“Then we will find the anchor in the room you’ve identified,” Ruvan says curtly.
“If she can make it there.” Lavenzia glances between myself and Ruvan.
“She’ll make it. She held her own against me,” Ruvan says solemnly.
“You would try and kill the human we needed.” Winny rolls her eyes.
“She wasn’t about to come peacefully—no human would. Moreover, as soon as I saw her, I knew it had to be her. She wasn’t like the other hunters.”
Ruvan’s words spin a small ball of warmth in my stomach. One I instantly try and douse. I willnotbe flattered by him.
“You mean that as more than her combat prowess,” Callos asks in that quiet, knowing way of his.
“They had used the blood lore on her, and for it, she could go toe-to-toe with me.” The room goes still. The silence fills the space easily, highlighting just how large andemptythe room is. This hall could fit fifty. No, one hundred. Surely the vampire lord has a more fearsome retainer? Are they not back from across the Fade? Or…perhaps…did the hunters slay the rest?
Pride swells in me. Maybe Hunter’s Hamlet is all right. Maybe Drew was found in the mists and saved by other hunters who reclaimed the night for humanity.
“There’s no way.” Winny pauses her playing.
“I know what I saw. Her eyes were gold-ringed and bloodshot. Her veins bulged. You might not know what the transformation rites look like, but I do. I have seen the old drawings and rituals, and she looked halfway through them while still being completely human and yet…” His eyes swing back to me. I continue to remain silent. Anything I say right now might be used against myself or the hamlet. “She radiated the great power of our kind. I could sense her coming as easily as I could any of you.”
Sense me… Perhaps that’s how the vampire knew I was in my home despite the salt? If that’s true, then there’s some hope that Mother remained safe through the night. But if it’s true then it also means that I really did have some kind of power. How I looked in the mirror when I first arrived…was that truly me?
“Fascinating.” Callos stalks up to me, looking at me from head to toe. I hate the feeling of a vampire inspecting me as ifI’mthe one who’s the oddity. “How did they do it?”
“I…”What do I tell them?I have to do anything to keep up the charade. I know I can’t outright lie to Ruvan, but what of the rest of them? “I’m a hunter”—so I can lie to the others—“not a scholar. I don’t ask questions of my superiors.”
“Ah, because the true measure of loyalty is not questioning,” Callos says sarcastically, rolls his eyes, and returns to the bench.
“You found a real useful one, Ruvan.” Lavenzia sinks back into her seat.
“Shewillbe useful. She will get us inside the door. And if she can’t, then she will still know of the hunters’ attempts at blood lore. That might give us some clarity on how they made the curse in the first place—she might know something without realizing it.”
I look up at Ruvan from the corners of my eyes. The way he speaks makes it sound like he’s been as diligently planning on contingencies as I have. Maybe he’s right and we both need each other. But if we are of similar mind then that begs the question, how is he planning to kill me once this has run its course?
If he truly is like me, he’s thought of several ways.
“You know the Succumbed will frenzy at her scent,” Winny says.
“Callos can find us a path of least resistance through the old castle,” Ruvan counters.
Old castle? Succumbed? Curse anchors? I’ve no idea what they’re talking about but I try and mentally take note of it all.
“I think it could be amusing to watch the Succumbed tear her limb from limb.” Lavenzia leans forward in her chair, eyes gleaming. She looks ten times more deadly and now competes with Ventos for the most terrifying person here. Perhaps it’s the bloodsworn, but Ruvan is solidly third and I almost want to tell him so just for the sake of a jab.
“She is one of us now. No wishing for her death,” Ruvan reminds them.
“No.” Ventos stands, chair toppling over with the force by which he does. He’s clearly a hot-headed fellow. “She might have sworn an oath toyou, and we might have a duty to honor your commands and oaths you make. But she is not, and willneverbe one of us. She is a hunter. She is the enemy.” He thrusts a finger at me.
Vampires act so much like humans. Emotional. Capable of speech. Vampiresfeel. And if they are all so loyal to Ruvan…why do they speak out against him?
They seem to think their own thoughts rather than being a hive-like group… But theyaremonsters, I’ve seen as much, just not the kind I was always told. They are monsters that wear the skin of humans, drink blood to gain human feelings and emotions, masquerading close enough to humanity that it’salmostconfusing. They want me to sympathize with them, to see them as not so different from me. Well I won’t be fooled.
“I wouldneverwant to be one of you,” I say quietly. All eyes are on me instantly. “I will fulfill this oath for all of humanity and rid myself of this place and the vampire forever.”
“Well said,” Ruvan appraises. “The sooner we break the curse the better, on that much we can all agree.”
Ventos reluctantly nods, righting his chair and falling heavily into it. It’s a wonder the thing doesn’t crack under the weight of all that muscle.
