A Break of Day (A Shade of Vampire #7)(35)

“Good,” I said. “Sofia should stay on the boat with Craig. Remember, Craig, she’s got claws too now, along with a nice sharp set of fangs, and she’s more than ready to use them, believe me.” I pointed to the bite marks on my arms and neck. “So don’t even think about trying anything with her. Make sure we bring all arms with us onto the boat so there’s nothing here Craig could possibly find and use against her.”

“Wait, hold on, guys,” Sofia said. “Zinnia, why can’t you just get Craig to tell them that Arron sent orders to have them brought back to shore? It’s not like they can call Arron up and check.”

“These hunters are part of Arron’s inner circle,” Zinnia explained. “And I learned from Craig that any drastic change of course during a mission requires direct approval from Arron. So even our darling Craig’s word may not be enough. And if they find that they can’t contact Arron, that could arouse suspicion.”

“We’ll try to avoid a fight at all costs. I assure you that much,” I said to Sofia, brushing a hand over her knee. Then we set to work gathering up weapons and hiding them beneath our clothing.

“As soon as we board the ship, we locate the vampires,” I said. “Yuri and Liana, you’re in charge of detecting their scent and leading the way toward them. Gavin, Zinnia and myself will watch everyone’s backs.”

“I’m really hoping most of them will be asleep at this hour,” Gavin muttered. “Getting into a fight with hunters is going to be way too messy. I’m sure they have those UV guns on board…”

I gulped as I remembered the effect those guns had on vampires. Indeed, my own brother had died from one of their bullets.

After several more tense minutes had passed, Craig called out, “All right, people. Look to your right. That’s the ship.”

We all gazed in the direction his finger was pointing in. A large black ship bobbed on the waves. No lights shone through any of the windows. A hopeful first sign.

I lowered my voice and said, “Craig, switch off the boat’s lights immediately and navigate us as near to the vessel as possible without bumping into it. And stay close to it until we return. Now, everyone except Sofia follow me up to the roof.”

We took it in turns to lean out of the window and pull ourselves onto the metal rack above, now fully exposed to the powerful wind and cold spray.

“Hold on tight, guys. We can’t afford to have anyone falling overboard,” Zinnia warned.

Craig did as I had instructed and a few moments later, we were close enough to the ship to risk the leap. I fixed my eyes on the rail lining the deck and jumped. My hands hit the iron and I managed to grab hold of it. I pulled myself over the barrier and my feet landed on the wooden floor. My comrades were waiting on the roof of the speedboat.

“Be careful,” I hissed. “It’s slippery. One at a time.”

Zinnia jumped next. I grabbed hold of her wrists the minute she hit the side of the ship and lifted her over. Next came Liana. Then Yuri. And finally, Gavin.

Once our feet were all planted firmly onboard, Zinnia led the way to a trapdoor and we descended a set of steps. “Good,” she whispered. “I know this ship. I’ve been on it before.”

Liana waved at us for attention.

“Vampires,” she mouthed, sniffing the air. Yuri looked at her and nodded in agreement. She pointed to the ground.

“Okay, the lowest floor,” Zinnia said. We descended another narrow flight of stairs and found ourselves in a long unlit room whose walls were lined with small cells.

“Claudia!” Yuri darted to the first cell on our right. A few seconds later, Liana had rushed to the third cell along, spotting Cameron. And then it was my turn; I saw my beloved sister. She’d been huddled in the corner but on seeing me, she rushed to the bars and her face lit up.

“Derek!” she choked. “I thought you might never find us.”

“We’re going to get you out of here.” I reached for her hands through the bars and squeezed them tight. “Zinnia!” I called. “Have you found the keys?”

“Not yet,” she said from across the room. She’d been foraging through the drawers of a desk in the far end of the room.

“The keys are up there!” Vivienne said, pointing to a hook in the ceiling from which hung a dozen keys. “One of the hunters hung them right in front of us, just out of reach. A nice form of torture.”

I jumped and unhooked the keys. I started fumbling with each one until the lock to Vivienne’s cell finally clicked and the door swung open.

She flung herself into my arms. We hugged briefly, but then I pulled away to move on to the next cell. Eli had been put next door to Vivienne. He looked up at me with weary eyes, but his face broke out into a smile.

“Good job, Derek. We were really starting to worry,” Eli said.

Once I’d freed Eli, he rushed out to greet his brother Yuri. I quickly moved on to the others: Cameron, Landis and Claudia.

Just as we’d gathered everyone together, a snarl emerged from the far corner of the prison. The snarl grew into a bark. Oh, no. No. I’d forgotten about the dog in my frenzy and we were about to leave without him. He continued to bark and jump against the bars.

“Shut that dog up!” Zinnia seethed. “He’s going to get us all caught!”