A Shade of Vampire 16: An End of Night (13 page)

A
s I raced
with Kiev down from the rocks, the only person on my mind was Rhys. Wanting to avoid clashing with any other witch or warlock, I dodged in and out of the battle in search of him. When I had been watching the scene from the air as Kiev stabbed Lilith, the warlock had been near the pool. But I could see from where I was standing that he was not there now.

I suspected that he might have blacked out somewhere. He’d been the most dependent on Lilith for his powers of all of us—more than me, Julisse or even Isolde—so it would be no surprise if he was still unconscious. I wanted to find him before he came to.

Finally, I did. A long form cast in shadow lay close to one side of the castle. He was lying flat on his back, his pale face set in a deep frown.

When I first laid eyes on him, I wondered for a moment whether he was even still living. But it soon became apparent to me that he was. His lips were parted and he breathed gently.

I bent down over him and touched his forehead. It wouldn’t be difficult to finish him off now if I wanted to. I didn’t even need to use magic. I could just reach for the knife tucked into my belt that I’d retrieved from Kiev.

But I couldn’t bring myself to. I’d already experienced the aftermath of self-disgust that came with killing a person in their sleep. I wasn’t about to do it again—not even with Rhys.

Keeping my fingers against his skin, I surged energy into his body and jolted him awake.

His eyelids flickered open and he sat up. He looked shocked as he pushed himself back away from me and shot to his feet.

I took in the deep lines in his face. The dark shadows beneath his eyes. The sallowness of his skin. He looked nothing like the man I had known only months ago.

I couldn’t even bring myself to feel anger toward him. All I felt was sadness, and a sense of loss for the life he could have chosen.

When he motioned to raise his arms, I shook my head.

“Let’s not end things like this, Rhys. The game is over. Just give it up.”

My words only seemed to aggravate him as he took a step closer to me and grabbed my jaw.

I didn’t flinch as he glared down at me, nor even when heat started surging through his hand into my body.

“Please,” I said. “Stop.” I reached a hand up to his face. He flinched at my touch, then tightened his grip around me and pinned me against the castle wall, his hands moving down to my throat.

“I know what you did,” I choked. Even though I knew he could snap my neck with the strength of his muscles alone, I still refused to feel intimidated by him. “Back in The Shade… you saved me from the fire, didn’t you? How else would I have ended up on a boat in the middle of a lake?”

His eyes narrowed. But he refused to answer my question. Instead, he let go of me and blasted me backward with a spell. I found myself falling from the battleground and landing on the rocks beneath. Fortunately, the rocks my back hit were partially submerged in the water and had sea flora growing over them, which helped to soften the impact.

Groaning, I forced myself to sit up.

Okay, then. If this is how you want to play it…

As soon as I caught sight of him appearing on the rocks above me, I cast a spell that knocked him from his feet and brought him crashing down on the ground a short distance from me.

He climbed to his feet, blood flowing from a cut in his lower lip.

“What do you have to gain by continuing to fight us?” I said. “Where do you go from here? Take a look at yourself in a mirror, for God’s sake. You look like a ghost.”

I narrowly dodged another spell from him before shooting one at him myself. With each spell that I let loose, my body felt weaker and weaker. The lack of strength was alarming. I was used to being so powerful I could take on a dozen white witches at once. Now I doubted that I would even be able to take on Corrine alone.

As we continued to blast each other with spells, it became apparent that he too was feeling the strain. His curses were beginning to do less damage each time one hit me. Finally, the spells that hit me barely caused more discomfort than a prickle.

Realizing the futility of attacking me with spells, he reached for his belt and pulled out a ceremonial dagger, the same one I’d seen him holding earlier before the ritual. Even as we circled each other, I couldn’t help but notice how strange it was. Rhys and I, among the most powerful witches of our time, were now fighting with less grace than even vampires.

I could see the shame of it in Rhys’ eyes. The humiliation. I knew the pride he took in his magic—it was the only thing he lived for. He had always chosen it over me, even when he’d claimed to love me. He loved magic even more than he loved himself.

I didn’t stand a chance against him physically. He was taller, stronger and more skilled in combat. The only thing that had made the match even slightly fair before was the fact that I could wield magic.

Still, I wasn’t going to run from him.

This was a battle I had to fight alone.

As he closed in on me, I wondered whether he had it in him to kill me this time. Although he wouldn’t admit to it, I knew he’d saved me from the burning tree. And that day when he and his army had attacked The Shade, he’d avoided killing me then even though it would have been easy. He’d had me tied up in a tree. He could have done anything he wanted to me. But he hadn’t.

Rhys lurched forward. It was almost embarrassing how easily he wrestled the knife out of my hand and pinned me to the ground. My back flat against a rock, I stared up into his black eyes.

His blade pressed against my neck.

My skin broke.

A trickle of blood ran down my neck.

I’ve pushed him too far.

He’s going to do it.

Regret consumed me as he pushed the blade even harder against my flesh.
How could I have been so selfish? I have more than just myself to think about. Kiev is half of me.

I should have just run…

I began to struggle harder against him.

He lifted himself off me abruptly.

I thought for a moment that I’d managed to kick him in a painful place, but he was showing no signs of pain as he stood over me. Looking down at me through hooded eyelids, he raised his dagger again. Fearing he was about to hurl it through my chest, I rolled over on my side.

But I didn’t need to.

He brought the dagger down against his right wrist, then his left, slashing through his arteries.

Casting one last, lingering glance down at me, he displayed raw emotions for the first time. Frustration. Longing. Perhaps even regret.

Then our gaze was ripped apart as he leapt across the rocks and dove into the ocean.

Breathless, I scrambled to my feet and hurried to the spot where he had just disappeared. The waves were tinged red with his blood. But he was showing no sign of surfacing.

This part of the ocean was teeming with sharks. It would not be long before they claimed him.

Despite myself, tears welled in my eyes and spilled down my cheeks. My vision blurred as I stared at the churning water.

And so it ends.

The life of a man who could have had everything, yet in the end chose nothing.

Goodbye, old friend.

“
T
here she is
!” I shouted as Mona clambered over the rocks toward us. She looked exhausted, cuts and bruises covering her body.

Kiev was the first to rush over to her. “What happened to you? Are you okay?”

I was surprised to see that her eyes were watery. She swallowed hard. “I’m fine.”

“Have you seen Rhys?”

“Yes,” she said. “We… will not be seeing him again.”

“He’s dead?” I asked, gaping at her.

“Yes. He took his own life.”

We all fell into hushed silence.

“I always knew there was a screw missing with him,” Micah said after several moments.

Mona bit her lip, a pained expression on her face. “There was something missing, that’s for sure.”

“So,” my mother said. “Now what? Ashley is still waiting around the side of the castle with the humans we managed to free. Some of them are in a bad state. They need medical attention.”

We all looked around the battleground, scorched from my father’s flames and strewn with blood and bodies.

What we had just accomplished still hadn’t sunk in. We’d spent so long fighting to end these enemies and thwart their various plans, for it to come to an end… it seemed surreal.

“There is a gate within this castle, as most of you should know,” Mona said. “We can travel through it back to the human realm.”

I exchanged a glance with Caleb. “Uh,” he began, “I’m not sure that will work.”

“Why not?” Mona asked.

“When a group of us came here to rescue humans days ago, we destroyed the other side of the castle. Or rather, the dragons did. If we pass through the gate, we’ll meet a colossal pile of rubble.”

Mona turned to Corrine and Ibrahim. “Why don’t the two of you go through and clear out a path? I’m sure you could manage that.”

Ibrahim raised a brow. “We’re talking about an entire collapsed castle. Yes, I’m sure Corrine and I can create a path through to the surface, but it will take time.”

“That’s fine,” Mona said calmly. “I still have some unfinished business.”

“What’s that?” my father asked.

Mona glanced at Kiev. “Magnus,” she replied. “I left him at the bottom of a river. I need to go free him.” Then her deep blue eyes turned on me. “Rose, I would like you to accompany me. If their boundary is back up, there’s no way I’d be able to blast through in this weak state. The witches of The Sanctuary have many reasons to dislike me, so I can’t even be sure they’d let me in if I went alone. You, on the other hand, have their respect.”

“Okay,” I said.

“Ibrahim and I will get started then,” Corrine said, catching her husband’s hand and walking with him toward the entrance of the castle.

I embraced Caleb, and then hugged my parents and grandfather, before catching Mona’s arm. I had grown so used to being transported places with magic by now, it felt as normal for me to hurtle through the air at lightning speed as it was for a human to hop on a bus.

The battleground disappeared and a few seconds later, Mona and I were standing alone on a beautiful beach outside The Sanctuary.

“So we’re going to have to attract someone’s attention again,” I said.

“Yeah,” Mona said, already looking toward the boundary.

As we neared the trees lining the beach, it was clear that we would not have nearly as much trouble this time. I guessed because of the black witches breaking in, more witches and warlocks were on guard. Within a matter of seconds I’d already spotted a warlock prowling around in the forest. A young, handsome warlock with long blond hair.

“Hey! Over here!” Mona shouted.

He stopped in his tracks and made his way toward us.

As he drew within ten feet, Mona spun around, her back to him. Her face had turned bright red. “Oh, no,” she said beneath her breath. “I know this guy. Coen Brymer. Talk to him for me, will you?”

I agreed but it was already too late. Coen Brymer had recognized Mona.

“Hey, Mona,” Coen said. “Whatever happened to you?”

Sighing deeply, Mona turned around to face him even as she avoided eye contact. “I’m sorry, Coen. I don’t have time to talk. Will you just let us inside, please?”

He looked at me. “Who is your companion?”

“Rose Novak,” I answered. “Please let us inside now. I have an understanding with—”

“Oh, yes, I know,” he said quickly. “Hermia informed us about the agreement she made with you. You are welcome and since Mona is with you, I can only assume she’s welcome too.”

He stepped through the boundary and held out both arms for Mona and I to take before leading us back inside.

“Might your visit to The Sanctuary be long enough to take a stroll with me by the waterfall?” Coen asked Mona.

Mona gave him a weak smile, then raised her ring finger to him. “I doubt it, Coen. But I wish you the best of luck in finding happiness.”

I couldn’t miss the disappointment in his face as he eyed her ring. But then he covered it up with another smile. “Congratulations, and thank you.”

Mona didn’t hang around for more small talk. She held my hand and vanished us again. This time, we reappeared at the bank of the river. There was nobody in sight, just lush forest.

Mona left my side and began wading into the water. I was about to follow after her when she turned around. “Just wait there.”

I did as she had requested, watching as she disappeared beneath the churning waters. As promised, she surfaced less than a minute later. Bobbing in the water by her side was Magnus. His whole body was rigid, though I could detect the fury behind his eyes.

“You can help me now, Rose,” she said. I hurried forward and caught his right arm while Mona gripped his left. Together, we dragged him onto the bank.

“He doesn’t look, uh, too happy,” I said, looking down at him with concern. “Were you planning to just release your spell from him while we’re standing here?”

“You have a point,” she said.

We both chewed on our lower lips as we looked back down to him.

“I have an idea,” Mona said. “Let’s take him to the beach.”

“Which beach?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” she said.

Holding onto us, she transported us outside of the boundary to a beach I’d never visited before. Looking out toward the ocean, I spotted a boat. It was small yet sturdy-looking, and it had a roof.

When I looked down at the vampire again, if anything, the anger in his eyes had increased at our delay.

“I think you’d better just release him now,” I said. “I guess that boat is for him?”

Mona nodded, looking toward the boat, an unexpected look of melancholy in her eyes.

“I guess you’ll vanish us immediately so he doesn’t have a chance to attack?” I said.

Mona paused, biting her lip again, still looking down at the vampire.

“You run further up the beach in case he decides to,” Mona said. “I need to speak to him. And I don’t feel comfortable speaking to him while keeping him like this. I’m going to release him… I doubt he’ll attack.”

I sighed. “Well, in that case I will stay with you. I’m probably better equipped to fight him with my fire power than you in your current state.”

“You’re right,” she muttered.

She bent down on her knees over Magnus and touched his forehead. My hands grew sweaty as the witch muttered some words and Magnus regained control of his body. His limbs stretched out and he shot to his feet. His chiseled face took on a look of utter aggravation.

“Why the hell did you do that?” he growled at Mona. “If you weren’t a woman, I would grab your throat and maul you.”

Mona took a step back from his rage. “I’m sorry, Magnus. I had my reasons for doing it. But you are free now. Nobody will bother you again. Not any of the black witches, not me, or any of the white witches.”

“Where is Lilith?” he asked, his brows furrowing and causing a deep line in the center of his forehead.

Mona’s voice caught in her throat. “She… passed away.”

Magnus’s eyes narrowed, as though he could hardly believe her words.

“That boat you see,” Mona said, her voice unsteady. “Lilith arranged that for you so that you could escape safely, and continue with your life… with whomever you choose to spend it with. I wouldn’t be surprised if you even find blood bags in there.”

“I don’t understand.”

“She chose to spend the last hours of her life with you, Magnus. That’s all you need to understand. And what I said before about her using you was not fair. She did love you. Madly. Deeply. At least as deeply as her heart could manage. And she wanted you to know that before she passed away. You may not have realized it, but for all those years… you held her heart in your hand.”

Magnus was speechless. I could’ve sworn that I saw the corners of his eyes moisten as he turned and looked toward the boat floating in the ocean.

None of us spoke a word for the next few minutes.

Finally he faced Mona again, clearing his throat. “Thank you for confirming what I… sometimes doubted. It means a lot to me.” His voice was deeper than it had been a few minutes ago.

His eyes traveled from me to Mona one last time before he turned his back on us and entered the waves, wading toward the boat. Mona and I stood in silence, watching as he boarded it, settled himself in and began sailing away into the brightening horizon toward God knew where.

I didn’t care… As long as we never had to go searching for the guy again.