A Break of Day (A Shade of Vampire #7)(45)

I wrapped my arms around Sofia and pulled her close to me, staring intensely into her green eyes that were several shades more vibrant now that she was a vampire. Do we really want to take this risk, Sofia? What if only one of us survived? What if I lost you? I’d already experienced losing Sofia more than my fair share of times and it was an experience I had no desire to repeat.

Suddenly her face lit up. “What if Ibrahim put a spell on us before we went through the gate? What if he gave us the appearance of Hawks? Surely that would lessen our risk?”

“What if the spell wore off the moment we entered Aviary? He already said his powers aren’t effective there.”

Sofia caught hold of my hand and pulled me up. She tugged on me to start following her away from the clearing and back through the woods. We didn’t stop until we’d reached the temple where Ibrahim sat alone in the moonlight by the fountain.

“If you put a spell on us before we entered the gate and made us look like Hawks, would it last once we reached Aviary?”

Ibrahim raised his eyebrows, and then frowned. “If we cast the spell before you entered the gate, then in theory our magic should remain intact at least for a few hours. I say in theory because we’ve never tried such an experiment. Worst-case scenario, you’d risk your disguise rubbing off before you managed to complete your mission.”

Sofia looked up at me, eyes blazing. “Well, we’d be better off with that. We could better hide ourselves and even be stronger, and we’d have the advantage of flight…”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Ibrahim said. “We can give you the appearance of a Hawk. But we’re not skilled enough to give you the strength and powers of a Hawk. Our spell would be useful for disguise purposes only.”

“Well, we’d still be better off. If the spell lasted long enough, nobody would know we weren’t Hawks.”

A silence followed for at least several more minutes as we considered Sofia’s proposal.

“Are you sure about this? You’ve considered that we may…” I said.

“Yes. I’ve considered all sides of this situation. I won’t be able to live with myself if we don’t at least try. At least the risks aren’t as high if Ibrahim puts this camouflage spell on us.”

Ibrahim raised his eyebrow again at this last assumption of Sofia’s, but he remained silent, allowing us to come to our final decision without his influence.

“We could give ourselves four hours,” she continued, “four hours to get at least a hint of where our son or Aiden or Ian, Anna and Kyle could be situated. If we’ve had not even the faintest hint where to even start looking after four hours, we’ll consider returning back through the gate. I-I just can’t sit here and not at least try to do something, Derek!”

I looked across the courtyard, now completely cleared of bodies. There was no sign of Ashley or what had become of her. Vivienne lurked around the entrance of the temple. Her shoulders sagged as she looked around. To my dismay, she caught my eye and cocked her head in question. I didn’t want her knowing what we were about to do. She had enough troubles to bear as it was. Knowing that she might be about to lose the last close member of her family, her twin brother, was too much for me to inflict on her.

So I just gazed back at her silently, trying to keep my expression blank. Although as my twin, she could probably feel my anguish bubbling up within her own stomach. She would know something was wrong, just not what.

“All right,” I muttered beneath my breath. “Let’s try.”

The moment I said the words and Sofia nodded her head in agreement, Ibrahim’s hand clamped on my shoulder. Then Vivienne’s form along with the rest of The Shade vanished into a blur of colors.

Chapter 34: Sofia

Back in the circular chamber at Headquarters, Ibrahim and three other witches stood around Derek and I. The others had agreed to join in on a spell in an attempt to make our camouflage last longer.

“Close your eyes,” Ibrahim said.

We did as we were told and Derek’s hand clasped mine. And then their chant started. Softly at first, but gradually growing louder and louder, words I could not recognize, but that sounded precise and sharp nonetheless, some powerful ancient tongue.

I expected pain as my physical features transformed. But I felt nothing. And when the ritual came to an end, I wondered if they’d failed.

But then I let go of Derek’s hand and placed both hands on my face. Sure enough, where my nose and mouth had been was a sharp bump. The shape of a beak. Tough leathery wings had sprouted just beneath my shoulder blades. I turned to look at Derek and despite the situation almost laughed. He too had transformed into an overgrown bird.

We cast our eyes down into the starry abyss, the pale blue whirling substance forming the walls of the tunnel.

“So now we just… jump?” Derek asked.

“Yes. This will lead you directly to Aviary. You’d better hope no Hawks are watching this gate at the other end. If there are, I suggest you jump right back through again.”

Derek and I exchanged nervous glances.

“And remember… I can’t promise you I’ll be able to keep this open more than twelve hours. I will do my best, but if the Ageless enforces her will, there’s not much I can do. Just make sure you’re back within plenty of time.”

Derek took a deep breath and jumped first. His body shot downward through the tunnel and disappeared from sight. Fastening my hair in a bun, I took the leap myself.