were living in. But now, as I looked around, I realized it had become many times worse.

“There are just so many humans and vampires locked up here, we need your help urgently. Many are sick and even more are on the verge of death from lack of water and food,” Gavin said.

Derek reached up toward a high shelf near the entrance and pulled down about two dozen keys. He handed a set to me and said, “Most of the locks take the same key. You’ll have to experiment until you find the right one. We need to get them out of this hellhole and into the fresh air outside. Gavin and Zinnia—Sofia and I will work on releasing everyone from the Cells, but you’re in charge of herding them all outside and organizing them.”

My hands shook as I began opening the locks. Shouts and cries of joy met my ears when they saw what I was doing. They came rushing out and many children latched onto me and hugged me. But I couldn’t stay long with any of them and instead directed them toward Zinnia and Gavin, for Derek and I still had a long night ahead of us.

There were some humans who were no longer able to walk, or who had passed out, and occasionally some dead. Derek and I carried out all the survivors and placed them on the soft grass outside the door of the mountain, beneath the clear night’s sky.

After several hours, we’d managed to clear out all the humans. Next were the vampires. Many of them were in just as bad a state as the humans, lying on the floor with injuries and deprived of blood for God knows how long. We assembled them a few meters away from the humans. Those who were still in a reasonably healthy state were instructed to fetch emergency supplies—animal blood for the vampires, water and bread for the humans.

Once we were certain there was nobody left behind in the dungeons, Derek and I exited the mountain range and looked around the clearing, surveying the countless people lying on the ground and the remaining milling about offering assistance.

Just as we were about to enter the crowds to begin helping ourselves, loud barks echoed down from the rocks above. Thirty black vampire mutts dashed down from the boulders. Their red eyes glinting and sharp fangs bared, it was clear what these dogs were.
Angry. Hungry
.
Racing toward warm human blood.

“Derek!” I gasped.

But he had already noticed. He took off running full speed toward the spot they were descending to. I followed him, baring my claws.

Just as the dogs were landing on the ground, Derek stretched out his palms and fire blazed from them, engulfing the dogs with flames. They barked and whimpered in shock and pain. Dozens fell to the grass, dead. But three had used the smoky haze as an opportunity to take a detour around us. They had climbed all the way to a different side of the mountain, about twenty feet away from us, and were about to rush toward the humans from that angle.

“No!” I screamed. I flew forward and cut deep gashes into two of the dogs’ necks with my claws, slicing through their arteries. But one managed to escape me. I heard screams and looked around wildly to see it about to leap into the helpless crowd.

In a whirl of black clashing with black, Shadow emerged from the crowd. He knocked the dog to the ground and ripped into its neck, Eli racing close behind him. Shadow didn’t let go of the dog until he’d completely torn its throat out. Then he dragged the body away from the humans, leaving a bloody trail on the grass behind him, and dropped it directly on top of my feet.

“Thank you, boy,” I said, scratching his ear as I pulled my feet out from beneath the corpse. I wiped the blood from my hands on the grass and walked over to Derek.

“Good job,” he said, a hint of amusement creeping over his face. “I still haven’t gotten used to you being a vampire.”

“Well, start getting used to it.” The idea of finding a cure for myself still seemed far off.

We walked back toward the humans and spotted Ibrahim emerging from the woods, several witches by his side. They dispersed into the crowd and started attending to the sick. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Derek looked at them with gratitude. We walked over to Ibrahim and Derek asked, “Why are you doing this? What has helping us got to do with your council’s orders?”

“Not a lot, I’m afraid,” Ibrahim sighed. “But not all of us agree with the Ageless and the council’s way of doing things any more. And besides, we’re following all their major orders. They’re not here to see us helping the weak and elderly, so why not use our skills to do something good for a change?”

Derek seemed speechless. “So you’re going against your council’s orders by offering medical assistance?”

“Let’s just say that it wasn’t specified in the job description.”

“So you’re not all as heartless as I thought.”

“I’m not completely devoid of self-interest. I… I’m not sure that Corrine would ever forgive me if I didn’t do all within my power to help you in this hour of need… and I very much seek her approval of me.” Ibrahim blushed slightly.

“Well”—Derek cleared his throat—“whatever your motivation, thank you for your assistance.”

“I’m sure you’d agree it’s the least we can do,” Ibrahim replied.

“But now, tell me what’s the deal. You’ve helped wipe out the gates to Cruor and Aviary. The Elders and Hawks are no longer in this realm.” Derek looked him dead in the eye. “I’ve been kept in the dark long enough. What was the witch talking about? What concession? And what does your kind have in store for us next?”

Ibrahim put an arm around Derek’s shoulder and started speaking in a quieter tone of voice. “See, that’s the thing, Derek,” he said. “We
haven’t
ruined all the gates yet.”

My gut clenched.

“What? Oh, no. You’re saying that the Elders and Hawks have more than three gates each?”

“No,” Ibrahim said. “That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that one of the six gates hasn’t been obliterated yet. A gate still exists in Headquarters.”

“What? No, Ibrahim. You don’t know what you’re talking about. I saw the Ageless…” I stuttered.

“Ah, but
did
you see?” Ibrahim interrupted. “Because it looked to me like you walked out of that chamber before you actually saw the Ageless eliminate the gate.”

“Huh?”

“I witnessed the scene back at Headquarters, Derek. I arrived shortly after the Elder was expelled from Sofia’s body. You just didn’t notice me watching from the shadows. But I saw it all… the despair in your eyes when you begged the Ageless for a chance to search for your son.”

His words knocked the wind right out of me. My mouth opened and closed. Sofia grasped my arm, a similar expression on her pale face.

“I know how much family means to you,” Ibrahim continued. “Hell, I hope to have my own family one day. I knew what you must have been feeling when the witch refused to allow you enough time to pursue the only clue you have about your baby’s whereabouts. Also… your little Rose… I’ll admit that she’s grown on me during the time I’ve spent watching over her. I’d hate to see her grow up without her brother.”

“So you…”

“Yes,” Ibrahim said. “Before the Ageless could finish her spell and seal the gate forever, I persuaded her to reconsider her stance. We are blood relations and my words mean something to her, even despite the influence the council has on her. I told her that if she wanted
my
continued cooperation, something she does place value in, then she would strike a deal with me: keep the last gate open until you helped me destroy the final gate to Cruor, and then allow you a maximum of twelve hours to go through and search for your family. I arranged for five witches to stand by the gate to make sure no Hawks come back through into this realm in the meantime.”

“And now…”

“Despite what I have said, it is imperative that you understand the risks, Derek. Don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment. The odds of you being successful, or even surviving the visit, are very, very slim. Neither I nor any of the witches can accompany you; our powers are futile in Aviary. The same goes for your fire. You will have no power once you are there. There’s only a very rare kind of witch whose powers work in Aviary, and we don’t have access to any such person. So you will be all alone.” Ibrahim’s eyes bored into mine. “I want Rose’s brother back, but I also don’t want her to lose her father. Consider your next move wisely. I’ll give you an hour to make your decision. If you decide to take up the risk, we’ll leave for Headquarters together. But if, however, you decide to forego the risk, I’ll return to Headquarters alone and destroy the gate. The patience of the Ageless wears thin.”