“I will not…die…without taking you with me,” I manage to say.
“Why do you defend the people who have committed such horrors against you?”
I grip the sword with both hands as my only reply. I will not heed the words of a monster. Of the source of all my hardships.
He sighs and steps backward toward a tapestry hanging on the wall. The vampire lord grabs it, ripping it from the stretcher bar. The tapestry frays half to dust as he pulls, exposing a mirror. The reflection catches my eyes and I can’t look away.
He is not the monster that is before me, but a normal man of flesh and blood. From what I can see of his cheek, his skin is not wrinkled and sagging, but taut against his angled jaw and rounded cheekbones. Hair that I see as greasy, clumped, and matted hangs around the back of his head in loose waves in his reflection.
I wonder how his face might look but all wondering ceases when I catch sight of what should be me.
“What trickery is this?” I whisper. The monster that stares back at me moves her mouth in time with mine. But I cannot make sense of her. The woman has dusky, bloodshot eyes with irises ringed in gold. Dark purple veins bulge from paper-thin skin that is sunken against the bones of her face.
She looks…Ilook…almost like one of them.
“What is this?” I repeat, louder. A sickness that has nothing to do with my throbbing head is rising in me.
“The truth of what you are becoming.”
“You lie!” I scream and raise the sword higher.
“That is why I have brought you here. The hunters are turning you into one of us—more or less—so that you might be able to stand a chance at killing us.”
“I amnotone of you and I will never be.”The elixir. This must be some function of it. A side effect, perhaps. But Drew would’ve warned me.
Unless he didn’t know this could happen. Hunters only drink when they’re out in the marshes on the hunt and their masks are on. Perhaps he had no idea. Or perhaps this is happening because I am not a true hunter. I wasn’t meant to take the elixir and somehow the draught knew.
The vampire lord continues as though I said nothing. “They have knowledge that should not exist and with it—”
“Lord Ruvan!” a man’s voice cuts through the air. I glance from the corner of my eye, not daring to take my attention off the lord for more than a second. Sure enough, there is another yellow-eyed vampire standing in an archway.
Yet, he too is different from the other vampires I’ve encountered. And not just because, like Ruvan, he is also capable of speech. This new vampire doesn’t wear any kind of plate or leathers, nor is he in tattered clothes like the vampires that attack during regular full moons. Steel has been replaced by velvet of the same shade as the lord’s cape. Ruffles extend from the thick cuffs of his sleeves, accented by highly polished brass buttons. He would seem well put together, were it not for his leathered skin and sunken eyes. The vampire looks just like Ruvan does—a dressed-up corpse.
His eyes dart from the vampire lord to myself and back.
The vampire lord gathers himself and commands, “Quinn, take our guest to the western tower, if it’s still clear. She is weary from the journey here and is in no condition to converse meaningfully. I will wait until she has a better head about her.”
“Ourguest?” Quinn echoes my sentiment. Perhaps the only time I’ll ever find myself agreeing with a vampire.
“Our guest,” Ruvan repeats, more firmly than the last. “See her attended to. She needs mending. We’re going to need her.”
Need me?I imagine them strapping me against a table of torture, plunging their fangs into me. I can almost feel the ghost of the vampire lord’s tongue running up my breast, my collar, my neck. I shudder.
“Yes, my lord.” Quinn bows and turns toward me. I see his movements from my periphery and feel his attention. But my focus remains solely on the vampire lord. The sword I’m clutching with both hands continues to waver in the air, threatening to fall at any moment. “If you would please?”
I don’t move. Lord Ruvan levels his eyes with mine. I can feel as much as hear the silent invitation.Kill me, if you can. If you dare.
My grip tightens on the sword and I shift my weight slightly. I assess my balance and remaining strength. I’m strong enough. I refuse to believe anything else.
All those years training in secret. Everything Drew and Mother risked to try and keep me safe. The foolish decision I made in engaging in the Blood Moon hunt even though it was forbidden for me to.
If I am going to die, I must take the vampire lord with me. Killing him might have been Drew’s destiny, but it is a job my brother was not able to finish, a mantle I will assume for him. All of Hunter’s Hamlet is depending on me in this moment.
Why can’tIbe enough?I’ve tried so hard. I’ve come so close. But it’s not enough…the vampire lord still breathes.
I’m going to be sick again. Blood drips off my shattered, tightening knuckles. It runs down my back. I am held together with little more than hatred and a need for vengeance.
One life.
