17. Kali
Chapter 17
Kali
I stared at the door of the cage, halting the pacing I’d been doing for the last couple of hours. I’d been exerting my energy trying to listen to everything I could upstairs, and while it was still a struggle to throw my hearing like I know Shadows could do, I could hear everything perfectly at the top of the stairs. Which was why I knew a new vampire was now guarding the door above me, meaning the sun was up.
Viggo had brought me back down here hours ago after I’d entranced Jasper at the Pen. While that conversation was playing on repeat in my head, there was something even stronger that was plaguing me. Blood. I knew the cravings would come, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so overwhelming. It was hard to concentrate on anything else, which was highly aggravating when I had so much to plan.
If I had more time, I would have made sure everything was precise to be sure this worked. But Amaros could possibly be back by tonight.
I had every intention to be gone before then.
Closing my eyes, I sucked in a deep breath, attempting to think past my dry mouth. My body was craving blood so much that I would do nearly anything to get it. Maybe that was partly how I found the strength to break the cage door. Or maybe it was because I knew this could be my only chance to slip away with Amaros gone. Either way, I’d been staring at the wide-open door for the last hour, waiting for the sun to rise.
Now it was time.
My heart beat unevenly as I stepped out of the cage. Tilting my head, I focused again, trying to find Viggo’s voice upstairs. But he was either too far away or silent because I hadn’t heard him since he brought me back down here. If he caught on to what I was doing, he’d try to stop me.
Rolling my shoulders, I pushed past the doubt that was swallowing me as I jogged toward the stairs. Taking two steps at a time, I hurried, knowing the vampire guarding the stairs would hear me. A moment later, the door swung open, the vampire’s head popping into view, his eyes widening when he saw me.
“Hey, you’re not supposed?—”
Making it to the top of the steps, I made sure to keep my eyes locked on his, only thinking about my desire to entrance him. A blank look sprawled across his face as he fell under my control. Satisfaction filled me as I stood in front of him once I made sure there was no one else around.
“Where is Viggo?” I asked in a low voice.
“I don’t know.”
I pursed my lips, nerves filling me. “Do you know where the blood bags are?”
“Yes.”
“Go get one, and bring it to me,” I ordered. “Tell no one what you’re doing. And hurry up. Oh, and bring me a piece of paper and a pen. Go.”
He spun around and ran down the hall. I shifted on my feet, impatience taking over nearly all my other emotions. Once I got blood, I’d be able to think more clearly. Closing my eyes, I calmed my heartbeat to focus on the noises in the house. There were a few vampires milling around, but since the sun had come up, most were already sleeping.
“What are you doing, Kali?”
Snapping my eyes open, I whirled around to see Gia standing at the end of the hall. How did I not hear her footsteps? She was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed as she watched me curiously.
“Did you entrance that vampire?” she questioned softly, keeping her voice just above a whisper. “That’s a gift your mother didn’t possess.”
“Walk away, Gia,” I hissed, emotions warring inside me. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Her lips tipped up in a smile. “You care about me?”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I repeated. “But I’m leaving, and I’m not coming back.”
“Amaros won’t just let you walk away.”
“He’s not here,” I snapped. “I’ll be long gone before he can follow at nightfall.”
“I’m not going to stop you,” she admitted, her words shocking me. “But you might want to go before Viggo realizes what you’re up to.”
“Come with me,” I blurted out. “You can help. And tell me about my mother. Amaros is going to be furious. I don’t want him to take it out on you.”
She shook her head. “He won’t kill me. And I can’t come with you. I’m not a Shadow, Kali.”
She couldn’t walk in the sun. Indecision tore through me. Why did I care about what happened to Gia? I wasn’t sure, but I did. Amaros’s wrath when he found me gone would be terrible.
New footsteps caught my attention, and the vampire appeared behind Gia with a bag of blood in one hand and paper in the other. I licked my lips, resisting the urge to tear the blood bag from his hands. It was so strong, the control that blood had on me. How long would this last?
When he got close enough, I snatched the blood from his hand, ripped the top open, and began drinking it immediately. The tangy taste washed over my taste buds as I swallowed hungrily. I was vaguely aware of Gia striding closer, but I didn’t slow down even when blood dribbled down my chin. Just like the last time I fed, my senses grew sharper—more honed.
“If you want to leave, you better hurry.”
Gia’s words jolted me out of my blood lust. I glanced up, meeting her gaze as I wiped my chin. Her small smile was comforting, and in some weird way, it reminded me of what a mother would do.
“When you leave, stay hidden. If Amaros catches you, that will be the end,” she warned. “Be careful. Only trust Zan and his brothers.”
“Where is Viggo?”
She chuckled. “Busy. You might want to go before he finds out what you’re doing. Because he will stop you if you’re still on this property.”
I grabbed the paper and pen from the vampire as I caught his eye. “You’re going to forget that you saw me and continue to guard this door as if I’m still downstairs in the cage. Understand?”
“Yes.”
I rushed down the hall, only stopping when Gia grabbed my upper arm. She squeezed gently, her eyes boring into mine.
“Your mother died to protect you,” she whispered, pain filtering into her voice. “You and your twin can either save humanity or allow vampires to rule the world. You make the choice, Kali.”
“How?” I choked out, pain squeezing my heart. “What can I do?”
“You’ll know.” She let me go. “Your mother knew. It will come to you.”
Before I could question her further, she walked away, not sparing me a second glance. I nearly chased after her until I remembered I was on a time crunch. With a sigh, I headed the opposite way, toward the back of the house. There were a couple vampires, and while they were stealing glances at me, none of them spoke. They all knew me as Zan’s girl and wouldn’t interfere unless clearly instructed.
I eyed the back door, my pulse thrashing as I got closer. There would be no going back after this. Lifting my chin, I shoved the door open, striding into the sunlight. The warm rays were almost foreign with how much time I was spending outside during the night. Glancing around, I made sure no one was paying attention to me before I headed to the trail that led to the Pen.
I began running, letting out a quiet laugh as I flew over the dirt path. My hair whipped around my face, and I sucked in quick breaths as I pushed myself faster. This was the first time I’d been able to test this ability. While I wasn’t sure I was as fast as Zan yet, I was close. I couldn’t help but wonder how near I was to the end of my transition. Would I become even stronger?
Once I got close to the Pen, I slowed back down to a walk, amazed that I wasn’t fatigued or out of breath. I was definitely still craving blood, but the bag I had was enough to hold me over for a while. The building came into view, and I hesitated for a moment. At night, there were always vampires outside the door, but they couldn’t stand guard when the sun was out.
I crept closer, hearing heartbeats from beyond the door. Since the Pen was soundproofed, that meant it was from the small room directly behind the wall on the inside. The vampires must stay there during the day. I cursed under my breath as I trudged the last few steps to the door. It would have been much easier if I didn’t have to deal with vampires. But I wasn’t nervous or scared. My confidence was growing with my abilities. I just needed to make sure it didn’t turn into arrogance.
Even though I was gaining strength, Amaros was a deadly monster who I couldn’t underestimate.
Sliding the deadbolt, I unlocked the door, and opened it wide, making sure to keep the sunlight on me. The three vampires shrank back against the wall, fear gleaming in their eyes.
“Shut the door,” one of them hissed frantically.
“Oh, sorry,” I said, feigning concern.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” another vampire said, his eyes narrowing.
I stepped inside, flipping my hair off my shoulder. “Viggo is on his way.”
I didn’t wait to see if they believed my lie before I moved past them and went through the second door and entered the Pen. Most of the Shadows were sleeping, and they sat up in the bunks that covered half of the room when the door slammed behind me.
“Kali.” Rya slid off her top bunk. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re leaving.”
My statement had silence sweeping over the massive room. All eyes were on me as they stood up and circled around. I gazed at all of them, fear lighting through me for the first time since I came up with this plan. It wasn’t promised that all of us would make it off the property. The daylight would help since the vampires would be trapped in the house, but that didn’t remove all the threat.
“Leaving?” Rya repeated. “Leaving this building? The property?”
I nodded. “And we’re not coming back. Amaros is gone. Now is our chance.”
The faintest click of the door alerted me that someone had entered. The hatred appearing in the eyes of all the Shadows proved it was the last person I wanted to see.