Then I addressed the Elder directly. Why do you want me apart from Derek? I thought you wanted him as protection?
There may come a time when he will prove to be useful. But in the meantime, he’s just an obstacle. And so are your other friends. We can’t have anyone hampering our freedom of movement or monitoring you during the night, he replied to me silently.
Once the group had finished greeting me, Aiden said, “All right, guys, Sofia needs some rest. No doubt you’ll have time to catch up later once she’s feeling better.”
Derek’s hand found the small of my back as he walked on one side of me, with Aiden on the other. We made for the elevator and Aiden punched in the button for the top floor of the building. Once the door opened, we took a right turn and headed toward the very end of the long corridor. Despite staying at Headquarters for weeks at a time in the past, I’d never been to this part of the building before. We stopped in front of door number 721. Aiden pulled down on the handle and led us inside.
“Here you go, darling,” Aiden said. “I hope everything is to your liking. This is one of the quietest apartments we have in Hawk Headquarters. Nobody will disturb you here.”
I looked around the place briefly; there was a double bedroom with en suite bathroom, a kitchen area and a cozy sitting room. These living quarters were small compared to others that I’d seen in the building, but all the Elder cared about was its location.
“And where are your and Derek’s apartments?” I asked Aiden.
“If you need me, I’m currently in room number 120 and Derek is number 219. Vivienne and your other friends are occupying rooms 340 to 346, in case you want to visit any of them. Don’t worry, I’ll write all this down on a piece of paper so you don’t forget. And, of course, I’ll be leaving you with the direct landline codes so you can call us whenever you want.”
My father scribbled some numbers on a scrap of paper, which he slipped into a drawer. Then he pulled a phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. “Sarah, bring some goat blood up to room 721 as soon as you can.” He hung up and looked at me again, pulling out two keys from his pocket and handing them to me. “Here’s the key you should use whenever you leave the room. It locks the door from the outside. And this key you should use if you want to lock the door from the inside. Having two makes for better security. I’ll put them in this drawer here. Okay, darling?”
I nodded and thanked him politely once again. But Aiden hadn’t yet finished.
“Also, I’ll leave you a spare key to my office as well as to my own apartment, so if you feel like it, you can go and hang around in either place in case I’m not there. And here’s a spare key to Derek’s apartment… So you’ve got plenty of places you can go to relax. I just need you to avoid all the main communal areas like the reception and training rooms.”
Derek had remained silent the whole time. But his intense gaze bored into me. I didn’t believe for a moment that he wouldn’t still keep tabs on me.
“Okay, that’s all clear,” I heard myself say. “I’d like to be alone now. Please give me at least five days. I’ll come find you when I’m ready.” I walked to the door and held it open for them. “Thank you both for understanding.”
Aiden walked out first, followed by Derek. I had almost closed the door when Derek’s hand appeared through the crack. He pushed the door ajar just enough so that his face was visible.
“I’m going to find you again, Sofia.” His look of determination sent chills running through me. Then he pulled the door shut and his footsteps disappeared down the hallway.
I just hope that it won’t be too late, Derek.
I meandered over to the large French windows and opened them, sticking my head out and taking in the surroundings. Looking down at the ground made me feel nauseous. I doubted that even a vampire would survive that fall. The vineyards surrounding Headquarters stretched out for miles and, in the far distance, a towering wall enclosed the whole area.
Someone knocked at the door. I looked through the peephole before opening it. A middle-aged blonde hunter was standing outside, holding a large glass jug filled with blood.
“Here you go, dear,” she said as I opened the door. “You should keep that in the fridge so it doesn’t go stale.”
I took the jug from her without even saying thank you and she left. I pried the lid off and drank directly from the container, blood spilling down the sides of my mouth. It tasted unbearably sour and I realized why vampires hated animal blood. Despite the taste, the Elder made me drink half of it in one go before placing it on a shelf in the fridge. I guessed that it wanted to make sure its vessel was nourished.
Now what? I asked in my head, as my body stretched itself out on the king-sized bed.
We wait until dark, the Elder replied.
Chapter 17: Sofia
As each hour brought us closer to nightfall, I became more and more nervous about what the Elder was planning. I hoped more than anything that Derek wouldn’t get in our way. I didn’t know what the Elder would make me do to him should Derek obstruct its plans.
Once the clock had struck two am, I opened the drawer of my dressing table and took out the keys Aiden had left for me, save for those to the personal apartments of Derek and Aiden. I put them into my pocket and then headed for the front door. The doorknob didn’t budge. I shook it, but it didn’t move.
Your husband’s doing, no doubt. He thought that sneaking back to lock you in at night would stop you roaming about. Never mind, there are other ways out of this room.
Dread filled me as we approached the large windows.
Have you lost your mind? I screamed at the Elder.
My parasite ignored me and drew open one of the windows. The sky was clear and a cool wind blew into the room. The full moon shone down over the landscape.
I found myself lifting one foot and placing it on the windowsill before hoisting my body up so that I was now inches away from a deadly fall. I braced myself as I anticipated the jump. I gripped the sides of the window frame and swung my legs out so that they now dangled down the side of the building. But, to my relief, instead of flinging myself to the ground, I lowered myself until my feet hit a metal pipe sticking out of the brick wall. I balanced precariously as my hands let go of the window. My heart raced as I wobbled, my bare feet almost losing my grip on the pipe.
Great move, monkey man. Christ. There’s nothing else here I can grip on to…
With one powerful leap, I hurled myself sideways, toward the ledge of an adjacent window. But my hands slipped off the sill and I hurtled downward in a free fall. Just as I was bracing myself, my arms hit something and the next thing I knew, I was hanging from another metal pipe. I looked wildly around me. Just beneath my feet was another window that had been left ajar. My feet knocked against it and pushed it open. Then I swung my body through it and landed on my feet at the end of a quiet hallway.
I was still dizzy with shock and the last thing I wanted to do was race forward. But that was exactly what I found myself doing. I ran past countless doors and down dozens of staircases. I had no idea where the Elder was taking me. At one point I wondered whether he even had a destination in mind; he seemed to be taking me on a tour of the entire main building. But eventually we took a sharp left turn and ended up standing right outside Aiden’s office. I entered the empty room.
I knelt on the floor and started rummaging through drawers and cupboards filled with documents. Noticing a key at the bottom of one of the cabinets, my hand reached down and put it into my pocket.
At least another hour passed by, and the Elder was still searching. Finally, as I got to work on the only drawers we hadn’t touched, I uncovered a piece of yellowing paper with a map printed on it. A map of Headquarters. I hovered a finger over it for a couple of minutes before the Elder hissed in frustration.
This is not the map.
I tidied up all the papers and closed the drawers and cupboards until the room appeared to be back to its original state. Then I retreated out o
f the room and into the hallway, locking the door behind me.
I ran along half a dozen more corridors until I reached the reception area. Two male hunters sat on night duty behind the large desk. I approached them and my face split into a smile. I had never seen these men before, so I assumed that they were new and therefore didn’t recognize me as Aiden’s daughter. The lighting of the room was also dim, so it was possible that they hadn’t even yet noticed that I was a vampire.
“Oh, don’t mind me,” I said to them. “I’ve just got insomnia so I’m having a bit of a walkabout. I wondered if you had a spare guest map and a phone sheet you could give me?”
One of them nodded and reached beneath his desk for two sheets of paper.
“Oh, and I’m just curious where the boss stays… you know, Arron?” I asked.
“Arron is in the detached building ‘H’, right at the bottom of the fields where the woods begin.” The hunter picked up a pen and drew a black mark against the location for me. “But knowing that won’t do you any good.” He peered at me through his glasses. “Arron is an extremely busy man and when he does permit meetings, it’s by appointment. His assistant’s number is on the phone sheet.”
“Oh, that’s fine. Thank you.”
I stuffed both pieces of paper into my pocket and walked away.
Arron… Why does the Elder want to seek out Arron?
It seemed that I wasn’t about to get an answer as my legs headed back to my apartment. Thankfully, I’d packed the key to the exterior lock with me so we weren’t forced to experiment any further with the Elder’s skills as a gymnast.
On entering the apartment, I retrieved the map and the phone sheet from my pocket, unfolded them carefully, and placed them on the table next to the phone.
Now we wait once again, the Elder said.
Chapter 18: Sofia
Despite having fallen into a deep slumber after the night’s escapades, I woke up feeling as if I hadn’t slept at all. I looked at the alarm clock on my bedside: eleven am. As I turned in bed, I became aware of the ache that had returned to my muscles and joints. Realizing that the Elder had given me temporary control back over my movements, I took the opportunity to visit the bathroom and examine myself in front of the mirror.
My eyelids drooped. I tried to hold them wide open but they remained the same. Dark circles had developed under my eyes and my skin felt dehydrated. I splashed cold water on my face and grabbed some moisturizer from the cabinet, slathering it over myself.
Then sharp pangs in my stomach began to call on my attention and I walked to the fridge. Despite its taste, I chugged down the remainder of the animal blood. I was ravenous. I was about to attempt to call Aiden for more when a knock came at the door. Instantly, the Elder took back control and walked me to open it. There stood Claudia, carrying two more large jugs of blood on a tray.
“Good morning.” She smiled faintly before walking past me and putting the containers into my fridge. “I told Aiden I’d bring the blood to you.” She walked toward me and grabbed hold of my shoulders. “I need to know what happened to Yuri.” Her brown eyes blazed into mine.
“He didn’t make it,” my voice said. “His body was spoiled by the Elders. They made him fight to death with another vampire.”
Claudia took in a sharp breath as though a hunter’s bullet had just shot through her gut. Her eyes became unfocussed and her jaw fell open. Her knees buckled and she crumbled to the ground in a heap. I didn’t help her. I just stood there, peering down at her now trembling form. The slight quivering in my own body didn’t escape my notice, however.
I didn’t know whether the Elder had deliberately told a lie just to get a thrill out of Claudia’s reaction, or whether Yuri had indeed expired since I’d last seen him. Either way, my words had just ripped the blonde vampire apart.
I wanted to scoop the poor girl into my arms and hold her as I had done with Ashley. Instead, I walked over to the bedside table, picked up the phone sheet, and dialed the number to the emergency room.
“Hello, I’m calling from Room 721. There’s someone here who needs your urgent assistance,” I said, without even a hint of emotion in my voice.
“I’ll send someone right over,” a woman replied.
Urgent assistance. What Claudia needs is a friend’s shoulder to cry on. Not someone prodding her on a sickbed.
A few minutes later, a nurse knocked on the door. She helped Claudia to her feet and guided her out of the room. I screamed at the Elder within my head for an explanation, but all I got in response was stony silence.
Barely ten minutes had passed since they’d left when the Elder decided to make me leave the room myself. As we had done the night before, we ignored the elevators and headed straight for the staircases. We descended level after level until we arrived at the third floor. Then we walked along the corridor until we arrived outside of Room 340. I knocked loudly. Vivienne opened it.
“Sofia?” She looked surprised to see me. “Come in.” She opened the door wide and beckoned me inside.
“Oh, no. I don’t need to come in,” I said. “I don’t feel well, so I won’t stay long at all, but I just thought I ought to tell you… Xavier’s dead. His Elder used him up, then his body was thrown into a pit and ravaged by hounds.”
No. No. No.
Vivienne clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling a gasp. She closed her eyes and her face scrunched up as if someone had just cut off her tongue. Then she staggered back into her apartment and slammed the door shut. But I still heard her break down. And as with Claudia, it seemed that with each sob that racked her body, my own limbs quivered, as if in rhythm.
I felt like I was about to collapse, but it seemed that the Elder wasn’t yet finished with his fun.
Room 343.
Cameron emerged from the dark apartment. Like Vivienne, he displayed the same expression of mild shock upon seeing me.
“Sofia! How are you, my dear? You still look exhausted. Are you sure you should be wandering about? Do come in and have a seat.”
“No, Cameron. Thanks for the invitation, but I’m fine, really,” my voice said. “I just came to relay some news to you.” I braced myself for the grenade that I knew was about to shatter him to pieces. “Liana. She’s dead.”
“Wh-what? What did you say?”
“The Elders killed her.”
“No. It can’t be.” Cameron gripped the doorpost to steady himself, struggling to hold on to his denial.
“They possessed her for too long and made her weak. She was no longer of use to them so they drained her blood, then threw what was left of her into the sea for the sharks.”
Cameron let out a wild howl, but his own choking silenced it. Next thing I knew, he was vomiting all over the floor. His knees buckled beneath him and he fell to the marble with a thud, stretched out in the middle of his doorway.
I left him that way. Alone in his suffering. My body once again finding pleasure in his wails.
A low snicker echoed in my ears.
Now that we’ve passed the time a little, we must return once again and rest until night time. I don’t want to have to pay such a visit to your lover to inform him that you’ve expired… at least, not yet.
Chapter 19: Sofia
As soon as all traces of daylight had vanished, I picked up the phone and dialed Arron’s assistant.
“Hayden speaking,” a female voice said. “Please state your name and how I can help.”
“It’s Aiden here.”
The deep tone of my father’s voice filled the bedroom. It took me a few seconds to realize that Aiden had indeed not suddenly entered the room, and that the male voice had emanated from my own mouth.
“I need Arron to meet me at Room 59. Tell him it’s urgent.”
“Well, it’s getting late, but I’ll see if I can still get through to him. Hold the line, please.” She kept us waiting for only a few minutes before returning. “All right, he’ll be at Room 59 in about ten minutes.”
I hung
up and rushed to the front door.
Locked again from the outside. Your lover continues to be diligent about his nighttime duties.
Dread filled the pit of my stomach as I hoisted myself out of the window once again and balanced myself on the metal pipe directly beneath me. It was only by some fluke that I’d survived last night’s climb. Can lightning strike twice?
My body positioned itself to jump sideways toward the adjacent window. This time my hands latched onto the ledge and I didn’t have to endure the same stomach-flipping fall as last night. I jumped from ledge to ledge until I’d reached the very corner of the building where a thick drainage pipe was fixed. It ran all the way down to the ground. I hurled myself at the pipe and slid down until my feet hit the grass.
I had been expecting us to make our way back into the building through another open window. Instead, my legs launched me into a full sprint through the vineyards. When woods came into view, it dawned on me where we were headed. Arron’s residence. Building H looked nothing more than a small wooden cabin. Why Arron preferred to live in this tiny place as opposed to the comfortable apartments in the main building baffled me.
I withdrew from my pocket the key that we had found in my father’s office the night before. It fit the lock perfectly. I swung the door open and stepped inside. The cabin consisted of a single room. There was no bed. No kitchen facilities. Not even a toilet. Just one large room that was mostly bare save for the wooden desk in the corner and an array of cabinets. I flung myself toward the cupboards and, as I had done in Aiden’s office, began sifting through them.
The map must be in here, muttered the Elder.
Minutes passed by but we had still spotted no map. Just as I was starting to lose confidence that we would ever find this elusive piece of paper, my hands brushed over a small metal box at the back of one of the cupboards. My eyes scanned the room and settled on a cluster of paperclips on Arron’s desk. I immediately bent one out of shape, stuck the end into the box’s key hole and set to work trying to pick it.