A Violet Fire (Vampires in Avignon Book 1)

by Kelsey Quick

  Though tears of remembrance line my lashes, my mind falls too far into oblivion for them to drop. It becomes difficult to think clearly. Basic thoughts and concepts, clouded. My breathing, erratic. It takes everything in me to walk, and even then Narref pulls on me to speed up. I nearly pass out from waves of panic, from the thought of where I’m about to be, from imagining the feeling of rabid teeth tearing into my flesh.

  The first one.

  I’m the first human Zein has sentenced to death.

  My escort’s voice distracts me. “You sure don’t know how to control your mouth, do you?” he asks.

  I don’t answer him. In fact, I make it a point not to. Any further involvement with this world is useless anyway. Unfortunately, he doesn’t let my newfound ability to remain silent stop him.

  “If you would have begged, he would have kept you, you know? But now you have to pay the price for putting an unforgivable dent in his pride with your petty speech...,” he pauses to look down on me. “Though I suppose you truly believed all that you said to him?”

  Reluctantly, I swivel my head to peer at him as I try to process his words. Should I even answer him? I’m already as good as dead anyway, and I don’t want anyone to mistake my actions on this night for stupidity.

  “I have no intention of serving anyone that I don’t personally choose to serve. This is my life. And if the only way to be free is through death, then… okay.”

  Narref laughs at me, replying, “Ah, but your fear says otherwise. I can smell it on you.”

  “...I can’t help if I feel fear or not.” I reason with not only him, but with myself, my mind clearing to make way for my pride. “But it doesn’t make my decisions for me. That’s what makes us humans different from the cattle you think we are.”

  “Oh? Well, your way of doing things seems to be working out for you.” He laughs at his own wit—or lack thereof. But even as we approach the cellar doors leading to the holdings of the fallen, I look him dead in the eyes and respond unshaken.

  “Yes, it is.” I stand my ground, all the while he refuses to take me seriously. “If death is the only choice that I can make for myself, then I will make it.”

  He snickers again while unlocking the chained handles of the cellar doors. Even this far away the howls and roars of the fallen, along with other—more innocent—screams shock my senses. Narref turns to me and smiles with a means to intimidate.

  “Go ahead and justify yourself, but you should realize something before you meet this fantastic and courageous demise of yours. You nearly escaped from Nightingale, the most elite of all the supply schools, known for its near flawless security. So then, what made you so certain that you wouldn’t have been able to flee Lord Zein’s castle?”

  My eyes widen.

  “Are you saying that—”

  “I’m saying that you were too busy balancing on your splintering step-stool that you never actually used that brain of yours,” Narref curtly interjects, opening the door to the dark stairwell.

  I look him up and down. This guy, this vampire, doesn’t underestimate a human’s capability like the others do. How strange.

  “Why are you—” I begin only to be cut off again.

  “It’s no skin off my teeth. Your destination is at the bottom of the stairs. I would recommend you not to scream or scratch at the doors. No one will come for you and it will also grant you first place in line for ‘the drop,’” he says, nudging me forward as I lose my thoughts to the abyss of stairs, barely catching myself on the handrails as the strong stench of death and blood penetrates my nose. My heart snakes its way into my throat again.

  “I hope this is what you truly wanted, two-nine-seven-three-four,” his soft voice is weighted by poor tidings. ”For now, it is your only choice.”

  He slams the door and a loud sound ripples up from the bottom stairwell.

  BAM!

  “No, stop! PLEASE! NO!”

  The plea of another supply unit.

  My feet slip, and I take my first accidental step onto the stairs. Light suddenly fills my vision as tripped lanterns flicker on down the length and curves of the stairway, recognizing my entrance, and giving away my position.

  “Hey, you up there! Quit stalling!” a squeaky voice calls out, the order obviously meant for me.

  Dreadful screams and the wet, stringy sound of tearing flesh ricochet in waves throughout the stairwell—a supply unit meeting her end. My breath hitches.

  Shaking, my hand makes use of the much-needed handrail, and I begin the descent into the fallen reserves.

  This is it… this is really it.

  The weight of foreboding death rests upon my shoulders, threatening to break me softly as I arrive at the mouth of the room.

  Four vampire soldiers line the walls while an old man, who must be the surveyor, sits in a disgruntled heap upon a tall, metal chair, making tick marks every now and again on parchment. In front of him is a short line of unaccepted supply units awaiting “the drop,” or, “the forced push into the pit of once-humans.”

  The pusher sits upon a similar chair next to the pit. Cage bars that extend to the ceiling prevent fall-ins along the edge, at all but one place—in front of him. This is where the last three rejected units wait. Two now, as the pusher uses a lazy foot to nudge the next in line over the edge. I throw my head away and force down vomit as her screams are drowned by her tearing flesh and crunching bones. The next supply unit reluctantly steps up to the opening and I nearly stop breathing.

  “Savvy!” I scream out in disbelief. The panic instantly releases the tears from before as every head turns to look at me. The pusher, distracted, puts down the foot that was mere seconds from sending my best friend over the edge.

  “Wavorly?” Savvy’s brown eyes alight from the enchanted lanterns.

  “You there, quit causing a ruckus,” the old surveyor squeaks at me. “Get in line or I’ll push you over, myself.” But I pay him no mind. Instead I sprint across the room toward Savvy, and the vampire guards take up their saw-toothed spears.

  I happen to briefly notice the other rejected supply unit. None other than a terror-stricken Katarii. So, Giomar rejected her, too.

  The pusher stands and holds his palm out across my chest to prevent me from reaching my friend, but it’s a sorry attempt. I shoot my arm out and grab her amethyst dress by the collar. She falls into my chest, crying heavily, and discouraging my prolonging of her death with estranged cries. “Stop, stop, stop. There’s no use, there’s no-”

  “Th-there’s been some kind of mistake.” I shout as all the vampires in the room approach me, the surveyor still rambling threats.

  I shout, begging to be right. “This unit should not be down here. She’s devoted to Lord Hox Giomar, she can’t—”

  “Wavorly,” the mess in my arms desperately pleads. Her fingers quiver, white-knuckling the ruby straps on my shoulders. I look down at her and she continues in a whisper, “...It’s no use. He didn’t want me.”

  “How could he-?”

  “He s-said everything about me was good,” she now blubbers, “but he said that he has too many like me and so…” She breaks down and sobs, unable to finish explaining what we both already know.

  My eyes refuse to close, horrified by this reality. Horrified by everything. I watch my once optimistic friend bury her head into my breast, her eyes dripping black from washed out makeup and squandered hope.

  The surveyor grabs my arm, forcing me back into our devastating situation, but my hold and my resolve only strengthens.

  “Get away from her!” I yell, as I whip Savvy away from him.

  The soldiers move forward with their spears, Katarii breaks down crying, and the pusher grabs me by the hair. I scream, still clinging to Savvy, and her to me.

  “Alright, aberrant... Both of you at the same time,” he hisses.

  He flings me to the opening in the bars and I barely manage to catch myself on the left while Savvy latches onto the right, our other arms still holding on
to each other. Everyone looks to us. The pusher sneers, showing us his yellowed fangs as he rests his large hands on our backs.

  “Ready?” He grins.

  Savvy and I both look down at the mass of countless detestable beasts that climb and fight their way on top of one another, eager to attack us.

  Hunchbacked and naked humanoids, the fallen struggle with their blackened, decaying flesh and shriveled loss of hair, unable to contain the lust for our living blood. Their jaundiced and eerily devoid pupils jump between us. The whites of their once-human eyes now remain bloodshot and bleeding, leaving a red trail flowing down their cheeks uninterrupted, and constant. Jagged fangs that rot from overuse snap at us from every direction while dirt-clogged claws bend and break as they try to scale the bloodied stone walls. Even the few dead and cannibalized beasts look as if they died while ripping something apart.

  And then there’s the floor of the pit, made up of nothing but human bones and deteriorating, putrid flesh. I force myself to release my hold on the bars and fully grab onto Savvy. She reluctantly does the same.

  “It’ll be okay...,” unconvincingly I console her while shaking. “We will go together. It will only be a few moments, then… then it’ll be over.”

  She nods and tightens her grip on me, but I can’t feel it. All I can feel is overwhelming, pulsating fear.

  Just as the hand applies greater pressure on my back—sending me from the struggle of denial to apprehensive acceptance—a voice shoots out from the top of the stairwell.

  “Hold it! Hooooold it!”

  chapter 5

  The spirited voice shatters the anticipation of the room, distracting the pusher and sparing Savvy and me… for now.

  “On behalf of the honorable rulers of Cain, I must insist that you halt this feeding until further instruction.” The voice bellows as its owner descends the stairwell into view. Like most vampires, this one is tall, lean, handsome, and has some sort of chip on his shoulder. Golden hair shoots across the back of his head, behind his pointed ears, like hardened fragments of light. Not a single strand out of place. Unlike most other vampires however, he doesn’t wear a position-defining cloak.

  “Excuse me?” The squeaky surveyor barks from the back. “And who might you be?!”

  “Manners, manners, I beg of you.” The unidentified vampire raises his hand to silence the protests. “I am Gemini Schantz, chief advisor to Lord Zein. So, I would mind yourself, low-breed.”

  Lord Zein’s advisor?

  The surveyor sits up straight and clenches his lips together while the guardsmen and pusher grow clammy at the mention of Cain’s elite general.

  “That’s better. Now then.” The man turns in our direction. “Supply unit numbered Z29734, please step forward.”

  My eyes dart around without focus. I reach my hand out to grab the bars on either side of the pit for balance, but I make no effort to heed his request. Both Katarii and Savvy look at me questioningly, as if I have any idea what’s going on.

  The vampire notices their glances and motions to me.

  “Ah, yes, how could I possibly forget you? Come here. Hurry now.” He flaps his hand at me.

  Unable to do anything other than study him, I try to place a finger on where I’ve seen him before. I remember, vaguely. He was one of the vampires behind Zein in the Selection Hall.

  “What do you want?” I ask.

  He cocks his head, sighing as if he’d just scuffed up his shoes. “I’m here to escort you to Lord Zein’s supply convoy. I suppose he feels that he made an error in his previous judgment... though I haven’t the slightest clue as to why.”

  My jaw drops.

  Zein’s keeping me?

  Katarii gasps and she turns to look at me, her face shocked and tear-stained. Savvy tightens her grip around my waist, crying.

  This is… It’s a pardon. I’m not going to die. Zein has, for some insane reason, changed his mind.

  “I... I, uh...,” I just barely accomplish incoherent jabber when the noble vampire struts toward me, nudging the pusher out of the way and giving a little wink at Savvy, making her side step out of his path. He reaches me.

  “We don’t have time for any more of your nonsense. You are to come with me at once.”

  Wait a minute.

  Pulling my arm back, I take half a step closer to the edge. I haven’t the slightest clue as to what’s going on and I can’t possibly fathom Zein’s reasoning, but the tables have somehow turned in my favor. Zein apparently doesn’t want me to die, and yet, here I stand so close to this pit of fallen beasts, and no doubt I aim to take full advantage of it. Right now, I have power.

  “No, I won’t go,” I say, raising my nose in challenge.

  “Ex…cuse me?”

  “Not without Savvy,” I declare. “I won’t leave without her.”

  “Wavorly, no!” she objects, but I pay no mind. Instead, I begrudgingly acknowledge Katarii’s puffy face, which is scrunched up, red, and as pitiful as ever. Despite our history differences, Katarii and I have been thrust into the same situation. We are both on a sinking ship and I’m not about to let her go down alone.

  “...nor without Katarii.” Slightly embarrassed, I refuse to look at her, even though I can tell she’s giving an expression meant to make me feel like an angel.

  Gemini steps toward me with a tired look, calling my bluff. At the sight of his movement, I push Savvy into him while sliding my heels over the edge of the pit. Now it’s only my hold on the bars that prevents me from falling. He narrows his eyes as he stops, giving Savvy a sideways glance as she scuffles away from him. He must be contemplating his next move.

  “Try me,” I say, edging my heels further when he goes to sidestep around Savvy.

  “Ugh,” he sighs, rubs his temples, and retreats. He puts a hand to his ear and half-whispers, “Narref, she’s trying to bargain herself... Two other rejected supply units that I assume to be her friends... I know, but if we do that then… No, they both appear to be-,” he looks Savvy up and down. “-Lord Giomar’s... Okay,” he sighs again. “Okay. Yes. Understood.”

  He lifts his gaze to the three of us before turning to address the other vampires. “I am taking these supply units back to the Selection Hall. You have no right to an explanation on this matter, so I suggest you keep your curiosities to yourselves. Breathe a word of this instance, any of you, and I will be a cheerful attendee to your execution.” Theatrically, he points to every vampire in the room. The lesser vampires stand complacent, looking between each other, though none have the audacity to speak out their qualms. Gemini turns to me.

  “Well? Come on then,” he says sourly, turning to head back up the stairs.

  The solid ground might as well be jelly, everything else a blur. I focus on Savvy who is already shaking and crying again. In mere seconds she has me in a tight hug, sobbing, while Katarii slowly moves in to do the same. I’m too shocked to feel awkward, but I move away from the affections.

  “Wavorly...,” Savvy mutters. “T-thank you. Thank you so much. I can’t believe it. I-”

  “You would have done the same, Savvy, it’s fine.” I cut her off, still so shaken that I can’t think straight. She answers by crying more.

  “Really? You’re still down there? Hurry up you godforsaken snails.” Gemini throws a fit from the top of the staircase, and the three of us start our ascent from the fallen reserves.

  As I make the upstairs trek, hand in hand with Savvy, there’s absolutely nothing present in my mind except stark disbelief. Not one supply unit—no matter how rare or delectable—would have been spared if they acted the way I did at Distribution. And the fact that I’m on my way to Zein’s supply seraglio after impulsively insulting him is more than a little disconcerting. It’s downright terrifying. There’s no doubt that I will have to face him again, and most likely with consequence. Knots form one on top of the other in the pit of my stomach the more I think about it.

  While drowning myself in thought, we catch up to Gemini who taps his f
oot while waiting.

  “From here we will take a scarcely used route to the nearest exit,” he informs. “This isn’t something that happens often, so stay quiet and follow close.” He eyes me with suspicion. “Especially you.”

  Feeling pretty humbled, I take the high road and keep my mouth shut as we file through the doorways. In no time at all, the four of us are heading through hidden paths in the halls, down secret passageways, and along shadowy corridors leading me to trip ugly over Gemini.

  “Oh, sorry,” I say out of pure habit.

  He smirks as he continues forward, replying, “Ah, so you do have the ability to be civil? What an honest relief.”

  I scoff. Behind me, Savvy consoles a traumatized Katarii with whispers of reassurance. They were good friends at Nightingale as well. I wonder for a moment if Savvy is closer to Katarii than she is to me. It wouldn’t be surprising since-

  I quickly push the insecurities out of my mind. I need to stop thinking about everything that doesn’t have to do with a plan of action.

  “I suppose Zein isn’t too angry?” I probe Gemini.

  “Lord Zein. And of course he’s angry. Furious, actually.” He chuckles, damning my heart to my stomach. “Lord Zein is a creature of pride, darling. I would be scared out of my mind that he reevaluated his judgment after that… episode.”

  I look down, a spark of fear causing a wildfire up and down my body. His answer shouldn’t be that surprising. However, throughout all my indirect experiences with him, Zein’s been somewhat merciful in one way or another to me. Is it because of how we met?

  “Then why has he been keeping me alive? Even at Nightingale he would turn down requests to punish me.” I point out, quickly stomaching the actual punishment I did receive.

  “Well I wouldn’t know anything about that,” he says, “but I would suppose that he’s just in the mood to do the taming, himself, for a change. Nightingale’s methods are obviously not working. Tch, tch. This year has had more rejections than I’ve ever witnessed.”

  “What?” I hiss, not sure I heard correctly.

  “Hm? Oh, the taming bit? Yes, what finer specimen to test his patience than an insultingly impertinent mortal?” he cackles.