Chapter Thirteen

ELEIRA

Raul brings me and April past the edge of the village to the mouth of a small cave. Our whole walk there I kept my eyes open, cataloguing everything I saw and planting the layout of the place into my memory.

I’ll need to know where to go when I try to escape.

The cave entrance is deceptive of its interior. As we walk into the mountain, the cavern opens up to many times its size. There are torches lining the walls. Raul grabs one near the entrance and shoves it into my hands without a word.

I’m amazed how well he manages in the darkness. The fire casts only the smallest halo of light, and he is far on the outer edge of it.

As we walk, I try again and again to catch April’s eyes. She, however, is completely unresponsive.

After a long time walking I hear the sound of running water. It gets louder and louder the deeper we go. The tunnel twists, then opens, and I hear the roar of a great underground river from in front of us.

I also see a line of cell doors carved into the sides.

Raul strolls up to one and opens it. He looks at us in expectation. For the second time tonight, I think his eyes somehow shine in the dark. But the illusion only lasts for a second before fading.

“Your new home,” he says. “For now.”

I look around for an escape, but I know if I run he’ll be on me in a second. There’s no way I could navigate the underground passages on my own.

So — tired, hungry, and resigned — I go into the prison cell, trailed by April.

She shoots one spiteful glare at me as she walks by and then returns to her regular docile demeanor.

Raul closes and locks the door. The clang of the metal bars shutting echoes through the space.

He turns to leave.

“Wait!” I call out. “Do you just mean to leave us here? What about food? What about water?”

“Those will be provided to you soon enough,” he says.

“How long are you going to leave us here?” I demand. “Raul! Raul!”

But he has already walked away.

Not long after his footsteps fade, a snicker comes from behind me.

I turn and discover April staring daggers at me.

“Well done,” she says sardonically. “Really, very spectacular. ‘Don’t hurt her!’” she mocks.

Suddenly I’m angry. “What’s with the attitude?” I demand. “Is that the thanks I get for saving your life?”

“Save my life?” She bursts out laughing. Then, just as quickly, she cuts off. “Sweetie, all you did was condemn me to a living hell.”

“Whatever,” I mutter. I grip the metal bars and try shaking them to see if they’ll give.

“Don’t bother,” she tells me. “You’re not getting out until they decide to release us.”

I give the bars one more shake and realize she’s right.

“Besides,” she continues casually. She folds her legs and slides down to sit on the floor. “You don’t want to be out there tonight. You’re safest behind bars.”

I shake my head. “Safe from what?”

“My, you really don’t know anything, do you?” she says. There’s a trace of pity in her voice. “There’s a full moon tonight.”

I wait for her to expand on that explanation, but she says nothing else. “So?” I ask finally.

“So?” she sounds incredulous. “So, it’s the night our masters are most consumed by…” she pauses for a dramatic moment, “…the bloodlust.”

My head jerks to her. “What?”

“You were wondering why you didn’t see anyone else,” she says. She gives a little laugh. “Why there weren’t any other humans out and about? Don’t worry about how I know. It’s the same with all new sacrifices.”

A shiver creeps down my spine. “Sacrifices?”

“Oh, yeah,” she says casually. “They bring girls like you to us every few weeks. Usually when there’s a… shortage.”

I turn to her. “A shortage? A shortage of what?”

“Blood. Duh!” She shrugs. “Whatever. You’ll figure it all out before long.”

Is everyone here crazy? “Why did you just give yourself to him like that? You didn’t fight back or anything.”

She snorts. “As if any of us can fight back against them. Look. I’ll do you a favor.” She stands up and walks to me. “I don’t know how long you intend to survive. But here’s a hint; it’s not up to you. Not at all. I was like you once. I came from the Outside. And I —” she stops. A frown forms on her face. “I…”

“Yes?” I ask. “You what?”

“I —” April holds a hand to her forehead. She closes her eyes and shakes her head. “I —”

Alarm sweeps through me. “Are you okay?” I ask.

“Fine,” she says roughly.

“What were you saying?”

“I… I can’t.” She shakes her head once more. “The… I…”

Then her eyes open, and there’s an absolute vacant look in them.

Without another word she simply folds down and sits cross-legged on the ground.

I run up to her despite my better judgment. I put a hand on her shoulder. “April?”

She looks at me with big, empty eyes. “Yes,” she says. “That’s my name.” She cocks her head to one side. “I’m April. Who are you?”

“My name’s Eleira,” I say.

“That’s a pretty name.” She smiles. “I like it.”

I look at her in concern. The inflection of her voice is totally different from before. She sounds like a child.

“You were saying something about the Outside?” I ask.

She gasps. “Oh no,” she says. “No, no, no, no.” She brings her knees to her chest and starts to rock back and forth. “Not about that. We mustn’t speak about that. No. No. Never.”

My body tenses. She sounds as if she’s been brainwashed, or like a switch has been flipped, and reduced her into some primordial state.

But I can’t just let the subject go.

“Why?” I ask her. “What’s wrong with speaking about that?”

“It’s… forbidden,” she says. Her voice is a ghost of its former self. “I’m sorry, I can’t, I…” She lies down. “I’m so tired. So very tired. I need to sleep.”

She closes her eyes. Before I can say another word, she’s completely out.

I draw away. A sense of dread and fear and apprehension consume me.

What’s been done to me? I shiver. Is that also my fate?

***

More time passes. I spend it alone with my own thoughts. They go down devious paths. April doesn’t stir. About an hour in, maybe more, maybe less, the sound of slow, trudging footsteps reaches my ears.

I crawl to the bars and try to see past them. The sound is coming from deep in the caves. A few minutes later, an old woman wrapped in a dirty shawl appears from the darkness.

She’s carrying a bucket in one hand and a cloth bag in the other. She approaches my cell. Without a word she sets the bucket down, about five feet away from the bars.

Then she reaches into the bag and takes out a loaf of bread.

My mouth waters.

She doesn’t look at me as she dips the loaf in the bucket. It comes out coated in a white, milky substance.

She takes a few steps forward and wordlessly puts it on the ground, just out of my reach.

Then she turns around and walks away.

“Wait!” I say. “Please, wait!”

She moves on as if never having heard me.

I stick an arm through the cage and try to reach the loaf. My fingers almost brush against the surface. I contort myself lower and try to squeeze my shoulder through. I reach and strain and try to get it.

But all I manage is to push it farther away. A soft laugh comes from behind me. “Don’t bother. It’s just there to tempt you.”

I look over. April is up. The vacancy is gone from her eyes. She sounds like the girl I first met.

“It’s food,” I say. “And I’m starving.” I look around our cell. My eyes fall on the torch. “Quick. Give me that!”

“Ugh.” She rolls her eyes. “That’s not a good idea.”

I mutter something unpleasant under my breath and retrieve the torch myself. I lift it from its place on the wall. I start waving it around to put the fire out, but then realize if I do, we’d be bathed in total darkness.

So instead I go back to the gate and stick it through, fire and all. I use it to nudge the loaf closer. A spark of excitement lights inside me as it skids within reach.

I grab it and quickly rip it in two. I offer one half to April.

She shakes her head. “No thanks.”

“Suit yourself.” I’m just about to put it into my mouth when another thought hits me. “Is it poisoned?”

“Hah!” she laughs. “No. If they wanted you dead they have other ways of doing it.”

I’m not completely assured by her words. I sniff the piece in my hand. “What’s this white stuff?”

She shrugs. “Probably goat’s milk.”

“Spoiled?”

“Does it smell spoiled?”

“No.”

“Then no.” She sees me still hesitate. She exhales, and takes the free half. She bites into it, chews, and swallows.

“See?” she says. “It’s safe.”

A ravenous hunger takes me. I wolf my half down. April hands me hers, and I have that as well.

“So,” I say when I’m done. “Are we on speaking terms now? Can you tell me what this place is?”

“You know what it is,” she tells me. “You’re in The Haven. These —” she gestures grandly around her, “— are The Catacombs. It’s where they keep the humans when we can’t be above ground.”

“You keep saying ‘they.’ You call them the masters,” I shudder. “Why?”

“That’s who they are. They rule this place. If you stay quiet and meek, you might survive. But,” she gives a bitter laugh, “you’ve ruined all chances of that for me.”

“How?” I say. “By protecting you?” My annoyance with her is growing. “I stopped Raul from killing you!”

“He wouldn’t have killed me!” she exclaims. “They don’t kill anybody, except on a night like tonight.”

As if on cue, distant screams come from far away.

I spin to the entrance. “What was that?”

She smiles at me softly. “The sounds of the sacrifices, taken out of their pens.” She gives me a hard look. “You better get used to it.” She settles down. “It’s going to be going on for hours.”