Grabbing the knife from Aisha’s hand and giving her one last glare, I turned back to Arron. “Who?” I asked.

“I can tell you who… But that information won’t be of much use until you’ve considered whether or not you’re willing to sacrifice another’s life for your own.”

I swallowed hard.

No. I couldn’t do this.

“There has to be another way,” I breathed. “Without sacrificing someone’s life. Without murdering anyone.”

Arron stood up and strode a few paces toward me. “Understand, Benjamin, that the situation you’re in is grave. Very grave. A sacrifice is going to have to be made somewhere along the line—either by someone else… or you could just take the noble route and end your own life.”

“If you suggest that one more time…” Aisha seethed, storming toward Arron. She levitated higher in the air and gripped him by the throat, staring him deep in the eyes. “I told you,” she hissed. “Benjamin is ours.” The jinni turned back to look at me defiantly. “If Arron has no other ideas, then we will just have to find a vampire to murder.”

I turned away from both of them and sat down on a rock nearby. I buried my head in my hands. We’d hardly spent half an hour with Arron and this nightmare was already worsening.

How could I sacrifice another life for my own? I had already claimed more innocent lives than I could count.

I sensed Julie approach. As I looked up, she eyed me tentatively. At first I thought she had come to stand near me just to feel safe from murderous Aisha. Then she took a seat on the rock next to me.

“I don’t trust this Hawk,” she whispered. “I don’t trust anything about him.”

“Neither do I,” I replied. “But as he said, I don’t see what other option I have.”

She chewed on her lower lip. “Even if you did undergo this weird surgery, he said there’s still no guarantee that you would survive. What if something happened during the operation? You’d be totally exposed—”

“I’ve already considered it,” I said shortly. “Until we come across a better idea, this is all we’ve got. Trust me,” I added darkly. “I have asked around.”

“Why don’t we go to see a witch?” Julie pressed. “I’m sure we could find one who is willing to—”

“The doctor I speak of is a witch.” Arron spoke up in reply, apparently having been listening in. “She is probably the most knowledgeable witch you’ll ever come across, at least when it comes to medical matters.”

“Who is she exactly?” I asked. “And where does she live? The Sanctuary?”

“Her name is Uma. She lives on her own little island, where she consults. She is known among supernaturals because she is one of the very few physicians willing to help all species. Most witches with medical knowledge refuse to help others, and will only assist their own kind. Although she is originally from The Sanctuary—a white witch, not a black witch—she moved out.”

The distinction between white and black witches was blurry for me anyway, after knowing how capable of evil both sides were.

“She lives with her sister,” Arron continued. “She is neutral, not allied to any particular land or people. However, I think it’s safe to say that she is not so neutral as to want the Elders to come to power again. I’m sure she will agree to help you… But as I said, first you need to decide whether or not you’re willing to claim another life for yourself, because Uma doesn’t take kindly to people wasting her time.”

I stood up. “I just want to speak to her first,” I said. “I want to ask her if there is any other way.” Although I knew that it was implausible, somehow at the back of my mind I was hoping that she would have some kind of freezer stuffed with spare vampire hearts that would save us from making a kill.

“You can consult with her, of course,” Arron replied. “Though I’m quite certain that you will not be able to get around murdering someone.”

I turned to the jinni. Her expression was irritable, her eyes on Julie. I could see that she was tiring of this mission. She just wanted to bring me back to her home as soon as possible. She didn’t understand why we couldn’t just claim this perfectly good vampire heart standing right next to me.

“Have you heard of Uma?” I asked the jinni.

She shook her head. “I haven’t.”

“Have you?” I asked Julie.

“No,” she replied, still looking highly doubtful about the whole situation.

Arron had said this witch was well known. It left me unsettled that neither of my companions had ever heard of her. It meant I was going entirely by Arron’s recommendation.

“Where exactly is her island?” I asked.

“It’s in the middle of nowhere,” Arron said. “Extremely hard to find if you don’t already know where it is… I would be willing to come with you to see her.”

I didn’t know whether to be thankful or suspicious over Arron’s offer. My every instinct told me the latter.

CHAPTER 18: BEN

Uma’s island was strange. It was very small, and aside from a strip of sandy beaches lining its circumference, the landscape consisted of nothing but a tall hill, at the top of which was a wide, five-story grey stone castle.

After we finished taking in our new surroundings, we left the beach and began to climb up the steep slope. Arron led the way, while I walked a few steps behind him. Julie made sure that she remained at my side, away from Aisha, who hung back behind us.