A Dawn of Strength Read online

  “Wait! No, don’t…” I struggled to loosen his hold on me as I attempted to jump back down to the ground, but he was relentless.

  “Rose,” Caleb said, “you’ve seen your mother’s request. You should listen to her.” He swung me off his back and, holding me against his chest instead, tightened his grip on me as he continued sprinting forward.

  “No, I just want to… agh, please. Let go.”

  “Just want to what exactly?” He glared down at me.

  “I-I… Oh, damn it.” Exhausted from trying to fight Caleb’s heavy grip, I stopped struggling. “I just want to help,” I said, panting.

  “You know what your blood means to these witches by now,” Caleb said as he raced forward full speed again. “If you want to help your kingdom, you’ll keep yourself as far away from those witches as possible.”

  Although I knew he was speaking sense, those were the last words I wanted to hear right now. Still, I wasn’t sure how to argue and there was clearly no way he was letting go of me until he’d planted me firmly inside the mountain.

  As we reached the end of the forest and approached the clearing in front of the Black Heights, I asked, “And what are you going to do?”

  “Your parents need all the help they can get,” he said. “I’ll be fighting.”

  My throat felt dryer suddenly. I tightened my grip around his neck as he knocked on the door. Footsteps sounded and Kyle appeared behind it. He didn’t look surprised to see me as he allowed us entrance and closed the door behind us. We passed charmed barrier after barrier as we moved deeper into the mountain. Finally, when we reached the main living area, Caleb set me down on my feet.

  “Your aunt’s here with Anna,” Kyle said. “Come with me and I’ll take you to them.”

  Kyle was trying to distract and lure me away like a child, but I stared at my boyfriend.

  “Please, Caleb,” I said, trying to steady my voice, “Make it back to me.”

  Caleb dipped his head down and caught my lips in his. I closed my eyes, wishing time would just freeze and I could be lost in that moment forever. But then he let go of me and stepped back.

  “I’ll try, Rose,” he said, his intense brown eyes fixed on me.

  My heart pounded in my chest as I watched him leave the room.

  I cast my eyes around the cavernous chamber. My mother’s words finally sank in. A hollow feeling welled in the pit of my stomach.

  The black witches have arrived.

  They’re probably attacking The Shade at this very moment.

  And I’m stuck in here.

  Chapter 15: Derek

  Lining up on the beach, staring out toward the ocean, we all watched the battle unfolding with a mixture of astonishment and horror.

  A barrier of white witches stretched out just beyond The Shade’s boundary for as far as I could see. And further in the distance a dark cloud of black witches hovered over the water. Balls of red, white and blue fire lit up the sky like fireworks as either side shot curses at each other.

  The black witches were grossly outnumbered, but even in the few minutes that we’d been watching two white witches had fallen, whilst the black witches appeared to be unscathed.

  “They’re protecting us because they have as much to lose as we do if they take over The Shade,” Corrine muttered. “If the black witches manage to penetrate the island, it will only hasten the demise of The Sanctuary.”

  Of course, I didn’t need Corrine to tell me that they weren’t protecting us out of the goodness of their hearts. Anything the witches of The Sanctuary did could be traced back to one selfish agenda or another.

  “Given the number of white witches,” I said, “how long do you reckon we have before the black witches break through?”

  Corrine and Mona exchanged glances. “It’s impossible to say,” Mona said. “There are many white witches here now, but I don’t know how strong their endurance is… I wouldn’t count on much more than a day.”

  A day.

  Sofia gripped my arm. “We need to stop watching and start preparing,” she croaked.

  I looked around at the crowd of vampires, werewolves and witches who’d gathered to watch the scene with us. “Gather round,” I called.

  As everyone drew closer, Caleb approached. Seeing that he’d arrived without my daughter, I assumed he’d heeded Sofia’s request. I raised a brow in question. He nodded.

  Knowing that our daughter was now within the mountain was at least somewhat of a relief.

  “According to Mona,” I began, “we have at most a day before the white witches’ defense caves in. We must assume the worst-case scenario, that Mona’s spell will fail, and we need to prepare for the battle that will follow.”

  Ashley repeated the question she’d asked me back in the Dome before Micah had entered and interrupted the meeting.

  “Battle, Derek?” she said. “Don’t you mean bloodbath? How are we any match for these witches?”

  I turned on the blonde vampire. “We’ve faced many opponents in the past whom we’ve been no match for.” I was about to name the Elders as one example, but stopped myself as I recalled how she’d lost Sam to them. “And we’ve weathered many a storm before now.” I raised my voice, glaring at each and every one of the island’s oldest and most loyal allies, daring them to refute it. “What we lack in brute force, we make up for in guts and grit. We are warriors of The Shade, and we’ll do what we have always done… Survive.”

  The crowd fell into a hushed silence, the sounds of the battle going on outside pervading the atmosphere once again.

  “Is anyone in disagreement?” I shouted.

  When nobody responded still, I said, “Then we begin. Eli, Caleb, Aiden and Mona—I appoint you four in charge of strategy. Lead everyone to the Armory and start preparation. Think on the best armor and weapons, and make sure we have enough to go round. Then begin training. I suspect Xavier will be joining you soon, too.”

  “What about you, Derek?” Aiden asked, frowning.

  “I’ll be preparing a weapon everyone seems to have forgotten about entirely.”

  Sofia’s eyes shot toward me. “What?”

  I couldn’t stop a small smile from curving my lips as I said, “Me.”

  Chapter 16: Sofia

  My eyes were glued to Derek as everyone else obeyed his command and hurried toward the Armory.

  I clutched his hands. “You’re going to take the cure? Are you serious?”

  He nodded. Dragging me along behind him, he began hurrying away from the beach.

  “How do you know that your fire powers will return even if you do become a human again?” I asked.

  “Why shouldn’t they? Being a vampire is the only thing that’s stifling them. My ability to conjure up walls of fire just might give us the edge we need.”

  I remembered his powers, of course, and I realized how invaluable they might prove, but that didn’t banish the fear that gripped me at the thought of my husband undergoing the cure again. I shuddered just remembering how painful it had been.

  “But didn’t it take us at least a day last time when we took the cure? Counting up the time we spent in the pit, and then recovery time with the help of the witches… What if you didn’t even recover in time?”

  “That’s a risk I’m willing to take, and why I need to enter the Pit immediately.”

  “Then why are we headed toward the Sanctuary? Don’t we need to fetch immune blood from the cooling chambers?”

  “Corrine usually keeps a small stock in her potion room and her home is closer than the cooling chambers.”

  Since Corrine and Ibrahim had gone to the Armory along with all the other supernaturals on the island, we found the witch’s temple empty. The door was unlocked, thankfully, so we walked right inside and headed to the potion room. Derek had been right. There were half a dozen vials of blood in the drawer beneath her sink. Derek grabbed a couple and opened each of them up, sniffing them just to be sure. The scent was unmistakable. We raced out of t
he witch’s temple again and made our way toward the dreaded Pit.

  We stopped outside the gate leading up to it. Twisting open both vials, Derek downed them in a few gulps. He looked down at me reproachfully. “You don’t have to put yourself through staying with me, darling.”

  “You must be joking,” I said, pulling him down toward me so I could kiss his lips. “I’m not budging from here until you’re back in my arms.”

  He didn’t argue, probably because he saw there was no point. Letting go of me, he walked slowly toward the gate. Gripping the handle, he creaked it open. I caught sight of his brilliant blue eyes one last time before he slammed the gate shut.

  As my husband began to groan, I leaned my back against a tree trunk and slid down to the ground. As always, this was going to be a long, agonizing wait.

  The only thing I could comfort myself with was the fact that Derek had taken the cure before and pulled through it without complications, as had many other vampires on the island. Yes, it was a dangerous and potentially fatal procedure, but this time should be no different from all the others.

  I couldn’t have been more wrong.

  Chapter 17: Caleb

  I was surprised that Derek would place me so quickly in such a position of responsibility. I supposed he thought it would be valuable to have someone in charge who’d witnessed a black witch’s palms being damaged firsthand.

  After Derek gave the word, we rushed everyone to the Armory. The hall was far too small to hold the entire crowd, so we gathered everyone outside in the training grounds. Eli, Aiden, Mona and I stood in a circle.

  “The first thing we ought to do is make sure everyone understands the witches’ weakness.” Aiden fixed his attention on me. “Would you like to brief them all, Caleb?”

  I gave him a curt nod and cleared my throat. I leapt up onto the roof of the Armory and stared down at the sea of faces. I briefly recounted the incident with Rose and Rhys on the circus boat. Even as I spoke, it felt strange to have all these strangers accepting me as an authority so readily, when only a short while ago they must have perceived me as an enemy.

  I climbed back down and turned to face the other three once I’d finished.

  “As for weapons,” I said, “first and foremost, everyone should be equipped with a gun. Anything that can’t be used long distance won’t be of much use.”

  We entered the Armory with the rest of the witches accompanying us and began gathering together every gun in the building. To my dismay, most turned out to be UV guns.

  “These only work on vampires, right?” I asked, picking one up and examining its barrel.

  Eli shook his head. “The type we have will cause damage to anything you shoot at.”

  Mona levitated the huge pile of guns along with several crates of ammunition out into the center of the training fields.

  “Arm yourselves, everyone,” Aiden shouted.

  “Hey, Caleb.”

  I spun around to see who had called my name. It was Micah. He ran up to me and gripped my hand.

  “What happened to you?” I asked.

  “Long story, my friend,” he muttered darkly. “I’m glad you and Rose made it back here safely.”

  “How are the wounds healing, Micah?” Lucinda, one of the witches, asked.

  “They’re healing well, thanks. I’m strong enough to help fight.”

  Lucinda frowned. “I wouldn’t recommend that just yet…”

  Micah grimaced and waited for the witch to pass by before clutching my shoulder. “I’m going to help fight these bastards if it’s the last thing I do.”

  With that, he stepped back and walked toward the pile of weapons, which was rapidly diminishing as everyone hurried forward to collect theirs.

  “It looks like we’re ready for armor now,” Eli said, looking around the crowd.

  I turned around toward the entrance of the Armory in time to see Mona and three other witches walking out from it, this time with a huge pile of steel armor. Again, it was placed on the field.

  Mona addressed the entire group of witches who hurried toward her. “Every single person joining in this battle must have their armor checked by us. Not all the pieces will end up fitting everyone, so we have to make adjustments quickly.”

  Corrine breathed out, rubbing her forehead with her palm. “There are so many of us here. Let’s hurry.”

  I watched as the witches began mingling with the crowd, tugging on helmets and chest pieces to check their fit. Of course, I doubted this armor would do much to protect against a curse from one of these black witches, but I guessed it was better than nothing—especially if the witches brought their vampires in along with them.

  “What about you?” Aiden walked toward me from my right. He was already dressed in armor—his helmet tipped back as he loaded up a heavy gun.

  “Right,” I said. I’d been focusing so much on others, I’d forgotten about myself. I was about to go fetch a gun when a thought struck me. “The ogres. Are they still in their caves?”

  “I assume so,” Aiden replied.

  “Then we ought to send someone to bring them further inland. They shouldn’t be so close to the ocean.”

  “I’ll ask Saira,” Aiden said and hurried away.

  “No, Kiev!” Mona’s voice rang through the field, drawing my attention toward her. I stared at her in the heat of an argument with a one-armed vampire. “Not like this.”

  Kiev scowled. “Then give me the prosthetic.”

  “There’s no time for that now. Just go lock yourself in the mountain with the others.”

  Kiev looked as though he’d rather lose his other arm than do that. “There’s no way you can stop me from fighting, Mona. Hurry up with the prosthetic, or I will fight without it.”

  She gaped at him in exasperation, then, heaving a sigh, gripped hold of his shoulder and vanished from the spot with him.

  Approaching the now-small pile of guns, I picked up one of the last and began loading it. As I looked round at the inhabitants of The Shade helping each other with their armor—some clearly couples, others just friends—I couldn’t help but be struck by how different this island was to the one I’d once referred to as my own. I wasn’t used to such… unity. Camaraderie. Back on my frozen shores, relationships barely existed. Everything was clinical—even when vampires went out on missions together, we cooperated only to get the job done. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to experience fellowship. The last time had been, I supposed, when I’d been part of the crew on one of my father’s ships.

  I still wasn’t sure I’d ever stop feeling like the black sheep on this island, but at that moment, something stirred within me that I hadn’t felt in a long time. And I realized there wasn’t anyone I’d rather die alongside than the lionhearted people of The Shade.

  Chapter 18: Sofia

  When Derek went quiet after less than an hour, my heart leapt into my throat.

  I thought at first that perhaps I’d just lost track of time, but when I checked my watch, I realized that wasn’t the case.

  I jumped up and pressed my ear against the gate. “Derek?” I called.

  No answer.

  This was far too soon for the cure to have worked. Of all the vampire-human turnings I’d witnessed, the fastest had been four hours. He should have still been groaning.

  Pulling down the handle, I swung the gate open.

  “Derek!” I gasped.

  He was lying on his stomach, motionless on the ground. He’d removed his shirt, and his back looked like something out of a horror movie. Every part that I could see was red raw and his flesh was hissing and bubbling, as though he were being fried by the sun.

  This can’t be happening.

  The sun dug into my skin as I hurled myself toward him. I didn’t even take time to check his pulse or if he was still breathing. My brain was foggy with panic. I tried to grip a part of him that wasn’t so brutally damaged, but now that I was closer, I realized that even his underarms—which weren’t bein
g directly exposed to the sun—were almost as bad as his back and shoulders. As I closed my arms around his waist, his skin felt loose and baggy, and it was so baking hot, I was burning just touching him.

  Heaving with all my strength, I dragged him across the ground and pulled him back into the darkness of The Shade, slamming the door closed behind us. I rolled him onto his back, and almost screamed when I caught sight of his face. It was practically unrecognizable.

  “Derek,” I whispered, my heart hammering against my chest. I tried to detect any sign of breathing.

  There was nothing.

  “Derek!” I screamed.

  No. No. This can’t be happening. This can’t be.

  Clearly, he was still a vampire. The immune blood hadn’t worked. It was supposed to protect him from getting baked by the sun, but Derek’s vampire body had been assaulted by the sun’s rays.

  I had no idea if mouth-to-mouth resuscitation would help to get him breathing again, but I was desperate. I closed my lips around his singed mouth and breathed heavily.

  Come on, my love. Come on.

  His skin was so loose around his lips, it felt in danger of ripping off just as I breathed into him.

  The minutes that followed were the most torturous of my life. When he still wasn’t coming to after dozens of heavy breaths, terror seized me and I began to believe that I’d actually lost him.

  But then, like a blessing sent from heaven, a violent shudder ran through Derek’s chest. He raised his head off the ground, coughing and spluttering.

  Tears streamed down my cheeks as his eyes opened. I wanted to hold him in my arms, but I couldn’t without causing him more pain.

  I shot to my feet. “Wait here, my love. I’m going to get Corrine. We’re going to fix you. J-just stay right here.”

  I launched toward the forest and ran faster than I ever had before. I arrived at the Armory within minutes and spotted Corrine and Ibrahim in a corner with Mona.

  “Corrine!” I screamed. A look of alarm spread across her face as she looked at me. “I need you now! And Ibrahim, you too!”