A Dawn of Strength Read online

  I stared at Caleb, who looked just as surprised as I felt.

  I looked out at the clearing again, barely believing my eyes.

  How could they all remain so loyal to this island, even in the face of such danger?

  It was at that moment that I realized just how much The Shade meant, not only to vampires, but to every single one of us.

  The Shade was our home.

  A place we would fight for.

  A place we would die for.

  Chapter 11: Micah

  The boat stopped moving. My back dropped down against the floor of the closet. After a minute, footsteps began to sound above deck. I hardly dared to breathe as I tried to make out the whispered conversations that had started going on upstairs. So many people were talking at once, it was hard to make out the individual dialogue. However, as the conversation died down, there was one thing I heard loud and clear.

  “We all know our roles. Let’s go.”

  A crash echoed down from above and the boat began to rock.

  What are they doing?

  I expected for a moment that the boat was going to start spinning again, but as shouts began to erupt on deck, I realized that something very different had just happened. Something, it seemed, not quite planned by the black witches.

  A deafening creak rang through the frame of the vessel as it jerked downward. I pushed open the closet and climbed out. To my shock, a pool of water had already formed across the bathroom floor. Water was spilling through the cracks around the door. I hurried toward it and gripped the handle, pressing my ear against the wood. The shouts and crashes were now more muffled. That meant only one thing: the boat was sinking.

  I now had no choice but to open the door and fight to escape the yacht. Either that, or wait and get dragged down to the sea bed. For the first time in a long time, the black witches weren’t the greatest of my worries.

  I pulled open the door, only to be sent flying back against the far wall of the bathroom as a wall of water crashed down over me. Struggling against the force of it pulling me downward, I fought to the surface to gasp for air. This room contained no windows I could smash to break free, and it was filling up rapidly. If I didn’t make it out of the door in time, before the water reached the ceiling, I’d be trapped without oxygen.

  Kicking with as much strength as my legs could muster, I struggled to reach the exit once again. Gripping hold of the doorframe, I pulled myself out and began swimming down the corridor—now also completely submerged in water.

  I needed to get to a window, fast.

  I had no choice but to open my eyes. The sea salt stung like needles pricking my eyeballs. Fighting to keep my lids open, I swam into the closest bedroom to me. I glimpsed a shaft of natural light spilling through the window in the far corner, though as the boat sank further beneath the waves, it was getting dimmer and dimmer by the moment.

  Battling with heavy furniture blocking my way, I managed to reach the window. Balling up my fists, I smashed them against the window. The glass was tougher than I’d expected. It took several attempts before it finally cracked. My knuckles stung as the glass ripped through my skin. I closed my eyes and ducked down toward the floor of the cabin as the shards swept toward me. Pushing myself back up, I gripped hold of the window frame. I feared for a moment that it was too narrow for me. But, although it meant enduring more cuts from the jagged frame of the window as I narrowly squeezed through it, I finally managed to escape into the ocean.

  Swimming to the surface, I gasped for air. I wiped my eyes and looked around.

  All around me was utter chaos. Balls of red fire blurred my vision as they shot through the air from all directions. Black witches hovered over the waves while vampires splashed within them. I strained to see whom they were battling, but as I looked further toward the direction their curses were flying, I caught sight of a line of witches, stretching out as far as I could see, their bodies forming a barrier as they shot curses back toward the black witches and vampires.

  Their colored clothing was distinct from the black witches, who wore only black garb. I could only assume that these were white witches. And if The Shade was beyond the barrier they’d formed, as I suspected…

  A ball of fire shot toward me. I ducked beneath the water, narrowly missing it as it skimmed the waves above me.

  The white witches are protecting The Shade.

  I had to get away from this patch of sea as fast as I could—away from the black witches and their vampires, before somebody noticed me.

  But where do I swim? Do I risk drawing closer to the white witches?

  How am I ever going to reach the island now?

  Chapter 12: Derek

  My joy at discovering my sister was pregnant soon turned to anxiety as we made our way toward the Great Dome.

  “You shouldn’t be here, Vivienne,” I said, gripping the handle of the Dome’s heavy door and pushing it wide open. “You’re too vulnerable. Now you’ve delivered your message, I want the two of you to leave again. Take two phones with you this time and return to Greece. We’ll call you once things have died down.”

  “We just got here,” Vivienne said. “I really don’t want to leave you again, brother. Not now that—”

  “But now you have more than your own desires to consider.” My eyes lowered to her stomach. “If something happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”

  As we all took seats around the grand table, Vivienne sighed. “Then we’ll stay just a couple of days before heading back.”

  I shook my head. “I want you to leave no later than tonight.”

  Vivienne exchanged a reluctant glance with Xavier. “Okay,” she said. “If you insist, we’ll leave tonight.”

  I gripped her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. “Thank you,” I said.

  Averting my attention away from my sister, I took in all the members of the council who’d gathered around the table to meet with us. Satisfied that everyone was present, I began.

  “Black witches,” I said, grimacing. “That’s what we’re up against now. My daughter and Caleb are dealing with our humans. In the meantime, we need to formulate a combat strategy. The only weak point we know of in these witches is their palms. Damage them badly enough and they lose their powers.”

  “I am the only one here who can truly rival a black witch in terms of strength,” Mona said. “But there’s only so much pressure I can handle. If more than one black witch attacks me directly, which I suspect they will, I won’t be of much use once they’ve broken through my barrier. So you can’t rely on me. Nor can you rely on the other witches present on this island, whose powers are far less than mine.”

  “So each and every one of us needs to be prepared to tackle a witch head on,” I said.

  A deathly silence fell about the hall.

  “But these witches,” Ashley spoke up, her voice shaky, “couldn’t they just end a vampire with a flick of their fingers? I thought we’re hardly any stronger than humans against them.”

  I was about to respond when there was a thunderous banging against the Dome’s front door.

  “Come in,” I growled.

  Two vampire guards stepped in, propping up a soaking wet man between them. His clothing was ripped and bloody, and he had a nasty-looking burn on his chest.

  “Micah?” Saira gasped. She was nearest to them, sitting at the opposite end of the table.

  “Witches,” he wheezed, as Saira shot to her feet and sat Micah down at the table in her place.

  I stood up and hurried over to him, and everyone followed my lead, gathering in a crowd around the werewolf.

  I bent down to his level, staring him in the eye. “What do you mean, witches?” I asked.

  “White and black,” he breathed, wincing as he tried to rip his singed shirt away from his red, raw skin. “They’re outside The Shade now, as I speak. In a battle. The white witches are protecting The Shade.”

  White witches? Protecting The Shade?

  Before
I could begin to comprehend the werewolf’s words, my eyes shot to Vivienne and Xavier.

  “Forget about leaving tonight,” I said urgently. “You must leave this instant.”

  “No,” Micah rasped behind me. “You… me… we’re all trapped now.”

  Chapter 13: Xavier

  The moment Micah said those words, I knew what had to be done and from the look in Derek’s eyes, so did he. I didn’t bother to explain to Vivienne what I was doing as I scooped her up in my arms and hurried out of the Dome. I darted away from the small clearing outside the building and into the woods, where I ran as fast as my human legs could carry me.

  “Xavier,” Vivienne said. “Where are we going?” Worry choked her voice as she tightened her arms around me.

  “As far away from the shore as possible,” I murmured.

  I focused all my energy on my speed and didn’t talk to my wife again until we’d arrived outside the entrance to the Black Heights. Clutching the handle, I attempted to pull it open. It was locked. Putting Vivienne down on the ground, I pounded against the wood.

  Five minutes later, the bolt was drawn, and I was met with a familiar face. Kyle.

  “Xavier? What are you doing—”

  “No time to explain now, Kyle.” Picking up Vivienne again, I hurried with him along the lantern-lit tunnels. I began to lose count of how many locked doors Kyle had to open as we moved deeper and deeper into the bowels of the mountain. Each barrier had been charmed by our witches for extra protection in case of an emergency like this, and if I remembered correctly, there were only three sets of keys that could open them.

  Eventually, I began to hear sounds of humanity. I pushed open an old oak door to find us in one of the communal chambers. Previously a dungeon, it had been converted into a living area. I spotted Anna sitting on a couch with her baby. I was relieved to see her—I couldn’t have thought of a person I’d rather leave Vivienne with than her.

  Her face lit up as we approached. I set Vivienne down on the couch next to her.

  “Vivienne’s pregnant,” I said immediately.

  “Oh, congratulations!”

  “She needs to stay here with you. Will you fix her up with a room?”

  “Of course,” Anna said. “I—”

  “Xavier.” Vivienne frowned at me. “What do you mean, fix me up a room? You’re human, too.”

  I shook my head. “Not for long.” I took a step away from her.

  “Xavier, no. Wait—”

  “You’ll be safest here, darling.”

  She leapt up from the seat and threw herself into my arms. I felt her tears against my skin as she buried her face in my neck. Gripping her face, I kissed her passionately.

  “Please don’t leave me,” she gasped, clasping the collar of my shirt.

  “I’m not leaving you, Viv,” I said, my eyes boring into hers. “We’re just going to be apart for a short while.”

  She closed her eyes tight as she clung to me.

  “Baby,” I whispered into her ear, closing my hands gently around her fingers. “Please let me go. I can’t protect you or our child while I’m a human. And your brother needs all the help he can get.”

  Breathing out sharply, she ran her fingers through my hair and pulled me down for another long, hungry kiss.

  “Okay,” she said finally. “Just, please… be careful.”

  I pressed my lips against her forehead, then, lowering myself to my knees, I kissed her stomach through her dress. I stood up again, looking into her eyes one last time before backing away and hurrying out of the chamber.

  It was with a heavy heart that I exited the Black Heights, escorted by Kyle, and began to consider whom to approach to turn me back into a vampire.

  For now, our honeymoon was over.

  Chapter 14: Rose

  After we’d locked up the humans securely in the Black Heights, it was time for Caleb and me to deal with those who’d opted to turn into vampires. I hadn’t been able to count how many had chosen this route as they were leaving the clearing, but when we arrived in the town square, I was surprised by the number. There were just over a dozen in total. I’d have thought more would take this opportunity to turn.

  Still, this was a lot of new vampires to handle. Although they were often harmless for the first few hours as the transformation took hold, and normally just needed to be locked up in a room with a bed until their fangs started to poke through, Caleb and I would need help in carrying all these people somewhere safe, and then at least three vampires ought to stay with them to make sure their turning went smoothly.

  I stayed with the humans while Caleb ran back into the woods in search of help. He returned a few minutes later with five vampire guards and, to my surprise, Griffin. They approached me and looked over the humans.

  “We need to find the best place to do this,” I murmured. “It has to be somewhere they won’t get in the way, but they also need to be safe.”

  “We could just do it in one of the penthouses,” Griffin said. “Mine, even. My parents are in the council meeting, but I’m sure they won’t mind.”

  “Okay,” I said, glancing at Caleb. “Let’s do this.”

  We hurried to Griffin’s treehouse with the humans. As we walked through the front door, the humans stood huddled nervously in the center of the living room.

  “Let’s hurry,” I said. I looked at the humans. “You all know how this works by now, right?”

  They nodded, although they didn’t look any less anxious.

  “So, who wants to go first? Seven of you, please step forward.”

  “Wait, Rose,” Griffin said. “I can help look after them, but I’d rather not turn anyone. I’m still a young vampire myself.”

  “Okay,” I said impatiently. “Six of you.”

  Six humans shuffled forward after a moment’s pause.

  “You can just lie down on the floor,” Griffin said. “We have a bunch of spare bedrooms, though not enough to hold all of you. Some will have to share.”

  The humans lay down on the floor before the vampires. I stood next to Caleb as he knelt down before the young man, Nolan, who’d chosen him as his turner. I’d never actually witnessed a turning close up before, so I watched with morbid fascination as Caleb took a deep breath and leant toward Nolan’s throat. Groans sounded around the room as each of the vampires sank their fangs into flesh.

  When Caleb surfaced, his mouth dripping with blood, his eyes appeared darker than I was used to. I hurried into the kitchen and grabbed a roll of tissues. Ripping one off, I walked back to him and wiped down his mouth. He staggered back and leaned against the wall, staring at Nolan, who was beginning to writhe on the floor.

  Griffin walked up to Nolan and, picking him up, carried him off toward one of the spare bedrooms.

  I frowned at Caleb. “Are you okay?” I asked.

  He nodded.

  Once all the turning humans had been carried out of the living room, we had to start turning more. This time, it was a middle-aged woman named Roxanne whom Caleb ended up digging his fangs into. As he drew away, he had the same expression on his face—almost shocked at what he’d just done.

  When the rest of the humans were being carried away, I caught his hand and squeezed it. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m okay, Rose. I just haven’t turned a human in a while. To infect someone with this curse… it’s a strange feeling.”

  We didn’t have time to discuss it further as Griffin and the guards returned to the room. I was just glad for the reassurance that Caleb was all right.

  “We’ll stay with them here,” Griffin said.

  “Okay,” I said. “Caleb and I need to go. I told my father we’d meet him in the Great Dome after we finished with the humans.”

  We bade farewell and hurried down to the forest ground. I climbed onto Caleb’s back and he was about to launch into a sprint when I caught sight of Xavier hurrying our way.

  “Hold on, Caleb… Uncle?”

  “I he
ard there’s a mass turning going on?” Xavier said. His face was pale, his lips dry and cracked.

  “Yes, we just came from there. Up in Griff’s place. You’re going to turn?”

  He nodded grimly as he looked up toward Griffin and his parents’ penthouse. “I’ll see you later then,” he said, walking toward the elevator.

  As Caleb and I continued on our way toward the Dome, I couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take Xavier to return to his normal self. Since this wasn’t his first time turning into a vampire, I assumed that the transition would be easier and he wouldn’t have to wait long before he was in control of himself.

  I let out a sigh. Although I couldn’t fault my parents for wanting to be cautious after what had happened to my brother, I couldn’t deny that all this turning going on around me made me feel like turning myself. I hated the idea of being forced to wait within the Black Heights—which I was sure my parents would insist on soon enough. I was a Novak. Sitting still during a time like this just felt like something I was biologically incapable of.

  On arriving at the Dome, I was shocked to see it completely empty.

  “Where could they have—?”

  Before I could finish my question, Caleb pointed to a note on the table. I stared at it over his shoulder as he picked it up. There were only a few words, scrawled in my mother’s handwriting:

  “Caleb:

  The black witches have arrived.

  Lock Rose in the Black Heights with the others.”

  I stared disbelievingly at the note.

  To my horror, Caleb’s grip around my ankles tightened as he rushed out of the Dome and into the forest, back toward the mountains.