I put my gun on the floor and turned slowly around to face him. The sounds of Les fighting the new vampire continued to my left, but I didn’t dare look at them. My eyes were on Mercer and the gun—Les’s gun—he had aimed at my head. His eyes were narrow and his smile mean. There was blood smeared thickly beneath his nose.
“Come with me,” he said.
“What are you doing?” I asked in what I hoped was a reasonable tone. “You’re a human. You should be helping me, not vampires.”
“You don’t know anything about it, so just shut your mouth.”
“They’ve threatened you, haven’t they?”
Mercer smirked, but there was a flicker of something like fear in his eyes. His gaze twitched briefly to the vampire fighting Les. “No.”
“Please, Mercer,” I said. “I need your help. So do Les and Ivory. You worked with them. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
His expression turned unexpectedly savage and I flinched. “Look,” he snapped, “I’m surviving. Vampires control this city now. I want to live, and the best way I see to do that is to make myself useful to the people with the power. Got a problem with that?”
Yes, actually, I did, but I wasn’t about to stoke his anger by telling him so. I moved my eyes to Les. He’d wrestled the second vampire to the ground and, as I watched, drew his knife across the vamp’s throat. The vampire struggled for a moment, then fell still. Two dead at his feet. Les wiped his blade clean on the vampire’s shirt.
Suddenly I realized the big, blond vampire had disappeared. That probably wasn’t a good thing, but at least he was out of our way for the time being. Les would be too tired to fight him, I was sure, and his calmness, even more freakish than Rade’s, frightened me.
I turned back to Mercer, thinking it would be possible to get past him now, but he swung his gun away from me.
“I missed him the first time,” he said.
The sound of a shot ricocheted off the walls. My knees buckled and I fell to the floor, but the bullet hadn’t touched me. It had hit Les, though I couldn’t see where before he collapsed onto the floor, right next to the vampire he’d just killed.
“Les!” I started for him at a run, but Mercer grabbed my arm and jerked me back. His fingers biting into my bicep, pulling against my skin so hard it stung, he dragged me up the stairs to where Les had said there were offices.
We went right in the nearest door. The room held nothing but an industrial metal desk. He shoved me toward it, pulling a pair of handcuffs from the back pocket of his gray jeans, and chained me to the handle of one of the drawers. Immediately I tested the cuffs with desperate violence, but nothing gave. Red marks appeared on my left wrist.
“You could get out of here,” Mercer said, stepping back and crossing his arms over his chest. “If you give me what I want.”
I gave the cuffs another useless tug. The situation seemed impossible. My brother was . . . somewhere. Les was shot and I had no idea if he was dead or alive. I was on my own. I had to find my own way out, then find a way to get us all home.
Didn’t you notice the way he was looking at you? Les had said. Use your imagination.
Gross.
But if giving in to Mercer was the only way out of here . . .
I pictured Les on the floor downstairs, shot in the shoulder, or the stomach, or the leg, or the chest, and tried to figure out which wounds were survivable. Leaning against the edge of the cold desk, I felt the keys digging into my hip. I shifted, annoyed at the discomfort.
The keys.
They had been digging into my hip so long I had stopped paying attention to the sensation. But now I knew I had to get them. Feeble as they were, they were the only weapon I had. They wouldn’t unlock the handcuffs, of course, but surely I could make use of them somehow.
Mercer glanced at the door—somewhat nervously, I thought. “I can’t keep you here much longer. Actually, you’re supposed to be dead.”
I looked up at him, keeping my face neutral. “So what do I have to do to get out of here?”
“I think you know.”
Lowering my eyes, I nodded. “Uncuff me, then.”
The smug look on his face as he did so was almost too much to bear. I did my best to show appropriate reluctance and fear while also trying to convey a coerced willingness. Carefully I moved my right hand along my hip. He was too focused on what he thought he was about to get to notice my fingers slipping into the tight pocket.
I shot to my feet the second the cuff dropped off my wrist. Mercer grabbed me, his hand tightening on the reddened, sensitive skin.
“I wasn’t planning to run,” I said.
“Just being cautious. Should we do it on the floor, or would you prefer the desk?”
My heart was wild, pulse thumping in the back of my throat. I inched closer to him. “I don’t know. What do you like?”
He leaned forward, so close I could feel his hot breath on my face. “I’ll let you know.”
My hand closed around the keys and I tugged them out of my jeans, my jerky movements eliciting no reaction from him other than a surprised sound of pleasure. He had closed his eyes, I saw, and shaped his lips for a kiss. Leaning back as far as I could, I swung my hand up to his face. The key sticking out between my two middle fingers caught him right beneath the eye.
Yelling in pain, he lurched away from me and slapped a hand over the scratch—a minor but painful wound. Blood trickled slowly and brightly down his cheek. With his other hand he made a grab for me, but I kicked him in the shin and he hopped back. I’d have liked to restrain him, but I knew wrestling with him and the cuffs would only get me trapped again.
Holding my fist aloft, I tried to look as intimidating as possible. “Where’s my brother?”
“I know where he is,” Mercer said. “But I’m not going to tell you.”
“Of course not.”
For a moment I debated whether or not to argue, to try and force him to tell me what I needed to know, but I decided the effort would be wasted. He crouched a few feet from me, still clutching at the places I’d hurt him. His eyes glinted harshly and his upper lip curled slightly. He wouldn’t tell me a thing without demanding some ridiculous payment in return.
I backed out of the room, still holding the key out like a blade. “Don’t try to follow me,” I said. I shut the door, wishing it had a lock, and then dashed to the stairs. I took them two at a time, one hand dancing down the wall and one sliding on the narrow metal rail.
Once I’d reached the bottom, I ran over to Les. He was still on the floor, but he’d moved several feet away from where he’d fallen to lean against a column. His left thigh was stretched out before him.
Wide-eyed, I stared at the blood drying stiffly on his jeans. He’d ripped one sleeve off his shirt and turned it into a tourniquet. “Are you—is it—does it—”
“It’s not bad,” he assured me. “It bled a lot, but it was just a bad graze. I can probably walk now.”
I glanced back at the stairs nervously. Mercer, apparently, had decided not to come out of the room. But I wasn’t worried about him so much as the big vampire who’d shown up and then disappeared. Not knowing his whereabouts was making me anxious. I expected him to materialize out of the shadows at any moment.
“Good,” I told Les. “We need to get out of here.”
It took some effort to get him to his feet, but once he was on them he could walk all right without my assistance. I held his hand as he hobbled behind me and we made our way to the door, each step bringing us closer to safety. We wouldn’t find Ivory today, I knew. Maybe we never would. If the vampires who took him want to let him go, he’ll get back to you. If not, he’s already gone. Ethan’s words echoed maddeningly in my head.
We had barely gone five steps when I saw a dark shape loom up in front of us, blocking the door. I stared at the big vampire’s broad, square face and felt my stomach sink with dread.
He stared at us for a moment, then a quiet, gentle smile, chilling for its l
ack of feeling, crept onto his face. “My name is Palefinger,” he said in his softly deep voice. “You will stay here until this evening, after the sun sets. And then you will come to witness the beginning of a new era. An era of vampires.”
Les and I shared a look.
“It is only Mercer and I here, now that you have killed those two,” Palefinger said, gesturing behind us to where the dead vampires lay. “More will join us later, but you needn’t worry about anything. We’ll treat you fairly.” He looked around, appearing faintly puzzled. “Where is Mercer?”
“Here!” a voice called desperately from the top of the stairs. “Here.”
Palefinger stared unflinchingly at Les and me for an uncomfortable moment while Mercer clumped down the stairs. Scowling, Mercer came to stand beside Palefinger, giving me a wide berth.
“This facility is no longer used for studying vampires,” Palefinger told us. “I put an end to those disrespectful experiments months ago in preparation for tonight.”
“I was here recently,” Les said. “The place was deserted.”
“Yes, I emptied it out. You wouldn’t have seen me or any other vampire because this isn’t a comfortable place to stay. But I do keep humans here, just as they once kept their own specimens. No one who took part in the experiments ever left here. The researchers, the scientists—I’ve been saving them.”
For the first time I saw a hint of emotion on his face, and he looked disturbingly pleased with himself.
“Yes, it is only us two here,” he continued, glaring dispassionately down at Mercer, “except for the humans we saved, and those we have collected to be among us for the return of Pater Luna.”
“Collected?” I echoed sharply. “Humans?”
“Humans.” Palefinger tilted his head at me. “Your brother. It was your brother Tasker and I took from you that night, was it not? The blond boy?”
I set my jaw. “Ivory.”
“Him. He wasn’t willing to tell Tasker where he’d learned of our plans. He was quite horrified when I informed him I’d sent a few underlings to your house.”
Holding on to Les’s arm, half supporting the weight of his leg, I blanched at Palefinger’s words. Aleskie had been right in her guess that this vampire and the short one—Tasker—had been behind the attack on our house. None of us had been harmed, but Ivory hadn’t known that. How devastated had he been, captured by vampires and probably believing us dead, and thinking it his fault?
“Where is he?” I asked icily.
“Right this way.”
Palefinger walked ahead of us into the shadowed area without waiting to see if we’d follow. We did, hesitantly, Les still limping a little. Mercer trailed grimly behind us.
The shadows weren’t as dark as they’d first seemed once we were inside them. I could make out rows of unplugged computers and a few doors along the wall, feeble light showing from beneath them. That was where they kept the humans, I guessed.
Palefinger stopped in front of the furthest door and turned to wait for us, his pale face and blond hair showing whitely in the gloom. “Come in,” he said.
I hesitated beside Les as the vampire opened the door, spilling a faintly green light into the shadows. He slipped into the room and Mercer shoved my back hard. Though I stumbled, I didn’t bother to acknowledge him as I continued forward, Les and I never losing contact with one another. I was afraid of what I’d see.
The vampire stood in the far corner of the room, hands clasped in front of him. He was like a statue for all he acknowledged our entrance. But for the moment, I didn’t care about him. Ivory sat on a metal folding chair in the middle of the floor, hands tied tightly to it. Concern and horror filled my chest as I looked at him. Les let go of my hand to prop himself up against the wall, and I went to my brother.
“Asha? Les?” Ivory said as I knelt before him. I scrabbled at the knots on his wrists, but they were too tight and thick for me to untie. I grasped his hands instead and he stared at us in wonder. His expression was one of disbelief, and after a few seconds he broke into a pained and happy smile. “You’re not dead. I thought . . .”
“Les and . . .” My eyes went to Palefinger, then back to Ivory. If he hadn’t told them about Aleskie and the information she’d shared with him, I wouldn’t be the first to mention her. “Les fought them off. Criseyde and I helped a little.” Tears filled my eyes. “Oh, Ivory, I tried so hard to find you. I knew you couldn’t be dead.”
“He will be,” Mercer said cryptically. “Tonight.” Everyone ignored him.
“But I’m too late,” I said. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t worry, Ash,” Ivory said. “Don’t worry.”
But how could I not?
“You knew,” I said, “about the eclipse? You knew what they’re planning for tonight, and that’s why you told me not to go out.”
“You know what they’re planning?”
I nodded and Mercer made an irritated sound. “She has connections,” he informed Palefinger. “She always knows things she shouldn’t.”
“Immaterial,” Palefinger said. “None of them are leaving here until we bring them to see Pater Luna tonight.”
Your stupid father isn’t coming, I wanted to say, but the pettiness would be pointless and probably wasted on the vampire. I didn’t want to go anywhere near a vampire during the hour of the eclipse and I didn’t want to find out what they would do when they realized their precious prophecy would never come true.
Unfortunately, it looked like I wasn’t getting out of either of those things.
Palefinger left his corner and came to stand beside my brother. “I knew he was special,” the vampire mused. “That’s why I chose to keep him apart from the others. I will have use for him, I told myself. I could make Pater Luna a special offering of him. The Father will be pleased with me.”
“No,” I whispered, tightening my grip on my brother’s hands. I looked over my shoulder at Les just in time to see Mercer kick his injured leg out from under him. I cried out in shock and started to get up, but a thick hand held me down.
The vampire’s eyes seized upon me, dark yet somehow icy, and I met them reluctantly. They bore into me with dreadfully placid intensity and I recoiled from him in fear. “As it turns out,” he murmured darkly, “I have use for all of you.”
I started to rise, but his big hand fell heavily across my eyes, knocking me down and bringing everything into shadow.
sixteen
star cluster: a large grouping of stars, from a few dozen to a few hundred thousand, that are bound together by their mutual gravitational attraction
I regained consciousness in the gentle rocking back of a cargo van, my face throbbing painfully. My nose felt enormous. I rested against a warm body I instinctively knew belonged to Les, my arms turned at a weird angle. We were at the very back of the van, leaning against the double doors.
Blinking in the fuzzy darkness, I saw the forms of maybe ten other captives heaped in with us. Ivory wasn’t among them. A cage separated us from the front of the van, where an anonymous driver transported us to some unknown location.
When I tried to sit up, I discovered Les and I were bound together at the wrists, facing each other. My movement disturbed him and I felt his breath ruffle my hair. “Asha?”
“I feel better with my eyes closed,” I said.
“Does it hurt very bad?” he asked.
“Only when I blink. Or move any muscles in my face, actually.” I mustered a weak laugh and let my eyes drift up to the van’s back windows. They were flatly black. “It’s dark now. I must have been out for hours.”
“I went after him when he hit you,” Les said. “But between Palefinger and Mercer—and my leg—it was useless. That idiot Mercer managed to knife me in the side—just skin deep, thankfully. Then they tied us together like this and left us there with Ivory until it got dark. And now we’re on our way to witness the return of the almighty Pater Luna.” The last part he spoke with jaded contempt.
I lifted my hands and his along with them to skim my fingers along my tight, swollen cheeks. “How does your leg feel? And your side? You must have lost a lot of blood.”
“I lost a good amount. But I’ll be fine.”
“How long have we been driving?”
“Not long. We haven’t even left town yet. I think we’re headed north. There’s nothing up there for miles except mountains and some dry lakebeds.”
“We’re slowing down,” I realized suddenly.
“A military station,” Les said. We sat up together, listening hard because we couldn’t see anything outside the van.
There were voices from the front, two of them from outside the van. They grew louder before they were silenced with gunshots. One, two. And the van started moving once more. I tried not to think of the soldiers—at least two of them—who now lay dead behind us.
We came to a stop once more not long after we left the military station. When the driver shut off the engine, I could only hear the sounds of breathing.
A few seconds later the back doors flew open, both of us nearly toppling out. I barely had time to register Mercer’s outline before he grabbed Les by the jacket and yanked. I tumbled out with him, stepping on his shoes as I tried to keep my balance, the rope biting into my wrists. When Mercer let go and went to retrieve the next humans, we righted ourselves and stood chest to chest for warmth in the surprisingly cold desert night. He had his jacket, but I had nothing over my shirt.
Unthinkingly I looked to the sky. The stars were innumerable. More than I could have ever hoped to see from the roof of our house, or even Witcher Park. They were brilliant, winking, so dense in some places they looked like transparent veils. I could have stared up there for hours watching the red and blue scintillation.
If it wasn’t for the light of the full white moon I would have seen even more, and the thought was astonishing. Foolishly, I felt nothing could go wrong if the sky looked like this. There was so much out in the world, in the universe, beyond the vampires’ control. So much. Everywhere, in everything and everyone.
A Dark-Adapted Eye Page 20