A Vial of Life (A Shade of Vampire #21) (3 page)

And so we waited. And waited. Until finally, as the eighteenth year was on the cusp of arriving, while I paid my routine visit to Cruor, the same Elder spoke to me. I’d never thought that his frightening voice could be such a welcome sound, but relief washed over me as his hiss met my ears.

“You have been patient, girl,” he said. “And soon you will be rewarded. The time has come. The human boy has been turned and is closer to reaching us now than ever before. Go and wait in The Tavern, and keep an eye out for him.”

The Elder gave me a description of Benjamin Novak’s physical appearance, and warned me that he was stronger than most vampires. He also told me that he was being accompanied by two jinn—creatures I had thought were merely a myth. Other than that, he didn’t offer advice as to how I was going to pull this off. I guessed figuring this out was part of earning my right to see Hans again.

I hurried back toward the ship where Hans’ siblings waited for me. We left Cruor and sped toward The Tavern. The only thing on my mind was Hans. How he had been keeping all these years. How it would feel to touch him once again.

Hans’ siblings and I spent the following days in The Tavern. I figured that if Benjamin Novak arrived here, he was bound to visit the pub in the town square, since that was the central hub of this island. I decided that I would spend most of my time there. Hans’ siblings positioned themselves in other strategic points to keep a lookout.

It was on one such occasion that Hans’ youngest sibling—his sister, Arletta—spied two other members of our Chinese coven, brothers. They too had escaped and become wanderers in the supernatural dimension. Arletta reported that they were just passing through The Tavern, and she had overheard them speaking of a special box they had managed to steal from a warlock. It purportedly had the ability to contain ghouls and other subtle beings. I didn’t know whether it was true, but my instinct told me that this box could be useful for the task ahead of me.

And so we plotted to steal it. I recalled that those brothers had harassed me once in the coven. Soon after Hans and I had arrived, they’d tried to make an approach. That was before they’d been aware that Hans was my lover. Now I figured I could use their attraction for me to my advantage. I caught the two alone near The Tavern’s port one evening. Of course, they were shocked to see me at first, but I soon eased them into a conversation after explaining I’d split up with Hans. I seduced them into joining me for a walk along the beach, and in the meantime, Hans’ three brothers stole the box from the brothers’ ship and transferred it to ours.

I slipped away from them gracefully and returned to the pub where I sat facing the wall, looking back over the room every time the door opened.

That night, Benjamin Novak finally arrived. Since mine was the emptiest table, he headed straight for me and took a seat. My act had begun. I had to clutch my glass tight to stop my hands from trembling with anticipation. It felt like I’d waited an eternity for this young man. I didn’t know anything about him yet, but I did know that in order for me to bring him back to Cruor, I needed to be smart. The Elder had said that he was protected by jinn—and I didn’t know much about the creatures other than they were to be feared. I figured that the easiest way to gain his trust would be to begin by offering him casual, unconditional help, and later, make myself out to be a victim.

Two happy coincidences came along that very night.

First was the presence of humans in the guesthouse—not just the cleaner downstairs but also another apparently staying in one of the rooms near Benjamin’s—which forced Benjamin to come upstairs. And second was the two brothers smashing through my window. I’d known they’d be angered when they realized the box was missing and they’d probably suspect I had something to do with it—but I’d never dreamed that they would attempt to murder me for it.

This incident brought Benjamin to me yet again, and this time in a much more permanent way. I had an excuse to insist that we both leave the island immediately. I’d considered suggesting from the start that we travel together, but that might be coming on too strong. He would wonder why I couldn’t just travel in my own boat. So, as we arrived in the harbor, I stopped at a random boat and told Benjamin it was mine. Then I had a few moments to destroy the boat, leap into the ocean and slaughter the sea creatures. I’d worried he’d think it odd that my clothes were drenched, but I’d figured by now that Benjamin was a gentleman and probably wouldn’t pay much attention to it when he saw me “stranded” and calling for help. And that was exactly how it played out as he raced away with me on the boat he’d stolen.

After that, slowly but surely, I worked toward getting to know him and building myself up as someone he could confide in. When we went to meet with Arron for the first time, Benjamin revealed the level of trust he already held for me by defending me from the jinni who intended to kill me for my heart. I sensed the incident was a pivotal moment. From then on, I just had to keep sowing the seeds of my loyalty and concern for his well-being… all the while trying to figure out how the hell I was going to put a wrench in the works of this surgery Arron had suggested, get rid of the jinn’s protection over him, and deliver him safely back to Cruor.

It was a frighteningly epic feat ahead of me, and to make matters more difficult, I wasn’t a scheming person by nature. I considered myself honest and straightforward. But desperation did things to people. When a person had enough on the line, they could accomplish anything. I had to hope that if I stayed with Benjamin long enough and managed to prevent the surgery, sooner or later I would get him on his own, without a jinni protecting him. Although I had no idea how, and I certainly hadn’t expected that it would happen in such a smooth manner.

When we returned to the witch physician Uma’s island with the ingredients and Benjamin found out that the merflor was missing, he immediately suspected Arron—although, of course, it had been me who had removed and destroyed it. Then a few moments later as we stood on that hilltop discussing returning to The Cove to collect more merflor, Bahir vanished. That left only the jinni inside Benjamin to deal with. I knew then that I had a good chance of luring him back to our ship with the idea of the Elder box.

Then the Hawk practically took himself out. I’d suspected from the look in Arron’s eyes that he was planning to attack Benjamin. But I waited until he neared Benjamin with the iron bar before leaping at him and tearing out his throat—I had to do it while Benjamin was watching, so that he could see how I’d saved him yet again.

After that, Benjamin Novak had no more options. There was nothing left that he could do but take my suggestion to come with me to retrieve the box.

As soon as we reached the ship and I brought him on board, it was plain sailing. Since he’d been so unsuspecting, we had the element of surprise on our side and it wasn’t long before we’d locked him in the box.

Now he was with Basilius. As I and Hans’ siblings moved down the mountain to meet with the Elder who had promised to finally take us to see Hans, I thought of Benjamin Novak, lying paralyzed on that cliffside. Perhaps his Elder had already taken him over by now.

It had been hard to remain stoic throughout my betrayal. I hadn’t wanted to do what I did to Benjamin. The more I’d gotten to know the vampire, the more difficult the task had become because… he was a good man. I didn’t want to cause harm to him and yet delivering him to the Elder was the only way I could see Hans again. My yearning for my lover blinded me to all else and almost numbed me to the guilt.

Once we reached the foot of the mountain, I shoved aside thoughts of Benjamin. We’d arrived outside an old oak door etched into the mountain wall—one I recognized too well.

My breathing became harsh and erratic.
This is it. Finally, the day has come.
I exchanged glances with Arletta, who stood next to me with clenched fists.

I stepped forward and knocked on the door. “We brought the boy safely to Cruor,” I called. “Now he is with Basilius.”

I sighed with relief as a cold presence closed in around us. The door creaked open and we stepped inside a long dark tunnel.

“Straight ahead,” a voice hissed.

I was surprised that we were going along this route. It was one of the main entrances to the Elders’ mountain abode.
Could they really be keeping Hans and the other vessels here?

The path wound deeper and deeper into the mountain until the Elder commanded us to stop. Strangely, it was right in the middle of the tunnel. There were no doors or anything nearby… at least not that I could see.

Then Arletta pointed to our right. A ridge ran down the wall from top to bottom to form a perfect ninety-degree angle.

“Enter through this door,” the Elder commanded.

No wonder the Elder had said I would never find the place where Hans was hidden. When passing through long tunnels like this, one didn’t pay attention to the walls. They faded into the background.

Arletta and I pushed against the stone with all our strength, but it was incredibly stiff. As though it hadn’t been opened since the day it was locked.… Perhaps even eighteen years ago. Fear filled me.
Will Hans really not have consumed blood for eighteen years?
Although I didn’t see how he would have been able to consume it since the Elders weren’t supplying it, at the back of my mind I’d held out hope that somehow he’d managed to procure enough blood to stay healthy.
Please be alive. Please be alive.
I repeated the mantra over and over in my head like a prayer.

Hans’ brothers helped out with the stone entrance and, with all of us pushing at once, the door ground open.

Before us was another long, dark tunnel, the ground and ceiling cluttered with stalagmites and stalactites. We had to watch our step to avoid being gouged. After five minutes, we reached a dead end.

“Now what?” I murmured.

“This is another door,” Braithe, Hans’ second youngest brother, said. And he was right. Before us was the same ridge. Again, it required all five of us to force it open. The grating of stone against stone sent echoes bouncing around the walls, making the place feel all the more eerie. We stepped through the second door and arrived at the top of a jagged stone staircase—at the bottom of which we could spot yet another door, this one locked with a bolt. I wondered how many more doors we’d have to pass through.

We reached the bottom of the staircase and, drawing aside the thick metal bolt, began to tug on the third door. Just as it felt like we were on the verge of prying it open, the Elder spoke again.

“Beyond this door, you will be reunited with the vessel you seek.”

As Hans’s siblings continued to tackle the entrance, I drew away and held up a hand. “Wait,” I whispered. Now that we were on the precipice of seeing Hans again, fear washed over me—fear of what we might see behind this door. Most of all, I feared seeing his wasted corpse.

Hans’ siblings respected my wish to take a few moments to steel myself before barging through the door. I was sure that they were taking the opportunity to do the same. Sensing that the Elder’s presence was still with us, I asked him in a shaking voice, “Is Hans actually alive?”

There was a pause. An agonizingly long pause. Then the Elder gave me the least comforting answer he possibly could. “I know not,” he whispered back.

My mouth dried out. “How can you not know?”

“Neither I nor any of my fellow Elders have entered the chamber since we locked them in here for safekeeping almost two decades ago.”

Safekeeping
. They wanted to keep these vessels safe. The Elders must have been convinced that they would survive. Otherwise what was the point in locking them in here? They might as well have just let them perish like their other vessels.

Still, I couldn’t keep myself from asking, “Do you really not know what happens to a vampire when they starve?”

“I do not know,” the Elder responded, a hint of impatience in his tone. “I have never witnessed the result of starvation in a vampire before. Open the door and we shall see.…”

As we resumed our hold on the door and forced it loose, we geared ourselves up to likely be the first people in history to find out.

N
othing could have prepared
me for the sight that lay beyond that stone door.

As we stepped through into a pitch-black dungeon—darker than even the dank corridors we’d been traveling along— the first thing that hit me was the smell. The thick stone walls had contained and stifled it while we had been standing on the other side, but now it was unbearable.

The scent alone sent my mind into a panic. Vampires indeed could starve and the smell was that of rotting corpses.

But the strange thing was, as I cast my eyes despairingly around the large, circular chamber, there wasn’t a body to be seen. The floors were empty, except for the odd puddle of water.

“The ceiling!” Braithe choked.

As my eyes drifted upward, I stopped breathing. The stalactite-ridden ceiling was lined with… bodies. Naked, stark-white bodies. I stumbled further into the chamber, my head hanging back as I gazed upward in disbelief. The bodies… they were utterly emaciated, their skin—if it could even be called that anymore—was thin as papyrus. From where I stood, I could only see their backs, but I could see the backs of their heads—each devoid of even a strand of hair.

No. This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening.

“Hans!” I croaked. My cry echoed around the chamber, causing it to sound all the more anguished.

I staggered into the center of the room, falling to my knees as I continued gazing up hopelessly. Were they dead? How were they all clinging to the ceiling like that with their hands and feet? They all appeared motionless.

Almost as soon as I had the thought, the last of the echoes of my cry fading in the room, they began to stir. The sound of cracking filled my ears—cracking bone. They loosened their tight hold on the uneven ceiling and the next thing I knew, their legs dropped loosely beneath them. Now their faces were no longer obscured, I was able to witness the full horror of their transformation.