A Break of Day (A Shade of Vampire #7)(39)

“What was that?” I whispered to Ibrahim.

“You don’t want to know.”

It felt like we had been running through the woods for about half an hour, the screams unrelenting. Eventually we reached the spot where the trees ended and the clearing outside the temple began. We crouched down in some bushes and surveyed the situation.

Several tall figures were huddled around the fountain. One of them I recognized instantly: Ashley. The other faces were familiar but I couldn’t put names to them—vampires whom, although they were citizens of The Shade, I had never personally spoken to. And then I spotted a vampire less than half the size of the others and I realized it was Abby.

The group stood in front of our destination, the temple. There was no way we could walk past them without being noticed.

I looked sideways at Ibrahim through the shrubbery. His brows furrowed, he appeared to be thinking furiously. This surprised me, because our next step seemed obvious to me.

“Just do your disappearing trick. Vanish us from here and manifest us again inside the temple,” I whispered.

He shook his head and looked at me like I’d just come up with the most stupid idea in the world. “Just trust me, all right?”

Then, without any warning, he sprang out of the bushes. My first instinct was to grab him and pull him back, but two witches yanked me back down into a sitting position. I wasn’t used to being kept in the dark and following orders blindly.

“Shhh. Just watch, Derek. And have faith in Ibrahim. We will tell you when to move and what to do when the time comes,” an elderly-looking witch next to me said, patting my shoulder with her wizened hand.

As soon as the group of vampires caught sight of Ibrahim approaching, they froze and stared at him. At first, I feared the worst—the Elders had already got wind of the witches’ gate-wiping rampage. But it appeared that they had not.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the Ageless’ cousin himself. What brings you here, warlock?” Ashley stepped forward. Although her eyes were clear like Sofia’s had been, the strange yellowing of her skin was evidence enough that she too was being inhabited by an Elder.

“Yes, do tell. You’d better have a good excuse for disturbing us,” Abby piped up.

Abby apparently hadn’t had the same treatment as Ashley and Sofia. Her eyes were glazed over with a translucent film and her mouth split open in an awkward smile, her expression mismatched with her age.

“I’m here to meet with the Elder in charge.” Ibrahim’s voice remained steady and if he was frightened even in the slightest, he didn’t show it.

“That would be me.” Ashley held out her hand to him with a smirk on her lips.

Ibrahim declined her offer of a handshake. “Good. I wish to talk privately with you. The temple will be a good place, I think.”

Ashley eyed him. “Why has the Ageless sent you here in her place? I’m accustomed to dealing with her directly.”

“She asks for your forgiveness. She has been very much preoccupied in dealing with the Hawks. They’ve been growing more and more demanding these days. In fact, that’s what I’m here to talk to you about. But, due to the sensitive nature of the subject, I would like some privacy first and foremost.”

As soon as Ibrahim mentioned the Hawks, Ashley’s face twitched. “Very well,” she said. “This had better be worth my time.”

Ibrahim and Ashley made their way toward the entrance of the temple and soon disappeared from sight through the wooden doors, swinging them shut behind them. As soon as they had done so, one of the warlocks a few feet away from me whispered “Now!” and the elderly witch tugged on my shoulder.

We all rushed out from our hiding places. The remaining vampires by the fountain were shocked enough to stand rooted to the spot for a few seconds before chasing after us. But by the time they’d caught up, it was too late. We’d formed a circle around the temple and the witches had begun to recite their magic, uttering a low chant. Just as the vampires closed in around us, little Abby heading straight for me, an invisible force field shot up around the temple. As soon as the vessels made contact with it, they were hurled back several feet.

Enraged, they attacked the force field again, their mouths stretched open in what I imagined would have been wild screams. But we heard nothing. The force field, it seemed, also kept out sound.

I stepped back from the circle of witches and neared the entrance of the temple. I was at a loss as to what my role was to be in all of this. I sought out the elderly witch.

“What should I do?” I asked.

“Follow Ibrahim into the temple. But go silently! He will need you when the time comes.” Her face twisted in concentration as she focused on keeping the shield intact against the vampires. To my alarm, I now caught sight of a crowd of nearly fifty more vampires emerging from the woods. They must have heard the vessels’ screams and come running to assist. The witches were outnumbered. I prayed that they had it in them to sustain their magic long enough for us to complete the mission.

I pushed open the temple’s door, sliding inside the dim corridor. Ibrahim and Ashley’s voices sounded up ahead. I crept along, closing the distance between us as noiselessly as possible, until I was about ten feet away from the temple’s innermost chamber. The pair had already entered it and their shadows bounced off of the stone wall opposite the open door.