A Shade of Vampire 8: A Shade of Kiev (7 page)

This entire subject was a painful reminder of my uselessness. I had no magic to help them when they needed it most.

“I agree,” the captain said, nodding his head. “But you can understand why it’s hard for us to just sit still knowing that
The
Black Bell
contains three witches who would change our lives immeasurably. We only need one witch.”

“How do you even plan to do this without getting yourselves killed?”

“We don’t know yet.” The captain rubbed his forehead. “We know they have an island, and the witches have cast upon it a protective spell of eternal night. I’m still discussing it with Saira and the others. I just thought you ought to know.”

His face relaxed as he saw the look on my face. “Look, don’t worry about this now. You’ve been through enough trauma. I’m sure you’re still recovering and want time to yourself. We probably won’t attempt to do anything for a few months anyway.” He stood up and motioned to leave the room. “Oh, but speaking of news, our cook has been really honing his skills recently. He makes a marvellous seaweed dish. There’s some left over from breakfast. If you head over to the kitchen I’m sure he’ll be happy to oblige…”

“Thanks,” I muttered, and Matteo left the room.

Now that he’d mentioned food, I couldn’t deny that I was hungry. It had been too long since I’d eaten a cooked meal. I unstrapped my belt and placed it on my dressing table. I left my cabin and headed toward the kitchen.

I almost collided with Saira as she came dashing down the corridor.

“Mona,” she panted. “Are you sure that vampire wasn’t a friend?” In her human form, she was a short plump woman with bushy brown hair. Her grey eyes looked down at me with concern.

“Uh, yes,” I said, looking at her with annoyance. Being old enough to be my mother, Saira would often try to look out for me as one. I knew she meant well, but I wished she would just leave me alone. There was a reason newcomers called her “Mother Wolf.” She’d lost her only daughter and seemed to overcompensate by lavishing attention on others, regardless of whether or not it was wanted.

“All right,” she said. “So then it won’t mean anything to you that he’s in the town square now about to be executed? Just thought you ought to know…”

Barely a month had passed since I’d met Natalie, and I was already wondering how I could have ever done without her in my life. I felt my chest tense up as she entered the moonlit meadow. God, she was beautiful. Sparkling eyes framed by perfectly arched brows. Thick dark hair flowing down to her thin waist. Soft red lips I craved every time I laid eyes on them.

Everything about her lit me up and made me ache with want.

She gave me a soft smile as our eyes met.

“Good evening, Kiev. You’re on time, as always…”

It delighted me when she held out her hand, allowing me to kiss it. Placing her arm through mine, I led her through the meadow. She bent down every now and then to scoop up clusters of bright orange marigolds. Once she’d collected a fist full of them, she sat down in the grass.

“Sit here with me,” she said, pointing to the space behind her.

I sat with my legs either side of her, her back against my chest. She dropped the flowers on the ground beside me. I ran my fingers through her hair until I’d separated it into small sections. One marigold at a time, I braided all the flowers into her hair. She ran her hands along my upper legs absentmindedly as I worked. I didn’t let her get up until I’d finished. And once I had, she reached for my face and planted a tender kiss on my cheek.

I wanted to stay and relish her lips against my skin. Perhaps even return the gesture. But, as if my legs were no longer my own, I shot up and began running away in the opposite direction.

She called after me to stop.

But I couldn’t.

My legs ran closer and closer toward a crater that had opened up at the end of the meadow. I reached the edge and gazed down at molten lava.

A wave of heat rushed up and burned my eyeballs.

“No!” Natalie shouted from behind me. “You don’t have to do this, Kiev!”

Charred black hands shot out of the liquid, beckoning me to take the final step. Pebbles crumbled where my feet were planted and dropped into the lava.

It would be so easy to let myself fall. A few inches forward would be all it would take…

When I came to, the first sensation that hit me was agony coursing through my body. I couldn’t open my eyes. They had deliberately placed me in direct contact with the sun. They had left nothing on me but a piece of cloth tied around my waist. I lay on my stomach on a hard wooden surface. I felt like a piece of meat being sizzled on a barbecue. I tried to move, but thick chains were attached to my ankles and wrists.

“This is what we do to anyone,” a gruff voice said above me, “particularly newcomers, who think they can come here and act like they own the place.”

A kick hit near my kidneys and I was sure that I was about to vomit. Rough hands gripped the back of my neck and pulled me to a standing position. My vision still a blur, I could just about make out crowds beneath me. I was standing on some kind of raised platform. I twisted my head to catch a glimpse of the person holding me. All I could make out was the outline of a large brown creature. An ogre. A soon as I turned to face him, he slapped my head back to position facing forward. Then I heard the sound of wood being sharpened behind me.

“I’m sure after this you’ll all think twice next time you consider breaking the rules of The Tavern.” The ogre chuckled beneath his breath. A few jeers echoed up from the crowds.

He let go of me and it was all I could to steady myself and not fall to the ground. I wasn’t sure which would kill me first: the sun or the ogre.

“The Tavern is a place of peace and rest,” the ogre continued. “You all know the rules!
This
is what happens to anyone who dares disrupt that.”

Even though my eyelids felt like heavy weights, I somehow forced them to stay open and, in doing so, my vision slowly became clearer. The sea of faces was becoming more distinct and I could make out werewolves, ogres, and other creatures I couldn’t put a name to. In the distance, beneath the shade of some trees, a few dozen vampires stood watching.

“This vampire here is guilty of attempted murder of a human… and this human here is guilty of attempted murder of a vampire.”

A female scream pierced through the square.

“No! Please! Spare my husband!”

The sound of the ogre pulling on chains and someone choking met my ears. I turned my head and saw the human who had attacked me. Like me, he had also been stripped of his clothes and wore nothing but a piece of cloth around his waist.

I was surprised to see the human there next to me on the platform. I wasn’t used to such even-handed justice. As a vampire, I was used to humans always getting away with things and all blame being laid on vampires—and rightly so in the majority of cases.

“That vampire killed Jack’s mother!” the female voice continued to scream out.

“Silence!” the ogre bellowed. “We are concerned only with events that take place within these walls.”

“B-but… I’m bearing his child. Please! Have mercy!”

The ogre ignored her screams and turned his back against the crowds. I heard Jack’s heavy breathing next to me. Each second that the ogre delayed my death was another second for the sun to continue roasting me alive. Part of me was hoping they’d kill me first to end my suffering. But it seemed that even that wish wouldn’t be granted. One ogre slammed Jack down on the ground and held him still while the other picked up an axe, raising it in the air.

I closed my eyes as steel sliced flesh.

I didn’t know what to say. I clenched my fists and just stood there looking at Saira.

It wasn’t my problem that he’d managed to get himself into trouble again. I couldn’t keep carting him around places. I wasn’t his mother. Or wife. Or even friend. He wasn’t my responsibility. I’d taken him to The Tavern, one of the safest places existing in these parts, introduced him to Elizabeth, arranged for a roof over his head, and still he’d managed to wreck things in less than twelve hours after I’d left him. What more could I have done for the man? He probably deserved whatever punishment he was about to receive.

Don’t even think about meddling,
I told myself.
You remember how dangerous that is.

“He’s… not a friend. Like I said,” I muttered.

Saira continued staring at me. I looked away, feeling awkward. Although I never had allowed myself to get close to her, she knew me better than I was comfortable with from our traveling together for years. We’d barely spent a month apart from each other since I’d left The Sanctuary.

She placed a hand on my shoulder. I stepped back, brushing her hand away.

“I used to be like you,” she said quietly.

Her words aggravated me.
You have no idea what I am,
was what I wanted to spit out, but I held my tongue.

“Afraid,” she said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, the heat rising in my cheeks. “Afraid? Yes, maybe I am afraid of him. He could be a murderer for all I know.”

Saira nodded and didn’t say another word.

She turned around and left me standing there, staring after her.

The woman’s screams intensified. She tried to break through the crowds, but another ogre caught hold of her and dragged her away from the scene.

The two ogres set their eyes on me. Chained by my hands and feet and severely weakened from the torment of the sun, I didn’t attempt to fight. It would only make matters worse. One of them picked up a wooden stake while the other gripped hold of my neck and pressed me against a cool stone wall.

“Wait!” A voice boomed through the square. “I’ll kill him instead.”

I looked up and was confused to see a short round woman. As she made her way through the crowds with surprising speed, I realized that she was a werewolf. She leapt onto the platform, pushing the ogres aside. They both looked dumbstruck.

I racked my brains for any way I might have possibly harmed a werewolf, any reason why this complete stranger would want to kill me. Was this yet another person affected by my years of killing? Would I ever escape the scope of my bloody past? I was as confused as the ogres and audience watching.

“What?” one of the ogres grunted. “We have orders to execute him.”

“In case you forget, I’m Saira, the great-granddaughter of Minneas. That alone should make you heed my words, ogre.” She glared at him.

Saira. Mona’s friend.
I hadn’t recognized her because I’d only seen her in her wolf form.

Nobody will have a chance to kill me if they don’t hurry up. The sun will do the deed.

I was relieved when Saira stood over me and blocked the sun’s direct contact with my skin. Without saying another word, she grabbed hold of the keys to the chains from the ogre’s belt and unlocked me.

“Take my hand,” she said to me under her breath.

I didn’t think about what I was doing, or why I would trust her more than the ogres. If I refused the ogres would kill me. I grabbed her hand and she helped me to my feet, holding my waist to support me.

“But… where are you taking him?” the ogre shouted after us as Saira led me away from the platform.

“To a death far worse than what you would have inflicted on him.”

“What are you doing?” I gasped as soon as we were out of sight of the square. I was relieved that she had led us over to some trees so my skin could gain some relief.

“There will be time for explanation later. For now, just hurry.”

As we were approaching the beach, I decided to not press her and rather concentrate on walking faster—a task that was not at all easy when it felt like I was about to faint with exhaustion at any moment.

After what seemed like half an hour of walking on the hot sand, a large ship loomed in the distance. We ducked out of the trees lining the shore again and headed toward it. I let out a sigh of relief as Saira led me up the gangplank leading to the deck and entered a covering away from the direct sun.

As soon as we reached the shelter of the boat, my knees buckled.

Finally she answered my question. “Saving you,” she said calmly.

I looked up at her face.

“Why?”

She hesitated, eyeing me. “I think you might prove to be a good asset for us. Just seemed a shame to have you go to waste. An errant vampire is quite a rare thing these days. Especially one as good-looking as you.” She winked at me. “Most have already settled into their own groups, or indeed settled at The Tavern, and have no desire to move. They’ll never know I didn’t kill you in the end. Just make sure to never visit that place again, because if you do not only will you get in trouble, but I will too. I may be the great-granddaughter of one of the founding fathers of that island, but I can’t pull rank on people there all that often when I’m not a resident. My rank was just enough to shock them into submission.”

She frowned at me as I lay on the floor.

“First thing we need to do is get you cooled down. You look a complete wreck. You’re no use to anyone in this state.”

Every muscle and bone in my body ached as I forced myself into standing position. She walked me down some several staircases until we reached a lower mahogany deck and found a spare cabin. She let go of me and I dropped myself down on the bed.

“I’ll ask for some spare clothes to be sent to you. For now, just lie down and get some sleep. Your body should recover on its own. Or did they apply any serum to you?”

I racked my brain for any memory of serum being applied to my body but found nothing.

“No idea,” I said, shaking my head.

“Well, just sleep. We’ll soon find out, in any case.”

Saira left the room. I felt relieved to be alone in a safe bed. My body was overtaken with exhaustion and within a few minutes, I had fallen asleep.

As we lifted the anchor and set sail, allowing the dolphins to begin pulling the ship into the open waters, I stood at the stern, watching the island fade away into the distance. The sun blazed down over the sparkling waters from its full height in the sky.