“I don’t want to talk about it. I’m still recovering from it myself. I don’t want to bring those dark memories back. What I can tell you is… it’s carried out in the supernatural realm by someone called Lilith. If you’re interested to know more, I suggest you ask someone else about her.”

I brought my fist down against the side of the boat. It rocked from the force of my blow.

“There is nobody else I can ask.”

Mona showed signs of irritation again.

“Look, vampire. I’ve answered your questions. I’ve given you a lead. Now tell me what you came for.”

I heaved a sigh. She was right, I supposed. At least I had a name. I made a mental note to raid Annora’s library when I returned. If this Lilith was such an influential person, perhaps she would be mentioned in one of Annora’s books.

“Are Derek and Sofia still alive?” I asked.

Mona’s eyes widened. “Of course. Why wouldn’t they be? You know they escaped—”

“Listen carefully,” I said, stepping forward and gripping her shoulder. “What I’m about to tell you—nobody can ever know that you heard it from me. Nobody can know that I came here tonight to talk to you. Not any of the Novaks, nobody in The Shade, and certainly none of the witches. You must promise to not breathe a word to anyone.”

“All right, but—”

“Just promise me.”

She hesitated, confusion lining her face, then reached out her hand for me to shake.

“All right. You have my word. Just spit it out.”

I took a step back. “Annora cast a spell on Derek and Sofia Novak while they were with us. A binding curse. They have seven days from when she cast the curse… and I have no idea when that was.”

Shock turned to urgency. Mona swore and vanished in an instant. She would now do what she had to do.

I returned to the control cabin, the stench of the fisherman’s corpse lingering in the warm night air.

And now it’s time for me to return to my icy prison before my own seven days are up.

Chapter 15: Derek

I didn’t think it possible for that night to bring more surprises.

But not long after I’d drifted off to sleep, the door to my room burst open. I jolted upright. The spitting image of myself stared down at me. The mist of sleep still partially upon me, it took a few seconds to remember it was Sofia. Mona hurried into the room after her.

Sofia put my strong arms around me and shook me. “Get up,” she shouted in my deep voice.

“What?”

She hauled me out of bed and pushed me down to kneel on the floor.

“Sofia, what is—”

Mona gripped both of our heads and pushed us further down against the floor until our heads were touching it. Her fingers digging deeper against my scalp, agony erupted in my chest, as if my heart had just ruptured. A white mist fell over my eyes. I began coughing up blood. I heard Sofia choking by my side.

What is she doing to us?

I tried to look up at the witch, but as I forced my head upward, a burning heat seared through my spine. I collapsed again on the carpet.

“What are you doing?” I managed.

“Shh,” the witch hissed.

A blinding headache came on. It felt like my brain was splitting in two. I didn’t think that it was possible to experience worse pain than what Annora had put us through in her study. But now it paled in comparison to Mona’s torture. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could maintain consciousness.

My body was on the verge of giving in, when Mona finally released her grip on us and stepped back.

Slowly gathering myself, I managed to find the strength to sit up. Panting, I stared from her to Sofia.

“What was that?” I tried to shout, unable to contain my anger, but my voice cracked.

Sweat shining on Mona’s forehead, she looked down at the two of us.

“Annora cast a binding spell on you.”

I stared at her, my mouth dropping open.

“What?” Sofia croaked.

“When you were her prisoners, she bound you to her island. You had seven days to live since the day you escaped.”

My lips opened, but no words came out. I stared at Sofia, whose shocked expression mirrored my own. That’s what the bitch must have done to us in her study.

“H-how did you know?” Sofia stammered.

“I… I just felt something was wrong. I suppose as the time grew nearer, the spell was gathering potency. I just felt it.”

“I-is it completely off us now?” Sofia asked.

“Yes. I think so.”

I leaned back against the bedpost, trying to steady my breathing as the pain ebbed away from my body. I gazed blankly at the wall.

“That’s what Vivienne was disturbed about,” I said quietly, more to myself than anyone else. “She had sensed something wrong too…”

Silence filled the room.

“Now if you two don’t mind,” Mona said, “I’m going to return to bed.”

With a snap of her fingers she vanished from the spot. I should have thanked the witch before she left, but I was still too stunned to think straight.

I looked at Sofia. “Do you remember how many days have passed since we were in Annora’s study?”

Sofia squinted, biting her lip as she racked her brains. “It must have been about a week, or very nearly a week.”

“That was close. Too close.”

I should have suspected that Annora wouldn’t have let us get away so lightly. If it weren’t for Mona, we would be dead—yet another way we were now indebted to her.