A Shade of Vampire (7 page)

The moment I laid my back down on the furry covers of the four-post bed in the middle of the lavish bedroom I
’
d chosen for myself, the first thought that came to mind was:
What on earth are you doing?
I
’
d just woken up from four centuries of sleep. There really was no more sleeping to be done. Thus, I spent the night in the library, reading books
–
hoping to catch up with what I
’
d missed over the past years. I found a wealth of information there, but I knew that I
’
d only scratched the surface. I then realized what a great value Sofia would be to me in becoming acquainted with the world as it was now.

I picked up the fourth glass of blood that was brought to me by one of the harem girls. A gift from Vivienne.

When the girl, Gwen, tentatively came in with the first glass in hand, I didn
’
t even care to ask where the blood came from or whose blood it was. I just drank it all up. My hunger had to be satisfied if I were to keep myself from murdering the girls who were living inside my home. I thanked her for the blood and asked if she could fetch me more. The brunette nodded, her lips trembling even as she moved away from me. I looked at her and wondered why I wasn
’
t as drawn to her as I was to Sofia. It could be said that she was similarly pleasant to look at as the redhead sleeping in the chambers next to mine, and yet that simple gesture Sofia did back at the Sanctuary
–
grabbing Gwen
’
s hand to comfort her
–
somehow solidified Sofia, in my eyes, as more valuable than the other four girls combined.

As I finished my fourth glass, I found myself longing to check on how my beautiful captive was doing. I stood up and made my way through the glass-covered walkways, displaying the starlit sky above it. I smiled. It was a nice touch by Cora
–
always keeping the sun out of the Blood Shade
–
the one place on earth where it was always night. I eventually ended up in her bedroom. I heaved a sigh. I couldn
’
t understand why I was so nervous. She was just a girl. I
’
ve had my fill of blood. There was really no reason to be so anxious. I knocked on the door and waited.
Nothing.
I knocked again. “Sofia?”

I creased my brows. Something was wrong. I opened the door. It wasn
’
t locked. For some reason, that bothered me.
Is she so foolish to trust a stranger like me
–
a vampire at that
–
that she wouldn
’
t even lock her door?
I pushed the door open and surveyed the room. She was nowhere in sight.

“Sofia?” I stepped in, the truth beginning to dawn on me.

I was the fool to trust her. I didn
’
t even bother to station guards outside her bedroom. Of course she would attempt to escape. She
’
d be a fool if she didn
’
t.

Run, Sofia.
I kept telling myself to go on, to flee. I figured that at some point, I
’
d reach something
–
anything to give me a clue on how I could escape the Blood Shade. And so I continued, stumbling through the darkness of the forest.

I knew I had no escape plan and the likelihood of actually leaving the island was practically non-existent. But I had to take my chance the moment I saw it. I couldn
’
t afford to hang around while Derek decided exactly what he wanted to keep me for.

I thought of Ben and what he would do given my situation. Knowing how impulsive my best friend was, I figured to escape while he could was probably what he would
’
ve done. That really was all the encouragement that I needed. So when I woke up that morning
–
and found the sky to be as dark as it was the night before
–
I realized that waiting for daylight to escape was pointless.

I got off the bed as quietly as I could
–
I had no idea where Derek was, but if he was in the chambers closest to mine, I figured he
’
d hear every single noise that I made, so I took care in making none. I slipped out of the slippers I found in the large wardrobe inside the bedroom. I figured I
’
d make less noise with bare feet.

I rummaged through the closet, which I discovered mostly contained women
’
s clothes. It made my stomach turn as I wondered why. The idea that the room next to Derek
’
s was specifically meant for a woman
–
and what that woman could possibly be intended for
–
made me sick. Whatever reasons these vampires had for taking us, what they were doing was terrible. I wasn
’
t just going to sit there and be the victim.

I tried to look for jeans or something comfortable to run in, but found none. My hands sifted through dozens of silken gowns, cocktail dresses, skirts and lingerie.

Eventually I found a pair of denim shorts and a black hoodie two sizes too large for me. I frowned, noting how out-of-place the outfit was considering the rest of the contents of the wardrobe. I shrugged it off and was just thankful that I didn
’
t have run through a dark forest in a cocktail dress. It was the best I could come up with and I figured it should be enough. I slipped the clothes on as quickly as I could. I knew there was no time to waste. The further I got without anybody noticing I was gone, the better off I
’
d be.

Satisfied with my outfit, I snuck outside the room, carrying the rubber slippers I had with one hand, careful to close the door as noiselessly as I could. I made my way toward one of the glass-covered walkways connecting the corridor to the guest room to another wing of the penthouse.

Standing in the walkway, I saw one of the girls I was with walking through the walkway parallel to where I was standing, all the way to the wing on the opposite side. She was the one whose hand I held when we were first brought in front of Derek. I couldn
’
t remember her name. My hopes lifted. If she was there, perhaps Derek was also. I thought for a moment if I should include the other girls in my escape. I wanted to, but I figured it would be a case of the blind leading the blind. My best chance of helping them was to escape and expose the Blood Shade to the rest of the world. Surely someone would help me save the people brought into this coven as slaves.

I didn
’
t spend too much time musing over this and instead, focused on how on earth I was going to get back to the ground. I looked outside and smiled faintly with relief. I saw a lift not too far away.
That must be it.
I pulled the black hoodie over my head and made my way to the lift. It didn
’
t take long before my feet were back on the solid ground. It was almost too good to be true, but no one seemed to be around to keep watch over me, so I just slipped the slippers on and made a run toward the direction opposite the Vale, the town center. I figured that north of the Vale were the Cells, east of it was the Sanctuary, while on the west side was the Pavilion. If I made a run for it in the direction away from the Vale, further to the west, I just had to reach an exit sooner or later.

Where there
’
s a way in, there must be a way out.

I was so wrong. After what felt like hours of staggering through the dark trees, with the rubber slippers blistering my feet and getting completely battered by the sharp twigs and stones, every muscle in my body aching and scratches all over my body due to branches I hit or bushes I stumbled into considering the severe lack of lighting, I finally reached a clearing leading out of what almost seemed like an endless forest.

But what I saw made my heart sink. It was a wall so tall and seemingly so thick, I was surprised no one
’
s ever noticed the Blood Shade on a map before.
This will give the Wall of China a run for its money.
I frowned. How I planned to get past that wall, I had no clue, and the fact that I had no idea whatsoever what was on the other side of it didn
’
t help either.

I bit my lip, unsure of what to do. I just sank to the ground to my knees, fighting the urge to break down and cry. There was no way I could climb this wall. I could barely even stand up. I was beginning to grow desperate. The thought of returning and facing the consequences of my botched escape was playing tricks on my mind. I was overwhelmed inside by more fears and doubts than I knew how to handle.

Suddenly, I heard a twig snap behind me.

“Well, what do we have here?” Spoke a voice that was a tad too high-pitched for a man.

“Looks like dinner to me,” a deeper, huskier voice replied.

My fists clenched. I was suddenly so aware of how many scratches I had and how blood was oozing through those scrapes. I
’
d practically turned myself into bait for these creatures.

“What are you doing way out here by the fortress during a night so dark?” Pitchy, with the high-pitched voice, asked.

“Taking a walk. My master said I could,” I bluffed. I could feel my face turning red.

“Really now?” This time, it was Husky speaking. “Did he also ask you to get yourself all bloody and ready to become his breakfast while you
’
re at it?”

I could feel them drawing closer from behind me. I slowly turned so I could face them. Based on the clothes they were wearing
–
black garb with red crests worn by the guards escorting us the night before - I assumed both of them were guards, assigned to keep watch of the fortress.

“Who
’
s your master, lovely little thing?”

Pitchy was right beside me now. He held a clump of my hair within his fingers and took a good long sniff of it.

I was about to tell them that Derek Novak owned me and harming me would be a big mistake, but was interrupted by Husky before I could speak.

“Who cares?” he spoke up. “Anyone who walks past the forest and reaches the fortress is under our mercy. I
’
m sure her master will thank us for teaching the insolent slave a lesson.” His finger traced one of the scratches on my legs, drawing blood with his protruding claw. He took a whiff of the blood and smiled before tasting it. He smiled.

“Sweet.”

It was Pitchy who seemed apprehensive. “Perhaps we shouldn
’
t touch her. We don
’
t know who owns her.” Still, his eyes were on me, his free hand running the length of my arm.

Husky showed no indication of stopping his taste tests of the blood coming out of the scrapes on my body.

I stood there, trying to recall whatever it was I learned from the self-defense lessons Ben had convinced me to take part in. I had no idea if they would work against vampires, but I figured it was worth a shot
–
if only just to stun them so I could make a run for it. It was wishful thinking, but it was the best I had. I bent down on the ground and swung a leg beneath Husky, making him topple to the ground. I took advantage of Pitchy
’
s surprise and pushed him away before I began running back to the forest. I barely even took three strides, before both managed to catch up with me, pushing me to the ground.

Pitchy held my arms down, while Husky bent on the ground to hold my feet down.

“That was a big mistake, sugar,” Husky grinned.

Both their fangs came out and I was sure I was about to lose all sanity, considering that it was the third time in the past twenty-four hours that vampires had threatened to suck my blood.

I saw no hope whatsoever and just shut my eyes as both were about to bite. I was expecting to scream in pain upon feeling their fangs dig into whichever part of my body they decided to sink their teeth into.

But, instead, I felt their grip on my wrists and legs suddenly loosen.

I opened my eyes and blinked several times, still trying to get used to seeing in the dark. My eyes lit up when I saw both guards on the ground with Derek looming over them. The moon shone down on him in the clearing. Each of his hands were pinning them to position by their necks.

“Has either one of you tasted her blood?” Derek demanded, the tone of his voice nothing short of menacing.

From behind, the way his shoulders rose with every breath and the way his muscles bulged, told me how he was desperately trying to maintain a grip over his temper.

“Your highness, I-I… I didn
’
t mean to…” Husky was shaking so badly I could barely make out the words. “I didn
’
t know…”