City of the Fallen (5 page)

She would wait until the morning to explore, when the vampires were sleeping.

The moon was shining in through the open drapes, bathing everything in a ghostly light. She turned on the lamp on the table next to the bed and then walked towards the wardrobe in the other end of the room. It was full of beautiful things: dresses, pants, blouses. Everything practical enough for everyday wear but still delicate and exquisite. She reached for a blouse. The soft silk slid through her fingers and her mind clicked back to the house and the people there.

A pang of guilt hit her as she took in the luxury around her --and she had to remind herself of the high price tag attached to everything. Still,
it didn’t make her feel much better. Maybe because she had enjoyed the kiss and that seemed like a betrayal.

A betrayal of herself, but also of the people back in the house. A betrayal of humanity.

She closed the closet door and only then saw the dark opening into another room. A bathroom—without a door. She hadn’t seen running water in years, so opening the tap and seeing the clear liquid flow out felt like heaven. The long bathtub was too tempting not to try, especially with the many bottles of what she imagined were shampoo and bath gels sitting nearby.

She took a quick look towards the front door, trying to decide if she really wanted to get naked in a room with no lock. With a deep breath, she undressed quickly, afraid she’d change her mind. She sat in the bathtub before even opening the tab so she could feel every drop of water sliding over her.

She had decided before getting to the compound that she would act like the perfect pet. She’d be quiet, submissive, obedient. She would do whatever she was told to do to convince the vampires that she wasn’t there to create trouble. Part of her had expected that to be a lot harder than it seemed to be so far. Since nobody had seen the inside of the compound before, all the rumors going around were just that—rumors. And like everybody else, she had expected to find something completely different than the place she was in right now.

She had expected dungeons, crowded cells with filthy humans living in deplorable conditions. She certainly hadn’t expected a private bedroom and a bathtub waiting for her.

She grabbed the liquid soap and took a deep breath. A fragrance of flowery fields and open skies assaulted her senses. Clean smells were a rarity in her new world. She poured the soap on a sponge and then on her skin.

And it was then she realized she hadn’t seen a single human being since stepping into the compound.

~*~

Concentrating on the meeting was proving harder than Marcus had expected. Every few minutes, his mind would drift away and focus on Isabelle. He wasn’t just curious; he was also on edge. His hunger was rising, roaring inside him. It had been a long time since he’d felt so unsatisfied, so eager to feed that it was almost painful. His body was aching to taste her, to feel her under him.

It just wasn’t going to happen that night.

The night before, there had been an attack on the compound. Or, rather, an attempt at infiltration. His guards had caught a rogue vampire jumping over the walls and into the complex. He had looked famished and crazed and Marcus had known immediately he was suffering from the
void
.

Marcus had first seen it a couple of centuries before, in Eastern Europe. The sixteenth century had not been the best for his kind. Vampire hunters were everywhere and towns had imposed early curfews that kept people indoors during the hours of darkness, making it difficult for vampires to find easy prey.

Although many had found ways around it—hunting for prostitutes or vagrants—others had gone hungry. The void took over towns silently but swiftly. As vampires got hungrier, they became more erratic, more violent, less careful. They went anywhere they smelled human blood, no matter the danger involved—just like the rogue vampire who had tried to get into the compound, searching for food.

Marcus had escaped Europe just in time before the big massacre. Vampires were wiped out clean in a matter of weeks, mostly by burning down entire towns and killing everybody suspected of being a vampire—even if they turned out not to be one.

Then something amazing had happened. Over the following few centuries, humans had convinced themselves that vampires weren’t real. Quite systematically, they had erased every single detail of the vampire existence from their memory. They simply convinced themselves that it had never happened. Tales of vampires surfaced here and there, mostly in the form of fiction, but it was never taken seriously again. It had given his kind a second chance.

Until last night, when he had come face to face with the void again. It was a sign of how close they all were to becoming desperate. Always just a few meals away from becoming nothing more than animals.

Jaco
, the guard who had caught the rogue vampire, was speaking.

“We need to put more guards on the walls, Your Majesty.”

Marcus nodded and took a quick look at the walls beyond the window on his right. All walls were at least fifteen feet tall. Too easy for a determined vampire to breach.

“How many?” he asked.

Jaco
looked at Miles. “We were thinking at least twice the number we have now.”

“Fine. What about the humans?”

“I think we should still keep them away from the outer courtyards. If a rogue happens to make it over a wall, they won’t find anybody wandering around.”

Miles stepped forward.

“My Lord, the woman…”Every cell in Marcus’ body woke up at her mention and his hunger returned with a fury. He turned his gaze towards Miles and his eyes must have screamed “careful” because Miles hesitated for a second.

“Do you want a guard on her?” he said, and Marcus suspected those weren’t the words he had intended to say.

A guard. He hadn’t told anybody, not even Miles, about Isabelle’s immunity to charming—but Miles obviously felt something was amiss, especially given Marcus’ sudden interest in taking a pet.

He could appreciate Miles’ concern. Miles had been by his side for centuries and they understood each other perfectly. Once upon a time, back in Europe, Miles had saved his life from the hunters. When it came time to flee to America and plan the invasion, he had made sure Miles stayed by his side. Plus, nobody was better than Miles at keeping the compound safe. He had the know-how, but he also had the intuition. A trained warrior with the refined abilities of a vampire.

Marcus stood up and walked towards the window. He could see her bedroom from here, but not her. He wished he could will her to the window so he could catch a glimpse of her curves.

“Not yet,” he told Miles without turning around. And then the fangs pushed against his gums, claiming to get out. “Give me one night with her first.”

He faced away from the window and looked at
Jaco
. “Get the guards organized for tomorrow. And Miles, get a convoy ready. I want them to go out to look for Patrick.”

Miles nodded, a world of questions in his eyes.

“I have a feeling he’s planning something big.”

The feeling of warmth stretching over her face woke her up. She opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the brightness. The sun was up, dazzling and strong. The window was open and the air rushing in had a crackly, comforting smell that confused her. The smell of open air, of windows without sealed shutters.

When something popped on the other side of the room, she jumped awake. A fire was slowly dying in the fireplace. There had been no fire when she had gone to bed last night, so somebody had slipped in while she was sleeping and got it going.

A slow sense of panic stirred in the pit of her stomach, making her feel nauseous. Things only got worse as she got up and realized her old clothes were gone. She had taken everything off except a tank top and underwear before going to bed. Now her jeans and jacket, which she had placed on top of a nearby dresser, were no longer there.

She hadn’t exactly been expecting privacy or a knock on the door, but she still felt invaded. More than anything, she felt panic at the thought of vampires being so quiet that they could waltz in and out of the room without her even hearing them.

She swallowed hard and only then noticed the lump that had formed in her throat. The last thing she needed was to get paralyzed by fear. It was daylight and she was wasting precious minutes.

She picked some pants, boots and a form-fitting sweater from the closet. Whoever had lived in this room before her had been of similar size and height, because everything fit her almost perfectly. Maybe the king liked a certain kind of woman.

The memory of his lips locked on hers sent her heart into another frenzied dance.

“Damn it,” she cursed in a whisper, then shook her head. She needed to concentrate. She also needed food. Her stomach had been growling in protest since the moment she opened her eyes.

Her fingers were trembling with anticipation as she reached for the door’s handle, but when she finally opened it, the only thing she found was a deserted courtyard. Walls surrounded the space on three sides, with the massive building closing in on the remaining side. There was a small gate on the opposite wall, and she guessed it led to another inside courtyard. It was a confusing layout and the first thing she needed to do was figure out how big the place was and how far away the exit was.

She stepped into the sun and then turned around to observe the building where her bedroom was. It looked plain but sturdy from the outside, more resembling of a fortress than a place for comfort. The walls appeared to be a mix of stone and brick with a layer of grayish paint on top. Built to last, not to impress, and a far cry from the fanciness of the chandeliers in the king’s meeting room.

She crossed the courtyard and reached for the gate, expecting it to be locked. Just like her bedroom’s door, it wasn’t, even though there was a locking mechanism on it. Either the vampires were very trusting or they had no reason to fear anything or anybody.

A larger courtyard extended on the other side of the gate, similar in format but much more open. She was beginning to think the place was designed like a honeycomb: lots of smaller spaces next to each other, each serving its own purpose and holding a certain number of residents or buildings. Somehow she had been expecting huge open spaces of land with a single tall wall around it—but this was nothing like it.

And then she saw it. Movement, on the far wall, under a long covered corridor. Her heart constricted for a second, then she took off on that direction, nearly running.

A woman about her age was strolling down in the shade. Strolling. Isabelle hadn’t seen anybody walk in such a relaxed way for as long as she could remember. Her own walks in the daylight were often half-runs, rushing from one place to the next, trying to cover as much territory as possible before the daylight wore off.

The blonde woman looked directly her way when she heard her steps. Then smiled. A friendly, relaxed smile.

“Hey. I guess you’re new.”

It was all so casual and relaxed that Isabelle wasn’t sure what to say. She had been expecting fear, desperation, people half-malnourished and weak.