46. Brody
Brody
Avampire dressed in a black suit finds me in one of the tunnels.
I’d made it to my room, but then realised I was a sitting duck and so needed to move on.
I couldn’t find my keys, there’s a little flashlight on the chain, and so in the end I’d decided to brave the dark.
But it didn’t take long before I was lost and then there was a voice, calling through the dark that he knew exactly where I was, but promising not to kill me.
“Not yet anyway,” he adds with a laugh.
It isn’t very comforting to be honest.
“How did you find me?” I ask as he appears in the gloom.
“Clara and Ari used to practically live in these tunnels when they were little. I’ve worked for Mr Hele for almost two centuries. I used to be the one assigned to keep an eye on them, even though they thought no one else knew about all the secret passages and doors.”
“Oh.” It makes sense of course.
“She was always a wild one. Even back then,” the vampire says.
“Never liked to do what she was told.” He shakes his head.
“Always rooting for the underdog.” The way he looks at me makes it very clear that I am the underdog in this situation.
“Picking up strays.” There’s an edge to his tone, of disgust mainly.
“Still, I never thought she’d actually stoop so low as to date one of you. ”
“We’re not dating,” I say quickly. Or at least… well, it isn’t like we actually had “the talk”.
The vampire leads me down a corridor, turning left and then left again.
“This isn’t the way out of here,” I tell him as he takes the right hand fork by the kitchen. The smell of roasting meat makes my stomach grumble, it’s been hours since we ate and I’m starving.
“We’re not leaving.”
We make our way back into the main part of the castle and eventually find ourselves standing in front of a door. One being guarded by three other men in similar suits.
“Apparently they’re not dating,” he tells his colleagues.
One of them makes a face. “Of course not.” He sounds utterly horrified at the mere suggestion.
But then he pauses and leans closer toward me, his eyes boring into mine.
“Oh. My. God. Did you actually think…?” He moves backwards a few steps.
“Oh Jesus Christ. She really got to you, didn’t she?
” He laughs so hard that tears begin to form in the corner of his eyes.
“Holy fucking shit. I can’t believe you fell for that. You poor bastard.”
“Fell for what?” I ask.
“For Ari’s bullshit. What did she tell you? That you were special? That she didn’t normally do that kind of thing?”
“That she didn’t believe in love?” one of the others adds.
“Wow. You poor sucker. And now you’re going to be the one who pays for it, eh. Sucks to be you.”
The vampire who announced the pledges earlier opens the door. Benedict, I think his name was. “In,” he demands without preamble.
We enter a study, all dark wood and leather furniture and very little in the way of lighting.
“Ari,” I exclaim and take a few steps towards her. But Benedict pulls me back.
“Not so fast, little human.”
“Are you OK?” Ari asks. “Did he hurt you?”
I shake my head. Not physically no. but I can’t shake the things those guards outside just said. About Ari lying to me. About her using me.
“Right then,” Andrei stands up and claps his hands. It’s the same thing he did on stage earlier. Before this whole situation turned into a nightmare, one I’m starting to think I’m never going to wake up from. “Brody, Mr Jackson,” he addresses me.
I turn to face him head on. There’s something in his tone that tells me he’s about to give his final judgement on my plight and I will look him in the eye while I learn my fate, even if it is – and I suspect it just may be – the very last thing I do. “Yes.”
“Ms Haywood has something to tell you.”
I look at her. She seems broken, her shoulders stooped as if she could curl into a ball. My heart breaks, what have they done to her?
“Brody,” she says, her voice catching on my name. Her eyes meet mine. “I…”
“Just get to the point, Arianna,” Andrei demands. “We haven’t got all evening.”
She takes a deep breath as if she’s psyching herself up to say something. “I don’t love you. It was all a lie. I was using you to make the app. What happened between us meant nothing.” She talks quickly but each word hits me like a knife in the chest.
“I don’t understand—” I start to say but she cuts me off.
“I’m a vampire and you’re a human.” She glances towards Andrei and he nods briefly. “I’m better than you. Superior. Stronger. You are just a human. A mortal. Nothing more than a toy to be played with.”
I don’t understand why she’s doing this. “You don’t mean—”
“Yes.” She interrupts me again. “Yes, I do mean it. Did you really think that I would bind my life to yours? Don’t be a fool Brody.” She clears her throat. “You’ve heard rumours this weekend about hunting?”
I nod.
“So you know what my kind do for fun here?”
I nod again.
“We are very grateful to Arianna for bringing you here,” Andrei says. “She has given us a wonderful gift.”
I turn to look at him and immediately regret it. His eyes are hungry, roaming over me as if imagining exactly what I would taste like. Fear swells in my belly and I force myself to resist the primal urge to run.
“Arianna didn’t tell you who she really was, did she?” Andrei asks, taking a few steps towards me.
I shake my head.
“You’ve heard of Carmilla though?”
“Yes.”
“She’s a princess, Brody. A vampire princess. She belongs here with us, with others of her kind who occupy a similar strata in our society. And why do you think she wouldn’t tell you that nugget? Don’t you think it would have been an important thing for you to know?”
“But she doesn’t—”
“Oh, sweet sweet boy,” Andrei says, his voice dripping with pseudo-sympathy.
“Did you really think she was one of those progressive types? The ones who think humans and vampires should live in peace and harmony together?” He cocks his head and pauses for a few moments.
“Silly foolish little worm. She really got you good, didn’t she? ”
He turns to Ari. “Tsk-tsk. You’re such a naughty girl.
” He laughs. “Well, today our darling Arianna has really proven her allegiance.” He licks his lips.
“Such a wonderful, healthy boy you are. And not too stupid. You know what is about to happen to you, I can sense it in your blood.” He moves directly in front of me and gives an exaggerated sniff.
“Oh I do love the combined scent of fear and heartbreak in the evening.”
Ari stays silent, a look on her face I can’t quite read. Did she really betray me? Lure me here tonight?
“I’m a sporting man,” Andrei says. “I like there to be challenge.” With a nod to the vampire who found me, the door is opened and cool air rushes into the room.
Andrei smiles as he places a hand on my shoulder.
“You have ten minutes. Ten minutes to run. And then we will come for you.” The smile expands and shifts, showing me his fangs.
I take one final look at Ari, lingering on her face, imprinting the way her hair falls over one eye and the way her mouth is always slightly twisted as if she’s chewing the inside of her cheek.
I take a deep breath and try not to think about the way she looked a few hours ago. Try not to think about what could have been between us. There is no time now for what ifs. There is only time for what is about to be.
And then I turn.
And I run.
As fast as I can.
Lungs burning as I force my legs to move faster.
I won’t look behind me.
I won’t look to see how close they are.