Broken Souls

by Jade M. Phillips

  “You are the Newborn?”

  A coarse female voice jolted me from my reverie and I spun on my heels. A short-statured older woman with bristly hair stood before me. I knew by her tawny skin and gleaming yellow eyes she was a werewolf. She wore an old western dress with a long stained apron. She planted her hands firmly on her hips, her forehead creased with a frown. She tilted her head to the side in question and I gave her a wary sidelong glance. I didn’t need any trouble.

  “Ruby, is it?” She crossed her arms over her large bosom.

  I nodded, apprehension crawling through me. Nothing could go wrong tonight, for if it did, our plans would unravel like a ball of yarn in the claws of a kitten. To my surprise, the lady werewolf’s face suddenly lifted into a grin, and she grabbed my hand, shaking it eagerly in both of hers. “Such a pleasure to finally meet you.”

  I smiled strangely and nodded. “The pleasure is all mine…” I glanced around at our surroundings. We stood in front of a line of small homes near the werewolf district. Though still jarring, I was more used to the crumbling structures by now. The lady wolf still shook my hand, bouncing my arm up and down.

  “It is so refreshing to finally meet a vampire with some compassion. Everyone is talking about what you did for young Orie. A true sweetheart you are.”

  My heart warmed at her acclamation, a giggle bursting from my mouth. “And you are?”

  “Lola,” she said. “Oh won’t you come in?” She tugged me toward a small home which looked a lot like Jax and Orie’s.

  “Oh, I’m not so sure I should. I have to…”

  Ignoring my protests, she leaned in and whispered into my ear. “I heard you won’t drink from the humans. You don’t know how happy that makes my heart. A true dear you are.” She again tugged me toward the house. “My husband and I run the farm here. I have pigs’ blood inside if you’d like. I was saving it in the off chance I’d get to meet you.”

  I was flattered by her words, but couldn’t afford to waste any time.

  “I… I have work to do,” I smiled apologetically.

  “Nonsense,” she waved her hand. “Not on an empty stomach. You look pale and like you could use some blood.”

  I resisted the urge to tell her that I was a vampire and being pale sort of came with the territory. Instead, I stood silently, trying to come up with a good excuse to leave. But she still tugged on my arm.

  “Come. It’ll only take a minute. It’s the least I can do to repay you for the generosity you’ve shown our kind.”

  I sighed in resignation, thinking I was indeed famished, not to mention exhausted from not having any sleep that day. I needed to keep up my energy for the night’s big escape, and a bit of blood would do just the trick. I smiled at her. “I guess if it’s only a minute…”

  For a small while, I sat and chatted with the nice older couple as they ate their dinner and I drank a cup of animal blood. I’d noticed since Pandora getting me goat’s blood, every time I drank, it went down a little easier.

  The sweet twosome thanked me profusely and offered me compliments for my bravery and kindness, and though a bit excessive, I took their admiration with grace. Before long, I left with well wishes and waves at the door, but not before Lola insisted I take some blood with me. I accepted the gift graciously and slid the flask into my skirt pocket, thinking it would definitely be helpful to me later.

  With blood in my system and seeing the impact I made on these werewolves’ lives, I was completely rejuvenated and ready for our coming escape.

  But I didn’t even make it halfway down the street before I was stopped by another group of werewolves, all shaking my hand and offering niceties. To my surprise, the group grew larger and even a couple of small wolf children wanted to meet and hug me. I laughed as they tugged on the hem of my long skirt.

  Their reaction made me realize Jax and Orie were right all along; vampires and werewolves do not help each other and what I’d done for Orie was unheard of. Even in this supernatural town, segregation was most prevalent. But I couldn’t help but think maybe I’d tilted the scale just enough to start a change. Maybe each side would give each other enough credit to start working together from now on.

  I became so wrapped up in speaking to the werewolves I hadn’t noticed the time. The moon hung a quarter way into the sky and I should’ve been done with my laundry by now and on the way to The Shelter to feed the humans. I bid the group farewell and sped through town to Vampire Hall. I reached the entrance in no time flat and knocked at the grand doors standing before me.

  I’d only been inside of Vampire Hall once before. It was where Pandora’s job recruitment office stood and where I was first given the task of blood slave duty. I remembered that night well, now being glad my journey was finally coming to an end. The large doors creaked open to reveal a young male vampire in a livery uniform. His glare made me uneasy.

  “Um… I’m Ruby. I’m here to see Natalia, to pick up the laundry.”

  He gave me a long once over and, after confirming who I was, nodded. “Natalia just left with Horus. But stay here and I’ll get the bags for you.” He disappeared into the building, leaving the door open a crack.

  Urgency flared through me, my heart racing. That meant Natalia and Horus were more than likely questioning Guy already and the time was growing near. I hoped they took it easy on him tonight. He said it would be the last night they would visit him before deciding on a death sentence. I grasped for the rosary at my chest, realizing its absence.

  I nearly jumped when the vampire butler threw open the door and dropped the bags of dirty linens at my feet. I hefted them up over my shoulder and thanked him before racing off into the night.

  Though I had no intentions of washing all of the clothes, I stopped by the laundry well at the park just for formalities. At this point, I never knew who would be watching me and furthermore who was an enemy or ally. I quickly washed a couple of towels and hung them on the line. I scanned the surrounding street and the mercantile store out front. As I suspected, there was no one watching me and no Natalia.

  I flashed over to Big Nose Kate’s, keeping the laundry bags in tow. I grabbed the trolley of food and managed to pilfer some extra fruit and bread, thinking the humans would need it to keep up their energy. Their eyes lit up when I entered The Shelter.

  Glass was still strewed about the floor and a cold draft permeated the building through the broken storefront. Even though the days were warm in the desert, it was commonplace knowledge the further into fall we got, the harsher and more frigid the nights became. The humans shook and shivered in their threadbare and tattered clothes.

  My heart sank as I walked by Earl’s empty cell. I wished he was there to witness our impending freedom, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

  Pushing my sadness aside, I quickly passed out the food and water, as well as giving each human a set of the vampire’s clothing to put on. They eyed me dubiously at the fancy new wardrobe, but I told them all would be explained in due time and to dress quickly. Excited murmurs passed between them as I stopped by the last cage. Kate, the woman who’d been placed next to Earl was standing at the back looking uneasy. I urged her toward the front and spoke in a low whisper.

  “What is going on Ruby?” she asked, her face a mixture of emotions.

  I exhaled slowly. “All I can tell you for now is by tomorrow morning we will be far away from this place.”

  She clasped her hands to her chest and gasped. “But… but how?”

  I pushed a dress and pantaloons through the slit on the cage and she caught the items in her hands.

  “Leave that up to me. But for now, I need you to organize everybody into three groups. Once out of here, they must stay with their groups until they reach the gates. A couple of friends of mine will be coming to release you very soon.”

  Kate looked at me with wet eyes. “Am I dreaming?” she breathed.

  I shook my head with a smile. “No. But you must pass on the information to everyone.
They must keep calm and quiet if this is to work. They must understand how important it is and their silence could mean the difference between life and death. Do you understand?”

  She nodded enthusiastically.

  I sighed heavily. “Good.”

  I left The Shelter with my heart thudding hard in my chest. I looked up to see the moon halfway across the sky. That was the signal.

  It was time.

  THIRTY-SIX: CLOE

  After our planning session, Orie rushed off to guard duty and Ruby to start her part of the plan. I was left with a few hours to rest before I made my own escape, but resting was the last thing I was able to do.

  My mind whirled and churned as I laid on the sickbed watching the candlelight flicker against the wall. Tombstone had been my home for the last twenty years. And now, realizing it might be my last night there hit me like a bludgeon. I tried to remember a happy moment or something I would miss about the town, yet all I saw was Horus and his power over me.

  Endless nights of subservient duties and endless days of lying next to a man I despised, I’d been in constant fear for my safety —not to mention my life— and was in constant denial of my feelings for Orie. Though I’d come to accept my new life, as there was no other option, I never forgot the hell I’d been living in. A true nightmare.

  Though once Ruby arrived in town, it was as if the sky opened up and the sun I hadn’t seen in so long shone down on me, warming my cold soul. The hope of new possibilities arose as she made me remember the humanity I’d lost long ago. My numbness melted away like an ice cube on a hot summer day, bringing forth long forgotten feelings of love and compassion, hope and belief.

  I imagined a life with Orie free from fear and degradation, one where we could be ourselves and enjoy life, together. But beneath my newfound optimism, hung a layer of dread. I feared what might happen if our plans were foiled and what Horus might do to me if he found out. I shuddered inside.

  And like usual, without warning, my mind folded in on itself, trapping me within the confines of a dark memory of the night Horus made me into what I was; his creation, his servant, and his pet.

  The memory seeped through me and I saw it as vividly as if it were just yesterday…

  The stranger with the black eyes held out his hand, and I thought about how cold it was in my warm one. I could smell blood in the air from my mother’s dead boyfriend lying on the ground, fear quaking inside of me. Yet along with that fear, I could feel the rush of excitement at the unexpected.

  After making the decision to leave the run-down trailer park I called home, the vampire flashed us away into the night in a blur of colors.

  I gasped, blinking, to find us at the highest peak of a mountain range. The frigid air whipped across my face like a lash and I wrapped my arms around myself, taking in our surroundings.

  I gazed at the beautiful view below. To the North and South city lights twinkled in the distance. To the East and West was nothing but dark desert. The moonlight cascaded over the scene, painting the world below in a midnight blue.

  “You can have all of this,” the vampire said, spanning his arm around. “You can have the world at your fingertips.” I studied the way he took in the view and how his eyes twinkled, lips curving into a smile. “You can be powerful,” he continued, placing an arm around my shoulder. “You can be fearless.”

  Fearless. I liked the sound of that.

  “Shall you decide to let me turn you, you will be stronger than ever imagined. You will never have to worry about money, for you will always be wealthy. You will live forever and no one will take advantage of you ever again.” He turned to me and smiled.

  I had so many questions, but they all seemed so miniscule compared to the grandiosity of his promises. My body didn’t wait for my mind to catch up and I found myself nodding before I even realized it.

  Before I could blink, the stranger sank his teeth into my neck and I took in a sharp breath as he drank my blood. A lot of my blood. I swayed on my feet, but he yanked me up hard and continued to drain the life out of me. Fear spread through me and I fought against his control. But I was too weak and he was too strong. After realizing my attempts were futile, I let my head drop backwards, my limbs growing numb. I hung there like a rag doll as he drank so deeply it hurt. My thudding heart grew weaker, more sporadic. I was dying. My body shut down, mind foggy.

  “You will be my bond,” he murmured against my neck, his teeth still buried deep within. “You will be my creation.”

  I shivered from cold and lack of blood, my weak heart barely beating. I then felt a push instead of a pull on my flesh. White-hot pain shot through me as blazing liquid entered my neck. He was poisoning me, his venom rushing into my body.

  I tremored and convulsed, writhing in unspeakable pain. I wished he would kill me. I wished I would just die for it would relieve the torture, but he pulled away and let me fall into a heap to the ground. I screamed and vomited, thrashing about. The time went by in slow motion. The sky grew lighter at the horizon and my skin began to burn.

  The vampire scooped me up into his arms and scaling down the mountain in a blur, dove us into a dark cave. He sat on a rock and watched me suffer for hours, my body jerking and kicking on the floor.

  But when the pain subsided, I opened my eyes to see a whole new world around me. Even through the pitch black, I made out every crevice and crack within the cave. My ears screamed with the sounds of chirping crickets and scampering critters. And before I could get to my feet, the stranger’s bleeding wrist touched my lips.

  “Drink,” he commanded.

  I gasped and gurgled as the liquid forced its way down my throat.

  “It’s okay,” he soothed, stroking my hair. “We will now be inseparable. I will take care of you always.”

  The bitter poison traveled my insides and created a warmth inside my body, a rush of emotions brimming through me. I literally felt the vampire’s satisfaction pouring off him as though we were bonded on some deeper level. I sensed his need for control and his obsession with power. It consumed him fully, a ticking time-bomb and I knew he could explode at any moment. It scared me and I wanted to run away.

  But he laid on top of me and pinned me down, creating a cage with his arms. Our eyes met, mine wavering with tears, and his flashing with ferocity.

  “Please…” I croaked, though unsure of what I pleaded for. I’d asked for this, hadn’t I?

  “Do not fret, my sweet. You will never have to go back to that dump from where you came. You will be mine now. Forever.”

  The door creaked open, slamming me into reality, and I jumped a mile. It took me a moment to realize I was still in the infirmary lying on the bed, and not back in my past being ravaged by Horus.

  I exhaled loudly and Morin came to my bedside.

  “You’re breathing heavily,” she mused. “Are you okay?”

  I didn’t answer.

  “Still not talking? That’s okay. It’ll come in time. Shock can take a while to wear off. If only you could tell me what happened to you…” She placed her wrist to my forehead. “Clammy, but at least your fever is gone.”

  I trembled, but not from being unwell. I trembled from the terrible flashback and anxiety over my impending escape. I gathered from days past this would be the last time the witch checked on me for another few hours and I would have to sneak out as soon as she left.

  “Your cuts and bruises are healing nicely,” she affirmed as she changed my blankets. She pulled out a jug of blood Horus had no doubt sent over. “Drink up, sweetheart.”

  I placed my lips around the opening and drank deeply. The witch took away the empty jug, looking satisfied and gave me a wink.

  “You should be ready to go back home in no time.”

  Her words struck me.

  Home.

  Where was my home? I didn’t know. But it sure as hell wasn’t here while Horus remained alive.

  THIRTY-SEVEN: CLOE

  I laughed inwardly at the lumpy shape the pillows
created on the bed after shoving them beneath the blanket. It definitely looked like a body slept there, the same trick I’d used on Orie to scare him the other night. I could almost hear him telling me it would never work, but it had worked on him and all I needed was for it to buy me enough time to get a head start. I draped my cloak around me and pulled the hood over my head. I took a deep breath to steady my racing heart, creeping toward the door.

  I easily slipped from the infirmary unnoticed. A group of visitors had come to see an elderly werewolf, and I blended myself into the large crowd. Once out the door, I rushed into the shadows and kept off the sidewalks as much as possible. Unfortunately, The Courthouse where I would meet Orie stood on the opposite side of the town. It would take some maneuvering to get there without being noticed, but I would manage. I’d done it before and was good at blending into the darkness. In my mind, I reviewed the events which would take place over the next hour; our plan. I crossed my fingers, hoping it was a good one.

  My heart hammered in my chest as I neared Fremont Street. In the distance I saw torch light dancing off the side of the three-story building and as planned, Orie stood guard at the front entrance to the Courthouse, his rifle propped up over his shoulder. His long dark pony-tail hung down his back and his metal security badge glistened in the firelight. He stood tall, with an air of confidence about him, but I knew he was just as nervous as I was.

  A dense mist hung in the cold night air like fog over water. I scanned the streets, my head shifting back and forth.

  Except for Vampire Hall that sat diagonally across from the Courthouse, this part of town was never exceptionally busy. And because I lived at Vampire Hall, I knew all of the gatherings and goings on there. The Hall would be empty this night because of a function being held at The Birdcage Theatre far across town. I reassured myself that most of the vampires would be there, but it still made me uneasy being that close to where Horus resided. Where we resided. But not anymore. I would be far away from Tombstone, far away from my power-hungry maker before the sun rose the next morning.