A Shade Of Vampire 4: A Shadow Of Light (21 page)

Bloody fools. They never should’ve underestimated me.

I couldn’t help keep the smirk
off of my face as I made my way through the secret passages that Aiden introduced to me during our short love affair and midnight rendezvous into the secret garden. Aiden’s young protégé, Zinnia, had messed up big time when she had left me momentarily unguarded as I headed off to the showers. I knew how to find my way around the headquarters and quickly found my escape, emerging outside the gardens.

The moment I did, however, I knew I had a big problem. It was the height of noon and
the sun was blazing right at me. The very moment its painful rays hit my skin, my suspicions once again proved true. I don’t know how it had happened, but Aiden’s cure failed. When I cut that glass into my skin and it healed, I knew that I was immortal, but when the sun began to irritate my pale skin, I knew that I was still a vampire.

Still, the dilemma before me was clear. I had to find a way out of hunter territory and out of the sun as quick
ly as possible or it would be the end of me. The sun’s rays weakened a vampire immensely. It would take ten minutes before it would begin to get beneath my skin and the pain would be agonizing. It would be a slow, painful death.

Trying to ignore
the piercing sting of the sun, I used my agility as a vampire and scaled up the nearby wall. I knew that by that time, the hunters were already after me. I didn’t have much time to get away. I jumped from the top of the wall to the ground below and ran with lightning speed. I ran, ignoring the pain of my skin peeling away. I ran even when I felt blood coming out of the sockets of my eyes. I ran until I could no longer run, until the sun had completely worn me down. It felt like hours until I collapsed on the ground, every bit of my body writhing in pain. I knew I was miles away from hunter territory now and I looked up and discovered I was in the middle of a meadow, not quite certain where I was or how I was going to get out of there.

I looked around me and saw a log cabin
on the horizon. The small house was only a couple of hundred meters away, but it felt like it was an ocean away. I dragged myself toward the home, my charred skin beginning to emit smoke, the pain of the sun digging in to my very bones. It felt like a million needles being repeatedly jabbed right through my skin to the core of my bones. Over and over and over again.

It took all of my might to drag myself
toward the cabin. I wondered if it was a trap set by the hunters. I even thought that it could be some sort of optical illusion, but at that moment, whatever it was, that cabin was my only escape from the punishing rays of the sun.

I couldn’t have imagined how grotesque I looked as I cr
awled up the front porch. I felt like all the liquids had been drained from my body and I was dried and shriveled up. One look at my hands made my stomach turn. Both looked like rotting flesh. I pushed the door open and lost all control when I saw a young woman, who couldn’t have been any older than Sofia, descend a wooden staircase. She shrieked at the sight of me before I charged for her and devoured her, drinking down every single drop of her blood.

By the time I snapped out of my black out, I was surrounded by three dead bodies and the sun was no longer shining. I couldn’t help but smile as I rose to my feet.
I’d done it. I escaped hunter territory.
I sought out a mirror and was pleased to find my body restored, even though my skin was still stinging.

Gathering my wits about me, I knew that I was just lucky and that the hunters were surely after me. I found a cell
phone in the pocket of one of the teenagers I had killed. I then searched the cabin for clues about its address, before dialing Natalie Borgia’s number.

My message to her was simple: “Wherever
Borys is, let him know that I’m alive and that I need him to get me.”

Within a few
hours, a helicopter arrived. At first, I thought that it was the hunters’ and I was beginning to panic, but when I saw Borys, I sighed with relief. I ran into his arms, tears streaming down my face.

He embraced me and pulled me against his chest as he whispered into my ear, “I thought I lost you, Ingrid.”

I once again felt the strength and security that I could only feel when I was around the vampire who sired me. I sobbed into his shoulder for a few seconds before whispering into his ear, “I think I know how you can get your hands on Sofia. Do you still want her?”

I could practically hear the spite and menace in his voice when he
responded in a low voice, “I’ve never wanted anything more than to feel her lovely, trembling form in my arms again.”

I shuddered when I realized the hell Sofia was going to go through should
Borys ever get a hold of her again. I swallowed hard as I remembered my daughter telling me she loved me. I dreaded the day that Borys would once again have Sofia within his grasp.

But
it’s too late, Ingrid. You’ve already told him about her. You have no choice but to surrender her to him.

The moment I was taken from my daughter’s chambers and brought back to The Cells, I knew that I was in trouble. An odd mixture of determination to not disappoint Vivienne and pure terror began battling for the right to rule my will.

I shivered just thinking about
what I had gone through in between the time when I had left The Oasis and finally returned to The Shade. If there ever was any doubt in my mind that we vampires were creatures of the dark, it was totally eradicated when I was forced to come face to face with what a dark creature I had allowed myself to become. Darkness took hold of both Borys and me in such a way I had never thought possible. It took full control.

Perhaps this is what happened to Derek before he decided to escape to his slumber. It’s the reason he was so powerful. Darkness gripped him and made him the heartless leader that saved
The Shade.

Clarity
had come over me the moment I had looked upon my beautiful Vivienne’s blue-violet eyes. Her unconditional love for me as her father awakened what little shred of humanity I still had left in me. I realized that the only reason I was thinking beyond the darkness’ control was because Vivienne somehow illuminated something deep within me. One small spark was all it took to light up pitch black darkness.

However, my match was quickly running out of its flame. I knew that I was about to lose myself again. I would once again forget the love I felt for my children
—especially Derek.

Alone in my cell, moonlight streaming from the small, barred window, I felt like a million voices were ringing in my ear all at the same time. I knew the kind of power I was up against. I knew the hold it had over me. I knew that this was a battle I couldn’t win, but couldn’t afford to lose either.

For the first time in the past five hundred years, I realized how I, as a creature of the dark, craved so much for light. I was desperate to keep the spark inside me burning.

Traitor,
a voice whispered—coming from within me rather than from my surroundings. I shuddered. I tried to fight it. I tried to summon all the will power I had within me to keep myself in control. I couldn’t do it.

My body was no longer my own, my thoughts conflicted and out of control. Claws came out of my hand
, and with my forefinger, I began scratching a message on my arm. My own claw cut through my skin and it cut deep. I bit my lip against the pain as I saw the message take form.

You chose the wrong side.

Chills ran down my spine as it dawned on me exactly what it meant. At that moment, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that there was absolutely no way I could make it through the night, and yet I felt in me an unnerving calm. I was able to hold Vivienne in my arms again. I was able to see her beautiful eyes and her calming smile.

I had all the consolation I needed knowing that should I die that night, in the final moments of my
life, I had chosen light.

She was silent. She was soothing calm amidst a raging tempest. She peered at me through her long lashes and I found myself breathless.

Suddenly, the waves crashing over me seemed less threatening, the winds blowing at me seemed a
little gentler. The storm surrounding me ceased to matter. Sofia was once again in my arms, serving as my calming center.

Her lips moved to press against mine, and I knew that if I wanted to, I could take it further. I knew her well enough to
sense that she would happily give in, but I didn’t want that. Not with her. I was determined to stay true to my vow that I would not make love to her until after she’d become my wife. It was my way of setting her apart from all those other women who came before her. It was my way of honoring her.

The idea
that she could be my wife—in light of the hunters’ newfound cure—thrilled me. To live a lifetime of
this
, being with Sofia, tasting her, loving her… It was far more than I could ever dream of, far greater than my deepest wishes even as a human. It took centuries to finally find her, but it happened… I found the woman I loved and if it was all my immortality was good for, then it was worth it.

When our lips parted and I saw her blush the moment our eyes met, I could swear my heart stopped. I had no idea how I could’ve convinced myself that I
could ever stand being apart from her.

“I was a fool to leave you,” I admitted.

She slapped my shoulder. “Damn right you were. I was going crazy trying to understand why you left.” Her voice broke. “You didn’t even say goodbye.”

“
You wouldn’t have let me go if I had.”

“That’s because we belong together, Derek.” She paused and looked
at me like the big fool that I was. “I can’t believe you still don’t know that.”

“I couldn’t stand the idea of preying on you, Sofia.” My heart sank as I recalled my need to have a taste of her blood the moment I
had woken up. I didn’t even ask her anymore. I just took what she was clearly offering.

“Does it hurt when I drink from you?” I asked, wondering why I even bothered to ask the question.
Of course it hurts.

“The bite stings at first, but it’s not like I’m not used to it…” She sat up on the bed and began pulling her hair up in a high ponytail.

I breathed out a sigh, hoping that we could freeze that moment and just stay cocooned in my bedroom. I hoped that we could just forget all the concerns that I needed to deal with. Of course, I knew that was impossible. Right at that very moment, I could hear people shuffling outside my room, waiting for me to emerge. I guessed that it was some of the Elite—perhaps present to discuss our severe lack of blood supplies. Just the thought of having to deal with all the drama going on made me groan out loud.

Sofia, who was already up and about the room, getting herself ready for the day, looked my way and chuckled, seeming to already know what was going through my mind. She leaned over my side of the bed and
kissed my cheek. “We’re together again, and that’s all that matters right now.”

I didn’t know how to respond as I watched her step into the bathroom and close the door behind her. I loved that about Sofia. I loved how she seemed to take the heaviest of situations and somehow make it feel lighter.

My ray of sunshine was back and I wanted to kick myself for allowing things to go any other way.

By the time we both got ready and stepped out of the bedroom, we found a group of people waiting for us
in the dining room—Cameron, Liana, Xavier, Eli, Yuri and to my surprise, Vivienne.

“Aren’t you supposed to be resting? Sofia and I were just planning to visit you…” I asked my twin
.

“Liana came over and told me about the dilemma regarding the island’s blood supply. What are we going to do about that?”

I gave Liana a cold glare for worrying Vivienne over matters of the island. “That’s what we’re about to figure out today, Viv.” I pulled out a chair for Sofia beside mine before taking a seat at the head of the table. “Before I ask to what I owe the pleasure of this invasion, do you have any suggestions regarding how we’re going to fix this mess?”

I was greeted by a tense silence. There was a time when the answer would’ve been to abduct humans to feed on or to hold a culling
—killing off all the weak and useless humans and draining them of blood that we could preserve at the chilling chambers. Now, none of us had any idea how to replenish the blood supply at such short notice. Until Sofia stated the obvious as she stared into space and shrugged. “I don’t see what the problem is.”

All eyes turned to her.

Xavier seemed irritated. “Do you have any idea how thirsty I am, Sofia? I only had one packet blood left and I had to give it to…” He bit his lip and caught his words as he glanced at Vivienne “…Not that I regret it of course, but not all of us have a fresh supply of blood like Derek seems to enjoy since you came back.”

My gut clenched as I followed the direction of Xavier’s eyes on the bite marks on Sofia’s neck.

“What Xavier’s trying to say is that if the vampires don’t get their blood, we won’t be able to keep them from attacking the humans at The Catacombs. We’re going to have another riot and considering that the hunters are coming and so are the other covens, we can’t afford that,” Liana summarized before taking in a deep breath.

“Y
es. I get the dilemma,” Sofia said. “I just don’t know why you can’t see the solution when it seems pretty obvious.”

“Just tell us what you have in mind, Sofia
. We’re all ears,” I said.

“
For one thing, you could always live on animal blood. Vivienne has survived all these years on that.” Sofia raised her hands in the air before anyone could object. “Yes, yes. I know what you’re going to say. Not everyone can do what Vivienne is doing. I get that. I do have another idea. I’d like to believe that through the past year, we’ve already established some sort of rapport between the humans and the vampires. I don’t see why the humans wouldn’t agree to donate their own blood to feed the vampires.”

“You mean like the humans voluntarily letting vampires suck their blood?” Yuri
scoffed.

“I think what Sofia is saying is that we replenish the stocks by getting blood from the humans the way hospitals and blood banks do
.” Eli glared at Yuri.

“Do you really think the humans would agree to that?” I asked Sofia.

“I don’t see why not…”

“
One problem there…” Vivienne sat up. “The vampires will end up craving whoever donated blood to them.”

Sofia shrugged. “
Well, it’s a temporary measure, is it not? If the cure works, then it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Ah, yes… The cure…” Liana nodded. “That’s why we came here. So much seems to be hanging on to whether or not this cure works.”

“Well, if this
cure
is for real.” Cameron straightened up on his seat. “Then Sofia’s right. We really wouldn’t have to worry about blood supplies at all.”

“More than that,” Liana added, “we won’t need the protection of
The Shade anymore. The other covens can attack all they want… It won’t really matter. They can even turn back into mortals if they please.”

“The hunters won’t have to hunt us down anymore
.” Yuri leaned back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest, his brows furrowing in deep thought.

“A cure just might end all of
this,
” Liana concluded.

Finally, Cameron got straight to the point.
“I guess what we’re trying to say is that we think we ought to look into the faintest possibility of this cure being real, because it is far better than a full-on war with both vampire covens and hunters.”

My jaw tightened. They were listing all the advantages of the cure being real, advantages I’d been mulling over since I
had heard of the cure. Sofia and I exchanged glances and I could tell that she was feeling the pressure upon hearing how much was hanging on this cure the hunters claimed to have found.

“So I guess we’re going to let more hunters into the island? We’re going to risk that?” I directed my attention toward Vivienne. “What do you think, Viv
ienne?”

My sister shook her head. “I don’t know. I’d be lying if I said that I trust the
hunters, because I don’t.”

“I don’t trust them either,
” Sofia said. “But…”

“…the cure may be our last hope,” Eli finished for Sofia. “A war would end us.”

“How are they even going to do it?” I couldn’t help but blurt out. “I can’t even wrap my mind around how the other covens plan to attack us without being detected by humans. A war would
definitely
attract attention, perhaps end us all.”

Eli lifted his glasses over the bridge of his no
se as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair, rubbing his neck as he did. “I can’t be sure, but…” he hesitated.

After it seemed he wasn’t going to continue, I narrowed my eyes at him. “But what, Eli?”

“I don’t know… It’s just… I don’t think we’re up against
just
the covens.”

At this, Xavier, who seemed unable to pry his eyes off of Viv
ienne the whole time, snapped to attention. “What are you saying?”

“The other covens wouldn’t dare risk something as big as this. That’s what kept us safe from them all these years. You forget that a lot of vampires who migrated to
The Shade—coming from other covens—warned us that the other covens were, for decades, covetous of what we have here. A full-scale war isn’t something anybody would risk unless…”

“…unless there’s a greater influence backing them up
.” Vivienne nodded.

“Exactly
,” Eli said.

I froze, every
part of my body seeming to tense at the implication. “You can’t possibly mean…”

Eli and Vivienne exchanged glances.

In her typical sage and serene manner, Vivienne said the words that sealed my fears. “Great darkness is behind this.”

I swallowed hard, realizing that I was against a power far above what I could possibly handle. I knew who
m they were referring to, but it almost seemed impossible—utterly surreal.

“I don’t understand…” Sofia silently voiced out, searching me for an answer.

“They’re referring to
the original
.”

“The original?”

“The very first vampire.”