Chapter 6
Later that night, I had trouble sleeping again.
The tower creaked and groaned. The wind howled outside, and I swore I heard screaming in the distance.
Sometime in the night Vander slipped silently out the door, leaving me caught between being scared to be alone in this strange room and relieved.
He made no mention of where he was going.
I assumed he had a lover to meet for a secret rendezvous, and I was grateful he didn’t drag me along despite the rule of trainer and apprentice staying together.
I missed Kace. How long would it take for him and his father to talk to someone about bringing me home?
I didn’t think they’d be successful, but I wanted to at least see him again.
Maybe once my apprenticeship was over, we could still marry, although I’d read that most people married within their own guild.
Now that I was labeled ducai, would it be forbidden for me to marry Kace—a human?
I finally dozed off, and in my dream, I was a little girl again, caught in a memory.
People in town had talked about a blood moon.
Would the moon be filled with blood, I’d wondered, being a curious child.
I’d waited until my parents were asleep, then tried to open the metal shutters on my window but couldn’t reach the latch even standing on a stool.
Ever so quiet, I made my way down the stairs, my nightgown trailing behind me.
I pushed up on the wooden slat that blocked the back door and pulled the kitchen chair to reach the bolt.
My parents’ warning to never go outside after dusk came to mind, but it was quiet.
If a vampire was close, I’d hear screams.
The door creaked open, and my bare feet touched the grass. It was cool between my toes. The trees and the land around me were bathed in a strange crimson light. I finally looked up to the giant red circle in the sky. I didn’t think it looked like real blood.
Something snapped, and the patter of footsteps made me jump. I turned to run back inside, and a man with a frightening face stood between me, my house—and my grandmother in the doorway.
“AESIRA!” she shrieked and lunged at the man’s back.
I screamed.
My eyes shot open, and I pressed a hand over my pounding heart. Soft amber light filtered in through the windows. Water splashed in the bathing chambers, and a moment later Vander stepped around the black curtain separating our sides of the room. “Get dressed. We’re going hunting.”
I took my time changing, rewrapping my ribs although there was only light bruising today.
The deep purple faded to various shades of yellow, and the pain was minimal.
I only felt it when I twisted or bent. I had always healed quicker than anyone else in my family.
The stiffness in my leg was barely noticeable now.
I took my frizzy braids out and redid them and washed my face.
The split on my lip was but a thin pink line.
Truthfully, I was going as slow as possible because I was terrified.
No one I’d ever known went vampire hunting.
Not even the foolhardy, arrogant boys in my village.
A few of them did what they called “night runs”, which entailed daring each other to sprint from one house to another at midnight as a test of their bravery.
At least one died every year from that. The smart ones took the night watch in the tower and shot at vampires, but that was as close to vampire hunting as anyone in Neverglade came.
I peeked out the window at the morning sun cresting over the slate stone wall. Dark gray clouds covered half the sky, threatening rain. Thunder rolled in the distance and a streak of lightning spread out. It was strange looking up from inside the wall rather than outside it.
After a few deep breaths and talking myself into it, I opened the door.
Vander sat on the end of his bed with his arms and ankles crossed, appearing vexed as usual.
He wore a sword on his back, and a belt with several weapons: a couple knives, a golden, snake-handled dagger, small star-shaped blades, and a bundle of rope.
“Not even my prissy sisters take as long as you to get ready.” He pulled up his hood.
“Pull your mask up once we leave the walls of Drakthar.”
“Yes, sir,” I said and saluted.
His severe demeanor cracked, and the corner of his mouth curled. “Smartass.”
After walking far enough that Drakthar was no longer in view, we stood at the base of the towering wall.
Thunder crackled over our heads and a cool breeze raised goosebumps along my spine.
A man in assassin black stepped out from the turret and tossed down the end of a thick rope. It hit the ground with a thud.
“There is only one door in the wall at the main entrance,” Vander explained.
“So, we’re walking to the entrance right?
” I knew we weren’t, but this wall soared over even the highest ancient treetops.
Sweat dampened my uniform. I was too frightened to even get into the nightwatch tower.
I wanted to conquer this fear, but in a much smaller tree, not an imposing wall that dizzied my mind.
Birds twittered, flying past my head and up and up until they disappeared on the other side. Thunder rumbled to the west, and the wind brought the smell of rain and deep gray storm clouds our way.
“We need to move before the storm hits. Ladies first.” Vander gestured toward it.
Every five feet or so there was a knot in the rope that would help with footing, but I had trouble gripping with my crippled left hand. I gulped and held the thick rope. “I’ve never climbed a rope before.”
In two steps, he was pressed against my back.
His unexpected closeness made my heart jump into my throat.
I peeked over my shoulder at him as he took hold of my right wrist and moved it higher than my left.
“One hand over the other.” His deep voice rumbled against my skin, making it tingle.
“It helps if you press your thighs and feet tightly around the rope. You’re ducai, you’re strong enough to pull yourself up with just your arms.”
He backed off, and I could breathe deeply again.
It wasn’t my arm strength I worried about.
I’d have to rely more on my right hand and legs, but I’d always done that.
After a few beats, he stared at me expectantly.
Did he feel the tremble of fear in my body when he touched me?
I was loath to admit it, but I confessed, “I... I’m afraid of heights.
” Falling out of a treehouse one time as a child kept my feet firmly on the ground since. “I don’t think I can do this, sir.”
“Everyone is afraid of something. You don’t think you can, but I know you can.” His blue eyes flicked back and forth between mine. “Climb.” I almost appreciated his demand. If I had a lenient trainer, I wasn’t certain I’d ever attempt this.
Shaking, I nodded and curled around the rope. As long as I kept my eyes up, I would be fine. I could convince my mind I was only a few feet off the ground.
After I passed four knots, my left hand started to ache and tremble. Sweat dampened my black hood around my hairline.
A gust of wind whistled, and the rope lightly swung side to side.
I paused, resting my cheek against the tether, the fibers poked into my skin.
“Hold on. I’m following behind,” Vander announced.
The rope jiggled with his weight. Mistakenly, I glanced to see Vander, and the distance from the emerald ground was farther than I thought.
My muscles locked up, and I squeezed my eyes shut. My breaths came too fast.
“Keep going,” Vander said, gentler than I expected. “We need to get to the top before the rain starts.”
As if making a point, thunder boomed nearby.
“I—I can’t.” I couldn’t get my hands to let go. I opened one eye and peeked at Vander again. Everything began to tilt; my head spun.
“You’re not going to fall,” he insisted. “One hand over the other, that’s all you have to do. Keep your eyes up.”
I hugged my lifeline tighter, pressing my feet harder into the knot I stood on. “I can’t let go,” I whispered. My heart pounded as hard as when I was being chased by a vampire. “I can’t.” I didn’t trust my left hand to hold me.
“Yes, you can.” He was suddenly right at my feet. “You do this once and next time you’ll wonder what you were even scared of. Trust yourself and your strength.”
Come on, Aesira. I pried my hand away and slowly reached and pulled.
“That’s it,” Vander assured. “Now the other hand. The faster you move, the sooner this is over.”
That was the truth I needed to hear. The faster I was off this damn rope, the better.
At the halfway point, I could barely hold with my left hand and gripped harder with my feet.
When the top came into view and I started to get hopeful, a drop of rain hit the exposed skin on the bridge of my nose, then another.
The pitter patter came fast and hard. Get to the top, get to the top, I chanted.
The assassin who’d tossed the rope down leaned over the edge of the wall.
Tiny rivers of water ran down the strands of braided fiber, worsening my already failing grip.
“We need to move faster,” Vander commanded.
I quickened my pace again. Then I felt my crippled hand slip and cinched my other harder, but I was sliding as if the fingers of the wind were pulling me toward the earth.
My stomach plummeted, and the rope burned through my gloves until my boots hit the knot below and slipped past. No no no no no. I wasn’t stopping—couldn’t stop.
I gasped to scream, then slammed into Vander’s palm. His fingers dug into my rear end. “Shit! Hold the damn rope!”
My heart slammed into my ribs. My throat constricted, slowing my breath but I was definitely holding the rope. “I’m going to fall! I’m going to die!” I shrieked. The rain came in sheets now. Water streaked along my face under my mask.