by E. M. Moore
“Hot, aren’t they?” She didn’t need me to answer. She didn’t even look up to see the knowledge on my face. “Too bad the vamps are off-limits to us. Well, not that we can’t have sex with them, but we just can’t fall in love with them.”
My eyes narrowed at her. As far as I was concerned, sex and love came hand-in-hand.
She looked at me and smiled. “I’m really not that way, I promise. I just don’t know why they have to be so damn hot. It’s like torture.”
Another female voice perked up. “Complete and utter torture.”
On the sidelines, a guy, not Zeke who I noticed had already fled from the room, piped up. “Same for us. Probably worse.”
Shannon laughed. “Definitely worse for you, Evan.”
The more they bantered back and forth, the more I felt at ease. It probably helped that Zeke was no longer in the room and I didn’t feel as if I had to watch my back every second. I sat on the armrest of Shannon’s chair. “So, you guys can’t be with vampires?”
“Nope,” the boy named Evan said. “They’re really big on keeping the bloodlines pure.”
That sounded so Hitler-esque to me. “And if it does happen?” I asked, staring at the paper in Shannon’s lap.
“The Council steps in,” Evan informed me. “No one wants that.”
“Yeah,” Shannon said. “You definitely don’t want that.”
Chapter Four
Hours alone in my room convinced me that I needed to get out of The Fort. It wasn’t that my new room wasn’t nice. It was clean, there was no mildew, no broken mirror in the en suite bathroom. It reminded me of a much nicer dormroom, had I went to college. The bed was nice, the rooms were bigger, simple, clean. As far as I knew, it was also free. At what cost? I already had enemies here and from what everyone had told me of the Ravanas, I was still unsure of their motives. Why would they choose me, an outsider, besides someone else here who’d grown up in this world? It was my experience that people did things like that for bad reasons, reasons you wouldn’t want to know about. So, The Fort was just another foster home I needed to escape from.
I hadn’t bothered putting on the slate gray pajamas that were left on my bed. I didn’t bother rummaging through the closet to look for the uniform Shannon told me would be there for the next morning. I knew I wasn’t staying.
I waited until the very early rays of sunshine began to tendril through the sky. The window in my room overlooked the back lawn that led to the creeping wall surrounding the fort. I didn’t know whether the myths about vampires were true since the myths themselves weren’t true, but I figured I would give it a whirl. From what I knew about vampires, they didn’t like sunlight. So, once I noticed the first rays peeking through the clouds, I opened my door and walked silently through the hallway.
I found my way easily to the front door and breathed a sigh of relief when it pushed open without hesitation. No doubt, because of the other reinforcements here, they weren’t worried about safety. They definitely weren’t worried about anyone trying to sneak out. I went around the side of the building, staying close to the stone wall. I hurried past windows and streaked across the wide open grass until I hid in the shadow of a tree just on this side of the enormous perimeter wall. I looked upward, trying to find a path to make it up and over. I never rock climbed before, nor was I ever a good tree climber, but I had to try.
The campus was usually silent. No scruffling of chipmunks, no birds in the trees, as if nature knew what was here and was too scared to come around it. That in and of itself told me I needed to leave. To leave and never come back. I didn’t want to think too much ahead of myself, but I knew I couldn’t even go back to my apartment. They knew where I lived. If they wanted me back, they would follow me there. I had to get away from here, and go somewhere, anywhere else.
Staring up, I noticed a small limb that branched out over the wall. It may have not been the best way, but it was the only way. I started up the trunk, notching my left foot into a small foothold and grasping the first branch with my outstretched fingers. I tugged, noticing how weak I was in the upper body. My legs, I knew, had been getting stronger due to the running habits I’d started recently, but that didn’t mean anything for my upper body. It felt like Jell-O as I tried to pull myself up the tree. It didn’t help that the sun hadn’t come out in full force and dried away the dew from overnight. My hands slipped and I fell back down the tree, scraping my knee in the process. Exasperated tears threatened my eyes. I kicked the tree, and then started again. This time, I jumped for the first branch and tried to use my legs to swing up and over the first branch. As soon as my hands grasped the branch, I swung my legs up as high as they could go, but they just came crashing back down. Not able to support my body weight, I fell on all fours.
Much to my horror, my hand fell on a black boot. I closed my eyes, unwilling to look up. I was sure it was Samuel, or some other head guard I hadn’t met yet. What was the punishment for trying to escape The Fort? All these questions hit me at once, my mind spinning out of control. I took a deep, leveling breath, and finally stared up. When I did, I shuffled back. It wasn’t Samuel or some other guard. It was one of the Ravanas. I recognized him from his picture in the newspaper. This was one of them, in the flesh. The ones who wanted me here. The ones who no one could figure out why I was so important to them. Other than the fact they speculated they only wanted my blood. “Y-you?”
He nodded once. “Where are you going?”
I stood up on shaky legs, my knees wobbling. It wasn’t so much from fright at being found out, but I was literally weak in the knees as the full force of his glare powered into me. I was struck by how handsome he was in person.
His voice wasn’t hard or angry, neither was his face. In fact, his expression was open, very unlike the picture I’d seen in the paper. He looked merely confused, one eyebrow higher than the other as he regarded me. “Escaping?”
I didn’t answer. It was obvious, wasn’t it? I didn’t know anyone who would stick around in a world full of vampires when they didn’t even know they existed a few hours ago. Maybe he wasn’t up on human pop culture, but vampires were the enemies. Well, unless you’re Stephenie Meyer and write about sparkling ones. The one in front of me wasn’t sparkling. Still in the shade of the tree, I couldn’t test my theory about the first rays of sun shining through to help me escape even if I wanted to. I forced my chin in the air. “Why am I here?”
His expression remained the same. His blue-gray eyes searched mine. “Because we summoned you here.”
I bit down the retort on my tongue. He was a vampire prince after all and everyone I’d met so far seemed to regard them as special. Somehow, I knew it would behoove me not to be sarcastic to him. “I don’t understand.”
“You aren’t meant to yet.” He stared up at the tree and then at the limb that crossed over the stone wall. “I’m sorry you missed your chance at escape.”
I couldn’t help the distrust that crept into my thoughts or the way my forehead creased at his words. I searched for falsities somewhere in his words or even sarcasm, but didn’t find any. He stepped closer, reaching for my hand and I took a step back.
The corners of his lips tipped up, a minute difference to his normal expression that it barely even registered. “Do not fight this, Ariana. I need to take you back to your room.”
He took a step forward again, I mirrored him, walking back a step. “I need to understand why I’m here,” I said firmly.
He was silent, staying where he was. His gaze traveled over me. His expression softening as he spied the scar on my forearm from the car accident. He was quiet for so long, I knew he wasn’t going to answer.
Desperation fueled my next move. I conjured Old Joe and one of the many tactics he’d taught me. “I’m sorry,” I said. I pulled my arm straight back and aimed for the vampire prince’s eyes. I closed my own, not wanting to see what would happen to him. Though it was ridiculous, I couldn’t bear to hurt him. I merely only wanted to escape thi
s place, go back to the enemy I knew.
My fingers slammed into something rock hard. They curled in on themselves with the force of the movement until my wrist snapped. I cried out in pain, my eyes wide open as I cradled my wrist in my hand. Looking up, the vampire held his palm in the air, right in the place my finger jab was headed.
He frowned as he stared down at my cradled wrist. “I’m sorry, too.”
He moved so quick it barely registered. Then it was black.
Chapter Five
A thunderous knock sounded on the door. “Ariana, you must wake up now.”
Eyes snapped open. My wrist still cradled in my hand, I moved it around gingerly, expecting the same pain I felt last night. Weird, I thought. I put my hand in front of my eyes and twisted my wrist this way and that. There was nothing, I didn’t feel a thing.
The thunderous knock came again and I sighed. Placing my hands on the bed, I stood. Still no wrist pain, I realized, incredulously. Could I have dreamed everything from last night? Not likely. I was still dressed in the same jogging clothes I wore yesterday. The gray pajamas I hadn’t bothered to put on in my haste escape were crumpled at the foot of the bed.
A knock started to come again but I whipped the door open. Samuel stood on the other side, his face pulled back into a tight smile. He eyed me from head to toe, his lips turning into a smirk. “You have five minutes to get to the cafeteria. After breakfast, you start your training.”
As I was used to by now, Samuel turned on his heel and left, a large blur on the edge of my peripheral vision the only evidence he was ever there at all. My heart slammed against my rib cage at the unworldly sight. Looking down the hallway, there was no sign of him at all. Nothing. Could all vampires move that fast?
I slammed the door closed, and locked it behind him. Even though I’d stayed up far too late last night “escaping”, I felt bright and chipper this morning. I found the clothes Shannon told me would be in the closet and stalked into the bathroom. I took a shower, then dressed in the all-black training uniform, and braided my long hair and pulled it over my shoulder. I’d taken longer than five minutes, but it would have to do.
I left my room and headed back to the large open area at the center of the building. I wasn’t exactly sure where the cafeteria was considering I’d only been here less than twenty-four hours. Turned out I didn’t need to worry. The smell of bacon wafted into the common room where I’d met my new training buddies. Following my nose, I walked to the back and sure enough, through a glass door, was a small cafeteria. Others I’d met last night were already sitting at tables, little bits of food left on their trays. Hurrying forward, my stomach suddenly gnawing, I helped myself to the food that was there for us. Unlike school cafeteria food, these options actually looked appetizing. Once I had a full tray, I spotted Shannon and walked up to her table. She looked up at me, her bright red hair pulled into a bun. She smiled and raised her eyebrows. “Surprised you’re still here.”
I set my tray down and sat opposite her. I wanted to say, ‘not for lack of trying’, but I figured if anyone else knew I’d tried to escape, I would be in for a punishment. Since Samuel never mentioned it, it was possible the prince I’d met last night didn’t tell anyone else that he had to, well, I didn’t really know what he did since I blacked out. All I knew was that I ended up back in my room last night. My wrist, still completely void of pain, was working fine. I shook my head. “I’m not sure what’s wrong with me.”
She snickered. “Probably best. I have a feeling they wouldn’t let you out of here if you tried. It’s not all bad, really. Once you get past the fact that there are vampires and they use humans as their guards, it’s not so bad.”
I stared up at her, her cheeks blushed right to her ears. I couldn’t figure one thing out for the life of me. Yes, I’d been brought here against my will, but I hadn’t felt fear like I should have. “Can I ask you a question? Do you like the vampires?”
Shannon placed her fork back down on the table in front of her and moved her hands to her lap. She seemed to take my question seriously, which I appreciated. I meant it seriously. Was she happy here? Were all of these people happy here? Their parents, too. They pledged their lives to protect vampires, it all just seemed so surreal.
She finally met my eyes looking strong, serious. “Yes.” She regarded me as I took in her answer, trying to make my face completely devoid of feeling, but I fear I failed. “You probably think this sounds crazy, and who knows, maybe it is. This is the only life I’ve ever known. My parents, and everyone else in this room including their parents, take great pride in what we do. I’m not saying it’s not flawed in some instances, but I’m happy.”
I searched her words for hidden meaning, even looking past the small smile that flickered across her face, trying to see what she really did feel, but found nothing other than what she said. Shannon did seem happy.
She looked down into her tray and giggled. “I can see you’re trying to figure this all out. Think of it like this. You have police in your world, right? They protect, they serve. They’re there to keep everyone safe. That’s what we do. We’re here to keep the peace. It just so happens that we’re here to keep the peace for the vampires.”
I stabbed a tater tot with my fork and placed it in my mouth, mulling over what Shannon just said. The protecting part didn’t bother me. I was all for police and military service members. It was what we were protecting that I didn’t quite get. Reality and fantasy mixed inside me, clouding my judgment. Could vampires really be worth protecting?
Shannon abruptly stood, empty tray in her hands. She nodded toward the open doorway and I followed her cue. Samuel stood just inside the door, his hands on his hips. She turned back toward me. “You better eat as much as you can, you’re going to need the energy.”
She walked away and I was left there by myself. I ate everything on my plate as fast as I could. I was just forking the rest of the eggs into my mouth when a shadow fell over my table. I looked up, Samuel’s impressive body hovering over me once more. He glanced at my empty tray and then turned his gaze on me. “I’m afraid it’s going to be a tough day for you. Keep up as much as you can. You have some time to bring your abilities up to par, but not much. Everyone else here has known what they were destined to do since they were little. I hope you’re a fast learner.”
For my sake, I hoped so too. Zeke’s comment from last night still stuck with me. I was an outsider. I only knew full well what being an outsider meant.
I followed Samuel from the cafeteria and realized shortly after I’d be doing that all day. Whatever Samuel did, we did. He ran three miles along the perimeter wall of The Fort, we ran three miles around the perimeter wall of the fort.
In the lawn I’d crossed last night in my haste to escape this place, we did round after round of calisthenics. There were jumping jacks, squats, and more burpies than I wished to count. Next, we hit the gym. We bypassed racks of free weights and walked into another room that reminded me of the martial arts school I cleaned. The sight of training dummies, kick shields, and focus mitts were all familiar to me.
Samuel told us when to punch and when to kick, and we did it. I lagged behind in the calisthenics portion of the day, but I thought Samuel was pretty happy with my progress during these exercises. It didn’t last long though.
After a quick lunch, he marched us out onto the side lawn where an obstacle course was all laid out. By this time, I was so sore and unbelievably tired. Though the recent bout of running had helped me, I knew my upper body strength sucked. From what I could tell, there were a bunch of obstacles that required upper body training. I stopped in the middle of the grass, staring up at the ropes and cargo nets, when Shannon placed a hand on my shoulder. “This is the most important thing we’ll do today. We’re tested on the other things, too, but they put a great deal of weight on how we fair in the obstacle course. The mission is to get stronger and faster.”
I gulped, all hope I’d gathered throughout the day that I might b
e able to get good at all this vanished. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“You’ll get used to it. You did pretty good today. No offense, but a lot better than I thought you would. Even Zeke was pissed you finished the run with the rest of us.”
I couldn’t help but smirk. All in all, though it had been a tough day, I couldn’t say I didn’t enjoy myself. I felt strong, capable. It wasn’t a familiar feeling.
She bumped me with her elbow. “Just give it your best—“
Shannon stiffened, and a tingle of awareness ran up my spine. Her eyes darted around the lawn, finally stopping on four figures in the distance. “Oh my…”
I followed her gaze. Oh my, was right. The Ravana princes stood with Samuel on the other side of the obstacle course with their hands on their hips. Though Samuel was gesturing with his hand toward some of the obstacles, the others’ gazes were zeroed in on me. Now that I had a full color look at all of them, they didn’t really look like brothers to me. They all had different hair colors. One jet black, blond, and two with brown, but one dark and one light. The differences didn’t end there. They were all built differently with varying heights. What was the same though was their sinewy muscles. Even with shirts and jeans, I could tell they were more fit than the average guy with tapered waists and wider shoulders.