Authors: Bella Forrest
“Please,” Joseph said. “We both know who really runs this place.”
I heard a scuffle, the banging of a door, something smashing against a wall. Then Michael swore loudly, and Joseph spoke again. “Come on, Michael. We’ve never been the best of friends, but surely we can settle this like gentlemen. Why don’t we go to Jeramiah and see what he has to say.”
I froze
.
Jeramiah?
The same vampire who let Michael have me to begin with?
What is Joseph thinking?
“Agreed,” Michael said, his voice strained.
“Wait here,” Joseph said. “I’ll get her.”
No. No. No.
Footsteps approached, and Joseph opened the door to the sauna.
His shirt was ripped and rumpled, as though he’d just been in a fight, though there were no signs of cuts or blood anywhere.
He held out a hand for me to take.
“No, Joseph. You don’t understand. Jeramiah is going to choose Michael.”
“River,” he said, looking at me sternly, “if you want my help, then you’ll come with me.”
I didn’t know what else to do. I had no choice but to trust him. I reached for his hand, and took it. At least his strength gave me some comfort as his fingers closed around mine and he led me outside. I was glad that he continued holding on to me, even as we exited the corridor and appeared by the doorway.
I stepped behind Joseph, trying to hide myself from Michael, as I eyed him warily.
To my surprise, his eye appeared to have healed already, though he looked like he had just borne the brunt of the scuffle between the two men. His arm had a deep gash in it, and his neck also looked red.
He glared at me, and I was only able to hold his gaze for a short while before I looked down at the ground and clutched Joseph’s hand even tighter. I was grateful that Joseph kept me on the opposite side of him, away from Michael, as we left the apartment.
We traveled along the veranda in silence until we reached Jeramiah’s front door. Michael knocked.
Footsteps sounded and the door creaked open.
The vampire with harsh blue eyes and dark shoulder-length hair appeared behind it, his eyebrows raised in surprise as he looked at the three of us.
“We are here to settle a dispute,” Michael said. I winced at the confidence in his voice.
I looked up at Joseph’s face. He seemed to be quite unfazed as he looked calmly at Jeramiah. I couldn’t fathom what gave him such confidence. I just prayed that it was founded on something other than male ego.
“Joseph has claimed my half-blood as his,” Michael said.
Jeramiah’s eyes fixed on me, and then he looked back at Joseph.
“What is this, Joseph? I thought you said you weren’t interested in a companion?”
“I did say that. But I’ve changed my mind.”
“How come?”
Joseph ran a hand through his thick dark hair. He breathed out a sigh that I was sure was exaggerated. “I regret not being able to do what you requested of me earlier. My confidence evaporated as I was locked in the room with a human… this girl. Her blood called to me and I didn’t think that even you would be able to restrain me. I was sure that I would end up killing her. I know now that I have a very serious problem, but I want—and need—to solve it if I’m to be of any real use to The Oasis… I think the only way I can overcome my problem around humans is with a half-blood assisting me. The bitterness of her blood will help me.”
As Jeramiah stared at Joseph, I wondered for a moment whether he doubted Joseph’s story. “But why this one? There are others you could have.”
Joseph glanced down at me. “Because… I’ve taken a liking to this one. She’s newly half-turned, so she and I have much in common. We’re both getting used to these supernatural bodies and I think we might make a good team.”
Jeramiah frowned. I was sure that he was about to refuse Joseph’s request, but then his eyes softened and he shrugged.
“Michael,” he said. “Just let Joseph have her. He’s been having a rough time adjusting and this might help him to finally be of some real use to us.”
Michael looked furious, but surprisingly, he didn’t argue with Jeramiah.
It seems that Jeramiah really does wear the pants in this place…
Michael glared daggers at both Joseph and I and, without another word, turned on his heel and stormed away.
“I do have a condition though,” Jeramiah said as Michael disappeared.
I held my breath.
“What’s that?” Joseph asked.
“We still have one human left to half-turn from the most recent batch. Prove your theory. Take this girl with you and half-turn a healthy human. Let’s see if you can control yourself.”
Joseph’s tension seemed to spread from his jaw down to his hand, which squeezed mine tighter.
There was a pause. I had no idea what he was going to say.
The thought of my assisting in half-turning someone was the most horrific thing I could imagine. And yet, if Joseph refused, I’d be stuck with Michael. I tried to justify that the human would be half-turned anyway—just by another vampire, who I guessed would be much more insane than Joseph.
Joseph seemed to have come to the same conclusion as he said, “Certainly.” I was amazed by the confidence in his voice.
“Good,” Jeramiah said, a contented expression on his face. “Let’s do this right now.”
W
hat have
I gotten myself into?
I hadn’t been able to see any way out of the situation.
I’d realized on the way to Jeramiah’s apartment that River being a half-blood could be used as an advantage both for herself and for me in escaping. After I’d refused to half-turn anyone in front of Jeramiah, I saw no way of suggesting that I join them on a hunt in the near future. Because what reason would Jeramiah have to trust me after my behavior?
Then, after realizing how off-putting River’s blood had become to me after her half-turning, I’d seen just how we might be able to help each other.
But it had backfired.
I had of course expected Jeramiah to put my theory to the test. But I’d thought he might wait until the hunt itself, once we were already outside of the boundary, not have me experiment on a human beforehand.
Although I felt guilty about inflicting on another human the life of a half-blood here in The Oasis, with no guarantee of who might take him or her on, Jeramiah had made clear that the person had already been chosen to be a half-blood. Either I did the job, or someone else would.
Now I just had to hope that my theory would indeed hold up, because there was no way out of this now.
Jeramiah, River and I made our way down to the ground level and Jeramiah led us into a room where a woman was huddled in one corner.
I’ve got to pull through this.
I can’t murder again.
Having hot human blood within such close proximity immediately stirred the predator within me, even as I tried to put it back to sleep. I wanted nothing more than to sink my fangs into her and never let go. I clutched River’s arm and held her closer to me, breathing in her scent deeply, hoping that her bitterness would blur out the sweetness of the human less than five feet away.
Once I felt a little more confident in moving closer, I did, still holding River close to me, until I was standing right next to the cowering woman.
I knew what to do—I had already half-turned Tobias, after all. I knew how to inject my venom, and at what moment to pull away. But that was just the problem—summoning the willpower to pull away. Taking one last deep breath of River, and then holding my nose so that her scent would remain with me longer, I bent down quickly. Grabbing the woman, I dug in my fangs.
She squirmed and cried beneath me, but I held her tight. As blood began to seep into my mouth—fresh, hot, exhilarating blood—any small confidence I’d felt evaporated. There was no way I could stop myself from taking another gulp of blood, and then another and another. I was going to finish this woman off, and not even Jeramiah would have the strength to pull me off.
“That’s enough blood, Joseph,” Jeramiah commanded as he gripped my shoulder. “Release your venom now.”
I heard him, and yet I couldn’t find it in myself to obey. It seemed like a sin to poison this blood, so pure and divine. To turn something so sweet into something so bitter and rotten.
The woman began to grow weak beneath me, her struggling lessening. A few more gulps, and she likely wouldn’t have the strength to survive the half-turning—I would’ve made her too weak to make it to the other side even if I could find it in myself to release my venom.
Then a wrist slid between my nose and the human’s flesh. A cold, smooth wrist. As I breathed in, it smelt disgusting. River’s scent was mixing with the blood that I was drinking, making it less palatable.
I drew back, swallowing the gulp that was already in my mouth, but not feeling such an appetite to go back for more.
My mind returned to me, along with my willpower to not let this be a failure. I clutched River’s arm and breathed heavily against her skin again before once again plunging my teeth into the woman’s neck. I refused to suck this time, and instead inserted my ice-cold venom into her bloodstream. I drew away before it felt like I had begun—as Jeramiah had once instructed me—and, holding River by the waist, I buried my head in her neck. I breathed her in for the final time before darting out the door.
If I had performed it correctly, the half-turning would now be in process and the human would be shaking. But I didn’t want to stay any longer than I had to. I headed for the gardens and stopped once I was in the center of the willow orchard.
I leaned against the trunk of a tree. Exhaling and inhaling, I tried to calm myself after the frenzy that I had just managed to break free from… thanks to my new half-blood friend.
I looked up to see River approaching. Her expression was a mixture of fascination and horror as she stared at me. I must have looked a state, with blood dripping from my mouth and staining my shirt.
“Did you do it?” she asked in a hoarse whisper.
I nodded slowly, finding my voice.
“I think we did.”
R
iver waited
with me a while longer as I recovered my senses beneath the willow tree. After ten minutes, the door to the room where I had half-turned the woman opened, and Jeramiah stepped out. He made his way directly toward us.
I was relieved to see that he had a satisfied expression on his face.
“It looks like you did the job,” he said, looking from me to River. “The human is showing all the right symptoms. Seems you two do make a good team.”
“Good to hear,” I replied dryly.
“I’ll check back on the human tomorrow morning. As for you, feel free to take the girl back to your place.” He winked at me. “She’s yours now.”
With that, he headed off.
River and I stood in silence, just looking at each other.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
I didn’t need her thanks. When I had caught sight of her being beaten by a man almost twice her size in the gardens, I hadn’t thought twice about going to her aid.
She was pretty, with large turquoise eyes and long dark hair. Physically, I’d been attracted to her as soon as I saw her in that sauna. Her looks had only made it harder to control myself around her. That was one of the reasons I’d darted so quickly from the room.
But I’d realized only afterward that saving her in that rose garden had been a way of helping myself. I’d been so shrouded in darkness recently. I’d murdered so many people—more than I’d even been able to keep count of—and my bloodlust was still as strong as ever. Taking this girl under my wing was helping me keep my head above water. Her blood not being tempting in the slightest, she reminded me of what it was like to not feel like the devil personified around someone who happened to be weaker than me.
And now, if I dared to believe that we might be close to being invited out on a hunt, my escape wouldn’t be possible without her.
I cleared my throat. “You’re welcome,” I replied. “Shall we return to my place then?”
She nodded and took my hand again.
As we entered the elevator, I asked, “So where are you from originally?”
“New York,” she replied. “You?”
“California,” was the easiest answer I could give.
“Vampires… To become one, you get turned? Who turned you?”
Admitting that it had been my father would only invite another slew of unwanted questions. Besides, I still didn’t know this girl well enough to trust her—certainly not enough to reveal my true identity. So I gave her a similar answer to the one I’d given Jeramiah when he had first asked me.
“I came across a vampire one night—I was attending a friend’s beach party. Apparently he thought of me as an easy target. He drugged me and when I woke up… I was this.”
She gasped. “My God. Why do vampires do that? Turn people? What’s the point?”
I shrugged. “Guess they want to increase their kind.”
“How did you get here? To this place?”
“I met Jeramiah and some of his companions in Chile.”
I could see that she was still in a state of shock. None of this had fully sunk in yet.
“Did you have any idea about the existence of supernaturals before coming here?” I asked.
“I mean… I had seen footage on the TV, but I never believed any of it. I just thought it was some kind of elaborate hoax. Do other supernatural creatures really exist too? Witches? Dragons?”
“I don’t know about dragons,” I answered, surprised. “But witches, werewolves and ogres certainly do.”
She looked dumbstruck.
Reaching my door, I pushed it open and we walked inside. I looked down at her as we stood in the entry hall. “Are you hungry?”
She bit her lower lip. “I probably should eat something. I was invited to join that group of half-bloods for a meal, actually… But in case you couldn’t guess, I didn’t get far into it.”
I smiled. “I don’t really have anything, uh, suitable for you. Unless you like the idea of drinking blood?”
“Blood?”
“Yes. I drink human blood.” I thought it best to just tell her upfront.
Her mouth dropped open. “That’s all you drink?”
I knew that my answer would only disturb her about her sister, but she would find out sooner or later. “That’s why vampires kidnap so many humans. A few of those they capture are turned into half-bloods, and the rest they keep down in the basement… I’m pretty sure they’re all for blood.”
“Oh, no.”
“How old is your sister?” I asked.
“Six.”
She needed to eat something or she would get sick. I had to think of something to comfort her with or she’d have no appetite for anything.
“If your sister is only six, I think she might be safe for a while. They have gone to the trouble of kidnapping her, they might even wait until she’s grown to maturity before thinking about taking her blood…”
Of course, they could also have kidnapped her for her tender young blood. But River didn’t need to hear that now. I’d scared her enough already.
“Michael said that she wouldn’t be harmed,” she said, her voice cracking.
“Then maybe my guess is correct…” I needed to change the subject. “You’re actually in luck. Unlike vampires, half-bloods can consume regular food. You don’t have to drink blood.”
“Thank God.”
“I don’t have any regular food in my own fridge, but…” I thought about where the best place would be to get some food for her. Then I remembered my neighbor who’d been friendly to me recently—Lloyd. He’d said that I could come to him if I needed something.
“Come with me. Just a few doors down, Lloyd, my neighbor, has a half-blood staying with him. He should have regular food.”
She nodded, though she still looked petrified.
We headed for the door, and just before I opened it, she took my hand again. The idea that she got comfort from me brought me warmth. That I was still capable of experiencing emotions like this was in itself comforting to me.
I stopped with her outside Lloyd’s apartment.
We didn’t have to wait long after knocking. He opened the door and the moment he saw me, he smiled.
“Hello, Joseph. You’ve been keeping to yourself a lot recently, haven’t you?”
“Yes. Until now, actually…” I gestured toward River. “She’s my new half-blood friend. I realized that I have absolutely no food for her in my kitchen. Do you have some to spare?”
“Yes, plenty. Come in.”
We stepped inside and he led us to his kitchen—which looked pretty much identical to mine. He gestured toward the fridge and looked toward River. “What’s your name?” he asked.
“River,” she replied, even as she kept close to me.
“Beautiful name…” He looked back at me. “Would you mind seeing yourself out after you are done? I was actually in the middle of something.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you,” I said.
I took a seat at the kitchen table and watched as River opened the fridge and scanned the shelves.
Food.
It felt like an eternity since I had last tasted it. While a part of me yearned for it, the other part was repulsed by the idea of putting anything but human blood in my mouth.
Judging by the ingredients River was picking out, it looked like she wanted to make herself some sandwiches. She gathered a loaf of whole wheat bread, cucumber, lettuce, cheese, and some kind of pickle. After she was done, she closed the fridge door.
“Finished?”
“Yes.”
We left Lloyd’s place and headed back to mine. I took a seat again at my kitchen table and watched as she went about preparing sandwiches.
She worked in silence, and then sat down at the table opposite me and began eating.
I watched her expression as she swallowed.
“This is weird,” she said, as she stopped chewing. “Food. It tastes… different.” She dunked a spoon into the jar of pickles and dolloped more into her sandwiches. “Everything tastes more… tasteless. It feels like it needs more salt or more… something…”
“I guess that’s because you’re halfway to being a vampire.”
“Do you know a lot about half-bloods?” she asked.
“More than you, I’m sure, but not a lot.”
She adjusted her shirt to reveal a tattoo—the same black cross that we all bore—etched into her right arm.
“What is this?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Everyone who enters The Oasis seems to get one the first night they’re here.”
“I tried to ask Michael about it, but he was cryptic.”
Marilyn had also given me no clear answer. I’d put it down to just her being drunk. But I hadn’t bothered to ask anyone else about it. I had been so focused on how to escape this place.
After River had finished eating, and chugging down a whole jug of water, we went into the living room. Sitting down in the comfortable armchairs, we continued talking. She began asking dozens of questions about vampires, half-bloods and the world of supernaturals. I tried to answer them to the best of my ability without giving away too much personal information. I also deliberately skirted around the topic of immortality because I felt it would overwhelm her.
The excuse I’d given to Jeramiah for wanting River—that she was newly turned and so we had much in common—had been something that I’d thought of on the spot. But it turned out to be true. Although I’d been surrounded by supernaturals all my life, from the very day of my birth, being a supernatural myself was still so new to me.
When she asked me whether she could ever turn back into a human again, assuming we managed to escape, I didn’t know how to answer her. Of course, I knew that there was a cure for vampires, but half-bloods? That was uncharted territory. I hadn’t even known of the existence of half-bloods until I’d met Jeramiah. Discovering a cure to vampirism hadn’t been easy, and had come about after dangerous experimentation. I just answered her honestly.
Then she began to shiver.
“You’re cold?” I asked.
She nodded.
“Feel free to use the sauna,” I said.
She stood up. “No, I’ll just get myself a blanket.”
She walked out of the room and returned with a thick duvet. I guessed she had found it in one of the spare rooms.
She took her seat again in the armchair and wrapped herself in it. She shuddered. “This cold. I’ve never experienced anything like it.”
There was a knock on the door.
River looked panicked. I wondered who it could possibly be. Leaving her in the living room, I made my way to the door and opened it.
There was no one there. I looked left and right, but the veranda was empty.
But then my eyes lowered to the floor in front of me. A backpack had been placed in front of my doorway. I bent down and picked it up, then made my way back to the living room.
River was standing waiting for me, the duvet still draped around her shoulders. Her eyes widened as she spotted the backpack in my hands.
“That’s mine,” she whispered, taking it from me. “Who brought it here?”
“There was nobody outside,” I replied.
“I left this in Michael’s apartment. I wonder why on earth he’d bother to bring it back to me after everything…”
She sat down and unzipped the bag, pulling out a vial of clear amber liquid and then a black fabric bag. Loosening the bag, she revealed that it was full of gold coins.
“In Michael’s place,” she said, looking tense, “when I woke up after being drugged, this bag of coins and this vial of liquid were waiting for me in his bedroom. There was a note left with them. It said that these were gifts for my mother and my brother. Michael said they were gifts from The Oasis. Why on earth was I given these? How do they even know about my family?”
I stared at the two objects. I was just as clueless as her.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I have no idea.”
She put the backpack down and looked at me. “When do you think the next hunt will be?”
“There was one recently. It could be a week or maybe longer until they go on one again. There doesn’t seem to be a set schedule.”
She moved closer to me, the blanket trailing behind her on the floor.
“Please, help me locate my sister. Even if we have no way of saving her yet… I just need to see her.”
I looked down into her desperate eyes and heaved a sigh.
“Okay. I’ll help you.”