A Shade of Vampire 23: A Flight of Souls (15 page)

I’d sunk into deeper desperation to escape this place than I ever thought possible, and at the same time felt more clueless than ever.

My mind turned back to the oracle, even as I cursed her.
Why did you mean for me to be here, Hortencia? For what purpose? And what do I do now?

I asked the questions in my mind while thinking of her eyeless face, as if by sheer will power alone I would be able to extract answers from her.

For some reason, the memory of her insisting that I was a coward was the only thing that echoed around in my head.

“
You’re not trying, you’re simply wandering!”

Now her words stung my ego more than ever.
What more can I possibly do?
I would have loved to see what she would do in some alternate universe where she was in my shoes.

I retreated into a quiet corner, tilted my head back and closed myself off to my surroundings, trying to think. After a while, I found myself recalling something Lucas had said to me earlier, that the fae were the only means of escape. Yes, it was all very well saying that, but how—

“Stop being a coward, dead boy.”
I imagined the oracle’s voice in my head again.

It prickled me enough to dig deeper into Lucas’ idea, as crazy as it was.
What is the main reason why escaping via the fae is impossible?
Well, for a start, they would never agree to let us escape. Why would they when they were trying to stock this place up with ghosts? Freeing us would be going against everything they were trying to achieve…

Then a thought struck me. A thought that chilled me to the very core.

What if…

No. That could be suicide on my part.

“Coward!”

I scowled, wanting to repel her repulsive voice from my head, and regretting ever having thought of her to begin with. But the word rang true within me. As rough as it was to admit, I realized that in casting Lucas’ observation aside so quickly as impossible, I had proven the oracle right. I had been nothing but a coward.

I
had
to leave our pool again.

Abandoning my spot in the corner, I hurried back over to the other side where Kailyn and Lucas were resting. I shot Kailyn a sharp look.

“Kailyn, I need to do something. Keep an eye out for the ghouls and make sure that the two of you are moving around and not looking so dead by the time they arrive.”

Kailyn glanced at my uncle with uncertainty, then nodded. “I’ll do my very best,” she murmured.

Of course, there wasn’t much Kailyn could do if the ghouls arrived and Lucas had drifted off again by then. Other than another frantic pep talk, Lucas was on his own.

I didn’t know how long I would be gone. It could be hours or it could be minutes. I hoped against hope that it would be the latter and I would arrive with a solution before the ghouls came around.

“But where are you going, Ben?” Kailyn called after me as I began to drift up toward the surface of the pond.

I glanced down at her sharply. “Just… do as I say and stay here with my uncle.”

She looked like she wanted to press me for an answer, but she didn’t and I didn’t give her the chance either. I drifted out of the pool and, glancing left and right to check that there were no ghouls nearby, I moved as fast as I could toward the tunnel that wound toward the main door.

I wasn’t nearly as fast as I needed to be, but it did feel like the more I moved, the easier it became, and the more awake I felt. I managed to reach the wooden door without bumping into any unsavory characters, and then sank my head through to verify that there was nobody on the other side. Seeing that there were none, I entered into the lake-filled cavern and headed toward the dark canal. I followed it until I neared the exit that led back into the whirlpool cave.
The exit
. The same number of ghouls were guarding the exit, as was to be expected.

But this time, I did not enter the vast enclosure. Instead, I remained hovering within the tunnel, about five feet away from the mouth of the tunnel. Just close enough to allow me view of the watery exit, but not so close as to be easily spotted by the ghouls.

Now it was time to wait again. The most excruciating wait so far. I just had no idea when the next batch of fae would come streaming through the vortex.

As I hovered in the murky water, I tried to count the number of times that the fae had come through the portal since I’d been here. It had been several times. Not only when Kailyn, Lucas and I had been waiting in our hiding place, but also before, when I’d caught sight of Sherus walking along the tunnel with his sister. They seemed to be coming in and out all day, with intervals of several hours. I had to hope that the last time had been several hours ago and their next visit was due soon.

So I waited. And waited. With each moment that passed, I became more and more anxious that the time would arrive for the ghouls’ inspection, and they would find Lucas in our pool. But I had to stop worrying about what could be happening. There was nothing I could do about it. The only thing I could do was wait right here and pray that the fae would hurry up and…

My heart leapt as a fae burst through the whirlpool, followed by a whole crowd of the spirits. Sherus was at the front as they all came zooming down with their white coffins. I hurriedly ducked my head beneath the water and sank downward, hoping that none of them had seen me.

Touching down at the bottom of the base of the canal, I cast my eyes upward and watched their forms whoosh over me along the tunnel until they had all passed. But I knew by now that it would not be long before they returned. I moved closer to the surface again and raised my head above the water just enough to be able to watch for their return. It had been less than a minute when I caught sight of Sherus again, followed by his group of accomplices. I ducked down, waiting for the exact moment when he would be passing close enough, before moving up in as sudden a motion as I could manage.

As I sprang up before him from nowhere, his eyes widened in alarm. He had been traveling too fast and I was too close for him to stop in time. I was able to sink right into his body. Though only for a second. I was immediately thrust out, but it didn’t matter. I’d gotten his attention before he’d reached the exit of the canal and came within view of the ghouls. His eyes sparked with irritation. He grabbed hold of my arm, giving me a steely gaze.

“You,” he murmured. “What do you think you’re doing? You don’t belong out here.”

As I had expected, he began dragging me back toward the main door.

“Wait,” I said, speaking with all the strength that I could manage. He ignored me and continued hauling me along the tunnel. “I know that you’re in trouble,” I hissed.

This made him halt and whirl around on me, his eyes fiery. “What?” he snapped.

“I know you’re in trouble. You and all your people. You made a pact with these ghouls and are unable to fulfill it.”

Sherus faltered, confusion marring his perfectly symmetrical face. “What—Wh-Who are you to address me like this?”

“Just an attentive observer.” I considered mentioning his interaction I’d witnessed with his sister but, given his foul mood at the time and his rising impatience now, I didn’t think that was the best incident to call upon to make my point. “Whatever pact you made with them, and whatever the quotient is that you’re struggling to meet… I can help you with it. I can help you with all of it.”

Sherus blinked in disbelief, then narrowed his eyes on me. “Who are you?”

“If you must know, my name is Benjamin Novak, Prince of The Shade.”

I paused, watching the flicker of recognition in his eyes. “The Shade,” he murmured. His expression toned down.

“I command the loyalty of a number of witches,” I went on. “If you let me free, I would bring a small army of them here to free you from whatever bond you have formed with these creatures.”

My heart sank as he shook his head. “Witches won’t be strong enough to help us in this,” he whispered.

His answer took me by surprise—not only that the witches wouldn’t be strong enough to overcome the ghouls’ power, but that Sherus was actually admitting his inadequacy. I’d thought that perhaps his pride would rear up and that he’d assert again that they would indeed make the deadline as he had done with his sister, and that he didn’t need anyone’s help, least of all the help of a ghost. Perhaps his sister’s words had gotten through to him and he’d realized that maybe she was right. Maybe they would not be able to fulfill their end of the deal. I had no idea what that would mean for them or what the consequences would be, but from all that his sister had said, it would be something terrible.

“Are you certain witches couldn’t help?” I asked, desperately hoping that he didn’t know what he was talking about. “Perhaps you’re not aware that it is not an uncommon practice in The Sanctuary for witches to keep ghouls as slaves.”

Before he could answer, several of his companions approached, giving Sherus questioning glares. Sherus nodded toward the exit. “One of you stay with me. The rest of you should leave.”

They eyed me curiously, no doubt wondering what on earth could be so interesting about me for Sherus to want to stay behind and give me the time of day. A fae with long, dusty blond hair and turquoise eyes stayed behind while the rest left.

Sherus set his eyes back on me. “No, I told you. Witches cannot help.”

“What about dragons?” I asked, trying with all that I had to keep the desperation out of my voice.

Sherus scowled. “Ghouls make food out of dragons. But even if the dragons scorched this place to ashes, they would still be of no use. Our pact with the ghouls is far more subtle than that.”

I was dying to ask what this pact was exactly, but I did not want to pry too much… at least, not yet. I racked my brain as to what else I could suggest. Then I blurted, barely even thinking, “Jinn. I also have an army of jinn.”

Yeah, right
. If the Nasiris would be willing to help me out of this mess—which I was sure that they would, given their queen’s attachment to me—according to Aisha, they had probably been taken by the Drizans. God knew where they were now; perhaps they were locked up in the Drizans’ lair somewhere. I doubted they would still be in The Oasis. But I couldn’t think of how I was going to fulfill this promise now. I just had to say whatever I could to bring me closer to freedom, even if it meant lying through my teeth.

I saw immediately from the look in Sherus’ eyes that I had made the right move in mentioning the jinn.

“An army of jinn, you say,” he whispered. “You really command the loyalty of jinn?”

“Yes,” I said, speaking with confidence I did not possess. “An entire clan of them. All of them have pledged their allegiance to me and I assure you that they would be willing to use their powers to help you.”

“And in exchange,” Sherus continued, “I imagine that you want me to let you free, correct?”

“Not just me. Five others, also.”

“Six?” He raised a brow. I feared that I had taken a misstep.

I actually wanted to ask that he free a whole lot more, but it would be pushing my luck too much. Besides, the ghouls could not notice the fae smuggling their ornaments out, or the fae would be in trouble. And the ghouls’ trust in the fae was something that we needed to keep up as long as possible.

“Six is rather a lot,” Sherus said. “But I suppose we can squash you all into two boxes.” He paused, his eyes boring into mine. “But how can I trust that you are who you say you are? How can I trust that you are the prince of The Shade, and that you really have command over an army of jinn?”

I didn’t waver in my gaze. “It would be rather pointless of me to lie, wouldn’t it? I’m sure that you could track me down easily enough if I tried to escape without honoring my word.”

At this Sherus nodded, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “Yes, you would be very foolish to mess with me. Very foolish.”

“Understood,” I said, even as I squirmed a little inside.
I’d better find a way to get the Nasiris freed from the Drizans, or else…

I didn’t even want to think about how impossible the task could be even as a vampire, not to mention as a ghost. But one step at a time.
Just one step at a time.

Sherus gripped my shoulder and squeezed hard. He leaned in closer to my ear and whispered, “Go now then. Go fetch your five comrades, but be sure not to dally. We will meet back here in ten minutes. In the meantime, my companion and I will also need to return, in order to retrieve two coffins.”

Yes, sir.

T
he three of
us moved swiftly toward the main door and entered it. Here we parted ways. The fae headed down the tunnel, while I sank into the wall for fear of being seen. Ten minutes. I had ten minutes. But it was hard to keep track of the time due to the anticipation coursing through my spirit, and there was not exactly an abundance of clocks to be found in The Underworld.

I pushed myself hard, racing with speed I’d thought I had lost. Though I had to be cautious at the same time. Being caught out of my pool by a ghoul now would be catastrophic to the whole plan.

My pool had never been a more welcome sight. I dove in and frantically scanned the water for Kailyn and Lucas. To my relief, they were still down here—huddled in the same corner.

Kailyn immediately perked up on seeing me, and I was glad to see that Lucas’s eyes were still open, even if he did look more drained than a beaten donkey.

“Did the ghouls come round yet?” I asked.

Kailyn shook her head.

That was both good news and bad news. For all we knew, they could be on their way right now.

“I’ve found a way to escape,” I whispered. “The fae, they’ve agreed to help us. We all need to head toward the canal immediately. The fae also agreed to let Chantel, Nolan and Marcilla come with us.” I glanced briefly around at the rest of the poor ghosts in our pool, trying to keep a casual expression—although many of the ghosts had their eyes set on me curiously, after having just returned from yet another excursion. “We’ll have to come back for the rest,” I breathed.

Kailyn looked quite breathless. “Wait, what? Are you sure about this, Ben? What if it’s some kind of trap? A test of our loyalty to the ghouls?”

“Kailyn,” I said sternly. “You just need to trust me on this.” I shot her a glare.

At this, she pursed her lips and nodded. “Okay,” she breathed. “I-I trust you,”

Now I cast my eyes around the pool in search of the other three. They were sitting together on the other side of the pond, along with a fourth ghost I hadn’t spoken to yet. A short young man with caramel skin. I wasn’t sure what he had been before he’d died.

I moved closer to them, but, being unwilling to say what I needed to in front of this fourth ghost, I caught Marcilla, Chantel and Nolan’s gaze and beckoned them over to me. The young man looked curiously at us as they joined me. Turning my back on him, I quickly explained what had to be done.

Chantel looked afraid, but not nearly as much as Marcilla, who had already undergone torture several times. Still, even in spite of her uncertainty, there must have been something about the conviction in my eyes that made her agree to come with us.

We arrived in Kailyn and Lucas’ corner. The werewolf was already standing, and, to my relief, so was Lucas. Both eyed me expectantly. Then all of us began drifting upward at once. Several ghosts called after us in question, but we ignored them.

After checking that the chamber was still empty of ghouls, we lifted out of the pool. As we headed to the tunnel, I was dismayed to see that Lucas’ rest hadn’t done him any good. If anything, he was slower now than he had been before. But, I hoped that the more he moved, the more he would warm up. He had to. He was slowing us all down.

On reaching the mouth of the tunnel, we were about to submerge into a wall when a shout came behind us. I froze in horror.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

It was the young man whom Marcilla, Nolan, and Chantel had been conversing with.

Damn fool!

“Shut up, Keb!” Chantel gasped. “You’ll attract the ghouls!”

“Don’t leave without me!” he yelled even louder.

I wanted to grab Keb’s neck and snap it. Now I feared that it was already too late.

“Into the walls!” I hissed.

The six of us submerged into the walls of the tunnel, and I prayed that Keb wouldn’t follow us—or even if he did, that we would lose him before he managed to catch up with us. Six ghosts in total was what the fae had agreed to. And not a single ghost more. Turning up with seven could put the whole deal in jeopardy, if the fae took offense and thought I was trying to change the terms of the agreement halfway through.

We had to wind the rest of our way through the stone as much as we could, painfully slower since we couldn’t see where we were going. Still, we continued forging forward blindly through the walls until I felt it was about time to check where we were again.

Then another unwelcome sound met my ears. A much more unwelcome sound.

The screeching of ghouls. It grew louder and louder. At least two were coming our way, and fast.

I realized in a panic that I didn’t even know if Lucas was still following us. I could not see through the thick stone walls and now fear gripped me that he had fallen behind. I was forced to emerge into the tunnel to check exactly how much progress we had made toward the main door, and that was when I saw them—three ghouls rushing toward us down the corridor. I immediately sank back into the wall, but it was too late. They’d seen me. Arms shot through the wall and rummaged around, catching my arm. The next thing I knew, all six of us were being dragged out, the ghouls holding each of us with one hand. Lucas was being held in the other hand of my captor, and unlike me, he didn’t instinctively struggle. He was just limp in the ghoul’s grasp.

This would be the end for my uncle. They would take us back to the torture chamber and I knew without any shadow of doubt that one more session in there would drain him forever. As it was, I feared that they might pass judgment on him and send him down to The Necropolis, but after one more session, I could predict it as surely as the oracle herself.

“No!” I bellowed, kicking and flailing in the ghoul’s iron grip.

The ghouls began leading us away from the main door, down the corridor. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the ghouls had just been on their way to conduct their inspection… and to think that we would’ve just made it out in time if it weren’t for that bastard Keb causing them to hasten.

They moved faster and faster, and I was already mentally preparing myself for another round of torture when, to my shock, they stopped abruptly before we reached the end of the tunnel.

The ghoul had been carrying us with our backs facing forward, so I couldn’t even see why they had stopped. And everything that happened next was a blur. I heard the ghouls scream, and then the slicing of flesh… and then my ghoul’s hold on me—and Lucas—abruptly loosened. Drifting to the floor, I whirled around to find myself staring at all three ghouls, lying on the floor, decapitated.

Hovering over them were Sherus and his companion. They held daggers in their hands, tinged with thick, black blood. I gaped, both stunned and bewildered by what they’d just done.

I’d thought that if we got ourselves caught, our contract would automatically end. That the fae were actually willing to risk murdering the ghouls while in their own caverns spoke of deeper levels of desperation on their part than I’d ever imagined.

Sherus’ jaw tensed grimly as he wiped his blade against his sash and slid it back into his belt. He and his companion quickly scooped up the bodies and opened one of two coffins that rested behind them. They dumped the ghouls inside, crushing up their bodies in order to make them fit. Then, removing their shoulder sashes, they soaked up the blood on the ground before chucking them on top of the corpses. They closed the lid of the coffin sharply before opening the lid of the second one.

Then Sherus set his steely gaze on me. “Get in,” he said, gesturing to the second box. “Now.”

Luckily we had subtle bodies and all six of us could pile in, our bodies merging into one another, which was a truly bizarre feeling. I shifted around as the fae slammed the lid shut, my body passing through all five ghosts simultaneously, as I moved to get a better look through the small, narrow window of the coffin.

I felt the coffin being lifted and held slightly vertical so that I could glimpse what was in front of us. They arrived at the main door, flung it open and we shot out. We flew over the lake, then into the canal before arriving in the vast entrance cavern.

It all happened so fast, I barely even believed my eyes as the fae rushed us past the unsuspecting guards and shot up through the base of the whirlpool. As the churning water sloshed against the glass, it was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen.

We’re out.