The idea of killing him was tempting, even if she hated to do it. And if she had the slightest inkling that it would do any good, she’d kill him in an instant. But even the death of that sorry sonofabitch would not aid her cause. Not while the rest of the human population felt as he did. There had to be a better way. Or at least some way to change things.
“Well?” George looked expectantly through the bars as she was tossed inside her cell.
“Well, what?” She didn’t mean for it to come out so snippy, but her mood had turned sour.
George did a quick double-take to make sure the handlers were out of earshot. “Did you… talk to him?”
Mira hated the expectant look in George’s eyes. Hated it because she had to crush that small inkling of hope he had. With a heavy sigh she said, “Yeah, he’s not going to be much help. He doesn’t like what’s going on any more than we do. If you can believe that. But he’s too far under the thumb to do anything about it.”
“Oh.” George’s whole body seemed to slump. “And what about the experiment?”
“It’s worse than what we were thinking. But it failed.”
“Well, at least there’s some good news. Wait… what do you mean, worse?”
Mira dropped her voice low. “Farming humans for new vampire stock. If their plan works, think of the never-ending carnage!”
Shock stole George’s voice, but his thoughts were clearly written across his face.
“Yeah, that’s how I feel too. I’m not giving up my plans for escape. I’m finding a way out. And I’m taking whoever I can with me. We all have to get out from under the humans’ control.”
“It’s a fool’s errand. We’re all doomed.”
“You’re only saying that because no one has ever succeeded.”
“Your optimism is refreshing, but face facts. You’ll never do it. Not without inside help. And from the sound of things, even the Regent can’t come up with a way to help you.”
Mira flounced onto the old mattress on the floor. For all her skill in the arena, she was useless trapped inside the prison. Never a moment without guards threatening her with UV torches; never without someone’s watchful eye on her. Even now, she was certain there were no less than two cameras monitoring the cells in her area. And then it struck her. She’d been so intent on fighting her way out of the system. “No… I don’t need inside help.”
“Sounds like you have something up your sleeve.”
“If I were allowed to wear any.” Mira laughed. “But I do have an idea. Not a good one, mind you, but better than nothing.”
“And you’re going to keep it a secret from your best friend over here.”
“Exactly… so he doesn’t try to talk me out of doing something stupid.”
George shook his head. “I suppose it’s for the best, but know I do not approve of whatever it is you have planned.”
“Noted and forgotten. You can thank me when you’re breathing fresh free air. Or forget me when I’m burned to death under the hot midday sun.”
George let out a muffled growl of disapproval.
“Submission, inaction, apathy, and wishful thinking will never change things. We’ve tried all of those ideas. Now it’s time for a new strategy.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for your freedom fighter crusade. I am. I just want to make sure you’re around to enjoy the spoils of war with me.”
“You’re a good friend, George.”
“And don’t you forget it.”
“How could I ever?”
Chapter 18
As the last fighter left in the stable, as usual, Mira waited to find out who her surprise opponent would be. She’d been brought out early and chained to a bench in the middle of the room to watch all of the other fighters come and go. Some had been heavily equipped, some wearing nothing but their linen tunics. It seemed today’s fights were all about unexpected matches. Many of the vampires fighting had been from classes below her rank. And of the fights, none of the losers were spared. A pair of vampires would enter, but only one returned. Mira understood the same would be the result of her fight as well.
“No weapons today.” The handler said as he removed the chain holding Mira to her seat.
“Sounds like fun,” Mira smirked. She wished she could see the expression behind the helmet her handler wore, but she was sure he was smiling. No doubt he assumed she’d die today. Without a response, he led Mira to the arena door.
Tegan walked up beside her and the loading cage came down from the ceiling surrounding them.
Mira had not been given a weapon, but her opponent had. Things were not looking too good for her. The Magistrate had definitely stacked the deck on this fight.
“Hate to be the one to kill you,” Tegan said, holding up his short sword.
“Hate to be the one to die,” Mira responded, her voice monotone to conceal the swirling pit of emotions turning her stomach. She very well might die this time in the arena. Not from the fight, however. Tegan might have the upper hand, but she was the better fighter. No. Her worry came from the uncertainty of what she was about to do.
“Joking aside, I’m sorry. I may not like you, but you’re a damn good fighter. I don’t like being put in this position.”
“Then don’t be in this position.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“No more talking!” the handler shouted, and butted Mira in the back with his UV torch.
“And what will you do if I continue?” Mira couldn’t help herself. If she was about to die, she was not going to do it kowtowing to the humans.
Before her handler could reprimand her, the door to the arena opened. Light flooded into the waiting area, momentarily blinding Mira with its brightness. She shielded her eyes, and so did Tegan.
“Inside – now,” the handler said as he shoved at Mira, forcing her into the arena.
Tegan strolled in unaided. He lifted his arms and greeted the crowd, who cheered and screamed his name.
Mira, not wishing to play into any of the bullshit, strolled into the center of the arena and awaited the start of the fight.
The crowd around cheered and jeered. It was hard for Mira to make out exactly what they wanted. It seemed many were upset that she was not acknowledging them, while others seemed eager to get on with the match.
Tegan joined her in the center of the arena. “What’s the matter with you today? Why aren’t you playing the part?”
“I’m done with this bullshit.”
“You’re only done when they say you’re done, and you know how that ends.”
“I thought we were supposed to be the bloodthirsty ones.”
Tegan snickered. “True.”
“Do me a favor. Whatever happens here today, remember that we do not deserve this. Keep that thought close to you and remind the others.”
“Wow, I didn’t take you for the sentimental type.”
“I’m not. That message was not meant to make you feel bad for me. Feel it for yourself, and do something about it.”
“As if I could.”
“When the time comes, you might get your chance.”
He might not have understood what she meant, but at that moment, Tegan looked as if he really wished he was not the one about to fight Mira.
A horn blared sounding the start of the match. The crowd roared, and Tegan dropped into a fighting stance, his expression turning from confusion to one of steely concentration. “Good luck,” he said earnestly.
“You as well.” Mira stepped back and took on her own stance.
Tegan swung his sword hard in her direction, sweeping it just past the side of Mira’s shoulder – a warning shot, meant more to thrill the audience than cause any panic in Mira. She wouldn’t have feared him anyway. She’d beaten Tegan on more than one occasion on the training grounds. She easily dodged his attacks and kept herself just out of reach, defending but not attacking.
The crowd eventually caught on and began booing and hissing her name.
“What the hell are you doing?” Tegan said with a sweep of his sword again.
“I’m not playing the game anymore. I’m done.”
“Then you force me to kill you. You know I don’t want to do that. Just play along. Give them a good show. The Magistrate will see, and you’ll get to live.”
“No. That’s what they want.” Mira dodged yet another swing of Tegan’s sword. “I’m not a dancing monkey. And neither are you. Remember that.”
The crowd’s displeasure must have become apparent to the Magistrate, who had been eagerly watching, no doubt hoping to see Mira fall.
A horn sounded, and Tegan, like a trained dog, dropped his sword.
“Why does the female not fight?” The Magistrate asked over the loud speaker. “Does she not wish to give her adoring fans a good show?”
“No, she doesn’t!” Mira shouted back. “And this female has a name.”
“This female should remember who her benefactors are. Your kind are a plague upon this earth. We graciously allow you shelter and… rations. In exchange for that, you are expected to do your part.”
“Funny how you call blood ‘rations’ when it’s fed to us, but consider it ‘sport’ when you force us to spill it for your entertainment.”
“How dare you speak to me like this!”
“Mira, what the hell? Do you truly have a death wish?” Tegan said under his breath. “Don’t piss off the Magistrate.”
Mira finally acknowledged the crowd. “You all seem to forget that we, vampires, were once human. We were born human. Like you.”
“You creatures are nothing like us.” Anger more than annoyance turned the Magistrate’s voice to pure acid.
Mira knew she’d signed her own death warrant, but she hoped that her message would get through to the masses. She couldn’t fight the system. She was never going to be able to overcome those unsurmountable odds, but if she could make the system change, her death would not be in vain. “No. We never killed for sport. We only took what we needed to survive, and even then we had no need to murder the innocent.”
“Your kind are hardly innocent.” In his anger, the Magistrate had turned a visible shade of plum. He almost matched his robes.
“Says the man hoping to create more of my kind.”
A collective gasp filled the arena.
Mira looked up, finding the nearest camera and stared straight into its lens. Her face filled the fifty-foot big screen and no doubt every other screen in the Iron Gate province. Viewers here as well as at home would hear her message. “That’s right. Your illustrious leader has been secretly working to learn the method to creating more of my kind to slake your bloodlust in the arena. You call us savages, bloodthirsty, and creatures, yet you don’t blink an eye when watching our kind die each and every week here in the arena. Soon, he’ll be able to turn any one of you, and then force you into the arena.”
With a heavy breath, the Magistrate attempted to calm himself before speaking, but his tone proved he’d failed to do so. “I’ve heard enough of this creature’s fear-mongering and lies.”
Lights shot down from the ceiling above. Mira found herself caged in the burning light.
“A quick death is too easy for her. I want her staked out in the center of town for all to see. She’ll burn in morning light.”
Mira smiled wide. “I welcome my end. At least then I will have peace.” Things were working according to plan so far. She only hoped the second half of her crazy secret plan would work as well. Her Patron, man of power that he was, should come to her rescue before she was devoured by the sun; but even if she did end up a pile of ash in the morning’s light, at least she had gotten the message out. That alone should be enough to start the wheels of change in motion. Surely the rest of the human population wasn’t that brainwashed or brain-dead.
Five handlers came to retrieve her from the light cage, each one bearing a UV torch ready to use at a moment’s notice.
“Take me away, boys.” Mira held out her hands to be cuffed without a fight.
Tegan looked on, utterly confused.
“Remember. Someday it will be your turn to do something,” Mira said as she was led away from the arena.
The crowd was in complete disarray. Exactly what Mira hoped for. Some couldn’t care less about the vampires’ plight – but others, people with a conscience, would begin to question their leadership. The seed had been sown.
Chapter 19
Stretched wide across a wooden table, arms and legs bound in thick silver chains, Mira was laid out like a beautiful offering to the sun. But her handlers were not finished with her yet.
To her left, she saw the sneering smile of her regular handler. She wished she knew his name, and more than that, she wished now she hadn’t mouthed off so much to him. He looked positively thrilled as he held up a large silver-colored spike. With a heavy mallet, he drove the spike straight through her wrist.
Pain beyond reason flooded her body, but she dared not let out the scream threatening to explode from her throat. She would not give them that satisfaction. The second spike through her other wrist was harder to withstand, but again she bit back her cries of pain.
The third spike they drove straight into her chest. Not through her heart. No. They did not want to injure that organ and cause her to pass out; they wanted her to feel every moment of the punishment she had earned. In unbearable pain, she couldn’t hold back the scream this time.
“Now, that’s what I wanted to hear.” The voice of the Magistrate preceded his stench for once. “You’ve caused me quite a bit of trouble. And in your arrogance, you thought you’d get away with it, didn’t you?”
Even if Mira could have talked at that moment, she wouldn’t have dared. There was no good in giving in to his goading.
“Fancy yourself a smart little vampire, eh? Thought you would incite a riot and escape in the confusion?”
He walked around her, admiring his minion’s handiwork. “Spikes through the feet, too. I want her to be an amazing spectacle when we put her out in the town center for sunrise.”
Mira braced herself for the pain that was about to come.
“If you vampires were half as smart as you think you are, you’d never have ended up as our slaves. If you cannot handle your lot in life, then you’ll just have to be the example that keeps the others in line.”
Mira felt her left leg being shifted and her foot being placed down onto the surface of the table. Moments later the spike pierced her skin and ran straight through her foot.
She couldn’t hold back the cry. And as the second foot was nailed to the table, tears ran unchecked down the sides of her face.
“At least I will die knowing I did my part to change things.” She spat the words at the Magistrate.
“No one will care about your death, or your parting words. You’re just another vampire. But, come morning, you’ll be a thrilling fireworks display.”
Breathing through the agony, she spoke slowly, ensuring her words came out loud and clear. “Some care. And that look of fear you’re trying to hide in your eyes tells me you know I’m right.”
“A small problem. One that will soon be remedied.” The Magistrate turned to one of the guards. “Bring in Lucian.”
His was the last name Mira expected to hear.
Beaten and bloody, Lucian was brought in bound in irons, looking as if he were on death’s door already.
“Ahh, Lucian, good of you to join us.” He addressed his guard again. “Please find an appropriate place to put our former Regent.”
“What’s going on here?” Mira demanded. She’d actually hoped he’d be her savior. She’d counted on his status and position as Regent to ensure his safety and her own. Now it seemed both of them were going to be put to death, a fate she’d happily accept herself but not at the cost of his life, too. He was innocent…sort of. He’d helped her. He had told her of the Magistrate’s plan. For all his attempts at good deeds, her actions had condemned him.
&n
bsp; “Well, now, are we surprised to see our lover and informant?” The Magistrate laughed. “It has come to my attention, and will be made public knowledge, that our former Regent has been working on unethical experiments to try to increase the vampire population. This simply cannot happen. As Magistrate, it is my duty to punish such unlawful behavior and bring peace and safety to my people.”
“And remove all links to your own involvement,” Mira sneered. Everything, it seemed, had been all for naught. Both she and Lucian would be dead, and the Magistrate would spin new lies for the human population. Her stomach churned with the sour taste of failure and guilt.
“He’s been sentenced to death right alongside of you, his cohort. When your body burns in the sun, he too will share in the experience. We’ll have to help things along with a little fire of our own, but you shall both enjoy the same fitting end for your treason.”
Lucian, barely conscious, grunted, but had no strength to struggle. He was secured to the rack alongside Mira.
“Wheel them out to the city center. I want cameras set up to catch the show come sunrise,” the Magistrate said as he walked out of the room.
Chapter 20
For the first time in years, Mira saw the stars. She hadn’t been allowed outdoors since her capture. The fresh night air stung her already-ruined skin, but she welcomed its cold bite. Even the subtle scent of garbage clinging to the breeze was a welcome change from the musty dungeon air of her former prison. She savored each breath of unfiltered air, knowing they might well be her last.
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