Chapter 9 #2
“I don’t climb the wall every night, only when I need venom.”
She glances over the edge again and then hurries away from it, shaking out her hands as if she can somehow just brush away the fear.
“It’s not that bad once you start climbing. You just need to stop thinking about it.”
“Oh yeah, just stop thinking about it, I wish I’d thought of that.”
She cocks her head and watches me for a long, drawn-out moment.
Time is ticking by, Athriel warns.
“Probably not the best choice of words.” I sigh. “Look, if you really can’t do this, then we can go back inside and slip into bed and pretend this never happened. I would never ask this of you, Tori. I will find another way to help Willow.”
She looks up at the dark sky, where thick shadow clouds gather to block even a sliver of sunlight, casting the court in eternal darkness.
Small speckles of starlight float within its folds, providing a gentle white glow that transforms into a golden hue during the day.
The magic within the starlight is what gives us humans everything we lost when the sun was forever eclipsed.
Some days I lie on the roof, staring at the dark mass above, wishing for even a single gap to let sunlight through—enough to incinerate every vampire. Not that I’ve ever seen sunlight, but Cora says that some of the old books talk about its sheer beauty.
Anything that can kill a vampire is beautiful to me.
Thank you, Adina. I did not think you felt that way about me.
I roll my eyes at his amused tone.
“Ok.”
Tori drags me from my sea of thoughts, and when my eyes meet hers, I see a determination that wasn’t there before.
“You sure?” I ask, but she is already throwing her leg over the ledge. I hurry over, grabbing her arm to steady her.
“If I don’t do it now, it’ll give me time to change my mind, and this is about Willow. I can get over one little fear for her, can’t I?” She nods her head repeatedly as her eyes flash over the edge multiple times, and it’s obvious that she’s trying to convince herself far more than she is me.
“Yes,” I agree as the grip she now has on my arm tightens.
“Oh, Gods, don’t let me fall. I cannot believe I’m about to climb down the side of a thirty-foot building.”
I don’t let her know that it’s probably a good twenty feet taller than that.
“Are you telling me that even Cora climbs this thing to sneak out?”
I try not to laugh.
“She’s an oldblood, she doesn’t need to sneak out. She’s here by choice, remember. As long as she has a good enough reason, she can pretty much come and go as she sees fit if she’s not working.”
“I know that,” she hisses. “I just need to keep talking.”
I nod, trying to keep the amusement from my face. She finally peels her fingers from mine to wrap hers around the edge of the ledge.
“Ok, take your time and make sure you have a good grip before you start moving. And don’t look down.”
“Hold ledge. Tight grip. Don’t look down.” She nods. “Got it.”
She finally starts moving, and I freeze as I watch her move downwards without issue. Thank the gods.
Has the blood returned to your arm yet? Athriel asks.
I finally let out the laugh I’ve been holding.
“I heard that,” she calls up.
“Sorry.”
This time, Athriel laughs.
Stop it, you’re getting me in trouble.
Yes, but I also get you out of it.
So arrogant.
Do not mistake confidence for arrogance, young one.
I lean over the ledge and watch as Tori clutches the wall like it’s her lifeline.
She’s moving slowly, but already nearly a quarter of the way down.
I swing my leg over the edge, just like I’ve done countless times before, and begin descending quickly.
I need to make up for the time wasted convincing her to follow. Within minutes, I’m level with her.
“Show off,” she hisses through gritted teeth as she holds tight to the groove she just slotted her hands into.
I go to reply, but a noise stops me dead.
We make eye contact for the briefest minute, and in that one look, I know she understands everything I’m communicating. Don’t move and don’t make a sound.
I risk a look below and find two vamps standing directly below us. Shit. The patrol shouldn’t be for another ten minutes at least, which means they are just here for leisure, and I have no idea what they’re doing.
We could just kill them.
Not everything is solved with murder, Athriel.
This is why you face so many unsolvable problems.
I ignore him as I listen in on their conversation.
“These are the real deal. Where in the hell did you score them?” The tallest vampire asks, holding up a silver canister between his thumb and index finger.
Of course, I curse. Why the hell do sired vampires love those things so much?
They are literally just blood turned into gas that they inhale for the simple fun of it.
And they come from humans with no potency, so they literally get nothing but a blood high. Idiots.
“That’s for me to know,” the smaller vamp says, tapping the side of his nose. He unscrews his own, inhaling the red gas and humming in pleasure as he takes it in. The other follows in suit.
Tori keeps her eyes shut as her fingers dig deep into a crevice in the wall.
She’s saying something to herself, but I cannot understand since she is simply miming whatever it is.
Her fingers are bone white from the pressure of her hold, and her chest is rising and falling far too fast. I can tell that her panic is overtaking her, and the last thing we need is for her to pass out.
I might be good at climbing this wall, but there’s no way I can hold up the two of us.
“You think it’s true then?” the tall vamp says. “Reckon she’s really found a way to do it?”
That grabs my attention. My eyes fall back to the vamps. The other one shrugs.
“It’s been a long time, but if anyone can, then it’s her.”
“Yeah, but you know what this means if it’s true. What we’ll b—”
“That’s enough. We don’t discuss this shit outside, walls have ears and all.”
The other vamp nods as disappointment twists inside me. I can’t help but wonder what they were referring to. I need to know. The tall one pushes off the wall, throwing his empty canister to the ground.
“Come on, we'd better get back inside before she has our balls.”
“You obey her so readily that I didn’t think you had any left.”
The tall one catches the other in a headlock, and the sound of their laughter follows them as they tumble around the corner back toward the entrance of the bloodhouse.
“We need to move, and fast. The patrol will be here in a few minutes, and we can’t be here when they do.”
Tori finally opens her eyes and manages a nod. And then we remain silent as we move down the side of the wall as fast as we can.