“Something washed over me. I felt dizzy for a moment. But then it was gone.”
“Fascinating,” I murmur. “And when you went to get me, when you went in the pit—was it any worse?”
“No,” she says earnestly. “I did not feel anything different.”
“Do you think you can go back in there?” I ask.
“James,” one of the guards warns.
“Quiet!” I snap. “Alissa. Could you do it?”
She hesitates, “I… could. If you want me to.”
“There’s treasure underground,” I say. “We must have it.”
“The treasure belongs to God,” she says.
A flash of anger takes me. I grab her chin and shove her head up. I point at the cross, stained red.
“What type of God would allow that?” I ask of her. “There is no God, Alissa. There are only men, and beasts. And we…” I smile, “Are the very worst of beasts.”
“I don’t believe you,” she says, stubbornly. “You gave me life.”
“Wrong,” I snarl. “I stole your life, and I gave you the Dark Gift. You are a vampire!”
Her eyes go wide in shock.
I sneer a laugh. “What, it wasn’t obvious enough for you after you fed on the men?”
“Those were wicked men,” she says softly. “They deserved to die.”
“And who told you that?” I wonder. “Your so-called God?”
She doesn’t answer.
“They had to die,” I say softly, “because you wanted them dead. Because the vampire inside of you,” I press a hand to her chest, “demanded their blood.”
She looks flabbergasted for a moment or two… but then, acceptance sets in.
“I am a vampire?” she says. Then, “I’m a vampire. I am a vampire!”
“Yes,” I smile. “And if you can go in there and retrieve the treasure, you will. Because I made you, and I command it.”
She nods, newly determined, and ducks back inside.
The guards look at me. “How is she unaffected?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. I turn toward the door. “But I have a feeling I’ve already found that which called me back,” I say under my breath.
A few minutes later, Alissa returns.
She’s empty-handed.
“Well?” I demand. “What happened?”
She looks at the ground in front of her feet. “I got down,” she says. “But then…” she bites her lips. “Then—”
“Then what?” I cut in.
“I think I heard a voice. Telling me evil isn’t welcome there.” She looks at me, her eyes wide and shimmering. “It scared me.”
“Silver is known to give hallucinations,” Sebastian says. “She could have experienced a manifestation of that.”
I grunt and glance up at the sky. It’s close to daybreak. I feel the lethargy creeping over me.
“What did you see down there,” I ask, “before you fled? Was there gold? Jewels? Treasure?”
“There were suits of armor,” she tells me. “I tried to touch one, but it burned my hands.”
“Silver burns,” Sebastian murmurs.
“Anything else?” I ask. “Did you see anything that would be considered valuable?”
She shakes her head, looking absolutely crest-fallen, at having failed me.
“No,” she says. She looks up. “But the tunnel went on forever. I didn’t get to the end.”
“Raul,” Sebastian says. “I don’t know if this is worth it.” His eyes go to Alissa. “None of us can go down there because of the silver. I say we turn back. We were supposed to already be on the ship that will take us to The Haven.”
I fix him with a flat gaze. “You would have me give up?”
“It’s not giving up if the task you’re faced with is impossible,” he says.
“It’s not impossible. We gather some humans. We get them to excavate the place. Once it’s done, we kill them.”
“We’ve already gotten enough from this land,” he tells me. “We—”
He cuts off with a choking sound as my hand darts out and grabs him by the throat. I press my fingers tight against his windpipe, cutting off his air supply.
Vampires can survive a long time without air, of course, but it’s not a pleasant existence.
“I do not like,” I hiss, bringing my face closer to him, “being questioned. Especially not by one as you!”
I release him. He falls to the ground, sputtering.
From the corner of my eye, I see Alissa looking on with approval. With a new sense of respect for me.
I make up my mind on the spot about what I must do.
Alissa is a liability. As long as these guards know about how she can withstand silver, and that the blood that gave her life is my own, she will always be a weakness.
That must be remedied before our return.
“The sun is almost up,” I announce. “Time to take cover for the day. At dusk, we will decide what we do next.”
The guards all go into the building I point out and burrow into the dirt. As the sun rises outside, they are one-by-one taken by the slumber.
Since I am the strongest among them, I am the last to close my eyes.
But I do not intend to sleep this day.
I fight off the wave of sleep that tries to take me. It takes about a minute of conscious effort to resist it. But once that passes, I am home free.
I rise from my spot along the wall. Slowly, I walk through the ranks of slumbering vampires.
Then I go back to Alissa and feed her anther trickle of my blood.
Once it hits her lips, her eyes pop open. She grabs hold of my arm and pulls it closer, trying to suck out every last drop.
Forcefully, I push her away. I wait for the bloodlust to pass. Once I know she is back to herself, I speak.
“I came here with these men,” I tell her. “They are the ones who destroyed your village. Even though I lead them, I suspect they plan to destroy you, too.”
She looks at me with those enormous, innocent eyes.
“We have a coven,” I continue. “On the other continent. We are supposed to return there now. But the moment we arrive, the Queen will sense your strength, and she will plot to destroy you, too.”
She keeps looking at me, not a trace of emotion on her face.
“I think that if they are allowed to do that,” I say, “it will be a colossal waste. So, I’m faced with a dilemma: “If I leave you behind, one of these men will eventually let his tongue slip about the girl fledgling who could withstand silver. About the fledgling with the Prince’s blood.”
“You are a Prince?” she asks, stirring for the first time.
“Yes, but that is unimportant. I cannot simply leave you behind, because you might be discovered. I cannot take you with me, because you will be killed.”
“So, what do we do?” she asks in her low, sweet voice.
“I suspect you already know. Your instincts are phenomenal.” I wave a hand back to take in the slumbering vampires. “These men are loyal to me. But they are more loyal to the Queen.”
Her eyes narrow in slow understanding.
“Because of that, they have to be killed.”
She perks up, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “How?”
“The sun is up. They will not wake until it goes down. I was able to wake you by feeding you my blood, but none of the guards will have that benefit. In fact…” I walk to the nearest guard, bare my claws, and cut a perfect slit along his throat, “… their blood is all yours to feed upon.”
Alissa leaps on the vampire and drops her mouth to the wound. She sucks and sucks, draining him dry in a matter of minutes.
When she stands, she is even lovelier, even more feminine, than before.
I can’t stay away. I grab her by the waist, pull her into me, and seal her mouth with a kiss. She resists for a moment, utterly surprised, but then melts into me.
When I let her go, both of our hearts are racing in perfect sync.
“That is why I chose you,” I say and slit the next vampire’s throat.
She leaps on him with just as much fervor as before. I drink some, too, and together, we descend into an orgy of blood and lust and passion and death.
When it’s finally done, when all the guards are drained, and the darkness inside me and Alissa has been totally satiated, we take the bodies and throw them out into the sun to burn, ensuring none of these vampires can ever be revived.
And then, full, exhausted, and exhilarated, she and I fall into each others’ arms and let the slumber take hold.
***