by Zara Zenia
Roger flashes me an irritated look as if to alert me to tone down the scary factor of my story.
“You should be okay…” I reassure her with a charming smile. “That is, for now.”
Roger clears his throat again.
I whip around. “Is there something you want to add, blood sucker?”
His mouth wilts in shock. “Um…er…I mean. No.” He flicks his eyes to his counterpart, Carl who shrugs.
“Michael is vile, vicious and dangerous without boundaries,” I begin again. “We have to nip away at this vampire trafficking before it’s too late.”
“Armies are forming on either side,” Ken affirms.
“But right now, Michael’s is bigger,” I state gravely.
Katie’s face sinks with fatigue and her eyes droop and wilt with exhaustion. It’s easy to notice the dark circles under her eyes even through the shadows. “I know this is a lot of information for one evening, even after your long journey to the den.” I encourage her with an empathetic smile.
“Yeah.” Katie yawns and stretches. “I’m getting tired, but I still have so much to learn about this terrifying situation.”
“You are safe in this den,” Roger blurts out as if he’s trying to impress her or prove his worth and fulfill his promises.
“Thanks.” Katie’s cheeks flush with an adorable pink color, like a rose plucked fresh from the garden.
“I can assure you, I’m in this fight for peace,” I tell the others and point a prideful palm to my chest.
Ken scoffs and snorts. “I’m in it for the battle.”
“How do you know Michael exactly?” Katie asks.
I exchange a knowing look with my brother. His eyes cast down to the floor and he squirms against the wall.
“He’s um…my cousin.”
“You’re related to him?” Katie squalls like a wind lashing at the surface of the ocean.
“Kind of,” I retort sheepishly. “Not by choice. Michael is pure evil and I want nothing to do with him other than taking him out.”
“So, he’s your cousin,” Katie says again to confirm.
“Right. How many other ways do you want him to explain it?” Ken gruffly fires.
“Sorry.” Katie winces and tucks herself further into the chair.
“It’s okay,” I tell her in a less edgy tone than my brother. “He is my cousin, and as a family member and the king, I think I can get through to him.”
Ken laughs. “I hate to break it to you, big brother, but Michael want’s your job. He’s always been jealous of you.”
“I still think I can stop him,” I shoot back defensively.
“I’m right behind you, Brent.” Ken’s features fall into a blanket of guilt.
“Then act like it,” I grumble, taking advantage of my power.
Katie stares into space, pondering everything we are telling her.
“I know it’s a lot to digest,” Roger gently tells her. “I promise everything will make sense later on.”
“How much later?” Katie’s eyes pool with tears.
Crying human women make me uncomfortable. I fidget with my hands and inspect the dirt under my finger nails while I wait for Katie to collect herself into better spirits.
“My cousin must be stopped,” I finally speak against the silence of the cave surrounding us.
“I know.” Katie nods somberly. Her neck cranes in a downward position so that I can’t detect any of her facial features. Her shoulders slump as her body language radiates exhaustion.
“Are there any other questions you have for us right now?” I ask.
Katie raises her head to meet my gaze. “Yeah, actually.” Her lips curl into a slight grin at the seams. “If I can’t go home right now, can I at least go to sleep?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Katie
Carl, Ken and Brent glance at me as if I’m a foreign doll who is suddenly coming to life and sprouting up a conversation with them. Roger takes control over the situation.
“I have already made a bed for you.” His eyes reveal kind intentions.
“You have?” Now it’s my turn to be overcome with surprise as I process the fact that he cares enough to make sure I’m somewhat comfortable here.
“Yes.” His eyes twinkle with pride as he gently pushes my shoulder. “Come, with me.”
“Where are you taking her?” Carl quizzes from behind us.
Roger pauses and my heart freezes as he cranes his neck over his shoulder to look at his friend. “To bed. She’s tired, remember?”
“Right.” Carl eyes me hungrily. “I haven’t forgotten she is human. Her blood smells amaz—”
“That’s quite enough of that,” Roger interrupts Carl and hastily jerks me from the den and down another slender corridor. When we are safe from earshot, he turns to face me with an apologetic expression.
I shiver at the haunting image of Carl pouncing on me in the night.
“I’m sorry…” Roger trails off in a purposeful whisper so that the others can’t hear us.
Vigorously, I shake my head. “You don’t have to be sorry.”
“But I am,” Roger insists.
I study him for a moment. His steel eyes flash in the dim light draping us in the hallway. He’s cold, but a warmth surrounds me in his presence. Somehow, I feel safe.
“I trust you,” I blurt out the contents of my mind with little inhibitions.
Roger glances behind him with a dash of paranoia fleeting over his features. “You shouldn’t give away your trust so leniently.”
“What do you mean?” I narrow my eyes inquisitively.
“Come on.” Roger continues his skit of paranoia as we scamper off down a short hallway lit by lanterns nailed into wooden planks on the wall.
We enter a room with a cot and a tattered yet fuzzy grey blanket. “I’m sorry, it’s not much, but…it will have to do.” Roger shuffles his feet against the floor as if he’s embarrassed at playing gracious host this evening.
“Don’t worry about it.” I wave my hand through the air dismissively. “I’m so exhausted I’m sure this will do fine. I could sleep on a bed of nails probably.” I snort with a tiny laugh.
“Oh good.” Roger’s shoulders relax as he walks into the room with me. “I’m going to keep an eye on…the others.” He ends the sentence in a hush.
“Why? I thought you said I won’t be harmed here?” My heart races.
“You won’t be harmed,” he reassures me and looks behind him before closing the door. “It’s just…” He pauses briefly as if he’s afraid to unleash the downpour from the clouds in his mind.
“What is it?” I press him in a slightly more aggressive and urgent tone.
Roger meets my gaze. “You want the nightmares to stop, right?”
“Desperately.” I nod.
I omit the fact that the nightmares have been centered around death. I get the sneaking suspicion that Roger is already fully aware of that part and maybe even relates on some deeper level.
I don’t want to discuss my nightmares with Roger, even if there’s a way for him to help remove them from my mind like erasing chalk from a board. It’s late at night and the fatigue of my mind drains me and weighs me down.
My eyelids are heavy, even though the threat of my surroundings is as real as a pair of vampire jagged teeth sinking into my skin. I have to shove those topics of unrest out of my mind and work hard on trusting Roger.
“Look, Roger…” I begin.
“What is it?” His eyes expectantly peer up into mine like a soldier who has just been wounded in battle.
“Nothing.” I get a change of heart and clamp my mouth shut.
Roger places an icy hand over mine. I don’t mean to jerk it away, but my wrist snaps back defensively and I tuck it safely under my thigh.
“Tell me, I promise you that if anything, open communication will bode better for us in the end.”
“I don’t know how I fit into all this mess,” I whine. “I mean, I’ve heard rumors about all
this stuff going on, but not enough to understand what is really at stake.”
“Well…” Roger begins, but I cut him off again.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is…I just don’t know what this has to do with me. I’m not a vampire or a dragon shifter. I’m not from Ethwan, I’m from Earth. This battle isn’t mine to fight.”
“I know.” Roger’s stares at the ground as if he’s trying to dig up an excuse for me right there out of the dirt.
“Believe me, if there is a way I can help, I’d love to hear it,” I add. “I just don’t know what a human girl like me can do to make a difference.”
A shade falls over Roger’s expression. “Why don’t you sit on the bed with me a moment?”
I don’t have to exercise a ton of brain cells to understand his tone. He’s commanding me to sit down. It’s no suggestion.
“Okay,” I respond meekly.
“I am worried about Carl. I’m afraid he’s being brainwashed by the vampire leader who turned him, and us.”
“What do you mean?” I shake my head and my brain rattles around.
“We’ve been told to seek you out.”
I slap my knee and it makes an enormous smacking sound. “I knew it. I just knew this was a trap. I am such an idiot.” I swiftly rise and begin walking to the door.
“Katie, wait.”
Something pleading in Roger’s tone makes me turn around. Staring at him with a vacant expression, I cross my arms and wait for his explanation. “What?”
“Please, come back over here,” he begs.
“Fine.” I huff and stomp back over to where he sits on the bed, but I don’t join him.
“We were told that others would want you too, and that we needed to act fast to get to you first.”
“It looks like you are the lucky winner then,” I drone sarcastically.
“It’s not like that.” Roger appears hurt by my comment. His lips frown and his brow furrows.
“Then tell me. What is it like then, Roger?” I throw my arms up in the air in frustration.
“Just keep your voice down, please.” His eyes flick to the closed door with a brush of suspicion.
I pause, but I don’t hear anyone coming down the hallway. “You promised I’d be safe with you.”
“And I mean it.” His gaze doesn’t falter as he stares at me.
“But you are totally contradicting yourself,” I argue. “You are telling me that there are vampires trying to hunt me to recruit me for their cause.”
“Well…” Roger shrugs.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I point a finger to the ceiling as if I’m having a revelation. “I don’t mean to say recruited. What I mean to say is get bitten and become one of you.” My voice drips with bitter contempt.
“Katie, please,” Roger asks mercifully.
“Oh, save it,” I snap and begin pacing the tiny room.
“I am against the vampire trafficking,” he says sternly. “Why else do you think I’d be here with those…disgusting dragon shifters?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug as if I don’t care.
“We have to work together,” he adds.
“I still don’t know why I am here, unless you are either going to take me as a bride and a mate or worse, turn me into one of you.”
“Don’t just jump to conclusions,” Roger tells me.
“The odds seem stacked against me.” I glance at the ceiling and lean against the dirty wall.
“I need to try to work with them,” Roger says apologetically.
“Why?” I wrinkle my nose and glare at him.
“Will you just come back over here?” He pats the saggy, tired mattress, one that I’m just now noticing has no fitted sheet over the top.
“I guess,” I mumble and drag myself back over to sit beside him.
“Thank you.” Roger appears to be genuinely relieved at my approachability.
“Peace is in our future, if we just find a way to work together,” Roger states with humble nobility.
“You don’t want to go to Ethwan, do you?” I glance at him, searching for the truth.
“No.” He doesn’t look at me, but at the floor. “I don’t want to see my kind die, either though.”
“I’m sorry that you are dealing with this,” I tell him. Surprisingly, I genuinely mean it.
“Thanks.” Roger gives me a pitiful smile. “You are a tougher girl than you think you are.”
“Really?” I chuckle and gauge his expression.
“Yep.” He nods. “You are brave too. Not many human college student girls would agree to enter a vampire den with fire breathing dragon shifters.”
My stomach rolls with belly laughs. “I guess that’s a good point.” Turning serious after a few seconds, I glance up at Roger. “Do you…” I trail off and hug myself. “I mean, is it okay…do you mind staying here until I fall asleep?”
Roger looks honored to oblige my request. “Of course.”
I lean my head back on the stiff pillow and my blonde hair feathers around me. Staring up at the ceiling, it doesn’t take long for my eyelids to droop with sleepiness. The darkness fades away and my subconscious takes over. The rhythm of my chest falling up and down makes a slow and dull pattern. I’m asleep in seconds.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Katie
A foggy ringing sound swirls through my eardrums. It’s faint at first, then grows louder until it’s pulsing through my mind. My eyes jolt open. Dirt and darkness encircle me. It doesn’t take me long to realize that I’m still in the vampire den.
Prickles of itchiness saturate my skin from the coarse blanket I have been laying on all night. A dull headache beats through my temples. I lick my cracking lips and swallow. My throat is like sand paper. I’m parched and desperate for water. I fumble around in the darkness and find the water bottle I vaguely recall Roger leaving for me, reaching for it as I rip open the top. I glug the refreshing liquid gloriously and don’t come up for air until every last drop is in my belly.
Even through the current circumstances, I slept surprisingly well. Yawning and stretching my sore muscles, I climb out of the bed which is more of a make shift cot than anything else. I can’t really refer to it as a bed because it doesn’t even have a real mattress on it. The dirty ground is cold beneath my feet as I take a step below.
Roger is staring at me through his steel gray eyes. His expression lingers on curiosity as our eyes meet.
“Morning.” A playful smile curls at the edges of his pencil thin lips.
I clear my throat and shake the cobwebs from my mind.
“Good morning,” I respond in a raspy voice fuzzy with fresh sleep. “How was your night?”
Roger sighs and rubs his palms against his pants, glancing up at the ceiling. “I was hungry, but I opted not to go on a hunt last night.”
My stomach churns with a wave of anxiety. “Why did you decide not to do that?” I hope he’s referring to hunting forest rodents like mice and squirrels, and not humans.
He scratches his dark, unruly yet straight hair. “I don’t know. I feel like I need to stay here.” He meets my gaze.
“To protect me.” It’s a statement, not a question.
“Yeah.” Roger stares at the ground.
“Thanks.” I smile. “I um, appreciate the fact that I’m still breathing and alive this morning.”
I chuckle at my own joke even though it’s not funny. Roger continues to stare at his black converse sneakers. Mud and dirt rim the edges and the shoes are worn with faded use.
“Is it weird?” I ask.
Roger finally looks up at me. “Is what weird?”
“You know.” I shrug and yawn, glancing around the tiny room that is so dark my psyche is confused about what time of day it is. Since Roger greeted me with a ‘good morning,’ I assume I slept all night. “Not sleeping and stuff. Don’t you get tired?” My question is innocent enough.
Roger’s eyes dance with amusement. His laugh rolls through the air and gives
me a woozy and warm feeling. “No, I don’t get tired.” He shakes his head and gives me a chagrined expression. “It’s hard to explain, but it’s kind of like the way you feel after a full night’s rest.”
“You mean groggy?” I tease and chortle.
“Very funny,” Roger says. “I remember what that’s like.” He leans back in the chair and it creaks. “I don’t really miss it. It’s more like a feeling of always being energized, like your batteries have just been fully recharged.”
I rub my knee and the irony humors me. “I can only imagine what kind of accomplishments I could reach if I never got tired and never have to sleep.”
“There are still the same amount of hours in a day for me as there is for you,” Roger retorts with an air of cynicism.
I glance at him and pucker my lips as if I’m tasting something sour. “Yeah but, you are awake for all of them. I would have to guzzle down twenty shots of espresso in order to stay awake for even one full day.”
“I know what you mean,” Roger states but his face falls with disappointment. “I only wish I could say I get more done each day, but I really don’t use my time as wisely as I should.”
“It’s probably because you spend too much time in caves with dragons,” I tease.
Roger gets my joke and grins. “You’re probably right, but in my defense I’m still new at this. We aren’t exactly friends with them.”
I walk over to the door. “I guess I better get going now.”
A shadow of denial floods Roger’s otherwise stark white face. “What are you talking about?”
“I slept like a baby,” I tell him. “I’m what you call, reenergized.” I smile, recycling the word he just used to describe what it feels like to be a vampire who never has to rest.
“That’s good but…where are you going?” His eyes flash with a darkness that sends a chill up my spine.
“Home…” I trail off. “I mean, back to college.”
“Why would you want to do something like that?’ Roger’s tone is defensive and threatening.
I take a few steps away from him. “You…told me that I could go home whenever I wanted.” My voice fades into a whisper like the sunset disappearing behind the horizon.