“Cool.” I watched Peter as he reached the cabin door. I saw a padlock where Peter punched in numbers that I couldn’t see. When he finished, there was a short beep and a click. The door slid open, and Peter walked through. I followed him quickly, and the door slid shut behind me. I stood in a dark stairwell made of stone. I couldn’t see a thing, but Peter took my arm and guided me down a long flight of spiraling stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, Peter opened a thick wooden door. The other side of the door was much brighter, and as I walked through, I could see torches lining the side of a tunnel. Unlike the stairwell, the tunnel was all dirt. At the end of the tunnel was another door, which Peter lifted out of a rut in the ground and pulled toward him.
“No human could get in here very easily.” He turned and smiled at me. When I went through the doorway, he closed it behind us with a loud bang that echoed through the tunnel. This new tunnel was long. I could barely see the end, which looked a mile away. From this tunnel, countless others were branching off at various spots. Walking through all of these tunnels were a seemingly endless number of Dahmshed. I could see them crossing the tunnel I stood in to get to the others.
“What is this place?” I asked Peter in awe.
“This is our home. Every one of the Peacekeepers has his or her own room down here. We also have other rooms for things like storage and even some that were purposefully made into dead ends. Anyone coming in here would get completely lost.”
“So why did you bring me here?”
“Follow me,” was all he said before he started to walk ahead. I had to jog a little to keep up with him now. He seemed increasingly excited.
We walked past many of the branching tunnels before Peter finally turned down one of them. No one was in this tunnel, and as we walked further the torches disappeared, and it became dark again.
“How many Dahmshed are in the Peacekeepers?” I asked. “It looks like hundreds.”
“There are not many actually, at least compared to other Dahmshed groups. Besides the High Members, I’d bet about thirty.”
“But there are so many of them walking around down here.”
“It might have looked that way to you because you don’t know them. Plus, you’re human. No offense,” he added quickly. “We move fast enough around the tunnels to make it look like more of us are here than there really are.” Before I could ask my next question, I slammed into a wall in front of me that I couldn’t see. I almost fell backwards from the sudden shock, but Peter caught me quickly. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t watching you, and I’m not used to having people around that can’t see in the dark.”
“No problem,” I said, rubbing my nose. I was suddenly terrified it would start bleeding in the presence of a Dahmshed. For the rest of the short walk, Peter guided me by putting one of his hands on my shoulder. We took a few more turns before Peter stopped me, and I heard him lifting another door from the ground and opening it. Light flooded my face; my eyes, which had gotten used to the dark, shut quickly. I slowly opened them as they became adjusted to the sudden brightness.
I saw Peter standing in the middle of a stone room much like the stairwell. The ceiling was high and lit with a large chandelier containing twelve candles. Each corner of the room held two more candles. I walked into the room and stood next to Peter who was gazing upon an astonishing painting. It was on a stone altar, which was surrounded by more candles that lit it brilliantly. They created a fearsome glow that made the painting look both terrifying and beautiful at the same time.
In the painting was a man that could only have been Jesus Christ. He was looking straight ahead with his right hand on his heart and his left arm sticking out, his palm facing the three other people in the painting. There were two males and a female, all draped in black cloaks. They were bunched together, all of them shielding their faces with their hands while looking away from Christ. They looked as if they were screaming in agony with their mouths wide and faces scrunched. In their mouths were sets of teeth no one could miss. Their gums were pale white and each tooth looked long and sharp, with the canines extending longer than the others. The three others in the painting were Dahmshed.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Peter asked, still looking at it with admiration.
“Yes.” I could barely take my eyes off of it.
“It’s a da Vinci original.” Peter seemed as dazed by the painting as I was. “Leonardo da Vinci gave it to Elliot personally when we lived in Italy.”
“Wow,” I muttered, unable to find another word to describe how amazing that was. “You knew Leonardo da Vinci?”
“Yes, very well, actually.” He finally looked away from the painting, and his black eyes met mine. “Elliot and all of the High Members were good friends of his for a short time before we lost touch with him. Then, a few years later, he contacted us, and Elliot left to meet with him. When Elliot returned, he had this.”
“What does it mean?”
“Well, that’s a very long story, and it’s not the right time to tell you.”
“Then, why did you show it to me?” I asked, confused.
“Elliot’s orders. He told me to show it to you right away but specifically said not to tell you what it meant. I’m sure you’ll find out why soon enough. Elliot always has a reason for his ways, even if they don’t seem clear at first.” He looked back at the painting when he finished talking.
“Did da Vinci know you were Dahmshed?”
“Of course. Why do you think he went through the trouble to find us and give us this? It is a very important piece of artwork.”
“Was he a…” I didn’t finish my sentence, hoping that Peter would catch on.
“A Dahmshed? No, not at all. Elliot just trusted him enough to tell him of our secret.” Peter looked at me for a few seconds before turning and walking to the door. “It’s time to go. I want to show you your room and give you time to settle in before tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“It’s a secret.” He put a finger to his lips and smiled. He waited for me to go past him so he could close the door. When the darkness engulfed us again, Peter guided me back to the light of the torches near the other tunnels.
“I’m not staying down here, am I?” I asked nervously.
“Of course not.” He smiled. The torch light gave an eerie glow to his teeth. “We have a bed set up for you in the house.”
“What house?” He looked at me strangely before laughing.
“That’s right; you’re still not used to this place. The house is the building where you met James and Johnathan.”
“Oh, okay.” I was relieved to know I would be staying in a somewhat normal place.
When we finally made it back to the house, it was getting dark. Peter led me up the stairs and into the building. This time, we went left and found another room attached to the first one. Inside this room was a king-sized bed and a large table with some curious books laying on it: Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the Holy Bible, Stephen King’s ’Salem’s Lot, and my copy of A Streetcar Named Desire. Also, some clothes were folded on the end of the bed, but none were mine.
“Wow, this is great, Peter.”
“Don’t thank me. Elliot set it all up for you.” I sat on the edge of the bed and reached for A Streetcar Named Desire. “Have some time to yourself. I’ll come and get you when we’re ready.” Peter left me and closed the door behind him. I opened the book to where I had left off and lay back on the bed, happy to finally be alone.
After a short time, I closed my eyes and rested the book on my chest. My mind couldn’t help but start thinking about my family. I had no idea if they were alive, if they were dead, or if they were being tortured in some dark dungeon far away from where I was. I feared for them, and I wished that I could trade places. No matter what type of trouble they were in, I would have happily gone from lying on the bed to where they were so that they would be okay.
I also thought of April. I knew she would be thinking that since I was attacked, she would be, too. She saw Aderes outside th
e window watching us and would believe that she was hunting her as well. She would also think I was dead. No one had ever been known to have survived a Dahmshed attack.
My old life had been destroyed overnight, and I wanted it back so badly. There was a reason that I was here, but without knowing why, I felt as if my life had been wasted along with my entire family’s. I couldn’t think that way. I had to believe my family was still alive. I had to believe there was hope to save them. Without that hope, I would crumble and fall.
I opened my eyes when I heard a noise from outside the room. I jumped from the bed and put my ear to the door to listen. There were voices, one I didn’t recognize and a few I did.
“Where are they?” I heard Aderes yelling. “You said they were alive!”
“I lied,” the new voice snickered. “They’re dead, all of them! And if you hadn’t caught me, the other would be dead too!”
“Why did you come here?” Elliot’s calming voice spoke.
“To kill him, of course. I had no idea the Peacekeepers were protecting him.”
“How did you follow me?” Aderes erupted again.
“The smell of a voedsel will hold for quite some time, my dear.” I heard a thud that sounded like someone being hit.
“Don’t call me your ‘dear’, you filthy creature,” Aderes said in a low, threatening voice. “Take him away and kill him. There’s nothing else we can do. If he were to escape, he could tell the others about us.”
“No! Don’t kill me! Please!” the man begged. “I won’t escape, I promise!”
“So, you’ll just murder Jason and let us kill you after that?” Elliot asked. The man hesitated, and Aderes again ordered for him to be taken away. There was a long silence, and then a knock on my door.
I pushed away from it and sat on the bed before saying, “Come in.” The door opened, and Aderes glided into the room.
“You know eavesdropping is very rude, don’t you?” She stared at me through her dark hood, waiting for me to answer.
“I’m…I’m sorry,” I stuttered. “I didn’t know what was going on.”
“One of the Jagers tried to get to you. Luckily, he didn’t make it past the front gates before Mace caught him. He interrupted my plans, so you have some extra time before we need you.”
“What’s going on tonight?” I asked curiously. “Peter wouldn’t tell me anything.”
“A Dahmshed was just trying to kill you, and you’re worried about tonight?” She laughed.
“If you don’t remember, I’m getting kind of used to Dahmshed trying to kill me. Plus, for all I know, tonight I could be some type of human sacrifice.”
“How did you know?” My heart sank, and my face went cold, but then she started to giggle. “Kidding, Jason. I’m just kidding.”
“That’s not funny at all.”
“Really, it is.” After a few seconds, she became suddenly serious. “You really need to trust us. We are on your side.”
“Like Elliot said, it might take some time,” I explained. “And when you’re cracking jokes like that, it might take longer.”
“Okay, I’m sorry. I really am.” She turned to look out the door, then turned back to me. “I still have some things to do. Peter will not be able to bring you tonight, so Taddi will come by and get you. See you later.” She began to walk out of the room, but I stopped her in the doorway.
“Aderes, wait.” She stood still but didn’t turn around. “I’ve been kind of wondering what you looked like. Can you take off that hood?” She stood in the doorway for a few seconds, then she walked away without another word.
Not long after she left, a chubby-looking man popped his head in the door. He had brown, wavy hair and wore a blue sports coat. For some reason, his presence was very uplifting and just looking at him made me want to smile.
“’ello, Jason!” he said in a thick British accent. “I ’ope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“No, not at all.” He must have taken my response as an invitation to come in because he walked over and sat on the bed next to me. In his hand was a plate with a slice of pizza on it.
“I figured you might be ’ungry.” He smiled, giving me the plate. “I’m Winston, by the way.”
“Ish nish to meet ooo,” I greeted him with a mouth full of pizza.
“It is definitely an honor to meet you, my friend.” Winston got up and walked to the door. “I’ll let you finish your meal, and I suppose I’ll see you tonight!” I gave him a little wave as he closed the door because I had taken another mouth full of pizza and couldn’t talk.
Once I finished eating, I was able read my book for about an hour while trying not to think about much. As I finished a scene, another knock came from the door. I jumped up and opened it to see Taddi, just as Aderes had said. Her red hair gleamed in the moonlight that was shining from outside. She was wearing a black sparkling dress and high-heeled shoes.
“Hi!” She spoke with a very sweet, soothing voice. “I’ll be your date for the evening.”
“Hello.” I eyed her exquisite outfit. “I think I’m a bit underdressed for the occasion.” I looked down at my white t-shirt, blue jeans, and jacket.
“Don’t worry about it. I always overdress for things like this,” she assured me. “We Dahmshed never get a good excuse to get all fancy.” She laughed and held out her hand. I took it reluctantly, but was pleased to find she had a grip much like Elliot’s. It wasn’t bone crushing, but I bet it could have been if she needed it to be.
“So, how old are you?” I asked as we walked down the stairs of the building.
“I was altered at fifteen,” she replied openly. “But I believe I’m about eight hundred and fifteen years old.”
“Wow. So, you’ve been a Dahmshed for eight hundred years?”
“I believe that’s how long it would be.”
“It’s weird, though. None of you really seem so old.”
“Well, it’s complicated. Growing old as a Dahmshed doesn’t mean the same thing as it would if we were human. We go out, we watch, we learn, but there’s always something inside us. It keeps us how we were. Elliot likes to call it our ‘emotional maturity.’ Our time is nothing like a human. We’re frozen. No matter how many years go by, or how wise we grow, we’re always the age that we were altered at. Look at Tommy. The reason he suffers so much is because of how young he was when he was altered. His body and mind want to be eleven, but he’s forced to take in hundreds of years of experiences.”
“It must be hard. Not just for him, but for all of you.”
“Personally, I love it. But, I do know that a lot of the others don’t. Aderes, especially.”
“What happened to her?” We walked past a line of sailboats that I recognized and knew we were nearing the tunnels. “She always hides her face. Was there some type of accident?”
“I’m sorry, Jason; that’s not my story to tell,” she said, disappointing me. “But I’m sure if you’re with us long enough, she’ll get around to telling you.”
“I have one more question for you.” I spoke after a few seconds. “But, I don’t want you to get offended.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
“Where did you get your name?”
“That’s a funny story, actually.” She laughed. “You see, my father was planning on getting a son. He didn’t even want to pick a girl’s name because he thought it heightened the chances a girl would be born. Long story short, he picked the name Thaddaeus and was so mad when I was born, that he didn’t bother to change it. My mother would call me Taddi for short, and it just kind of stuck with me.”
“Interesting.”
We reached the boat, and Taddi typed in the combination for the padlock. The door slid open, and we walked down the dark stone stairway and into the first tunnel. Taddi opened the door as easily as Peter had, and we were in the main tunnels, but no one else was around this time.
“I was instructed to tell you that this is your initiation into De Vredestichters,” Tadd
i said, stopping after she closed the door. “Do not be afraid; you’ll be okay.”
“Initiation?”
“Yes,” she smiled. “And then there’s a party!”
“What’s the initia…?” I couldn’t finish my sentence because a bag was thrown over my head, and I was pulled away. If I couldn’t feel the wind passing quickly over my body, I would not have known I was moving. Two pairs of arms, each linked through one of my arms, were dragging me through the tunnels. I had no clue where I was going or what would happen to me when I got there. I just hoped that Aderes was really joking when she told me I was going to be sacrificed. The Peacekeepers wanted me to trust them, but at that moment, I feared for my life.
We stopped suddenly, and I was placed onto a chair. I couldn’t hear or see anything around me. Then, a female voice spoke that I didn’t recognize.
“Hello Jason.”
“What’s going on?” I requested hesitantly.
“It’s okay, Jason. Just trust us.”
“This isn’t exactly the best way to win my trust,” I spoke sarcastically, trying to hide my fear. The bag was suddenly pulled off of my head, and I could see over thirty Dahmshed sitting in front of me. The woman that had been talking came out from behind me, holding the bag that had been over my head. It was Simone, one of the High Members.
“This initiation has been used for every one of us,” she whispered to me, “although, we all had been altered into Dahmshed already. We are not altering you unless you would like to be altered. Would you want that right now?”
“No,” I said immediately.
“Okay then. I’m going to ask you this only once. Do you trust us? All of us.”
“I think I do,” I said. “But I’m not sure.”
“Well, if you don’t, this should prove our loyalty to you.” She walked behind me again, and I stared out at the Dahmshed in front of me. Not long after, Elliot and Aderes came in front of me. They both had their hands behind their backs.
“Hello, Jason,” Elliot said. I gave him a half-hearted smile. “The reason we ask you if you trust us is because we must take a small bit of your blood.” He brought his hands from behind his back and one held a small dagger. “And, of course you know that we need blood. The temptation of drawn human blood can be overwhelming at times. I feel all of us here can hold back, but you must tell me if you trust us or not. The initiation can be another time, but you will not be part of the Peacekeepers unless you are initiated. I would personally like you to join as soon as you feel comfortable.”
Descendant: The Protector (The Descendant Series) Page 8
