A Wind of Change

  River looked at me desperately. “Is there really no way we can take her with us now?”

  “No. Lucretia is waiting for us upstairs. There’s no way we could smuggle anyone out unnoticed.”

  River looked desolate, but she didn’t argue with me.

  It was uncomfortable watching the two converse through the glass. River kept comforting Lalia telling her that we’d find a way to get her out.

  I didn’t know what River was thinking in making such a promise to her.

  River and I might be able to figure out a way to escape this place, but smuggling Hassan and Lalia out with us posed another set of obstacles entirely.

  Chapter 15: River

  No words could describe how painful it was seeing my sister on the other side of the glass. I didn’t know who that other girl was, but I was grateful that at least Lalia hadn’t been imprisoned alone. Lalia didn’t appear to be sick or wounded, but her face betrayed trauma that I feared had scarred her for life.

  When Joseph touched my shoulder and said that our time was up, it killed me to step back.

  Leaving Lalia in that cell was the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life.

  As Joseph and I exited the chamber her cell was in, my legs felt weak. And as we reached the bottom of the staircase that would lead up to the exit of the prison, I broke down. I sank to the floor, pulling my legs up to my chest and burying my head against my knees.

  I was thankful that Joseph gave me space even though we were late leaving the prison. He just waited for me until I composed myself. When I looked up, he reached down a hand to me and helped me up. I wiped my eyes, doing my best to avoid looking like I’d just been crying, and we continued up the stairs.

  Lucretia was waiting for us, still working on her nails in one corner of the room. She looked up as we entered. Then she got to her feet and dusted herself off.

  “You’re almost ten minutes late,” she said, looking at us pointedly.

  “Apologies,” Joseph replied. “We got lost. It’s a really huge place down there. How many cells are there altogether?”

  She shrugged. “No idea… So how did it go?”

  “It went well,” Joseph said. “River’s blood is a real help to me.”

  “Good,” she muttered, locking the entrance to the prison again and sliding the key into her pocket.

  We left the room and stepped out into the brightly lit atrium.

  We parted ways with Lucretia and headed back toward Joseph’s apartment. I was unable to speak a word. My mind kept replaying those few moments I’d spent with my sister, how forlorn she’d looked, and how utterly helpless I’d felt to do anything to help her.

  As we entered Joseph’s apartment, he broke the silence.

  “It’s late. I suggest you get some sleep.”

  I almost scoffed. Sleep. That was the last thing on my mind. Even though my body was exhausted, I doubted I would even be able to get a wink of sleep tonight.

  Still, since Joseph was turning in, I did too. He showed me to one of the spare bedrooms in his apartment, then left me alone and returned to his own room.

  I looked around the spacious bedroom and flopped down on the bed. It was one of the most comfortable beds I’d ever lain on. Here in The Oasis, everything exuded luxury. The floors, the bed linen, the lighting… and yet I couldn’t enjoy any of it.

  I was beginning to feel uncomfortably cold again, my bones starting to ache. I slid beneath the blanket and curled up into a fetal position, closing my eyes tight and praying for my sister.

  I tossed and turned, trying to find some relief in sleep, but I might as well have prayed for a miracle.

  I was still trying to fall asleep well into the early hours of the morning.

  It must’ve been about 2am when a strange noise broke through my thoughts. I sat up in bed, holding my breath as I strained to listen.

  It sounded like a machine giving off an odd grinding noise. And it was coming from one of the levels below. I wondered what on earth it was. I got out of bed and padded over to the door. Opening it, I walked down the corridor and approached the front door, then placed my ear against the wood.

  Yes. It sounded like someone was grinding something. And it was loud, at least to my sensitive ears.

  Since I wasn’t able to sleep anyway, I was curious to go and see what it was, but I didn’t dare leave the apartment by myself. I didn’t want to wake Joseph either, so I didn’t see any other choice but to head back to my bedroom.

  I jumped as Joseph’s bedroom door creaked open. His dark hair was tousled, and his nightshirt hung loosely, revealing his muscular torso.

  “You couldn’t sleep either?” I whispered.

  He shook his head. “I rarely sleep in this place… Do you hear that?” he asked.

  “Yes. That’s why I’m out of bed,” I replied. “Do you have any idea what it is?”

  “I’m going to check it out.”

  “I’ll come with you,” I said. Anything was better than going back to bed and lying there in silence with nothing to distract myself with.

  Joseph opened the front door softly and we began following the noise. It led us down several levels until we realized that it was coming from the ground floor. We descended quietly and soon realized that the sound was emanating from one of the chambers directly opposite the lily pond.

  I exchanged glances with Joseph. He held a finger to his lips.

  My mouth sealed, I controlled my breathing to make as little noise as possible as the two of us made our way over to the door. Joseph bent down as soon as we reached it and peered through the narrow keyhole. I waited patiently until he had finished looking and gave me a turn.

  The room was dimly lit and running the full length of the furthermost wall was a huge piece of machinery. Hovering next to it was a tall man. I couldn’t see his face because his back was turned toward me, but I recognized who it was based on his hair and physique. Jeramiah. His hands were obscured by a wide metal funnel, but it looked like he was lowering something into the machine, and each time his hands descended, that loud grinding noise penetrated my eardrums.

  What is he doing?

  I remained watching for about a minute longer, and then I looked back at Joseph. He gestured with his head toward our right, suggesting that we leave, and I followed him. We walked quietly, and didn’t speak again until we were back in his apartment. Even then, we spoke in hushed tones.

  “That was weird,” I said.

  “Yeah,” Joseph said grimly. “A lot of things about this place are weird.”

  “What do you think he’s doing?”

  “I don’t know.”

  It was frustrating. There seemed to be far more things about this place that Joseph did not know than those he did.

  I was reminded of another question that I’d been meaning to ask him. “This tattoo, it started burning when I tried to escape through the boundary. Why was that?”

  He leaned against the doorway, running a hand over his own right arm.

  “The same happened to me,” he replied. “I thought for a while that the witches here might be responsible for these tattoos. But after staying here a while longer, I’m really not sure…” He held my gaze for a few moments and then looked away. “I’m going back to bed. Good night.”

  He headed toward his room.

  Watching him disappearing down the corridor filled me with emptiness. Though he was still a stranger to me, his presence brought me comfort. And I wasn’t used to sleeping alone. I was seventeen, and although it was embarrassing to admit, I was so used to sharing a room with my two sisters, I actually didn’t like sleeping alone.

  “Joseph,” I said, just before he closed his door.

  “What is it?”

  “I was wondering, would you mind if I just… slept on the floor in your room? I’m just not used to sleeping alone, to be honest. Especially not in a strange place. I don’t think I’ll ever get any sleep…”

  He looked taken aback by my request. He loo
ked back into his room, and then pushed his door open wider. He shrugged.

  “All right. If you want.”

  “Thank you.”

  I hurried back to my bedroom and grabbed my pillow and blanket. I was going to carry these to his room first and then come back to drag the mattress. But when I stepped into Joseph’s bedroom, he had already stripped his bed of its pillows and was setting up a sleeping area on the floor for himself.

  “Oh, no. Joseph, I don’t want to kick you out of your bed. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor.”

  He turned around and gave me a smile. Dimples formed on his handsome face.

  “It’s all right, River. You sleep on the bed.”

  I felt guilty as he continued to set up his sleeping spot on the floor, but I wasn’t going to object to him acting like a gentleman.

  God knew, I hadn’t known enough of them in my life.

  Chapter 16: River

  After I moved into Joseph’s room, I was amazed that I managed to get a few hours of sleep. And I woke up feeling refreshed. Perhaps that was just one of the many quirks of this new body I found myself inhabiting, that I didn’t need much sleep. I guessed that vampires didn’t need much either. Joseph was up before me. I found him in the kitchen, sipping from a glass of blood.

  He eyed me as I entered. “How are you feeling?”

  No matter how well rested I was, it was impossible to feel anything but miserable knowing my sister was still trapped in the basement of this horrifying place.

  “A bit better than last night,” I muttered.

  I moved to the fridge, and opened it. There were still some sandwich ingredients left over. I placed some bread, cheese and tomatoes on a plate, poured myself a glass of water, and sat down opposite Joseph. Even as I began eating, I couldn’t take my eyes off the blood he was downing.

  It was disconcerting to think that that blood could easily have been my sister’s or Hassan’s.

  “I don’t understand how you can drink human blood,” I said, shuddering.

  Joseph wiped his lower lip with a napkin. “It’s not a question of choice. At least not for me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Some vampires can survive on animal blood alone, although it tastes disgusting compared to human blood. But I can’t stomach anything but human blood.”

  “You have some real self-control issues.”

  “Glad you finally noticed,” he muttered.

  “But how do you live with yourself? I mean, you used to be human. How can you just drink that every day and not be crushed by guilt?”

  His jaw twitched. “What makes you think that I don’t feel guilt?”

  I didn’t reply. I guessed he was just doing what he had to do to survive. If I’d been in his position, I probably would have done the same.

  I shifted in my seat, wanting to lead the conversation elsewhere. I could see I’d made him uncomfortable.

  “Before when you were answering my questions about vampires, you mentioned that you can’t go in the sun. What would happen if you did?”

  “We would wither away eventually,” he replied. “We can stand it for only so long.”

  “What about half-bloods? Can they tolerate the sun?”

  “I don’t know how well, but I’m sure better than vampires.”

  I was about to ask another question when someone disturbed us by knocking on the front door.

  Joseph got up and left the kitchen while I continued eating my breakfast.

  As the door opened, Jeramiah spoke. “I’ve just come from checking on the half-blood you created. She’s doing well. You released just the right amount of venom.”

  “Good,” Joseph replied.

  “A couple of things. First, there will be another party upstairs tonight. I know you said you weren’t interested, but now that you have a, uh, companion, perhaps you’ll reconsider? Anyway, think about it. Secondly,” he continued, “our next hunt probably won’t be for a couple of weeks. But I’ve been thinking that since you’ve been putting effort into learning to control yourself around humans, we could go on a small hunt, just a few of us. We can always do with a few extra humans and it would be good practice for you. What do you think?”

  “I like the idea,” Joseph said, without a moment’s hesitation.

  “No witches would come with us, since it’s last minute and they usually only agree to come on the main hunts… This means we’re at risk from the hunters as soon as we step outside the boundary, but there will only be a few of us and if we move fast, we should be all right.”

  “I’m willing to take the risk,” Joseph replied. “When were you thinking to go?”

  “Tonight after the party.”

  Joseph paused this time for a few seconds, then said, “Sure.”

  “Good,” Jeramiah replied. “If I don’t see you aboveground tonight, I’ll stop by your door later on to pick you up—along with your half-blood, of course. The party should wind down around 2am. So let’s say 3am.”

  “We’ll be ready.”

  Then the door closed.

  I’d forgotten all about my food by now. I’d even forgotten to swallow what was already in my mouth.

  My jaw hung open as Joseph returned to the room. He looked at me.

  He didn’t bother recounting the conversation. He knew that I heard everything.

  We had less than twenty-four hours.

  I shot to my feet and looked at him desperately. “We have to find a way to get my sister and Hassan out of the boundary.”

  A frown formed on his face. Then he sat down in a chair opposite me and rubbed his temple, deep in thought.

  How are we going to do this? How can we bring them on a hunt with us? Joseph and I might be able to figure out how to escape once we were outside the boundary, but how would I save my sister and Hassan?

  Yes, we’d know the exact location of the place to give to the police, but how would they break in? There was an impenetrable boundary protecting The Oasis. If we didn’t find a way to get them out, my sister would be stuck here forever. Or until they decided to murder her for her blood.

  I slumped back into a chair, burying my head in my hands as I tried to think of how we could possibly get out of this situation.

  A wave of relief rushed through me when Joseph looked up ten minutes later and said:

  “I think I have an idea.”

  Chapter 17: Ben

  It was possibly the most harebrained scheme I had ever thought of, but I didn’t see what other option we had.

  After I explained it to River, her face filled with doubt, but she apparently didn’t have any better ideas, so she agreed.

  We had some hours until the party tonight, so in the meantime we discussed how we were going to pull off the idea. We talked in hushed voices, practically mouthing, about all the things that could go wrong, and how we could avoid disaster.

  Once River and I could hear sounds of people gathering upstairs for the evening’s revelry, I took her into the kitchen. Grabbing the container of pickles from the fridge, I emptied the remaining pickles into a bin, then washed and dried the container.

  I sat River down opposite me at the table and placed the container in the center between us. Then she held out her wrist for me. Extending my claw, I slit through her skin, deep enough so that blood began to flow into the container. Once I was sure that I had enough, I wrapped her wound up in tissue, then made her drink my blood. Her body did have its own natural healing capabilities, but they weren’t as fast as those of a vampire, and it was best that she healed before we headed upstairs.

  After her wound closed up, River went to change. She managed to find a long red gown in one of the bedrooms, while I just wore a loose shirt and cotton pants.

  Then we left the apartment and headed upstairs. I slid an arm around her waist as we approached the crowd. There were tables to our left, lined with half-bloods serving up blood and liquor, and there was also a self-serve snack area containing regular food to our right. r />
  A trio of witches were in one corner with instruments, playing a haunting melody for those in the central dance area.

  I led River into the midst of the dancing couples and placed one hand on her waist while taking her other hand in mine. I swayed her slowly from side to side even as I scoped out our surroundings. I was looking for Jeramiah, and so was River.

  I spotted him first.

  He was one of the dozens of vampires sitting on the soft cushioned seats. He was talking to a group of three vampires while Lucretia sat on his lap.

  I was glad that Jeramiah and his girl were surrounded by people. It would make it easier for River to do her job.

  I turned River around so that she was facing Jeramiah.

  “You see him?” I breathed into her ear.

  She nodded. I felt her gulp against my chest.

  “Let’s go,” she whispered.

  Still holding hands, the two of us casually made our way toward where Jeramiah and Lucretia were sitting with their companions. He raised his glass of blood to me as he spotted us.

  “You came.”

  I forced a smile and sat down in one of the cushioned chairs near to him. River took a seat next to me, and her eyes fixed instantly on Lucretia. Once Lucretia met her gaze, River gave her a smile and to my relief, Lucretia smiled back.

  That was the first step.

  I busied myself with a glass of blood that one of the half-blood slaves handed me as I continued to watch River. She left the seat next to me and moved closer to Lucretia.

  As Jeramiah continued his conversation with the male vampires sitting next to him, I realized that I was sitting only a few feet in front of Lloyd. I’d been so fixed on Jeramiah, I hadn’t even noticed him until now.

  Lloyd nudged my shoulder and engaged me in small talk. I responded, grateful that I now looked like I was busy, while my attention was focused on the conversation that River had started up with Lucretia.