An End of Night (A Shade of Vampire #16)(50)

“How much longer?” my father asked, sharing my tenseness.

“Just give us one more minute,” Corrine said. “This is the last girl I’m treating. The rest are fine to walk and can be treated in a hospital when they return.”

It ended up taking her five more minutes, but eventually, all the humans were able to stand, which was the most important thing for now.

“All right,” Ibrahim said, looking over everyone. “Form a circle and make sure you’re all touching.”

“You know we need to head to California?” my mother asked, looking toward Ibrahim and Corrine.

“Yes,” Corrine said. “Any beach along California will do… We just need to get in touch with the police and they will take things from there.”

We all formed a circle and the witches transported us to a quiet beach. Relief spread across the humans’ faces.

“Hey,” one of the girls piped up. “My house is just round the corner from here.”

“You can return home if you want,” my mother said, “if you’re sure you’ll be okay.”

The girl nodded eagerly. “I’ve no idea who the heck you people are—or if I can even call you people—but thank you for saving us,” she gushed, and turned on her heel, hurrying away toward the road.

“If anyone else recognizes the area you are also free to go,” my mother said.

Nobody else responded.

“Okay,” Corrine said. “The rest of you will be left with the police. They’ll take care of you.”

“Mom, Dad, do either of you recognize this area?” I asked.

They looked around, then shook their heads. “Our house wasn’t near here,” my mother replied.

“So if we don’t know the location of any police station,” I said, “we’ll have to find a telephone.”

“Rose, Sofia and I can escort them,” my father said. “There’s no need for all of us to come. The rest of you just wait here for us.” He glanced toward the horizon. “We’ll be as quick as possible.”

With that, the three of us set off with the humans toward the road. There were hardly any cars around at this early hour.

“If any of you spot a phone booth, let us know,” my mother said.

We walked along the sidewalk for the next ten minutes. Our pace was frustratingly slow. I just wasn’t used to traveling at regular human speed any more.

Finally, one of the girls called out. “Look, there’s one on the other side.”

We crossed the road and approached the booth. My father picked up the phone, dialed 911 and turned to my mother and me as he held the phone to his ear.

“Check the name of this road,” he said.

My mother and I stepped away, located a signpost and noted the name.

After the call had connected, we gave my father the details he needed. Less than a minute later, he was done talking and replaced the phone.

“They’re coming for you,” he said, looking around at the humans.

They positively beamed.

“Rose, Sofia,” he said, “We’ll wait on the other side of the road, behind those bushes, until the police arrive—just to make sure they get picked up okay.”

“Good idea,” I said. There was no point in waiting here in full view of the police or they’d just entangle us in questions.

“Where do you live?” one of the girls asked, eyeing my father.

The three of us exchanged glances. “Not in California,” was all the answer she received from him.

We said goodbye to the humans and then ducked down behind the bushes on the opposite sidewalk. We didn’t have to wait long. The police arrived within ten minutes. I could hear the police asking them who had brought them here. The humans replied that they didn’t even know who we were and that we had just left. We were grateful that they didn’t point out our location in the bushes.

The police piled them into police cars and after ten minutes of fussing about, they drove away, leaving behind a cloud of dust.

My father placed an arm around me and my mother. He planted a kiss on each of our heads before saying, “Now it’s time for us to go home.”

Chapter 34: Rose

The familiar sight of The Shade’s Port sent a warm feeling rushing through me.

We’re home.

I could breathe freely for what felt like the first time since leaving our island. After all that had happened this past year, I swore to never take this place for granted again.

It being still early in the morning, most people would likely be asleep.

“Corrine, Ibrahim,” my father said, his voice quiet. “Why don’t you treat those among us who need it before turning in for the night?”

“Who needs medical attention?” Corrine asked, looking around each of us.

I looked down at my own chest. It was still red, but it wasn’t really bothering me anymore. I supposed that it was best to get treated just in case it developed into something worse.

Most of the vampires chose to do without help, saying that they would be fine and their bodies would heal themselves after some nourishment. Kiev seemed to be the most seriously injured of the vampires, but Mona said that she would be able to treat him at home. In the end, it was just me, Micah, my grandfather, and Ashley who went to see Corrine and Ibrahim. Caleb accompanied me as we headed to their home.