“
Yes.” I lunged for her outstretched hand like it was a lifeline.
The view was lovely, but I could only appreciate it after I was done hyperventilating. The city stretched on for miles and unlike Lexon, I couldn’t hear any gunshots or screaming.
Nadia didn’t comment on my breathing problems or my too clammy skin. She was soft spoken and sensitive to other’s needs. “Claudia says that the VC will be running a sweep tomorrow. So we’ll be stuck inside.” She pretended to pout.
“
What is a VC?”
“
They’re actually the VCCEA. Vampire Control and Containment Agency. The vampire police,” she chuckled lightly. “They don’t go after vamps though, only half-breeds.”
“
You mean the SH?”
“
Yeah. They are illegal here.” I settled down by her feet, allowing her soft spoken words to calm my heart. “Right after Jewell hit, the SH ; or half-breeds, were made. Do you know why?”
“
Yes, to save human kind, but it back fired.”
“
The vampire blood did what it was supposed to at first. The humans were healthy and strong. Some of them came to the states to escape the conditions over there. It was no big deal but then, about five years after they were given vamp blood, the half-breeds started to change.” I already knew these stories but it was fascinating to hear Nadia tell it.
“
The gene in the vampire blood began to take over. The people became stuck between changing to a vampire and staying human. They became zombie like. It was just like those old Hollywood movies — you know where the zombies eat people?” I shook my head.
“
They ate people?”
“
David thinks it’s probably the vampire part of them craving blood, but they are so far gone…you know.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste.
“
So why hasn’t that happened to us?”
“
I still get injections.”
“
You do?”
“
Every six months. And you…it hasn’t been five years since your last injection.”
“
Are you saying that in five years I’ll turn into a zombie?”
“
I’m saying that you’ll have to make a decision.”
“
Be a zombie or be a vampire?”
“
You were never going to be only human.” The silence crept in around us, settling comfortably.
“
Why do you think they picked you?” I was the first to break the silence.
“
The same reasons they picked you I suppose. We weren’t wanted by anyone else.”
“
Do you ever wonder what we would be like if they had left us human?”
“
I think we wouldn’t have lived very long.”
“
Maybe.” But maybe that would have been better.
“
Was Neleh cruel to you?” It was as if Nadia could tell exactly what I was thinking.
“
Yes.” I leaned my head against the railing. Thinking about Neleh made me sad. “She was cruel to me but she was only trying to help.”
“
How do you mean?”
“
Neleh said I had a natural tendency to depend on other people instead of myself. She was just trying to make me a stronger person. So I could stand on my own two feet.”
“
Relying on others isn’t always a bad thing.”
“
Not for you. You have Claudia and Marcus. I only have David, and sometimes I think he needs me more than I need him.” We both laughed. “Do you love him?”
Nadia’s face turned bright red. “What? I…I don’t…” But then she sighed and dropped all her pretenses. “Yes. I do love him. I think I loved him even before I met him. I’ve heard so much about him.”
“
What have you heard? I mean how? I thought you’ve lived here since before Jewell.”
“
Oh, I’ve always lived in the states. But I’ve heard a lot from Marcus. David and Marcus used to be really close you know.”
“
No, I didn’t know. What happened? Why did they part ways?”
“
David used to live at Blakesly House — with all the Letrell’s. There, he had a mate named Sylvia.”
“
Sylvia? I’ve never heard of Sylvia or of David having a mate.”
“
Yes. Sylvia was a third generation created especially for David.”
“
By who?”
“
By our little rule breaker — Damien.”
“
So we have David and Sylvia…”
“
At Blakesly House. David quarreled with Damien and left the house and the Letrell’s. Sylvia and David went to live in London and Kiera asked Marcus to go and look out for the two. For years, the trio kept close company. Then they met Claudia.
Claudia soon became the next third generation to join Marcus. By this time Neleh was threatening Silango to force Marcus’s hand in destroying his own mate and their companions. His love for Claudia was strong enough to keep her alive but not Sylvia.”
“
Marcus killed Sylvia?”
Nadia’s head bobbed. “David’s one true love. Marcus didn’t have much choice. The bond he shared with Silango made him into the monster that Neleh claimed him to be.”
“
So Claudia and David ran before they were next,” I guessed the rest of her story.
“
Marcus told them too, but Claudia came back and ended up killing Silango.”
“
A guard?”
She nodded solemnly. “They searched for David but couldn’t find him. All these years they have waited for his return, and now he is back.” Her eyes held a faraway look.
The balcony door came open then, startling us both. Dominick sauntered out to sit beside me. I tried to scoot away. “I heard your fairy tales Nadia.” She blushed.
“
You shouldn’t have been listening.” My voice didn’t sound so harsh with him sitting so near.
I could tell that he was staring at me but I refused to look at him. “I’m going out for a few hours. Will you be alright alone?”
“
Yes, of course.”
“
Marcus, David, and Achilles are all joining me. So it will be just you ladies. Can you manage to stay out of trouble?”
“
You don’t need to worry about what we do.” I made the mistake of looking at him so he could see my glare. His eyes pulled me right in until I was practically drooling on myself. I couldn’t make myself look away.
He pressed his lips gently against the skin below my ear. “Don’t go anywhere,” he murmured softly. I didn’t answer, I couldn’t even breath.
Nadia waited patiently for me to catch my breath after Dominick left. I only heard her laugh once, which I was grateful for.
“
Let’s go to Cookie’s for ice cream,” I suggested when I could talk again.
“
I don’t know if Claudia will let us.”
“
But you said the VC will be out tomorrow.”
“
That is true and we’ll be stuck inside all day. We can go ask.” I nodded, eager to disobey Dominick’s orders.
Chapter Thirty
–Three
It took a while to talk Claudia into letting us go for ice cream. “But Claudia,” Nadia pleaded, “Eva really wants an ice cream.”
“
Tomorrow the VC will be out and we won’t be able to go then,” I added. “Please.” I tried to jut my lip out like Nadia but was sure that I just looked ridiculous.
“
Oh, alright. I’ll go with you.”
“
Yippee,” Nadia squealed.
In the end, only Nadia and I walked down to Cookie’s. Kiera called to talk to Claudia so she shooed us along with strict orders to hurry. We held hands and giggled as we walked along the narrow street.
“
It’s so nice having you here Eva; I’ve always wanted a little sister.”
“
You know, I was thinking the same thing about you,” I laughed until my sides hurt. I had never been able to be like this with anyone before.
“
I may look young but I am much older than you are.” She clamped her hand over her mouth. “I better not say that too loud. Someone might call the VC.”
“
Have you ever been stopped by the VC?”
“
No way. If I had, I wouldn’t be alive now.”
“
They would kill you? How would they know you weren’t human?”
“
If the VC stop you that means they already have suspicions and they’ll bleed you on the spot.”
“
What does that mean? Bleed you?”
“
They take some of your blood, just a tiny amount, and use their detectors to see if you have any vampire blood in your system.”
“
And if you do?”
“
They will take you to one of their colonies.”
“
Like Stoko?”
“
I don’t know what Stoko is, but the colonies are basically just prisons, but worse.”
Any further questions I had were cut short when we got to Cookie’s. “We’ll have two small chocolate cones please.”
We took our treats and began walking back to Claudia’s. I wanted to stay there and eat them as we had before, but Nadia insisted that we go straight back.
“
Aren’t you afraid of him at all?” she asked with wide eyes.
“
Who? Dominick?” She nodded. “No.”
“
Well I heard that he…” She abruptly stopped talking. I looked at her expectantly. The expression on her face made my breath catch and my ice cream fall to the ground. Her eyes were wide and her face was ghostly white.
“
Nadia, what’s wrong?”
“
The VC,” she whispered.
“
The police? What about them?” The VC were coming tomorrow but I couldn’t see… “They’re here aren’t they?”
“
A few blocks that way.” She threw her ice cream and grabbed my hand. “We have to hurry.”
The house wasn’t yet in sight when the two men rounded the corner and almost ran into us. One man was almost a foot taller than his partner. They both wore dark blue uniforms and white helmet type head coverings. “Whoa, you ladies are in a hurry,” one of them smiled.
“
We’re…we’re late,” Nadia stammered. She tried to duck past the men but the taller one moved to block our path.
“
Well, this should only take a minute.” Shorty held up a small metal box. “I’ll need to see your right index finger.”
“
We can’t. We’re late, we have to go.” Her smile was painfully fake.
“
I’m sure that…your mother will understand. The VCCEA is here to keep our streets free of filthy half-breeds.”
He already knew what we were, I realized with a sinking heart. Our only option was to fight. We couldn’t be taken to their colony. There were only two of them, we could easily defeat them. I tightened my jaw.
The taller man, who hadn’t said a word yet, pushed a black button on his vest. Within moments half a dozen men in similar attire surrounded us. “Your finger?” he held the box to Nadia.
“
You already know what you’ll find,” I hissed.
Two men came from behind us and took my arms and two came to get Nadia. My ground-in instincts from Neleh took over. I brought my knee up hard into one of the men’s groin and swung my leg around to get the other across the head. Both men sank to their knees.
“
Run, Eva, run,” I heard Nadia scream. I wasn’t leaving her.
I felt one of her captor’s elbows crack and the other went down after a kick to his knee. A white van pulled up to offer more back-up for the VC. “Come on, we have to go,” I grabbed Nadia by the wrist and we ran.
We didn’t get far though. We never stood a chance of escaping, there were too many of them. Their clubs rained down on us over and over again until they decided we were subdued enough.
“
Your finger,” the short man demanded, out of breath.
There was blood everywhere, why did he need our fingers? Nadia held hers out obediently and I followed suit. She turned her bruised and battered face to look at me. “Eva, I’m so sorry,” she muttered. A white cloth went over her face then and her eyes closed. I didn’t fight them when they put the cloth over my face.
***
I woke up with a gasp. I remembered everything, which meant they hadn’t given me cleaner. My relief was short lived. I was in a small room, barely the size of my cell in Lexon. There was nothing in the room though, only a hole in one corner covered with a board and a small barred window — which allowed just enough light for me to see that Nadia was not there.
I jumped up in an instant. There might not have been much light, but it was enough for me to see well. There was no one else around. The door was a strange contraption of long metal bars. Where was I? And where was Nadia?
I went to the strange door first, to see how strong it was. Maybe I could get out that way. I grabbed the bars and immediately a loud voice boomed, “Step away from the door.”
I flinched back. Who was that? I touched the bar with one hand. “Step away from the door.” They were motion censored. I pulled with all my might, but the bars didn’t budge. Lights and sirens came on to accompany the voice though.