A Vial of Life Read online

  The vampire took a seat in the chair next to her. “The reason for that is simple,” he replied, leaning closer to her. He gazed at her thoughtfully, even reaching out to tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. “You see, Amaya, I could have done that. As you say, it would have been easy. But that’s just the problem. It would have been too easy.” He shook his head. “No. When I requested you to burn down the buildings, I had already resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn’t have time to pull off their end the way I wanted it. I just satisfied myself with the knowledge that, once I’d gained more favors from Nuriya, I’d be able to return a second time to finish the job the way it should be done. But now that we find ourselves with more time, I need to end the trio who caused the most suffering to my father, in a way that does justice to him… And really, there’s only one way to do that.”

  “What exactly are you thinking?” Amaya asked, her eyes widening.

  A small smile crept across Jeramiah’s lips. The way it split his pale face made him look snakelike. “I think I’ll leave the exact details of their demise to the hunters. They’ve been incredibly patient in waiting outside the island’s boundary for so long. I think it’s about time someone threw them a bone… Don’t you?”

  Chapter 16: Ben

  No. No!

  My mind spiraled into a panic as Jeramiah left his seat and walked over to the mantelpiece, where he picked up an old piece of parchment and a quill.

  “I need ink,” he muttered, addressing the witch. He pulled up a chair and sat down at the table. Amaya manifested a bottle of black ink and planted it down on the table next to him. He dipped his quill into the ink and began to scrawl:

  “Before 3 PM this afternoon, the king and queen of The Shade, along with the ex-hunter Aiden Claremont, will be waiting on the cluster of rocks southwest of your ships and outside The Shade’s boundary. Be there to capture them, or ignore this message at your own risk.

  Signed,

  An interested third party.”

  “Before 3 PM,” Amaya murmured, reading the note over Jeramiah’s shoulder. “That doesn’t give us much time at all… And the hunters… Jeramiah, is this really the best way to do this?”

  Jeramiah’s face hardened. “It was the bullet of a hunter that killed my father.”

  I didn’t know how he knew about the circumstances of his father’s death—I could only assume that he had learned what had happened from the Nasiris. Somehow, he had formed the conclusion that Lucas Novak had been the victim. I didn’t understand why the jinn would lead him to believe this—or perhaps they hadn’t, and Jeramiah’s belief was borne from the pain of losing his father—but whatever had happened, my cousin was convinced that my family were wrongdoers who needed to be destroyed. I wondered if he even knew that Lucas had been shot while attempting to murder my mother.

  Amaya now looked past the point of arguing, resigned to the fact that there was no budging her vampire companion from his bloodthirsty course.

  “All right… well, what would you like me to do next?” she asked.

  Jeramiah folded up his note and placed the parchment in the witch’s hand. “First of all, you will deliver this to the hunters,” he said. “Take it directly to the captain of any one of those ships and make sure that he sees it. Then you’ll need to return to me as fast as you can.”

  Amaya frowned. “But if I leave the boundary, how will I reenter the island?”

  “Good point,” Jeramiah replied, raising a hand to his chin and stroking it. “I will swim to the boundary—in a straight line from the Port. Just make sure you’re visible, and I’ll spot you. I’ll reach out and hopefully I’ll be able to pull you back through.”

  “Then you will travel with me now, I assume,” the witch said. “I’ll transport us by magic and drop you off in the water near the boundary.”

  “No,” Jeramiah said. “I’ll head there myself… This could be my last run through the island. But don’t worry. I’ll make sure that you’re not waiting long—if at all—for me.”

  She nodded, sliding the parchment beneath her sleeve. “And after that?”

  Jeramiah paused before his voice lowered. “After that, we just need to ensure that the promised guests show up on time for their party.”

  Chapter 17: Ben

  Amaya recast the invisibility spell and vanished with the note, leaving Jeramiah and me standing alone in the room.

  My eyes turned on the vampire. Anger welled within me. He moved to the duo of candles sitting on the ledge by the shuttered window and snuffed them both out, plunging the room into darkness. Then he left the living area and let himself out of the front door. I hurried after him, my eyes boring into the back of his head as he stepped outside and paused briefly, drawing in a deep breath of fresh air. He gazed around the dark, empty field—at least, it was empty for him.

  The moment he stepped out, the crowd of ghosts’ attention shot toward him. They began to approach, keeping a distance of about five feet as they circled around him, and gazed at him expectantly. I guessed that they were all waiting for the “man with the pipe” to start playing again. As shrill as that tune sounded up close, they seemed to genuinely get pleasure from it. Perhaps I would too if I’d been a ghost as long as them.

  Jeramiah ventured forward, away from the farmhouse and out onto the soil. He picked up speed and began sprinting toward the woods.

  “Bastard,” I cursed, running in his wake.

  “Hey! What are you doing?” one of the ghosts called to me—the air stewardess, Lucinda—as I caught up with Jeramiah, but I ignored her.

  My arms outstretched, I motioned to grip Jeramiah by the neck. My fingers passed through him like air. I balled up my hands into fists and tried to punch him, push him, make him stumble, do anything to slow him in his deadly race, but I was as useless as vapor.

  “You’re just the snake your father was,” I spat, wishing to God that he could hear me.

  I leveled with him as he continued running at breakneck speed. He’d now entered the woods and was whipping through the redwood trees.

  I didn’t know exactly how he was planning to drag my parents and grandfather out of the island. He would make the witch do it somehow. I guessed they’d catch my family when there were no other witches around. Amaya would swoop in and… I need to warn them! But how?

  My entire being swelled with aggravation. What is the point of this damned existence? I would be just as useful to my family if I really were dead. The thought that I had the knowledge to prevent my parents and grandfather from becoming victims of Jeramiah’s deadly plan, while being utterly unable to warn them about it, was leading me toward the brink of insanity.

  3 PM. Even that time was uncertain. Jeramiah had said that my family would be taken to the rocks before 3 PM. What time is it now? I didn’t even know. How long would Amaya take in delivering the message to the hunters? When would she be back, and when exactly was she going to attempt to steal away my parents and grandfather?

  I attempted to bring some order to my frenzied mind, but being about two feet away from Jeramiah as he continued hurtling forward wasn’t helping. His presence was only aggravating me further and making it more difficult to think clearly. I hung back and let him continue without me. It wasn’t like I could do anything by following him anyway.

  I had heard and seen enough. Now I had to rack my brain as to what I could possibly do. I kept moving forward, though at a slower pace as I tried to clear my mind of panic and make way for logic. But my thoughts were frozen on where Jeramiah and Amaya were right now and what they might be doing. Could Amaya have delivered the note already?

  Then, as I passed by the Great Dome, a light switched on and blasted through my foggy mind.

  I recalled what Jeramiah had tried to do in there less than an hour ago, before my parents and their council had caused an interruption. He had asked the witch to put him into a dreamful slumber, and he had been convinced that, if Lucas still roamed the earth as a ghost, he would be able t
o sense his presence.

  A dreamful slumber. My cousin’s request played over in my head.

  Thanks to my encounter with Ernest back in The Tavern, I already knew that ghosts could intercept others’ dreams. They could peer into the living’s bubbles of sleep as though they were peering through a window… But could that really be a two-way window? Was it really possible for a living, breathing person to communicate with a ghost via a dream? It seemed unbelievable but, as I reminded myself with a grimace, I wasn’t exactly a stranger to fantastical occurrences. Besides, I didn’t know how else Jeramiah had been expecting to be aware of Lucas’s presence.

  But now, I didn’t have time for doubts. Time was slipping through my fingers like sand. For all I knew, Amaya could have finished her first task already and be on her way back to the boundary of the island, where Jeramiah would be waiting…

  This was the only glimmer of hope I had and, as faint as it was, in my present state, trying was the only thing that I could do.

  Chapter 18: Jeramiah

  I’d only made it halfway to the beach when I was met with an unexpected, though by no means unwelcome, surprise. I came across Amaya in the woods.

  “That was fast,” I remarked, half delighted and half confused. “Why have you removed your invisibility?” I was still invisible and, if I hadn’t noticed her, we would have missed each other. “And how did you get back inside the boundary without me?”

  Amaya shook her head. “No,” she breathed. “I haven’t even made it out of this island yet. The Shade’s witches have put up an extra boundary, barricading land from the ocean. I cannot even reach the waves. They must have done it as a response to the merfolk infestation. I tried to break through it, but I’m simply not strong enough. It’s the combined effort of at least half a dozen witches. I lifted my invisibility spell hoping that I would come across you on my way back.”

  I cursed beneath my breath. Amaya hadn’t been able to break through the outer boundary of the island either. Hence we had waited for Benjamin’s submarine to come along in order to gain initial access to the island.

  I should have considered the possibility that they would put up a second boundary. Although it had been a thrill to infest their beautiful waters with the vile sea creatures— something that hadn’t been difficult to do with Amaya’s beckoning potion and our ability to pull them inside—now it was working against me.

  I reached up to my hair and raked my fingers through it. “Let’s think,” I said, breathing out slowly. “There must be a way around this.”

  Amaya held her breath.

  “There has to be someone on this island who has permission to pass in and out,” I mused. “And if anyone has that permission, who else would it be but the rulers—Derek and Sofia Novak?”

  “I agree they’d be the obvious choice,” Amaya replied, tight-lipped.

  “So,” I went on, “only a slight change of course is in order… Our targets must be captured sooner than we had planned.”

  Chapter 19: Ben

  A dream. I had to intercept a dream. It could be anyone’s dream. I was too desperate to care. But who might be dreaming at this time of day? There had to be someone in The Shade taking an afternoon nap.

  I left the Great Dome and headed toward the Residences. Though, after Kailyn’s death and the fires that had shaken the island overnight, I was doubtful that any supernaturals would be sleeping. Still, it felt like the logical place to start. But as I arrived at the courtyard outside the Sanctuary where the funeral had taken place—now cleared of people, though still flooded with flowers—I stopped short.

  The Sanctuary. That was where my aunt had been resting. My now human aunt, who had just recently given birth. If anyone was likely to be taking an afternoon nap right now on this island, it would be her. Plus, she also had psychic abilities. Maybe that would make it easier for me to get through to her. I changed course abruptly and ran headfirst through the door of the witch’s temple.

  I hurried to the room where I had found Vivienne resting with her baby, but as I arrived outside, my heart already sank in disappointment. Two voices emanated from the bedroom—Vivienne’s, and that of my uncle. I pushed my head through the door all the same, to verify that yes, she was awake, sitting upright on the bed and feeding her beautiful baby, while Xavier sat by her side and they talked in hushed tones.

  Dammit.

  Still, although she wasn’t sleeping, Vivienne was prone to prophetic visions even when awake… Perhaps, just perhaps, she might sense me… I moved further into the room and spoke her name, walked up to her bed and tried to touch her arm; anything to get her attention. But she didn’t respond in the slightest.

  I had to find someone else. And fast. I resumed my original plan—head to the Residences. I darted through the trees and, once I neared within twenty feet of the burnt wreck where my parents’—and my—penthouse had once been, I lowered myself to the ground in front of a tree and leaned my back against its thick trunk.

  Then I took my thoughts back in time to when I had shared a dream with Ernest. I closed my eyes, as I had done then. Slowly, I cleared the debris from my mind, even as it felt like the most impossible task in the world. Ernest had been adamant about that—that my mind be relaxed and open, to make it receptive to the minds of others.

  I wasn’t sure how close I had to be to a person to pick up on their dream, but as I kept my eyes sealed closed, forcing myself deeper and deeper into relaxation, I was relieved to find that it wasn’t long before I encountered my first dream.

  The vision of a grand hall lit by flaming torchlight trickled into my mind’s eye. Its walls were covered with crimson draperies, and the chamber was bare except for a long table that ran down its center. Piled up on the table’s surface was enough food to feed an army. Despite row upon row of steaming pots, there was only one seat that was taken, at the head of the table—by an ogre. A female ogre… Bella. Although there appeared to be savories aplenty—I was certain that I even spotted some fried human toes—a towering cake was set in front of her. It looked like a wedding cake—with pure white and light pink icing—and it was so high that it reached the height of her chin.

  Cupping her hands, she dug both of them into the sides of the cake at once, withdrawing two sticky handfuls. Raising one hand, she slapped its contents into her mouth…

  I lifted my head and opened my eyes, shaking away the dream. What is it with me and ogres’ dreams? I’d thought to myself that absolutely anyone would do, but something told me that competing with that cake for Bella’s attention would be a losing battle.

  No. I had to find someone else. But the fact that I had managed to intercept this first dream so quickly gave me hope that I wouldn’t have to wait too long before another one came along… and this time, hopefully not Brett’s.

  I leaned my head against the bark and closed my eyes again.

  My hope of finding another dream soon—and an ogre-free dream at that—was not dashed, but the second dream I came upon I spent even less time in than Bella’s. It must have been the dream of either Claudia or Yuri—since those were the two figures who’d been writhing around on a silk-adorned, four-poster bed. Reminding myself that Claudia was pregnant, I guessed that it was hers. It made sense for her to be taking an afternoon nap.

  Trying to forget what had just blasted through my head, I settled myself against the tree and closed my eyes again for a third time. Hopefully, this time would be lucky.

  I saw nothing but blackness for the next five minutes, or at least what felt like five minutes. I was beginning to feel tense, wondering if it had been a grave mistake to dismiss the previous two dreams so quickly. Perhaps I should have tried to communicate while I’d had the chance. I had just taken it for granted that a third one wouldn’t be far away… And then it arrived. A third vision took over my consciousness.

  Stretching out all around me was a dark ocean, its waves glistening beneath a starry night sky. The moon was full, and roaming along the beach was a lone fig
ure. It was our beach—The Shade’s beach, just near the port—and the figure… the figure was River.

  Would she really be sleeping at this time? Last I knew, the humans were not aware of the devastation from last night. That would not have kept her up worrying. And the last time I had seen her, she had certainly looked worn out and tired.

  She was wrapped up in a thick shawl which she held close to her chest as she gazed out into the distance. Her eyes were fixed intently on a spot above the waves. As I followed her gaze, I realized what she was staring at—the shiny roof of a submarine, partially visible in the water. It was moving quickly toward the shore—so fast it was almost as though the vessel possessed supernatural speed. It arrived at the Port and stopped by the jetty. River’s breathing quickened. She ran toward it. As the hatch opened, a head of dark hair emerged above the roof.

  “Ben!” she shouted.

  It was a man climbing out of the submarine and as he turned around to face her… the man was me. The other me’s face lit up as River closed the distance between the two of us and she threw herself at me. I stared as my lips locked with hers, my arms engulfing her small waist and pulling her flush against me. My hands moved up her body and into her thick, dark hair as we kissed with all the passion of a newly-wedded couple.

  “River,” the other me said, detaching my lips from hers to catch a breath.

  Tears burned in the corners of her eyes even as she smiled. She buried her head against my chest and whispered, “I was afraid, Ben. So afraid. I thought that you might never return. How are you, and what took you so long?”

  “I’m okay,” the other me replied, cupping her face in my hands. “I was away a long time because the Elder was stubborn. But I’m finally rid of him. Everything is all right now.”