“I never thought I would see my brother fall in love. He was too broken, too jaded... but he loves her and she loves him… And I don’t think they even fully realize it yet…”
Her words were acid to my still fresh wounds. Before I could think straight, I slapped her right across the face with the back of my hand. I was surprised to find her crashing to the floor. All those times I hit Claudia in an attempt to fight back, she barely even budged. She just laughed at me.
I rose to my feet and stood over Vivienne as she began coughing blood. Guilt took a hold of me and I began mentally justifying my actions. I reminded myself that she was a vampire. She wasn’t some random innocent. I had every right – even a responsibility – to break her.
I tried to shut away Sofia’s words. Please find Vivienne. And make sure they don’t harm her. I steeled myself against my own conscience. Vivienne had information I needed and I was going to do everything possible to get it from her.
“How do we get to The Shade, Vivienne?”
“Why don’t you just ask Sofia? I showed her the way to The Shade. She knows everything that needs to be known.”
I pictured her as Claudia – her dark hair becoming a blonde mass of curls, her heart-shaped face turning into Claudia’s round one, her long hour glass form transforming into Claudia’s lithe figure. They’re all the same, I told myself before kicking her in the gut.
She coughed before looking up at me. A faint smile crossed her face. “She went back, didn’t she? She returned to him?”
It felt like she was taunting me. My fists clenched and I was about to hit her, but then I saw it – a tear running down her eye. No matter what justification I had for causing her harm, no matter what torments Claudia put me through, Vivienne was a helpless, broken woman, and I was beating her up for crimes that she didn’t commit.
“Please…” Tears were streaming down Vivienne’s face as she tried to lift herself up from the floor. “Enough.”
I sat in front of her and once again gripped her jaw.
She moaned at the sudden action. I realized then that she’d probably been undergoing torture since they brought her here. Any move I made on her caused her pain.
“Only you can end this, Vivienne. Just tell us what we want to know. Tell us where The Shade is. Then all this will be over.”
“Tell me, Ben. If you knew that a group of thugs were intent on murdering your family and destroying your home, what could they possibly do to you that would make you give them your family’s address?”
My mouth twitched.
“Exactly. I could never give up my family, Ben.” Her sobs began subsiding.
I eased my grip on her jaw, unable to accept that a vampire could care for anyone other than themselves. Claudia painted a picture of their kind that made it hard for me to believe that the concept of family could mean anything to them.
“Sofia is my family, Vivienne. You took her away from me. If you had hold of someone who brainwashed your family into agreeing to slavery, what would you do to that person to get your family back?”
“Sofia returned to The Shade out of her own free will and we both know it.”
The truth of her words stung. I reluctantly let go of her jaw. I couldn’t even look at her, but I felt her eyes on me, searching me.
“You loved her, didn’t you?”
“She was supposed to be mine. She wasn’t supposed to choose him.”
She lifted a trembling hand and brushed the tips of her fingers over the fine ends of my hair. “I’m sorry, Ben. For everything The Shade cost you. But we were only doing what we needed to do in order to survive.”
“Don’t tell me that. What Claudia put me through had nothing to do with survival…”
“You’re right. It had everything to do with revenge. You reminded her of the man who once abused her.”
“I was not that man.”
She nodded. “And I am not Claudia.”
The point was a blow in the gut, but it was well taken. I finally looked her in the eye. To my surprise, after a couple of seconds, the violets of her irises had swirled into a bright blue. When her irises returned to their original blue-violet color, she stared at me as if I’d been made brand new. “Ben…”
I flinched when her thumb gently caressed the line of my jaw. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away from me. “What is it? What did you see?”
A lone tear fell from the corner of her eye to the tip of her chin before falling to the ground.
“You have no idea how much you mean to her. One day, Ben, you’re going to look beyond yourself and you’re going to see Sofia as she is. Once you see the world through her eyes, you will understand. You could be great, Ben. And for all it’s worth, I thank you.”
“What? What are you say-…”
The door to the room slammed open and Reuben stepped in. “Enough,” he bellowed. “It’s clear we’re not going to get anything from her. We’re going to make arrangements for an execution as soon as possible.”
Relief washed over Vivienne’s countenance. Guilt washed over mine. Her last words haunted me for the rest of the day. What was she thanking me for?
I mentioned it to Zinnia later that day.
“She was probably just deranged, Ben. Forget what she said.”
I shook my head. “You can’t just forget when someone says something like that to you – especially when that someone is the Seer of The Shade.”
Chapter 43: Sofia
The Black Heights was a huge mountain range that spread out, north of the island. Within it was an intricate network of caves. The caves contained the Cells and the Catacombs. The Cells were located in the western portion of the caves. The Catacombs, home to the humans living at The Shade and not under the care of a vampire, occupied the eastern portion.
As I made my way from west to east of the Black Heights, the encounter I had with Ashley and the dilemma it posed weighed heavily on me. I felt weak and helpless over everything going on around me, but I knew that I could no longer turn a blind eye to what was happening at The Shade. I was blinded by my affection for Derek, but it could not remain so.
I passed by the entrance of the cave network and headed for the cave opening that led to the Catacombs. I was surprised to find Derek leaning against a solid rock wall, waiting for me.
“I told you I’d send a guard, but I figured I’d send myself instead. Xavier can take care of the training. After all, he’s better with guns than I am.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, and then forced a smile. “Of course.”
“Did it go well with Ashley?”
“She agreed to your terms. You’ll release her immediately?”
He called after a nearby guard. “See to it that one of the human prisoners is released and sent to my home. Her name is Ashley. Make sure that she is properly guarded. I want her under close watch.”
I waited until the guard left before I spoke my mind. “Is that really necessary? Having her watched like a hawk?”
“She is a hawk.”
I wasn’t amused. “Let’s just go.”
We passed through a long and narrow tunnel lit up with small incandescent bulbs that lined its rocky walls. I had to control my breathing in order to overcome my fear of enclosed spaces. I felt Derek’s hand on my waist.
“You seem so tense, Sofia.”
I didn’t know if it was him or the claustrophobia, but he was right. Either way, I just wanted to get past the tunnel. When I saw a clearing ahead, a sigh of relief escaped my lips. I was about to speed up my pace toward the clearing, but Derek grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him.
“You alright?”
“I just have a lot on my mind.”
He sensed the tense formality with which I was addressing him. He put a foot forward, asserting himself, reminding me of his dominance. “What’s wrong, Sofia?”
I couldn’t really make sense of the conflicting thoughts in my mind. I saw good in him and yet that really didn’t outweigh all
the wicked things I’d seen done at The Shade. How could I even explain to him the struggle I had with trusting what I felt about him even in spite of what I saw around me? I knew that if I was to stick with him, if I was the girl spoken of in the prophecy, something had to change. Things could not remain as they were. Still, at that point, I was nowhere near prepared to discuss that with Derek, so I just breathed deeply. I shut out the tense sensation caused by the two stone walls on either side of me. I tried to relax and smile at him. I shook my head.
“I’m okay, Derek. I just want to get out of this tunnel. Closed spaces unnerve me.”
He narrowed his eyes before nodding. “Let’s get out of here then.” His hand comfortably rested on the small of my back, gently nudging me forward – closer and closer to the small opening that led to the Catacombs.
I didn’t exactly know what to expect upon reaching the end of that tunnel. All I knew about the Catacombs was that it was home to the humans. I was nowhere near prepared for what I saw upon stepping into the clearing. Right in front of me was a thriving community, with people milling all around a giant round pit, the bottom of which I couldn’t quite see as I leaned over the wooden banister that lined the sides of the pit.
The pit had several levels with cave entrances that led to other areas of the Catacombs. Allowing travel from one level to the other were ladders on the walls, while bridges were constructed to go from one side of the pit to the next. I looked up and estimated at least two other levels on top of us. I could barely even count the levels below us.
On the level immediately beneath us, I noticed two children – a boy and a girl. Redheads with big brown eyes. The boy looked older than the girl. He was comforting her. I assumed they were brother and sister. I realized that it was the first time I ever saw children at The Shade.
I looked at Derek, who was standing right next to me, also leaning against the banister. He fondly stared at them, fascination traced in his eyes.
“I had no idea the Catacombs looked like this,” he admitted.
“You’ve never been here before?” I asked, finding it strange that the prince of The Shade never bothered to visit such an important part of his kingdom. Does he not rule over the humans too? Doesn’t he care at all?
He shook his head. “No. I never had a reason to.”
Never had a reason to? Aren’t these people your subjects just as much as the vampires? I held off my questions. It felt like I was about to find out exactly what role humans played at The Shade.
“Sofia?” A familiar voice from a level above called to me.
I followed the sound of the voice and saw Corrine. She caught sight of Derek and seemed to be holding her breath.
“You brought him?”
I saw Derek tense up. It was no secret to me that he and Corrine weren’t exactly the best of friends and it always surprised me how vocal Corrine was about her disdain toward him.
“Wait for me. I’m going to be right down.”
Corrine disappeared and Derek looked at me. “So it was the witch who gave you the idea of coming here?”
“When I came to visit her, she told me that I should come here – to get a clear picture of how the Naturals live.”
“The Naturals and the Migrates…” He winced. He said each word with bitterness – even a hint of spite. I couldn’t help but wonder why. I caught sight once again of the children on the level below. Both had their big brown eyes on us. The little girl clung tightly to her brother. I realized that they were both looking at Derek. They were mortified. The boy whispered something into the girl’s ear and they backed away slowly before completely turning back and running into what I assumed was a tunnel that led to some other section of the pit.
“You should’ve said that his royal highness was coming. We could’ve prepared a warm welcome of sorts. The Elite rarely visit the Catacombs.”
I did a one-eighty and found Corrine standing behind us.
Derek was more reluctant to face the beautiful witch. He slowly twisted around before glaring at Corrine.
“Hello to you too.”
They dueled with glares before both directed their attention toward me.
“So you finally decided to visit the Catacombs.” Corrine slightly chastised.
“Well, there was Vivienne’s memorial… I was adjusting to being back… I…”
“Hush, Sofia. You do have the tendency to ramble when you’re trying to defend yourself.” Corrine eyed me before once again giving Derek a wary glance. “Follow me. There’s someone I’d like for you to meet.”
As Corrine led us along the round ledge we were standing on, I could sense Derek’s discomfort. I wondered if it was difficult for him to be around all those humans. I instinctively grabbed his hand and squeezed. His grip on my hand tightened. To me, the gesture was well understood. I was there for him and he was grateful for it. I looked around me at the place shrouded with darkness.
“How is everyone able to cope without sunlight?” I found myself asking. During the months I stayed with Derek before leaving The Shade, we were given doses of Vitamin D along with other nutrients – I wondered if all humans were given this treatment.
“Most of the people who live here at the Catacombs were born here,” Corrine explained. “It’s hard to miss something they never actually had. They get nourishment of Vitamin D from supplements. The lack of sunlight does weaken them however, in ways that artificial nutrients could never make up for … the average life span of the humans on this island is not long.”
I glanced at Derek, remembering the Sun Room and everything it took just to give him a glimpse of the sun. The lavishness of his penthouse seemed an excessive extravagance compared to the drab living conditions of The Shade’s human slaves.
Corrine went down a spiral wooden staircase leading to the level below. We followed. I could sense curious eyes on us as we trailed behind Corrine who didn’t even bother to check if we were still following her.
“A vampire and his migrate…” a young woman whispered to an elderly one with graying hair.
“Beautiful young woman,” the older woman responded. “Poor thing.”
I knew Derek heard too because his grip on my hand tightened just enough for me to sense his tension, but not enough for it to be painful.
We kept following Corrine as she took a turn toward a tunnel – wider than the one we entered. It was the same tunnel the children had retreated to. We passed several arched doorways. I strained my neck to see what was through them, but only saw darkness. Corrine kept walking until she stopped in front of one of these entrances. We walked in and found the two children we saw earlier bundled up with their mother – a beautiful woman with dark auburn hair and a sad smile. Sorrow filled her eyes. Inside what I assumed was their home, were three cots – very similar to the ones found in the Cells. An old table was positioned in one corner of the room, upon which a single candle flickered.
Corrine must’ve noticed me staring at the candle. “Not all the areas of the Catacombs have electricity - even though The Shade’s power plant wouldn’t even exist without human labor. Those who don’t have electricity get a ration of candles every week – candles that humans also make.” Her eyes were on Derek.
I shifted glances between my two companions and shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “How do they generate electricity?”
Derek answered me this time. “An effort was made to make sure that The Shade was as self-sufficient as possible. The island has its own power plant, farms, factories… made possible by humans who live on the island.”
“When the island is in need of certain expertise,” Corrine added, “the vampires abduct someone who has it. No human abducted has ever been able to leave the island. Until Ben and you…”
At this, I gave Derek a grateful glance, knowing fully the risks he took by letting us go. He didn’t even look my way. Corrine shrugged it off and stepped into the room. The auburn haired woman was whispering consolations to her children before she l
ooked up at us. Fear was in her eyes – magnified tenfold when she saw Derek standing by the door.
“Corrine…” she shook her head, her lips trembling. “Please…”
“Don’t worry, Lily. He’s not here for you or the children.”
Derek flinched. He let go of my hand. I looked up at him and brushed a hand over his elbow before following Corrine inside. He remained by the door.
“I’m Sofia…” I introduced myself, my eyes specifically on the two little children.
“Lily.” She smiled faintly, but she still looked shaken, her eyes flitting from me to Derek. “These are my children. Rob and Madeline.”
“How old are they?” I asked.
She didn’t seem to appreciate my interest in her children. I found that strange because most mothers I knew – Amelia for one – pounced at the chance to talk about their kids. Not Lily. She put her arms around her children and gulped before answering, “Rob is seven. Madeline is five.”
“Relax, honey. She’s the girl I was telling you about,” Corrine tried to soothe her. The information made her even more nervous. Her eyes fell on Derek.
“That means he’s…”
Corrine nodded. “Derek Novak.”
Tears began to show in Lily’s eyes. “I can’t lose my children!”
“Why would you lose your children, Lily? No one’s going to take them from…”
I was silenced by the look of pity she gave me and then her kids. “You don’t understand, Sofia. You’re a Migrate. You weren’t born here. You don’t know what it’s like. I fear for my children, because just like my husband was, they’re beautiful. Beauty isn’t something you want your children to have. Not here at The Shade. Beauty almost always assures death.”
I gave Corrine a questioning look, not quite sure what to make of what I’d just been told. Lily’s husband… was?
“After the prince ordered a halt to all human abductions, one of the vampires saw Lily’s husband, Kiev, working in a factory. She took a liking to him and took him as her slave. He was returned to Lily a few days later as a corpse. Lily’s eldest son, Gavin, has taken his father’s place at the factory,” Corrine explained as she gently brushed her hand over Lily’s hair. She faced the young widow, who was obviously reliving the nightmare of losing her beloved husband and gave a word of assurance. “No one’s going to take Rob and Madeline from you. Not today. Rest assured for now.”
A Shade of Blood Page 23