A Shade of Kiev 2(10)

It was a gamble I decided to take.

I made sure that I was directly in the center of the coordinates Matteo had given me for the best chance of being heard. Then I began shouting at the top of my voice:

“I, Kiev Novalic, request entrance.”

Despite my shouts, nothing stirred. I considered the possibility that Matteo had got the wrong coordinates entirely. How would he even know the coordinates? They would be almost impossible to calculate accurately, unless he followed their ship up close.

I was about to rein in the dolphins and move to another spot nearby when I heard a loud bump. The boat jerked forward and I almost my balance. I whirled around. A rowing boat had crept up behind me and rammed into the stern of my vessel.

A tall cloaked figure stood in the center of the narrow boat, his long hood casting a shadow over his face. I stood still, tensing my hands and extending my claws, preparing for a fight. But when he displayed no signs of gearing up to attack me, I relaxed my fists a little.

“Show yourself,” I demanded.

Clasping his hood between long fingers, he lowered it, revealing the face of a pale, balding old man with a white beard.

A vampire.

“Novalic.” His voice rasped. He bowed his head as he spoke my name.

I stared at him, barely blinking. I tried to remember if I had ever seen him before, and what I could have possibly done to deserve his reverence. But I couldn’t find his face in any memory I had. I could only assume that he knew that Kiev Novalic was one of the Elders’ original children.

“You’re a vampire of The Black Bell?” I asked.

He nodded, his eyes still fixed on me, almost in wonderment.

“You want entrance into The Shade?”

“What?” My insides flipped.

“The Shade,” he replied. “Our island.”

Oh… So that’s what they call it. I felt sure that the Novaks’ island in the human realm predated the time these vampires would have set up here, so they must have named it after the legend.

“Yes,” I replied, brushing aside my surprise and composing myself. “Take me there.”

I expected him to ask me why and on what grounds I wanted entrance. But he asked not a single question. Instead, he stepped back and gestured to the point where our boats were touching.

I shot one more stare at him, then fastened the dolphins securely to my boat so they wouldn’t separate from it. I hoped that these animals were trained enough to not wander too far from where their master left them. Mona’s dolphins had been.

Then, without further delay, I stepped on board his boat. He gave me a half smile and sat down on a bench in the center of the boat. He grabbed two oars and began rowing. I stood at the stern so I could keep an eye on him whilst at the same time looking around at our surroundings.

He rowed in silence for about half a mile before he stopped. He let the boat drift on the waves as he engineered a ninety-degree turn. Then he continued rowing in that direction for several more minutes. Finally, in the blink of an eye, where there had been nothing but an endless expanse of dark ocean, there was the silhouette of a large dark island surrounded by tall, thick trees. A gust of wind caught my hair, bringing with it a strong scent of tree bark.

I breathed in deeply and closed my eyes. Chills ran through me as the memory of Sofia Novak filled my mind. Queen of The Shade. I wondered if she still lived there now that her husband was a human—whether she might be living in an island almost identical to the one I was approaching now.

“We’ve arrived,” the vampire said, breaking through my thoughts.

The boat shuddered as we hit the sand. Looking around, I stepped out cautiously and followed him across the beach and into the darkness of the forest. I looked up at the tree tops, half expecting to see tree houses perched up there. But there were none.

All was silent, except for the occasional screech of a bat or squawking of a bird in the trees.

Focus now, Kiev. Focus.

The first thing I had to do was make sure that my life wasn’t at risk on the island. Once I had the vampires’ trust, it would be easier for me to venture out and possibly find the witches’ location.

Kidnapping a witch against her will was out of the question. Unless she co-operated, I had no chance of getting out alive—not to speak of having her cast a protective spell over Matteo’s island. I’d have to win one over, perhaps on the promise of a better life.

I was beginning to wonder where exactly the vampire was leading me. Just as I was about to question him, an opening came into view about a mile down the winding forest path. Once out in the open, I found myself standing at the foot of a tall black castle. It was massive and ornately carved, with a single wide turret reaching into the sky.