What did you get yourself into, Ben? I urgently gathered up my belongings and stuffed them inside my bag. It’d been years since Ben got himself into a fight. It was way back in middle school, when one of the guys in class – a bully I always did my best to avoid – tried to kiss me against my will. The bully came out of the fight with a few scratches and a broken nose. Ben, on the other hand, got for himself a broken arm and rib.
Of course, Ben found a way to milk his injuries for all they were worth and stir himself into becoming more popular than ever, but after all the sermons he got from Amelia, Ben never got into a fight again.
That’s also when he started having martial arts lessons at the local gym. It didn’t take long for him to drag me to the Saturday lessons. I obliged him, because at that time, I never could say no to him, but it was how I realized that I was a pacifist at heart.
As I rushed through the school hallways, I couldn’t help but smirk at how useless those classes were to me. Certainly no use against vampires. Then again, I never actually had enough presence of mind to use what I learned against Derek or Lucas. Stopping in front of the clinic’s door, I found myself bothered by the thought that I never actually fought back. As much as you chastised yourself to not become the victim, that’s still what you were at The Shade.
I was disappointed and angry with myself when I twisted the knob of the clinic door and pushed it open. I let out a gasp the moment I saw Ben. He had a large black, purple and blue bruise occupying nearly half of the left side of his face. He also had a deep gash lining the right side of his torso.
“Ben…” was all I could manage to say. It came out in a breathless whisper. I wanted to grab him by both shoulders and shake some sense into him. I made my way to his side and brushed my thumb over the line of his jaw.
“What the hell were you thinking?” He refused to look me in the eye.
Our school doctor walked in and gave me a curt nod. “Miss Claremont, kindly step aside. This won’t take long.”
I got out of the doctor’s way and watched as he dressed Ben’s wound. “May I ask how you came upon this cut, Mr. Hudson?”
“Coach already told you, Doc. I got into a fight.”
“And your teammates cut you?”
“No… One of them tackled me to the ground… don’t even remember who… it was so crazy. I was trying to get away from him and my side rubbed against one of the benches. It’s just a scratch. Barely even felt it.”
Pacifist or not, I suddenly felt the urge to take the violent route and sock him in the jaw. The sight of his bare torso and the “scratch” he’d just added to all the scars that were already there was making my stomach churn.
“How did you ever get such ugly cuts?” The doctor stepped back after finishing up bandaging the gash on his side. He stared at Ben’s body, his face marred with concern. “What happened during your absence, Ben?”
“I’ll tell you the same thing I told the police and that other doctor who did my physical exam. I’d rather not talk about it.” Ben even had the gall to add flourish to his statement by flashing his biggest smile. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his body. He got up from the clinic bed, made his way toward me and took my hand. “Come on, Sofia. Let’s go home.”
I wanted to pull away from him, but the last thing he needed was to be dragged into a fight with me. I forced a smile at the school doctor as we brushed past him. “Thank you, Doctor.”
“Oh yeah…” Ben nodded the doctor’s way. “Thanks, Doc.”
We were out of the clinic and a good distance headed for the parking lot when I stopped walking and pulled at him to stop.
“What? Let’s just go, okay? I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Since when did you start getting into fights again, Ben?”
“What part of ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ don’t you understand, Sofia?”
I pursed my lips and nodded. I pulled my hand away from his grasp and began walking. “Let’s go then.” I didn’t miss the wounded look on his face when I passed by him.
We reached the black pickup his parents recently bought him. He had his eye on it since summer and apparently, Lyle and Amelia thought that the best time to get it for him was a week after we got back from Mexico.
Ben tossed me the keys. “You drive.”
I got in the driver’s seat and started the car. I was already backing up when Ben asked a long overdue question.
“Why did you come back with me? Why did you choose me over him?”
“Since when was the choice between you and Derek?”
I flinched when he hit the glove compartment in frustration. “Can you really be so dense, Sofia?”
First I’m naïve. Now I’m dense. Great. “I came back because it was the sensible thing to do. You have no idea what I went through in there, Ben. There wasn’t a day that passed by that I didn’t think of escaping. Heck… I even tried as soon as I got the chance.”
“You tried to escape?”
“Yes – I thought I already told you that. I got as far as the wall lining the island before two vampire guards caught me.”
“What happened?”
“They were going to kill me. One of them was already licking one of my scratches when Derek showed up.” I could sense Ben tense at the mention of Derek, but I decided to ignore him. This was my story to tell and it was he who opened up this can of worms. Suck it up, Ben. “He asked who had a taste of my blood. One guard admitted to it. Derek ripped the vampire’s heart out and let the other one go.”
“And you still don’t think he’s a murderer?”
“I’m not saying what he did was right, but he did what he thought was necessary to protect me. Once a vampire gets a taste of a human’s blood, they will crave that particular human. Derek knew that as long as I was around, the guard would have an urge to hunt me.”
“Then why didn’t he do the same thing to his brother? Lucas fed on you, didn’t he?”
“He was going to.” I recalled the look in both brothers’ eyes that night. I knew that Derek was more than willing to end Lucas’ life. I also knew that he would never be able to forgive himself for doing it. “I stopped him.”
“You what? Sofia, why? If I could be given the chance to end Claudia’s life, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it and I wouldn’t feel an ounce of guilt about it either.”
“Lucas is still Derek’s brother. That means something to Derek… Family means something to him.”
At that, Ben grew silent. He knew what family meant to me and why I would respect Derek for valuing family. I stopped at a red light and rubbed my neck with my palm, trying to ease my own tension.
“Derek… did he ever…” he hesitated.
“No. He never fed on me. He never had his way with me.” I was relieved when the red light went green again. The sooner we get home, the sooner this conversation is over. “And for the record, my choice to leave the Shade wasn’t about you or him. It was about me. I didn’t want to live my life as a slave – Derek’s or otherwise. That wasn’t a future I wanted for myself. I left the island because I knew that I could carve a better future for myself out here than back there.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know…”
“That’s because you never asked, Ben.”
For the rest of the ride home, both of us remained silent. When we reached the Hudsons’ driveway and I finished parking, we lingered inside the pickup, both of us hating the strain between us.
“I feel like I’m losing you, Sofia.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. It sparked the memories of all those times that I wanted him to want me, of times I daydreamed of being in his arms, of becoming his girl. Is it possible that he actually felt something for me all this time?
Consumed by the silence, I took hold of his hand and squeezed tightly. “I’m right here.” For now. I hoped it was enough to assure him that he hadn’t lost me yet.
Our fingers intertwined and then his lips were on mine. Gentle. Chast
e. Sweet. Numb. I was too surprised to respond and the kiss came to a quick end. Our eyes met for a split second before we both fumbled out of the vehicle and made our way to the door.
Amelia’s mouth dropped open when she saw her son. “Ben… what happened?”
“It’s nothing, mom…”
Amelia looked at me questioningly, almost as if she were blaming me for the cuts and bruises he received. We entered the house and I let Ben explain to his mother what happened. He was in the middle of telling her that either she or Lyle had to go to school and speak to the guidance counselor with him tomorrow, when I decided to retire to my room. I wondered where Lyle and Abby were and remembered that she had a play date. Lyle probably went to pick her up.
I was exhausted – more in an emotional sense than a physical one. I collapsed on the bed. My phone began vibrating within my bag. I fished for it and found a text message from an unknown number. The message read: For the record, Ben was fighting for you. – Connor
I wondered if Ben put him up to sending the text. Either way, I was intrigued. Fighting for me? I found it confusing that Ben would suddenly – in a span of one day – show that kind of interest in me when he never looked at me as more than a friend for so long. Is he just doing this to get me to join him in his quest for revenge?
I opened my closet for a change of clothes. I’d just finished slipping on a red tank top and buttoning up my shorts when Ben knocked twice and opened my door.
When he stepped inside, I was taken aback by the look he was giving me.
“Ben?”
As soon as I spoke his name, he held my waist and pulled me against him. He kissed me fully this time. I shivered as I responded with gusto.
It wasn’t void of passion and no one could ever accuse Ben of not being a good kisser. He was a great kisser in fact – not that I had many others to compare him with. Still, kissing him was just as I always imagined it to be. Except for one thing. I couldn’t feel a thing. It was void of any substantial emotion. In fact, the whole time our lips were pressing against each other, the one emotion that stood above all was the now familiar ache I felt whenever I came face-to-face with the truth of how much I missed Derek.
Chapter 18: Derek
I sat in stunned silence as Eli Lazaroff began reporting the results of the census to everyone present at the dome. Apart from the fact that the census gave me a staggeringly clear picture of the state of the kingdom, I remained quiet because I found Vivienne’s presence and Lucas’ absence upsetting. Vivienne’s words were still ringing in my ears and Lucas was always the constant reminder of how I lost Sofia.
Eli started with the number of the Elite. “We now number a hundred and ten.” He then began listing off the breakdown of each vampire clan and where each of the hundred and ten belonged.
Each clan didn’t necessarily consist of blood relatives. New members were added to a clan when a new vampire was “sired” by one of the other members of the clan.
When I went to sleep, only sixty-five vampires – including me – composed the Elite. The number Eli mentioned meant that through the centuries, forty-five humans were turned into vampires. As far as I was concerned, that was a staggeringly great number. The largest vampire clan was that of the Vaughns, with Xavier as head of the clan and their representative at the council. Their clan numbered fifteen. On the other hand, the smallest clan was that of Claudia’s. Her clan only had one member – herself.
After his report on the Elite, Eli moved on to talking about the Lodgers. The Lodgers were vampire clans who didn’t belong to the original twenty clans. They were composed of those who swore fealty to The Shade in exchange for the security of becoming one of the island’s citizens. The number Eli uttered made my mind reel. “One thousand three hundred and twenty six.”
“What?!” I exclaimed, unable to keep myself from reacting. “We didn’t even have three hundred when I went to sleep.”
“That was four centuries ago, Derek,” Vivienne reminded me. “Many have sought refuge at The Shade since.”
At that, I kept my mouth shut, but one question kept circling my mind as Eli prodded on with his report. How much human blood had to be shed to sustain all these vampires?
“Among the Elite, twenty-five are Knights,” Eli continued, referring to warriors who belonged to the Elite, “while among the Lodgers, we have three-hundred and fifteen guards and fifty scouts.” Guards were warriors who belonged to the Lodgers, while scouts were mainly vampires authorized to leave the island, specifically to retrieve necessary materials from the outside or to take human slaves. Scouts were only allowed to leave the island under the supervision of at least one knight.
“That concludes my report.” Eli gave me a curt nod to indicate he was done.
“Done? And what of the slaves? How many humans are living in The Shade?”
He looked at his feet uncomfortably. “I didn’t think they were to be included in the census.”
“Why not? Are they not under the kingdom’s jurisdiction?”
The silence spoke volumes. After all, why keep track of the population of humans when hundreds of them were lost and replaced on a regular basis?
It was a cold thing to say, but Xavier said it best when he leaned back in his council seat and nonchalantly shrugged a shoulder, “Keeping track of the humans is arguably equivalent to keeping track of The Shade’s food consumption.”
It was a shocking portrayal of how depraved we’d become over the years. A lot of us had begun long ago to see humans as something akin to cattle. Guilt knotted in the pit of my stomach, because I knew full well what hand I played in the culture we managed to create at The Shade. Thus, though I hated to force the council – or even myself – to get into the nitty-gritty of this logistical nightmare, I couldn’t ignore the issue either.
“I want a full accounting of every human who lives at The Shade, starting with those residing at the Black Heights, all the way to the slaves living with vampires.” Another figment of our past began to haunt me. “We can’t afford another uprising.”
“I think there’s someone who can help with this,” Vivienne spoke up.
I stared, waiting for her to speak further. She seemed hesitant but eventually revealed whom she was referring to.
“Corrine.”
I was surprised, but if there was anything we vampires had an abundance of, it was time. “Have her brought here then.”
Within minutes, one of the guards was sent to the Sanctuary to escort the witch back to the dome. When Corrine arrived, I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Her uncanny resemblance to her ancestor, Cora, always managed to knock some breath out of me.
“What do you want?” She demanded, making it clear that she was brought there against her will.
“Vivienne says you’ll be able to help with a dilemma we have regarding how many humans are currently residing at The Shade.”
Her brow rose. “You want to know because…?”
“It’s high time we figured out the actual state of this island and its residents, don’t you think?”
This seemed to take the witch by surprise. She studied me as though trying to figure out if I had some sort of angle, but she eventually took her place at the stand, straightened to her full height, and began to address the issue at hand.
“The numbers fluctuate constantly – as you might well expect…” She glared as if to accuse every single one of us for the crimes we knew we were guilty of. “However, the number of Naturals doesn’t change much. It’s the Migrates who come and go depending on your vampire nature’s whims.”
“Naturals? Migrates?” From the look on the council’s faces, it seemed none of them had any idea what Corrine was talking about.
“Of course.” Corrine rolled her eyes. “You vampires haven’t really paid attention to the state of the humans brought here as long as they keep in line. We humans – myself included actually – have classified ourselves according to those who were born on this island – the Naturals – and tho
se who were taken from the outside world and brought here – the Migrates.”
Growing impatient, I sat up straight and leaned forward to emphasize what I needed to know. “How many of them are there, Corrine?”
“As of our last tally, the island had seven thousand five hundred and thirty two Naturals, all crammed into the Black Heights, and two thousand three hundred and twenty nine Migrates living at the Residences along with their vampire masters. Of course, that number has most likely changed. Who knows how many of them have died since the last time we checked?”
The numbers Corrine uttered left me shell-shocked as question after question flooded my mind. How are we sustaining all these human lives? What are they all doing here on the island? How did their population get so large? What happens to the dead? I found the numbers absolutely staggering and unacceptable.
Then the reality hit me full force. They outnumber us at least five to one. If they ever realize their strength, we’re done for. I stared at the witch, whose loyalties I wasn’t certain of. All they had to do was get Corrine on their side for The Shade to meet its end.
Chapter 19: Lucas
Claudia swung the door wide open and stepped beneath the doorposts of the bedroom she was keeping me in. Feet wide apart, hands planted on her hips, blonde locks cascading down to her waist, the little spitfire actually looked incredible.
I smirked. This is going to be interesting.
“Your brother is going to drive everyone at The Shade mad!” she exclaimed.
Oh yeah… this is going to be very interesting indeed. “What’s he done now?” Having just stepped out of the shower, I was still rubbing my hair dry with a towel.
“He asked for a census of all the humans in the island.”
“What an enormous waste of time…”
“That’s what I thought. Of course, the mighty Prince Derek won’t hear any of it.”
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