A Break of Day (A Shade of Vampire #7)(20)
Author: Bella Forrest

I started to fear what would happen if Arron returned. I imagined that he would be making his way back already, wondering why Aiden had never shown up at Room 59. This idea didn’t seem to deter the Elder. My hands picked relentlessly at the lock until finally, with a click, the lid popped open.

Inside was an old map. At first it looked identical to the one we’d found in Aiden’s office and I wondered whether this would once again be the wrong map. But as my eyes scanned the paper further, it was clear that this one was far more detailed. Indeed some locations marked here were missing completely from Aiden’s one.

My eyes scanned every inch of the parchment. It was as if he wanted to commit the entire thing to my memory to access at a later time.

Then it happened.

My ears picked up snapping twigs and rustling leaves. Someone was scurrying toward us through the vineyards. Not having time to lock the box properly, I simply closed the lid and shoved it back into its place. I scrambled around trying to restore each of the papers to its original file.

Then I slipped back out through the front door and let the latch lock behind us. I dove for shelter into some bushes that lined the entrance to the woods. Peering through the leaves, I saw Arron now less than a quarter of a mile away from the hut. I feared that he might have picked up the sudden flash of my form zipping out of the cabin, or the sound of the latch closing.

It appeared that my worries were unfounded, however, for he walked directly inside and slammed the door behind him.

After about fifteen minutes, when Arron had still not reemerged from his cabin, the Elder dared to move me forward out of the bushes and send me tearing back through the vineyards toward the main building.

My mouth split into a wide grin as I heard myself whisper:

“Now the real work begins.”

Chapter 20: Sofia

I circled the main building for several minutes looking for an open window on the ground floor. On finding none, I walked round to the kitchens, grabbed a rock from the ground and smashed through a window.

Something within the Elder had given way and it was now willing to sacrifice caution for speed.

The kitchens were empty at this time of night. I headed away from them and stepped into a dark corridor. Then I turned right into a small washing room. I made a beeline for the back of the room, behind the sinks and dishwashing machines, where I uncovered a large wooden trapdoor. I slid my hands through the two metal handles and hoisted it open to see a dark staircase leading down to some kind of basement or underground storage facility.

I lost no time in lowering myself down, pulling the heavy door shut above me. The staircase was winding and narrowed sharply. It was also unlit and, had it not been for my supernatural vision, I was sure I would have fallen and broken a leg.

Finally, the stairs disappeared and I found myself standing in a small rectangular room. A hunter sat outside a steel door, his head tilted down to a book on his lap. Still unnoticed, I approached the man and grabbed hold of his throat. I clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle his shouts and snapped his neck. His body now limp, I grabbed his arm and pulled him over to a scanner fixed to the right side of the door. I placed his thumb against the glass and the steel door clicked open. I rushed inside, dragging the hunter in with me.

The door locked behind us. Leaving the hunter dead on the ground, I walked forward through a narrow tunnel lined with fluorescent lights. The tunnel soon disappeared and I stood at the entrance of a circular chamber with a towering ceiling. The floors were made of black marble and the walls had been painted white.

The room seemed bare on first glance. It was only when I looked more carefully at the floor that I noticed three holes drilled into the marble, positioned at even intervals around the circumference of the room. I approached the one nearest to me and peered over the edge.

What on earth…

I was looking down into what appeared to be an endless tunnel. Its walls were made of a swirling translucent substance which I couldn’t fathom for the life of me; although it had a bluish tinge, it certainly wasn’t water. And yet I was sure that it wasn’t smoke either. But it was the sight beyond that truly made me question my sanity. I was looking down at what appeared to be the night sky, a sea of endless black scattered with stars.

Maybe there was something in that goat’s blood.

As soon as I extended my head past the edge of that crater, a strong suction tried to pull me downward. I had to stagger back and spread my legs apart to avoid being sucked in.

Then, without warning, my mouth opened wider than I could have imagined it was physically capable of stretching. Just as it felt like my jaw was about to snap, I drew in a deep breath and then exhaled. A black whirling substance emanated from my mouth, directed straight into the tunnel. It resembled the crater’s walls, save for its color. Light, swirling, ethereal.

The edges of the tunnel closest to us reacted to it and started hissing and, before I knew it, disintegrating completely. This disintegration then spread to other parts of the tunnel, round and round its walls until the bluish substance had vanished from sight completely. The suction stopped, allowing the Elder to relax my stance. And then, in the time it took me to blink, the hole had vanished. In its place was nothing but the same black marble that covered the rest of the floor.

My head felt frighteningly dizzy and a haze settled over my eyes, a haze I hadn’t felt since the witch in the Cells had worked her magic on me. The pain in my joints and muscles intensified and now I felt a new sensation; my skin was starting to itch and sting.

We don’t have much time left, the Elder hissed.

I stumbled my way across the room and stopped at the rim of the second crater. Once again, my jaw stretched open as I drew in another deep lungful of air. Just as my lungs were about to burst, I exhaled more black substance. The tunnel’s walls evaporated and the floor formed over it as if the hole had never existed.

Then my legs folded beneath me. The Elder tried to force them to stand but they kept crumpling. So instead he made me crawl toward the third crater.

I knew I didn’t possess the stamina to exhale a third time. Of course, that didn’t stop the Elder from trying. But as my jaw began to extend, my ears picked up a sudden movement at the entrance of the chamber. Before the Elder could even look toward the direction of the noise, the sound of iron striking bone reverberated around the room.

A searing pain erupted at the back of my head.

Then merciful unconsciousness stole me away as all faded to black.

Chapter 21: Derek

It had been nearly three days of agony. Aiden had forced me to respect Sofia’s arbitrary “five days of privacy” rule. He had at least allowed me to go to her door each night and lock her inside the room.