Vampire Addiction (19 page)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Labyrinth

The two vampires raced across the Adriatic Sea and plummeted down toward Crete with Gertie in their clutches. Gertie closed her eyes and screamed when it looked like they were going to crash into the hillside. Although she bumped against something hard, she did not crash.

“You got it?” one vamp said to the other near the mouth of a cave.

“Yes. Go!”

They wound through the tunneling caverns with Gertie in between them, and then, like a bomber dropping its cargo, they let her fall before they turned back.

The vampire virus was still in her body, because she could see even though very little light showed through the cracks in the rock eight feet above her. The tunnel was narrow and wet. The ground was cold and covered in small pebbles, which moved like sand beneath her hands as she pushed herself into a sitting position.

She caught her breath and then sought Jeno by focusing on the Hotel Frangelico. When she found him, she entered his mind to ask what was going on.
Why did they do this?

It’s because of Klaus’s plan. They overheard us talking about it.

So why did they abduct
me
?

Leverage.

Huh?

They believe the Angelis family will turn over my father in exchange for you.

She let that sink in. She wasn’t so sure Mamá and Babá and Klaus would make that trade.

Of course they would
, Jeno said in her mind.

Where am I?
She climbed to her feet and dusted off the back of her jeans.

The island of Crete, beneath the palace ruins in Knossos, in the caves known as the labyrinth.

And what about you? Are you okay?

They left me here in our room. They know I can’t leave while the sun is out.

I’m glad you’re safe.
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

I’m so sorry, koureetsi mou. I thought you would be safe here, too.

So they freaked out because they heard us mention Klaus’s thoughts? We don’t even know if he was serious.

The destruction of my father would mean their own—at least for many of them. They take these things quite seriously.

What are we going to do?

I’ll come for you as soon as night falls.

What about the Angelis family? Are they safe?
She began to follow the tunnel to see where it would lead.

At least until nightfall. After that, I’m not so sure.

Her knees trembled and almost gave out with her realization that her host family would soon be in danger. “This is all my fault.”

Do not speak out loud! And stay where you are!
Jeno’s voice commanded, pounding in her head.

She froze.
Jeno? What are you not telling me?

People go mad trying to escape the labyrinth. Just stay where you are until I can come for you. Your abductors used string to find their way back out; I’ll do the same.

She glanced in front and behind her, sensing a presence.
And I shouldn’t speak because…

You’ll awaken the Minotaur.

Gertie heard something coming toward her around the bend behind her.
I think it’s too late.

An earth-quaking roar, along with the sound of heavy footsteps, confirmed her suspicions. She took off running through the winding tunnel in the opposite direction. Her vampire powers gave her incredible speed, but the sharp turns of the tunnel slowed her down, and soon the Minotaur was at her heels.

Panting, she glanced back to see his angry bull head growling at her and his muscular man’s arms reaching out for her. Barely escaping his grasp, she followed the tunnel around another bend and scraped her shoulder on a rock jutting out from the wall. It stung and brought tears to her eyes, but she kept going, round and round the bends, without any end in sight.

Sight.

Maybe she could use invisibility to hide from the beast. Without stopping, she pulled her energy into her core, imagining herself a turtle pulling into its shell. After a few moments, she could no longer see her hands, but her entire body was still visible in her clothes—longs sleeves, jeans, boots. As fast as she could, she tugged off her shirt and threw it into the Minotaur’s face. It blinded him for only a second as he whipped it off his head, leaving her no time to remove her other clothing.

As she turned around another bend, the Minotaur grabbed her leg, causing her to tumble to her hands and knees. She spun around on her back and used her free leg and vampire strength to kick the monster’s snout. He wailed with pain and released her. She scrambled off the ground and flew up to the highest point of the cave. Still within reach of the Minotaur, she kicked off her boots, aiming for his head. They hit their mark, and the Minotaur groaned.

“Why, you…” He threw her boots across the tunnel.

Her vampire strength and speed gave her a fighting chance. She slipped off the rest of her clothing and flew away.

Near the top of the cavern several yards from the Minotaur, Gertie, invisible, stopped to catch her breath, but as soon as she exhaled, the monster charged toward her again. She flew along the ceiling of the caverns until she ran into a colony of bats. Their wings beat against her as they rushed away from her. One got tangled in her hair, and she shrieked and flapped her hands.

The Minotaur caught up to her and swung his arms in her direction. When his hand hit her knee, she screamed again and darted past him. Then she flew too fast around a corner and bashed her head into a stalactite. She fell to the floor, dazed. Even worse, she was visible and, to her mortification, naked.

Covering herself with her hands as best she could, she closed her eyes and waited for the Minotaur to kill her. She listened to his thoughts:

…new vampires think they can come in here…let her fall into a coma then, and I’ll drag her body out like I’ve done others stupid enough to enter without their thread.

When the strike never came, she opened her eyes to see the beast glaring down at her.

“What are you waiting for?” she asked angrily.

“Do you have a death wish?” he asked her.

“Not really,” she said, confused by the question. “Does it matter?”

“Do you know how many vampires have attempted to deceive me? They sit in here like spiders, waiting for the mortals to come and get lost—which happens on a regular basis. How many mortals have died here to you blood-suckers? And when they fail to return home to their loved ones, who gets blamed?”

From the neck down, he looked like a normal man—large and muscular, but nevertheless, a man, in black cargo pants, boots, and a thin shirt. Only his head resembled a bull.

“What are you talking about? I’m not a vampire.”

He took a step closer. “You look like one.”

“Why do you care what I am?”

“Why are you here?” he demanded.

“Two vampires kidnapped me and left me here.”

He turned his back to her and stormed off.

She pulled her energy inward as hard as she could, but the pain in her head and her overall exhaustion made it too hard to focus. Invisibility no longer was an option, and this was pretty inconvenient since she was without her clothes.

Just as she was contemplating whether she should go back for her clothes or try to escape without them, they were hurled at her from the returning beast.

He brought her clothes back?

“Get dressed,” he said, tossing her wallet and phone, which must have fallen from her back pockets, in her direction. “And then tell me why you’re here.”

He turned away from her as she slipped on her clothes and boots. The whole time, she wondered why he hadn’t killed her. His thoughts gave nothing away, only indicating that he felt wary of the vampires and their constant intrusions into his domain. Gertie was relieved to have her wallet and phone, even though the phone was dead.

“Asterion?” a woman’s voice called though the cavern. “Where are you?”

“Over here,” the beast replied. “We have company, so dim yourself.”

A beautiful woman with auburn hair and a loose-fitting gown emerged from around the bend. “Is she a tramp?”

“I don’t know yet,” the monster said. “She looks like one but claims to be human.”

“I
am
human,” Gertie insisted. “I’ve been bitten, but I haven’t been turned.”

The Minotaur spoke in a nicer tone to the woman. “She claims a couple of vampires abandoned her here.”

“They are using me as leverage.” Gertie climbed to her feet, clinging to the cavern walls for balance. Her head was killing her.

“For what?” the young woman asked.

Gertie told them about Damien and Jeno’s father and Klaus’s thoughts.

“I would love to see the father of the vampires destroyed,” the Minotaur said when Gertie had finished. “There are too many of them. They have to stoop to drastic measures to survive.”

“Why does that concern the Minotaur?” Gertie asked.

“Please don’t call him that,” the woman scolded. “His proper name is Asterion.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“And I’m Ariadne,” the woman added.

Gertie couldn’t believe it. She knew a bit about the nymph’s history. Ariadne once helped Theseus to slay the Minotaur, even though the beast was her half bother.

“I live here with my brother and do my best to protect him from being mistreated.”

“But I thought…” Gertie stopped short. The myths weren’t always accurate. Maybe Theseus hadn’t slayed her brother.

“The rumors about him aren’t true,” Ariadne continued. “He doesn’t eat mortals. People with something to prove come into the labyrinth all the time. They see it as a challenge. They come without their string. The vampires lay in wait. The mortals are killed and everyone blames Asterion.”

“Well, I’m not a vampire,” Gertie said. “As soon as the virus fades from my system, you’ll see I’m telling the truth.”

The Minotaur crossed his arms at his chest. “If the blood-suckers plan to retrieve their father’s tomb from the mortals, then that means…”

“The uprising,” Ariadne finished.

“Uprising?” Gertie asked.

“Dionysus has spoken of it for centuries,” Ariadne said.

“But he feared the mortals would retaliate by driving a stake through their father’s heart,” Asterion added. “That would wipe out several hundred, maybe thousands, of them.”

Ariadne tapped her lower lip with an index finger. “If the vampires trade you for their father, then…”

“There would be nothing holding Dionysus back,” Gertie finished.

She had to warn the others. She sought out Hector, but couldn’t find him.

Jeno, we have to warn them. Where’s Hector?

The vampire did not reply.

Chapter Thirty: Awakenings

Ariadne and Asterion guided Gertie to the mouth of the labyrinth, but Gertie, trying in vain to contact Hector and Jeno, continued to hide in the dark until after the vampire virus wore off and she could tolerate sunlight again. The siblings were remarkably friendly to her, once she was fully human. They shared their stories with her to help with the passing of time. Ariadne told her about the time she had helped Theseus. Apparently the two were supposed to be married, but the hero moved on without her. When Asterion had returned from the Underworld after being slayed by Theseus, Ariadne vowed to make it up to her brother. The nymph had remained by Asterion’s side ever since. Occasionally, Dionysus came around asking for her hand in marriage, but, because of her vow to her brother, Ariadne turned the god of wine away. Asterion said that his job now was to protect humans from getting lost in the labyrinth.

“I thought Daedalus created this maze to keep you prisoner?” Gertie asked.

“Originally, he did,” Asterion said. “But you can’t live here for centuries and not figure out the puzzle.”

“I wonder why you continue to be thought of as a monster,” Gertie said—though she hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

Asterion’s bull head actually blushed. “I scare the hell out of them when they come, hoping they won’t come back.”

“He chases them back to the entrance, so they find their way,” Ariadne said. “Unless the vampires get to them first.”

Although Gertie was glad to be in the sunshine again, her inability to reach out to Jeno and Hector made her feel helpless. Plus, the pain in her head and the fatigue that enveloped her body made her long to be bitten again. Even worse, she was trapped on Crete, far away from her host family, and she desperately needed to warn them.

She couldn’t decide whether she should wait for Jeno to come back for her at dusk, or take the ferry back to the mainland. Travelling by ferry would take at least five hours, and she wouldn’t arrive much earlier than nightfall, anyway. But what if Jeno was captured? That would explain why he hadn’t answered her. And, even if Jeno was safe, what if her abductors got to her before he could? Maybe she wasn’t safe here in the labyrinth, even though her new friends said they would do their best to protect her. Maybe she needed to get to Hector and the Angelis family as soon as possible.

Unable to wait around doing nothing while danger was imminent, Gertie decided to take the ferry. She felt like crap and was totally exhausted. It might be nice to sleep in a bed.

Once she had boarded, she managed to borrow a phone from a fellow passenger who spoke English. She called Hector.

“Hello?”

She’d never been happier to hear his voice.

“Hector, it’s Gertie. I have to tell you something important.”

“Guys, it’s Gertie.”

“Are you with Klaus and Nikita?”

“I’m driving them home from school.”

Turning away from the woman whose phone she had borrowed, Gertie quietly explained to him what had happened at the Hotel Frangelico.

“You have to warn Klaus and the others,” she added. “As soon as night falls. . . Oh, Hector. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. The vampires will be coming for Jeno’s father. I’m scared of what else they might do.”

“Listen to me, Gertie,” Hector said. “Are you listening?”

She clenched her teeth, trying not to cry. “Uh-huh.”

“Go to the hexagon in Omonoia Square and stay there until I come for you.”

“But…”

“Please, Gertie!” Hector shouted angrily. “If you have any feelings for me at all, do as I say.”

“But how will that help anything?” she asked.

“It will keep you safe.” His voice cracked on that final word. “Get there before sundown.”

“Okay,” she said, though, she still wasn’t completely convinced that she should. “Just please protect the others. And be careful.”

She returned the phone to its owner and left the deck for her cabin, where she immediately crawled into bed. Too much was going on inside of her, though, and it got in the way of sleep. So she tried to talk to Jeno, in case he was listening. She was really worried about him, now. Maybe the other vampires had read his mind and had taken him as their prisoner, to prevent him from interfering with the vampires’ plans.

Oh, Jeno. Please be okay. Please be okay!

She tossed and turned, finding that each time she was about to drift to sleep, she would seek out Jeno, hoping to hear his reply. She did this again and again, at least a dozen times over the span of two hours, nearly in tears with fatigue and worry, until, at last, at some point, she fell asleep.

A knock at her door awoke her from a terrible dream, in which every member of her host family had been murdered by vampire rebels. She must have been crying in her sleep, because her pillow and cheeks were damp.

“Time to go ashore!” a voice called from the corridor, once in Greek and again in English. Whoever it was continued down the passageway, repeating, “Time to go ashore!” and knocking on the other cabin doors.

The thirty minute bus ride into Athens felt like an eternity as she watched the sun set through her window. She hoped and prayed she would get to Omonoia Square before her abductors found her.

It was dusk when she exited the bus and started walking toward the square, hoping it was the right thing to do. Uncertainty plagued her, because she wanted to be there with Hector to help defend her host family. As she walked, she continually reached out to Jeno, but came up with nothing. When she turned the corner, though, she nearly shouted for joy. Jeno stood there, waiting for her.

She threw her arms around his neck. “Thank goodness you’re all right! Why haven’t you answered me?”

He put an arm around her and led her down the sidewalk. “I had to block my mind, so the others couldn’t read my thoughts. Are you okay? You’re not hurt? I was worried sick.”

“I’m okay. I met the Minotaur.”

He shook his head. “Thee moy. How did you get away?”

“It turns out he’s a nice guy.”

“I find that hard to believe. I know many vampires who are terrified of him.”

“Maybe he was just crushing on me.” She smiled and winked.

He laughed. “Now
that
I believe.”

Gertie noticed they had passed the square.

“Wait. Hector wants me to wait at the square.”

He stopped and cupped her cheeks. “Oh. I thought you wanted to help protect Marta’s family.”

She did. “I doubt I can be much help,” she said. “Unless you give me your powers again.”

“Just tell me what you want to do.” He looked deeply into her eyes.

“I, I want to go with you.” Was he using mind control on her? “I want you to drink my blood.”

She could feel him trembling beneath her hands as she caressed his back.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.

“Now that you’re here with me again, I am. I was terrified that I might have lost you.”

“Oh, Jeno.” She kissed his cheeks, then his mouth.

He returned her kisses and said, against her lips, “Without you, I have no reason.”

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s true. If I hadn’t met you, I wouldn’t care one way or the other about the uprising. But now I have a reason to fight.”

“Let’s fight together,” she said, squeezing his hands. “Give me the power I need to help.”

“Not out in the open.”

He took her hand and led her around the corner and into a dark alley. Then he pushed her against the wall of a building and kissed her madly. Her heart raced with excitement as she anticipated the power she was about to gain. She stretched her chin into the air, begging him to hurry.

“Please, oh, please. Now!”

Jeno bit into her throat and ravished her.

The euphoria came over her, along with the dizziness, though she recovered more quickly than usual. The first thing she tried to do was read Jeno’s mind, but he still had it blocked.

“I have to keep
everyone
out,” he said. “Shall we fly? We might not have much more time.”

“Let’s go.”

Hand in hand, they flew up and over the city toward the Angelis apartment building.

They arrived in time to see the family around the dinner table, eating. Gertie felt nostalgic, wishing she could be among them. They seemed sad and quiet tonight. Maybe they missed her and were worried about her. She felt sort of like Ebenezer Scrooge with the ghost of Christmas Present. She wondered why they weren’t up in arms after her warning. Why were they going about their evening as usual? Hadn’t Hector told them that the vampires were coming?

Suddenly Mamá slapped her hand against the table. The other members of the family looked at her and froze.

“I’ve done as you asked,” Mamá said. “I’ve thought about what you said, Klaus. And you, too, Nico. But I can’t let you do it.” She broke into tears. “I can’t let you do it.”

Gertie turned to read Jeno’s expression and was stunned by the presence of the six vampires from the Hotel Frangelico gathered behind him. A few yards away, dozens more vampires hovered in the air, waiting. None of them had bothered to make themselves invisible. Although it was dark enough that people might not notice, to anyone studying the stars, the vampires would be a major shock.

“What’s going on?” she asked Jeno through quivering lips.

“We’re going to awaken my father,” Jeno said. “Come on.”

He took her hand and, along with the others, flew down to the apartment entrance. The front door was never locked, and the door to the basement was just off the entryway to the first floor.

The whole thing about a vampire needing to be invited inside must have been a law rather than a magical force, because Jeno and the six other vampires had no trouble entering a building where they were not welcome. The rest of them surrounded the block.

“Jeno, why are you doing this?” Gertie whispered as they flew down the basement stairs. “If your father leaves, there will be nothing in the way of the uprising.”

“I don’t want him destroyed,” Jeno said. “He’s my father.”

“You heard what Dionysus said. You’ve heard the rumors. You’re almost guaranteeing that the rebels will take over this city.”

“What would be so bad about that?” he asked, when they had reached the basement floor. “We’ve been living in caves for centuries, unwelcomed, shunned, and disadvantaged. Let the mortals change places with us for a while.”

Gertie couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Jeno,
I’m
a mortal.”

“And we can change that, if you’d like.”

She stood there at the base of the steps in silent shock, as the other six vampires surrounded the larger of the two coffins.

“Anyway, I don’t care about the uprising so much as I want to save my father, and I’m going to need your help.” Jeno took her hand and led her to the coffin. “You will help me, won’t you, Gertie?”

Gertie suddenly realized what Jeno intended to do. He intended to feed his father her blood.

One by one, the vampires broke the chains around the larger coffin. When the final chain was busted, several of the wooden doors in the basement opened, and five warriors with their swords drawn charged the scene. Hector was among them.

The warriors—one woman and four men—ranged in age from eighteen to thirty-five, with Hector being the youngest. They carried swords and shields, and they were glowing, like gods.

Before Gertie could think or respond, Hector spun around like a tornado and sliced off the heads of two of the vampires. One of the heads dropped at her feet. She screamed and hid her face in Jeno’s chest.

“I told you to go to the square!” Hector shouted at her. 

Jeno lifted her into the air and crossed to the other side of the coffin. The other three vampires immediately positioned themselves between Jeno and the warriors as Jeno opened the tomb. Gertie barely knew what was happening when Jeno sunk his fangs into her wrist and then held it to his father’s lips. The ambushing warriors beheaded two of the remaining vampires, and then Hector stabbed his blade through the chest of the third. The third had gone invisible, but when the blade met his flesh, he reappeared as he fell to the ground, dead.

Jeno held Gertie close and growled, “Back off, or I’ll kill the girl.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Hector said through gritted teeth. “You’re in love with her.”

“But
I’m
not,” came an ancient voice from the tomb.

Jeno’s father sat up and pulled Gertie into the coffin. The dank smell made her nauseous, as she kicked and screamed and scrambled against the vampire’s grasp. Her superhuman strength was nothing compared to that of the older vampire.

Hector’s face turned white.

“Jeno, please!” she cried.

Hector swung his blade toward Jeno’s neck, and Gertie screamed.

“No, Hector!”

She managed to pull away from the older vampire’s grasp—maybe he let her go—and fly between Hector and Jeno. Hector’s blade stopped about an inch away from her face.