A Break of Day (A Shade of Vampire #7)(21)

“Okay, that’s all clear,” I heard myself say. “I’d like to be alone now. Please give me at least five days. I’ll come find you when I’m ready.” I walked to the door and held it open for them. “Thank you both for understanding.”

Aiden walked out first, followed by Derek. I had almost closed the door when Derek’s hand appeared through the crack. He pushed the door ajar just enough so that his face was visible.

“I’m going to find you again, Sofia.” His look of determination sent chills running through me. Then he pulled the door shut and his footsteps disappeared down the hallway.

I just hope that it won’t be too late, Derek.

I meandered over to the large French windows and opened them, sticking my head out and taking in the surroundings. Looking down at the ground made me feel nauseous. I doubted that even a vampire would survive that fall. The vineyards surrounding Headquarters stretched out for miles and, in the far distance, a towering wall enclosed the whole area.

Someone knocked at the door. I looked through the peephole before opening it. A middle-aged blonde hunter was standing outside, holding a large glass jug filled with blood.

“Here you go, dear,” she said as I opened the door. “You should keep that in the fridge so it doesn’t go stale.”

I took the jug from her without even saying thank you and she left. I pried the lid off and drank directly from the container, blood spilling down the sides of my mouth. It tasted unbearably sour and I realized why vampires hated animal blood. Despite the taste, the Elder made me drink half of it in one go before placing it on a shelf in the fridge. I guessed that it wanted to make sure its vessel was nourished.

Now what? I asked in my head, as my body stretched itself out on the king-sized bed.

We wait until dark, the Elder replied.

Chapter 17: Sofia

As each hour brought us closer to nightfall, I became more and more nervous about what the Elder was planning. I hoped more than anything that Derek wouldn’t get in our way. I didn’t know what the Elder would make me do to him should Derek obstruct its plans.

Once the clock had struck two am, I opened the drawer of my dressing table and took out the keys Aiden had left for me, save for those to the personal apartments of Derek and Aiden. I put them into my pocket and then headed for the front door. The doorknob didn’t budge. I shook it, but it didn’t move.

Your husband’s doing, no doubt. He thought that sneaking back to lock you in at night would stop you roaming about. Never mind, there are other ways out of this room.

Dread filled me as we approached the large windows.

Have you lost your mind? I screamed at the Elder.

My parasite ignored me and drew open one of the windows. The sky was clear and a cool wind blew into the room. The full moon shone down over the landscape.

I found myself lifting one foot and placing it on the windowsill before hoisting my body up so that I was now inches away from a deadly fall. I braced myself as I anticipated the jump. I gripped the sides of the window frame and swung my legs out so that they now dangled down the side of the building. But, to my relief, instead of flinging myself to the ground, I lowered myself until my feet hit a metal pipe sticking out of the brick wall. I balanced precariously as my hands let go of the window. My heart raced as I wobbled, my bare feet almost losing my grip on the pipe.

Great move, monkey man. Christ. There’s nothing else here I can grip on to…

With one powerful leap, I hurled myself sideways, toward the ledge of an adjacent window. But my hands slipped off the sill and I hurtled downward in a free fall. Just as I was bracing myself, my arms hit something and the next thing I knew, I was hanging from another metal pipe. I looked wildly around me. Just beneath my feet was another window that had been left ajar. My feet knocked against it and pushed it open. Then I swung my body through it and landed on my feet at the end of a quiet hallway.

I was still dizzy with shock and the last thing I wanted to do was race forward. But that was exactly what I found myself doing. I ran past countless doors and down dozens of staircases. I had no idea where the Elder was taking me. At one point I wondered whether he even had a destination in mind; he seemed to be taking me on a tour of the entire main building. But eventually we took a sharp left turn and ended up standing right outside Aiden’s office. I entered the empty room.

I knelt on the floor and started rummaging through drawers and cupboards filled with documents. Noticing a key at the bottom of one of the cabinets, my hand reached down and put it into my pocket.

At least another hour passed by, and the Elder was still searching. Finally, as I got to work on the only drawers we hadn’t touched, I uncovered a piece of yellowing paper with a map printed on it. A map of Headquarters. I hovered a finger over it for a couple of minutes before the Elder hissed in frustration.

This is not the map.

I tidied up all the papers and closed the drawers and cupboards until the room appeared to be back to its original state. Then I retreated out of the room and into the hallway, locking the door behind me.

I ran along half a dozen more corridors until I reached the reception area. Two male hunters sat on night duty behind the large desk. I approached them and my face split into a smile. I had never seen these men before, so I assumed that they were new and therefore didn’t recognize me as Aiden’s daughter. The lighting of the room was also dim, so it was possible that they hadn’t even yet noticed that I was a vampire.