A Shade of Vampire 9: A Bond of Blood (8 page)

I
was beginning
to doubt my navigating skills, but eventually, with Abby’s help, I managed to reach the beach Corrine had marked.

By the time we surfaced, the sun had already dipped below the horizon. Darkness was good for Abby, though of course not for me. I rummaged around in the submarine and was relieved to find a flashlight in one of the cabinets.

I stuffed my backpack with as many weapons as would fit, while Abby took some of her own to carry, and we both climbed out of the hatch.

A warm breeze blew against our skin as we emerged. We slid down the edge of the submarine into the shallow waters and waded through the water onto the beach. Careful to keep the map away from the waves, I shone a flashlight on it again once we had reached dry sand. I held it lower down as Abby approached so she could look at it with me.

I cast my eyes along the length of the beach.

“That way,” Abby said, pointing to our right. “I see the entrance to a cave.”

I squinted, trying to make it out in the distance. Failing, I had no choice but to trust her superior eyesight. We jogged along the beach. My heart hammered against my chest as the cave entrance came into view.

Abby’s breathing had quickened too, and she reached for my arm, gripping it tightly.

We stopped. I reached for my backpack, pulled out a gun and made sure it was fully loaded. I handed it to Abby, then took out another for myself. We walked to the entrance of the dark cave. I was wary of shining a flashlight, but it was either that or tripping and breaking a bone.

As we crept deeper into the cave, several tunnels came into view. We paused, wondering which to take first. Abby pointed to the first tunnel on our right.

“We may as well start with this one,” she whispered.

The passage was narrow and since we had to walk in single file, I took the lead. The crashing of the ocean waves became quieter and quieter with each step we took. Soon, the only sounds were our echoing footsteps and the dripping of water from the stalactites. I stopped short as we hit a dead end.

Great.

I turned around, and was about to tell Abby to do the same when she pointed to something on the ground. I shone the flashlight to see that she had spotted the entrance to some kind of narrow underpass.

“Down there?” I frowned, crouching down. “Really? If we retrace our steps there are other tunnels we could try.”

Abby crouched down next to me. “It’s not very far to the other side,” she said. “It could be a shortcut.”

Although I was still dubious, I placed the flashlight between my teeth and started crawling through the hole. Sharp rocks ripped my jeans and grazed my palms. I heard Abby breathing heavily behind me. She was right at least that this tunnel wasn’t long. I reached the exit and stood up, wiping my palms against my jeans. Abby was standing by my side a moment later. We both gazed around at the small enclosure we’d emerged in.

“Hm,” I muttered, spotting two more passageways to our left.

This place was so big, we could be searching for hours before we ever found them. I wasn’t in the mood to waste any more time, so regardless of what the consequences might be for us, I began shouting the names of my family at the top of my lungs.

My voice reverberated around the chamber and echoed off the walls. I shouted until my voice was hoarse, pausing for a few seconds in between.

Abby gasped and squeezed my shoulder. Her lips parted, her blue eyes wide. “I hear someone calling,” she whispered.

I could hear nothing still. She walked toward a tunnel to our left and ran through it. I followed her, pushing my legs to keep up with her speed. She gripped my hand as we passed through tunnel after tunnel, pulling me forward in the darkness. Finally, she stopped short and listened again.

Now even I could hear it. A distant shouting. A female voice.

Abby lurched forward again, towing me after her. The louder the voice became, the more I realized I didn’t recognize it.

Abby slowed down as the voice now sounded like it was in the next chamber. We both reached for our guns and held them out in front of us. Of course, in a sense, holding up these guns was stupid. They would only be of use on vampires, and I knew what we were up against was far more powerful than any bloodsucker.

Still, it was the only thing we could think to do.

Abby and I stood either side of the entrance to the chamber. She took a deep gulp, then nodded. I turned the corner first, Abby following closely behind.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw in the center of that room.

If there ever was a time I doubted my sanity, it was then.

I
was
sure that by the end of all this, I would finally look my age. The strain that was upon my shoulders not just with Rose’s but now also Ben’s disappearance was sucking me dry.

I paced the floor of my bedroom, racking my brain as to where Ben could have gone. I replayed the last moments I’d spent him in my mind.

My palms sweaty, I rushed to my bookcase and reached for the atlas I’d just remembered scribbling in. I flipped through the pages and stopped abruptly at a page that had been torn out. I ran my fingers along the rip, a bitter smile forming on my lips.

Well, now I know where that disobedient boy has gone.
Back to Hawaii.

I vanished myself and reappeared at the Port. The last submarine was gone.

Of course.

He’d made it no secret how restless he’d been. He just couldn’t help himself from going, even despite everything.

I shuddered to think that he might have arrived already, while I was bound to this island—now more than ever. Abandoning it now would mean abandoning all the humans and vampires who still depended on me. I couldn’t do that. No matter what, I had to stay here.

I checked the stretch of beach near the port just in case the submarine had been parked somewhere else, but it was wishful thinking. Ben was truly gone and, thanks to his uncle Xavier, he knew how to navigate a submarine as well as any of us.

I walked back along the jetty and headed back toward the Sanctuary. To do what, I didn’t know.

“Corrine!” a soft voice called out behind me.

I whirled around. “Rose!” I gasped.

Rose was climbing out of the hatch of a submarine that had just emerged from the waters near the jetty. Following her out was Xavier, Vivienne, Claudia, Yuri, Eli… vampire after vampire crawled out along with all the witches, and one elderly human I’d never seen before. They all looked battle-worn, their clothes ripped and bloodstained.

My heart sank when I realized that Ibrahim wasn’t among them. Derek, Sofia, Aiden and Zinnia were also missing.

My heart doubled its pace as I raced toward them. Rose threw her arms around me and buried her face in my neck.

“What happened?” I gasped, staring at all the ashen faces surrounding me.

Vivienne walked up to me, placing a hand on my shoulder, her face written with worry. “Let’s go inside and sit down first.”

I had no patience to walk, so I vanished us all to the Sanctuary.

Once we were all seated around the dining table, Xavier began, “We were all trapped on Caleb’s island. The witch there… Annora. She’s something else. She overpowered us all.”

“What did they do to you?”

“We were locked in a dungeon. They didn’t do much else to us while we were there, but as for what they were planning to do… we still don’t know.”

“Where’s Ibrahim? Derek and Sofia?”

Xavier heaved a sigh. “Ibrahim, Zinnia and Aiden fell behind as we were escaping. As for Derek and Sofia, we don’t know what happened to them. We discovered that there is another portal in the dungeon of that castle, leading to the supernatural realm. Where exactly in the supernatural realm we have no idea. But since Anna wasn’t anywhere to be found in Caleb’s castle, Derek and Sofia assumed that this was the only place Anna could have been taken.”

Tears began to spill from Rose’s eyes. Vivienne pulled her onto her lap and wrapped her arms around her in comfort.

My mind reeled. “What do you think will happen to them? Those who were left behind.”

“The honest answer is that we just have no idea, Corrine. I’d like to comfort you, but I’m as clueless as you are. Nobody there would give us any idea why we were being held captive there.”

Eli cleared his throat. “Actually,” he said, “I think we do all have some idea. Or at least I do. I believe, now that they know where this island is, they want to raid it. They know what a huge population of humans we have here. And clearly, they are in constant need of humans… I’m sure that if they knew our location sooner, they would have tried to tap into our resources years ago.”

“Y-you think they will come here?” Rose gasped.

“I think,” Eli continued, “that they were holding all The Shade’s most powerful vampires and witches for a reason. They want this island to be vulnerable so they can swoop in and take whomever they want.”

“From the sounds of it, Annora could swoop in even with them present,” I murmured. “She was able to overpower all of you.”

“True,” Eli muttered.

“How did you all escape?” I asked.

“I still don’t quite understand it. The lights went out, and with them, Annora’s powers also vanished. Ibrahim helped free us from the cells and we all made a run for it. But her influence wasn’t gone for long… a few minutes.”

“And the others… they were all alive when you last saw them?” I croaked.

“They were.”

I was about to ask more questions, but Eli held up his hand and stood up, looking around the table at all of us sternly.

“We don’t have much time now. We have no idea what Annora has up her sleeve. But I believe that she is going to attack. We need to start preparing for the worst.”

We looked at each other. It was clear that we were all thinking the same thing.

How could we even begin preparing against such a force as Annora?

I wasn’t sure that I was powerful enough to keep the protective spell over the island even with the help of all the witches here if she decided to attack. And once the spell was gone, the vampires’ brute force was useless against her magic, and she could easily overpower us witches.

I hadn’t thought it possible, but I felt more powerless now than when the Ageless had stripped me of my magic.

T
he hours
that followed were a blur. When Rose asked me where her brother was, I barely had time to give her an answer.

Our first priority was to evacuate the humans from their houses and herd them back into what used to be their home many years ago: the Catacombs. They were safer in the shelter of the mountain than scattered around the island in their townhouses.

After we’d done this, I called a meeting with the witches in the Sanctuary, while the vampires began preparing themselves. They’d only come in handy if she brought vampires with them. But I doubted that the witch would bother.

I looked at the witches sitting with me around the table. “This temple is the most potent place on the island. You should remain here while Annora carries out her attack on the forcefield. Right now, your main priority is to help me keep up the protection over this island. With our combined effort, it should become at least six times stronger than it is now.”

They nodded, looking nervously at each other.

“I’m going to go out now and scan the shoreline. In the meantime, stay here. I’ll be back with further instructions.”

I left the Sanctuary and made my way to the port and walked along the jetty, standing at the very edge of it and scanning the shoreline, breathing in the fresh sea air, trying to calm my nerves.

Eli joined me a few minutes later.

“Now all we can do is wait,” I said, shivering as a cool breeze touched my skin.

“Xavier has stationed vampires at all the lookout points,” he said.

I sat down on the edge of the jetty and pulled my cloak tighter against me. “This could be a long night,” I said.

Eli sat down next to me, and we both stared out at the empty horizon. We sat for hours in silence. By the fourth hour, I stood up. I was too restless to sit any longer. “I’m going to walk further up the beach.”

For all we knew, they could come tomorrow, or the day after. Or in a week’s time. We had no idea what this witch was planning. It was all speculation.

I removed my shoes, feeling the sand beneath my feet. Digging them in deep somehow made me feel more grounded.

I walked along the beach for a couple of hours, doing everything I could to keep myself from thinking about Ibrahim. The worst thing was not knowing. It set my mind loose to imagine all sorts of scenarios that were probably worse than the reality.

By the time I’d circled almost half of the island, I turned round and began to retrace my steps.

Then, as I was nearing the port, I saw it.

Forming over the ocean in the distance, a dozen miles beyond our spell’s boundary, was a dark vortex. A whirlwind that was becoming stronger and higher by the second. Gathering speed, it was heading right for us.

My limbs shaking, I vanished myself from the spot and manifested myself back next to Eli who was still sitting on the jetty.

“She’s coming,” I shouted.

I vanished and reappeared in all the other watchpoints around the island, screaming out warnings at the top of my lungs. By the time I’d finished, it felt like the whole island was holding its breath.

Once I was sure everyone had been alerted, I returned to the Sanctuary. The witches all stood in a circle, their eyes shut tight, fists clenched in concentration.

I pushed between two of them and stood there with them in the circle, closing my eyes. My heart hammered in my chest as the ground shuddered. Chills ran from my neck down to the base of my spine.

I knew what had just happened, and judging by the look on my fellow witches’ faces, so did they.

Instructing them to stay put, I vanished from the room and reappeared at the Port. Eli stood staring at the swirling column that had just penetrated our spell’s boundary.

I knew Annora was strong, but I hadn’t expected her to break through so quickly.
That spell was the strongest protection we had. It can only go downhill from here.

Eli and I stumbled backward, leaving the jetty and rushing to the raised ground above the Port as the whirlwind drew closer. Eli left my side and ran into the woods. I was about to follow, but when I cast one last glance over my shoulder, I stood rooted to the spot. The vortex had now approached within a few feet from the shoreline. I expected it to form into a full-fledged tornado and begin tearing our island apart, but instead, as soon as it touched the sand, it disintegrated into thin air, leaving in its place a crowd of vampires… and wolves.

I squinted as two figures stepped out from the crowd and looked toward me. A tall dark-haired man, and a shorter, blonde woman. As I approached closer, my jaw dropped. My mouth dried out.

The blonde woman I’d never seen before, but the man… how could I ever forget such a man?

I shut my eyes, memories flashing through my mind. Memories of perhaps the most traumatic night of my existence.

Two newborns in my arms, barely half an hour old. The flash of red eyes. Sofia’s baby boy ripped from my arms and carried away into the night…

There was something different about this man. But his appearance was still unmistakeable.

This was the first, most dangerous and darkest child of the Elder.

This was Kiev Novalic.