Breathe Under Water - Shadows of the Night 1

Chapter 38

Hi!

Guys, this is amazing. Thank you for your support! As promised, here the next chapter. I can't seem to get rid of cliffhangers and I'm sorry about that, but I'm working on it. I think that this chapter will surprise some of you and I'd really like to know your opinion. So, please let me know! Thanks for reading! :D

Lara

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Chapter 38

The door opened soundlessly, inches and inches of semidarkness until I peeked through the slit. Blood stagnated. My pulse dropped to point zero.

I was the spectator of a bad horror movie scene. In my line of vision I could see lifeless shapes scattered over the floor, a litter of limbs and wrong angles. Blood. As if they'd been thrown against the wall all at once.

I ventured a few steps forward. Were they all dead?

I forced air into my lungs and took my first step into the battle site. The body count was too high to ponder longer on it than necessary.

I noticed the metal writing desk with maps and a computer placed near a huge square window then. An open trunk with guns, firearms and something that suspiciously looked like a magically enhanced bomb – complete, with remote fuse – lay abandoned in the corner behind it.

This was serious shit. I hesitated for a moment. It probably was too late to hide my aura. In all likelihood the Raven would already know that I was here. If he himself was in the building to begin with. Then again, if he was there, too preoccupied with fighting Alexander, going in undetected could come in handy. I took a deep breath, tearing every magical trace down into the abyss of my inner self.

Slowly, I made my way towards the back of the room, crept along an invisible line I'd drawn for myself, stepping over unmoving bodies; ignoring the blood. There was another door, probably leading to another room. I had to-

Another explosion shook the night, the deafening sound tearing at my eardrums like sharp nails. Then an even harsher absence of sound.

Barely daring to breathe, I crept closer to the door. The silence was oppressive and absolute, so much so that the urge to open that door was overwhelming. Time slowed down and dragged, as I pushed down the handle inch by inch. I pulled it open just enough to let the latch bolt retract and push into open space in front of the door frame.

"They call you the most wanted dark witch of the last decade. Is that all you can do?"

It was distant and muffled, but I recognized Alexander's voice immediately.

Somebody else's words penetrated the loaded silence: A low male voice.

"I haven't even started yet. You, however, fail to impress me with your flimsy auratic hokum, Alexander. I knew you were somewhere in the picture. It was just a matter of time until you'd enter the chess board. I anticipated the challenge. I've heard rumors about you. But, look at you, you're nothing but a disappointment."

"I would be more interested in your motivations, Medici. Why the Cellinis? Why now?" Alexander's voice bounced off the walls, slithered all around me despite its quietness. I had no idea how the head vampire did it, but hearing it made me shiver allover.

"Vampires and witches have been archenemies since the dawn of civilization. You know that as well as I do. The humans don't. They're blissfully ignorant. They don't even see the tip of the iceberg. You call yourself head vampire and walk around in designer clothes and polished shoes, running the biggest propaganda campaign the State of New York has ever seen, but we both know that, deep down, you vampires are monsters. Maybe you're more than that. Worse. You were human once, weren't you?" The Raven's voice turned a few shades darker, menacing. "You're wolves among sheep, and the sheep need a wakeup call."