A Shade of Vampire 7: A Break of Day (11 page)

I wondered if Arron could have taken all the vampires to Aviary for some sort of experimentation, as he had done to Anna, Kyle and Ian. That he hadn’t at least warned us of this when we were supposed to be cooperating grated at my nerves.

I passed the reception and ran up to Aiden’s office. I knocked until the door swung open. Standing there in the doorway was Arron.

“Where were you? I’ve been waiting down at your cabin for hours…”

“Come in, Novak.”

Aiden sat at the table, his head in his hands. He didn’t look up.
Why didn’t he bother to let me know he’d already found Arron?

“Aiden,” I said, “what’s going on?” He didn’t reply. I turned to Arron who’d just reseated himself at the table and glared at him. “Where have all the vampires gone?”

“We don’t know.” His cool eyes settled on me.

“Don’t talk to me like I’m stupid, Hawk. If you don’t have anything to do with this, where would they have all gone suddenly?”

“How do you know that your wife isn’t the one behind it? She’s been acting strangely lately, hasn’t she?”

Irritated by Aiden’s continued silence, I walked up to him and shook him. “What’s wrong with you?”

My father-in-law’s face was ashen and he stared back at me blankly.

“Or,” Arron continued, “they could all have gone for a walk in the woods during the night and lost their way. But what you’re forgetting, Novak, is that none of this is my concern any more. I agreed to cooperate until we stormed the Keep and you were brought to Sofia. It’s not my fault that you managed to lose her again. Do you even remember my two conditions for agreeing to help you storm the Keep?”

So much had happened since, and my mind was riddled with such confusion and panic, I could barely recall them now.

“No? Well then, let me remind you. Firstly, all the vampires we held in our custody were meant to be turned into humans. And secondly, Aiden agreed to become one of us and be transported to Aviary. You may recall that I allowed them to remain vampires on their plea that they weren’t yet ready to become humans… a generous concession on my part, was it not? But now it’s time for me to claim my second condition. I’ve waited long enough.”

“No. No. Not now. You can’t take him yet,” I said, jumping to my feet. “Not before he’s said goodbye to Sofia. She doesn’t even know he made this deal with you.”

I looked down at Aiden and shook him again, this time more violently. “Are you just accepting this? Where has your spirit gone? Where’s the warrior I thought I knew?”

Finally he spoke, his voice cracking. “Derek, if I believed that I had even an ounce of control over this situation, I would fight. But we struck a deal with Arron.”

And what about Rose? You would leave forever without even seeing her once? What about Ben?
I would have said the words to Aiden, but I tried to avoid discussing my children in front of him whenever possible. I crouched down so that my eyes were level with his and begged, “Please, Aiden. Your daughter and I still need you.”

“The house on the beachfront you told me about, the one you and Sofia visited. Do you remember that? I took the liberty of buying it for you. It’s been transferred to both of your names. And all my wealth, properties and other assets I’m leaving to you.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a business card and a set of keys. “Mr. Campbell is the man you need to contact for further details. I’ve placed him in charge of my legal affairs. And here are the keys to the beach house.” He put both items in my hands.

It was as if Aiden hadn’t heard me.

“If I have no family to share it with,” I said through gritted teeth, slamming my fist down on the table, “what use is any of this to me?”

“I think Aiden’s made himself clear, Derek.” Arron walked to Aiden’s side and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t touch him,” I snapped. The heat in my palms rose to a dangerous level. But I had to control myself; I couldn’t start a fire in Aiden’s office. There were too many valuable documents here to risk destroying.

“Is that a threat?” Arron’s brows arched and his grip on Aiden tightened.

Desperation coursed through my veins. I didn’t have any semblance of a plan. All I knew was that Aiden simply couldn’t leave with Arron. I walked over to the door and shut it, then stood myself in front of it, blocking their exit.

“Look, Derek,” Arron said. “I don’t want to fight with you.” He walked over to me. “I’m sure we can settle this amicably.” Before I realized what was happening, he’d withdrawn a syringe from his cloak and dug it deep into my neck. The effect was instant; although my consciousness remained, my limbs became paralyzed and I could no longer hold my own weight. I sank to the ground. “Thanks for understanding, I knew you’d come round in the end,” the Hawk said before dragging Aiden out of the room and slamming the door shut.

“No!” I screamed, praying that someone would hear me. “Gavin! Zinnia! Somebody stop him!”

When two hours had passed with my screaming out and still nobody coming to my aid, I knew that it was already too late to save Aiden. Arron would have made off with him by now.

Is there only so much pain a man can stand before he becomes irreparably broken?

If such a threshold existed, I was sure that I had crossed it. My wife, my son, my sister, my closest friends… I’d lost them all. And now that Aiden was gone, my last true ally with any power, I didn’t know where to draw hope from in the darkness.

It had been days now since the witch had promised to call a meeting. I didn’t know why I’d expected anything other than more grief from her kind. Maintaining even a sliver of hope now seemed laughable to me.

Just as hopelessness was about to consume me, footsteps raced along the corridor outside. Two loud knocks sounded at the door.

“Help!” I shouted.

Yuri and Liana burst into the room. Their clothes were ripped and they were covered with cuts and bruises. It seemed so surreal to me that I considered perhaps the drug flowing through my veins was causing me to hallucinate.

“Derek!” they gasped in unison. Yuri wrapped his arms around me and pulled my motionless body upright.

Then Liana grabbed my chin and pulled my head to face her. Her eyes wide, she said, “Sofia is possessed by an Elder.”

“She’s somewhere here at Headquarters,” Yuri panted. “Her Elder brought her here to wreck the Guardians’ gates. The only reason you didn’t recognize her as being possessed is that one of their witches in The Shade figured out a way to disguise it.”

Of course. Of course!

“And now she’s disappeared again!” I said. “Sofia along with the other vampires from The Shade—Eli, Landis, Vivienne, Cameron, Claudia… The last time I saw them face to face was two or three days ago.”

Liana’s and Yuri’s eyes lit up at the mention of their loved ones’ names. Then Liana asked, “Who did this to you, Derek?”

“Arron. I tried to stop him but he… he took Aiden to Aviary.” I let out a heavy sigh. “And I’d bet my life on it that he’s responsible for the others’ disappearances too.”

“First things first.” Yuri stood up and looked around the room. “We need to find you an antidote. You’re of no use to anyone like this… Aha.” He picked up the syringe Arron had stabbed me with from the floor and sniffed it. “We need to pay a visit to the emergency room.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Gavin had also entered the room, surveying the situation. “Yuri and Liana, you shouldn’t be seen,” Gavin said. “If the vampires were removed deliberately from this place, you two are also in danger. Zinnia’s doing some investigation of her own about their disappearance, but until she reports back, you’d best keep out of sight as much as possible. You should both come to my room, and I’ll help Derek get…”

“Wait a minute,” I said. We’d been rushing ahead of ourselves so much that I hadn’t even stopped to consider the obvious. “How on earth did you escape from The Shade? And how did you travel here, or even gain entrance into Headquarters?” I looked out of the window. “It’s broad daylight!”

“The Elders were giving our bodies a rest,” Liana said. “They’d left us in one of the caves alone. A witch… she just appeared out of nowhere. She said she was going to bring us here to you. Next thing we knew, we were standing outside this office. I don’t know if she also helped out any other vampires or humans, but…”

“The Ageless,” I muttered. “Where did she go?”

“I have no idea,” said Yuri. “I asked if she would stay to help us, but she ignored my question and vanished.”

“We have no time to waste, Derek. If the Elder hasn’t been giving her enough breaks, I dread to think what state Sofia could be in now. The Ageless clearly isn’t going to offer any more assistance,” Liana urged. “I don’t know what has happened to the others, but the witch did tell us where to find Sofia. She said that Arron has locked her in a dungeon located directly beneath the Atrium. The trapdoor leading to her cell is hidden within the armory.”

Arron… I knew it
. If Sofia was still possessed, I had no idea what I’d do even if I managed to reach her. All I knew was that I had to.

“Gavin,” Yuri said, handing him the syringe, “run up to the emergency rooms and ask the nurse to give you an antidote to this paralyzer solution. If the nurse asks why you need it, just lie.”

Once Gavin had left the room, I said to my two friends, “Gavin’s right. You mustn’t be seen by anyone. As soon as Gavin returns, you must go with him to his apartment and lock yourselves inside. Don’t come out under any circumstances.”

“But Derek!” Liana exclaimed. “You need our…”

“No, Liana. Neither of you will be useful for anything if you get caught and taken God knows where.” I shuddered, thinking of Vivienne and the others.

Gavin returned five minutes later with a new syringe full of transparent liquid. He lost no time in stabbing the needle into the vein in my left wrist. Within several minutes, I had regained full control over my limbs. I stood up and looked around the room. “Now that Aiden is gone, we must be careful. A hundred times more careful,” I warned. “As long as we stay in this place, we’re completely at the mercy of Arron.”

I nodded at Liana and Yuri and they begrudgingly headed toward the door. “Gavin,” I said, “take them to your rooms and keep them safe while I’m gone.”

We all exited the room, heading off in different directions. The Atrium was only five minutes away from Aiden’s office and it wasn’t long before I’d found the armory and located a dusty wooden trapdoor behind a tall cupboard. As I heaved it open, the smell of damp and rot invaded my nostrils. The place was lit with dim light bulbs fixed at intervals along the walls of the winding staircase. I moved down the steps, pulling the door shut above me, making as little noise as possible.

The dungeon came into view and, in the corner, a familiar figure lay curled up on the ground.

“Sofia?” I whispered, approaching her cautiously. She didn’t stir. She was so still I feared for a moment that she was no longer breathing. Chains had been attached to her hands and feet. The skin around them was red and raw. She must have been tugging against them for hours. I brushed her long matted hair away from her face. Dried blood covered her mouth and her eyes were closed. I reached to touch her skin and was appalled by how coarse and dry it now felt. A yellowish color was developing in patches.

“Sofia.” I spoke louder and with more urgency.

I dared to shake her shoulders. She remained still. Just as I was about to leave her side to look around the room for keys to the chains, her eyes shot open, only these were not Sofia’s eyes. A translucent film had developed over them. Her mouth hung loosely as though she had lost control over her facial muscles.

Her breaths started coming in rasps. “Derek!” she wheezed. “Please, darling. I need b-blood. I’m dying of thirst.”

Is this Sofia addressing me? Or is it the Elder?

Whatever the case, Sofia’s body was clearly fading away and if sustaining her also meant sustaining the evil within her, so be it.

I lowered my wrist and coaxed her to take a bite. Instead, with an unexpected motion she placed her arms around my neck and dragged my head down toward her. She bit into the flesh beneath my ear and began sucking. After several seconds I felt a stinging, weak at first but growing stronger and more painful.
The Elder wants to turn me
.

I jerked away from her, wincing as her fangs tore through my skin. She tried to grab hold of me again, but I stepped away.

“What are you doing, Derek? Can’t you see that I need you, my love? I’m dying! All the times I fed you my own blood, and this is how you repay me?”

Although I knew Sofia would never speak such words, there was an undercurrent of truth to them that didn’t fail to make me feel a pang of guilt.

Sofia continued to cry out to me. “If you won’t feed me, then please, melt away these chains. Free me, Derek! What are you waiting for?”

Although I still had no idea how to get Sofia out of this nightmare, doing the opposite of what the Elder was insisting upon was a good place to start.

“Stop playing games by hiding behind my wife. I know what you are.” My voice boomed through the dungeon. “You saw what I did to one of your fellow Elders back at The Shade, didn’t you? Leave my wife now, lest the same fate befall you.”

Sofia’s eyes rolled and she began to laugh. “As if you would risk your precious lover’s life! Remember that your Corrine is not here to save the day this time. She’s powerless now, as weak as a bee out of sting. We made sure of that after what she did. If you kill me, you kill Sofia.”

“I don’t need any witch.” I spoke with confidence I didn’t possess. “I inherited more powers than you can possibly imagine from Corrine’s ancestor, Cora. I could have done it without her. And I will do it without her in a few moments if you don’t comply. My patience is running thin.”

So desperate was the situation, bluffing was the only tactic I could think of. I knew better than anyone that I couldn’t unleash fire on Sofia’s body without running the risk of killing her. I widened my stance as if gearing myself up for a fight and allowed a small flare to escape from my palms.