Authors: Jade M. Phillips
The vampire who I assumed to be Horus sat himself on a stool
in front of my cell. He was tall and thin, his features sharp and unforgiving. His
black hair shone in the candlelight and his onyx eyes pierced mine like he was
trying to read my mind or something. He said nothing, but studied me for a long
while causing my heart to pound like a drum, my hands shaking like the dry
leaves on a fall tree. He would be the one questioning me and I prayed I could
keep my story straight.
I nervously studied the brick walls surrounding me and the
moist stain on the ceiling above. There were no windows. The only way out was
the door of bars separating me from Horus. I sucked in a deep breath and tried
to steady my hammering heart.
The vampire pulled a pack of cigarettes from the black
duster he wore and lit one with the candle flame. He exhaled a puff of smoke
into my cell, his face impassive as he regarded me. I considered the blackness
of his eyes, thinking they were like pools of endless nothing. I’d never seen
their likeness before; lacking any shred of light or life. They were cold, dead
eyes.
“Stand up.” The calm in his voice caused me even more unease
than if he would’ve yelled it. Yet, I stood on shaky legs, keeping my gaze
downcast and my arms folded over my chest.
“Come closer.” His voice was slimy, reminding me of snakes. I
could already tell I wasn’t going to like this Horus character and by the way
he stared me down, it was obvious he wasn’t my biggest fan either. I wondered
what I did to even land myself in this prison and what’s more, what I’d done to
gain his hatred. What did he know about me? I hesitantly stepped closer to the
bars.
Horus stood, gingerly balancing his cigarette on the edge of
the stool, the smoke rising in curls around his thin wrist. He turned to me,
his pure white skin a stark contrast to his dark gaze and black hair. He
studied me for a long moment as though I were an alien fresh off my big purple
spaceship, and I didn’t blame him, feeling pretty much like an alien in this
situation myself. But I kept my expression straight, holding back my fear. I
would not let him know how intimidated I was.
Unexpectedly, and faster than I could comprehend, he reached
through the bars and grabbed my shirt, pulling my body to slam against the
bars. I gasped as I hit the metal, terror slicing through me like the sharp
claws of a feral feline. With widened eyes I watched the vampire’s nostrils
flare all up-close and personal, and if I do say so myself it was at a most unflattering
angle. He breathed in deeply through his nose like he was sucking me inside of
him. He stood mere inches from my face, the metal bars the only thing
separating us. I wrenched my neck away from his closeness, shivers running down
my spine.
I knew I was stronger and faster than most and could easily
break free from his grasp, the metal bars, and book it the hell out of
Tombstone. I’m not going to lie, the thought crossed my mind a time or two
since walking through the gates. But even if I escaped without being
apprehended by the vampire, or furthermore, shot by the guards, where would I
go?
“You don’t smell like the others.” Horus lifted his nose as
if sniffing the air around me and I couldn’t help but picture him as some
greasy street hound sniffing out a rat. “Why is that?”
His breath smelt of death and decay as he exhaled onto my
face, which mostly disguised his banana pudding scent, and I resisted the urge
to offer him a mint, knowing he might not take too kindly to my proffered
suggestion. Instead, I held my breath, letting silence become my answer,
praying this whole thing would be over soon.
“You are a Newborn, yes?” He considered me still, his breath
heaving.
I nodded against the strain of my body being crushed into
cold metal.
“I don’t trust you,” he said.
Good
, I almost replied, because I didn’t trust him
either. He smelt like moldy cheese and death, and I’d never found someone so
repulsive in my entire life. But I didn’t offer a reply, not wanting to give
him any reason to doubt my intentions. I just wanted to get this questioning
over with and get myself settled into my new home. Horus pulled me even closer,
my chest straining with the pain of being pinned and I turned a cheek against
his rank breath.
“Don’t even think about lying to me, baby vampire. You will
be found out and the legion doesn’t take kindly to liars.”
Without warning, Horus hurled me backward, my body slamming
into the opposite wall. On contact, I gasped in pain, realizing he might be
stronger than me. I slid down and fell hard onto the bench below, collapsing
against the wood.
I wanted to just lay there and cover my face with my arms. I
wanted to sink into the numb heartache that threatened to overcome me the past
few days. Instead, I thought of Guy and all he’d sacrificed for me, and sat up
straight to shrug off the shock of being thrown. I glared at the greasy
vampire.
Obviously unaware, or at the least, unaffected, by his own bi-polar
disorder, Horus gingerly plucked his cigarette from the stool and held it to
his mouth. He drew in and released three perfect smoke circles, amused by his own
trick. He sat down as casually as if for Sunday brunch. He smiled at me, his
fangs showing from beneath white lips. I knew then that this vampire was
dangerous, nothing like Wilson, my late vampire mentor. My lip trembled,
betraying my false confidence, and Horus laughed at my reaction.
“What is your name?” He leaned forward nonchalantly as
though he hadn’t just had a mental breakdown three seconds before. Despite his
previously violent actions, his voice never faltered, nor elevated. It was as
though he teetered on a fine line of being in control and completely losing it.
Crazy much?
Yet, aside from taking a ride on the
Horus-coaster
, I
swallowed past my fear and somehow managed to speak. “My name is Ruby.”
He cocked his brows and shifted on the stool. “Ruby? That is
all?”
“Carter,” I said with as much confidence as I could. “Ruby
Carter.”
Horus sucked in another mouthful of smoke and arched his
neck, blowing it above himself. Afterward, he drew his gaze down to mine.
“Where is your maker, baby vampire?”
I just shrugged, fearing my voice would falter.
Once more, the vampire got to his feet and grabbed the bars
slowly with his long fingers, his eyes swirling manically. I flattened myself
against the back wall, thankful I was far enough away he couldn’t grab me
again.
“Where is your voice, girl? Speak.” This time his voice elevated
slightly, echoing through the cell. I tensed at his tone but kept firm eye
contact.
“I don’t know.” It was the truth. Though I’d finally found
out my maker was Frank, my biological father, I didn’t know exactly
where
he was. Plus, I’d never even met him— consciously, that is. I’d also never been
to FUSE headquarters where he was being detained. I just hoped when Guy got back
there he would uphold his vow to me and help my father escape. Then it dawned
on me that I still kept the letter I’d received from Frank in the band of my
pants, and I moved my arm across my stomach as if to disguise it from my
questioner’s eyes.
Horus leaned in, pressing his face into the bars. “You don’t
know where your maker is? Or your voice?”
I looked down at my hands and steadied them. I would not
show my fear. I could not be weak. “My maker.”
Horus’ demeanor changed, now serene and calm again. I
cringed. Jeez, Xanax anyone?
“That is very unusual.” He backed away in contemplation,
like he was pondering the meaning of life. “You’re telling me you know nothing
of your maker? You never even saw his face?”
“Yes.” I twined my nervous fingers together. “I’ve never
seen him.” That much was also true. Except for in my hazy memories of the night
I died I’d never met my biological father. And I don’t know why, but I felt the
need to protect him, keep him a secret.
Horus held his thin fingers to his face before taking a deep
pull from his cigarette. His words came out with smoke. “The only way that is
possible is if you were unconscious during your making. Were you unconscious?”
“I was dead,” I said, and figured my answer was sound. I had
been at least
nearly
dead, and that was close enough.
He studied me for a moment, and then laughed wryly. “Well
that does make sense, yes.” He paced along the front of my cell before stopping
and turning to me again. “Where were you when you died?”
I inhaled and straightened my shoulders. “In my car.”
“Where?”
“Bisbee.”
“Where were you when you awoke?”
I shrugged again.
“Words!” He slammed his body up against the bars, making me
jump. “Use your words, baby vampire! I’m no mind reader!”
“I don’t know.” My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to
come up with a reasonable explanation. “There were large buildings… warehouses,
I think. And fire. Explosions. It was like a battle of some sort.”
“The fallen coven.” He again released the bars and backed
away in calm reflection. I couldn’t help but think the rise and fall of his
moods echoed a psychopathic rollercoaster, one I didn’t want to buy a ticket
for. Horus glared at me. “But that was over a week ago. Where have you been
since then?”
If Horus found out I’d been with Wilson, or worse yet, the
Captain of their sworn enemy —FUSE— it would surely be my death, again. I racked
my brain for the words Guy rehearsed with me. I had to stick to the story.
“The Mission.”
“The Mission?”
“Yes, an old mission.” I relayed each rehearsed word calmly
and pictured Guy saying them right along with me. “I found the church and took
shelter there. I’ve been living off the blood of rabbits and mice.”
Horus’ dark brows drew together, forming a straight line. He
pinched his chin as he moved around the hall.
“There were no known survivors that night. How is it you
were not taken by FUSE?”
Apparently, Horus was unaware of Frank being taken, or that
he and I were the two survivors of that night. I was somehow glad. I didn’t trust
the stinky vampire. My first reaction was to shrug my shoulders again, but I
thought better of it. I continued on with what felt like the biggest cover-up
story ever.
“I don’t know. I just… got away.”
“If you had just awoken as you were turning, you would have
still been extremely weak. It doesn’t make sense that you were able to get away
when none of the others did.”
“I hid,” I said, and maybe a little too quickly. “There was
a ditch and I covered myself with dirt.”
His gaze landed on me, freezing me on the spot. I looked
down at my feet covered in the white sneakers Guy bought for me. I thought of
the night he saved me from the battle. I thought of Guy and his unbelievable
strength. I tried to hone that strength from his memory and will it into
myself. I breathed in, hoping I was coming off believable.
“Well,” Horus said finally breaking the strained silence.
“If it was up to me you would be killed right here and now. You don’t smell
right and I don’t trust you. But unfortunately I am not the sole legion leader
like I should be. You will have to answer to all of us.”
I suddenly remembered Wilson telling me about the legion
leaders and that he’d been one in the past. I couldn’t help but wonder if Horus
had been the one to take his job after he fled Tombstone. But other than the
legion’s ranks of power, I could not recall any other details of their
democracy.
Horus dropped his cigarette on the ground and crushed it
beneath his boot. He glanced down the hall from where he had come. “The sun
will be rising soon. You will be brought before the legion tomorrow night. Then
we can decide when and if you will die.”
Horus blew out the lone candle, casting the cell into complete
darkness.
“Tomorrow night?” I asked, trying to hide the worry in my
tone, hating the fact that I would have to endure one more night of being
locked up.
“What?” Horus asked mockingly, giving me one last glance.
“Is our baby vampire afraid of the dark?”
And like a disappearing act, he vanished, his laugh echoing
down the hall. A door slammed, leaving me alone in silence, alone with Humpty
and Dumpty. They’d been so still during the questioning, I’d almost forgotten
the wolf guards were still there. My first instinct was to break the lock on my
cell and bolt out of there, saying to heck with this city and to heck with
Tombstone. But even if I wasn’t apprehended by the guards, or burnt to a crisp
by the sun, I had nowhere else to go. Plus that’s not what Guy would’ve want.
He’d sacrificed so much to get me here, I couldn’t blow it now. Tombstone was
my home now. I needed to face the legion and plea my case, praying I would meet
the vampire named Pandora. She was the one Wilson told me about, an old friend
of his. She was my only chance.
I huddled close to the wall and wrapped my arms around my
knees. A rush of fear scorched my veins, my eyes burning with unshed tears. But
I held back, calling on my strength. I was almost there, almost home, and I
sure as heck wouldn’t let anyone scare me, much less Death Breath himself— even
if he was the scariest vampire I’d ever met.
“Guy.” Ruby called out to me from within the twilight
haze, her arms outstretched and her face stricken with tears. I tried to go to
her, to run, but for some reason my legs stood cemented in place.
I gazed upon her beautiful face, wrought with pain and
sadness, her creamy skin a stark contrast to her violet eyes. Her long hair was
so light it looked like snow and the woven braid hung over her graceful
shoulder, a shoulder shaking with sobs. She wore a white robe as she had the
first night I stayed with her, the night I rescued her from my FUSE soldiers.
“Faith,” I called out the name I’d given her, thinking
about how when I’d first found Ruby in her transformation, she’d surprised me
with her unyielding hope and faith. And she had, in turn, restored the faith in
me. But my words only came out as a dry rasp, my body locked in paralysis.
“Guy,” she cried again, falling to her knees.
“I’m here,” I wanted to say. “I will save you.” Instead,
my voice no longer produced sound, my throat as parched as the cracked desert
floor. I fought with all my might to go to her but my feet were heavy, my body
like a bag of sand, immovable.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, though barely loud enough to
even hear myself. “I’m sorry for leaving you.”
Guilt coursed through me like an illness as I thought
about how I’d left her, hating what I’d done.
I wondered how I could’ve been so stupid to think she
would be all right without me. I was her protector and she needed me.
But for the longest time I was overcome by regret and
loss. Before I met Ruby I remained wrapped in eternal darkness, one the
vampires bestowed upon me when they took away my first love. I was only a child
then, unknowing of the dark world that surrounded me. I was unaware of all of
the evil, pain, and death. But after they’d taken Lily from me, I changed. I
changed into this beast of a human; cold, relentless, and unforgiving.
A killing machine.
I swore my life to FUSE. I swore to kill every last
vampire and Unfortunate Soul until they were extinct or I was dead myself, either
way. And I was so ignorant to think I’d ever be granted happiness for seeking revenge,
a goal that could never satisfy my pain.
But in the midst of a dark battle, Ruby brought me
happiness. And although she was a creature of the dark herself, her light brightened
my life, her smile, a beacon of hope and purity. How could the spawn of such an
evilness be so loving and caring and beautiful?
She was a reverse anomaly, a contradiction to what I
always knew and believed. If someone like her was the epitome of kindness, had
I misjudged the others? Were there others like her out there being tortured and
killed because of association? Because they were different?
“Guy,” she called out again, breaking me from my
thoughts. She reached out to me with her delicate hand and our eyes met, my
heart falling heavy. I couldn’t help her, I couldn’t save her.
I fought with my own body to move, gathering every source
within myself, the great strain of it causing a groan within my chest. The
groan turned into a growl and then a booming war cry. I watched as Ruby faded
away, her thin form growing translucent and hazy.
“No!” I yelled, finally finding my voice. “Don’t go!”
“Guy,” her voice echoed out, but she was nowhere to be
seen, my eyes covered with the blankets of darkness.
“Faith!” I cried.
“Captain.”
My body ached, and I felt a tear trailing down my cheek.
“Faith…” I rasped.
“Captain Stone.”
I writhed in pain, every bone in my skeleton feeling like
it was broken.
“Faith…”
“You don’t need Faith right now, you need to eat. Come on.
Wake up.”
Someone lightly shoved my body, pain shooting through me,
and I was suddenly aware that I’d been dreaming.
I groaned and rolled over, my eyes peeling open. A small
woman with a round nose and long brown hair knelt by my side, holding a
steaming mug. I knew in that moment she was a vampire.
“Soup.” She gestured with the mug. “You need to drink up.”
And then it all came back to me in a flash— the explosions,
the escape, the car chase. I saw Ruby at the gates of Tombstone, our painful
separation crushing my heart. I saw the vampire with the black eyes materialize
into my truck and attack me. I saw the jail cell in which I was being held. And
I felt the torture, horrible and relentless.
I shifted my hip to sit, but the effort struck too painful
on my battered body, every inch of my skin burning and singeing.
Not only did my body complain of agony, but my mind felt
detached and strange. At first, just after being attacked in my truck, I’d
thought I would be turned into a vampire. I’d thought the bastard vamp who’d
assaulted me had injected his venom into my neck. But as my mind cleared after
being thrown into this cell, I’d realized he’d bitten me just to stun me for an
easier capture and, possibly he wanted a little snack.
But either way, I still remained human, and the strangeness
in my mind I attributed to my bond with Ruby. Ever since the night she fed me
her blood, I was connected to her, an unexplainably intense connection. And wherever
she was now, fear beheld her. I could practically feel her hands shaking and to
say that I felt what she felt was an understatement. If I didn’t know any better,
I’d say she was sitting right next to me in the jail cell, the aura of her
presence so thick it was unreal. My heart ached for her, to be with her and
protect her.
“Come on.” The girl coaxed me, placing a soft hand behind my
back to help me rise to sitting.
I opened my dry mouth to speak, but my words came out as a
croak. I licked my cracked lips, tasting metallic blood on my tongue.
“Drink.” She pushed the warm mug into my hands.
I glanced into her eyes, kind eyes. Eyes different from the
ones my torturer had. Those eyes were black as night, devoid of any and all
mercy.
I slid her one last glance before sucking down the soup in
large mouthfuls, the welcomed liquid warming my insides. I coughed and
sputtered before the woman took away my mug.
“Slowly.” She smiled, wiping the dribbles from my mouth with
a cloth napkin. She handed back my mug. This time I took small sips.
“You need to start answering their questions,” she
whispered, and swiveled her head around as though afraid someone might be
listening. “If you keep withholding information, it will only get worse.”
“Worse…” I repeated.
How could it get any worse? I recalled the scenario from a
few nights before. I’d left Ruby at the Tombstone gates and was on my way back
to headquarters when I was attacked by a vampire. He’d materialized in my
truck, causing me to swerve off the road, and I remember nothing after that
except awakening here in this cell.
I was then questioned relentlessly and, for every silent
response I gave, a torturous punishment was served. The male vampire with the
black eyes was in charge, and he just stood by while a female vampire thrashed
me to pieces with her sharp nails and fangs. She was robed in the stately
1800’s fashion, wearing a maroon Victorian bustle dress with black lace and
buttons. If I hadn’t known any better I’d have said I was taken back in time.
But her actions betrayed her appearance, for she was anything but stately. She
was pure destruction and chaos, her eyes burning wildly as she tortured me for
my silence.
I looked down at my arm, the gashes and teeth marks I
remembered being there were now bandaged, though the pain still throbbed.
“I’ve done nothing wrong,” I said, my voice sounding far
away, not my own. But regardless of how I sounded, I could feel myself regaining
a little bit of strength from finally having some nourishment.
The kind vampire looked at me dubiously. “You are a captain
in the FUSE army and were found only miles from the Tombstone gates. They see
you as their enemy.”
I knew from the night before, they accused me of being a
spy. And I was okay with that. I’d rather them think me a spy than linking my
arrival to Ruby’s. If that ever happened, Ruby would be dead and I along with
her.
But I would never cave. They would never pry an ounce of
information from me as long as I lived. Though I now questioned my lifelong ambitions
after meeting Ruby, I was still a sworn member of FUSE and they held my
loyalty. As did Ruby. I would never betray their trust.
“I will never speak,” I said to her before draining the last
swallow of broth in my mug.
“Then I’m afraid you will not have it easy,” she sighed.
I released a wry laugh, remembering being mauled by the
Victorian-clad vampiress when I refused to speak. The male vampire laughed as I
bled. I couldn’t imagine it getting much worse.
“What is your name?” I asked her. Something about her
reminded me of Ruby. She had a kindness about her that was unlike most vampires
I’d met.
She averted her eyes but whispered, “Cloe.”
“Is that where I am, Cloe?” I asked. “Tombstone?”
I’d blacked out after the vampire attacked me on the highway
and was unaware of where I’d been taken. But because I sensed Ruby close by, I
suspected I was in Tombstone. And if that was the case, I was terrified she
would see me and get herself into trouble, the headstrong girl that she was.
Cloe opened her mouth, but closed it again and sighed. “I am
not to speak to prisoners,” she murmured. “My job is to make sure you don’t die
before they get information.”
“Well then I suspect you will be tending to my corpse soon
enough.”
I searched the walls of the dark jail cell. They were made of
red brick and mortar crumbling with age and I saw a stain in the ceiling above
me. I sat upon a splintery wooden bench that chaffed my backside. When I went
to move my legs, the shackles holding them to the wall rattled. I gazed through
the metal bars to the hall outside.
“Please don’t say that,” Cloe murmured. “If you cooperate
just a little they may show you some mercy.”
“Mercy?” I croaked, remembering the “mercy” they’d shown me
the night before. “I know their kind. They have no mercy.”
One thing I knew about vampires was their age. The younger
ones had brighter, more colorful eyes. The older ones, pitch black. The older a
vampire became, the darker their irises were, not to mention their temperament.
It was as if the humanity they once held slowly bled out of them over time. I’d
only heard of a few vampires older than my friend Wilson and from what I knew they
were all hard-core killers with pitch black eyes.
“I know how terrible Horus can be,” Cloe said, a hint of
fear showing on her face. We both froze at the use of the vampire’s name, Cloe
realizing the mistake she’d made in saying it. Horus. I gained hope at the bit
of information I now had. Knowledge is power and I now —if only a little— had
some.
I looked upon the female vampire sadly, wondering if she was
treated badly by this voracious Horus. I saw her fear.
“I must leave now,” she stood and took the mug with her.
“They will be here soon for more questioning.”
“Wait,” I said, straightening myself on the bench. “You’re
not like them, I can see it in your eyes. You don’t have to let this happen.
You can help me. We can help each other.”
Cloe turned slowly and stared at me for one long moment as
though pondering my words. And just when I thought she might say something,
anything to help my situation, she turned away and exited the cell door. She
locked the gate behind her.
I sighed and sat up straight, waiting for my impending meeting
with Horus and his lackey. I wasn’t afraid— fear had left me long ago. The only
thing I feared now was for Ruby’s safety, and I knew through my bond to her
that she was afraid. Maybe the Unfortunates knew she was different. Maybe she was
in danger. The thought that she might be having to deal with someone like Horus
terrified me. Though Ruby was not bonded to me and couldn’t hear me, I reached
out to her anyways.
If you’re out there Faith, know I will do my best to
escape this mess and help you. Or die trying.