B00C8324IS EBOK (22 page)

“Alright then.
Good night, son.”

“Good night, dad.”

I was left standing there, not certain what I was supposed to do. Then I remembered how something stashed beneath Sofia’s pillow had caught my attention. Giving in to my curious nature, I went to see what she had hidden there and immediately found myself wishing I hadn’t.

Other than rip me apart, all it did
was seal my decision.
I’ve had enough. I’m going to locate the hunters first thing tomorrow. Either she’s with me or she’s not.

A cool breeze carried strands of my hair in the air as I took a stroll along the concrete sidewalks of the suburban neighborhood we lived in. I took in the familiar sight of row upon row of the identical-looking villas that completed the subdivision. I mused over how all the homes looked exactly the same on the outside, but were most likely radically different on the inside.

Sometimes, that’s the way it is with people. You think you can tell what they are based on the patterns that you see, but when you take a look inside, they’re nothing like you expect them to be.

That’s how it was with Vivienne. Of course, I never really understood her. She was always cold and aloof toward me while I was back at The Shade. It wasn’t that she disliked me. She just seemed indifferent, like I wasn’t deserving of her time, nor was I deserving of Derek’s.

Then she allowed me a peek
inside her mind by sharing with me certain select memories from her past, and I knew that I would never be able to see her in the same way again. It was unnerving to see how much she feared the hunters.
That’s why she was acting so strangely. She was probably able to sense them. And yet she stayed… She risked
everything
just to convince me to go back to The Shade.

I still had memories of the night Derek woke up, how fond they appeared to be of each other. My gut clenched at how Derek would receive the news of Vivienne having been taken by the hunters. I found it even more disturbing to think of what the hunters had in store for her.

All of it was too much to take in and as I tucked my hands inside the pockets of the hoodie I had on – the one that had Ben’s jersey number – eight – on it, I found that I kept thinking of what was best to do
for Derek
.

I couldn’t understand why
he had such a hold on me that night. I meandered aimlessly throughout the neighborhood, wondering what to do until I my feet finally led me back to the house that had sheltered me for eight years. Seated on the three steps leading to its front door, I found Ben waiting for me. When he saw me approaching, he raised his eyes and I knew that I had done something to hurt him deeply.

“Ben…” I took a step toward him and saw what he had clutched in his hands. My heart sank. “I can explain.”

“You don’t have to.” He stood up and handed me the items stashed under my pillow.

He held my shoulders and kissed me on the forehead before revealing to me his intent. “I’m leaving at dawn to find the hunters. If I matter at all to you, you
will
join me. If you don’t, then I’ll take it as goodbye.”

“Ben, don’t do this…” Tears began to fall from my eyes. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.

He wiped the tears away with his thumbs, held my waist and pulled me against him before once again claiming my lips – gently at first then becoming rougher, hungrier, more demanding as the kiss went on. I gasped when our lips parted and drew a breath when his gaze fixed on my lips, still throbbing from his kiss.

“An ultimatum, Rose Red. This time, the choice I’m giving you is clear.” He glanced bitterly at the items I was clutching with both my hands. “You’re either with him or you’re with me.”

He left me standing by the front steps, afraid that any move I made would push me over fence I was balancing myself in. He was forcing me to choose a side. Tears blurred my eyes as I looked at what I was holding. One was the Polaroid shot Corrine sent to me – the one with Derek’s eyes on me – and the other was a sketchbook filled with page after page of the likeness of the vampire who still held me captive.

As I stood there, I found myself overcome by a single emotion:
exhaustion
. I was tired of pretending that things could get back to normal. In that regard, Ben was right. I was a fool to think I could simply send out applications to colleges and move on with my life as if The Shade never happened. I was tired of Ben and his ultimatum and all the pressure he was putting on me to make a choice between vampires and hunters. Most of all, I was tired of feeling guilty over the fact that I wanted to go back to The Shade – if only to see Derek again.

In many ways, Vivienne’s disappearance and Ben’s ultimatum were what pushed me over
to Derek’s side of the fence. I questioned my sanity even as I returned to my bedroom and packed a bag. I was able to accomplish what had never been done before. I escaped The Shade and here I was… embracing the idea of going right back to it.

And yet, peace that transcended all understanding – peace that I
hadn’t experienced since leaving The Shade – enveloped me the moment I made my decision to go back.

It made no sense, but it felt absolutely right.
I smiled as I packed the last few belongings I had that were precious enough to take with me to The Shade. I checked the clock mounted on the wall. It was close to midnight. If I wanted to follow the path Vivienne set out for me, I didn’t have much time.

I sneaked into Ben’s bedroom. I had no choice but to
take the keys to his truck. It was the only way I could reach the rendezvous point in time. I snuck in only to find him wide awake. He took one look at what I was wearing and knew that I’d already made my choice.

“Ben…” The words came out broken and forced.

“Are you sure this is what you want?”

“I’m sorry, Ben…”

“The key to the truck is in my jeans’ pocket.”

I was surprised that he would voluntarily help me considering how much he was against what I was doing, but I saw it for what it was. It was him letting go and supporting me in my decision even when it hurt him.

At that point, no matter how confident I was that I was making the right decision, it felt painful.

“Ben…”

“Don’t, Sofia… Just go…”

Tears moistened my eyes as I fished the key out of his pocket. “I’m going to text you where I parked it. I…”

“I guess Alyssa was right. Rose Red really does end up with the Beast…”

His words cut deep, but though
they managed to scar me, they failed to deter me from what I set out to do. “Take comfort in knowing that the beast turned out to be not much of a beast after all.”

I got silence as a response. I moved toward the door. “I hope you know how much you mean to me, how much I love you. I hope you know that you will always be my best friend.”

“That’s what hurts the most, Sofia… knowing that I will always be
nothing but
your best friend.”

I spoke the words to soothe, but realized that they only added salt to the wound. The words basically translated to
:
It’s over between us, Ben.
I was beginning to choke with tears so I hurried toward the door, unwilling to break down in front of him.

I still had one favor to ask, however, before going my way. I knew I
didn’t have the right to ask it of him, but I felt obliged to.
For Vivienne’s sake.
“When you reach the hunters, Ben, do me a favor. Please find Vivienne. And try to make sure they don’t harm her.”

Ben’s response was bone-chilling. “Don’t count on it. I couldn’t care less how much they make her suffer.”

I turned my head his way, his face was enveloped by shadows. Darkness loomed in his eyes. My heart went out to him as I shuddered at what The Shade had turned him into. “You’re better than that, Ben. You have no idea who Vivienne Novak is and if you can’t believe in her, believe in me. There’s good in her, so please… if there’s anything you can do to help her…”

“Goodbye,
Sofia.”

Sadness weighed heav
ily on me as I nodded and replied, “Goodbye, Ben.”

Finally, I left, sensing with deep sorrow that it might be the last time I would see Ben again.
Over than an hour later, I had driven myself to a secluded area of LA’s Santa Monica beach. I left the truck and walked a few minutes along the beach. I soon spotted a familiar face walking toward me.
Kyle.

“
Sofia!” he exclaimed as he pulled me in for a friendly embrace. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to come. Is Vivienne with you?”

I shook my head. “The hunters have taken her.”

His face fell and fear was in his eyes. “I have no idea how the prince is going to take that.”

“I guess we’ll find out.” I smiled bitterly.

He took my bag and sheepishly smiled at me as he lifted a syringe to my neck. “You know the drill…”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine.”

The truth was that Vivienne’s memories told me exactly where The Shade was, a memory of its location being circled on a map giving me one of the greatest secrets of The Shade. It was a sign of the trust Vivienne placed in me, a gesture I could not take lightly. Still, at that moment, I didn’t think Kyle needed to know.

So for the third time, a vampire stuck a syringe
into my neck. As the sedative lured me to unconsciousness, I allowed myself a small smile. It felt like I was about to go home.

I was at the training grounds. Xavier, who had become significantly better with the sword after the daily training regimen I put him through, had just made a slice in my shoulder. My wound was in the process of healing when I was gripped by a sick feeling inside, accompanied by the urge to find out where my sister was. 

“You do realize that the hunters and perhaps the other covens are now equipped with guns and not swords, right?” Xavier asked. “Why then do we have to learn to fight using
these
?” He raised his sword in the air as I straightened to my full height.

“Agility. Strength. The honor of looking your opponents in the eye before you wound them… Sword fights aren’t for cowards.” I explained, my mind still occupied by a
n urge to find Vivienne.

“Honor?” He raised one brow. “Is that what we call it now?” He positioned himself for another round. “Perhaps you mean
horror
.”

With my opponent poised for another fight, I backed down for the first time.

“Tired, Novak?”

I managed to scoff at his confident jibe. “Far from it… I just can’t seem to get my thoughts away from Vivienne.”
Among others…
My hunger for Ashley was far from being satiated and she never quite strayed far from my thoughts.

“Vivienne? Why?”

It was no secret that Xavier had many times tried to woo my twin and had just as many times found himself humiliated by her rejection.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her in days.”

Not since I issued the command that will most certainly pave a way to another human culling.
From behind Xavier, I caught sight of Liana Hendry approaching. One look at her worried, grief-stricken amber gold eyes told me a story I knew would be painful to hear.
Something’s wrong. Something’s very, very wrong…

She stopped along the boundary of the circle Xavier and I were standing within.

“Liana…” I called to my sister’s closest friend. “Is something wrong? Has something happened to Vivienne?”

Recognition showed in the expression on her face. It wasn’t a secret to those who knew us well that Vivienne and I often sensed when something amiss happened to the other. The last time I felt this way was when Borys Maslen held her captive. It took days before she was returned to us and when she arrived, she never breathed a word to anyone – save for Liana, who was the only person privy to her soft whispers, few and far in between.

Liana drew a short breath before shifting her weight on the gravel ground. “I fear she might have been taken by the hunters.”

Her words were a dagger struck right through
my heart and painfully twisted. Breathing began to come in heavy pants. Fear I didn’t think I would ever once again feel enveloped me. The thought of what they were putting Vivienne through in order to discover the secrets of The Shade sent dizzying sensations coursing through my body.

“Derek, I tried to talk her out of it, but you know her… Once she sets her mind to something…”

“How did this happen?”

“She left the island to go look for
Sofia.”

My head was spinning from the news I was being told. “Why would she…” I paused, knowing fully well what the answer to my question was.
Vivienne sought out Sofia for me.

“She told me she would send word at a certain hour if no harm has come her way. She told me even before going that she feared getting caught by the hunters, and…”