A Spell of Time (A Shade of Vampire #10)(21)

Derek’s question sent my head reeling. I didn’t think I could handle another intrusion of Elders and Hawks. We’d been there, done that. Gotten the postcard.

“I very much doubt it,” Mona said. “I believe only the witches know about these portals. They keep them secret. They wouldn’t want other supernatural creatures meddling with their plans here.”

“Thank God,” I said.

“Are you capable of closing gates?” Derek asked.

Mona bit her lip, frowning. “I haven’t tried, but I think so. Gate opening is a much more skilled process, but closing I believe I can manage.”

“The Ageless was able to close gates,” I said. “You’re as powerful as the Ageless, aren’t you?”

Mona’s face twitched. “Yes.” She looked down at the table uncomfortably. “But I don’t think it’s going to help. There is one warlock who is especially powerful. Rhys. I thought I might have killed him, but I can’t be sure. If he is still alive, I believe that he might have developed the skill by now to open gates. He’s one of the most advanced warlocks of our kind. He is—or was—a Channeler, like me. Only more experienced and disciplined in black magic.” She paused and glanced up at Kiev before continuing. “Close one gate, and another could just be opened the next day. I don’t think closing gates is the answer.”

I looked at Derek. Neither of us seemed willing to accept her statement.

“Well, closing these gates would be a start.”

“You forget that I can’t leave this island,” Mona said. “The Shade could withstand the attack of one witch without my presence, but more than one—hell, I’m not even sure that I could hold up the spell even if I was present.”

Derek turned to Ibrahim. “Can’t you close gates?”

He nodded. “I can.”

“Then you can go. Take another witch with you. Close as many gates as you can.”

Even Ibrahim looked dubious. “Derek, if what Mona says is true, this isn’t going to solve anything.”

Corrine gripped Ibrahim’s shoulder. “And how do we know these gates aren’t being guarded by black witches capable of overpowering Ibrahim? I don’t want to risk losing him again for a mission that probably won’t even be effective.”

It was Kiev who spoke next. His eyes traveled from me to Derek. “Perhaps we all need to accept that supernatural creatures will always be drawn to this realm. So long as they are, they will find ways to break through. Perhaps there never will be a safe Earth, and rather than putting effort into preventing their entrance, we need to adapt to survive alongside them.”

Ah, Kiev. Always the ray of sunshine.

The trouble was, it seemed that living alongside us was the last thing these witches had in mind.

Chapter 17: Caleb

Lilith.

The name played over and over in my mind as I navigated back to my island. I racked my brains for any mention of her throughout the time I’d spent with these witches, but drew a blank.

I just knew one thing: she was the person I had to seek out if I ever wanted to understand how Annora had lost herself, and whether there was any chance of recovery.

The boat was considerably slower than the submarine and it wasn’t until the following evening that I finally arrived back on the island. I’d dropped the dead body in the ocean hours ago, but its stench still lingered in the cabin.

I left the boat moored in the harbor and made my way back up to the castle. I was glad to find the entrance hall empty. I was in no mood for answering questions now.

I had almost made it back to my room when I came across Annora on the staircase.

“Caleb!”

I groaned internally, lifting my eyes from the stairs to look at her.

“Frederik and the rest told me you were lifted up into an aircraft.”

“We came across a group of hunters,” I grunted.

“Hunters,” she said, wetting her lower lip, eyes glazing over as she considered my words. “Where are the others?”

“Dead. The hunters murdered them.”

There was no sadness in her eyes at the news, just irritation. “How did you survive?”

“By turning into a madman. I leapt from a cliff. Almost died in the process. I managed to come by a fisherman at sea and… here I am.” I looked at her impatiently. “And now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Her eyes scanned the length of my dirty, almost naked body, and she stepped aside for me to continue on my way.

I locked myself in my apartment and the first thing I did was take a shower, soaping myself from top to bottom, trying to get rid of the sand and salt water. When I looked in the mirror, my skin had mostly healed itself of the burns and blisters, but areas of my back which had been particularly exposed to the sun were still sensitive.

I dried myself and climbed into bed, stretching out my aching limbs and closing my eyes.

Memories of the hunters came drifting back. The sick torture, the loss of several companions I’d spent decades with… I just felt numb to it all. I’d become desensitized. I realized that was partly Annora’s influence on me, and in that way, I’d become like her.

Now that I had time to think in the silence of my own room, and pushing aside thoughts of my encounter with Mona for the time being, the true implications of what had transpired dawned on me.