Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
Adelasia
Saddiq has noticed that I’m getting too thin.
The longer I’m alive, the less desire I have to seek sustenance, and my early thefts from the marketplace have eroded what little supply of demon blood was there.
The thought of going back into the Blackwood for food makes me shiver.
I do not want to return to the place that took everything from me.
Habiba sneaks me food sometimes, and I simply bury it in the sand or feed it to the goats when she’s not looking. It’s a waste, I know, but this is the only home I have now. If anyone suspected I was anything less than human, I’d have nothing left–not even a friend.
The hunger is getting to me though. It gnaws deeper than it did when I first changed, and chews on my insides so much it makes me sick.
I’m sitting outside, drawing shapes in the sand when I hear shouting from the distance.
The cool night-time breeze dances through the loose clothing of the town as the people gather.
From the other side of the square, two of Saddiq’s men come running, one injured, the other holding him with an arm under his upper body.
Saddiq meets them in the center, and another citizen brings them both a skin of water. They drink it, gasping, as Saddiq asks what they saw.
“Vampires,” one gargles through the water. “We saw them just as we entered the Blackwood. They were fighting something we could not see, and we spooked them. I’ve never run so fast.”
His words seemed to fade into nothingness after I heard the word ‘vampire’. Surely I misunderstood. Surely he’s mistaken. There are no vampires. They would have all died with Kaius.
Unless…
No. That can’t be. Our bond, it’s faded. They’re dead. I killed them.
I feel faint and lean against the wall. Anya notices and places a gentle, comforting hand to my cheek. Something deep within me, something I’ve hidden for too long, begins to awaken.
I subtly look down at my arm and notice the rot has begun to climb again. I have to get out of here, before I’m exposed. Without thinking, I run forward towards the same direction the men ran away from. Saddiq calls for me, but I don’t listen.
He catches me at the edge of the town, just out of earshot of the people.
“Adelasia, where are you going!?”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but I can’t stay here.” I show him my arms, and then look up to him with sorrow in my eyes. “I’ll hurt people if I stay, so just let me go.”
Saddiq examines me for a moment, and he looks like he might be in denial, but then he comes to his senses, taking my hands in his.
“You will always have a home here.”
That’s the last thing he says to me. As I shed my headscarf and let the wind carry it away, I sink to my knees and bow with my forehead touching Saddiq’s boots.
I don’t just bow to him, but to all the al-Abadi people who I’ve come to love as a second family.
To Anya and Habiba and to the smell and sounds of the desert.
When I stand again, I watch a single tear fall from Habiba’s eyes, and I blow her a kiss before I turn, leaving the desert behind me.