“Caleb,” I whispered.
He slid his hands down and moved forward into the light, stopping a couple of feet away from me. His face was now clearly visible.
“You were using me the whole time?” I asked, fighting to keep my voice steady. “All to get to Anna.”
His face was blank, unreadable. But his eyes were intense as they bored into mine.
He nodded curtly.
His admission stabbed through my chest. My breathing became heavier as the full weight of his deception came falling upon me. I reached into my cloak’s pocket. Pulling out the gun, I held it up in front of me, putting a few feet of distance between ourselves so that I could aim better.
“Where are my parents?” It was hard to contain the fury now bubbling up within me.
His eyes travelled down to the barrel of the gun, then up to my face again. If he was surprised that I had just pulled out a gun and aimed it at him, he didn’t show it. Finally he spoke, his voice deep and guttural. “We’ve taken them as prisoners here.” The way he spoke so calmly grated on my nerves.
His hand shot out and he gripped my arm. That he dared to touch me while I was still holding a gun shocked me. “Stop,” I gasped, pressing the gun against his throat.
He stopped in his tracks, his grip on me loosening only slightly. He glared down at me.
“How could you do this?” I breathed, the biting disappointment close to consuming me.
“I’m not who you thought I was.” His Adam’s apple moved against the tip of my gun.
His grip tightened on me again and he motioned to drag me back out the door. But I said, “Don’t think that I won’t pull this trigger.”
The shadow of a smile crossed his lips.
“You should have pulled it already,” he said. And with one sharp motion, he launched forward, twisted my arm in a hold behind my back and knocked the gun from it.
I stared in horror as it fell to the floor. I bent over to pick it up, but he held me back. Holding both of my wrists with a single hand, he pushed me to the floor. He spread me out on the carpet, his legs straddling either side of my waist. His free hand loosened my belt, disarming me completely as he hurled it across the room along with my dagger and two stakes.
I stared up at him, dumbstruck. He avoided meeting my eyes as his strong hands engulfed my waist. Hurling me over his shoulder, he raced out of the apartment and down the steps toward the ground floor.
I guessed a part of me had decided to seek out Caleb because, deep down, I had hoped that this was all a big misunderstanding. I’d hoped that he would be able to explain his innocence to me.
But now, at least the truth was clear.
He was right. I should have pulled the trigger when I’d had the chance.
Chapter 16: Caleb
I’d known that I would regret kissing that girl the moment our lips touched.
Now that Annora had made her intentions clear in regard to The Shade, it was far too dangerous to have even the slightest connection with Rose.
I’d been shocked that Rose had dared to seek me out. It had made me realize that I’d been far too soft with her. It had caused her to underestimate me—the kiss of death.
Now, the time had come to show her the monster that I truly was.
Ignoring her struggles, I raced down to the dungeons. I decided to show her the mercy of putting her in the same cell as her parents. But that would be the last gesture of goodwill she’d receive from me.
I avoided looking at her parents as I shoved her into the cell. I exited the dungeon just as swiftly as I’d entered it, ignoring the questions and insults that were thrown at me.
I didn’t know if she, her parents, or any of the prisoners would make it out alive. But I couldn’t help her any more. Implicating myself further would only put our lives in danger. I’d already only narrowly escaped Annora believing I was a traitor. I wasn’t about to risk that again.
Rose’s death would be less painful down in the cells along with the rest of her people than if Annora discovered her with me. The witch would unleash all her pent-up frustration on the girl, and Rose would wish she’d died any other death.
After locking Rose away, I returned to my apartment.
The first thing I did was smash my entire collection of instruments. They reminded me too much of her. I destroyed them one by one with my bare hands and threw the remains off the balcony. They tumbled down the cliffs and disappeared into the snow.
Even with those instruments gone, I suspected that I would have a hard time forgetting that girl. But my callousness toward her would at least destroy her affections for me—or whatever few I had imagined existed in the first place.
I walked over to my dressing table and poured myself a shot of whiskey, throwing it back and shutting my eyes. I had three more, then sat back down on my bed.
There was a knock on my door. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was late.
I opened the door to see Annora standing outside. Her long hair hung loose down her back and she wore a silk dressing gown that clung to her curves.
“How long have you been back?” I asked, stepping aside and allowing her entrance. I shut the door behind her.
“An hour or so,” she said, making her way toward my bedroom.
She shivered at the chilly breeze running through my room and closed my balcony doors. I stood by the bedroom doorway and stared at her from across the room.
“So?” I asked. “What happened?”
She heaved a sigh and sat down in a chair. Reaching for my bottle of whiskey, she took a swig, wincing as she swallowed. She rested her feet on my bed and looked up at me.
“The immune is no longer our concern,” she said simply.
I stared at her.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? After all the trouble I went through to get her—”
“Caleb,” she said, clucking her tongue, “how many times do I have to tell you? The tasks we are given are ends in themselves. You did your part, now think nothing more of it.”
I didn’t push her. It wasn’t like the immune’s fate concerned me anyway. Still, I couldn’t help but be curious as to how a heavily pregnant woman could have escaped from under our noses.
Downing another mouthful of whisky, Annora said, “We’re not blamed for her disappearance. That’s all that matters.”
I grunted and walked over to the balcony doors, staring out at the night sky. It was overcast tonight, and I couldn’t see a single star.
“Our authorities, however, do have another task for us,” she said softly.
I turned around to face her again. “And what’s that?”
“I told them we have Derek and Sofia Novak trapped in our dungeons, along with their strongest vampires and witches.”
My stomach clenched.
“They don’t see the point in us scavenging around beaches while The Shade has such an ample supply of humans,” she continued. “It’s a waste of our energy and resources when humans live in such quantities in one place.”
I turned away to face the window again. I knew where this would end.
Over the years, the only thing that had stopped us tapping into The Shade’s resources had been our ignorance of its location. But now I knew exactly where it was. So did Stellan, and consequently the witch.
Now it was only a matter of time before the witch gave into the temptation she’d had ever since we first established ourselves in the human realm.
“Isolde suggested that we empty our current supply of humans first,” she said, twirling a lock of dark hair around her fingers. “And then the next top up we will get from The Shade. We won’t need to venture anywhere else again until we’ve sucked The Shade dry… and from what we know of The Shade’s population of humans, that could take a long time.”
I also knew how many humans we had left in our dungeons right now. It wasn’t many.
Our first trip to The Shade might come sooner than I’m comfortable with.
Chapt
er 17: Sofia
I prayed that Corrine would stop sending people. The moment they set foot in the castle, Annora seemed to have a way of detecting them and throwing them down here in the dungeon with us.
First there was a group of witches whom Annora dumped in one of the cells nearby. And later, to our horror, Adelle and Eli were brought down. Had the situation not been so dire, it would have been almost comical.
Then when Rose was brought down by Caleb, I almost had a heart attack. I couldn’t believe my eyes at first. It took a few moments for the full terror to sink in. My daughter is away from the safety of The Shade, back in this nightmarish castle. We’re not strong enough to protect her. And we have no way of breaking free.
Derek and I grabbed her as soon as she was thrown into our cell. She appeared to be unharmed. I gripped her jaw, anger consuming me. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Rose stared at me, in a state of shock herself. Her lips moved but no words came out.
Everyone in the dungeon looked equally horrified to see her.
She averted her eyes to the ground and finally managed to croak, “I hid in the back of Eli’s sub.” Her face was ashen, her lips trembling as she spoke.
Derek swore. I was so beside myself I could barely think of words strong enough to express my fury with her. I clutched her shoulders and forced her to face me. “How could you be so disobedient! After everything…You stupid, stupid girl.”
This is the problem with my twins. They have the boldness of vampires, but the strength of humans.
Her guilty face became blurred by my tears.
“Where’s your brother?” Derek demanded.
“I left him home with Corrine,” Rose said.
I was at a loss for what to say. I looked up at Derek, and recognized the same cluelessness in his eyes.
The Shade was being emptied of its leaders bit by bit because damn Corrine kept allowing people to come here. And now Eli and Adelle couldn’t even act as the messengers that they were supposed to be.
“I had no idea,” Eli choked, staring at Rose.
I breathed out heavily and placed my head in my hands.
What will become of us?
I just hoped Ben wouldn’t try to follow us too, now that his sister was gone. It was just the sort of thing he’d attempt.
Rose shuffled quietly in the corner, next to Aiden, who put an arm around her and kissed her forehead. Rose’s knees bunched against her chest, her eyes fixed on the floor.
“The boy brought you in here,” Derek said, addressing our daughter. “Did he harm you in any way?”
Rose looked up at him, her eyes moist with tears. She bit her bottom lip and shook her head.
Derek turned back to face me. I wished that he could offer me some words of comfort, but there really was nothing more that could be said. “We have to escape from here,” he muttered.
We’d both repeated those words to each other countless times already, but neither of us knew where to even start.
I didn’t remember ever feeling so powerless. It was ironic—I’d wanted to turn back into a vampire all those years ago so that I’d never have to feel helpless, the way I did now.
Thanks to Annora, I’d been rendered as useless as a human. I buried my head against my knees.
Hope that we would ever find Anna in time was nonexistent now. A part of me was already mourning for her and her unborn child.
Another sound of the dungeon door unbolting brought me to my senses. A vampire guard shuffled along the corridor, dragging a frail old woman by the neck. He led her to an empty cell a few feet away from ours and threw her inside. Then he rushed back out of the dungeon and bolted the door behind him.
I stared at the old woman he’d just dumped in here. With light grey, almost white hair, she was short and stick-thin. Her complexion was yellow-tinged and her skin hung against her skeleton like damp fabric against a metal rake. She wore nothing but a thin cotton nightdress and her whole body shivered as she huddled into a corner.
The sorry state of her was enough to distract me for a few moments. “Excuse me,” I called, in as soft a tone as I could manage.
The woman let out a soft whimper.
“Please,” I whispered, “I just want to talk to you.”
She peered at me with anxious eyes.
“I need you to tell me what you know about this place. How long have you been here?’
“A-about a month,” she responded, her voice rasping.
“Do you know what they do with all the humans they collect here?” I asked.
She looked at me in wide-eyed terror.
“Tell me, please,” I urged.
“They’re taken away from here. I don’t know what happens to them.”
“Where are they taken to, do you know?”
“I have no idea. But once they fall through the hole, they never come back.”
Hole? “What hole?” Derek urged.
“I-In one of the dungeons… one of the dungeons where prisoners aren’t kept. There’s a hole in the floor. An abyss.”
Derek and I exchanged shocked glances.
“How is it that you know this, and you’re still here?” I asked.
“I’m… not well.” She held up a weak hand to reveal several scabs. “They noticed I was sick just before they pushed me into the hole. My blood is infected and they decided they didn’t want me. So that’s why I’m back here. I don’t know how long it will be b-before they end me.” She swallowed back a sob.
So it’s true. After all this time, there are gates to other realms still open.
What else could this hole be?
“Have you seen a pregnant woman? Black hair, green eyes?” I asked. “Anna, her name is.”
“No. Not seen a pregnant woman here. Then again, there are a number of dungeons in this castle. But you’re probably wasting your time. My guess is they already took her though the hole.”
“Where is this hole you speak of?” Derek asked, gripping the bars and staring at her intensely.
“It’s not far from the kitchen. A few hallways along.”
“So it’s near this dungeon?”
She nodded. “Quite near.”
The problem was, even if by some miracle we managed to break free from this dungeon and reach the gate, we had no idea where it would lead to and whether we would ever find Anna and her child in the limited time we’d have… assuming they were still alive.
Chapter 18: Sofia
Derek paced up and down the cell for what felt like hours. His demeanor was doing little to calm my own nerves as I sat next to Rose and my father. The other vampires had stopped talking. We were all weak—we hadn’t had blood for too long. As for Rose, I didn’t know when she’d last had a meal, but she looked pale.
Derek and I offered her some of our blood for strength, but she refused. Which came as no surprise. Even when she was ill she refused to drink it.
I suspected that we’d have to force her to drink it if we were trapped here much longer.
The other vampires in our cell huddled as far away from my daughter as possible. We were all starting to suffer from lack of blood and with our stomachs grumbling, the smell of Rose’s sweet blood wasn’t helping.
I leant my head back against the stone wall and shut my eyes.
“What in the world…”
I looked up to see Ibrahim shoot to his feet, flexing his fingers. A few seconds later, the lights fixed to the walls in the dungeon flickered and went out, plunging us into darkness.
“What?” Derek asked, staring at Ibrahim.
The other witches also rushed to stand up.
Ibrahim looked from me to Derek. “I feel my powers returning to me.”
“Huh?”
He turned to the gate and, gripping the bars, uttered a spell. It blasted open, sending pieces of sharp iron flying everywhere.
I scrambled to my feet, staring at the open gate, dumbstruck. We had no time to try to make sense of the situation. Somehow
, Annora’s control over us had loosened. How long this would last, we had no idea.
Shock gave way to urgency. The rest of the witches hurried out and began breaking down the gates surrounding us, freeing the rest of the vampires.
Everyone paused in the hallway outside the cells, looking to Derek and I for instructions. Derek locked eyes with me. We had a split second to decide whether we would escape with the rest of them, or run the risk of seeking out Anna.
No words were required. We read each other’s expressions.
Derek turned to Ibrahim. “Lead everyone back to The Shade. Hurry!”
Ibrahim nodded and began leading everyone toward the exit.
Rose reached out and grabbed Derek’s arm. “Wait! What about you two?”
“We’ll be following soon after you, darling,” he said.
Before Rose could protest, Xavier approached her from behind and flung her over his shoulder. Ibrahim blasted open the dungeon’s heavy door and they all began rushing out.
“Yuri!” I called out. He was at the back of the crowd and turned to face me.
“What?”
“Wait a second.”
The elderly woman huddled by the bars watching us escape. I hurried over to her. “Tell us exactly where the dungeon with the hole is, and we will help you escape too.”
Her face contorted as she racked her brains. “If you go upstairs, you’ll find yourself in a large rectangular hall. Take the exit in the… far right corner. I think that’s the one. Then cross the entrance hall. The chamber you want is a few doors along from the main entrance to the castle. I-I think it’s the third door. Go through it, and you’ll see a Chinese carpet which covers the trap door. If you can break through the door’s bolts, you’ll find a staircase beneath it which leads directly into the dungeon with the hole.”
“Okay,” I breathed, trying to commit her instructions into my memory.
Claudia was now poking her head through the dungeon door, anxiety written all over her face.