A Break of Day (A Shade of Vampire #7)(40)

“In short, we at The Sanctuary have decided to cut our allegiance with the Hawks and support the Elders in full,” Ibrahim explained. “The Hawks have simply been asking too much of us recently. We can no longer cater to their demands. It’s reached the point where we cannot remain neutral any longer. We must choose sides, either yours or the Hawks’.”

“And what has made you want to choose us?”

“Frankly, we believe that the Hawks are the lesser threat. We’d rather have them as enemies than yourselves. We will create more immunes and continue to allow you access to this realm. We will also put all our efforts into trying to recreate our powers so that we have the ability to manifest new gates, since I’m aware that the Hawks managed to eliminate the gate at The Blood Keep…”

I was so engrossed in their conversation that I failed to notice someone approaching me from behind. By the time I realized, it was too late. I felt a blow to my head and went tumbling to the ground, in full view of the open doorway. A vampire guard towered over me and Ashley’s eyes fell on me.

“Derek Novak,” Ashley hissed, striding toward me.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Ibrahim take advantage of the distraction and rush over to a hole in the floor.

I scrambled to my feet and steadied myself. “Yes, that’s my name.”

Without warning, Ashley’s claws shot out and she flew at my throat. I ducked and launched into a sprint down the corridor. I didn’t know where I would lead them to, and I was beginning to worry about hitting a dead end. I had no witch to assist me in protecting Ashley. If I was forced to ignite flames to protect myself, I would burn Ashley’s body to ashes.

I kept running, leading them round the winding corridors and as far away from Ibrahim as I could. But then it finally happened. I took a wrong turn and hit a dead end. I stretched out my palms and unleashed a billow of fire, hoping that it would scare them back.

It didn’t deter them.

Ashley narrowed the space between us until she was but three feet away. I looked at the wreck that barely even resembled Ashley any more and felt a pang of guilt. I’d already dealt her more than her fair share of suffering in the past. I battled with myself over what I was about to do. Look at her, Derek, a part of myself reasoned, trying to justify to myself what I now saw as inevitable. She now looks in a worse state than even Sofia was in.

Taking advantage of my reluctance to harm its vessel, the Elder reached for my throat and attempted to bite into my flesh. I grabbed Ashley’s arms and yanked them away from me. Then I kicked her stomach. She reeled back a few steps.

I lost balance as the guard dove for my right leg and began dragging me away from the corner I’d retreated into. I swung my left leg upward in one sharp motion, smashing it against his jaw. The back of his head collided with the wall.

Having recovered, Ashley flew at me once again, this time managing to dig her fangs into my arm. She was preparing to insert venom into my bloodstream. Would this venom even turn me? Can I even be turned back to my former state? It wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.

I placed a hand against her neck and released a sharp pulse of heat. Ashley jumped back, squealing and clutching the burn. But, to my dismay, she came for me again.

I’m so sorry, Ashley, I whispered. I looked into her blank eyes, knowing that her soul was trapped somewhere behind them. I inhaled and braced myself for the release of a flame that she wouldn’t survive.

Her hands outstretched, she aimed for me once more.

But as my fingertips were on the verge of eruption, she halted mid-air and fell to the ground, writhing and howling with pain. Barely a second later, the guard mirrored her behavior. Then they both became motionless.

What in the world…

Ibrahim appeared, sweating and out of breath. He had a gash across his left cheek.

“What…” I began to ask.

“It’s destroyed, Derek. I destroyed the gate. The evil spirits who were still on this side of the gate are no longer able to survive Earth’s atmosphere without any remaining link connecting back to Cruor. They will soon, or have already, withered away.”

“Which means…” I ran back through the corridors until I reached the innermost chamber. Another guard lay on the ground, blood drenching the claws of his right hand; Ibrahim’s, no doubt. Where the gate had been, there was no sign that anything other than solid stone floor had ever existed.

I left the chamber and headed toward the outer layer of The Sanctuary until I reached the exit. I yanked the door open and, although the witches still surrounded the temple in a tight circle, the army of vampires who had previously been battling against the shield now lay strewn on the ground.

Seeing that Ibrahim had caught up with me, I asked, “So they’re gone? F-forever?” I found it hard to fathom the implications of what we had just accomplished.

“As long as no new gates are created. I don’t know if our kind will ever be capable of developing the kind of magic our Ancients wielded in order to create the gates. Once a power like that has been neglected for generations, it’s almost impossible to rekindle.” Then Ibrahim turned to the witches and said, “You can relinquish the shield now. Our work here is done.”

They did as instructed and sounds from the island met my ears again. The screaming had stopped and instead my ears were met with the crash of the distant waves against the shore and the rustling of leaves. It was as though the island itself was sighing with relief.