A Shade Of Vampire 6: A Gate Of Night (21 page)

Corrine pushed at his rib and he groaned in pain. “They used some sort of spell on you to suppress your healing abilities.”

I stared at Corrine, wondering if she was even the same person who’d once convinced me to treat Sofia as an equal and not as a slave.
Would she act this way if Sofia were here?

“Why? Why wouldn’t they just let her kill you?” The words had already slipped out of my mouth before I realized how insensitive they were.

Cameron seemed unfazed by it. His eyes were still distant—somewhere far, somewhere painful. “They let me go to find you. They know you’re here, Derek.”

“Then why aren’t they coming for me?”

“They want you to surrender. They sent me as a messenger. They want you to willingly give yourself up to become one of their vessels.”

“Why on earth would I ever agree to…” Blue-violet eyes flashed into my consciousness. My heart stopped. “Vivienne,” I muttered. “They’re going to use her against me, aren’t they?”

“One of the Elders has made a vessel out of Xavier. If you don’t surrender yourself, they’re going to make Vivienne fight him to the death. Tonight.”

The heat shot out of my palms before I could control it. To my relief, the flames didn’t go toward Cameron, or it would’ve been the end of him. It felt like an eternity before I could reel the fire back in and gain back my self-control. By the time I was able to stop the fire, I had collapsed on the ground, while Corrine conjured a couple of spells in order to keep the fire from burning down The Shade.

I stared up at the witch who had kept The Shade protected with her spells and found myself both angered and curious at what exactly she was capable of.
Whose side is this woman on?
I’d once thought that she was on our side, especially seeing her fondness for Sofia and the way she’d gained the respect and loyalty of the Naturals, earning herself a prestigious position of honor at the Catacombs. This time, however, after having met her superiors, I wondered what game she was playing.

Before I could keep myself from doing it, I stood to my feet and grabbed her by the wrists. My palms still sweltering with heat, she screamed in pain as my touch seared her skin.

Defiant brown eyes looked at me and I could’ve sworn then that she was going to come up with a spell to destroy me. Instead, Corrine tried to tolerate the pain as she stared directly into my eyes. Through gritted teeth, she muttered, “What do you want?”

“How powerful are you, witch?”

Her lips were sealed tight, but a thought came to me—as if she had communicated with me telepathically.
More than you can ever imagine.

“You’re going to help us,” I demanded.

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you are Cora’s descendant, and no matter what the Ageless or the witches of The Sanctuary stand for, you are loyal to your ancestor. You can’t deny that.”

“An ancestor
you
killed.”

“You know why it had to happen. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have killed her yourself had you been given the chance. Emilia was just a shell. Cora would’ve wanted her dead. For all we know, Emilia might have also been just a vessel.”

Moistened eyes stared back at me. Corrine tightened her jaw, as if she were trying to fight me.

“Don’t pretend that you don’t care about us or The Shade. You might have been brought here under circumstances you aren’t entirely pleased with, but you can’t look me in the eye and tell me that you hold no affection for this island. Don’t tell me that Sofia—or the fact that she’s bearing my child while in the grasp of a sadistic monster—doesn’t mean anything to you.”

“I care about Sofia and you know it.” Even as the witch said those words, affection flashed in the otherwise stoic expression at the mention of my wife’s name.

My heart warmed at that gesture. Sofia had a way of doing that to people, getting them to care. “Then why aren’t you doing something to help us? Do you really think Sofia would still see you the way she did if you don’t help us? Is she not this place’s queen? You know she loves the people being tormented by these Elders.”

Corrine’s shoulders sagged in resignation. “What do you want me to do?”

“First, answer my question.” I shrugged a shoulder. “
Exactly
how powerful are you?”

Walking was getting harder as my belly grew. I was beginning to have my doubts about our escape plan. As we walked along the gardens so I could get a breath of fresh air, I hooked my arm over Eli’s and expressed my apprehensions.

“Is this going to work, Eli? Can Shadow even carry us?”

“He won’t have to carry me. I’ll still have my speed. Granted, it won’t last long, but I think I can make it. The Elder’s people won’t be able to come after us, not in sunlight.”

“Maybe it’s too big a risk. We don’t even know where we are, Eli. How are we supposed to know where to go? How on earth are we going to get to the hunters?”

“All we have to do is get to a phone or a computer, anything that will allow us to get in touch with the hunters. You still have contacts from the time you were there, don’t you?”

I nodded. I had one. Julian was the man my father had assigned to train me in combat while I was in hunter headquarters. I never quite did catch on. I was ever the pacifist. Lately, I’d been wishing that I’d listened more to him when I had the chance.
Maybe then I wouldn’t be in situations like this. I wouldn’t need men to save me.

I gave Eli an apologetic look, ashamed that I wasn’t giving him any security or reassurance when he was risking his neck to help me.

Eli returned my gaze, concern traced over his features. “Do these doubts have something to do with the Elder attacking you?”

I drew a breath. The slightest mention of the unpleasant encounter still made me shiver. A couple days after the visit from the Elder, I was still so jumpy, afraid that he was around, that he was listening in on my conversations. The only assurance I had that he wasn’t around was the recollection of his presence.

If the Elder is around, it’s impossible not to know.
Anybody could sense the wickedness, the fear, the incapacitating cold.

I had no idea how to tell Eli that since the attack, Kiev had been talking about escape. That meant that I wasn’t sure if Eli could be there with us. I felt responsible for Eli’s presence at The Blood Keep.
If it weren’t for me, he’d still be back at The Shade. Safe.

My conscience scolded me. It was one thing to consider leaving Olga behind—we didn’t have a history together. But Eli… we might not have had a personal connection, but he was risking his life to help me escape The Blood Keep. Not only that, he was one of Derek’s dearest and most loyal allies.

Eli must’ve considered my lack of a response as a
yes
. “Sofia, the Elder can’t touch you unless you have a significant amount of darkness within you. That’s why he was never able to get to Derek after you came to The Shade. Your light took over.”

Eli’s words were tearing me apart. I was trying not to cry as I listened to him remind me of a light I no longer had. I was torn. I hated to admit it to myself, but I was willing to consider escaping with Kiev.
I have to do this for my children.

“Eli… I need to tell you something.”

Eli remained silent, waiting for me to speak up.

“Kiev has been talking about helping me escape. He has been since the Elder’s attack and…”

“You’re considering it?” The tinge of apprehension was evident in Eli’s voice.

“I’m going to give birth soon, Eli. I’m just afraid that…”

“I understand,” he assured me. “If I had even the smallest amount of trust for this man, I would recommend that you go, but this is Kiev we’re talking about. He was in love with Natalie Borgia and yet he tortured and killed her right in front of all of us. Are you sure that he’s after your safety?”

“I’m not certain at all, but…”

The mention of Kiev being in love with Natalie took me aback. I’d had no idea. Kiev was a wildly unpredictable person and I’d never quite figured him out, but it had never dawned on me that he could ever be in love.
Why do I see that as a positive thing?
I tried to dwell on what Eli said—that Kiev had killed Natalie—but for some reason, I was holding on to the hope that Kiev could still be saved.

“I will respect whatever decision you make, Sofia. I know the risk of my plan for escape. I won’t blame you if you choose to trust Kiev and you won’t need to worry about me. I can take care of myself. I just want to be sure that you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

“Thanks, Eli. I need to think things through.” I was relieved that I’d told him. “Right now, what do you know about Kiev and Natalie?”

As Eli told me what he knew—not that there was much of it—I saw then what Derek saw in him. I’d always seen Eli as this intelligent person we all went to when we wanted to figure out how to do something at The Shade, but his rational nature also brought out a side of him that was good. He didn’t take things personally. He understood why I was torn, why I felt I had to do what I had to do.

Genuinely grateful for Eli and his support, I knew I had several things to figure out and soon.
Can I really trust Kiev?

The fact that he hadn’t taken advantage of me was, to me, a sign that there still was a flicker of good inside of him, but I was uneasy. Eli was right. Something was wrong. Something about Kiev suddenly wanting to help me didn’t sit right with me, but I couldn’t afford not to take this into consideration. I had to at least see if Kiev meant it, if Kiev could possibly provide me a way out.

I owe my children that possibility. I can’t deprive myself of that chance.

Deep inside, however, I knew that this wasn’t me. I was being selfish, putting my own needs before the people around me, but as hard as it was for me to admit it, I no longer cared.

I’d never thought that my heart could break for Claudia the way it did that night. As Yuri—or at least the monster within him—dealt her another punch, I couldn’t help but cringe at the way she looked at him, the love in her eyes, pleading with him to overcome whatever it was that had taken over him.

Yuri’s eyes, on the other hand, remained pure black, sometimes flashing a bright red when Claudia’s blood splattered all over the floor. I couldn’t even imagine the pain Yuri was going through. I whispered more prayers than I ever had in my entire life, hoping that he wasn’t conscious, because as much as it pained Claudia to be beaten up by the man she loved, I knew Yuri enough to know that even if he had been possessed by this dark spirit, he would still blame himself.

I looked across the makeshift arena the Elders had several of the humans put together. It was a large circle, lined with thick ropes, and was situated right smack at the middle of the Catacombs. Sam and I were chained together on one side. Ashley and Xavier stood on the other side. Ashley had her hands planted on her waist, eyes shifting from a pure yellow at one point to a powdery white at another. Xavier, on the other hand, had his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were just a pure black. His brows furrowed. He didn’t seem to be having any fun at all.

Based on body language, the Elder who had grabbed hold of Xavier seemed to be higher in position than the rest of them. I stared at him, my heart aching.

Is he still there? Does he see what’s happening? What’s going on inside his mind right now?

“Princess, look.” Sam nudged me on the side.

Liana bit into the neck of one of the humans. I wondered why on earth Sam would want me to watch my best friend drain a human dry, but it quickly became evident that Liana wasn’t killing the human. She was turning him.

“They turn the humans to vampires. Why is that necessary?”

“I think it’s because they can only use vampires as vessels.” I was barely able to squeak my theory out.

I looked away from Liana, wondering how she felt about almost killing Cameron moments ago. When they’d stopped her from ending Cameron’s life, I’d been so relieved. It would destroy her to know that her beloved had died at her hands. When the Elders had revealed that they’d stopped her from ending Cameron’s life only because they intended to make him give Derek a message—me in exchange for him—all the relief I’d felt quickly faded away. While the idea that Derek was on the island gave me a shred of hope, the recollection that he was human once again, devoid of the power he’d once wielded as a vampire, quickly made me wish that he hadn’t shown up at all.

I would rather die than be the reason for my brother’s death.
I told myself that he was the only family I had, but remembered that this was no longer true.
I have Sofia, and now that she’s pregnant, I’ll be an aunt.
I’d never thought I could ever think of a hunter as family—the notorious Aiden Claremont especially—but he had become family too.

Are they enough to replace losing my brother?
I caught the thought, surprised that I could even think it. There was a time when I would’ve readily given my life for my brother’s, but if I were to be honest with myself, at that moment, I wished that things would change. I knew that Derek would give his life for me, but I’d never wanted him to until that very moment.

I realized that I wanted what he had.
I want the chance that he got. I want to experience falling in love, getting married, going on my honeymoon, raising a family. I’ve only done one of those. I fell in love. With Xavier.
As I stared at the shell that he’d become when the Elder took over his body, I realized that I wanted to become human and I hoped that he wanted that too, that he wanted to be the father of my children, and that we could live finite, mortal lives together.

That was why I was hoping that Derek would indeed give himself up for me. For the first time in my life, I was actually dreaming of a future that I truly loved and desired.

“Enough!” Xavier screamed, clapping his hands as he gave Yuri an approving nod.