Broken Souls

by Jade M. Phillips

  The area stood completely empty and I let out a relieved breath at my luck. I slyly made my way from structure to structure, shadow to shadow, until I stood on the outskirts of the building. A row of topiary surrounded the Courthouse where I would pick up a bag of supplies and wait. I crept around the hedge and narrowed my sight. I searched the ground but found nothing.

  Where is it?

  I knelt down and ran my fingers through the dirt beneath the overgrown plants, but froze with alert at someone approaching. I quickly hid behind the trunk of a large oak, tightly grabbing the bark to peer around it.

  It was Ruby.

  Her long braid hung over her shoulder, near white in the darkness. The bottom of her long black skirt dragged across the ground as she approached with a plate of food in hand. Orie shook his head frantically when he saw her and she hesitated at the bottom of the steps.

  My skin prickled, signaling that something was wrong. But what? The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I suddenly knew.

  Horus.

  Because of my bond to my maker, I sensed when he was close, and at that moment I knew he was extremely close. Inside the Courthouse to be exact. My heart skipped a beat.

  We were early, or Horus was late, but either way there would be trouble. I looked up and cursed under my breath, the moon halfway over the sky. Horus and Natalia should’ve been done with the questioning and long gone by now.

  Orie quickly flicked a hand at Ruby, signaling her to leave. She backed up a couple of steps toward the street. My heart pounded and my breath hitched as I sensed Horus coming closer. Down the hall. Just inside the doors now, ready to emerge.

  I fought the urge to shout out to her, telling her to run and hide. I looked back and forth between a frantic Orie and a confused Ruby.

  Go! I screamed in my head.

  Though Ruby was just ‘doing her job’ by bringing food to the prisoner, Horus was the absolute last vampire we expected to see tonight. The last thing we needed was a confrontation. I silently urged Ruby to move, to run, but before she could make a move, the doors to the Courthouse smashed open.

  Out came Horus and Natalia, their clothes spattered with blood— the captain’s, I assumed. Horus’ eyes flashed with satisfaction, the same satisfaction I saw after he beat me senseless. His head swiveled on his shoulders as he looked back and forth.

  I turned to see the spot where Ruby had been standing in empty. She was nowhere in sight. My body sagged with reprieve. It was common knowledge that we vampires were fast, but I’d never seen one disappear so rapidly before. I exhaled, but Horus’ voice snapped me back to reality.

  “After your shift report to your legion leader,” he said to Orie. “Tell him the prisoner will be executed tomorrow night. After that there will be no need for a guard on duty here until further notice.”

  Orie nodded.

  Anger blazed through me as I glared at the bloody twosome. It was obvious my hatred for Horus, but Natalia was a different story. I’d known her for a long time, but we were more acquaintances than anything else. She now accompanied Horus on his questioning missions and was always more than eager to do all the dirty work. She was just as evil as Horus, if not more so, and I always did my best to steer clear of her. Though lately the two were inseparable. It was as though he needed someone else around while I was laid up in the infirmary.

  Horus and Natalia exchanged a few words before venturing down the steps. Orie stood stone-still at the entrance.

  But instead of moving on, Horus stopped short. Natalia offered him a questioning glance. He scanned the area and came dangerously close to where I stood. I darted back behind the tree and flattened my body against it, realizing how stupid I’d been. If I could sense him, he could sense me. I held my breath.

  As Ruby taught me, I quickly closed my eyes and cleared my thoughts. I let go of everything, my mind a blank slate. I imagined myself invisible, floating in a sea of nothingness.

  If Horus did sense me, he must’ve felt mistaken, because their padding footsteps passed by. I hung to the back of the oak, deathly still until their footfalls vanished. With a rush of air, the two vampires sped off into the night, dry leaves rustling in their wake. I exhaled loudly, panting.

  I turned and slumped my body back against the tree, thanking the stars for our stroke of good luck. We couldn’t afford any more close calls if we were to escape unnoticed.

  All I needed to do now was find the pack of supplies Orie left somewhere in the bushes, and wait for Ruby to return. I knelt down on the ground again, running my hands along the bottom of the hedge, but was taken by surprise when a set of fingers wrapped around my shoulder.

  “Looking for something?”

  Dread washed through me. I knew then, that we were in serious trouble.

  THIRTY-EIGHT: RUBY

  I flashed away from the Courthouse after almost being seen by Horus and Natalia, panic zapping through my body like electric currents. I creased my brows in confusion, wondering what could’ve happened for them to show up at the courthouse so late in the night. According to Guy, they always visited him just after the moon rose. But the moon was halfway through the sky...

  That’s why Cloe, Orie, and I had agreed on meeting at a later time, ensuring not to run into the destructive duo. But it had happened regardless and there was nothing to be done about it now except to try again. Though just in case, I needed to waste some time before returning.

  My legs carried me in a whirlwind until I found myself on Allen Street amongst the bustle of the inner-city crowds. I leaned against the side of a curio-shop and caught my breath. I somehow felt safer here, undetectable. At least for now.

  “Ruby,” Pandora’s voice called out and my body stiffened. I reluctantly turned to see her approaching me.

  No. Not now.

  I stood up straight and did my best to act normal, but as we all know, my version of acting ‘normal’ included verbal diarrhea and bouts of ungainly awkwardness. The red-headed vampire furrowed her thin brows at me.

  “Are you all right Ruby? You look like you’ve seen the devil himself.”

  I resisted the urge to comment on how accurate she was, thinking of how Horus would look with a pair of red horns growing from his head. Instead I stood up straight, holding Guy’s plate of food in my grasp.

  “Yes. No. I mean… nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.” I offered her a wonky smile and tried to steady my shaking hands, but in my nervous effort I lost grip on the plate I held. It plummeted toward the sidewalk and, as if at supersonic speed, I grabbed it before it hit the ground, by some miracle bringing it back up with food still intact. I thought I’d left behind my clumsiness when arriving at Tombstone. Apparently not.

  “Whew.” I released a nervous laugh. “That was a close one.”

  Pandora eyed me sideways but, after a moment, flipped her hair behind her shoulders. “Anyway. I’m glad I ran into you. Cloe has gone missing from the infirmary and I wondered if you knew where she was.”

  My breath caught in my throat. “What?”

  “Yes. I hadn’t checked on her in a while and wanted to see how her progress was going. When Morin took me in to see her, there was only a pile of pillows on her bed. I’m worried.”

  I gave Pandora the most clueless expression I could conjure, hoping she’d buy into my poor acting skills. “I haven’t seen her. I don’t know what could’ve happened.”

  Pandora studied me, her deep eyes causing fear to flood my body. But instead of catching me red-handed like I thought she would, she blew a breath from pursed lips. “Okay then. Keep your eyes peeled, and let me know right away if you hear or see anything.”

  I sighed inwardly with relief, but then it suddenly occurred to me. “Does Horus know?” The question left my lips involuntarily and I silently cursed myself for sounding too eager.

  Pandora shook her head as if she hadn’t noticed my intent. “No. I’m hoping to find her before he realizes anything is amiss. I’d not want to see his reaction to finding he
r missing.”

  I nodded my utter agreement. Yet again, Pandora considered me, making my nerves flare. “Are you sure you’re all right? Have you been feeding?”

  I nodded, a little too enthusiastically. “Oh, no. It’s not that. I’ve just been working a lot, with taking over Cloe’s duties and all.” I shrugged a shoulder and smiled, but it felt like the stupidest smile I’d ever given. To my relief, Pandora’s unaffected expression returned as she looked down at the plate in my hands.

  “Carry on.” She whipped around in a blur of red hair and vanished.

  I exhaled loudly after she left and my shoulders deflated. This night couldn’t get any more tension-filled if I’d announced our escape to the world.

  I slowly walked down the planked sidewalk, my boots clacking against the wood. Yet, once I hit the end of the strip near a darkened side street, I bolted. My heart had been thundering in my chest ever since I saw Horus and Natalia and I was certain it wouldn’t slow down until we were far away from this place. I breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, reassuring myself our plan would work, yet doubts still clouded my mind.

  What if our plan didn’t work? What if I’d roped everyone into my escape plan only to have it crumble down around us? Not to mention what would happen to the humans. I shuddered inside, vying not to even go there. I mentally stopped myself before I could drown in my own self-doubt.

  As my dad always told me, nothing good ever came easy, and that is why it was worth the risk. I tightened my fists, forcing my focus to the shred of hope I still held. It was up to me to make that hope a reality, not only for myself and Guy, but for Cloe, Orie, and the humans as well. I puffed out my chest in mock bravery and sucked in a mouthful of air.

  “Here goes nothing.”

  I rounded the corner to see the Courthouse a few spans away. Orie remained at the front entrance, rifle propped against his shoulder. I saw the back of him; his dark hair pulled back, hanging long between his shoulder blades.

  I focused my hearing and narrowed my eyes. I listened and looked all around, but neither saw nor heard anything in the vicinity. I deemed it safe and propelled myself toward the entrance. Time was running out and I needed to get Guy out of there.

  “I’m here to feed the prisoner.”

  Orie spun to face me and I gasped, realizing it wasn’t Orie after all. It was Jax, and he was flaming mad. He grabbed my arm painfully and I cried out in shock.

  “You’re coming with me.” He grunted and yanked me into the doors of the Courthouse, the plate of food falling from my grasp and crashing to the ground.

  THIRTY-NINE: GUY

  Dull pain throbbed through my body as I lay on the bench in my cell, barely conscious. To say Horus and his female torturing assistant gave it to me badly tonight was a huge understatement. It was the last night they deemed me worthy to stay alive, one last chance at gleaning information from me. They’d tried everything, knowing that within twenty-four hours I would be dead anyway. But I held strong and gave nothing but one last stab at Horus by saying his name. I’d held onto that bit of ‘gold’ for weeks, waiting until the perfect moment to use it.

  His shock satisfied me more than I had imagined it would, his face twisting in wonder at how I knew his name. And I smiled as I’d said it. Horus. That terrible waste of a body. Horus. The epitome of death and destruction. Horus. The vampire who I ached so badly to kill.

  But it was me who suffered that night, the beating reaching levels of pain I never imagined possible. Regardless of surviving, I was unable to stay lucid. My heart barely pulsed in my chest and I faded in and out of consciousness, not sure if memories of my past, or nightmares of my present ran through my head. Either way, my thoughts bled into each other, taking me back in time. Taking me back to a time that started me on this journey in the first place…

  I gasped upon opening my eyes, confusion blurring my brain. White, sterile walls surrounded me. There were no windows and different types of machinery cluttered the room, sounds of their mechanics hissing and sucking with effort.

  I realized then that I laid in a hospital bed and glanced down to see I was wearing a thin gown with small blue flowers on it. A blanket laid over my lap. I tried to sit up but found my arms strapped down. I couldn’t move. Tubes of all sorts ran from my veins, dropping clear liquids into my body.

  “Hey!” I yelled, panic tightening my chest. “Hey!”

  I couldn’t think of what else to say, not knowing where I was, who’d brought me here, or furthermore if I remained on the base in Sierra Vista at all. Heck, I could be in another city or state for all I knew, and the thought scared me. The only knowledge I did have was that someone had decided I was crazy and needed to be restrained, and I was pretty certain it had been my sergeant after I’d told him about seeing a vampire.

  My heart pounded frantically and I clawed at the white sheets on my bed.

  If I was locked up in some loony bin like I assumed, then I couldn’t help find Lily, and she could be dead by now.

  For a moment I thought maybe it’d all been some weird dream and I was in fact insane. It remained possible I’d lost my mind and Lily was just a figment of my imagination.

  I shook my head, as though convincing myself otherwise. No. I’d seen everything and I’d definitely been aware. It was real. So real. The feel of the cold gun in my hands when I shot the vampire in his leg. The clenching in my chest when I realized he was sucking Lily’s blood. I reached down and grasped the aching muscles in my legs. That too, was real. They burned from running myself ragged.

  “Hey!” I screamed out again, tugging against my restraints. “Somebody listen to me!”

  To my relief, the door creaked open and a female nurse in light blue scrubs entered. But she acted as though I hadn’t just been screaming my head off. She avoided my gaze and went about her work unaffected.

  “Where am I?” I asked.

  The nurse came to my bedside and, without a word, changed out one of the bags hanging above me.

  “What happened?” I asked again. “Where’s my sergeant?”

  The woman acted as though I was not even there, keeping her focus on the machinery she tinkered with. It infuriated me, but I would get nowhere by acting like a maniac. I took in a deep breath to calm myself and lowered my voice calmly.

  “Please,” I said. “What happened? Am I still on base?”

  The woman barely flinched at my calm tone, but still did not respond. She threw some items into a large trash bin on wheels and rolled it toward the door.

  “Wait!”

  She did not wait. The door closed and I was alone again.

  I felt myself fading out again, sleepy and groggy. I looked up at the bag dripping into my vein and came to the conclusion she’d replaced a new batch of drugs to keep me docile. I fought against the darkness but it took me away swiftly.

  “Private,” a deep voice said, but it was still dark and I could not see. Probably the wee hours of the morning. Sleep pulled at me. So tired. I snugged back down under the blanket, my mind sinking in on itself.

  “Private Stone,” the voice said again.

  Something tugged at the back of my mind, telling me I had something to do. Something pressing. I grasped for the fleeting thought, but it traipsed away like the mist on the moors.

  “Private Stone.”

  My eyes peeled opened to see a tall form looming over me, but that darned thought kept tugging at me. My eyes then closed of their own accord and as they did, it finally hit me. Lily. I needed to find Lily.

  “Wake up, son. I need to speak to you.”

  Son? Was my father here? Heck, I didn’t even know where here was.

  “Nurse!” the voice bellowed. “Remove the drugs! I need him awake.”

  I was vaguely aware of a tugging on my arm. Lily. The only thing in my mind was Lily. A damp coldness touched my forehead. I peeled my lids open again, blinking the water out of them.

  “There,” the man said, wiping the cold liquid from my face with a cloth. His
blurry form turned away from me. He issued some words to the other presence in the room, asking them to leave. The door clicked shut.

  “Good morning, Private Stone.”

  The man’s face came into focus. Light brown hair lay across a broad forehead and his stern face held a glint of kindness. He wore a neatly pressed black business suit with a white square tucked in the pocket. He studied me.

  “You’ve been through quite a lot over the past few days, I imagine.”

  In a flash, my memories came back more solidly. I remembered Lily and the vampire. I blinked, considering the man warily. I didn’t know who to trust anymore. Anyone could be my enemy now.

  “My name is General Brandt. I heard about what happened with your girlfriend. You claim that a vampire took her?”

  A general? He didn’t look like a general. He looked like some secret agent from the movies that wore sunglasses and hunted aliens.

  I furrowed my brows at his question and ignored the urge to nod. I wanted to tell him about what happened. I wanted to tell him that a crazed vampire was on the loose praying on innocent girls. A vampire who stole Lily from me. But I’d already witnessed what happened when I spoke of the incident. It landed me here, in some sort of mental hospital. I didn’t need to dig myself in any further. What I needed was to get out of here.

  General Brandt took a chair from the side wall and placed it beside my bed. He sat down and leaned his elbows on his knees, considering me intently.

  “I believe you.” His words came out in a smooth whisper, so quiet I was unsure I heard him correctly. I opened my mouth to speak, but didn’t know what to say. “I believe you,” he repeated himself. “You’re not crazy.”