A Shadow of Light (A Shade of Vampire #4)(66)

“The hunters won’t have to hunt us down anymore.” Yuri leaned back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest, his brows furrowing in deep thought.

“A cure just might end all of this,” Liana concluded.

Finally, Cameron got straight to the point. “I guess what we’re trying to say is that we think we ought to look into the faintest possibility of this cure being real, because it is far better than a full-on war with both vampire covens and hunters.”

My jaw tightened. They were listing all the advantages of the cure being real, advantages I’d been mulling over since I had heard of the cure. Sofia and I exchanged glances and I could tell that she was feeling the pressure upon hearing how much was hanging on this cure the hunters claimed to have found.

“So I guess we’re going to let more hunters into the island? We’re going to risk that?” I directed my attention toward Vivienne. “What do you think, Vivienne?”

My sister shook her head. “I don’t know. I’d be lying if I said that I trust the hunters, because I don’t.”

“I don’t trust them either,” Sofia said. “But…”

“…the cure may be our last hope,” Eli finished for Sofia. “A war would end us.”

“How are they even going to do it?” I couldn’t help but blurt out. “I can’t even wrap my mind around how the other covens plan to attack us without being detected by humans. A war would definitely attract attention, perhaps end us all.”

Eli lifted his glasses over the bridge of his nose as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair, rubbing his neck as he did. “I can’t be sure, but…” he hesitated.

After it seemed he wasn’t going to continue, I narrowed my eyes at him. “But what, Eli?”

“I don’t know… It’s just… I don’t think we’re up against just the covens.”

At this, Xavier, who seemed unable to pry his eyes off of Vivienne the whole time, snapped to attention. “What are you saying?”

“The other covens wouldn’t dare risk something as big as this. That’s what kept us safe from them all these years. You forget that a lot of vampires who migrated to The Shade—coming from other covens—warned us that the other covens were, for decades, covetous of what we have here. A full-scale war isn’t something anybody would risk unless…”

“…unless there’s a greater influence backing them up.” Vivienne nodded.

“Exactly,” Eli said.

I froze, every part of my body seeming to tense at the implication. “You can’t possibly mean…”

Eli and Vivienne exchanged glances.

In her typical sage and serene manner, Vivienne said the words that sealed my fears. “Great darkness is behind this.”

I swallowed hard, realizing that I was against a power far above what I could possibly handle. I knew whom they were referring to, but it almost seemed impossible—utterly surreal.

“I don’t understand…” Sofia silently voiced out, searching me for an answer.

“They’re referring to the original.”

“The original?”

“The very first vampire.”

CHAPTER 45: SOFIA

As soon as the words came out of Derek’s mouth, someone began pounding at the front door. Derek and I stood in unison, worry creasing his face as sure as it was mine.

When the door swung open, we found Sam looking breathless and distraught. “You’re going to want to see this…the town square.”

“What’s going on?” Derek asked, wary of any more bad news being thrown his way.

“It’s your father.”

Derek immediately shot a look at Vivienne. “Stay here, Vivienne.” He then cast a commanding glare at Xavier. “Keep an eye on her.”

Xavier nodded, looking as if he would rather die than ever let Vivienne out of his sight. Derek took my hand and pulled my body against him in a tight embrace so he could speed from the Pavilion to the Vale where the town square was. The moment we arrived, I wished he hadn’t brought me with him. It took every ounce of my will power to keep myself from vomiting at the grotesque sight in front of me. Right in the middle of the town square was Gregor Novak’s corpse, impaled on a stick that went right through his heart. His heart, still beating was right at the tip of the stick.

I could barely stand on my own feet, so when Derek’s knees buckled at the sight, we both sank to the ground.

“Who would do this?” I muttered under my breath. That’s when I noticed that something was scrawled on his arm, which looked like it was already in the process of rotting.

Derek, who didn’t seem to have the stomach to approach his own father’s lifeless form, turned toward Sam. “What’s written on his arm?”

Sam hesitated before responding. “It says, ‘You chose the wrong side.’”

I couldn’t understand what that could’ve possibly meant. Whichever side Gregor was on, it certainly wasn’t Derek’s. Did Gregor somehow cross someone else other than Derek? I was certain that Derek couldn’t have had anything to do with this grotesque crime.

Corrine emerged among the gathering crowd in the town square. Her brown eyes locked with Derek’s, a grim expression marring her lovely face. From the very moment I first met Corrine, nothing seemed to shake her. She seemed unafraid of anything. I always saw her as some sort of strong tower, a refuge of calm. At this moment, however, she looked horrified.