A Wind of Change (A Shade of Vampire #17)(46)

“Sometimes. It depends on how many humans we come across outside—”

Jeramiah stopped dead in his tracks. My breathing quickened as his eyes shot toward the three humans, now only twenty feet away.

That’s it.

He’s detected them.

I let go of River. “Go,” I hissed to her. She darted toward the humans.

Lurching forward and grabbing Lloyd by the throat, I began hurtling after her. I ran with all the speed that my legs could muster, and I didn’t look back once. When Lloyd tried to struggle with me, I dug my claws deeper into his flesh, then snapped his neck to paralyze him.

“I’m sorry, Lloyd,” I muttered. I felt bad for doing this to him. He had only been friendly to me. But he’d been closer to me than Michael, otherwise I definitely would have grabbed the latter.

We approached within feet of the boundary, and I pushed us both full speed toward it. To my relief, we went flying right through it and tumbled down on the sand. Staggering to my feet and grabbing hold of Lloyd again so that I could pass through the boundary, I stepped back through where I sensed the humans were and grabbed Lalia by the hand. River had positioned all the humans in a row, linking hands with one another, while River stood at the end. I tugged on Lalia and stepped back out of the boundary again, pulling them all through with me… except River. I was expecting her to be holding on to Hassan’s hand at the end of the chain, but he appeared without her.

She screamed.

I swore.

“Move back,” I hissed to the humans, keeping myself in front of them, while still maintaining a grip on Lloyd.

Jeramiah and Michael stepped through the boundary ten feet away. Michael was holding River by the throat with one hand, while the other reached into her long hair and yanked her neck downward at a painful-looking angle.

“River!” Lalia screamed.

I positioned my claws over Lloyd’s chest, above his heart.

“Let her go,” I growled.

I looked from Michael to Jeramiah. While Michael’s expression was nothing but vindictive, Jeramiah barely looked fazed at all. It was almost as if he had expected me to do this.

“Let the half-blood go,” I repeated.

“Take him down, Jeramiah,” Michael said, tightening his grip on River, who was beginning to groan.

I was expecting Jeramiah to lurch forward… or at least do something, but he did nothing. He just stood rooted to the spot, looking at me. Michael’s claws were inching dangerously close to River’s heart. I was about to shove Lloyd aside and dive for her myself when Jeramiah spoke.

“Let her go, Michael,” he said, his voice steady.

Michael looked as shocked as I felt.

“What?” He gaped at his companion.

“I said let the girl go.”

Jeramiah eyed Michael as he loosened his grip on her and stepped back, dumbstruck. Clutching her throat, River staggered across the sand toward her sister.

Then my cousin returned his gaze toward me.

“I thought you were grateful for us having taken you in,” he said slowly. “Seems I was mistaken.” He let his last words linger before continuing. “Well, I don’t want to keep you here against your will, Joseph. So go on, take the half-blood and the humans… You’re free to leave.”

He spoke the last sentence louder, and the burning of my tattoo stopped. It was as if it had never hurt to begin with.

Jeramiah had an odd glint in his eye as he turned his back on me and headed back toward the boundary. Just before he reached it, he muttered beneath his breath: “Although something tells me you will be returning…”

I let go of Lloyd, whom Michael took hold of and dragged through the boundary behind Jeramiah, after shooting me a dirty look.

I wasn’t sure what Jeramiah Novak meant by those last words. Perhaps he just thought that I wouldn’t be able to survive the hunters outside and would come back begging to return, or perhaps one of the witches had put a binding spell on me, similar to the one my parents had once endured at the hands of Annora.

But something about the look in Jeramiah’s eye as he turned his back on me told me that it was neither of those things.

Something told me that after my weeks trapped in The Oasis, I hadn’t even scratched the surface of what really went on here.

Chapter 22: River

As I stood in the desert, rubbing my throat and watching the three vampires disappear through the boundary, I was overwhelmed by a mixture of confusion and relief. I had not the slightest clue why Jeramiah had let us go so easily, but I felt nothing but gratitude to finally be beyond the boundary of that terrifying place. And the fact that my brand had stopped burning only added to my euphoria.

I clutched my sister close to my chest, kissing the top of her head and holding her tight. Hassan returned my backpack, which I strapped on my back again. Joseph was still staring at the spot where the three vampires had left us.

Until now, we had been so focused on just how we were going to escape The Oasis, we hadn’t talked about what we would do once we actually got out.

Now that we found ourselves free, so suddenly and so unexpectedly, I wasn’t sure what our next step was.

For one, I wasn’t the same person I had been on entering The Oasis. While I practically trembled with excitement at the thought of reuniting with my family again, I wondered what my life would be like now as this bizarre… creature. I guessed it was almost like being a human. I could still eat regular food, and be in the sun, at least for short periods. There were also perks I still hadn’t quite wrapped my head around—like my superhuman speed and strength, and my heightened senses. I’d just have to find a way to cope with the aching cold…