The Fangs of Bloodhaven (6 page)

Everett chuckled and followed her outside. “My mom used to tell me that if I ever felt like I was losing control, I should recite the names of my siblings.”

Adrielle glanced back at him. “Does it work?”

“Yeah,” he admitted with a nod. “A lot better than I thought it would.”

“Your mom’s a smart woman,” Adrielle replied.

“She is,” Everett agreed. “Extremely smart.”

Chapter Five

“Back safe, just like I promised.” Everett held open the door that led inside Adrielle’s apartment complex. Sadness touched him at the thought of her returning to the empty rooms with pretend pictures of happiness on the walls.

“Thank you,” she told him.

She walked inside. He watched her make her way to the stairs. He was about to leave when she hesitated before setting a foot on the bottom step.

“Rett?”

For some reason, her calling him by his nickname made him smile. “Yeah, Elle?”

She looked back at him. “There’s something I need to show you.”

At her motion, he stepped inside the complex and stood with uncertainty near the door.

“Come out the back way,” she said.

“To where?” he asked.

“To the Monster Asylum.” A smile lifted one side of Adrielle’s mouth as if she knew how crazy that sounded. “Trust me, okay?”

Everett figured he had gone that far. He nodded.

Adrielle led the way through the apartment building and opened a door to the back alley. Though the moonlight didn’t penetrate the darkness, she didn’t hesitate to step outside. Everett lingered at the doorway while she crossed to a thick door that looked as though it was more rust than metal. She knocked on it three times, paused, and then knocked three more times. A small panel slid back to reveal a pair of dark eyes.

Everett watched in amazement, feeling as though he had just stepped into a shady movie where mafia members would step out and gun them both down. The thought was unsettling even though all weapons had been confiscated after the war, at least those currently not being sold on the black market. The voice in the back of his mind said that the alley was exactly the kind of place he figured such things were bartered.

“The door smells like onions,” Adrielle said.

“You know that’s not the password,” a gruff voice replied.

“Come on, Xander. You know it’s me,” Adrielle told him, rolling her eyes.

“Dr. Transton said to open the door only for the password,” the voice on the other side argued.

“I’m the only one coming through at this hour. He wouldn’t want me to spend the night in the alley,” Adrielle replied.

She stepped back, and sure enough, the door opened.

“Come on,” she said to Everett.

He pushed down his apprehension and followed her inside. The door shut behind them with a heavy bang. Everett glanced back in the dim lighting and found himself staring at the biggest person he had ever seen. If there was a chair beneath Xander, Everett couldn’t find it. The man’s bulky form filled up every bit of the space behind the door. Only a small alley remained for those who entered to squeeze by.

“What are you looking at?” the man growled in a deep voice that reverberated through the bricks around them.

“Uh, s-sorry,” Everett replied.

He looked back to see Adrielle waiting halfway up the hall. He ran to catch up to her.

“Xander doesn’t like visitors,” she explained, continuing as though they weren’t walking through a place out of Everett’s nightmares.

“I noticed,” he replied, looking uneasily at a light that buzzed and blinked when they walked beneath it.

Adrielle reached a spiral staircase and paused. She looked back at him. “Just to warn you, Dr. Transton doesn’t like vampires. At all. Like run-you-through-the-heart-with-a-stake dislike. So don’t let them see your teeth. You smile too much for a vampire as it is.”

She started up the stairs, leaving Everett to either follow or risk facing Xander’s wrath if he tried to leave without her.

“Who is Dr. Transton?” Everett asked, climbing the stairs. “And what’s wrong with a vampire smiling? I know we’re all supposed to be gothic and emo depressed and all that, but it’s a little cliché, don’t you think? And a stake through the heart? That’s going to kill anyone. It’s shouldn’t just be reserved for vampires.”

Adrielle stared down at him from the steps above. “I’m trying to save you right now and you’re worried about vampire clichés?”

He fought back a smile at her exasperated tone. “You want a cliché? This winding, creepy staircase is a cliché. So’s Xander, for that matter. What’s he really going to do if he doesn’t like me? Squash me to death?”

“Xander’s an ogren.”

A shiver ran down Everett’s spine. “A what?” he asked, even though he had heard her clearly.

“An ogren,” she replied.

Named after the ogres of mythology, ogren were humans who had come into contact with chemicals from the Ending War and been greatly misshapen. Their bulky forms were a result of radiation poisoning mutating their cells. A few had survived the cancer only to be shunned in fear from society. Tales of their strength and an unmatched temper lingered, giving parents more fuel for stories to keep their children in after the curfew.

“I didn’t know there were any left,” Everett said quietly in awe.

Adrielle glanced back at him. “There’s a lot you don’t know,” she replied.

Everett looked down the dim hallway. Xander shifted in his corner. Everett hurried up the staircase after Adrielle.

A scent touched Everett’s nose. It was floral, like his dad’s small greenhouse where he studied his bee hybrid creations. Adrielle opened the door at the top of the staircase and stronger floral scents rushed down. Everett took a deep breath as he stepped through. He stopped with a hand on the door and stared at the room beyond.

Instead of the narrow hallway with branching rooms he expected from a building labeled an asylum, the massive room that spread out before them was lined with more flowering plants than he figured even his father had seen in his lifetime. Everett recognized the high-intensity discharge bulbs along the ceiling that cast a stark, cool white light on the plants below. Halide bulbs gave off warm red and orange lighting in the corners to support the growth of the plants. Vines tangled everywhere, creating a jungle in so many shades of green he could only stare.

“This place is amazing,” Everett breathed.

The smile Adrielle gave him was warm. “I figured you’d like it after showing me your father’s greenhouse.”

Everett touched the leaves of a nearby vine. “It’s incredible. How do they grow so big?”

“That would be the nymphs,” Adrielle replied. “They take care of all of the plants in the Asylum.” She nodded. “There’s the twins.”

Everett followed her gaze to a leafy corner. Two girls with green skin were tending to what appeared to be a small weeping cherry tree.

“They’re nymphs?” he asked. He couldn’t help staring.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you,” Adrielle said. She walked away without giving him a chance to decline.

“Beryl, Midori, this is Everett,” she said.

When the girls turned, Everett realized with a start that the girls’ skin wasn’t green, they were covered in moving leaves and vines that covered every inch of the girls’ bodies.

Both girls smiled and bowed. The first girl hummed something when she held out her hand.

Everett glanced at Adrielle self-consciously.

“Tree nymphs don’t speak,” she explained with a hint of amusement at his self-consciousness. “They sing wordless songs to help the plants grow. Beryl is saying hi.”

“Oh, hi,” Everett replied, shaking her hand.

Midori touched his arm. The brush of her fingertips felt just like rose petals, and the same scent lingered around the girls.

When Everett turned, she held out a leaf. It was bright green and jagged around the edges. When he took it, she motioned for him to hold it up to his nose. Everett did as she directed. The sharp, clean scent chased away all other smells.

Adrielle made a face and took a step back. “That’s mint,” she said. “They know werewolves don’t like the smell of mint.” She glared at the girls.

Both tree nymphs covered their mouths and made little musical sounds Everett realized was laughter.

“Oh, go back to your plants,” Adrielle said, rolling her eyes.

The nymphs turned back to the willow with more laughter.

“They think they can chase me away,” Adrielle told Everett with a shake of her head. “It’ll take more than a mint leaf.”

“Chase you away from what?” he asked.

She lifted her eyebrows meaningfully. Everett realized what she was talking about. “From me?”

She nodded. “Don’t take it personally. They tease anything on two legs. I’ve ever seen them make Xander blush, and that’s saying a lot.”

Everett glanced back at them over his shoulder. Both nymphs were watching them walk away. As soon as Everett met their gazes, they turned back with more laughter. If vampires had enough blood to blush, he figured his cheeks would be bright red.

“More stairs,” Adrielle said.

She put a hand on what he had thought was a tall bush, but turned out to be another winding staircase completely blanketed in creeping vines. He was glad to find out that, unlike the vines that covered the city faster than the clearing teams could chop them up, these had no thorns and the leaves were smooth-edged instead of rough. He shoved the mint leaf in his pocket and followed her up.

“Come for a swim, Adrielle,” a voice called as soon as the door opened.

“No, thank you, Kai,” she replied. She waved her hand behind her. “We have company.”

“You never swim, Adrielle. I’m starting to think werewolves are afraid of the water.”

Everett stepped into the room and paused. Warm, moist air enveloped him from the mist wafting above rocks, pools, and dark green plants. It felt as though he had just crossed into a true jungle like the kind he had read about in books, complete with thin rain that dripped from the ceiling light enough to feel as though it was a part of the mist. Out of sight within the moss and ferns came small trilling sounds and little colored lights glowed within the depths of the trees.

Everett made out a form in the middle of the dark water. The boy was standing so that the water was waist high. He had dark green skin and strange black eyes. Leafy green tendrils made up his ears, and he moved his hands slowly through the water at his sides, catching it in his webbed fingers.

“Who do we have here?” Kai asked, his eyes narrowing with interest as he regarded Everett.

“This is Everett,” Adrielle said. “He’s, uh, he’s a friend.”

Kai moved forward in the water. When he reached the edge, he climbed out of the mossy pool to reveal scaled legs below his black swimming shorts. Everett wondered if he had a tail, but he couldn’t make one out in the dim lighting.

“Hello, Everett. Welcome to the Monster Asylum,” Kai said, holding out a hand.

Everett shook it, grateful the boy’s fingers didn’t feel as slimy as they looked. “Thanks. You can call me Rett.”

“Rett,” Kai replied with a nod. “What do you think of our little asylum?”

Everett glanced around again, not bothering to hide his amazement. “This place is incredible.”

“He hasn’t seen the artic room yet,” Adrielle said.

Kai grinned, revealing flat gums instead of teeth. “You’re in for a treat. I avoid it up there because all that cold...” He made a show of shivering. “It really doesn’t suit me.”

“You’re cold-blooded,” Adrielle reminded him. “You shouldn’t go up there.”

“Who’s going to flirt with Chirit if I don’t?” Kai replied.

Adrielle shook her head. “You’re hopeless.”

Kai staggered back, holding a hand to his heart dramatically. “You slay me with your words, Adrielle,” he said. He fell backwards into the water, disappearing from view.

“Amphibians,” she muttered with a shake of her head.

Kai surfaced a few feet away. “Tell her I said hi.”

“I will,” Adrielle promised.

Everett followed her through the rainforest room. The trilling sound increased, echoing through the trees. He peered into the darkness, but couldn’t see what was making it.

“What’s that sound?” he asked.

“The frogs,” Adrielle replied. She looked around. For a moment, her golden eyes reflected the faint light, glowing in the darkness. She looked like a wild animal searching for prey. Her nose moved slightly as she tested the air. Her head swiveled to the right. “Look,” she whispered.

Everett realized he was staring. He shook himself and turned. A form he had thought was a part of the plants moved slightly. High, musical words almost too soft to be heard weaved through the hanging trees. The ground moved. Everett realized that he was looking at frogs instead of the mossy floor, hundreds of them. They made their little trilling sounds and when they croaked, ribbons of colored light surrounded them. Streamers of pink, blue, and green flowed in waves to the form that turned out to be a little girl sitting at the base of a vine-covered tree.

Her song grew louder. Everett took a step forward. He felt all of his other senses fade away until only the sound of her voice remained. It pulled at him, beckoning him forward like the tiny frogs. He took another step.

Adrielle set a hand on his arm. Her touch jolted him back to himself.

“Take it easy,” she said. “Sonia is a siren. Do you know what a siren is?”