A Shade of Doubt (A Shade of Vampire #12)(36)

I sighed, looking back at Saira.

“Thank you for defending him, Sofia,” she said. “He’s more gentle a soul than any of those humans can ever hope to be.”

“I guessed as much,” I said.

“He has a phobia of violence. Wouldn’t crack a person’s skull even if you begged him to.” She scowled, shooting a look back at the quivering ogre. “I should know. When we first accepted him as a member of our crew back in the supernatural realm, we thought he’d be useful helping us defend our ship… What did he do the first time a threat came along? He abandoned his post and went squealing below deck. The whole lot of us almost lost our damn lives because of it. After that, we trusted him with nothing but cooking and carving.”

She smiled fondly. Padding over to the ogre, she nuzzled her head against his arm. Still, he refused to raise his head.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” she said. “You can look up now.”

There was a pause.

“Are the meanies gone?” he mumbled.

Saira heaved a sigh, rolling her eyes at me. “Yes, the meanies are gone.”

“They won’t bother you again, Brett,” I reassured him, walking up to him too and patting his heavy shoulder.

Saira remained with the ogre while I bade goodbye to both of them and left the cave. It was time for me to touch base with Derek.

Patricia was waiting outside the entrance as I emerged, still leaning over the bodies. She looked up at me questioningly.

“Take the bodies to the Sanctuary and, with the help of the other witches, start your examination. Report back to me or Derek once you’ve made some progress.”

She nodded and, since she appeared to have no further questions, I took my leave. I ran across the boulders toward the beach and back into the forest. The events of the day replayed in my mind as I traveled.

Well, so far all we’ve done is establish who is not the killer.

But who on earth is?

Chapter 24: Rose

Despite my misgivings about Annora’s motivations, she kept true to her word and stayed out of Caleb’s and my way. She barely exchanged a word with either of us the next day. She went wandering off into the jungle by herself.

Caleb seemed to have his doubts too, but he was acting as though he believed her words. The idea of finally getting rid of Annora, dropping her off in some homeless shelter, leaving Caleb and I free to return to The Shade and discover for ourselves if anything had really happened there or if Hermia’s words had been a lie, made me desperate to find a way off this island.

I sat on Caleb’s bunk, looking around at the thick trees surrounding us. That was when it hit me. Caleb’s trade used to be building ships. His father had been a shipyard owner.

“What if we built a boat?”

Caleb crossed his arms over his chest, looking around at the trees. “Absolutely from scratch,” he muttered. “With not a single tool. I’ve never done anything like that before. But… I guess we’ve no choice but to try.”

“Maybe there will be some parts of the submarine we can still use?” I said. “If we go to the wreck, and you dive down deep, maybe you can find some tools to make the job easier.”

He nodded slowly. “Yes. There was a toolbox in the engine room. If that wasn’t ruined in the blast, that could prove invaluable. Let’s go and see if there’s anything there that’s salvageable.”

Since Annora wasn’t around, we couldn’t warn her where we were heading off to. It would be tough luck if she arrived back and wondered where we’d gone.

It wasn’t long before Caleb had rushed to the edge of the jungle. With the sun high in the sky, Caleb tore a branch with flat leaves off a tree nearby and held it over himself as he raced us toward the spot of the wreckage.

I took the branch from him as he set me down and continued holding it over his head as he entered the water. I followed him in as deep as I could still stand, and then, as he ducked beneath the waves, I stopped, waiting for him. I didn’t know how much time I passed watching the surface of the water, waiting for him to emerge. But I breathed out a sigh of relief when he did. I hurried over to him, holding the leaf over him to shield him from the sun’s harsh rays.

He was holding a large gray toolbox in one hand, while with the other he was clutching a thick metal sheet. We made our way back to the sand, where he dropped the items. I followed him back and forth from the sand to the sea as he retrieved more and more items for what felt like the next hour.

By the time he’d retrieved everything he deemed salvageable, the beach was covered with equipment. He dragged it all further inland, beneath the shade of the trees, so there was no chance of pieces being swept away.

Wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, he looked over the entire collection.

“Yes,” he said quietly. “I think this might just work. We will only need a small boat. The smaller it is, the less likely things will go wrong and the faster I can build it.” He began pacing up and down on the sand, thinking out loud. “We’ll need wood… These coconut trees aren’t as good as the trees surrounding our bunks.”

He grabbed me and began hurrying back through the jungle. He stopped at our tree, pulled me up and set me down on his bunk. Annora still hadn’t returned.

After planting a lingering kiss on my neck, he drew away. “It’s safer if you stay up here while I work, out of harm’s way. I’ll come get you if there’s anything you can help with. Otherwise just stay here for now… And if Annora returns, shout out and let me know. I still don’t trust her alone with you.”