A Shade of Vampire 14: A Dawn of Strength (15 page)

A
part
of me was still in denial, while the other part had already given in to the truth.

We all had so much to do in the aftermath of the witches and dragons’ attacks, yet all I wanted was to lock myself in a room and curl up in a ball.

The nightmarish scene I’d witnessed by the beach still remained etched in my mind’s eye, playing mercilessly, over and over again.

The blistering wave of heat. The cyclone of fire.

The cries of those scrambling to get away.

The silence of those who couldn’t.

Once the dragons had sent down their flames, it had been hard to see for more than a few feet in front of me. I’d been situated further back in the clearing behind the beach, away from the brunt of the first inferno, but if I hadn’t run just when I had, mine would have been another life claimed.

I hadn’t even seen the final count of people whom the black witches had lined up along the beach. But I knew Saira, Micah and countless other werewolves—practically helpless against the witches in their four-legged form—had been there. Claudia, Eli and so many others in our vampire army had been there.

I knew my father had been there.

The dragons. The victory over the black witches. The sight of my daughter spouting flames. All of it faded into the background as grief consumed me. Traveling through the air on our dragon, back toward the most devastated area of the island, I couldn’t even speak as Derek asked me to recount what happened. I just pointed feebly toward the direction of the Port.

Most of the flames had been extinguished by now, thanks to our witches’ efforts, but this left me all the more terrified to look around as we touched down on the charred sand. There was barely a single discernible object—just lumps of ash.

I found myself leaving Derek’s side and wandering toward the strip of sand where my father had been imprisoned. Fallen trees lay atop it, and beneath, more piles of ash. I fell to my knees, dropping my head into my hands. I shut my eyes tight.
After all Aiden Claremont, most feared of all the hunters, had been through… for it to end like this.

It was too much to bear. Tears streamed down my cheeks like rivers, wetting the parched ground.

Someone touched my shoulder. I couldn’t look up, but from her scent, I sensed that it was Rose. She wrapped her arms around me and buried her face against my neck. The tears on her own cheeks moistened my skin.

“Grandpa,” she choked. “He’s gone, isn’t he?”

I wasn’t sure if Caleb had told her or if she’d just guessed, but hearing my daughter speak those words was salt to my already gaping wound. I grabbed her and pulled her close, breathing into her hair. I sensed my husband approach. He knelt on the ground beside us.

“Dad,” Rose sobbed, “is there no way they could have survived?”

Derek sighed heavily. “We’ll search the island, darling.”

Slipping an arm around both of our waists, he pulled us into standing position and propped us up against him as we headed back toward the group. I was relieved that Derek took charge of things when I was in no state to.

“Ibrahim,” Derek said. “Have all the fires been extinguished now?”

“Yes,” the warlock replied.

“Then send word to Xavier that people can come out of the mountains now.”

When Ibrahim vanished, he turned to Corrine. “Has Mona been located?”

“Not yet, Derek,” she said, shaking her head sadly.

Kiev cursed, dropping to his knees and slamming a fist against the ground.

“Then whatever protection you can restore over this island,” Derek continued steadily, “restore it now.”

“Okay,” Corrine said. “I’d like at least three witches to help me.” She gathered together Adelle, Leyni and another witch, Shayla, before vanishing with them all.

I gazed at Yuri standing opposite me with blurred vision. I couldn’t imagine the pain he was going through. He’d lost both brother and wife in one swoop.

“And now,” Derek continued, “we need to search the island for more survivors. We’ll start with areas that are worst affected and move on from there. We must leave no stone unturned.” He looked at Bella and Brett. “You two are in charge of searching the caves. If you find anyone, report back immediately. Everyone else will search the rest of the island.”

And so we dispersed. Although I couldn’t conceive of how anyone who’d been on the beach when the dragons had struck could have survived, my heart kept the hope alive.

We spent the next five hours running around the island, searching through the charred undergrowth and moving toward the areas that hadn’t been touched by the flames. We shouted out names until our voices broke.

Kiev’s voice rang out in the distance. “I’ve found Mona!”

Hurrying toward him, I found him standing on the old rowing boat in the middle of the lake, the witch lying unconscious in his arms.

“She was just lying here… in this boat!” A mixture of joy and relief filled his voice, two emotions that I prayed I’d be experiencing shortly.

“How do you think she got there?” I called.

“No idea,” he said as he began to navigate the boat toward me. “She’s breathing, thank God. So I guess we’ll find out once she comes to.” He reached the bank and leapt out before racing away with Mona. “I’m taking her to Corrine,” he shouted back over his shoulder.

As he disappeared into the dark woods, my hope strengthened that perhaps we’d find the others too.

But that renewed hope only ended up causing more pain.

We didn’t find them.

After what felt like my seventh time traveling past the same stretch of forest, I finally stopped and stood still, staring around at the ravaged trees.

We’re fooling ourselves.

They’re gone.

O
nce the humans
had evacuated the mountains and settled their families back into their homes—which, thanks to the Vale’s distance from the beach, hadn’t suffered damage—everyone who could fit into the courtyard in front of the Sanctuary gathered there.

Rose had made Derek and I aware of the fact that we still weren’t on stable terms with the dragons, but none of us could think of them right now. Thankfully, they were understanding. Rose organized some refreshments and offered them seating within the Black Heights where they agreed to wait a while before we gave them reception.

Mona still hadn’t come to, so for now she remained safely tucked into Corrine’s bed.

I was grateful to see that Corrine had arranged for candles for everyone. The ceremony would have felt too bare without them, considering we had no coffins to bury. We stood in silence, the firelight glimmering in our glassy eyes, just allowing ourselves to feel the grief.

After half an hour or so, Corrine cleared her throat. “Would, um, anyone like to say a few words?”

Yuri stepped forward first. His eyelids red, he moved into the center of the courtyard and stood on the ridge of the fountain. His gaze was cast downward as he began to speak in a choked voice.

“I… This, uh, will be brief.” He paused, swallowing hard. “My brother… Eli Vincent Lazaroff. No doubt most of you will remember him as the nerdy brainiac of the island.” His lips curved in a fond smile. “You’ll remember him for his logic and cool-headedness even in the most chaotic of times. For saving our backsides on too many occasions to recall.” He turned his head skyward, fixing his eyes on the stars. “But me? I’ll remember my brother for the side of him that most people didn’t have the privilege of witnessing. Behind the veil of his shyness, his seriousness, his introversion, was a sly sense of humor. A heart of laughter—” Yuri’s voice broke. His jaw tensed as he wiped tears from his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he breathed. “It’s too soon.”

“It’s okay, sweetie,” Corrine said, tears brimming in her own eyes. “Maybe we can gather round for a proper memorial service in a few days or so—”

Yuri winced. “Let me just try to… say a few words for my wife.” He fixed his eyes on the candle he was holding. “Claudia Jemima Lazaroff,” he said slowly, as though he were relishing every syllable of her name. “My beautiful, crazy, loving wife. If there was one thing I could always count on her for, it was to find some way to drive me insane. Yet with her constant banter, teasing insults, wild demands, exotic requests… God knows, I wouldn’t have changed that woman for the world. And if she was still standing before me now—” Yuri paused as his voice caught in his throat again. “Claudia, if you were standing before me now, I would get down on my knees. And I would beg you to forgive me for delaying so long. And I would tell you yes. A hundred times yes.”

At that, Yuri broke down. Falling to his knees, he dropped his head into his hands.

I guessed that most people here wouldn’t have understood what Yuri had meant by his last few sentences. But I understood. My father had told me how hard Claudia had been working to convince Yuri that she was responsible enough to have a baby of her own. I buried my head against Derek’s chest, a fresh flood of tears soaking his shirt.

Although my chest felt so constricted I could barely breathe, it was time for me to honor my father. Drying my tears, I walked unsteadily toward the fountain and stood where Yuri had been.

“Aiden Claremont,” I began, biting my lip to prevent it from trembling. “My father—”

Before I could utter another word, a rough voice boomed across the courtyard. “What are you people doing?”

I whirled around to see Brett and Bella standing at the corner of the crowds. Both had looks of confusion on their faces.

“Shh, Brett!” Rose hissed, a look of fury on her face.

“But Princess Rose—”

“You’re interrupting my grandfather’s eulogy!”

“What is it, Brett?” I called.

“I found them.”

Hundreds of jaws dropped to the floor.

“What?” a chorus of us shot back at once.

“I found them. Those missing people.”

“Where?” I stammered, barely daring to believe my ears.

“In my and Arabella’s caves. And some of the other caves nearby.”

I rushed over to him in a flash and gripped his shoulders, shaking him.

“Wha—what are you talking about? You’ve had hours and hours to search those few caves. How can you be telling us this only now?”

The two ogres exchanged guilty glances. Bella prodded a chubby finger at Brett. “Well, we were heading toward the caves when he said he was hungry. So we stopped and built a fire. Found something to roast.” She paused, biting her fat lower lip. “Then afterward, he”—she pointed again at Brett, as though he were some kind of object—“said he was tired. So we had a nap… but we really didn’t mean to sleep so long, Queen Sofia—”

I’d had enough of listening to Bella’s excuses, and so had everyone else, as we all abandoned the courtyard and raced toward the caves.

My heart fluttered as we neared them. I kept expecting that somehow this was some cruel prank on the part of the ogres. But as we climbed over the rocks and looked toward the entrances, my fears were unfounded. There, lying on the floor of the caves—still paralyzed but all clearly conscious—were our missing people.

W
e all piled
inside and hurried first toward our loved ones. I found my father toward the back of Bella’s cave. His face was frozen, so he couldn’t reveal the emotions I knew he was feeling, but I could see it in his eyes. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed his cheeks and forehead. Derek arrived next to me a few moments later, carrying Rose on his back. She leapt off and also embraced her grandfather.

“We’re going to get you out of here, Dad,” I said, squeezing his shoulder.

My mind was still crowded with questions about how they could have all possibly gotten here when I’d witnessed with my own eyes the blaze in the area they’d been lying in. But those questions didn’t matter right now.

I looked over my shoulder and beckoned to Corrine and Ibrahim. They came hurrying over. “How do we release them from this spell?” I asked.

Ibrahim furrowed his thick brows. “I don’t have a ready answer, I’m afraid. I tried back on the beach, actually, when the battle was still going on. This is a tough spell. We’re all going to need time to crack it.”

“Then please hurry and start,” I said.

While all the witches gathered together in a circle and began to converse, I caught Derek’s hand and together we began to do a headcount. After visiting all the caves that housed people, all our closest companions appeared to be there, but we were saddened that we were still missing some warriors. Although these could have been casualties of the battle with the witches before the dragons had arrived. We would hold a ceremony in honor of them after we’d managed to crack the black witches’ spell.

We returned to the witches after about an hour to see if they’d made any progress.

“Well?” Derek asked.

Corrine looked nervously at her husband. “We’re no further forward. I have a feeling that we’re going to need Mona’s help on this,” she said.

“Then focus on fixing Mona first,” Derek replied.

“That’s what I was going to suggest,” Ibrahim said.

“You’re going back to the Sanctuary?” Kiev’s voice came from behind us.

Ibrahim nodded.

“Then I’ll catch a ride.”

Kiev, Derek and I vanished with the witches to the Sanctuary where Mona was resting, while Rose said she wanted to stay behind in the caves with Caleb. We gathered around the bed. The witch was still showing no signs of waking up.

“I’ll try to put together a stronger potion this time. Less root juice,” Corrine muttered as she walked out of the bedroom.

While waiting for her to return, I voiced the question I knew was running through all of our heads. Since all the captives were paralyzed and unable to talk yet, we were still in the dark about it.

“How could those people be in the cave?” I asked nobody in particular. “I was in the area. I saw that blaze. And they can’t even move…”

There was a silence as everyone pondered my words.

“I can only assume it was the black witches protecting their captives,” Ibrahim said. “As we discovered, it’s not just humans they’re interested in. They must have swooped down in the nick of time before the flames swallowed them and vanished them all to the caves, away from the fire.”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Derek said, nodding.

“I guess they were expecting to defeat the dragons and return for the vamps and werewolves later once they’d conquered the mountains,” I said.

Corrine reentered the room with a steaming goblet of red potion. She set it down on the bedside table and propped Mona further up against the pillows before taking a seat on the edge of the bed. She reached for the goblet, then looked at Kiev.

“Kiev, I need your help,” she said.

Kiev was by her side within a second.

“Kiss your woman,” Corrine said, as though it were the most normal request in the world.

Kiev frowned. “Kiss her?”

“Is that too much to ask?” Corrine snapped.

Kiev wisely shut up and did as Corrine requested. He lowered his head to Mona and pressed his lips against hers in a chaste peck before raising his head again and looking toward Corrine.

“Seriously?” Corrine raised her eyebrows. “What was that?”

Kiev shrugged. “I was just trying to keep things decent.”

The witch smirked. “Oh, please. Nobody thinks you’re decent, Kiev. Just kiss her.”

Kiev returned a grin before dipping down and claiming Mona’s lips fully.

“You see, dear,” Corrine said, bending over and watching Kiev’s kiss closely, “there is a method to my madness. Try to ease open her lips. They’re locked shut again. I used my fingers before, but a kiss will work better… Ah, there we are.”

She gripped Kiev’s shoulder and pulled him away. Sure enough, Mona’s lips had parted. Corrine grabbed the goblet and tipped the liquid into Mona’s mouth.

“She can’t swallow,” Kiev said. “Won’t she just choke?”

“Hush,” was all the reply Kiev received.

Truth be told, I found myself wondering the same thing as Kiev, but I dared not question the witch. She knew what she was doing.

Corrine stopped pouring once her mouth was full, and gently pushed her jaw closed. Then she pinched Mona’s nostrils together, blocking her breathing completely.

“Can you fetch a bucket, honey?” she called over her shoulder to Ibrahim.

He vanished and reappeared holding a metal bucket. He placed it on the bed next to Corrine. She positioned it beneath Mona’s mouth.

“If I did better with the potion this time, she’ll hopefully come around any moment now,” she said.

Considering Mona couldn’t breathe, I certainly hoped so. We all let out a sigh of relief as Mona’s eyes shot open and she opened her mouth, coughing out all the red liquid—most of which Corrine managed to catch with the bucket. Once she’d finished coughing, she looked around at us blearily.

“What—Where am I?” she mumbled.

Kiev held her hand and squeezed it gently. “Darling, you’re in The Shade. In Corrine and Ibrahim’s bedroom.”

She groaned, reaching for her stomach. Kiev’s eyes widened. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?”

Mona swung her legs off the bed and staggered to her feet. She doubled over and a rush of vomit splattered onto Corrine’s silk rug.

Corrine hurried to her side, wrapping an arm around her waist. “You’re going be okay, honey,” she said, rubbing Mona’s back even as she winced at the sight of her rug. “It’s just a side effect of the potion we gave you. Sometimes it can make you upchuck.”

Mona shuddered as she finished vomiting and stood up straight, wiping her mouth with the back of her sleeve. “Wha—Where’s Rhys? The black witches?”

“They’re all gone,” Kiev said, guiding her back to the bed and reseating her.

She clutched her head. “Ugh. I feel so dizzy.”

“Then lie down,” Kiev said. He eased her back against the pillows as Corrine handed her a glass of water. “When you’re ready, tell us what you remember.”

After swallowing the glass, she let out a sigh. “Rhys,” she began. “He was the last thing I remember. We were having a duel. He was winning… by far. We ended up in a tree. He strapped me there. That’s the last thing I remember. Everything went black after that.”

“Do you have any idea how you ended up in the rowing boat in the middle of the lake?” I asked.

“The lake?” She frowned. “That’s where you found me?”

“That’s where your dear fiancé found you,” Corrine replied, gesturing toward Kiev.

“I have no idea,” Mona said, rubbing her forehead.

“Well, that is bizarre,” Derek muttered.

I was curious to discuss it further, but we had more pressing matters at hand.

“Um, Mona,” I said. “As much as I’m sure you just want to rest right now, we really need your help. The black witches paralyzed our army—we need you to help us break their spell. Ibrahim, Corrine, all our witches, they’ve been trying but—”

“Yes,” Mona said. She sat up from the pillows and, using Kiev’s shoulder as support, pulled herself into standing position. “I’ll see what I can do.” She looked gingerly down at her torn clothes, covered in dirt and vomit. “I’d just like to, er, change.”

“And feel free to use the bathroom. There are fresh towels on the rack,” Corrine said, walking over to her wardrobe and pulling out a pair of pants and a shirt. She handed them to Mona before we all left the room, leaving Kiev and Mona some privacy.

We were only waiting five minutes in the corridor outside before the couple emerged.

“Okay,” Mona said, an anxious look on her face. “Let’s do this.”