An End of Night (A Shade of Vampire #16)(14)

The water became less murky as we descended deeper, and soon all the weeds had disappeared. I could barely believe my eyes at what I saw beneath me… a stunning underwater kingdom.

My father stopped swimming, causing all of us to pause. I assumed that he was looking around and deciding in which direction we ought to head first.

It wasn’t long before he started moving again, guiding us all downward after him. My skin crawled at all the creatures that were now in full view. Creatures of my nightmares. Giant sharks, water serpents, more bright red squid, more crabs—much larger than those we had seen on the rocks—and bizarre-looking fish that came in various shapes and sizes. The only thing they all had in common was that none of them looked friendly.

I was petrified that we might collide with one of the creatures head-on. Especially at the speed my father had begun to drag us downward. He didn’t seem to be concerned at all by what we were passing by. Apparently, we were heading directly for the entrance to the kingdom. As we neared it, a merman came into view. He held a tall spear and was prowling around near the pearl-studded entrance gates.

I wanted to ask what on earth my father was thinking as he hurtled so close to him. But before I could, the merman’s spear shot right out of his hand and vanished—I could only assume beneath my father’s touch. The merman looked shocked as he stared around. Then the man vanished too.

Oh my God. My father is taking him hostage.

I just hoped that this would not end in disaster.

“Where do you keep your prisoners?” My father’s voice drifted through the water.

There was much hissing and protesting on the part of the merman, but it seemed that my father was not letting up.

“Tell me,” he growled. “And I might just spare your life.”

I could hear the sound of a struggle and we were all pulled forward and backward several times before my father finally overpowered the creature.

“All right,” the creature gasped. “I will lead you.”

“And no misleading me,” my father said, his voice nothing short of menacing. “This spear will be lodged deep into your throat if I detect even the slightest bit of deceit from you.”

To my surprise, we headed upward. I was expecting us to enter the city. We began traveling at a much faster speed—I guessed that the merman was doing much of the work in pulling us forward with his powerful tail.

The base of an islet came into view. Swimming up to it, the merman led us through a hole that was drilled right through its base. He led us into it. Traveling along a dark tunnel, we surfaced in a pool in the center of a dark cave. We hauled ourselves out of the water. It was empty but for three figures lying on the ground. Mona and Kiev were lying in one corner, while my mother was in another. I lurched toward her and clutched her face. It shook me to see how she’d been tied up. Like an animal. I pressed my ear against her chest, afraid that I might not even hear a heartbeat. But I did, however faint it was. The rope Ibrahim and Corrine had connected us with tugged around my waist as others must have been walking toward the other end of the cave.

“Loosen the rope,” my father said, his voice some distance away. For a moment, I wondered why he hadn’t immediately rushed over to my mother. But then I remembered that he was still restraining the merman.

The rope around me loosened.

“Gather them up quickly,” my father said. “We don’t have long.”

I felt Caleb next to me as I slid my hands beneath my mother’s body. He placed his hands beneath her legs and we both stood up, lifting her up with us. But as we motioned to move back toward the entrance of the cave, something held us in place.

“They have fastened her to the ground,” Caleb said.

A chain had been locked around my mother’s right arm. We were forced to put her back down. The chain clanged as Caleb attacked it, but it seemed that he was having trouble loosening it from the ground.

“Corrine,” he called across the cave. “Are Kiev and Mona fastened to the ground?”

“Yes,” Corrine replied, her voice filled with worry. “Ibrahim and I are trying to break the chains. They are made of—”

My father grunted, then yelled out, “No!”

The merman he had taken hostage came into view. He had broken free from my father’s grasp and dove into the water.

“Hurry,” my father said, now rushing over to us. “He slipped from my grasp. We need to get out of here, now!”

“I don’t know what these chains are made of,” Ibrahim said. “It’s stronger than any material I’ve ever encountered. We’re trying to break them.”

My father attacked the chain connected to my mother, but he had no more luck than Caleb had.

“I wonder if burning it might help?” I suggested.

“Pick her up again,” my father said.

Caleb and I did as he had requested. A moment later, a blaze of fire scorched the ground where the chain was connected. It still remained fixed.

“We figured it out!” Ibrahim called. We turned to see him carrying Mona in his arms, free from any chains.

Corrine hurried over to us and Ibrahim started to work on Kiev’s chain.

“All right, hurry,” my father said.

My heart leapt into my throat as a hissing sound filled the cave. Five mermen surfaced in the pool and hauled themselves up onto the ground.