A Break of Day (A Shade of Vampire #7)(42)

Just as the sun was setting and I was preparing myself to spend a night alone in bed, there was a soft rapping at the door and to my delight, Derek entered.

His face had gained a few new scars and his arms looked cut up and bloody, but other than that, I couldn’t complain about the state he’d been returned to me in. He had survived. That was all I cared about.

I flung myself against him, winding my legs around his waist. His body was still sweaty from battle. Before I could start asking questions, he said, “We did it. We ruined the gates. The Elders are gone, forever.”

I lowered myself to the ground and my first instinct was to breathe out a sigh of relief. But something was off. Why wasn’t he smiling down at me, instead of furrowing his brows and chewing on his lower lip?

“Why aren’t you happy?”

“The witches,” he muttered. “They haven’t destroyed their gates yet. Something is up. Ibrahim has promised to shed more light on the matter once we’ve returned to The Shade.”

Return to The Shade. I couldn’t keep the excitement from bubbling up within me at the thought of returning home. Yet, at the same time, I was filled with dread at the state we might find it in. I had no idea how many had survived, or how many we had lost.

“And Rose,” I said. “Will it be safe to have Corrine return with Rose?”

“I would rather that we wait until I understand better what twisted plans are going on in the mind of that bitch. For now, let’s just gather everyone up here and return. I already met Gavin and Zinnia on my way up here and they’ve started alerting the others.”

Within five minutes, everyone stood around the kitchen table, except Shadow and Ibrahim who were on top of it.

“Lock arms,” Ibrahim ordered. Once we were all touching each other, he began reciting a chant. He placed one hand on Derek’s shoulder and the other on Shadow’s back. As soon as he made contact, his magic rushed through us. Violent wind blew against me and I was forced to shut my eyes. When I reopened them, I was met with the sight of The Shade’s Port. A salty breeze wafted past and the fresh scent of trees filled my nostrils.

We were home.

Chapter 32: Sofia

None of us spoke a word. I knew all of us shared the anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach. After the Elders’ conversation about what they’d been doing to the humans and vessels, I felt scared about what I might lay eyes on each time we turned a corner.

What if there are no humans or vessels left? What if they already took them all back to Cruor?

We walked through the forest until we reached the clearing just in front of the Sanctuary. Vivienne was the first to rush forward and examine the bodies lying on the ground. Most of these vampires I did not know the names of, but then I saw a little familiar figure lying on the ground. The witches who had accompanied Derek there were all huddled around the vampires, nursing them back to health. I was relieved to see Abby lying on the lap of an elderly witch, her eyes open, despite looking exhausted.

“Where’s Ashley?” Derek asked one of the witches. “You know, the female vampire the head Elder had possessed.”

“She must still be in the temple,” the witch said. “We haven’t reached the bodies in there yet, there have been so many out here to deal with.”

“Take me to her!” I said, grabbing hold of Derek and pulling him in the direction of the temple. He led me along a corridor toward the center of the building until we reached a passageway where a wrecked Ashley lay sprawled on the floor. Beside her was a vampire guard, also unconscious and in a similar condition.

Derek picked Ashley up and said, “Let’s bring her outside. I’ll send someone back here to take care of the guards.”

We moved toward the exit but when we passed the entrance to the innermost chamber, I called out to Derek, “Go on without me, I’ll catch up with you.”

I recalled that this chamber had been the last place I’d laid eyes on Xavier. I walked from one end to the other and all around the edges of the room just to check I hadn’t missed his body concealed in any shadows. But he was indeed gone. It pained me beyond measure that Vivienne wouldn’t even have his body to bury.

By the time I’d exited the temple, two witches were already bent over Ashley. They examined her closely.

“What are her chances?” I asked in a hushed tone.

“She’s a few hundred breaths away from death,” a witch said. I crouched beside them and watched with bated breath as they worked their magic.

“Derek! Sofia!” Zinnia’s shrill voice echoed through the courtyard. I looked around to see her and Gavin rushing toward us. “We need you at the Cells now! Hurry!”

I felt torn between leaving Ashley or going to aid Zinnia and Gavin. I looked up at the two witches and knew that she was in capable hands. My watching over her wouldn’t have any impact over whether she lived or died.

I grabbed Derek’s hand and we followed Zinnia and Gavin through the woods. Gavin ended up jumping onto Derek’s back and Zinnia onto mine, since even with their weights on our backs, we could still run ten times faster than either of them on their human legs.

When we arrived outside the entrance to the Black Heights, Gavin and Zinnia slid off of us and pushed open the creaking door. The smell of damp and decay flooded over us. I remembered what it was like to walk through the Cells all those days ago, the conditions our people were living in. But now, as I looked around, I realized it had become many times worse.