A Spell of Time (A Shade of Vampire #10)(16)

Men tried to run up behind me but I was too fast. I’d reached the edge of the cliff too quickly. There was no way they could fire a bullet without hitting Anthony. Anthony tried to struggle against my grip, but without his weapons, he was no match for my strength—even with the sun’s torture. I extended my claws and dug them against his neck.

“Stop struggling, or I’ll slit your throat,” I growled into his ear.

He chuckled dryly.

“So what’s your game plan, vampire? Pray tell. Once you kill me, there will be nothing stopping these men shooting at you. And even if you don’t kill me, there’s only so long you can stand here with me before the sun cooks you alive.”

He was right, of course. I doubted I’d last more than an hour, at most, standing here with the sun beating down on me. Ten men now stood armed and ready to shoot the moment I gave them a chance.

Attempting to calm my racing heart, I pushed Anthony to the ground in front of me. A symphony of bullets erupted. Facing the sun and the edge of the cliff, I kicked with all the strength my legs could muster and dove. Bullets grazed my skin just as I fell.

My limbs knocked against overhanging rocks, bone splintering, as I spiraled down in a free fall. I was sure I’d broken my leg. The wind rushing past my ears deafened me. I didn’t know where I would land, whether I would hit water deep enough to survive. I hadn’t had time to calculate before I jumped.

The hunters had taken us to such a height because they’d thought not even a vampire would be so insane to jump from it.

They had grossly underestimated the insanity of Caleb Achilles.

Chapter 12: Sofia

We reappeared in the penthouse. I was afraid to open my eyes as I felt the soft living room carpet beneath my feet. Gasps erupted around the room.

Derek sat on the couch, an arm around Vivienne, who was trembling uncontrollably in his arms. His jaw dropped to the floor as his eyes fell on me. Xavier sat next to them, equally stunned. Ben and Rose, also hovering over the couch, stared in my direction with a mixture of horror and bewilderment. Their eyes travelled from their father to… their father.

I expected to see Kiev and Mona. But neither were in the room. I supposed that I should have been grateful that at least Kiev wasn’t here to witness this second Derek.

“What the—?” Derek swore. He looked like he’d just seen a ghost. I imagined how bizarre it would be to see myself across the living room floor.

“You asked for Sofia,” Corrine said, nudging me forward.

I stepped forward, wincing as I looked at my husband. “It’s me,” I said in Derek’s baritone voice.

“Wha—How?”

“It’s a long story,” I said. I was about to cross the room and place a hand on Derek’s shoulder, but I held myself back. Touching my husband would hardly make him feel more comfortable. “I’ll explain it all to you, I promise. But…” I walked closer to the sofa, looking down at Vivienne. “What happened?”

Since everyone still appeared to be recovering from the shock of seeing me, Corrine answered. “Vivienne came a few minutes after Kiev and Mona left. She’s had a vision. It seems she’s still having one now.”

I approached my sister-in-law.

“What’s wrong, Vivienne? What did you see?”

She moaned and continued shaking in Derek’s arms. Vivienne was so in a world of her own, she didn’t seem to have noticed that Derek’s double had just appeared in the room. I reached down and brushed her cheek gently with a hand.

Her eyes flickered open, though they were glassy and distant. Her lips trembled as she parted them.

“Time is slipping,” she said in a voice barely louder than a breath.

“What do you mean?” I urged.

“It’s drawing close. Too close.”

“What is?”

I looked at Derek, who was still staring at me in bewilderment.

“What do you see, Viv?” Xavier urged, forcing his eyes away from me to look back at his wife.

“Derek and Sofia,” she murmured. Her eyes rolled and she closed them again. Her lips moved, but no more words came out.

Xavier stood up, carrying Vivienne in his arms. “I think she needs to rest.” His voice faltered as he looked at us.

“Stay the night with us,” Derek said, “I want to be able to check on her.” He stood up and led them to the spare bedroom.

Now I was alone with my twins. They stared at me, their mouths agape.

“Mom?”

“Yeah,” I sighed, running a hand through Derek’s hair.

“How? Why?”

I was about to answer when Derek reentered the room. Glancing at Corrine, he gripped me by the arm and pulled me out of the living room into our own bedroom.

He closed the door behind us and glared at me.

“Explain.”

I sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I wanted to break the ice between you and Kiev,” I said. “So, I initiated apologies from both of you. I took a potion, two potions, one to turn into Kiev—”

“You turned into Kiev?”

“Yes,” I said, steeling myself. “I came to visit you in your room and apologized. Likewise, I visited Kiev as you and invited him round to dinner…”

Derek gaped at me. “I can’t believe you would do that.”