“And Corrine? Has Ibrahim searched everywhere on the island?”
“He says so.”
Where has that witch gone? I had no idea what had gotten into her head, but we couldn’t hold things up for her any longer. She couldn’t expect us to wait for her indefinitely when she hadn’t given us even the faintest idea of what we were waiting for. As much as I respected Corrine, sometimes her way of doing things irritated the hell out of me.
I drew in a deep breath. “Okay. You should go back and wait in the sub with Ben. Tell River that we will leave as soon as possible.”
Sofia nodded, then hurried off.
Now we have a second reason to storm the place.
So far, I had gathered Xavier, Ashley, Landis, Gavin, Zinnia, Matteo, Helina, Erik, and three dozen other vampire guards. Yuri hadn’t yet turned back into a vampire, and so was off limits. Liana and Cameron were also still human—and besides, they were still finding their feet after a long journey. And, of course, Claudia and Vivienne were pregnant.
I had told those who’d volunteered to go and wait by the Port. Now I was on my way to see Mona and Kiev, and then our werewolf residents. I continued rushing through the forest and stopped beneath the couple’s tree. When I reached the top of the elevator, the lights in their penthouse were all off.
I knocked on the door. Mona answered a minute later. Her hair was scrunched up above her head in a messy bun and she was wearing a bathrobe.
“Derek?”
“We’re gathering an army to storm The Oasis.”
Kiev appeared behind Mona in the shadowy doorway, his hair ruffled. Wearing a dark green robe, he also looked like he had just gotten out of bed.
“When?” he asked.
I was surprised by Kiev’s question. I’d expected him to first ask “why”. But I couldn’t help but feel grateful to the vampire for being so willing to stand by our side in times of need. As much as I’d loathed having to admit or even believe it at first, Kiev truly was part of our family.
“As soon as I’ve finished gathering our army together,” I replied. “But if you want to come, I’d like you to go and wait by the Port now.”
Kiev looked down at his wife. “Will you come?”
She shrugged, glancing at me. “You know I’m still working on building up my powers again, and I’m not nearly as powerful as the other witches on this island anymore. But if Kiev’s going… yeah, I’ll come too. We’ll get dressed and head to the Port.”
“Thank you,” I said.
They closed the door and I made my way back down the elevator to move toward my next stop. The residences of the werewolves. Many had decided to remain living in the houses we had designated for them along one of the beaches, while others had moved into mountain cabins.
When I arrived at the beach, the first door I knocked on was Saira’s. Since the sun hadn’t risen yet, she was still in her wolf form as she answered. I explained to her the purpose of my visit, and she was more than willing to accompany us. She also agreed to rally as many other werewolves as she could and bring them to the jetty as soon as possible. She would also speak to the wolves who lived in the mountain cabins, which left me free to set all my attention on my last stop—the dragons’ quarters within the Black Heights.
As I made my way toward the mountains, the thought of coming face to face with Jeramiah—a nephew we hadn’t even known existed just days ago—played on my mind. I wondered how much he would resemble my brother. Ben hadn’t been able to quite put a finger on his personality. While the vampire’s demeanor seemed calm and amenable, there was clearly a lot more to him than met the eye.
I regretted never being able to have a normal relationship with my brother. A relationship that involved anything other than hatred. And I couldn’t deny that the last thing I wanted to do was harm my dead brother’s son. Jeramiah was my own blood. After I’d gathered the army, I would make it clear to everyone that we weren’t going to The Oasis to kill or harm anyone, just to get the answers we needed about Ben, and retrieve River’s family—if indeed they had been taken there.
The truth was, if I saw any way to make peace with my nephew, I would take it. I would do everything I could to avoid violence and come to some kind of understanding. I didn’t know how much he knew of his past. Since no one from The Shade had ever heard of or been aware of him, he truly must’ve lived a life away from the rest of the vampire world. Ben had said that his mother had died when he was just a child, and much of his life he had spent alone, or as a captive of the Elders in their Himalayan coven. I hadn’t even been aware that a coven existed in India. It just showed the reach of the Elders when they’d been at the peak of their hold on this realm.
Ben also didn’t seem to think that Jeramiah had recognized him. Since I resembled Lucas quite closely, and Benjamin resembled me, I was surprised that Jeramiah hadn’t noticed similarities between Ben and himself. Or at least Ben and Lucas. But then, I doubted that Jeramiah had even seen a photograph of his father, since I was sure that Lucas and Jeramiah’s mother hadn’t had a relationship other than a few stolen meetings in the mill near our farm.
Whatever the case, and however much he might know about us, I was determined to keep my cool with the young man as long as possible.
Arriving at the foothills of the Black Heights, I pushed aside thoughts of my newfound nephew and walked through the entrance leading to the dragons’ quarters.
I passed through the stately entrance hall, dimly lit with candles, and made my way along the winding corridors. The place was so quiet at this early hour, the most I could hear was my own breathing.
Considering how much time the dragons had been on this island, I hadn’t had much interaction with them. Not that it bothered me. As long as they behaved themselves—did right by the human girls they were courting and obeyed the rules of the island—I didn’t mind. Their reclusiveness meant less for me to deal with.
I stopped outside Jeriad’s door. I wasn’t sure if he would be awake yet, but I knocked all the same.
A faint moan came from within the apartment, that of a female. There were soft footsteps, and then the door opened. An intoxicating scent of burning incense wafted out and I found myself staring down at Sylvia, one of my daughter’s classmates. And the girl that Jeriad had chosen for himself.
Sylvia looked flustered. She wore a satin-gray nightgown that had clearly been put on in a hurry. Her cheeks were bright pink, and her lips swollen and red. Her blonde hair was disheveled, but even as she looked at me, she could barely keep a grin off her face.
“Oh, hi, Mr. Novak,” she said breathlessly.
Then the dragon himself appeared behind her, naked from the waist up.
To my surprise, he didn’t even look in my direction. His eyes were fixed on Sylvia. Approaching her from behind, he slid a palm over the front of her neck and gently bent her head back until it touched his chest. He dipped down and kissed her full on the mouth. His tan form was so imposing, his hands so broad as he settled them either side of her hips, it looked like he could crush her midriff into a pulp with a slight squeeze.
Well, it certainly doesn’t look like I’ve woken anyone up…
After lifting his mouth from hers several moments later, finally, he looked up to see who had knocked on his door. His blue eyes were hooded and misty as he met my gaze.
I cleared my throat.
“King Derek,” he said, his voice smoky.
“Jeriad,” I said, unamused by the wait. “Would you be willing, along with two of your comrades, to make a journey to Egypt?”
He paused. “Egypt?”
I’d forgotten that I was talking to a creature who’d only recently arrived in this human realm. He wasn’t familiar with Earth’s countries. The only place he’d visited was The Shade.
“Egypt is a country… But more specifically, our destination is a place called The Oasis. I’m not sure if you’re aware of the problems my son has been having.”
“My love mentioned his troub
les briefly.” He ran a hand over Sylvia’s stomach. “It’s because he was born to be a fire wielder, is it not?”
I heaved a sigh. “That may or may not be the case… We tried to turn him back into a human, when he might’ve developed fire powers just like my daughter. But now there’s no choice to turn back. The turning failed and he’s stuck as a vampire. We’re trying to figure out how and why this is. And we believe The Oasis holds answers.”
“What exactly do you need us for?” the shifter asked. “You want to scorch the place?”
“No,” I said firmly. “We do not want to scorch the place. At least, that is not my plan. The problem is, we don’t know exactly what we will find there. We know that The Oasis is home to witches and vampires, but I’m hoping that we won’t need you for anything. It’s just in case something goes wrong and we are in need of extra force that I would like three of you to accompany us.”
He moved his head down toward Sylvia again and caressed her cheek with his mouth, turning it three shades pinker, if that was even possible. Then he raised his eyes back to me.
“I’m willing to help,” he said, “and I’m sure two of my fellow dragons will be agreeable also. But when would we leave?”
“Now. I need you at the Port.”
A flicker of disappointment played across Sylvia’s face, as her hands tightened around Jeriad’s wrists.
The dragon too looked irritated at the thought of leaving her, but he nodded. “Very well.”
I stepped away and turned around, the sound of the door shutting behind me.
Hopefully, it would be no more than fifteen minutes before the dragons showed up. And by now, if all had gone according to plan, the rest of our army would be waiting for me. Except the witches… I was counting on Ibrahim to gather them together.
I made my way swiftly to the Port. I was glad to see Ibrahim already there along with all the witches, werewolves, and vampires. Approaching the warlock, I asked, “Has Corrine still not been found?”
He shook his head, his forehead wrinkled with worry.
There wasn’t a lot more to be said on that subject. We weren’t going to wait for her, so we could only hope that she would show up in the meantime and be here when we returned.
Three dragons appeared in the sky only seven minutes later. Their heavy wings beat forcefully, causing the trees to sway to and fro. They touched down in the clearing before the Port, their weight sending tremors through the ground.
Taking in the army, now complete, I couldn’t help but feel that it was excessive. Because despite Corrine’s reaction, based on what Ben and River had seen of The Oasis during their stay, I was still hoping that compared to other expeditions we had been on in the past, this one would be fairly simple…
Chapter 7: Ben
I did what I could to comfort River after she told me what had happened. I gathered her in my arms and held her close, trying to think of something I could say to reassure her.
I was surprised that she didn’t cry. Although she looked close to it, she held back the tears. Her family was everything to her. For her to remain composed at a time like this showed a deeper strength to River than I had previously imagined.
I brushed my lips against her forehead as I held her in my arms. “We’ll find your family,” I said. “Just like we saved your sister before, we’ll figure out a way to save all of them this time.”
“Hopefully it will be easier this time than last,” she said, swallowing hard, “since we will have so much help from The Shade’s residents.”
I nodded, hoping that it would indeed be easy. I felt like I was at the end of my tether. Not being able to turn back into a human was the final straw for me. I just wanted to be normal, and I would do anything to make myself that again. To regain my life. My sanity.
“It’s time,” Caleb called down from the top of the hatch. He had been watching the beach for my father’s signal.
Griffin, Rose, my grandfather, my mother, River and I left the control room, and climbed up through the hatch onto the roof of the submarine.
I looked toward the beach, where a large gathering had formed. My eyes were immediately drawn to the dragons, as were River’s. Our breaths hitched. Covered in a thick armor of gleaming scales and equipped with huge leathery wings and a sting-like tail, they were spectacular creatures I’d truly believed existed only in fairytales.
One of the witches, Leyni, appeared on the roof of our submarine, and she transported all of us by magic to the jetty. I looked around at all those who’d gathered, making eye contact with all the familiar faces, many of whom I still had not seen since I’d left the island.
Micah was the first to approach me, nuzzling my leg with his head. Others greeted me also in the short time we had before my father spoke up.
He was looking toward the dragons. “Since Jeriad, Neros and Ridan refuse to be transported anywhere by magic, one of us is going to have to fly with them to make sure that they arrive at The Oasis.” He looked toward my grandfather. “I was thinking you, Aiden. Do you remember its location from all those years ago when your hunters stormed the place?”
My grandfather paused. “Approximately. Obviously, I’ll need a—”
Eli stepped forward, handing Aiden some kind of flashing box-shaped device. “This will help you navigate there easily. I’ve already entered the coordinates.”
“How long will it take you to get there?” I asked. I had absolutely no idea of the speed at which dragons could fly.
Aiden shrugged. “I’m not sure exactly. Although it’s obviously not as fast as by magic, which is practically instantaneous, dragons do still travel at supernatural speed… It should be within hours. Since your father is planning not to use them anyway, it doesn’t matter if we get there a bit later.”
“I’ll go with you,” a werewolf near Aiden growled.
“Are you sure, Kailyn?” Aidan asked, looking down at her and raising his brow. “It’s not going to be a comfortable ride.”
“I’m sure. I’ll come.”
Kailyn. I guessed that was my grandfather’s new girlfriend.
“All right,” my father said, impatience in his voice. “Let’s go.”
Ibrahim cast a spell of shadow over Aiden to protect him from the sun during the journey, before Aiden and Kailyn sped toward one of the dragons. The beast lowered his massive hands, helping the couple climb up onto his back. Then the three dragons spread their mighty wings and launched upward, beating up a gale-force wind all around us.
Once they were in the air, the rest of us formed a large circle in the clearing, making sure each of us were touching. Then my father gave the signal, and the witches made us all vanish.
Chapter 8: Ben
When the wind stopped howling around me and I opened my eyes, it was the strangest feeling to find myself standing back in the same desert I’d fought for so many weeks to escape.
By now, the sun had almost peeked above the horizon. We needed to move fast, or the witches would need to put a shield over us vampires to protect us from the rays.
Looking around the area, I spotted the hunters’ tanks in the distance. There were several more of them now than there had been before, apparently still waiting and watching this area for supernaturals coming in and out of The Oasis.
I looked at Ibrahim. “You should put a protective spell over all of us now, even if it won’t take long to get inside.” I nodded toward the direction of the tanks. “Don’t underestimate these hunters.” Ibrahim nodded grimly.
While he, Mona and two other witches put up protection over all of us, I caught my father looking toward the hunters. He had a mild look of irritation on his face. A strong gust of wind passed through our crowd, bringing his scent closer to me. Although I was already standing next to River, I pulled her even closer to me and backed away from my father.
After the spell had been cast, I moved with River to the front of the crowd and we began walking closer to where I remembered the boundary had been. We le
d everyone forward for perhaps five minutes. My hands held out in front of me, I kept expecting to collide with the boundary. But after ten minutes, we were still walking through the expanse of desert. We’d come far past where the boundary should have been—that much was clear to both River and me.
River looked up at me, a look of confusion on her face.
“Where is it?” she breathed.
I had no answer.
I turned to look at our companions, their eyes all fixed on us expectantly.
“We should have reached the boundary by now,” was all I could say. “This… this makes no sense.” I looked around, seeing nothing but endless dunes of sand.
“Are you sure this is the right direction?” my mother asked. “Is there no way you could have been mistaken?”
I was sure that this was the spot, but I was so bewildered as to why we had not already reached it that I scanned our surroundings again all the same.
I shook my head. “No. River and I have just led you right up to it—heck, through it. We should be standing above the atrium right now…”
“Is it possible that they got rid of the boundary?” The question came from Kiev.
“Why on earth would they do that?” I said. “And even if they had gotten rid of it, there should be a camel stable in view. Plus an entrance in the ground… It’s almost like it’s just vanished from the face of the earth.”
“That’s impossible,” River said beneath her breath. “We’ve got to have been mistaken about the spot, Ben.”
“Then where do you think it is?” I said, turning on her.
She looked clueless as she eyed the area. It was clear that she had no other suggestion either.
No. This was the spot. I remembered the area too well. Besides, there were the hunter tanks stationed nearby.
I kept walking forward, even though I didn’t know what the use was. I just didn’t know what else to do. Admit defeat and return to The Shade? I was partly in shock. This bizarre turn of events was still sinking in when someone yelled out a curse behind me.