Gabriel had been talking, but I think my hard shell was making it difficult to hear.
“What was the question?” I asked.
“Why didn’t you read them all?”
The small envelope appeared in my hand. I pulled it out of my jacket without realizing I had done so and tossed it in front of Gabriel, between us. “Would you, if every one was like that?”
The letter looked small in his hand. The air grew chillier as I waited. The chill, however, was seeping from my bones, not the atmosphere.
He slid the letter back into the envelope and set it between us once more. Gabriel was very serious when he answered, “No, I would not.”
I spit out, “Yeah, right. You probably wrote it.”
“Why do you say that?” He was very curious.
“Because you guys have done something with her and I’ve been too selfish to realize it.”
“Selfish?”
“I thought she didn’t want to write because—Never mind. I was wrong and it’s none of your damn business.”
“Think what you want, Peaches, but cheer up. I’m taking you to see her.”
I wanted to see Ellenore, but I figured out I made an error in judgment with Gabriel.
“Why don’t you draw a map and I’ll just mosey on over on my own terms to say hello?”
“It doesn’t work that way.”
“Because they’re gonna kill us, right?”
He remained calm. “That’s not what I said.”
I stood up. The only problems with a fast getaway were the two stone walls on both sides, and Gabriel practically in front of me. I was trapped, and no human can outrun a vamp. Given no better choice, however, I would try.
“Well, I thought about it for, like, half a second and I’m not going with you. You’ll have to kill me right here if that’s your plan.” Stupid! Taunting and goading are never likeable qualities. Maybe he should have killed me if I was ignorant enough to blurt out death wishes.
“If you don’t go with me now, you won’t see your sister, and They will come for you again.” He remained in the leisurely position he’d assumed so many minutes before, unconcerned that I had stood up, but there was weight to his words. Was it fear?
Goosebumps sprinkled my arms as I pondered whom he was referring to. Hoping beyond hope he wouldn’t say the name I was thinking, I asked, “Who was in my house?”
At least he had the grace to look away. “You already know the answer.”
“The Mass.” Known as They and Them, the Mass are the bogymen of the dead, the living, and anything in between. The Mass are the most feared vampires, twisted beyond human perception. They have a very narrow purpose. They are sent on behalf of the Members to collect or kill, to cause inscrutable pain and unfathomable deaths. The Mass will act as bounty hunters to bring someone in, but they prefer the kill. It is literally what they live for. Worse yet, they thrive on it.
The fear of knowing they were in my house was very fresh, and the prospect of being hunted again was gloomy, but everything down to my marrow told me not to go with Gabriel. His admission proved he was untrustworthy, like all the other power-hungry vampires.
“I’ll go to the Members myself.”
“You have no idea how much trouble you’re in.”
“Better than you know, Gabriel.”
“Then do not agitate the situation. Don’t fight with me.” I was experiencing a new level of concern from Gabriel as he continued, “I want to be on your side in all of this, but don’t underestimate me. I’ll do what I have to do even if I don’t agree with it.”
“Oh, go cry it to your mama. I’ve got my own conflicts.” There I was being amiable again. Darn, that’s why I attracted all the boys.
I needed to get off of Gabriel’s patio in one piece. Flattery was useless. I might not outrun him, but he couldn’t stop me from screaming for help. Every neighbor in a three-block radius would hear me. And I’m guessing in such an upscale neighborhood, people might not run from their homes with pitchforks or pointy flatware, but they could press nine-one-one on speed dial quicker than Gabriel could dispose of my body.
Before I over thought it further, I darted forward, almost passing by Gabriel, almost free, before he lunged sideways from the chair and grabbed me. An arm extended around my waist, hugging my body to the front of his, as his second hand cradled that space between the front of my neck and the bottom of my chin. He used the opportunity to force my head up so I could see his face looming above mine, effectively leaving the back of my head pushed against his chest.
I had a front row seat to watch the change sweep his features. His eyes looked like two exploding emeralds nestled in the middle of a deep forest ring. And his teeth grew with anticipation of the kill.
In a dangerously low tone he said, “They will come for you again.” I think the emphasis on ‘will’ was supposed to scare me.
“Is it protocol to be so sloppy? If so, it’ll give them away again.”
“The Members sent a trusted human—”
“A stupid human who parked in my driveway.”
“A human to act as reason. Next time the Mass will travel alone. They are swift and silent, but death under their hands is not.”
He had a point, and I wasn’t referring to either of his teeth. The Mass had no rules of engagement, no tether to a conscience. Left to themselves, they delighted in carnage. Even under the control of the Members, they were not one hundred percent controlled or tame by any means.
“You’ll take me to her?” It was hard to talk with my neck stretched so far back, but I managed.
“Stop fighting me.”
“Okay.”
Gabriel let go and I lunged from the patio, making an exhausting dash through the backyard. This time, however, I was ready to stick to plan B if necessary: Scream as loud as possible until my throat collapsed.
He slammed into my back, propelling us through the grass. I landed on my stomach as he took the opportunity to twist my right arm behind my back. I began to scream, the air building excitedly in my lungs, when I felt a sharp pain in my arm. Like a moron, I quit screaming. He ruined what could have been a glorious “I’m in trouble, rescue me” scream yet again.
“What was that?”
“Don’t worry. I just cured you.”
“Of what?”
“You are the most unpleasant person I have ever met. You tricked me twice. I have no idea why I let you. I thought you were smarter than this, but I prepared a little something in case you weren’t. The only way you could ever be manageable is if you’re unconscious. I’ve just cured you of your unpleasant demeanor.”
I wanted to ask what he was talking about but he dropped something next to my head. The moonlight outlined a syringe. Oh! I was about to scream again but found my energy tapped. Between whatever was in the syringe and Gabriel’s weight on my back, I just couldn’t muster it.
“Damn.” My airway labored to breathe normal.
“I asked you not to fight.”
“It was more like a statement. You could have just as easily said, ‘I like green beans.’”
“What are you doing?”
“Making small talk to buy time to figure out a better plan. I’m not that clever under pressure.”
“Your humor is lacking, and your blood is stirring my hunger.” More to himself, he added, “This could have been so simple.”
Suddenly, I no longer felt like a rock. A pile of dirt was more like it.
The weight of Gabriel’s body disappeared as he stood up. I rolled onto my back, feeling much more sluggish than I would have liked. My eyelids fluttered shut a few times. In one more blink, Gabriel helped me to my feet. Vampires, always so helpful. The Boy Scouts of the underworld. Yeah, right. To be optimistic, though, his eyes had turned human again and there were no foreboding fangs in sight.
My feet wobbled and my vision was rapidly diminishing. Everything was taking on a waffled appearance. Gabriel’s left arm ran across my back until his hand
gripped my side, guiding me forward. We were on our way back to the patio. What else could I do? I’d lost the battle. Struggling was no use. On a good note, I would see my sister soon to solve the mess... Or die tragically.
Glaring in his direction, I warned, “You better not cop a feel.”
“Don’t worry. My mama taught me better than that.” He said “mama” like the whitest Northerner you could ever meet. I would have chuckled if there were energy to spare. In fact, walking back to the patio seemed to take forever. How far had I run? Halfway there, I knew I wouldn’t make it.
“What was that?”
“Tranquilizer.”
A desensitized feeling traveled quickly through my system forcing me to wonder if a body could sleep while the mind remained awake. Either the thought was fleeting or my question was about to be answered because I could feel my brain shutting down.
“It works fast.”
“Your heightened adrenaline is responsible, of which I’m quite thankful for.”
The subtle attention of his strength was soothing in an odd way. I never would have expected to find such peace in Gabriel’s embrace. Granted, I was drugged and he was just doing his job. Not a fairytale moment.
Almost inaudible, I said, “Tranquilizer... That’s cheating.”
“When you’re involved, it’s just necessity.”
My eyes closed on the edge of his words. And when my knees buckled, the burden of my weight floated away in Gabriel’s arms. Maybe I was more pleasant to be around when I was unconscious. I heard plenty of complains about my attitude during my waking hours. Never once had anyone complained while I was unconscious. Did that even make sense? And then I was unconscious. No complaints.
The most alarming aspect of the evening, as it turned out, wasn’t the sedative, but waking up handcuffed to a very rigid armchair.
Chapter Ten
Disembodied voices argued somewhere as I quietly slid my wrists around, testing the tautness of the cuffs. They were less forgiving than an anaconda. My vision was slightly blurry from sleep and most of the room was sunk in darkness, which didn’t help. I found myself hoping the cuffs were the most uninviting aspect of the space.
The door was slightly ajar, leaving an emaciated stream of light to fall short of touching my legs. I couldn’t see who was in the other room. What were they saying? The chair creaked when I leaned sideways, trying to peek through the crack. I cursed Gabriel under my breath when I almost tipped over. It was no coincidence that he walked in shortly after.
He shut the door, rendering me blind. Not given time to listen for footsteps, I felt his hand on my shoulder before it slid down to the handcuffs.
When he spoke, it came low and humorless. Gabriel was always serious, but never as professional and removed as he was unlatching the cuffs. Didn’t he just share a dysfunctional fight with me? And cheated, I would like to add.
“Listen to me. And that doesn’t mean talk back or make jokes.”
I wasn’t in a jazzy mood anyway. This was it. I was about to meet the very angry vampires. And the moment before your death is rarely a joking matter. “Okay,” I said, voice strained.
Gabriel dropped to his knees to unwind the freakishly long chain on the cuffs. He was close enough that I felt the muscles in his waist against the insides of my thighs. I could even smell the hint of sage and spearmint wound in his dark locks. It almost made up for the awful cologne.
“When we leave this room, walk next to me. Do not speak unless asked a question. And under no circumstance try to escape.”
“Okay.”
He leaned in close enough that his lips almost touched my ear. “Do not speak unless asked a question.” I almost said okay again but realized through the tickle of his breath that he was testing me. My lips remained shut. I passed.
“Stand up.”
I stood, not at all ashamed of being scared. Gabriel moved to my right and fastened his long fingers around my arm above the elbow. We moved effortlessly through the room thanks to vampire sight, but my footsteps hesitated as he opened the door to a room brightly lit by numerous oil lamps. It looked like a dining room minus the furniture. There was a large, elaborate candle chandelier in the middle of the ceiling, along with gas lamps in each corner fashioned to look semi-modern.
The illuminated room may have been pretty if not for the five vampires standing smack dab in the middle. The Members of the Allegiance were made up of two women and three men. I recognized them immediately because I’d had the displeasure of meeting them four years ago, and the fortune of communicating through messengers ever since.
The brunette woman dressed in a conservative pantsuit, hair cut so short it barely had weight to lay flat. She could have passed as an executive. The second woman was quite a contrast. She had long, ashen blond hair that hung freely down her back. Her dress was of an older style, the waist so high it cinched under her breasts. It was a deep purple wine that draped her entire body. She was the quintessential maiden who needed rescuing, though I’m sure it was often the good knights who found themselves in a predicament.
The men were more uniformed. The two younger looking men wore sweaters: one indigo and one in maize. Their hair was brown, but one man had slightly more feminine facial features: thinner nose, fuller lips, less prominent jaw line. The third man was shorter by a few inches, maybe five-six, and very portly. He wore a button-up bronze business shirt with overcast brown slacks. Other than the blond woman, they looked as progressive as you could expect for old vampires.
As my eyes strayed from the Members, I started noticing the not-so-pretty chains encompassing the room. The walls were silver, so the chains almost blended in. A little understated if you asked me. I might have gone with a more daring motif, but some people like to conform. Go figure.
The portly man stepped away from the remaining four to approach me. The others were still, unmoving, unblinking. They stared with indifference.
I reminded myself not to panic.
His voice was deep, carrying through the small room. I remembered it from the ceremony. “You are being charged with a very serious crime. If, in fact, you are Myranda Clyne and not Ellenore Clyne, you will suffer the repercussions. What do you have to say in your defense?”
I was still scared, but oddly, I felt like I had done nothing wrong. I knew I had, but a part of my brain just didn’t think so. “I’m the Cypher. My birth name means nothing.”
“You are not denying our charge?”
“What’s the charge?”
“You are being accused of impersonating the Cypher.”
“Then I deny it. I am the Cypher.” Gabriel tightened his grip around my arm. Oh yeah, I should have been watching my manners.
“Then you shall be tested. We know of your affliction, your unique, painful reaction. We are worried that your readings may be false and that the looming possibility of keeping a soul, resulting in the loss of our Cypher, is always present. It has been deemed that what you experience is abnormal and poses a potential global threat. We must investigate, if not for the safety of all parties involved, then to quench our own hesitations.”
I was a menace to vampire society? Is that what he was saying? What a crock. I did the job needed doing, and they were still bitching!
“Gabriel, escort her to the room.”
What a gloomy prospect. I mean, I hadn’t seen the room yet, but anything referred to as ‘the room’ probably had nothing but bad, bad things inside. And I was positive it would be less fashionable than the eat-in dungeon.
We walked into an open hallway, Gabriel clasped to my arm like a set of bangles. The others were no longer visible, though I could hear their soft mumbling.
Gabriel tried to lead me down the hall but, incidentally, my feet planted firm enough to make his job more difficult. “I’m not going with you. This is gonna be bad.”
He stopped walking, moved closer, and spoke low. “I did not ask your opinion.”
“Let go of my arm.”
; Standing right in front of me, he was unwilling to surrender his grip. What was I going to do, run back to the Fab Five? He bent down so our foreheads almost touched, breath heavy. “Stop arguing. This is not the time.”
Don’t worry, it wasn’t as romantic as it sounds. His voice was harsh, and I did have impending doom looming over me.
“When is the time? When I’m dead? Don’t think I’ll feel very chatty at that point.”
“If you stop fighting and cooperate, you will not die.”
“They don’t plan to kill me?”
“You’ll live, at least for tonight, unless you act like the absolute stubborn ass you truly are. Act nice and stop ruining the fun.”
He had me there. I was surrounded. I could fight, but I hadn’t forgotten about my sister. If I went along with everything, there was a good possibility I would see her soon. But as we started walking again, I mumbling, “You’re the ass.”
I glanced around as we entered the kitchen. There were many expensive decorations, but nothing personalized like the dining room. Nothing jumped out that said the house belonged to an individual, psychopath or otherwise. Did it belong to one of the Members? Before I had time to conclude either way, Gabriel directed me to a wooden door. The basement door. I wanted to protest, having watched many horror movies that ended dreadfully for people in basements, but the door had closed and we were at the bottom of the staircase before I had a chance to finish the thought.
The basement was kind of dark, except for one large candle in the far corner. For a candle larger than my head, it offered poor lighting. The darkness ate each flicker.
What upset me most, however, was the blindfolded, gagged, tied up body sitting in the middle of the dank room. She was alive, at least. The blindfold was so large it obstructed the majority of her face. The material was more like a huge bandana folded improperly, leaving her unrecognizable.
Gabriel turned to look at me. “This is your test, Peaches.”
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