“I can’t…” I seethed. “I can’t…”
For a moment, I thought she was going to give me another pep talk. They kept telling me that I could take control, that I could get myself together and harness the power. Instead, to my surprise, the Ageless nodded, her eyes glazed over.
“I believe you.”
“Sofia. I need my wife. If you don’t bring me to her or bring her to me… if you keep at this, I swear… I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep myself from burning your realm down.”
Her eyes flickered and she slowly nodded. “I think what’s best for you is to stay here, Derek, but we have interfered with your life long enough. Remember, however, that should you choose to leave, the consequences are on you. If your lack of control destroys Earth, then there’s no one to blame but you.”
I clenched my fists, wondering to myself—like many times before—if I was indeed doing the right thing. Convinced that I was, I nodded. “I need to get home.”
“The Shade—or what’s left of it—is waiting for you. Corrine will take you there.”
Corrine’s eyes widened. “I can’t go back. I don’t want to. Please.”
“You will take Derek through the portal and you will not return until his mission is complete. He will need your powers to neutralize his.”
“Please,” Corrine begged, making me wonder what on earth could’ve possibly broken the woman’s spirit. The witch cowered in front of no one. To see her so shattered made for a fearsome omen of what I was about to see.
The Ageless, however, was unmoved. The silver-haired vixen’s shoulders sagged. “There is no other way, Corrine. He will ruin The Sanctuary if he stays here. We can’t help him anymore. You can. Take him back home.”
I was relieved, but I was also confused. The witches were supposed to be the agents of good—maintaining balance, or so they said—but if there was one thing my stay at their realm had taught me, it was that I couldn’t trust them.
Just like all the other realms, they were looking out for themselves and no one else.
I had no idea what had happened to The Shade, how ruined it probably already was, but one thing I knew for sure was that no matter how magnificent the witches’ realm was, it could never be the kind of paradise my true home was to me.
Chapter 25: Aiden
Clara left after promising that she would return “to see us entertain the Elders”. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I didn’t need Eli’s genius to know that we were being set up for trouble.
I slammed my fists against the dining table we now circled. “What do we know about these creatures?” I asked, terrified by the thought that it was one of these “original vampires,” these “Elders”, who was holding my pregnant daughter captive.
Vivienne shook her head. “None of us have ever been in the presence of the Elder. We were never sure if the Elder was even real, but in hindsight, maybe the Elder had something to do with Derek turning over to the dark side.” I could tell by the expression in her eyes that whatever version of Derek had existed at that time, she hadn’t liked it.
“That was Derek at his worst, his darkest,” Xavier explained. “We were loyal to him. We loved him. He was our leader. But we all feared him.”
I didn’t need to know exactly what he’d done to get a picture of just what sacrifices were made to secure The Shade. I knew my history as a hunter and I knew the thousands of lives that were claimed before The Shade disappeared from the maps. Many companies of hunters—brave warriors—had been lost at the island.
The man my daughter had married was notorious for a reason. That was never a secret to me.
“He never said anything about the Elder? Ever? There must be something—anything—that we know about this creature. Even just tall tales and rumors.”
Vivienne shrugged. “As I said, none of us were even sure that the Elder existed until recently, when he started manifesting himself.”
“I’ve encountered him,” Claudia spoke up. “Once. A long time ago.”
All eyes turned toward the blonde vampire.
Claudia shifted uncomfortably on her feet, almost as if she were afraid we would hurt her.
“You’ve seen the Elder?” Yuri asked. Clearly, even he had never heard of this before.
Claudia shook her head. “No. I don’t think anyone ever has. Not even his children. He is a presence sensed. He is absolute coldness seeping into your bones, freezing you. He is pain. He is fear. I…”
Her eyes were wide with horror. I could only imagine what was going through her mind.
Vivienne was getting impatient. “How did you come to have an encounter with him? Why would you even want to go to him?”
“I never went to him, Vivienne.” Her voice came with a hiss as she uttered Vivienne’s name. “You don’t go to the Elder. He comes to you. When he pleases, and often times, he does it to draw blood. I don’t understand it, but he seems drawn to the darkness of one’s soul. We all have it, I think, and that’s what usually draws his presence.”
“He sounds like the devil himself,” Xavier muttered.
“He might as well be,” Claudia said softly, swallowing hard. Her eyes turned toward Yuri. She was crying out for him to reassure her, to let her know that despite what she was about to reveal, he would still love her.
Yuri had become one of my friends at The Shade, and I knew without a doubt that no matter what, he would still love her. Deeply. Nothing was ever going to change that.
An ache formed in my heart at that realization, because in Yuri and Claudia, I’d always seen myself and Camilla. I found myself wishing that they could survive whatever was to come. I wouldn’t have wished Camilla’s fate and mine on anyone.
“It’s all right, Claudia,” he assured her. “Tell us everything.”
“It was me whom the Elder came to in order to get to Derek. He instructed me on how to conjure the darkness in Derek. The first time the Elder came to me was the worst night of my life. I’ve seen evil in many of its forms, been a victim of it. I’ve even been evil myself, but nothing compares to the Elder. I don’t think Derek ever forgave me for bringing the Elder into his life. I…”
A bitter smile formed on Vivienne’s face. “I’m sure he has, Claudia. If he hadn’t forgiven you, I doubt you’d be alive.” She stood to her full height and nodded in resolution. “None of us are strangers to the atrocities that happened here at The Shade. That’s the past. Let’s leave it there. What we need to deal with now is that a force that is completely unknown to us is about to come to our home. The Elder isn’t just a myth like we once thought he was. He exists and he is not alone.” Vivienne shuddered as the implications of what she was saying sank into her—into all of us.