by E. M. Knight
I give the bars one more shake and realize she’s right.
“Besides,” she continues casually. She folds her legs and slides down to sit on the floor. “You don’t want to be out there tonight. You’re safest behind bars.”
I shake my head. “Safe from what?”
“My, you really don’t know anything, do you?” she says. There’s a trace of pity in her voice. “There’s a full moon tonight.”
I wait for her to expand on that explanation, but she says nothing else. “So?” I ask finally.
“So?” she sounds incredulous. “So, it’s the night our masters are most consumed by…” she pauses for a dramatic moment, “…the bloodlust.”
My head jerks to her. “What?”
“You were wondering why you didn’t see anyone else,” she says. She gives a little laugh. “Why there weren’t any other humans out and about? Don’t worry about how I know. It’s the same with all new sacrifices.”
A shiver creeps down my spine. “Sacrifices?”
“Oh, yeah,” she says casually. “They bring girls like you to us every few weeks. Usually when there’s a… shortage.”
I turn to her. “A shortage? A shortage of what?”
“Blood. Duh!” She shrugs. “Whatever. You’ll figure it all out before long.”
Is everyone here crazy? “Why did you just give yourself to him like that? You didn’t fight back or anything.”
She snorts. “As if any of us can fight back against them. Look. I’ll do you a favor.” She stands up and walks to me. “I don’t know how long you intend to survive. But here’s a hint; it’s not up to you. Not at all. I was like you once. I came from the Outside. And I —” she stops. A frown forms on her face. “I…”
“Yes?” I ask. “You what?”
“I —” April holds a hand to her forehead. She closes her eyes and shakes her head. “I —”
Alarm sweeps through me. “Are you okay?” I ask.
“Fine,” she says roughly.
“What were you saying?”
“I… I can’t.” She shakes her head once more. “The… I…”
Then her eyes open, and there’s an absolute vacant look in them.
Without another word she simply folds down and sits cross-legged on the ground.
I run up to her despite my better judgment. I put a hand on her shoulder. “April?”
She looks at me with big, empty eyes. “Yes,” she says. “That’s my name.” She cocks her head to one side. “I’m April. Who are you?”
“My name’s Eleira,” I say.
“That’s a pretty name.” She smiles. “I like it.”
I look at her in concern. The inflection of her voice is totally different from before. She sounds like a child.
“You were saying something about the Outside?” I ask.
She gasps. “Oh no,” she says. “No, no, no, no.” She brings her knees to her chest and starts to rock back and forth. “Not about that. We mustn’t speak about that. No. No. Never.”
My body tenses. She sounds as if she’s been brainwashed, or like a switch has been flipped, and reduced her into some primordial state.
But I can’t just let the subject go.
“Why?” I ask her. “What’s wrong with speaking about that?”
“It’s… forbidden,” she says. Her voice is a ghost of its former self. “I’m sorry, I can’t, I…” She lies down. “I’m so tired. So very tired. I need to sleep.”
She closes her eyes. Before I can say another word, she’s completely out.
I draw away. A sense of dread and fear and apprehension consume me.
What’s been done to me? I shiver. Is that also my fate?
***
More time passes. I spend it alone with my own thoughts. They go down devious paths. April doesn’t stir. About an hour in, maybe more, maybe less, the sound of slow, trudging footsteps reaches my ears.
I crawl to the bars and try to see past them. The sound is coming from deep in the caves. A few minutes later, an old woman wrapped in a dirty shawl appears from the darkness.
She’s carrying a bucket in one hand and a cloth bag in the other. She approaches my cell. Without a word she sets the bucket down, about five feet away from the bars.
Then she reaches into the bag and takes out a loaf of bread.
My mouth waters.
She doesn’t look at me as she dips the loaf in the bucket. It comes out coated in a white, milky substance.
She takes a few steps forward and wordlessly puts it on the ground, just out of my reach.
Then she turns around and walks away.
“Wait!” I say. “Please, wait!”
She moves on as if never having heard me.
I stick an arm through the cage and try to reach the loaf. My fingers almost brush against the surface. I contort myself lower and try to squeeze my shoulder through. I reach and strain and try to get it.
But all I manage is to push it farther away. A soft laugh comes from behind me. “Don’t bother. It’s just there to tempt you.”
I look over. April is up. The vacancy is gone from her eyes. She sounds like the girl I first met.
“It’s food,” I say. “And I’m starving.” I look around our cell. My eyes fall on the torch. “Quick. Give me that!”
“Ugh.” She rolls her eyes. “That’s not a good idea.”
I mutter something unpleasant under my breath and retrieve the torch myself. I lift it from its place on the wall. I start waving it around to put the fire out, but then realize if I do, we’d be bathed in total darkness.
So instead I go back to the gate and stick it through, fire and all. I use it to nudge the loaf closer. A spark of excitement lights inside me as it skids within reach.
I grab it and quickly rip it in two. I offer one half to April.
She shakes her head. “No thanks.”
“Suit yourself.” I’m just about to put it into my mouth when another thought hits me. “Is it poisoned?”
“Hah!” she laughs. “No. If they wanted you dead they have other ways of doing it.”
I’m not completely assured by her words. I sniff the piece in my hand. “What’s this white stuff?”
She shrugs. “Probably goat’s milk.”
“Spoiled?”
“Does it smell spoiled?”
“No.”
“Then no.” She sees me still hesitate. She exhales, and takes the free half. She bites into it, chews, and swallows.
“See?” she says. “It’s safe.”
A ravenous hunger takes me. I wolf my half down. April hands me hers, and I have that as well.
“So,” I say when I’m done. “Are we on speaking terms now? Can you tell me what this place is?”
“You know what it is,” she tells me. “You’re in The Haven. These —” she gestures grandly around her, “— are The Catacombs. It’s where they keep the humans when we can’t be above ground.”
“You keep saying ‘they.’ You call them the masters,” I shudder. “Why?”
“That’s who they are. They rule this place. If you stay quiet and meek, you might survive. But,” she gives a bitter laugh, “you’ve ruined all chances of that for me.”
“How?” I say. “By protecting you?” My annoyance with her is growing. “I stopped Raul from killing you!”
“He wouldn’t have killed me!” she exclaims. “They don’t kill anybody, except on a night like tonight.”
As if on cue, distant screams come from far away.
I spin to the entrance. “What was that?”
She smiles at me softly. “The sounds of the sacrifices, taken out of their pens.” She gives me a hard look. “You better get used to it.” She settles down. “It’s going to be going on for hours.”
Chapter Fourteen
RAUL
I watch the commotion far below me from the balcony of my tower.
The humans — those deemed weak, frail, sick, and useless — have been released into the night. They huddle t
ogether as one big group in the midst of the clearing.
I can smell their fright. I can sense their terror. They all know what’s about to happen. They know the rules, and they know their lives have all been forfeit.
I look past them, at the surrounding trees. The dark shapes of my coven’s vampires shift and move there. They’re anxious, too. With the full moon out tonight, it’s all they can do to control their thirst.
“If we didn’t do this, they’d rip all the humans to shreds.”
I turn my head. Phillip is sitting in a lotus pose against the glass door to my room. His eyes are closed, his body absolutely still.
“I know,” I grunt. My hands grip the railing. “But it doesn’t mean there isn’t a better way.”
“As long as Mother rules…”
“Yes, yes, I know.” My eyes return to the herd of humans. I see James’s distinctive figure stroll into their midst.
A wide space opens up before him. They’re all terrified.
He raises his arms, and a hush falls. He smiles, holds his head high, and conducts one slow circle.
The vampires around the edge of the woods are chomping at the bit to be released. But they know, as well as I do, that there is ceremony that must be adhered to.
“Citizens of The Haven,” James announces. “Welcome. It warms my heart that so many of you have chosen to join us tonight.”
“Does he have to mock them?” I grumble under my breath.
“You all know the rules of the game.” James laughs. “On my count, you will be given a head start to run and hide anywhere you please. My friends in the woods —” he gestures to the dark trees, “— will afford you the privilege of time, before coming after you. How much time, you ask? Why —” his voice takes a triumphant tone, “— however much time I deem appropriate. This night, I’m in a particularly indulgent mood. Because, as some of you might already know…” he walks to the circle of trees and addresses our kin, “…I’ve been sent away by our most glorious Queen on a mission of immense importance. From this night forth, until my triumphant return, it is my brother who will oversee The Hunt!”
He spins and points a finger right at me. I curse and start to step away, but Phillip’s sudden hand on my shoulder keeps me in place.
“The others are watching,” he says softly. “Don’t let them see any weakness.”
I know he’s right. I grit my teeth and force a stiff smile.
James turns back and speaks to the humans. “Remember, too, that this is a competition. You may use all means to get ahead. Whatever you think might give you an advantage…” he bends down and scoops up a rock, “…you are free to use.”
He hefts the stone in his hand, taking aim, and throws it at the gong half a field away.
“GO!” he yells as it strikes. “The last human standing receives the gift of eternal life! RUN!”
And just like that, the people scatter. They go in all directions, oblivious to how many vampires are waiting for them in the woods.
And when the last of the humans disperse into the trees… the screaming starts.
Chapter Fifteen
RAUL
“Eternal life?” I glare at James, hardly able to contain my anger. “You promised them eternal life?”
“A joke,” he says casually. He takes his wineglass from the table and swirls it around.
It’s filled with the blood of the last surviving human from The Hunt.
“I thought it would give them a little extra motivation,” he continues. “And boy, does the blood of one filled with hope taste sweet.”
“You lied to them,” I snarl.
He laughs, “So? This is our kingdom, brother.” He leans toward me. “What’s life without a little bit of fun?”
“Do you forget,” I say hastily, “that we need to coexist with humans? That we depend on them to survive? What would happen if word gets out of your promise? And if they know you reneged on it —”
“Blah, blah, blah,” he mocks. “Who’s going to tell them? How are they going to find out?”
“The other vampires talk —“
“And you think any of them would be fools enough to let that slip? My, Raul, but you have a poor opinion of our kind.”
“It’s not that,” I say. How can I explain to James what I really mean? There’s a difference between ruling as a hated autocrat and ruling with the respect of your subjects. No matter who we are, or what our true nature is…
James stands, “You’ve always been a dreamer,” he tells me. “But you are impetuous, too, like me. Don’t think I’m blind to our similarities, little brother. You want… adoration. You want to be seen and respected and adored. But, guess what?” He steps behind me and brings his lips to my ear. “You will never have the respect of humans. We, all of us, are monsters to their eyes. And who can ever love a monster, except one who is equally… evil?”
I shake my head roughly. Liana loved me, and I let her go.
I shift the subject away from me. “Do you remember the last rebellion? Do you understand that the humans outnumber us in The Haven ten-to-one?”
“Rebellion?” He sneers. “More like an eradication.”
“No,” I say. “We were almost overthrown.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. As if they ever posed a real threat.”
“They poisoned their blood without us knowing,” I remind him. “We almost didn’t catch on before it was too late.”
“But we did catch on, didn’t we?” he says. “Mother saw right through their little scheme. Besides. That was what, three, four centuries ago? I highly doubt the knowledge of how to do it remains with them.”
James is missing the point completely. “Thousands died,” I say. “It took us decades to rebuild what we lost. If one of the other covens attacked when we were vulnerable…” I steady my gaze. “The Haven wouldn’t exist today.”
“And I guess that’s why Mother is sending me on this diplomatic mission,” James says. “Right in time for the succession. You know, I’ve come around to the idea of it, after all.”
I scoff in disbelief. “Is that so?”
“As a matter of fact, it is. The way I see it, the greatest threat comes from the Outside. Father’s coven is strongest, but, cut off the head of the snake and his empire will crumble. Even better, little brother, who stands next in line to succeed in The Crypts?”
I look at him in disbelief. “Are you implying that… no.” I break out laughing. “You think… you think they will accept you as their leader? Please!”
“And why not?” James flares back and pulls himself to full height. “His blood flows in my veins. I have an ability you never did. I can see past the surface. I can decipher the meaning hidden behind Mother’s words. And isn’t it extraordinarily obvious? She sent me to unite the covens. Together… we will be unstoppable. Our kind will rule the world! None shall stand in our way.”
A tingle of fear creeps up my back. “What you’re talking about is… exposure.” I breathe. “It goes against everything we’ve ever worked for!”
“Oh, Raul, how you disappoint me. I am so tired of hiding. Aren’t you? The Haven is so… claustrophobic. There’s an entire world out there. Why must our kind linger in the shadows while humans, while the weaker species, go out and have it all? Tell me!”
“This is madness,” I breathe. “Listen to yourself —”
“No you listen!” he interrupts.
“Lestat had it right —”
“Lestat was a fiction!”
“No,” James growls. “Let our kind be known! Let our kind be celebrated! Let the humans come, with their guns blazing, and just try to take us on! They are beneath us, all of them. The life we lead now has no prosperity. Why, it’s no life at all! I say, let us make right what is ours! Let’s claim the world. We have as much right to it as they do!”
“No,” I say. “No, you’re wrong. The world is not made for us. We are creatures of darkness. Sun, the light — it is our scourge.”
&nbs
p; “And why must days be defined by when the sun shines?” he asks. “The world is bathed in night for an equal amount of time. We will flip civilization on its head!”
“You forget,” I snarl, “How much the world outside has changed. We keep our people locked in time in the sixteenth century! Superstition and fear rule their hearts. But out there, James… we wouldn’t stand a chance.”
He laughs. “That is simply a difference of opinion.”
“Our people are meek,” I stress. “We’ve raised them to be so. Outside, they have weapons — real weapons that they can use against us. You think a stake through the heart is bad? Wait until they capture one of our kind and get us into their labs. They’ll dissect every bit of blood — every strand of DNA. They’ll discover weaknesses even we don’t know we have! The illusion of safety Mother has maintained has made you arrogant. When the entire human race rises up against us, you think we will survive?”
“You do not?” James hisses. “You make me sick. We are the predators. We are the hunters.” He gestures roughly out in front of him. “The world out there is ripe for the plucking. It’s inhabited by cowards and sheep! We are the wolves, dear brother. And we are the ones destined to rule.”
Chapter Sixteen
ELEIRA
Even though it’s been quiet for hours, I can’t get the last of the screams out of my head.
I’ve never heard such blood-curdling sounds. They, and the memory of them, confirm to me — if nothing else does — that whatever this situation is, it’s real. It’s real, and it’s very, very dangerous.
“How much longer are they going to keep us here?”
April shrugs in apathy. “Who knows?”
“I can’t believe you can just take it,” I say. “Don’t you want to run? To escape?”
“Escape?” April’s voice rises in surprise. “No, no. You don’t understand. Once you’re inside The Haven, there is no escape.” She looks at the ceiling. “The only escape from here is death.”
My eyes narrow. “How can you be so defeatist?”
“It’s called reality,” she says. She turns her shoulder to me, indicating the conversation is over.