An End of Night (A Shade of Vampire #16)(19)

“We don’t. But let’s try here first. The shore we arrived on is the primary way into this realm,” Micah said. “And this chieftain’s territory spans—or at least used to span—many miles from here, so if Magnus arrived, it’s likely that he would have been detected by one of the werewolves of this chieftain’s pack before he made it into another area.”

“Okay,” my father said.

“Ibrahim, Corrine and Mona,” Micah said, “you can magick us there now.”

We all felt our way toward each other, and disappeared once the witches were sure that everyone was touching. The temperature dropped sharply as we reappeared at the base of a mountain. It was only now that we were here that I realized the sheer scale of it. It made me dizzy just craning my head upward and trying to see the top. It was certainly taller than any skyscraper I had seen. The tip disappeared into the clouds.

I looked back behind us, trying to see where we had just been standing, and even now I could barely make it out through the fog.

“Now what?” I asked.

“I suggest that you and your father head up the mountain alone and try to get a meeting with the chieftain,” Micah said.

“What?” my mother said, alarm in her voice. “But they are humans. I thought you said—”

“Of all of us, Rose and Derek will get these wolves’ backs up the least. Humans are not intimidating to werewolves as vampires and witches are. Wolves are distrustful of intruders enough as it is. I think I can speak for all of us in saying that we don’t want to cause another showdown here like we had in The Cove.”

“But why does Rose need to come?” my father said. “I’ll go alone. I can wield fire if something goes wrong. I will be able to manage even if a whole pack of wolves launches an attack on me. In any case”—he looked toward the brightening sky—“they will be in their human forms anytime now.”

“Derek,” Micah said, “you’re an intimidating guy, to put it mildly. Having a young woman like Rose next to you will help to soften things a little.”

“All right,” my father said after a pause, reluctance in his tone. “So, Corrine, you will need to remove Rose’s and my invisibility now.”

“Also, Corrine, stop suppressing their scent,” Micah said. “If the wolves can’t smell them, that will also make them distrustful.”

My father appeared before me, and then I became visible as well. I walked toward him, but bumped into someone.

“It’s me,” Corrine said.

“Sorry,” I said, closing the distance between me and my father. He held out his hand for me to take.

“Micah,” my father said, looking around, unsure of where to focus his attention. “Where is the entrance to the chieftain’s quarters?”

“Make it halfway up,” Micah said, “and you will see a number of open tunnels. Start walking down one, and it will lead you toward the center of the mountain. By the time you reach the first chamber… well, you should have met with a wolf already. As soon as you see one, start explaining your reason for being here. Their first instinct will be to attack you, but do all you can to avoid shooting flames.”

“Understood,” my father said. He looked down at me and nodded.

A cold hand squeezed my arm. Then lips brushed against my cheek. “Be careful.” Caleb’s voice.

“I will,” I said.

Then a pair of cold arms wrapped around me. My mother this time.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s okay,” I said. “I’m going with Dad. I would probably manage even by myself.”

My father tugged on me and we hurried toward the mountain. We looked around, wondering how to even start climbing up it.

“Look to your left,” Micah called behind us.

We did, and that was when we spotted the beginning of a wide jagged staircase, etched into the side of the mountain. The steps were wide and very thick—clearly designed for wolves. My father’s legs were long enough to climb them, but I found myself climbing them on all fours, as a toddler would. My father offered to carry me on his back, but I declined. I spent too much time on other people’s backs.

I was feeling breathless by the time we were a quarter of the way up, despite my father and me having superhuman speed.

We paused, looking downward. My stomach lurched at how high up we were. The wind was harsher; it seemed to be getting stronger and stronger the higher we climbed. As a particularly strong gust passed by us, I was afraid that I might be blown away. I gripped the rocks so tight my knuckles grew white.

It was clear when we’d made it halfway up. The stairs gave way to a wide ridge and, as Micah had said, there were tunnels—lots of dark tunnels. I counted seven of them on our side of the mountain.

“Which do you think we should enter?” I asked.

My father pointed to the one nearest to us and led me through it. It was winding and narrow, though not too narrow for a wolf to comfortably travel down. The light outside of the tunnel soon disappeared as we traveled down several twists and turns.

The silence was eerie, the sound of my uneven breathing only adding to my nervousness. I clutched my father’s hand tighter. The tunnel gave way to a large circular chamber with a high ceiling. It was dark, though unlike the tunnel we had just passed through, there were dim lanterns lining the walls. There was a strange musty smell that could only be described as wolf.