Taunt (9 page)

As soon as I
stepped back outside, the Guardians took hold of my arms again. I
was led into another room and pushed past numerous cells, all
containing sleeping forms. The cell walls were almost see-through,
but they shimmered with a distinct magical energy. We stopped at an
empty cell; one of the Guardians freed my arms and snapped a metal
bracelet on my wrist. It hummed with magic and made me feel a
little nauseous.

“
This
is your tag,” he said. “Don’t try to remove it if you want to keep
your arm.”

He pushed me
inside, made a sweeping shape in the air, and walked away, leaving
me trapped in a translucent box with a private toilet and no sink.
It looked like there was nothing keeping me inside, but when I
reached out my hand, something shocked me backward.

“
No
point trying that,” a voice to my right said. “Can’t be opened from
the inside and can’t be used against the Guardians. It’s pretty
perfect, actually.”

I glanced at the
adjoining cell. A teenage girl sat serenely on a narrow bed with
her legs crossed under her. “It’s almost bedtime,” she
said.

“
What
is
this?”

“
You
should probably lie down now. It hurts to fall.”

I had no idea
what she was talking about, where I was, or why I was there. Unable
to form a complete thought, I sat on the bed. I heard a hissing
noise, and all of a sudden found it hard to keep my eyes open. As I
succumbed to sleep, I wondered if the spirit had been warning me
against the Guardians, or against telling Peter the truth about
myself.

***

I woke
blurry-eyed and confused. As soon as my focus cleared, I saw the
young girl staring at me and remembered where I was.

“
Ah.”
My mouth felt dry and sticky.

“
You’re awake,” she said, her large blue eyes curiously
flat.

“
Mmm.”
Words weren’t easy.

“
You’re different from the rest,” she noted.

I blinked. She
looked human herself. I tried to close my eyes and search outward,
but something dulled my extra sense. I caught a brief glimpse of
something blue, something human but not, and felt like a wall fell
on me so I stopped in a hurry. I touched my stomach, still padded
by a bandage. The pain was manageable, but I wouldn’t forget it in
a hurry.

“
Are
you hurt?”

“
I’m
okay,” I said. “Got into a fight with a sneaky vampire.”

An alarm sounded,
and I felt the occupants of the other cells stir. None seemed as
awake as the young girl. A shaft in the wall opened and displayed a
tray with a bottle of water and some food, along with a bag of
blood on the side that I did my best to ignore. I drank the water
willingly, feeling a little more normal again.

“
I’m
Leah,” the girl said. “What’s your name?”

“
Ava,”
I replied, feeling more curious about Leah than anything else. “Are
you on trial, too?” She didn’t answer, so I ate a little food and
looked around, wondering where I could put the
leftovers.

“
They
clear out the cells while we sleep, just leave it on the
floor.”

I did as she
said. “Leah, why are you here?” I persisted.

She stared at me
with sad eyes. “They don’t know where else to put me.”

I hesitated and
searched her eyes for something that might explain the statement,
but then I felt drowsy again and lay down. I hadn’t felt tired a
few seconds before; out of nowhere, I could barely open my eyes. I
struggled against the sudden fatigue but lost myself
eventually.

I dozed on and
off for an age, although it could have been seconds for all I knew.
The girl was wide awake each time I opened my eyes, but the rest of
the cells seemed still.

After a time, my
head cleared long enough for me to sit up again. I looked at Leah,
hoping she could answer the question that wouldn’t form clearly in
my mind.

“
It’s
the food,” she said. “It keeps everyone compliant, but you seem to
be fighting it better than most.”

That made sense.
At least, the first part did. I wasn’t feeling like I was able to
fight it at all. I decided not to eat the next meal that
arrived.

The silence was
eerie; the Guardians didn’t check on us, and Leah was the only one
alert. I could barely see the occupants of the other cells; they
all lay barely moving on their cots. I began to get my thoughts
together, but I still didn’t have any idea of what was going on. Or
what would happen next.

“
Where
are we?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. My words slurred
together a little, but I felt much better than before.

“
The
holding cells. This is where everyone goes before they see the
Council. They don’t stay long, but I’m not sure where they take
them once they leave here.”

I noted the
paleness of her skin. “Exactly how long have you been here,
Leah?”

She shrugged and
turned away. “Dunno.”

“
What…
what are you?” There was no way of asking the question
politely.

She looked back
at me, and her eyes widened. “I’m human. What are you?”

I laughed. “I’ve
no idea.” I couldn’t stop laughing, and I must have scared Leah
because she lay down and pretended to sleep.

I lay on the bed
awkwardly. Whatever Eddie had given me for pain had worn off, but I
tried to think things through. There were no windows, so we were
either underground, or they needed to house nocturnal beings. I
guessed underground. The Guardians had mentioned me going on trial,
but for what? Fighting with vampires? Working with them? I cursed
Eddie for not telling me more about the Council when he had the
chance.

I caught Leah
sneaking a look at me. “Aren’t you lonely?” I asked.

She sat up and
bit her bottom lip. “Nothing lasts forever.”

I tried asking
her why she was in a holding cell. She refused to answer, and I got
tired of pushing. Maybe I was interested because it distracted me
from my problems. Still, Leah claimed to be human, and she wasn’t
an adult, so what did the Council want with her?

No food came for
a while, and I almost felt back to normal.

“
They
must be taking you outside,” Leah said, but her voice had a tremor
to it. She had been biting her nails, and I could sense her
agitation. She paced her cell like a caged animal, looking up and
down the hall over and over again.

“
I
wonder if they’re taking you to trial today,” she said, her voice
trembling still.

“
Maybe,” I said. Leah’s frantic nail-chewing ramped up until
even I was on edge. Soon, a group of Guardians came and, out of the
corner of my eye, I saw Leah wring her hands together
anxiously.

“
Let’s
go,” one said. “You’ve got a visitor.”

They released me
from the cell, and Leah spoke under her breath. “It was nice to
meet you, Ava.”

I didn’t have
time to wonder at her words because the Guardians let me out. To my
surprise, they took me in the opposite direction from the one I’d
arrived and led me upward into an ordinary looking building
interior. I inhaled deeply, the fresh air a welcome
relief.

The Guardians
pushed me into a small room that held only a table and two chairs.
I waited for a long time, my mind going into overdrive now that I
was away from the suffocating cell. I tried to open the door, but
it was locked from the outside. I could hear some heartbeats close
by so I knew I was still guarded. Maybe they thought I could
actually find my way out of the maze of identical
hallways.

I tried to use my
other senses again, but it was like my abilities were smothered by
some kind of heavy magic. It didn’t smell like Eddie’s magic, but
it clung to my skin, leaving a clammy sensation. The spirit hadn’t
come near me since the Guardians had taken me, and I had to wonder
if something was stopping it.

I hadn’t eaten in
a while, so I could only blame my hunger on the sudden burst of
happiness I felt when the door opened, and Eddie walked into the
room bearing coffee, food, and painkillers.

“
Are
you sure about this?” I asked after he had redressed my bandage,
tutting the entire time at the bad job I’d done. I held up a small
green pill warily. It stank.

“
Just
take it. It’s strong, so it’ll last a few days. By then you should
be fine. The wound is healing nicely, although not as well as it
might.”

I ignored the
hint about blood and swallowed the tablet obediently, wrinkling my
nose at the taste. He handed over the food and still warm
coffee.

“
Thanks,” I said after I devoured everything he set in front of
me.

“
You
shouldn’t eat their food,” he warned.

“
Yeah,
got that. So, why are you here? Why am I here?”

“
From
what I can gather, your existence has been brought to the attention
of the Council. Gideon has made some accusations, and the Guardians
took you in for an immediate trial. I’ve been with the Council for
hours discussing this.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, and I
realised how tired he looked. “I’m speaking for you at the trial,
and I’ve persuaded them to give you a pre-trial hearing. We need
time to counter the accusations, and the hearing will give us a
chance to find out exactly what the vampires are up to.”

When I raised an
eyebrow, he placed his palms on the table. “I know we aren’t always
on the best of terms, Ava. But this time, you need me. They trust
me; they’ll at least listen to me before making their
decision.”

“
Decision on what?” I felt like I had missed something
huge.

“
Whatever it is you’re being accused of. I have an idea, but
we’ll see at the hearing. You would probably have been charged by
now if it wasn’t for me.”

He looked like I
should be jumping for joy. Instead, I felt like I’d been thrown
into a cesspit. Every single time I thought I was over the worst,
something even worse happened. Eddie was my only link to the
outside world and, for that, I supposed I had to be
grateful.

“
Um,
thanks, I guess. For helping me with whatever the hell is going on.
So, what, you people have actual trials?”

Eddie frowned.
“More like ‘us’ people now, Ava. We
are
civilised. Really.
We have laws and courts, different from humans, of course. Our kind
could never be tried by humans. It wouldn’t work. We have a system
and, if you know how to play that system, you’ll do
fine.”

I sighed. There
was never a straight path to the end. “So what now? What happens?
What do I do? Should I try running?”

He shook his head
vehemently, his face paling. “Never try to run from the Council,
Ava. You’ll never know a moment’s peace again. Let’s just see what
happens first. In a few days, you’ll make your first appearance.
I’ll try to get some time to figure out how Gideon plans on playing
this one.
I
speak, Ava. I take care of this. If you go
running in all guns blazing…”

“
I get
it, Eddie. I’m not crazy.”

“
Depends who you ask.” He smiled, looking almost fatherly for a
second. “We’ll take care of this, Ava, but you must know something.
They’re accusing you of being a daywalker.”

“
So?”

He caught his
breath. “That isn’t a good thing, child. Gideon’s effectively
outing you here. There’s no going back now, Ava. This is your
world, but not everyone will welcome you. They’re concerned with
upsetting the natural balance. I might not be able to convince them
that you aren’t a danger.”

“
How
could I be a danger? I’m not even as strong as a
vampire!”

He leaned forward
and looked me in the eye. “Trust me when I tell you how serious
this is, Ava. After this is over, you and Nancy are going to sit
down and have a conversation about your family. I’ll make sure
everything is explained, I promise. But for now, let’s focus on
what’s important here—making sure the Council doesn’t find you
guilty.”

I tried not to
panic. The Council was one thing, having an actual conversation
with my grandmother was quite another. I decided to take his advice
and concentrate on the bigger picture.

“
Fine,
it’s a big deal. So if this Council finds me… guilty of stuff, then
what happens?”

His eyes
narrowed. “Then, Ava, then they’ll sentence you. They could
imprison you for eternity. They could execute you. You have to
understand how serious this is.”

I opened my mouth
to protest, when the door opened, and a Guardian demanded Eddie
leave. Eddie glared at the Guardian, slowly rose to his feet, then
gazed at me for a few seconds before leaving. The door slammed
shut, leaving me alone.

My thoughts spun
rapidly, never giving me a chance to relax. I was screwed, royally
screwed. Councils, trials, executions—I could disappear, and nobody
would know what happened. By the time the Guardians came to return
me to my cell, I wanted to throw up. At least when the vampires
wanted to kill me, I had been able to fight back in some way. Now I
had to sit around and wait and see if the whims of complete
strangers would kill me or cage me.