I didn’t know how, but I could sense his dark delight at my surrender, at my acknowledgment that I was a lesser being than he.
“Listen to me carefully, Camilla, because I will say this only once. You are never to refer to yourself as Ingrid again. You are to play the part of Camilla Claremont. You will earn back the love of your husband and daughter. You will do everything in your power to get back into their good graces. Do you understand me?”
I wanted to object. I wanted to say no, but all I could do was nod.
He didn’t seem to be convinced by my agreement, because before I knew it, something hit me on the arm like a thick whip, burning my skin the moment it touched me. I screamed at the pain and began whimpering, afraid that he would hit me once more. “Wh-what are you?” I stuttered. The response I got was another lash – this time on my thigh, breaking the leather of my pants and burning my skin beneath it. I stifled a scream and bit my lip instead, drawing blood from it.
“Speak again and there’ll be more,” he warned, as he watched me shake beneath him.
I could feel his eyes on me, delighting in watching me suffer.
“You have to get it into your head, Camilla, that Borys Maslen is gone, and with him, Ingrid Maslen. You will serve me better as Camilla Claremont than you ever will as Ingrid. You will heed to my command and use every feminine and maternal instinct you have to once again be a part of the Claremont family.”
I wanted to ask why, but I was afraid to speak. The searing pain in my arm and thigh reminded me that remaining silent was a safer option.
It seemed I didn’t need to ask, because he had a ready answer. “You will be my eyes and my ears once you get them to trust you, and when I command you to, I want you to be ready to kill Sofia. Do you understand?”
I nodded as I tried to stifle the smile that formed on my face, surprised by my own delight and eagerness to kill my own daughter. What an evil creature you’ve become, Camilla.
The dark presence controlling me seemed pleased. I, on the other hand, felt as if I were going crazy.
“You are vulnerable against Aiden. You’re in love with him,” the voice scoffed. “Remember that it doesn’t matter what you feel for him anymore, Camilla. After everything you did, he could never really love you again.”
I feared what he was saying. I already told myself the same thing many times over, but hearing someone else say it out loud was like a slap in the face. Despite my desire to remain strong, I began sobbing. My tears seemed to annoy my new master, because I immediately felt a cold slap on my face – one so powerful, my head began reeling.
He then gave me his final command and threat. “Get a hold of yourself. You’re my slave now, Camilla. Do as I say and you will stay alive and powerful, and I will make sure that your power will increase as your usefulness to me increases. Of course, cross me and it will be the end of you and everyone you love. We both know that there are only two people you love. Aiden Claremont and yourself. So, let’s make things simple: I will kill Aiden Claremont and I will make you watch him die a slow and excruciating death. After watching the man you love die, I will then kill you.”
His laughter echoed in my ear, inside my head, so loudly I was sure my head would burst. Even while his presence was long gone and the moonlight was once again streaming through the window, I could still hear his laughter ringing in my ears. There was no mirth or even amusement in his laughter. All I heard was hatred and spite.
I didn’t know what I’d just encountered. All I knew was that I was a slave to the dark presence and that whoever or whatever it was, it was pure evil.
Chapter 5: Derek
How is this possible? How are they coming at us without getting detected by the human world?
I stood on top of one of the Crimson Fortress’ towers, my eyes fixed on what we were up against. Over the horizon, I could see the boundary that separated where the spell stopped and where it started. I could see the human world outside The Shade where the sun still shone. I realized that the sun hadn’t risen yet. They meant to attack in the wee hours of the morning. My gut clenched. All the while, we’d been expecting them to attack at night.
I was surrounded by my most powerful warriors, who had spent centuries fighting for the safety and protection of The Shade. We were all well aware that on this day, we were up against forces far more powerful than ones we had fought before. Helicopters were approaching – about five of them – ready to fly over the fortress and land on the island.
“We’re not properly equipped for this,” Xavier, one of The Shade’s strongest warriors, stated the obvious.
I frowned, wondering how on earth we could take the helicopters down before they landed on the island. We had firepower on the island, but none of it could take down a helicopter. I realized the danger we were in. They brought guns to a swordfight.
“They most likely have witches working for them. That’s how they’re avoiding human detection,” Cameron said from behind me.
I was taken aback by this. Witches were known to resist vampires. That was why Cora, the original witch who agreed to protect The Shade four hundred years ago, was such an exception. Because she was in love with me, she became the first among the witches to ever side with our kind and all her descendants followed her lead. It’s what made The Shade so unique. If the other covens had witches under their wing, why didn’t they just create sanctuaries of their own that their witches could protect? Why go to all this trouble trying to take over The Shade?
Of course, I didn’t have time to figure out their motivations and intentions. Helicopters full of vampires were coming toward The Shade at full speed. I was beating myself up since I wasn’t prepared for this.
I braced myself for what was ahead and began pointing at people and barking out commands. “We need to assemble squads for every helicopter that’s coming our way. We need to be there whenever they land, wherever they land. Xavier! Cameron! Yuri! Claudia! Lead one squad each. I will lead another one. We can’t have them take over the fortress! Liana, make sure Vivienne and Sofia are safe!”
What followed was complete and utter chaos. We were nowhere near prepared for this. I shuddered at the slightest idea of what kind of weapons our opponents had brought with them.
I rounded up my own squad of warriors and began pointing out to each leader which helicopters they were in charge of. I kept my eye on the helicopter assigned to us and began following its direction. It was headed right for a wide open field. I immediately sped toward that area, trusting that my squad was following right after me.