A Break of Day (A Shade of Vampire #7)(27)

“Is that a threat?” Arron’s brows arched and his grip on Aiden tightened.

Desperation coursed through my veins. I didn’t have any semblance of a plan. All I knew was that Aiden simply couldn’t leave with Arron. I walked over to the door and shut it, then stood myself in front of it, blocking their exit.

“Look, Derek,” Arron said. “I don’t want to fight with you.” He walked over to me. “I’m sure we can settle this amicably.” Before I realized what was happening, he’d withdrawn a syringe from his cloak and dug it deep into my neck. The effect was instant; although my consciousness remained, my limbs became paralyzed and I could no longer hold my own weight. I sank to the ground. “Thanks for understanding, I knew you’d come round in the end,” the Hawk said before dragging Aiden out of the room and slamming the door shut.

“No!” I screamed, praying that someone would hear me. “Gavin! Zinnia! Somebody stop him!”

When two hours had passed with my screaming out and still nobody coming to my aid, I knew that it was already too late to save Aiden. Arron would have made off with him by now.

Is there only so much pain a man can stand before he becomes irreparably broken?

If such a threshold existed, I was sure that I had crossed it. My wife, my son, my sister, my closest friends… I’d lost them all. And now that Aiden was gone, my last true ally with any power, I didn’t know where to draw hope from in the darkness.

It had been days now since the witch had promised to call a meeting. I didn’t know why I’d expected anything other than more grief from her kind. Maintaining even a sliver of hope now seemed laughable to me.

Just as hopelessness was about to consume me, footsteps raced along the corridor outside. Two loud knocks sounded at the door.

“Help!” I shouted.

Yuri and Liana burst into the room. Their clothes were ripped and they were covered with cuts and bruises. It seemed so surreal to me that I considered perhaps the drug flowing through my veins was causing me to hallucinate.

“Derek!” they gasped in unison. Yuri wrapped his arms around me and pulled my motionless body upright.

Then Liana grabbed my chin and pulled my head to face her. Her eyes wide, she said, “Sofia is possessed by an Elder.”

Chapter 24: Derek

“She’s somewhere here at Headquarters,” Yuri panted. “Her Elder brought her here to wreck the Guardians’ gates. The only reason you didn’t recognize her as being possessed is that one of their witches in The Shade figured out a way to disguise it.”

Of course. Of course!

“And now she’s disappeared again!” I said. “Sofia along with the other vampires from The Shade—Eli, Landis, Vivienne, Cameron, Claudia… The last time I saw them face to face was two or three days ago.”

Liana’s and Yuri’s eyes lit up at the mention of their loved ones’ names. Then Liana asked, “Who did this to you, Derek?”

“Arron. I tried to stop him but he… he took Aiden to Aviary.” I let out a heavy sigh. “And I’d bet my life on it that he’s responsible for the others’ disappearances too.”

“First things first.” Yuri stood up and looked around the room. “We need to find you an antidote. You’re of no use to anyone like this… Aha.” He picked up the syringe Arron had stabbed me with from the floor and sniffed it. “We need to pay a visit to the emergency room.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Gavin had also entered the room, surveying the situation. “Yuri and Liana, you shouldn’t be seen,” Gavin said. “If the vampires were removed deliberately from this place, you two are also in danger. Zinnia’s doing some investigation of her own about their disappearance, but until she reports back, you’d best keep out of sight as much as possible. You should both come to my room, and I’ll help Derek get…”

“Wait a minute,” I said. We’d been rushing ahead of ourselves so much that I hadn’t even stopped to consider the obvious. “How on earth did you escape from The Shade? And how did you travel here, or even gain entrance into Headquarters?” I looked out of the window. “It’s broad daylight!”

“The Elders were giving our bodies a rest,” Liana said. “They’d left us in one of the caves alone. A witch… she just appeared out of nowhere. She said she was going to bring us here to you. Next thing we knew, we were standing outside this office. I don’t know if she also helped out any other vampires or humans, but…”

“The Ageless,” I muttered. “Where did she go?”

“I have no idea,” said Yuri. “I asked if she would stay to help us, but she ignored my question and vanished.”

“We have no time to waste, Derek. If the Elder hasn’t been giving her enough breaks, I dread to think what state Sofia could be in now. The Ageless clearly isn’t going to offer any more assistance,” Liana urged. “I don’t know what has happened to the others, but the witch did tell us where to find Sofia. She said that Arron has locked her in a dungeon located directly beneath the Atrium. The trapdoor leading to her cell is hidden within the armory.”

Arron… I knew it. If Sofia was still possessed, I had no idea what I’d do even if I managed to reach her. All I knew was that I had to.