A Castle of Sand

Thus, I travelled to Cairo where Borys Maslen—lord of the Maslen clan—sent an escort to take me to The Oasis. In a couple of days’ time, traveling by night and seeking shade by day, I arrived. At first, I thought that it was some sort of joke. It was exactly as it name implied—a small oasis hidden within the Egyptian boundaries of the Sahara Desert.

A slew of curses escaped my lips as I approached the small lake surrounded by three palm trees that appeared to form a triangle around the lake.

“What is this?” I hissed at my escort.

“Wait and see,” he responded smugly.

I’d already heard a lot of stories about The Oasis. It was said to be a marvel, but nothing prepared me for what I saw.

My escort took out a small velvet pouch and retrieved a brass hexagonal object studded with emeralds. He walked toward one of the palm trees and knelt on the ground, brushing sand away from an area beneath the tree to reveal what looked like a metal plate. He then gently placed the emerald-studded hexagon on top of it. He stood up and took out another brass hexagon, this time studded with sapphires. He walked to another one of the two palm trees and did the same thing. For the third palm tree, he repeated the process with a brass hexagon studded with rubies.

“Earth, water, fire…” he muttered as he placed the third hexagon in place. The moment the ruby-studded plate was put in its place, I felt the ground rumble beneath my feet. The small lake transformed into a whirlpool and suddenly an opening began to form in the center of it. That’s when I spotted a black staircase leading downward. This real-life oasis was actually just a gateway allowing entry to the Maslens’ infamous Oasis.

“Follow me.” My escort motioned to descend the stairs. I stood frozen for a couple of seconds before finally gathering my wits about me and following him to wherever the staircase led.

We descended the stairs surrounded by gushing water, but amazingly I was kept dry. We finally reached the top level of The Oasis’ seven underground levels.

The levels were once Egyptian tombs concealing hidden treasure. After the Maslens found the keys to The Oasis over a hundred years ago, they modernized and renovated all of the tombs’ interconnected halls and chambers. At the center of it all was a huge, round, glass-encased elevator that allowed quick access from one level to the next.

I didn’t get a chance to look around much, because I was immediately brought to level four: “The Palace”. I was ushered through several well-lit corridors, lavishly decorated with golden-framed paintings and beautiful antiques. Finally, we reached the chamber which was our destination.

Borys Maslen was slumped on a large black throne made of skulls—looking the same way he did centuries ago—muddy brown hair; dark eyes; a stocky, well-built physique; wide and muscular.

Our first conversation was tense to say the least—even more so when I mentioned that the girl prophesied to establish my brother’s rule was already at The Shade. When he discovered the girl was actually Sofia, he lost all control of himself—something that I couldn’t fully understand until I saw Borys’ right-hand woman, Ingrid.

Ingrid used to be Camilla Claremont before she became a vampire. She was Sofia’s mother.

It was daunting to me, but from that day onwards, everything about my stay at The Oasis became about finding Sofia. I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about. She was just one human girl and yet no matter where I went—whether it be in the middle of the ocean at The Shade or the middle of the desert at The Oasis—everything seemed to revolve around Sofia Claremont.

“I want Sofia,” Borys told me.

“As I told you, I haven’t figured out how to get her to you yet.” I replied.

We were inside my quarters; a one-bedroom suite located at level four, where all the royals and favored citizens of The Oasis resided. To them, I’d been given a privilege to stay there. To me, it was just a comfortable prison, because they forbade me to leave level four.

“What is it with my daughter and getting vampires so caught up in her wiles?” Ingrid said in a slurred tone as she slinked from one side of the room to the other. She lay down on one of the Egyptian couches.

“I have no idea,” I lied, wondering how Sofia ended up with such a demented mother.

Having already tasted Sofia’s blood, I knew her appeal. I knew how sweet she was. Sofia has this thing about her—almost as if her blood is a siren call. I don’t know how my brother can stand being around her and not suck the blood out of that pretty white neck of hers. She’s the tastiest little morsel I’ve ever had the pleasure of having. Still, considering Borys’ obsession with Sofia, I couldn’t reveal that little secret to them. I was sure that the moment Borys found out that I was most likely the first vampire to ever taste Sofia’s blood and live, I would be a dead vampire.

“What’s so special about her anyway?” I asked.

Borys and Ingrid gave me wary glances.

“I didn’t expect that Derek would have such a heavy ace against me. First, Vivienne. Now, Sofia.”

I stared at him. Does he actually think that Derek is keeping Sofia as some sort of hostage to cause umbrage against him? “I doubt that Derek is keeping Sofia to spite you, Borys,” I said carefully, surprised that I was defending my younger brother.

“Then what good would the teenager do him?” Borys frowned.

“I told you…I’m pretty sure Derek is in love with her. If you get Sofia in your hands then it’s you who would have an ace against my brother.”

Borys sat up straight on the couch he was slouched on. “How do you propose we get Sofia in our hands?”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I wasn’t one to boast about my average intelligence, but Borys—cruel brute that he was—really wasn’t the sharpest tool in the box. I looked at Ingrid. Perhaps that’s why she’s proven to be invaluable to him. She’s his brain.

Ingrid stretched and purred on her recliner before breathing out a sigh. “This conversation isn’t going anywhere. It’s a waste of my time.”

“I’d just like to know why you want Sofia,” I pried.

Ingrid gave me a calculating look before finally nodding as if deciding for herself that she could trust me with the information she was about to give. “When I asked Borys to turn me into a vampire, he agreed to do it on one condition. I was to give him my daughter. I agreed. Thus, Borys turned me. When we set off to retrieve Sofia from the States, my husband, Aiden, already realized what we were after. He took my daughter away from me and hid her somewhere. I have no idea how, but he managed to obscure her from all our attempts to sense her and track her down.”

I shifted my weight over the edge of my bed as I digested the information she just told me, wondering how I could use it to my advantage. Too late. Ingrid stood from her seat and looked at me with sheer agitation.

“Are you not weary of this pointless conversation we’re having with your enemy’s brother, Borys?”

“I am.” Borys nodded, the expression on his face stoic. “And I’m not sure we can fully trust him. Not yet.”

I swallowed hard. The conversation had suddenly taken a dangerous turn. “Look…I wouldn’t be here if I weren’t desperate. Desperation calls for loyalty as a necessity.”

“If you really are pledging allegiance to us, you will help us get Sofia.” Ingrid tilted her head to the side, not a trace of maternal affection in her expression. She talked about Sofia as if she were talking about a piece of property we were all haggling over.

“I told you… I don’t know how to help you… Derek is going to kill me the moment I step back into The Shade. I don’t have any allies there.” Except maybe Claudia, but she’s more an ally to herself than to anyone else.

“All I hear are excuses, Novak.” Borys now also rose from his seat and walked toward Ingrid. He brushed a hand through Ingrid’s red hair, and I had no doubt in my mind that with each fond caress, he had Sofia on his mind. “Make a way. If you don’t bring us Sofia soon, you will die. I expect a report on your progress within the week.”

I watched, completely stunned, as the odd duo walked out of the room, with Ingrid looking like a redheaded goddess, graceful and stunning, while Borys stomped out with as much grace as an ox. I frowned, wondering how I’d gotten myself into this nightmare.

Still, there was a ray of sunshine—the possibility of having Sofia within The Oasis’ tombs. The idea of once again laying my hands on the girl I craved so deeply was enough to make me smile.

I mused over the things I could possibly do in order to get Sofia to The Oasis. The first step suddenly became clear in my mind. I need to contact Natalie Borgia.

CHAPTER 11: DEREK

The look in Sofia’s eyes the last time we spoke haunted me. I told her that I would pursue her, that I would find a way for what we had to last forever, but I hadn’t the slightest clue how to do that. She was an ache in my heart that I knew would never go away until I was certain that she would be mine to keep for eternity.

When her birthday came, it felt like losing a precious year. The night before it, I was moping around like a dismal sap over the feeling of her slipping away from my grasp. I was being pathetic and I knew it, but I couldn’t help myself.

Still, the day came and I was determined to set myself aside in order to make her happy. That was her day. I wasn’t going to ruin it with my selfishness.

I sneaked into her room in the wee hours of what could be considered as morning at The Shade. I was disturbed to see that her beautiful face was marred with agitation as she whispered in her sleep. She was clutching her blanket so tightly, her knuckles had become white. She began tossing and turning on the bed and a cold sweat was forming on her brow.

No other person in the world could make me as anxious and worried as she could. I hurried forward and sat near her on the bed, unsure of what to do.

“Sofia?” I breathed out as I tentatively ran a hand over her bare arm.

“No!!” she screamed the moment my hand came in contact with her. She slapped it away. “Don’t touch me! No!” Tears began streaming down her face, her eyes still shut.