Shadow Embraced (Haven Academy Book 1) [Completed]

Chapter 29

The sound of slow clapping echoes around me. I dart my gaze around the chamber. I can't see where it's coming from.

"You made it," a voice whispers in my ear.

Before I'm able to turn around, cold metal bites into my neck. I grasp for it. It feels like a dog collar. I turn my head and see Klein, a smirk spread across his face. He rubs his hand over the orange gem of his ring and my body shudders as an icy numbness sweeps through me. I can't stand anymore. I collapse to my knees.

"I was wondering when you would get here," he says. "And then you almost get yourself killed by my pets. It's a shame really. I was expecting more."

He waves his hands and the three creatures crawl out from the shadows, coming toward me. All three growl and snap their jaws at me. He rubs his thumb over the gem again, and they freeze in place, still snarling and snapping.

"My, my. It seems they don't like you much." He smiles. "I guess they know what you are. How could I not have seen it? I couldn't get them to do anything before you came, and now I have to force them not to kill their prey. That would be a very bad thing since I need them alive. Besides, dead bodies are a lot more trouble to dispose of without being noticed."

"What do you want?" I grip the metal collar with both hands and pull. It doesn't budge. "Why do all this?"

He takes out a small leather-bound book, the same one I'd seen in the art room, from his pocket and opens it to a page where a folded piece of paper marks the place. "I want those precious memories of yours, dearie. Not to mention your little talent."

"What talent?"

He takes a step toward me. I try to back away, but my body refuses to move.

"Your so-called visions. You've even had visions of a place that's not meant to exist," his voice roars around the cavern as he removes the slip of paper from the diary and unfolds it. A reflection of the picture from the book stares back at me. The one I'd drawn in the art room. The two images look identical.

"You're crazy. It's just a dream."

"No," he roars, his voice hurting my ears.

"What do you want?" I ask, forcing the quiver out of my voice.

"Do you know how long I have been searching for that place? It is the place where the Gods sleep," he says. "All of our kinds, we're becoming just as pathetic as the Nons. We hide away, scared of what they'd do if they find us. Our bloodlines dwindling until all that's left are pathetic cast-offs like the Forgotten. We used to be the stuff of nightmares, living beacons of power and might walking the Earth. I'm going to change all that. And you're going to help me."

"You're psychotic," I spit, dropping to the ground. No matter how much I urge my body to get back up, I can't move. It feels like I've been shot full of Novocain.

He shakes his head. "No, I'm a realist. Our races are dying. There are more Forgotten being born every year, and even less surviving the Awakening. We are now the ones living in fear, waiting for extinction, when we should be the ones who should be feared."

"What about them." I turn my gaze – the only part of my body I control – towards the Dhampirs.

"I brought these pitiful excuses for Dhampirs here in hopes of opening the gate to the final battle. I've heard rumours of the connection between the Dhampir and the original Gods."

"But they're not real. They're just myths."

"No, my dear Scarlet. You see, they are very real and your drawing is proof of that." He offers a brief chuckle as if he's the only one privy to this joke. Grabbing my chin, he looks me in the eyes. "How would I know Dahmin would bring an actual Dhampir to me. He likes his scheming even more than I could have imagined. Not that it'll matter once I get what I want. Now, stand up."