The Way of Escape (9 page)

After a few minutes of perusing the posh clothes, I settled on wearing a pair of black boot cut jeans with a flowy pink chiffon blouse. While my outfit was nicer than what I’d worn the previous day, I still didn’t want to dress up as much as the vampires and their slaves did for dinner and for whatever else would follow. Yes, I had to play the part of a woman who was slowly falling for Augustus’ charms, but having a drastic shift in opinion, dress, and demeanor overnight wasn’t realistic.

I changed into my outfit of choice and sat down with the ebook reader again. I turned to where I’d left off in the psalms, but I felt like I needed to be doing something else. Despite that nagging feeling, I continued reading until a knock at the bathroom door forced me to take a breather. When I opened it and saw the bowl of cinnamon sugar oatmeal and cranberry juice that Augustus had with him, my mouth watered. I also found myself briefly appreciating how debonair he looked in his three-button, steel gray, jacquard wool suit.

“Is this alright?”

“Yeah. This is fine. Thank you.”

This is exactly why kissing men like Augustus is a bad idea,
I berated myself as Augustus walked past me and set the tray down on my desk.
You stirred a pot that wound have been perfectly still on its own.

“Did you find out what Emmanuel has planned for us tonight?”

“No, but I’m sure we will have dinner at the usual time and find out what he has in store then. I’d imagine that tonight’s activities will be much tamer than last night’s.”

“Let’s hope so.”

My gaze fell to the artfully folded napkin on the tray Augustus had brought in and I began to wonder who had done the little preparation necessary for my meal that day. Had it been a man or a woman? Was the person young or old? Did the cook hate the vampires for lording over the slaves or envy them? I’d only seen a select number of humans in my two nights under Emmanuel’s roof, but I hadn’t spoken with any of them. The fact that I’d decided to try liberating the slaves without saying a word to them was a tragic disconnect.

“Do you know what time Emmanuel usually wakes up?”

“No, but I’ve never seen him leave his room before dusk.”

“I’d like to try talking to some of the slaves before he’s out and about,” I decided.

“I thought you already made your decision.”

“I did. I just need a more tangible reminder of why I’m going to put myself through all of this,” I explained. “Besides, they aren’t going to participate in our plan if they don’t know or trust us.”

“That makes sense.”

“Also, do you know if Emmanuel’s men kidnapped anyone else from Gospel Gateway?”

“I believe one or two others were brought over.”

“Can I go to the basement and see if anyone is still there?”

“Yes, the area is easily accessible, but I should come with you. I can stand watch and ensure that your visit goes unnoticed.”

“That would be great,” I said appreciatively. “Is it alright if we go down after I’m done eating?”

“That’s fine. We should also devise a reason for you visiting them in case we run into Emmanuel or anyone else from the coven.”

“I don’t think we need much of a story. We’ll just tell the truth — that I wanted to see my friends and that talking to the slaves helped me make my decision to become a vampire.”

“Who knew the truth could be so useful,” he joked with a distractingly dazzling grin.

“Who knew,” I echoed, turning my attention to my breakfast as the oatmeal’s sweet scent wafted up from the tray again and made my stomach growl. “I should dig in before this gets cold.”

“Of course. Let me know when you’ve finished eating. I’ll escort you downstairs as soon as you’re done.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Augustus returned to his room, leaving me both relieved and disappointed by his exit. I sat down to eat my extremely late breakfast and blessed my food before digging in.

I
really
need to get it together. If I was in the real world, I never would have touched Augustus. Vampire, dhampir, or human, I’m still a Christian and he’s not. I should only be involved with someone who is a believer in name
and
practice — not someone whose best assets are his looks and kissing ability. I mean, his personality isn’t bad, but that’s beside the point. He is not an option, and I shouldn’t
want
him to be one. What in the world is wrong with me?

Rather than continuing to beat myself up, I decided to give myself a much-needed dose of truth courtesy of Paul. I went to the table of contents in the ebook Augustus had given me and clicked over to his letters to the Corinthians. Thankfully, it wasn’t hard for me to find some inspiration.

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15)

While I wasn’t looking to marry, date, or even have a physical relationship with Augustus, I needed to remind myself that I didn’t need to get cozy with him or have him around once I settled down in my new, nocturnal life. Yes, he was going to turn me into a vampire, but that didn’t mean that I had to hang out with him or let him be an integral part of my life … especially since our incredibly unwise kiss had opened my eyes and awakened an attraction that should have stayed asleep. Augustus would change me, we would leave the island, and we would part ways as soon as he taught me the ropes about being a vampire. Once he was gone, I wouldn’t reach out to him unless initiating contact was absolutely necessary.

The struggle is
so
real.

After finishing my reading, I rinsed out my bowl in the bathroom sink, downed the last of my juice, and walked into Augustus’ room.

“Are you ready,” he asked.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Augustus and I stepped into the hallway and walked downstairs to the first floor. We made our way through the coven house’s immaculate splendor to the basement door and descended into the dingy, clinically white corridor. When my eyes immediately fell upon the locks that adorned each door, my spirits sank.

“Crap. I forgot that the doors were locked.”

“That’s alright because I didn’t,” Augustus said, pulling a ring of keys from his pocket. “There is a list of the captives’ names at the other end of the hallway. You can look through that and decide which cell to start with. I’ll stay here and listen for anyone who may approach.”

“Great. Thanks.”

Augustus handed me the keys and I headed down the hallway to the clipboard that was hanging from a pushpin on the wall. Once I had the clipboard, I scanned the sheet on top. The document, which someone had printed the night of my abduction, listed several people’s names and cell assignments. As I skimmed the list, two names grabbed my attention: Leah Johnson and Connor Davis.

Leah had been one of my roommates at Gospel Gateway and we served together occasionally at church. She was an outgoing but sweet girl who had gone through her fair share of tragedy and abuse before becoming a Christian a few years before I did. Considering her difficult past, I hated that she had to endure even more pain at the vampires’ cruel hands.

Though Connor had been a Christian his whole life, he had his own set of struggles to deal with. Pride, self-righteousness, and being judgmental served as the metaphorical thorns in his side. He frequently joked that he was the older brother in The Parable of the Prodigal Son whereas his best friend and cousin, James, was the title character. Despite his flaws, he was still firm in his beliefs and lived out his faith better than most people I knew. That faithfulness and his boyish charm was the reason I’d had a mild crush on him when I first started going to church, but I eventually came to see him as more of a brother than anything.

I scurried to Leah’s cell and nearly dropped the keys thanks to my shaking hands as I unlocked the door. Unfortunately, the vivacious blonde missionary wasn’t inside. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t help fearing that Emmanuel and his bloodthirsty thugs had killed her. Instead of following that depressing rabbit trail, I said a brief prayer and asked God to protect and comfort her wherever she was as I closed the door with a heavy heart and darted to Connor’s cell.

When I opened his door, a combination of elation, pity, and horror came over me. My former crush sat in the farthest corner from the door with his head resting on his scraped knees. The room smelled like a public restroom that had missed about fifty cleanings and dried blood stained the walls and floor. I pushed my disgust aside and knelt by my friend, gently placing a hand on his bruised, crossed arms.

Connor tensed and flinched at my touch before lifting his head and letting me see the dark circles under his angst-ridden hazel eyes, which were as bruised as his lightly tanned throat and bare torso. Before I could say a word, he pulled me in for a hug and sobbed on my shoulder. Rather than trying to comfort him with words, I simply held my friend and allowed myself to weep with him. I didn’t know what he’d been through, but I didn’t need to hear the gruesome details to know that he was in unimaginable pain. After several heartbreaking minutes, Connor’s tears subsided and he pulled away, wiping his eyes as he struggled to pull himself together.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” he said. “The past two nights have been hell.”

“I can tell. What have they done to you?”

“Lisette took me upstairs to a room full of vampires two nights ago and sold me to the highest bidder like I was a piece of meat. A bloodsucker named Marie won the auction and dragged me up to her room right after she bought me. She told me that I was going to be her personal slave and explained exactly what that meant — acting like it was some sort of honor to be her little boy toy.”

I reached out to rub Connor’s back in an effort to console him, but he began to tremble and rocked back and forth slightly as he broke eye contact and described his encounter with Marie.

“Her eyes turned black and she lunged at me. When I tried to push her away, she overpowered me, bit me, and drank my blood. She stopped after a little while to finish her wine, so I grabbed the nearest lamp and used the strength I had left to bash her over the head with it.”

A smile briefly crossed my lips at the thought of my friend knocking one of the vampires for a loop. However, my joy didn’t last long. Connor had clearly paid a painful price for his act of defiance.

“I thought I’d be able to stun her long enough to make a run for it, but Marie turned around and threw me across the room like I was a freaking ragdoll. She grabbed me by the neck before I could even try to stand up and held me against the wall,” he continued. “The last thing I remember is her saying she would have a lot of fun breaking me and biting me again.”

“I’m sorry.”

Connor ignored my statement and pressed on.

“I woke up back down here yesterday and no one came by all day. Eventually, Marie showed up with a tray full of food for two people. She apologized for hurting me the night before and asked if she could have dinner with me. Since I had a hunch that it was the only food anyone would give me down here, I said yes and dug in. After we finished eating, she asked if I was happy that she fed me. When I said that I appreciated it, she said that I should return the favor. She bit me and I tried to fight her off again, but I couldn’t. I just felt so …
weak.”

My skin crawled and I could feel my neck and tensing and jaw clenching as my sympathy morphed into anger with a side of guilt. Listening to Connor’s account brought to light the fact that Marie had been abusing him in his cell while I was sitting at the dining room table like an honored albeit unenthusiastic guest. I’d known that there was nothing glamorous about what the humans endured on Emmanuel’s island, but I’d only had to look at vacant stares and drug-induced, broken-spirited obedience. Hearing how the vampires achieved that compliance made my blood boil and left me feeling disgusted.

“I’m so sorry,” I repeated, wishing I had something more poignant to say. “I hate that you had to go through that.”

“Me too,” he replied, hastily wiping away a newly spilt tear. “What are you even doing down here? I haven’t seen any other humans since the fire at Gospel Gateway.”

I bit my bottom lip while I tried to figure out whether or not Connor would react well to the truth.

There’s nothing loving about lying to a friend … especially about something this important,
I decided.

“Lisette escorted me upstairs my first night here too,” I said. “The coven leader, Emmanuel, introduced himself and a member of The Vampire League, Augustus. He told me that I’m half-vampire and that I have to choose either to live here as a mortal slave or to become a vampire and be free.”

“What? How can you be half-vampire?”

“Apparently the man who raised me wasn’t my biological father. I don’t know the details … and I’m not sure if I want to. I didn’t fully believe it until Augustus proved that I was one,” I answered. “Emmanuel has given me three nights to make my decision and Augustus volunteered to be my babysitter while I decide.”

“You didn’t say no?”

“I was going to, but something told me not to dismiss his offer right away. Once Augustus walked me to my room, he told me that I can help free the humans and kill the rest of the vampires if I fulfill a prophecy.”