Is this to be my life? To rise up only to be brought back down to my knees, shattered into shards?
We’d only been at the hut for a few nights, but it was time for me to leave. Ready or not, I couldn’t remain stagnant on this beach any longer. There wasn’t a second of the day when my mind wasn’t plagued with thoughts of Sofia and our son. Ben. That was the name Sofia had wanted for our first boy. I needed to reach Aiden and work out a plan.
I felt sand beneath my back; the waves had carried me back to shore. I sat up and someone called my name. Corrine approached and sat down next to me.
“Derek, I know how hard this is for you. But you know better than I that you can’t keep delaying this decision. The longer Sofia is in the clutches of the Elders… Look, either take Rose with you to Hawk Headquarters—”
“You know that’s impossible. Her grandfather may be there, but that place is still under the control of Arron, whom we obviously can’t trust.”
“Then leave her here with me and Ibrahim.”
I snorted, then motioned to stand up and walk back to the hut, aware that Rose was now alone with Ibrahim. But Corrine held on to my arm and yanked me back down.
“If Ibrahim wanted to harm or kidnap Rose, he could do it even in your presence. There’s nothing stopping him from grabbing her right from your arms and vanishing back to The Sanctuary. I know Ibrahim. And I trust him. He’s here to help us. And you need to get to Aiden as soon as possible.”
“How can you expect me to trust him when his mistress just…” I trailed off, memories of that night threatening to choke me up again.
“The Ageless came for Sofia. Not your children. I’m telling you, you won’t find anyone more capable than Ibrahim of protecting your daughter and me. If Ibrahim says that Rose will be safe, then she will be. She will have the protection of the witches’ realm, because Ibrahim is acting as The Sanctuary’s emissary. Whoever crosses him will answer to the Ageless herself.”
I looked into Corrine’s brown eyes and reluctantly saw truth in them. Ibrahim could outmatch any vampire, Hawk or hunter. I remained silent for a few minutes, diverting my attention back to the ocean. The sun had now risen above the horizon, warming my skin.
I was about to speak again when Ibrahim appeared next to us. He was carrying Rose, who had now woken up. He handed her to me and said, “You can go to the hunters, Derek. I swear that Rose won’t be harmed.”
I looked down into my baby’s beautiful green eyes and ached inside. She looked up at me with wide-eyed innocence. I kissed her warm cheeks and stroked her fine black hair, then pulled her close against my chest. If anything should happen to you while I’m gone, I will have nothing left to live for.
Chapter 3: Sofia
Once Abby had almost finished sucking the young man dry, the male vampire grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room, leaving Abby alone to finish her feast.
“One thing you would do well to learn sooner rather than later is that we Elders are not the most patient of creatures,” he said, tightening his grip on my arm.
My heart began racing. So this is an Elder. He led me along the hallway, turned right into another chamber and slammed the door behind us. It was much larger than the last room and bare inside save for a table on which rested an assortment of whips. I struggled against his grasp but he held me tight.
He forced me to the ground, ripped the back of my dress open and poured a cold liquid onto my skin, which began stinging. Then came the lashes. One after another, beating against my spine and tearing into my flesh.
“Stop… Stop… Please!” I could barely utter the words through the pain.
He stopped only after my back had become numb from the torture. Then he grabbed me and pulled me to a standing position next to him.
“Now, you need to heal. But first I must change vessel. All this unnecessary exertion has rendered this old one useless.”
He dragged me out of the room, back toward the black marble staircases. Despite my stumbling and tripping against him, we climbed down several more levels.
We entered yet another chamber, this time with a young blonde vampire wearing a tattered red dress. The Elder sat me down on the ground, removed his black cloak, and gave it to me to hold. Then, without warning, his decrepit form collapsed in a heap. The female vampire let out a bloodcurdling scream, then her neck clicked, her face contorted and she stood up as if nothing had happened. She walked over to me and grabbed the black cloak, throwing it over her shoulders. Then she pulled me to my feet just as harshly as the man now dead on the floor had set me down.
“That old vessel was second-hand already. This one is much more comfortable. Now, let’s fix you.”
The lashes and the shock of what I’d just witnessed made me dizzy. I tried to steady my legs but fell to the floor and everything faded to black.
****
When I came to, I found myself lying on a cot in a room not dissimilar from the one we had left Abby in. My back was still causing me so much agony that it sent my head reeling again.
Sitting in the corner was an old woman—a human, I knew instantly. Her blood smelled irresistible. Sweet. Succulent. The Elder sat at the opposite end of the room, watching me.
“This is an immune. We haven’t turned her yet, as you can see. I’m sure you’ve noticed how much sweeter and richer her blood smells? You want to stop the pain? You drink.”
The old woman whimpered and cowered in the corner.
“I can’t,” I said through gritted teeth. It took every ounce of restraint to not fly at the woman’s throat.
The Elder stood up and dragged me closer to the woman, pushing my head down so her scent was now intoxicating me. I shook my head violently.
“No… No… Get off of me!” I stamped down hard on the Elder’s foot, making her lose balance. This gave me the five seconds I needed to flee through the open door.
I had no idea where I was going and the pain slowed me down. I headed back toward the staircases and then upward, hoping to lose myself in the maze of dark hallways and chambers. But it didn’t take long until I bumped into a second vampire—another Elder inhabiting another old vessel. I could tell this time due to the yellowish tinge of the body.
He caught my arm and pulled me down, holding me against the stairs until the Elder chasing me had caught up.
“Thank you,” she said, addressing him. “I’ll take charge from here.” Then she turned to me. Her eyes rolled in their sockets and her mouth split into a lopsided grin. “Very well. You won’t cooperate? We’ll just have to make you our very own little puppet then.”