A Shade of Vampire 8: A Shade of Kiev (2 page)

She remained silent.

I thought back to what now seemed like a previous life and tried to recall the taste. I soon found the memory I was seeking. On my father’s bidding, I had once tortured one of her kind.

“You’re not human, are you?”

“No,” she snapped.

“You’re a witch.”

She didn’t answer, but I knew I was right.

I didn’t speak again for several hours. But when I looked up to see that she was still awake, afraid that I was losing my mind to the pain, I distracted myself with her again.

“So, if you’re a witch, why do you let him treat you this way? Why don’t you fight back?”

“What’s it to you?” she muttered.

“Oh, I have no interest in you. I’m just trying to take my mind off of my impending death.”

At that, she fell silent. But after several minutes she said quietly, “I can’t wield magic.”

“You’re not a witch then?”

“I
am
a witch,” she sighed, as though this was an explanation she had repeated to many people before. “But I was born without powers.”

“Why?”

“Why were you born with horrible red eyes? These things just happen.”

I averted my eyes to the ground, wincing at her words.

“I don’t belong here,” she whispered. The tone of her voice was urgent, causing me to look at her again. She crawled closer to the bars. It dawned on me then that she was quite attractive without furrowed brows and a scowl.

“That makes two of us.” I grimaced.

“I’ve only been in this hell-hole a few weeks. I… I’m a wanderer. A pirate. I left my crew to come to these shores to collect fruits.”

“That was foolish of you.”

“I’ve made the trip dozens of times before without getting caught. It’s just this time…” Her voice trailed off for a few minutes before she found it again. “I’ve been holed up with these monsters ever since.”

“Why are you telling me all this? If I knew a way out, I wouldn’t be sitting here in a pool of my own blood—”

I stopped mid-sentence.

My stomach twisted into knots. My heart skipped a beat. A paralyzing feeling of dread swept over me. I gazed around the room, trying to make eye contact with any vampire looking my way. From their panicked expressions, they had sensed it too.

A dark presence that was felt but never seen. A presence that we all knew too well.

An unbearable cold seeped into the core of my bones—a sensation that never failed to make me pray for death.

It was too late.

My father had returned for me.

A haze descended over my eyes, making my vision slightly unfocussed.

“I’ve missed you, son.” A hiss echoed in my head. “But you have disappointed me. Have you forgotten all I’ve done for you?”

No,
I thought.

“You were one of the first humans I ever infected with our nature. One of my first mutations. With that comes responsibility. I gave you power when you had none. I made you immortal. I gave you these red eyes. Don’t ever forget that.”

I can’t.

“I trusted you. And you betrayed me in the worst way imaginable. You sacrificed my trust to join our sworn enemies. You understand that such behavior cannot go unpunished.”

I understand.

Though his words caused my mind to erupt in panic, I couldn’t help but wonder how in hell they’d managed to penetrate Aviary so quickly.

“Oh, Kiev,” his voice replied in my head, having read my mind. “You should know better than to underestimate the cunning of the Elders after so many years under my wing. We have our ways… but I have more important matters to set your mind on now.”

My body moved toward the bars and my head turned from side to side, surveying the prison. The witch recoiled, her eyes wide with shock.

“You want to escape this place, don’t you? Well, I’ve come to rescue you, my son. Fear not. We’ll find a way out of here…”

My father moved my body to the darkest corner of the cell. I sat rigidly upright for what felt like hours. From the translucent appearance of their eyes, the other vampires had also been inhabited by the evil spirits that called themselves Elders. The original vampires. Except for the female vampire opposite me. Like the witch, she cowered in a corner of her cell.

Silence engulfed the prison. The only sounds that could be heard were the wind against the trees outside and the intermittent dripping of water on wood.

Since escaping my father, I’d tried to lock away the nightmares of all the years I’d spent under his influence. Now that he had reclaimed my body, memories flooded back. An entire village slaughtered. The blood of a child soaking my hands. My love, Natalie, screaming her bruised lungs out as I tortured her to death.

It felt as if the Elder was swallowing up any glimmer of hope for redemption I had been trying to kindle in a small corner of my soul. He was pulling me down into the pit of night I was trying to clamber out of.

My ears picked up a clinking of keys in the distance, then the thudding of dozens of footsteps. I had lost all track of time, but our three days must have been up. Either that, or the hawks had decided to come for us earlier.

“Keep a close eye on them.” Arron’s voice sounded out. “Most of them are weak by now, but desperation has a way of giving strength. I’m going to see to my slave first.”

Arron unlocked the witch’s cell and pulled her out. A dozen other hawks entered my line of vision and began unlocking gates. With us in the shadows, they didn’t even notice our faces until it was too late.

I lunged forward with strength I didn’t know my body still possessed. All vampires struck at once, taking the hawks by surprise. Before he had a chance to fight back, I bit into a guard’s neck, tearing out his throat with my fangs and finishing the job with my claws.

I whirled around to see the prison in instant chaos: vampires and hawks flailing as they battled against each other, screams and shrieks piercing the atmosphere.

Arron screeched. He let go of the witch and flew toward me. I rushed forward and when we clashed, I was surprised that my already broken body didn’t shatter to pieces. My claws lashed out, aiming for his eyes. He beat his wings and, gripping both of my hands in his talons, raised me into the air. Just as Arron poised himself to strike me with his sharp beak, the haze cleared from my eyes and the chill within my bones seeped out of me.

Arron looked at me with alarm. Without warning, he let go of me. I fell ten feet to the ground.

Across the prison, the female vampire who had not yet been inhabited now stood rigidly with her eyes rolling in their sockets. My father must have seen her in a more advantageous position.

As I lay aching on the floor, Arron’s servant took advantage of the pandemonium and darted toward the exit of the prison. I forced my wrecked body to stand up. Keeping close to the wall and moving as fast as I could, I stayed within the shadows and exited the prison after her. Once out in the fresh air, I turned back to check the entrance of the prison—a square windowless building made of wood. Like all the constructions in Aviary, it had been built in the treetops, hundreds of feet above the jungle undergrowth. I heaved a sigh of relief to see that nobody had followed me yet.

My ears picked up the crack of a branch. I ran to the edge of the platform as a dark blonde head disappeared beneath the thick canopy of leaves about ten meters below. I hurled myself over the railing, hoping I wouldn’t impale myself on a sharp branch.

On falling through the upper layer of leaves, my body made contact with a thick branch that I scrambled up on before tumbling down toward the jungle’s undergrowth. The witch was still scurrying down the tree as if she hadn’t noticed me. But she was slow, and limping.

“Wait!” I hissed.

I caught up with her and she let out a small scream. I placed a hand over her mouth to stifle it.

“I am not going to hurt you.”

“Stay away from me!”

She pulled my hand away from her face and continued climbing down the branches, wincing with every movement she made.

I dropped myself down directly beneath her, blocking her next step.

“Where are you going?” I asked. She attempted to push me out of the way, but I gripped her arms and held her in place. “Do you know a way out of here?”

She let out a dry laugh. “As if I would tell you!”

A shrill scream sounded overhead, and then a rustling of leaves, close to us. She looked at me, desperation clouding her better judgment.

“I need to get to my boat. I’m sure it’s still moored on the beach about a mile away from where I was caught.”

“Climb onto my back,” I ordered.

She narrowed her eyes on me. “Why would I do that?”

I considered just taking her by force rather than wasting time arguing, but I had a better chance of escaping with her cooperation.

“Listen, witch. You said you have a boat. If I don’t escape this place, I face death or worse. I’m not going to hurt you because I
need
you.”

I held out my hand, my eyes drilling into hers, urging her to take it. She hesitated, her dark blue irises filled with fear and uncertainty. But then her warm hand clasped mine. I turned around so that my back faced her. Her weight slid onto me and she wrapped her legs around my waist. I clenched my jaw against the pain of her body brushing against the open wounds Arron had slashed into my back, and hurried downward.

“Faster!” Her breath was hot against my ear.

When my feet hit the ground, she pointed to my right. “That way!”

I lurched forward and continued to follow her directions, dodging the giant snakes that writhed in the undergrowth. More screeches echoed down from above. We both looked around, but nobody appeared to be following us.
The hawks and Elders must still be keeping each other busy.

Soon enough, the salty breeze blowing through the trees was unmistakable. When we emerged on a rocky shore, the sun hit me and my skin erupted in pain. But I had no choice but to keep moving forward. I ran for about half a mile before we found what she was looking for.

“Down there.” She pointed to an area enclosed by rocks where a small boat was moored. I was relieved to see that it had a roof over it. I jumped down the rocks and leapt into the boat. As soon as the witch slid off my back, I retreated to the shadiest spot I could find.

“Oh, no. My engine!” The witch walked to the edge of the boat and cast her eyes around the empty waters. Fully clothed, she dove into the sea.

She swam around, ducking her head beneath the water and making strange moaning sounds. Then she disappeared completely. When she showed no signs of emerging after two minutes, I began to consider diving in after her. But then her head bobbed up above the water, followed by two sea creatures. I blinked several times. They were two large blue dolphins.

She guided both of them to the front of the boat and strapped them into thick leather harnesses. Catching hold of the reins, she hauled herself back onto the boat, joining me beneath the roof.

“I knew they wouldn’t abandon me,” she muttered to herself.

She tugged on the reins and we lurched forward at such a speed that it was hard to breathe for a few moments. I turned to face her. Her eyes were forward, concentrating on the open sea ahead, as though strapping reins on dolphins was the most normal thing in the world.

“What’s your name, vampire?” she asked.

“Uh, Kiev Novalic. Yours?”

She kept her gaze ahead.

“Mona. Just Mona.”

The fabric of my torn shirt irritated my singed skin. I removed it and threw it overboard. I found a bucket in a corner of the boat and, dipping it into the ocean, emptied it over my head. The salt stung, but at least the water was cool.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“The nearest place I can get rid of you.”

Her tone grated on my nerves. I was still keenly aware of the throbbing in my arm and my throat was parched for blood. At that moment, it took all the willpower I had to not sink my fangs into her neck. My survival was still dependent on her cooperation, so I had no choice but to rein in my annoyance and maintain a civil tone.

Dripping wet, I sat down next to her on the small bench in the center of the boat and turned to face her. She kept her eyes on the ocean.

“And where might that be?” I asked.

“The Cove. It’s also where I left my ship and crew. About a day away, providing Kai and Evie keep up their current speed.”

We had just entered a particularly rough set of waves and sitting on the bench became uncomfortable. I moved to the floor and looked up at her, now closer to her line of vision.

“What’s The Cove?”

“Home of the merfolk.”

Her answer was interesting to me on many levels. I was curious about the world outside of Aviary. I had lived on Earth for the majority of my life, at The Blood Keep—the Elder’s castle. Only recently had I travelled through the portal into this strange parallel realm of supernaturals. Even my experience of Aviary, the country of hawks, was limited—not to speak of all the other hundreds of territories ruled by different supernatural races.

“I wouldn’t expect a hearty welcome from them,” the witch continued. “In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a single race that embraces the spawn of the Elders with open arms.”

“Will I be any better off there than in Aviary?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Whatever the case, it’s your problem.”

I breathed deeply.

“But is there shade there? You need to at least leave me somewhere I can find shelter from the sun.”

“I’ll drop you near a cave,” was all the assurance she gave me.

A particularly violent wave slammed my back against the side of the boat. I groaned, cursing the witch in my head for being unable to heal me with magic.

“That serum won’t be in your blood forever. I suspect it’ll be gone within a day. Just get some sleep. You’re going to need it.” She gave me a sour smile. “And I could do without your voice in my ears for a few hours.”

I didn’t know how I managed to fall asleep in that cramped corner of the boat, with the ocean knocking me about. But eventually, my body gave in to slumber.