A Gate of Night (A Shade of Vampire #6)(50)

Right when I said it, one of their mutant dogs appeared, bright yellow eyes betraying its hunger and ruthlessness. Zinnia shot at it with the gun, bullets tainted with ultraviolet rays, designed to kill vampires. It hit the dog in the leg. The animal whimpered in pain, but unlike the effect one of those bullets would’ve had on vampires, the dog quickly recovered and pounced right on me.

Before I knew it, I’d been tackled to the ground, with the dog’s sharp fangs biting into my neck. Craig and Zinnia fired more shots. I heard more growls. My vision began to blur. With whatever strength I had left in me, I stabbed the dog on top of me with my dagger. I twisted the knife inside it and threw it away from me. I struggled to my feet. That was when I realized that there had been no other dogs on its tail. All shots had been fired at the animal that had tackled me.

What on earth? I was beginning to feel dizzy. I wondered what the dog bite would cost me.

Zinnia’s eyes were wide with horror. “We kept firing at it. It wouldn’t die.”

“What is it?” Craig hissed.

“Are you all right?” Zinnia checked on the wound on my neck.

I nodded, pressing my palm over my neck. “I’m fine. How’s it going over there, Gavin?”

“I got it!” Gavin pressed against what appeared to be a well-hidden panel. There was a rumble within the narrow tunnel and before we knew it, an opening appeared where there was once a dead end.

“How are you so sure that this leads to the Port?” I asked.

Gavin grimaced as he looked at my wound. “I grew up here, remember? We have our secrets. Anyway, can you even make it? We’re going to have to crawl through this.”

I nodded curtly at him. “Let’s go.”

This time, they made me go right after Gavin with Craig taking up the rear end of the group. It felt like hours before we were able to finally reach the end of the tunnel.

When Gavin finally crawled out of the tunnel we were crouched in, my heart dropped when he gasped. I thought for sure that we had crawled right to our deaths. Dread washed over me even as I battled to keep my consciousness, suffering from the blood loss caused by the attack from the Elders’ pet.

When I finally dragged myself out of that tunnel, I drew a sigh of relief when I saw welcome comrades standing before me.

Derek and Corrine.

“Aiden?” Derek creased his brows. “What happened to you?”

“Where’s Sofia?” was all I could think about to ask. “Where’s my daughter?”

Sorrow came over my son-in-law’s face. “You need some rest. Corrine, get him into one of the rooms.”

The worst possible scenario swept over me. “No.” I shook my head. “Sofia… Derek, where’s Sofia?” I didn’t know whether it was the blood loss or the fact that Derek was standing in front of me without my daughter, but I was losing control. I tried to lunge for Derek, but my knees gave way beneath me, and my consciousness gave way to a memory.

I sat comfortably at the back of the black limousine, a safe distance away from the playground where my little girl was soon going to be. It’d been a year since I last saw her. The longing was almost unbearable.

It felt like hours before the bell rang for their lunch period and she appeared amidst a flurry of children her age. She walked beside Lyle’s son, Ben, a fine young man by my estimation.

The first thing I noticed was how lackluster her eyes were. That was unlike the Sofia I knew. My little girl had bright curious eyes. My eyes. She was always looking for adventure. She looked at the world like she believed that she could conquer it if only she could explore all its secrets. From the moment she could walk, it’d been difficult to keep her in one place.

This time, however, while Ben hung out with the other boys from their class, she sought a quiet corner and brought out the items from her lunch bag. She ate her sandwich quietly, not minding anyone around her. She had an air of disinterest, detachment. She seemed disconnected from reality and I couldn’t really blame her.

“What have I done to her?” I found myself saying out loud.

“Sir?” the driver asked.

“Nothing. I was just speaking my thoughts.”

Sofia was no longer where I last saw her. I scanned the playground and saw her running toward the far right side of the school building—toward the sandbox.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw her face. She was clearly agitated. Ben and two other boys surrounded a much smaller boy who was trembling and retrieving from his pocket an inhaler. One of the boys pushed him to the ground.

Sofia came just when Ben was about to reach down and get the kid’s lunch box. She didn’t say anything. Instead, she planted her hands on her waist and just stared at Ben. No words, not even a single action. Just her presence.

I couldn’t help but think about how beautiful she was, standing up to those boys. She helped the little boy up and shook her head disapprovingly at her best friend, who seemed truly sorry for his actions.

Ben caught up with her, clearly trying to explain himself, while the other two boys followed them, heads hung low.

“Your daughter has leadership.”

I drew a short intake of breath when I realized that Arron was leaning on the limo, right by the window. He had his arms crossed over his chest.

He looked my way and without a hint of any expression said, “I think she takes after you.”