A Vial of Life (A Shade of Vampire, #21)

I couldn’t have known how much time passed, but after what felt like an hour, the melody died as suddenly as it had started. Its absence sent my mood crashing down. The euphoria drained away, and I was left feeling hollow, alone in this world of dark, foaming waters. The sun had set by now. The moonlight trickled through my hands, making them appear paler and almost luminous in its reflection.

I felt more lonesome than I ever remembered feeling that night as I continued on my journey. But then, as dawn showed its first signs of breaking over the horizon, the melody returned. It called to me again, silently at first, then growing louder, until it grew to a pitch greater than ever before. Once again, the beautiful notes filled my mind and sent a rush of happiness flowing through me. Like an explosion of fireworks in my mind, the sound sent my mood soaring. I gazed out at the sun taking its place in the sky, and although I’d seen such a dawn arriving over the ocean many times before, I had never appreciated its beauty as much as I did that morning.

The melody grew louder still, until it was positively ringing in my ears, as though I was closer to it somehow.

I swept my eyes over the waves glistening in the early morning sun. And then I noticed it, far in the distance. A group of five grey ships. Large ships. Naval ships.

Excitement welled within me. Could it be? I feared that perhaps the hunters’ ships had abandoned their watch outside our island and moved to a different location. But as I scanned the water, my gaze fell upon a familiar rock that served as one of the landmarks for The Shade’s boundary.

I’m back. I’m back.

I could hardly believe it. I hurtled forward, racing over the frothing waves past the hunter ships, headed directly for where I knew our boundary was. As I came within what I estimated was twenty feet of it, a chilling doubt entered my mind. What if I can’t enter it? I was able to enter and leave before, having been granted permission by the witches, but without my human body, will the spell keep me out? Or perhaps boundaries don’t work for subtle beings…

Thankfully, my fear was unfounded. I passed through the boundary and found myself on the other side, enveloped in the darkness of The Shade. As I set my focus on the island’s shore, the melody reached a feverish pitch, so loud that it had lost its soothing quality and become almost uncomfortable to hear. I found myself wishing that I could turn down the volume, or at least cover my ears, but of course, I could do neither.

As I arrived at the Port, the tune stopped once again. As before, it had only lasted a short while. Perhaps it would disappear for another day, or perhaps now that it had led me back, it wouldn’t play again. Again I found myself wondering whether it was the strange work of some fragment of my own subconscious before I shook the thought aside and focused on whizzing through the woods. River and my family. I needed to find them.

I wasn’t sure where River might be staying, but I guessed she’d be with the rest of the humans in the Vale—assuming she and her family had decided to stay in The Shade. Though, as a half-blood, I couldn’t imagine River leaving anytime soon. She had to discover a cure first.

I passed by the Residences first and approached the foot of my parents’ penthouse—my old home. Gazing upward, I almost yelled. Where the treehouse had been was the wreck of a fire. And scattered all around me in the undergrowth was scorched debris.

What on earth happened? Where are my parents? Where is Rose?

As I gazed around, all of the other treehouses seemed to have remained intact. Had this been an accident, my parents’ penthouse going up in smoke? But what kind of accident could have caused this? In all my life, we’d never come close to even a single accident involving fire in our treehouse. And how long ago had the fire been? From the looks of it, this destruction had been only recent.

I set my eyes on my aunt and uncle’s penthouse, wondering if they might be staying with them. Drifting through the front door, I searched all the rooms. The apartment was empty. Fear and confusion gripping me, I headed back to the ground. I knew that my grandfather was supposed to be staying in one of the mountain cabins with his girlfriend. That was the next logical place to visit.

But on arriving in the clearing at the foot of the Black Heights, once again, I was met with a sight of horror. Another home had been scorched, just like my parents’ had. A cabin on the mountainside. I didn’t know if this was my grandfather’s cabin, since I hadn’t had a chance to visit it during the brief period I’d returned to The Shade from The Oasis. But what was the cause of all these fires? I was about to begin moving up the mountain when voices sounded behind me.

I whirled around to see Ibrahim standing with… my father. Relief surged through me. I hurried toward them, calling out, “Dad,” as if by my sheer willpower alone, he would somehow be able to hear me.