A Shade of Vampire 7: A Break of Day Read Online Free Page A

back through the gate and help us transport them all back to Cruor in one swoop.”
    “And the Hawks…” Liana began.
    “The plan for the Guardians remains as it was,” I said, looking at Liana. “Go now and wait for me by the Port.”
    We all stood up at once. Ashley and Yuri began walking toward The Vale; Liana to the Port; and myself toward The Cells. Using my vampire speed, the Elder rushed us past the giant redwoods until we arrived at the large wooden entrance.
    As my Elder had mentioned, they had evacuated the humans from The Catacombs and stuffed them all into The Cells for ease of access. It sickened me to see the number of humans they held in each cell; they were caged like animals. Those who weren’t sleeping or unconscious looked up at me as I passed them.
    “Sofia! Oh, thank God!”
    “Please, help us!”
    “Mom, look! Queen Sofia is back! I told you she’d come for us!”
    I couldn’t even turn my head to see who was calling out to me. I was sure I heard the voice of a little girl among them. The Elder continued to march my body forward. The lighting was so dim that I doubted they could even see my face to understand that I had been possessed. They would think that I was ignoring their plight.
    These were my people; they were dependent on Derek and me to rule them and give them protection. A wave of guilt hit me, crushing me into dust. Then fury boiled within me unlike any I had ever felt before.
    This time when the Elder addressed me, he didn’t use my voice to speak out loud. It was as if he had read my thoughts and felt my emotions. I heard his hissing voice within my head.
    “Save your sentiments for later, girl. I promise you’ll find better use for them.”
    You won’t get away with this, you snake, I screamed in my head. Tears would have fallen from my eyes had I been in control of them. I thanked the heavens that, at least for the time being, no more blood was to be spilled.
    After a few more minutes of this torture, we stopped in front of a cell. Inside, a person slumped on the floor. She crawled to the bars and started whimpering.
    “Please, feed me! My stomach is burning! I’ll do whatever you want!”
    She was a young woman wearing a torn black gown. Her face was brown with dirt and she looked like she hadn’t eaten in days.
    “Silence, witch!” my cold voice said.
    If she was a witch, I wondered to myself why on earth she allowed them to treat her this way. The Elder answered my curiosity within my own head.
    Not all witches are as powerful as your Corrine.
    It was disturbing to know that my every thought was exposed to this kind of evil.
    I continued to speak: “I will feed you. But in return, you must polish my vessel. The same treatment as the last vessel we sent to you.”
    The witch lost no time in gathering herself up from the ground. She staggered to the corner of her cell and started mixing some kind of concoction together—what exactly, I couldn’t see. Then she murmured a chant for several minutes, walked back over to the bars and threw a handful of powder into my eyes. The powder felt like acid and in my head, I cried out in pain. But after a few seconds the stinging subsided and my vision was as clear as it had been before my possession.
    She held up a mirror. My eyes were exactly as I remembered them. My face also looked the same as when I first discovered I’d been turned, back in the white chambers. No crooked expression. I certainly didn’t look like an Elder was inhabiting me.
    I reached for a black box that was lying on the ground in the empty cell next to the witch’s. I withdrew a piece of dry bread and threw it toward her. She snatched it and began eating ravenously.
    Then, without another word, I turned around and headed toward the exit. The second time we passed by the humans, they were far more subdued. Most didn’t bother calling my name. Instead I heard low mutterings. It cut me to the core to realize that they must have already accepted that I