An End of Night (A Shade of Vampire #16)(49)

Caleb shrugged.

“I’ll go down first,” my father said, nearing the edge of the gate.

“Corrine definitely said that it was safe to go through now?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied. “I suggest you all send the humans down after me, and the rest of you follow after them.”

With that, my father leapt through. I turned to the humans—mostly young women—lined up along the wall.

I smiled kindly. “Come on, guys.”

“Where are you taking us?” one of them asked, her voice nervous.

“Back home. You’re all from California, aren’t you?” That seemed to be where the black witches had been targeting the most intensely—at least, according to the news.

“I am,” she said.

“What about the rest of you?” I asked, addressing the others.

“Yes,” they all confirmed.

“That certainly makes things easier for us,” my mother said.

“What is that thing?” several of the girls asked as they neared the starry crater.

“It’s a… uh…” How do I even explain? “It’s a tunnel that will take you back home,” was the best and fastest way I could think to answer them.

Several more questions were asked, but we didn’t have time to answer them.

The girl who had volunteered to step toward first stared down at the seemingly endless abyss.

“Won’t I die if I jump down there?”

“You’ll be fine,” I said. “My father is waiting for you at the other end.”

“Okay,” she said, though she sounded anything but okay.

Closing her eyes, she leaped through, her screams trailing behind her as she catapulted downward. I admired her bravery. To be so trusting of a complete stranger… Then again, they were desperate.

“Who’s next?” my mother called.

Another girl inched forward and took the leap. One after another, we finished piling in the humans before the rest of us lined up to jump through. Caleb and I hung back. Holding hands, we dropped through together.

Before the roof of the dungeon could disappear completely, I glanced up at it for the last time.

So long, creepy castle.

* * *

On reaching the end of the tunnel, Caleb and I landed on the floor. I managed to land on all fours so as to avoid injuring my back. I’d learned that from experience.

Caleb was already standing by the time I looked at him. He reached out a hand and helped me up. Everyone else was also standing. The humans looked shaken, but they seemed to be okay. Even the injured ones whom we’d had to pick up and drop through seemed to have landed without too much added injury.

“Through here,” my father said, pointing to the open trap door in the ceiling above us. A staircase led up to it, and beyond was a round hole that Ibrahim and Corrine had carved through the rubble. A ladder made of rope dangled through it, its bottom touching the top of the stairs. My father climbed up first, and then indicated that we follow. Again, we helped humans up, and those humans who couldn’t climb due to injuries hung onto the backs of vampires.

To say that Micah had some trouble getting through was an understatement. Aside from the fact that wolves were hardly equipped to climb vertically up a rope ladder, his body was just so wide. It was a struggle for even Ibrahim and Corrine to levitate him through the hole, but with much complaining from Micah, they managed it eventually.

Climbing up through the hole with Caleb, I was struck instantly by the temperature. I’d been expecting to be hit by a wave of cold. Instead a mild breeze wafted toward us. Reaching the top, we found ourselves standing among the sprawling ruins of the castle, beyond which the trees were no longer coated with a sheet of white. For as far as I could see, there were gorgeous forests. The fresh smell of pine filled the air, and I even heard the chirping of early-morning birds.

“The curse has lifted,” Caleb said quietly as he took in the scene along with me.

I had not been able to appreciate the beauty of the island before, because it had all looked the same. But now, with life finally bursting through after God knew how many decades, or even centuries, I realized just how breathtaking this place was.

The landscape was beginning to brighten from the first signs of the sun approaching beneath the horizon. I could only imagine how stunning this place would look in full sunshine.

Who would’ve thought…

I breathed in deeply, relishing the fresh warm air. Caleb’s arm wrapped around me, pulling me closer. I rested my head against his chest as we continued admiring the island that had once been a prison to both of us.

Although this island had held many horrors for me, it would always hold a special place in my heart. It’d been where the seeds of my feelings for Caleb had first developed. I remembered how he’d kept me locked in that apartment, refusing to let me out or even speak to me. Thinking back on it now, I smiled, finding humor in the situation.

I nestled my head closer against my fiancé and raised my gaze to his face. His expression was calm, peaceful. Sensing me watching him, he grazed his lips over my forehead.

Perhaps one day, Caleb and I will return to this island with our children, stand in this very spot, and recount our story to them like old fogeys.

Chapter 33: Rose

Now that we were back in the human realm, Corrine and Ibrahim took time to treat all those humans who were injured. I was beginning to feel tense at how much time they were taking. It wouldn’t be long now until the sun rose, and made things much more difficult for our vampires.