A Shade Of Vampire 4: A Shadow Of Light(68)

“Have the hunters come.”





Chapter 46: Derek


I was dragging myself through the entire day. The heavy weight that settled on my chest the moment I realized that I had just lost my father was inescapable. I’d always been at odds with Gregor Novak but I had never wished such a death on him. I had no idea how to face Vivienne. I wasn’t even sure if she’d already been told. I sure didn’t want to be the one to break the news to her. The mere thought of seeing her tears over the passing away of our father was more emotion than I knew how to handle.

It seemed that it was the hand I’d been dealt. Fix one problem and another will pop up. You’re not even allowed time to just gather yourself together and pick the pieces up to prepare for the next tragedy.

By the end of the day, I was ready to escape into sleep—the only recourse I had that would allow me to shut all my anxieties, fears and doubts out. I momentarily entertained the idea of going to Sofia at The Catacombs, but sleep really seemed to be a more enticing escape than even my lovely redhead, who for certain was with Aiden, someone who would once again remind me about what I was already deeply guilty about. I could still feel Sofia’s blood coursing through me. I was certain that it was the wellspring I was drawing life from throughout that day. It was also my deepest source of shame.

I just want to escape. All of it. For a few hours, I want to be rid of all of this.

Xavier had gone with me to the Pavilion—most likely to check on Vivienne, who was being looked after by Liana. When he realized that I was off to my own penthouse, Xavier called me out on it. “Aren’t you even going to check on Vivienne? I think she needs you.”

I tensed at the thought. “I don’t know if I can…”

“You have to, Derek. If there’s anyone who can understand what you’re going through, it’s her. And it’s your comfort and presence that she needs most right now. She’d barely just wrapped her head around Lucas’ death at The Oasis. She needs you for this.”

I knew he was right, so despite the ache I felt inside, I begrudgingly obliged. I made my way to my sister’s penthouse and found her inside her greenhouse, amidst her beloved orchids, roses, lilies and tulips. Her blue-violet gaze was misty with tears.

“Vivienne…”

She looked up and the moment she laid eyes on me, she broke down crying. She immediately approached me and threw her arms around my neck. I wrapped my hands around her waist and pulled her against me, allowing her to sob as long and as much as she needed to. I didn’t know what to say to her. I found myself hoping that my presence was enough, because I couldn’t find the right words to comfort her.

“It’s just you and me now…” she rasped out in between sobs, her voice hoarse and choked. “We’re the last of the Novaks.”

I hung my head—almost as if I was ashamed that this was true, almost as if it was my fault Gregor was gone.

When her sobs subsided, she pulled away from me and nodded slowly, her eyes fixed on a black orchid which she was gently caressing with her thumb. “I knew it would happen…” she eventually said. “He was too far into the dark. He was fighting with every bit of his strength to stay in the light, but even you weren’t strong enough to stand against it when it began to consume you. He’d been giving into it for too long.”

“I don’t understand…”

Vivienne caught my eye in that way only she could—that way that made me feel as if she were looking into the depths of my soul. I would look into her eyes and find uncharted galaxies behind them. I knew that I could never really grasp or comprehend her depth.

“I think he chose us, Derek. That’s why he’s dead. That explains the message on his arm. He chose us over darkness.”

“He hated me,” was all I could manage to say as I fought back my own tears.

Vivienne shook her head. “He lost a lot of himself. I know he wasn’t the greatest father, but he did the best he could. He was a weak man. He was nothing like you, Derek. He never hated you. He envied you.”

I smiled bitterly. “It doesn’t matter now I guess…”

She heaved a sigh and gently brushed her hand over my face. “I guess what matters is that we still have each other and that no matter where our father is right now, I’m certain that he is much more free than he ever was as ruler of The Shade and father of the great Derek Novak.”

Overcome by emotion, I could no longer keep the tears back. I pulled Vivienne against me. “I’m so glad you’re back, Vivienne. I would have no idea how to get through this without you.”

“You’ll do just fine, Derek. You’ve always been stronger than any of us ever were. Now that you have Sofia back here, you can make it. You can go against the original.”

I pulled away from our embrace, my jaw dropping involuntarily. “You can’t mean that… Vivienne…”

She just smiled at me and turned away. I knew what that meant. She wasn’t willing to say any more and no amount of coaxing from me could make her speak again. She’d said her piece and that was it. I was dismissed.

Going against the original vampire was something that had never crossed my mind. I couldn’t understand why she would even think it. The original was almost a myth to us. None of us knew if the creature really even existed or what it was capable of. It was one thing to battle against something tangible, something you saw and understood, but it was a whole other thing to contend with a powerful unknown.