by E. M. Knight
“It’s called reality,” she says. She turns her shoulder to me, indicating the conversation is over.
But I won’t give up that easily. I walk to her and crouch down to her level.
“Please,” I say. “There must be something you know. You say you came from the Outside. That means you’re like me, doesn’t it? That means you —”
April starts shaking her head, over and over and over again, almost obsessively, as soon as she hears the word Outside.
“No, no no, no no no,” she repeats. “I can’t say. No. No, no.”
“Okay okay okay,” I say quickly trying to calm her. “I won’t mention the Out—” I swallow the trigger word before I can set her off again. “We won’t talk about your past. Okay?”
Her muttering slows down, and then she nods. “Yes,” she says. “That is a good idea.”
I bite my lip, thinking of the best way to approach the subject.
“April,” I say her name firmly. I take her by the shoulders and look into her eyes. “I want you to tell me everything you know about The Haven. Can you do that?”
She looks at me suspiciously. “You’re very persistent. Why?”
“I have to know what we’re dealing with.” The shock of waking up in that strange room, then being brought here has worn off to the point that I now think I’m capable of making plans. “The creatures holding us here. They’re… what?”
“Vampires,” she says.
I swallow. I don’t want to believe that’s true, but for now, what choice do I have?
“And you said tonight they were… I mean, all the screams…”
“They were feeding,” she says. “Killing.” She nods. “It’s a way of life.”
“Raul… when he found you…”
“He was going to feed, too.”
“And I stopped him?”
“Yes.” She shakes her head. “I still don’t understand how you were able to do that.”
Neither do I, I think.
“He said there was an edict. What did he mean?”
“The Haven becomes a killing ground every full moon,” she tells me. “There’s a lottery that selects the… contestants… for The Hunt. Everybody’s name is put in. But the weak have the odds titled heavily in their favor. Whoever gets drawn, that’s who is sacrificed.
“They crowd the people outside. When the gong goes, the vampires are let loose. It becomes every man for himself.”
My gut clenches. “That’s horrible,” I say.
April shrugs again. “As I said, it’s the way of life around here.”
A clatter behind us makes me spin around. An unfamiliar man in a red coat is standing on the other side of the bars, staring at us with raw hunger in his eyes.
April’s breath catches. “Oh no,” she gulps.
“What?” I say. My head jerks from her to him. “What is it? What?”
“It’s one of The Convicted,” she says. Pure terror fills her words.
The pale man’s hands grip the bars. His mouth opens. My eyes go wide when I see his gums. He has no teeth — none, aside from two long fangs glistening at the front.
“Don’t move,” April hisses. “There’s a chance that maybe —”
He emits a low, awful moan.
It’s such a painful sound that my hands clamp up and cover my ears. I cry out. I can’t help it. The moan makes it feel like my brain is being crushed within my skull.
Those starved eyes latch onto me. April curses. “He’s seen you!”
Before I can do anything, the man lunges down and throws an arm through the bars. Frigid fingers wrap around my ankle. I scream and kick at him. But the grip is unwavering. He pulls me to him.
I skid across the floor. I jerk and writhe and try to break free, but it’s no use. A bone-chilling cold comes over me, originating from his grip. My muscles start to seize up. His fangs shine cruelly, coated with spit.
Just when I’m about to be made into a meal, two hands grab my shoulders. My head swings up. I see April pulling back with all her might.
“Don’t just freeze!” she yells at me. “Fight him! Resist!”
Her spark ignites something in me. I start to kick again. The Convicted moans, and the sound is horrible.
He’s stronger than both of us. April’s effort may have granted me a few extra seconds, but no more. She digs her heels in and pulls me back, yet all she achieves is stretching out the time before the inevitable.
Suddenly, the man gives a mammoth roar and jerks my leg through the bars. I’m yanked out of April’s grasp. She cries out and falls.
His dead eyes light up in glee. He widens his jaw, and is just about to clamp those fangs into my leg like a shark…
A black shape moves behind him. I only get the barest hint of warning before the grip on my leg slackens. I kick free, confusion rolling through me. Why did he stop?
Then I see the gruesome sight in front of me. There’s a hand sticking out through The Convicted’s chest. In it is his bloodied heart.
Suddenly, the hand closes, crushing the heart. The man in the red jacket croaks and crumbles down. And behind him, I see the dark shape emerge as none other than Raul.
Chapter Seventeen
RAUL
I pull back from the disgusting creature who’s now dead at my feet.
All sorts of questions flare through my mind. How did he get free? How did he find Eleira and April? And worst of all, what would have happened had I not decided to come back for them just now?
I scramble to open the cell door. Eleira staggers away from me. She’s breathing hard, and her eyes are wide in terror.
“You… you killed him,” she gasps. “With your bare hands! How?”
I look down at my bloody hand and grimace in disgust. I wipe it clean on The Convicted’s shirt.
April’s recovered herself enough to give a small laugh. “You saw how,” she tells the other girl.
I look at both of them. “Leaving you here was a mistake,” I say. “April, I’m sending you back to your family. Eleira — you’re coming with me.”
She shakes her head. She’s obviously in shock. “No,” she says. “No, I’m not —”
I grab her arm. “You think you’re safer on your own?” I hiss. “You have enemies you don’t even know about.” That’s the only explanation I can come up with to make sense of The Convicted’s presence.
I stab a finger at her. “Do you think that was just coincidence? I should never have left you alone.”
“What do you want from me?” she asks. Her voice trembles. “What is this world you’ve brought me into?”
April stares at me in defiance. “I am not going back to my ‘family!’” she exclaims.
“Fine,” I snarl. “Then stay here.” I pull Eleira with me. “You and I are leaving.”
She breaks free. “Not without April!”
I can almost roll my eyes in exasperation. “I’m not here for some teen drama,” I say. “You are my prisoner,” I spit at her. “In case you haven’t noticed. And you, April, have absolutely no say in this. I don’t even know why I’m entertaining this conversation with you two.”
I stare toward the entrance and hold the cage door open. “You want to know what this world is? Then come with me now.”
Eleira looks from me to April. She looks at the body of The Convicted on the ground.
Finally, she swallows and nods. She walks grudgingly to me.
“Good girl,” I say. She shoots me a glare.
April remains in the far reaches of the cell. “If you’re sending me back to them,” she begins.
“James is gone,” I tell her roughly. “If you think he’s going to come down and rescue you…” I bark a laugh. “We both know what you are to him. Don’t deceive yourself into thinking you’re something more.”
Eleira takes in our conversation. A fleck of understanding shows in her eyes. Wisely, she keeps her mouth shut.
“You don’t know what James and I have,” April begins.
“Really?” It almost saddens me, her naivety. “My brother left The Haven after The Hunt. He won’t be back for weeks. Maybe months.”
April takes a sharp breath. Obviously, that’s news to her.
“That’s the choice I’m giving you,” I say. “Go back to your family, or stay here. Who knows how long you’ll be down here before somebody finds you.”
Eleira’s eyes widen. Quickly, she runs back to the other girl. She grabs her hand and whispers something in her ear. I can eavesdrop by tuning my hearing in to them, but I choose not to.
I don’t need to be more aware of Eleira than I already am. It’s already taking every bit of self-control I have to restrain myself around her.
Of course, the stench of The Convicted’s corpse helps a great deal in shielding me from Eleira’s sweet smell.
After a heavy series of back and forth whispers, both girls approach, holding hands.
Eleira straightens and looks right at me. “I’ll only go with you willingly,” she says. “If I get to keep April with me. I don’t know much about this place, but she does. And since you’re not very forthcoming, I’ll need to rely on someone I trust as a guide.”
My eyebrows slowly creep up at her little speech.
“It’s been a long time since anyone’s made demands of me.” I shake my head and laugh softly. “But if that’s what you want… fine. Just be warned, you’re not doing April any favors.”
That only strengthens Eleira’s resolve. “She’s coming with us.”
“Then let’s go.”
Chapter Eighteen
ELEIRA
I trail after Raul, holding April’s hand.
He’s led us out of The Catacombs and back above ground. It’s still night. It’s still dark.
That makes me uneasy. It feels as if we’re trapped in time.
But I’ve already come to terms that nothing about this place is natural. If I’m going to escape, I have to put aside any preconceived notions about what is and what isn’t possible, about what is and what isn’t real.
Because, very clearly, my understanding of the world is severely lacking if creatures like the one walking in front of me exist.
“The rest of us — the rest of the humans — are going to be coming back soon,” April whispers in my ear. “They lead their lives above ground, in the village.” She casts a look at the empty buildings and huts around us. “During The Hunt, they go to the caves for safety. After, they all return to their lives.”
I nod slowly, starting to understand at least a bit of how The Haven works.
“You call them ‘they,’” I say. “Not ‘us,’ Why?”
“Because I’m from the Out —” she stops. “The Out —” She frowns, as if she can’t get the word out. “I’m from —”
“It’s okay,” I tell her. I squeeze her hand. “I understand.”
She frowns. “Do you? Because I don’t.”
I’m not sure if she’s sincere or not. That, in and of itself, is quite frightening.
How do you brainwash someone to stop them from being able to acknowledge their past?
Raul stops in front of a massive redwood. He runs a hand over the trunk. Two pieces peel away as if by magic, and the steel doors of an elevator reveal themselves to us.
“We’re going up,” he says. “You need to leave her here.”
“What?” I look at April. “You promised —”
My words die in my throat when I see April’s face. Her expression has gone slack again. That eerie vacancy is right back in her eyes.
She stares at the tree trunk without seeing.
Raul emits an annoyed grunt. He turns and passes a hand up and down over April’s eyes.
She remains unreactive.
“She’s bewitched,” he explains. “She can’t see the same thing you and I can.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“All the villagers are like that,” Raul says. “You can thank the Queen for that. Any mention of life outside of what they’re allowed to know, any hint that there’s something more going on beyond their walls… and they turn into that.”
“Zombies,” I breathe, aghast and disgusted and saddened and repelled.
“No,” Raul shakes his head. “She’ll snap out of it when the elevator doors are hidden. A real zombie is the creature who attacked you.”
I shudder at that memory. “Who was he?”
“A vampire who broke the law,” Raul says. His lips curl up, and he flashes me a peculiar smile. “You see? I can explain things to you as well. Even better than your appointed guide. Now come on.” He jerks his hand to the elevator. “We need to go.”
“But April —”
“Will be perfectly safe here. See that?” he points toward a nearby hut. “It’s her home.” He points at another one. “So is that one. And that one. She’s welcome, she’s safe, anywhere. But the same cannot be said about you. So let’s go, before more of the humans discover you’re here.”
His tone leaves no room for argument. I try to give April a tug but she remains unmoving.
“You’re wasting your time,” Raul says from inside the elevator.
I sigh and let April go. I walk into the elevator, of my own free will—with a vampire.
The thought is staggering.
The doors close, and we reach the top. I go to the railing to check for April.
She’s already gone.
I turn on Raul. “Why would it matter if the other humans know I’m here?” I ask.
“Isn’t it obvious?” He steps toward me and reaches up to brush my neck.
I draw a short breath. He’s so close. My heart starts thundering.
He drops his voice. He doesn’t look me in the eyes, instead focusing on that spot where I found the strange mark. “You’ve been bitten,” he says. “And you’re still alive.” A smile forms on his lips. The proximity of his body makes all sorts of inappropriate images flash through my mind. Inappropriate because of who he is, and who I am, and what our relationship is to one another.
What would it feel like to have his lips on mine?
Whoa! Where did that thought come from?
“They’d hate you,” he continues softly, glazing his fingers over my neck, while I stand there, struck dumb and unable to move. “For the same reason that I would adore you. You’re in the process… of being turned.”
Then, just as suddenly, he steps away. The gulf of space between us makes me sway on unsteady feet.
“But you’re not there yet,” he tells me. “And you won’t be there for a long time. Now come. I want to show you the room you can expect to be yours should you prove willing to accept your fate.”
***
My mind grapples with the new information I’ve been given.
“I’m being turned?” I say. The words feel so ludicrous to say out loud. “Why? How? I mean—vampires aren’t real,” I swallow. “Right?”
I shake my head. I’m alone in the enormous room Raul brought me to. There’s a circular bed in the middle of the room. Beautiful, silken blue sheets adorn it. There’s a glass door leading to a balcony from where I can see the whole village beneath me. But, the weird thing is, when Raul and April and I walked through the streets below, and I looked up, I could not see the balcony. All I saw were the thick branches and stars.
And if that’s not enough for me to question my sanity, I’m now talking to myself in the mirror.
I brush my hair back and look at my neck. There’s nothing there anymore. I run my hands along the smooth skin. Nothing at all to give evidence to the bump I woke up with, or the two small bite marks.
I wander to the bed and sit down. The mattress is firm. Everything about this particular room is the epitome of luxury.
Why would they bring me to a cell beneath the earth and then put me up in something like this? Is it just to mess with my mind?
Whatever the goal is — it’s working. I’ve never felt more confused or off-balance than I do now. And to top
it off, I have to deal with my budding attraction to one very handsome, very dangerous, flame-haired man.
Flame-haired vampire?
I try to think of all I know about the supernatural and mythical. But my knowledge is woefully lacking. After the experience in the woods with Michael, it’s like my mind shut off from anything that could not be explained scientifically. I became drawn to concrete subjects in school — math and history and the hard sciences. That’s how I ended up skipping a year ahead and being one year younger than all my peers at university. It’s why I was the only seventeen-year-old to matriculate at my class at Stanford.
It’s why I’m probably the worst-prepared person in the world to deal with what I’m seeing around me now.
The door to my room opens. I look up.
A beautiful woman flows in. She’s adorned in a stunning white gown that hugs her figure and emphasizes every feminine curve. She can’t be more than a few years older than me, but the way she carries herself makes me feel immediately self-conscious.
I start to stand. She flutters a hand at me. “Please, don’t trouble yourself.”
Even her voice is beautiful.
I sit back down, my spine rigid. “Who are you?” I ask.
She smiles. “My name is Morgan,” she tells me. She waits for my reaction. When I give none, she winks. “And you must be Eleira. It’s wonderful to finally meet you.”
She glides across the room and gently lowers herself onto a free seat.
I shift uncomfortably. She’s completely at home here, whereas I am still as jumpy as a cat stranded on a raft in a pond.
She has dark eyes that shine with intelligence. “I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay so far,” she tells me. “Every effort has been made to accommodate your arrival.”
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” I ask. “Raul says —”
“Oh, so you’ve met my son.”
I gawk at her. “Your son?” I shake my head. “That’s — that’s not possible.”
She laughs lightly. Her voice is like chiming bells. “I’ll take that as a compliment of my youth,” she tells me. She catches her reflection in the mirror and smiles her perfect smile. “Raul is my son. One of three boys. I believe you’ve met the others… no?” She frowns. “Maybe not yet. You will, soon enough. I’ll make sure you’re all acquainted. After all, we have a wedding to plan.”
