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

the hunters, Derek. I swear that Rose won’t be harmed.”
    I looked down into my baby’s beautiful green eyes and ached inside. She looked up at me with wide-eyed innocence. I kissed her warm cheeks and stroked her fine black hair, then pulled her close against my chest. If anything should happen to you while I’m gone, I will have nothing left to live for.

Chapter 3: Sofia
     
    Once Abby had almost finished sucking the young man dry, the male vampire grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room, leaving Abby alone to finish her feast.
    “One thing you would do well to learn sooner rather than later is that we Elders are not the most patient of creatures,” he said, tightening his grip on my arm.
    My heart began racing. So this is an Elder. He led me along the hallway, turned right into another chamber and slammed the door behind us. It was much larger than the last room and bare inside save for a table on which rested an assortment of whips. I struggled against his grasp but he held me tight.
    He forced me to the ground, ripped the back of my dress open and poured a cold liquid onto my skin, which began stinging. Then came the lashes. One after another, beating against my spine and tearing into my flesh.
    “Stop… Stop… Please!” I could barely utter the words through the pain.
    He stopped only after my back had become numb from the torture. Then he grabbed me and pulled me to a standing position next to him.
    “Now, you need to heal. But first I must change vessel. All this unnecessary exertion has rendered this old one useless.”
    He dragged me out of the room, back toward the black marble staircases. Despite my stumbling and tripping against him, we climbed down several more levels.
    We entered yet another chamber, this time with a young blonde vampire wearing a tattered red dress. The Elder sat me down on the ground, removed his black cloak, and gave it to me to hold. Then, without warning, his decrepit form collapsed in a heap. The female vampire let out a bloodcurdling scream, then her neck clicked, her face contorted and she stood up as if nothing had happened. She walked over to me and grabbed the black cloak, throwing it over her shoulders. Then she pulled me to my feet just as harshly as the man now dead on the floor had set me down.
    “That old vessel was second-hand already. This one is much more comfortable. Now, let’s fix you.”
    The lashes and the shock of what I’d just witnessed made me dizzy. I tried to steady my legs but fell to the floor and everything faded to black.
    ****
     
    When I came to, I found myself lying on a cot in a room not dissimilar from the one we had left Abby in. My back was still causing me so much agony that it sent my head reeling again.
    Sitting in the corner was an old woman—a human, I knew instantly. Her blood smelled irresistible. Sweet. Succulent. The Elder sat at the opposite end of the room, watching me.
    “This is an immune. We haven’t turned her yet, as you can see. I’m sure you’ve noticed how much sweeter and richer her blood smells? You want to stop the pain? You drink.”
    The old woman whimpered and cowered in the corner.
    “I can’t,” I said through gritted teeth. It took every ounce of restraint to not fly at the woman’s throat.
    The Elder stood up and dragged me closer to the woman, pushing my head down so her scent was now intoxicating me. I shook my head violently.
    “No… No… Get off of me!” I stamped down hard on the Elder’s foot, making her lose balance. This gave me the five seconds I needed to flee through the open door.
    I had no idea where I was going and the pain slowed me down. I headed back toward the staircases and then upward, hoping to lose myself in the maze of dark hallways and chambers. But it didn’t take long until I bumped into a second vampire—another Elder inhabiting another old vessel. I could tell this time due to the yellowish tinge of the body.
    He caught my arm and pulled me down, holding me