A Shade of Blood Read online

  I watched the submarine fade off into the distance. Just like that, she was gone. My one ray of light amidst the eternal darkness of The Shade was gone forever, leaving me with nothing left to do other than retreat right back into the black night I’d spent my immortality failing to escape.

  Chapter 4: Sofia

  I was surrounded by darkness and the loud and steady drumming of a beating heart. It got increasingly loud; so loud that I was certain my head would explode from the bass beat resounding… continuously echoing… I couldn’t understand what was going on. I couldn’t see, feel, taste or smell anything. My one active sense was my hearing and it was overwhelmed by the noise of that mysterious heartbeat.

  I was certain it was driving me right to the brink of insanity, when a sudden burst of light distracted me, threatening to blind me. It took a couple of seconds for my eyes to adjust to the light. That’s when I saw him. Derek. He was staring at me, face pale and eyes listless. He fell to the ground, piercing blue eyes open and completely blank. I realized what caused his demise when I saw the gaping hole where his heart used to be.

  I realized that the echoing heartbeat was coming from behind me … coming closer and closer… then came the sound of a chuckle and the feel of a cold, menacing air breathing down my neck. It was followed by a whisper – no, a hiss – barely audible. Yet fear began to envelop me and panic ran through my veins, because I heard the snake’s words loud and clear.

  “You’re next.”

  Then came the sound of crashing waves.

  It was the high tide that woke me up and rescued me from the deafening sound of Derek’s heartbeat and the foul sound of the words that came out of the snake’s mouth. My pulse was double its normal rate and I could barely breathe. At first, I thought my face was wet only due to the warm wave of salt water that had just washed over me. I was mistaken, because I quickly realized that tears were streaming down my face.

  One name was echoing through my mind: Derek.

  I’d been so used to waking up in his bed that I found my surroundings alarming. I blinked several times before I realized that the sun was just about to rise over the horizon.

  The sun.

  It was enough to jolt me into the reality that I was no longer at The Shade, because back at the island, the sun never rose. It was an endless night. Had it not been for my nightmare, I would’ve adored that sunrise. However, my anxiety about Derek stole all the joy away from my reunion with the sun.

  Although the sun failed to ease my nerves, it did succeed in deadening my initial confusion and bringing me back to my senses. It returned to my usual state of being: excruciatingly aware.

  Back at The Shade, Corrine, the witch maintaining the island’s protective spell, began to take a special interest in me after Lucas first attacked me and killed Gwen. Having been a psychology major before the vampires whisked her to The Shade, she diagnosed me with low latent inhibition, or LLI. I was unable to filter out most external stimuli. It meant that I could sense everything, feel everything. I wondered if that was the reason my mother went insane and was taken away from me – apparently, only people with a certain level of IQ could handle LLI without going mad. I was used to my condition now. It wasn’t as overwhelming as it used to be when I was younger.

  The sight of the sun’s oranges and yellows slowly rising over the ocean’s blues and greens; the sound of seagulls cawing and the waves crashing against the shore; the salty aftertaste of sea water mixed with tears; the feel of the soft sand beneath my feet and the cool breeze blowing against my skin; the scent of the ocean mixing with the fresh morning air; I was aware of it all.

  I was aware that someone was approaching me from behind.

  Ben, I’m sure.

  Sensation after sensation assaulted me, and yet my mind was still predominantly fixed on the way Derek had looked in my dream – pale, distant… heartless. Trembling, I pulled my knees against my chest, gathering the beach sand beneath my heels.

  “Derek, please be alright. Stay alright…” I whispered, hoping the morning breeze would carry the message back to The Shade and let him know I was still thinking of him.

  “Why all the whispering?”

  Ben looked at ease and relaxed for the first time since we discovered each other back at The Shade. Still, even with the lighter tone, every word he spoke came with a heaviness I couldn’t completely shake. He plopped himself down next to me.

  “Where do you think we are?” he asked.

  “We’re in Cancun.” I had no doubt about it. “It makes sense for them to return us where they found us.”

  Le Meridien. That was the resort we were staying at when we got abducted by the vampires. The Hudsons were able to afford the long-awaited vacation because of the substantial sum of money my father sent to support me. The last time I saw him was when he left me under the care of his best friend – Ben’s father, Lyle Hudson. That was eight years ago. The only clue I had that he was still alive somewhere was the quarterly check he sent the Hudsons to continue caring for me. The check wasn’t even sent in my name, almost like a taunt – a painful reminder that my own father had willfully forgotten my name.

  Memories of our vacation spent on the sugary Mediterranean beaches of Mexico felt like they happened a lifetime ago – to a different version of myself. The jealousy I felt over Ben dating the gorgeous blonde, Tanya Wilson, seemed frivolous and shallow. Even my bitterness toward my parents seemed to matter less in light of what I’d been through.

  I looked at Ben, remembering a time when I practically worshipped the ground he walked on. My hot and popular quarterback best friend, with his charming smile and sun-kissed skin … The young man sitting next to me was nothing like that.

  “What do we do now?” I asked.

  We were so bent on escaping The Shade, we never actually thought about what we would do once we got out. It took at least half a minute before Ben eventually responded with a shrug.

  “For now, I don’t think there’s anything left to do other than go home.”

  “Right,” I nodded, wondering to myself exactly where home was. The idea of going back to suburban California, back to the Hudsons’ family home, made me sick to my stomach. That place never felt like home to me. “But I don’t think I’m ready to go back just yet, Ben.”

  I was relieved when he nodded and said, “I feel the same.”

  A comfortable silence followed, both of us focusing on the sun and its slow, steady rise. The view was magnificent, but it wasn’t enough of a distraction to ease all the conflicting thoughts roaming around in my head.

  “Perhaps we should stay here for a day or two, gather our wits about us …” Ben suggested, “Then we can go home.”

  “Sounds okay to me.”

  I then paid more attention to what I was wearing. The bikini and the cover-up was the exact same outfit I had been wearing when Lucas took me from the beach and brought me to The Shade. I checked out what Ben was wearing – a black vest and red board shorts. I wondered if that was what he had on when he was taken from the beach. Did they return us here with nothing but the clothes on our backs?

  As if he was reading my mind, a grin formed on Ben’s face. “Relax,” he said, but then a grim expression quickly replaced his smile. “They didn’t leave us empty-handed.” He nodded toward a spot further down the beach.

  I followed his gaze and was able to make out a black backpack on the sand. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was bewildered by the scowl on Ben’s face. Why do you seem so ticked off? You should be happy they didn’t send us here empty-handed.

  “Have you seen what’s in it?”

  He shook his head. “I’m not exactly excited to find out what I now owe them.”

  You and your ego. It was just like Ben to be too proud to accept help from anybody. Although, of course, the fact that this help was coming from the vampires who put him through hell made the whole thing much worse. The horrors he went through at The Shade constantly loomed over him… over us.

&nbs
p; “Let’s just see what we have to work with.” I quickly walked over to the backpack, more concerned about our current predicament than any broken pride I might have over accepting help from the vampires.

  I already reached the pack when I realized that Ben didn’t even bother to follow me. I knelt on the ground and checked the bag’s contents. There were only a few items: two sets of clothes – one for Ben, one for me – a large wad of cash and a sealed envelope with my name on it. Satisfied that we had enough to get by, I closed the bag and slung it over my shoulder before heading back to Ben.

  “So?” he asked.

  “We have clothes and probably enough cash to get us on a first class flight from Mexico to… I don’t know… India? Round trip. Twice.”

  I was expecting him to at least be somewhat relieved, but no… All he did was scoff at the generous sum we’d been given.

  “They throw us their scraps and expect us to be grateful for them. That’s nowhere near enough considering what they put us through.”

  I knew he was right and I wanted to be on his side, but no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t bring myself to hate The Shade as much as he did. At that point, I didn’t dare ask myself why.

  “So that’s all there is?” Ben asked, glaring at the backpack as though it contained deadly venom.

  I thought about the envelope addressed to me. Then I nodded.

  “Yeah. That’s it.”

  A tense moment ensued before he kicked the sand beneath his feet and said through gritted teeth, “Fine. Let’s go and indulge ourselves, using the oh-so-generous fortune they sent us.”

  As he headed off toward the luxurious resorts that lined the white sandy beaches, I lingered behind long enough to look back at the ocean and whisper, “Thank you, Derek.”

  Chapter 5: Derek

  Focus, Derek. Ignore everything.

  I stood still and upright, my feet shoulder-width apart. My left hand kept a relaxed grip on my silver bow’s handle. I retrieved an arrow from the quiver slung across my bare back.

  Drown everything out. All that matters now is that you hit the target.

  Beads of sweat were trickling down my temples. I’d been at this all night. I started with boxing before moving on to sword practice, then firearms practice, and eventually every other training the Crimson Fortress’ grounds had to offer until I reached the archery range.

  From the corner of my eye, I could make out the thick walls of the Crimson Fortress towering at least a hundred feet above me. They surrounded the island, protecting us from everyone who sought to invade us throughout the past centuries. The mere thought of the towering fortress and all its fortifications threatened to bring back a slew of dark memories that I’d long wanted to forget. I cleared my throat and refocused.

  Shut it out. Don’t let the past haunt you. Not now.

  I shut my eyes as I nocked the arrow and positioned its shaft onto the arrow rest. I took a deep breath.

  Let your instincts take over.

  I positioned the weapon to hit the target that I couldn’t even see. Using my back muscles, I pulled my right elbow backwards until my right hand was placed firmly against my jaw. I held my stance for a few seconds, trusting my instincts to aim right.

  Then came the release. The arrow pierced through the cold night air and I heard a loud thud. Before I could even open my eyes to check if I’d actually hit my mark, I heard something that took me aback. From behind me came the sound of applause.

  I opened my eyes and saw the arrow had indeed hit the bull’s eye, cutting right through the first two arrows I shot before it. I longed for the sense of satisfaction that came with a shot like that. Nothing. It only served as a cruel reminder that most of what I knew about combat, I had learned from hunters – back when I was one of them, the time before I became the Lord of vampires and Prince of The Shade.

  “Well done, your highness,” the familiar voice of Cameron Hendry, with his thick Scottish accent, boomed through the training grounds. “It seems four hundred years of being the Sleeping Beauty has not dulled your fighting skills one bit.”

  I tensed. The last thing I wanted now was company and it seemed I had an entire flank of soldiers surrounding me. I tried to relax as I faced my good friend. Cameron and his wife, Liana, were two of The Shade’s fiercest warriors and had both fought and bled with me many times in the battlefield. The Hendry clan represented one of the few clans among the Elite that I trusted with my life.

  “Hendry.” I nodded his way. “Up and about so early?”

  “Early?” he scoffed, his red hair messed up and tousled as if he had just tumbled out of bed. “If The Shade had sun, it’d be midday. Yuri says you’ve been using every single weapon we have available to murder some unknown force for the past eighteen hours. What or whom are you planning to kill, Derek?”

  “Midday, huh?” I asked, quick to change the subject. “Since when do we start training troops at midday?”

  “Truth be told, we haven’t trained much since the war ended and you went off to sleep.” The large man, only twenty-eight years old when he was turned, threw his arms up in the air with a shrug. “There hasn’t been a major attack on The Shade since your witch friend, Cora, kept it hidden with her curse.”

  My jaw tightened. “That has to change. We won’t be safe for long. We can’t afford to have untrained troops. Our adversaries are innovating their weapons, developing their skills, while we sit here, lazy and lounging around like there won’t ever be a tomorrow.”

  Concern sparked in Cameron’s brown eyes. He stepped forward and spoke in a low tone – just loud enough for only me to hear.

  “What’s going on, Derek?”

  “I remain Commander-in-Chief of The Shade’s military force. Am I correct?”

  “Of course,” he nodded.

  “Well, as of this day, the initiative starts. Within the next couple of weeks, I expect every single vampire living on this God-forsaken island to be drafted for duty.” If I weren’t in such a sour mood, I would’ve been unable to keep myself from letting out a large guffaw at the way Cameron’s face contorted with shock. But I was dead serious. I stood to my full height, summoning all the power I knew I had over every single citizen of The Shade. “That’s what’s going on, Cameron.” I looked at all the men listening in on our conversation. They were a sorry bunch to look at; weak and withered by time. “Does anyone dare object?”

  I was met with downcast stares and a tense silence.

  I smirked. “Of course not.”

  Chapter 6: Derek

  Steady footsteps echoed through the torch-lit corridors of the Crimson Fortress’ west tower. I was discussing with Cameron what had to be done over the next few weeks as we made our way to the Great Dome, where most of our military strategic planning was done. The west tower, standing as high as one hundred and fifty feet and roofed with pointed cross-arches, was one of the first buildings erected in the fortress and had already witnessed many battles in defense of the island.

  “We’ll need to gather the Elite Council and the Knights to make sure that everyone is on the same page and knows what we are trying to accomplish.”

  The Elite Council was composed of twenty highly esteemed individuals who represented each of the Elite’s clans. Liana, Cameron’s wife, was one of them and so was my twin sister, Vivienne. The knights, on the other hand, were members of the Elite’s clans who had enlisted as part of The Shade’s military force. They composed mostly of the high-ranking officers in our garrisons. As far as I knew, we had twenty-one knights.

  Cameron met my gaze as if to check that I was being serious. “Not many of them will understand, Derek. The Shade has become a smaller version of Ancient Rome. We’ve grown complacent and drunk with power… Some of the Elite call our citizens the untouchables.”

  “And you agree?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “We’ve had it good for too long. The tides always turn eventually.”

  “Exactly. So you understand why we must prepare
our people for that time when the tides turn?”

  “Of course. We fought side-by-side a long time ago. You know how I recognize it when the winds speak of battle. I’m just telling you the situation as it is. Not many will understand.”

  “We’ll make them understand.” I said through gritted teeth. “There is no choice.”

  Before Cameron could respond, I heard a familiar, shrill voice echoing through cavernous corridors.

  “Derek! What do you think you’re doing?!”

  I turned to find my twin sister, Vivienne, marching at full speed toward me. It was easy to see how furious she was. Vivienne was both feared and respected as the Seer of The Shade. Many of her visions and prophecies had saved The Shade throughout history. However, some of her prophecies had only served to place me in trouble – especially with my father and brother. One in particular burdened me whenever I recalled it: The younger will rule above father and brother and his reign alone can provide his kind true sanctuary.

  As I watched my sister storm her way toward me, the words echoed through my mind. Sometimes, I would wish that she could somehow stop seeing into my future and just let me live without being pressured by what she saw lay ahead of me.

  “Hello, Vivienne.”

  “What’s going on, Derek?”

  I looked at Cameron, who was shifting his weight from one foot to the other, always rather uncomfortable whenever found in the midst of a confrontation involving a woman. I couldn’t help but grin. Some things never change.

  “Hendry. You can go ahead of me. You don’t have to be present to watch this bloodbath.”

  Relief washed over his face. He bowed his head at Vivienne. “Princess,” he acknowledged, before speeding his way toward the Great Dome.

  “So? What are you blazing mad about, my dear sister?”

  “Come on, Derek … A draft? A census? Why?”

  “You’ve been too lax with our citizens during my sleep. They’ve become weak… complacent… Father, Lucas, you… how did you let it get this way? What happens when the other covens decide we have it too good and attack us?”