Right and wrong
RIGHT AND WRONG
Amara
During my first week, I find myself wandering through the hotel one night on my lunch break. I try to appear nonchalant, wandering the hallways as though I belong here. Lavinia is putting a ton of pressure on me to find something on Tudor Thornblade. I still think she’s being overly paranoid, but maybe if I tell her that I searched the hotel thoroughly and didn’t find anything, she’ll be satisfied and she’ll let me come home.
I can’t stay here much longer. I’m in way over my head. I might be a strong fighter, but I’m not a spy. I’m not cut out for all this undercover bullshit. Yesterday, when I met my landlord, I almost introduced myself as “Amara Moonfall” instead of “Amara Monroe.” I had to cover it up by pretending to cough, and she thought I was totally weird.
And pretending to be normal is getting old very fast. I’ve been a practicing witch for two hundred years! It’s almost impossible for me not to use magic in my day-to-day life. I was perfectly happy to live out the rest of my days in Hemlock Haven, baking overpriced pies for tourists and teaching young witches how to ride broomsticks.
But the worst thing is being around so many vampires. It brings back memories I would rather keep buried. I still feel slightly shaken up after watching Tudor’s eldest progeny stake a vampire right in front of me. I’m sure that if I were discovered, she would do the same to me, without batting an eyelash .
I have to keep an eye on them, to ensure my own safety, and the safety of the innocent humans in the club. In the past week, I’ve been noticing the vampires more and more. I even saw Tudor’s other two progeny. One of them was yelling at another bartender for not up-selling tequila shots, and the other one was making faces at a rectangular, black device she was holding in her hand. It was bizarre.
But Celine C?té is at the club most often. I’ve seen her going in and out of her private suite with customers. I try to keep an eye on them, to make sure that nothing bad is happening. So far, I haven’t seen her hurt any living humans, but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t. I’ve seen a lot of awful things in my time. Witches and vampires frequently get into conflicts, so I’ve encountered them on the battlefield on more than one occasion. I’ve fought countless wars against them, and many other foes. Enemies who wouldn’t think twice about taking an innocent life.
But I’ve never killed anyone, or harmed anyone unnecessarily. It’s an important moral tenet of mine.
I inherited it from my father. He was the high priest of the Hecate coven, a powerful good witch, for many years before Lavinia Nox was appointed. I remember how he loved teaching young witches the art of witchcraft, and instilling the values of our coven among its members. I was his keenest student.
My father would always tell me that you don’t need to use more violence than what’s needed. That if we allow ourselves to become vicious, to enjoy hurting others, then we’re no better than our enemies. I’ve always taken that to heart.
Vampires aren’t like that. They literally feed off of the lifeblood of their victims. Killing innocent people is just a day-to-day occurrence for them. They have no conception of right or wrong, and no understanding of how their actions might affect others.
Nobody knows that better than me.
It’s hard not to be reminded of my father, and how he died at the hands of vampires he trusted. He went to them in good faith, and they slaughtered him without a second thought. I couldn’t even bury his body.
I steady myself with a deep breath. I can’t think about losing my father, not now. I have to get through this mission so I can return home to Hemlock Haven, where I belong. If Lavinia is right, I have to help protect my coven from the northern vampires .
My thoughts are interrupted as I spot a hotel room door opening, down the hall from where I am. It’s a fast movement, almost unnatural. I catch sight of the blurry form of a woman. She quickly turns the corner, toward the emergency staircase.
Immediately, my interest is piqued. She was far too quick to be a living human. But why would a vampire be up here, aboveground? What’s she doing?
As fast as I can without seeming suspicious, I creep down the hallway after her. Luckily, nobody else is around to see me. I crouch and peer around the wall. I can see her at the end of the hall, opening the door to the staircase.
She tosses her long, red cape over her shoulders.
I know that cape! And I can just see her face through the glass of the stairway door.
It’s Oana Ionescu, one of the vampires of the northern alliance. Lavinia said she thought Oana was scoping out the Arundel wolf shifters in the Cave. So she is hiding out here, with Tudor. I have to admit, it does seem suspicious. Is Tudor up to something after all?
Or maybe it’s all innocent. After all, Oana has a right to spend time at Tudor’s hotel. They’re both vampires. It doesn’t mean they’re plotting against the Triple Council or the Hecate coven.
But it doesn’t hurt to check it out. Especially now that I know exactly where she’s staying.
I go back to the room she came out of, #813. I try the door, but of course it doesn’t open. And I don’t have the key. Is it worth some magic, or would that be too risky?
“Hi!” says a loud, chipper voice behind me.
I almost jump out of my skin. It’s one of the hotel cleaners. Her copper skin glows with a liveliness that confirms she’s not a vampire, thank Goddess. She pushes a cart with cleaning supplies, and wears a light purple cleaner’s uniform.
“Sorry for scaring you,” she says, pushing her thick-rimmed glasses up on her nose. Another sign she’s a living human. “Did you get locked out of your room?”
“Oh, yes!” I reply. “Yes, this is my room and I got locked out of it.”
She takes a master key card out of her apron pocket and puts it to the scanner on the door .
“Don’t worry, it happens all the time,” she says cheerfully, opening the door for me.
“Thanks!” I tell her, entering the room. I can’t believe my luck.
“Anytime!” she replies. “I’ll be back around to clean, this is my floor. Let me know if you need anything in the meantime!”
“I really appreciate it,” I say. She grins widely and pushes her cleaning cart down the hall. I feel a bit bad about lying to her, but I have no time to feel guilty about it. I’ve got to scope out this room and get out of here.
Carefully, I go through Oana’s hotel room. It’s more of a suite, with a bedroom and bathroom off of a larger, main room. It’s bigger than my apartment, and the bakery I used to work in. There’s a full bar, a set of elegant chaises, and massive windows with a view of the city. It would be glamorous if it wasn’t a complete mess. Clothes are strewn everywhere, and there’s a heavy armchair lying on its side in the corner. Instinctively, I pick it up, not wanting the cleaner to have an extra mess to tidy. I suppose that’s a bad move for a spy, but Oana will probably assume the cleaner did it.
There’s nothing suspicious about the main room. It just looks like someone had a raging party, which I’m sure happens all the time in hotels like this. I click my tongue in disapproval as I survey the room. Vampires are so inconsiderate. Oana didn’t even think of the people who would have to clean up her mess. I hope the cleaners are paid well, although I have a feeling they aren’t.
As I enter the bathroom, my pulse quickens. There’s an enormous jacuzzi bathtub in the center, and it’s covered in streaks of ruby red blood. What was she doing in here? You know what, I don’t want to know.
I hurry over to it and turn on the taps. I’m not squeamish about blood, but I’m fuming at the thoughtless vampire who left this mess. I take a pristine white face towel from the vanity and begin to wipe down the bathtub. I don’t want that poor cleaner to have to see this. What would she even think?
At least this confirms my suspicion that a vampire is occupying this room. But it doesn’t really give me any information about what she’s doing here.
I quickly check the bedroom. It’s messy, but there’s no blood or anything else, thank Goddess. I quickly go through her drawers for anything unusual, but I don’t find anything. She has a lot of jewelry with garnets, which isn’t uncommon for vampires. I notice there’s no silver.
Confident in my knowledge that this room is being occupied by a vampire, I leave. I don’t want to stay too long in case she comes back and finds me here.
As I exit, I see the cleaner coming back down the hallway, and I wave at her.
“Thanks again!” I say. “And um, I’m sorry about the room. It’s a bit of a mess, I didn’t mean to…”
“Oh, that’s all right,” she says. “You should see some of the crazy things people do in hotels. I never would have thought it! I’d be surprised if you could shock me at this point, and I’ve only been working here a few weeks.”
I try not to think about the things she’s probably seen. My heart goes out to her.
“How have you been finding it? The job, I mean?”
She seems delighted to have someone to talk to. “It’s nice! I actually really like cleaning. It’s so satisfying to tidy up a messy space. And I like knowing I’m helping people. I’m new to the city, so it’s a solid job while I’m getting settled.”
“I’m new here as well. Do you have any family here?”
“No, it’s just me!”
She smiles at me with such innocent confidence that I can’t help feeling protective of her. I’ve been a witch for so long that human lifespans seem very short in comparison. She must be in her early twenties, or even younger.
“Well, if you ever need anything, you let me know, ok? My name is Amara. I work in the club downstairs.”
“Wow, thanks!” she beams. She points at the shining gold nametag clipped to her uniform. “I’m Hallie! I didn’t even know there was a club.”
“It’s a speakeasy,” I explain, wondering just how much she knows about the world lurking under the surface of the hotel. If she’s lucky, she’ll stay away from it. “You don’t need to come down there, just ask Xia or call the concierge if you need me.”
“I will,” she says. She waves as she pushes her cart down the hallway.
Satisfied with my reconnaissance for the day, I head back downstairs to the club. I’ve discovered a secret staircase that goes all the way down. It’s not marked, but you can get through from any floor in the hotel. I prefer it to the elevator. The other day, I got stuck in the elevator with a vampire and two living humans. Needless to say, they did not cease their activities just because I was there. It was the longest thirty seconds of my life.
As I enter the club, Xia turns to me.
“There you are!” she says. “Where were you?”
“Just…out for a smoke,” I say with a nervous chuckle.
“Well, it’s your lucky day. One of Tudor’s daughters needs a bartender in the lounge. It’s usually closed at this time of day, but she has an important business meeting. Although I have no idea what she needs a bartender for. You wanted to work in the lounge, right?”
“Yes, I guess…”
“Great! Can you be up there in ten minutes?”
As much as I hate the thought of serving this vampire and whatever sketchy business she’s conducting, I don’t really have a choice. And Lavinia would want me to take any opportunity to spy. After what I saw upstairs, maybe I should be taking my undercover mission more seriously.
But as I think about Tudor’s eldest progeny, an icy tingle runs down my spine. The way her eyes bore into mine as she wiped the blood from her dagger.
I should be terrified of her. But I can’t help feeling…I don’t know…that there’s something thrilling about her. Something that draws me in.
With a shake of my head, I push those thoughts away. I need to be careful. It’s dangerous to underestimate a vampire. I have a mission, and I need to carry it through. At least until I can go home.
“Sure, I’ll head up there right away.”