“Is
Victoria
right?” I asked. “Will these women
and children be murdered if the guards find me with you?”
“Don’t think about it.”
Samuel focused on his thumb as it circled around his index finger.
“That’s not an answer.”
I leaned back on the wall behind me.
Minutes passed. Samuel
stayed next to me in silence. All the humans lowered themselves onto the ground
and fell asleep one after another, not caring about the things swimming in the
liquid on the floor.
“I have a room in the
back with a bed,” Samuel said, still not facing me. “You could sleep in there
if you want. I will stay out here.”
Little kids with blood-smudged
faces nestled next to their exhausted mothers.
Who am I to complain about discomfort?
I shook my head. “No. I’m
fine. Don’t you need to sleep?”
“Not as much as I used
to.”
“Is that why you’re
warm, because you’re powerful?”
“Just because I don’t
sleep much doesn’t mean I’m powerful.”
“The only warm vampire
I’ve met was The Quiet King.” I noticed the muscle in his jaw twitch.
“Maybe you haven’t met
enough.”
“But—”
“You ask too many
questions. Get some rest.” Samuel stood and headed for the steel door Ty and
Victoria had disappeared through. “We’ll be walking through the sewer tunnels
all tomorrow night and won’t stop until dawn.”
“Which way would we
go?”
He pointed to a passage
way across from him. “That way.”
“Will we be out of the
city by then?” I asked as he opened the metal door.
“Yes. It’s barely a
night journey. When we emerge, it will be beyond the city’s gates. Goodnight,
Brie.”
“Goodnight.”
He shut the door behind
him.
An hour passed. Snoring
and slow breathing filled the sewer. I waited and made sure everyone was fast
asleep before I silently rose and crept in the passageway across from the steel
door.
Chapter Four
When Victoria said
people would die because of me, I decided to finish escaping by myself. Those
women and children deserved a chance at freedom and I wouldn’t stand in their
way. I tiptoed through the dark sewer, barely making any sound. I’d stolen one
of the women’s candles to light my path.
Several hours flew by.
The sun was up. Its rays peeked through the tiny holes in the sewer’s ceiling.
Heat radiated from the stone, painted every air molecule, and made my journey
stifling and unbearable. Harps and flutes played above the sewer. Bells chimed
through the city. The song of Ressi the sun goddess rang in my ears.
These
tunnels must be under her temple.
Female voices rose
above the flutes’ melody as they sang, “Two gods walked the universe never
knowing the other existed. But when they met, they spoke no words and just
kissed.”
I kept on moving
forward and stumbled.
“We do the goddess’s
work and never cease,” the women sang. “We give our blood to Ambi’s children to
maintain the peace.”
I gazed up and squinted
hard. I could make out the women’s amber robes through the ceiling’s tunnels as
they kneeled and prayed. Only human women were Ressi priestesses and willingly
committed their lives to giving vampires blood. Like them, my mother had served
the goddess when she was young. Later she left her service to the goddess and
married my father.
“The
pale god Ambi was so alone in the darkness,”
my mother told
me one night when I was a little girl lying in bed
. “Ambi formed our planet Dos and then created his dark mage children
with skin in shades of lovely black and brown. But when he did, the mages
rushed away to play and frolic on the planet. They loved him a lot, but didn’t return
much to spend time with him.”
“Mama, that’s so sad.”
“Yes.
I know. Ambi was still so alone.” She kissed my forehead. “So Ambi created new
children. He fashioned the vampire species in his image and made their hunger
dependent on his blood. This way, they always returned to feed and spend time
with him.”
I
sat up in bed and grinned, so excited to hear my favorite part of the story.
“And then Ressi came.”
“Yes.”
She laughed. “Ressi the goddess of the sun, with hair made of fire and burning
eyes. She spotted Ambi and they said no words—”
“They
kissed!” I giggled and clapped.
“Yes.”
She covered me in a quilt. “Now Ambi was so in love and happy. Ressi wanted him
to go with her and explore the universe some more. She figured maybe there were
more gods lingering around. But Ambi regretfully said no. He had his vampires
to feed and they ate all the time, barely ever resting.”
“So
Ressi made the sun, this way Ambi’s kids would sleep and she could spend time
with her love.” I placed my tiny hand on my chest.
“But
there still wasn’t enough time for Ressi and Ambi to explore the universe. So
what did Ressi do?”
“She
took Ambi’s blood, mixed it with hers, and created humans so when Ambi’s
children woke up they could take Ambi’s place in feeding his children.”
“She
also made the elfkins to cultivate the planet so the humans could eat and be
nourished.” She brushed a few strands away from my eyes. “And so his children
would not miss him too much while he was gone, Ambi formed two moons from his
skin—one to represent him and the other to symbolize his love for them.”
“And
when the moons line up, that will always let the vampires know Ambi is thinking
about them.”
“Very
good.” She blew out the candle on my nightstand and kissed me on my cheeks.
“Goodnight, my love.”
Dryness corroded my
mouth.
I miss you, mama.
My stomach
growled. Yawning, I rubbed my eyes and ambled through the tunnel on sore feet.
Don’t think about how long you have. Just
put each foot forward. Focus on the steps. Remember why you’re here.
My
twin girls flashed in my mind with each step. Little faces surrounded by auburn
curls. They had emerald-green eyes like mine that beamed up at me whenever I
looked their way. They’d only been toddlers when I left. The desire to see them
fueled my steps and increased my pace.
They
must be so big now.
A hand seized the back
of my neck. Another hand clasped over my mouth before I could scream. I dropped
the candle. Its light went out. Only sunlight seeped through the cracks.
“You smell so good. I’m
not sure which I’ll do first.” A dark and rugged voice hissed in my ear. The
scent of mold drifted into my nose. “I may ram my cock in you while I feed.”
I squirmed in his grip,
lifted my right foot in the air, and brought it down hard into what I hoped was
his shin. He roared and released me. I fled without glancing back, splashing
through waste.
“Wait, sweet domina!
Perhaps my greeting was too direct?”
How
in Ambi’s name does he know I’m a domina?
In an instant, the
stranger tackled and dragged me to the wet ground. Boiling-hot liquid
splattered across my face and drenched my shirt. The fabric stuck to my skin.
He turned me around and got on top of me.
“Help!”
I
yelled.
His face came into my
view. Gray decomposed skin coated his head and body. He had no eyes, just two
sunken holes above his nose. He opened his lips. Dust fell from his skin and
landed on me. One black fang sprouted from darkened gums. Never had I seen
anything like that before. I shrieked.
“Don’t scream, sweet
domina.”
“H-how do you know I’m
a d-domina?” I panted.
“How could I not?”
I curled my fingers
into a fist and hit him with all my strength.
My knuckles crashed into his cheek. Dust burst from the side of his
head. My now throbbing fist continued to travel through his face until it
stopped and lodged between his jaw. He growled and used both of his hands to
yank my fist out. Brown powder exploded as he freed my hand.
“Okay. Let’s stop
this,” he said as a hole replaced the cheek I’d hit. I tried to scratch his
face. He captured my hands and pressed them above my head. “You’re wasting your
energy.”
“Rot in the dark
realm!”
“I wish I could die,
but that’s not my fate.”
“Let me go!” I
struggled to escape his hold on me.
“I apologize for being
so crass earlier, domina.” Gray-and-brown dry skin crumpled from his cheeks as
his lips formed into a smile. “In my day, I was quite the ladies’ vampire. I
swooned queens and princesses all over the world.”
“Please let me go.”
“I’m hungry.” His grip
tightened around my wrists. His body trembled. I shoved my knee into his groin
as hard as I could.
He growled. “I’m asking
nicely for your blood, but I’ll take it if necessary.”
“This is you asking
nicely?”
He
went silent. Wrinkles gathered in the middle of his forehead. A jagged patch of
skin fell off his face. In a blur, he jumped off me and pulled me up. I shook
my shirt and wiped blood off my face the best I could.
“Will
you please give me some of your blood?” he asked, now a few feet in front of
me.
Do I have any choice?
“Ian, I’m sure you
smell my scent on her.” Samuel stepped out of the shadows with his arms crossed
over his chest. He still wore no shirt, but now his fangs were out. “This is my
domina that you are talking to. She’s in my care until she’s out of the
sewers.”
Ian jumped up to the
ceiling and attached his feet and hands to it. “Well, you’re not taking bloody
good care of her, nephew.”
“Don’t call me that!” Samuel
roared. His gold eyes glowed with rage and lit up the sewer. He leaped up
toward Ian and dragged him to the ground by his feet. Ian’s body slammed into
the puddle ground. Putrid liquid splashed.
“Apologize!” Samuel’s
voice echoed through the tunnel.
“She’s gotten to you
already, I see.” Ian laughed. “She’s not a regular domina, you know. You should
let me deal with her.”
Samuel’s fingers formed
into a fist. “If you could die, today would be the day. Instead, I’ll separate
your body parts, scatter them throughout the sewer, and have you spend the year
searching for them.”
Ian’s decaying lips
lowered into a frown.
Ian
can’t die?
“Samuel.” I walked to
them. “Just let him go.”
“Why?”
“He didn’t hurt me.”
“He would’ve if you
said no.”
“I’m shocked you would
say that.” Ian’s dusty lips opened wide as he held a hand to his chest. “I’m a
gentle vampire.”
“Scattering his body
parts would just be a waste of your time and energy.” I touched Samuel’s arm.
Heat radiated from his soft skin.
“Thank you, fair domina.”
Ian bowed as Samuel released me.
“It’s Brie,” I corrected.
Samuel howled.
“What?” I stepped back.
“There is no need to
exchange names,” Samuel said through clenched teeth. Ian chose the distraction
to race off in a blur. I wondered how he didn’t bump into anything since he was
blind.
“You said he couldn’t
die.” I looked at Samuel. “Why not?”
“He’s under some sort
of spell that forces him to remain trapped in the sewers forever.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“Who could cast something like that? Why did he call you nephew? Are you both
related?”
“You ask too many
questions.” Samuel averted his eyes. “Maybe you should answer some of mine,
like why did you run?”
“There is no need to yell.”
I turned away. “Thank you for saving me.”
“I doubt Ian would have
hurt you, but he is starving. It’s been a year since he’s eaten. Ty and I have
a pact with the vampires down here. They can only drink from humans who don’t
have our scent.”
“Are they all spelled?”
“Yes.” Samuel nodded.
“They can’t die. Although their flesh rots away when they don’t drink blood,
they still remain alive somehow, like thirsty, animated corpses. They’ll attack
and drink from anyone without
Ty
,
Victoria
, or my scent.”
“I’m wearing your
shirt. He should’ve smelled you on me.” I hugged myself and touched the shirt’s
material.
“He did, but your
domina blood tends to make us act irrationally.” Samuel headed my way and
stopped right in front of me. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.”
Just scared the sun right out of me.