CHAPTER 2
Isabel stayed over at the mansion. It took a lot of guts, but she knew she couldn’t be away from the prisoners for too long. There were too many of them, even though they were locked up tight. The succubi took nightly shifts to make sure the vampires couldn’t find their way out and by the end of the night, they were all passed out. A hand on her shoulder woke Isabel. “What, what’s going on?” she flinched, blinking repeatedly as the room swam in and out of focus. “Oz?”
“Hey,” he said, sitting down next to her. She had fallen asleep on a couch outside, right next to the trapdoor. She looked up and saw Oz’s face, and the truth was, she had never felt so relieved. He always had this way of making her feel safe; she didn’t know what she would do without him. Even last night, when she felt her most powerful, she knew she still needed him by her side. He had slept over next to her, as had Presten, and in a way, Isabel had never felt safer. But she still needed to know what Presten’s deal was; until now, she only knew a little about him. If they were going to work together, then she needed to find out more. That would have to wait until later.
“Hey,” she said finally, stroking Oz’s face with the back of her hand. “How are you feeling?”
“Like shit,” he said, his lips curving to a smile. That smile she adored. She knew the real Oz when she saw him.
“Come here,” Isabel said, getting up and motioning for him to sit down at her feet. He gave his back to her and she ran her hands along his neck and slid them down to his chest, massaging them as she moved downwards. “I think you just need to relax, this’ll all be over soon.”
“Oh, it’s just begun,” Oz said, closing his eyes.
“Are you always this pessimistic?” Isabel asked, rolling her eyes.
“I’m just being realistic… you’ve got tens of vampires trapped in there, Isabel, and the vampire council doesn’t even know it yet. Do you realize how dangerous this is?”
“I do,” Isabel said, her voice trailing off. “But what were we supposed to do? At least now we’ve got them all in one place and we can control them to keep their mouths shut.”
“They’re too many to control,” Oz said. “We don’t have much time: they’ll break out eventually.”
Oz always made Isabel nervous. She knew he’s been around for way longer than she had and she felt powerless around him sometimes. “I think we should hold a meeting, all of us,” she said after a long pause.
“I was going to propose that we do that,” Oz said, grabbing Isabel’s hand and squeezing it. “We need to call Ava and Presten, now.”
“We’re right here,” Ava said, coming down the stairs. She looked surprisingly cheery for a girl who had been battling vampires the night before.
“Good morning,” Isabel said, motioning for Ava to come sit down. “Hey, Presten.”
“Hey, I overheard you talking about holding a meeting,” he said, sitting down next to Ava. “I stayed up all night thinking. I might be onto something.” There was a pause. “We need to get some information out of our guests’ downstairs in that cellar,” he said, raising an eyebrow at Isabel.
“Think we should torture them?” she asked. Do you hear yourself? Suddenly Isabel didn’t feel like herself anymore: since when was she that kind of person? Had being a supernatural being caused her to turn into a monster? She shook her head and looked straight ahead, trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone else.
“Yes,” Oz said solemnly. “We need to try and get them to confess to what’s happening,” he continued.
“Vampires usually don’t respond well to UV light,” Ava said, brushing the hair off her forehead. “We can use that to get them to talk.”
Isabel nodded, but deep down, she hated the monster she had become. It was true those vampires would probably eat her alive given the chance, but she hated the way she tended to resort to the most violent action to protect herself. “So, we’re going to extract information about the council?” Isabel asked, her eyes darting from Ava, to Oz, and then to Ava again. All three of them nodded collectively.
“We’re holding them hostages. The council’s going to find out sooner or later,” Ava said coldly. “We’re going to need to try and get them to talk before the council sends out a rescue mission to find them.”
Isabel nodded and looked away. She found herself in deep contemplation about her life again. Has she always been this aggressive as a person? Or were supernatural creatures different? Isabel thought she knew the answer to that. The movies were right about one thing; vampires were scary. She would be more than happy to demolish them, although she had no idea if their plan was foolproof. At that point, she just knew they had to move forward if they wanted to accomplish anything. “Alright, I think we should go check on the hostages now,” she said after a long pause.
All four of them rose to their feet and made a beeline for the trapdoor. It was oddly still, and it stayed that way throughout the entire night. Isabel had almost slept with one eye open; she had no idea if the vampires would try to escape. After all, there were so many of them down there; a collective effort on their part would’ve been disastrous. “I’m so fucking apprehensive,” Ava said, clenching her jaw. “What if they’re plotting something down there?”
“If we think like that, we’re screwed,” Presten said, glaring at Ava. “Oz, open up the trapdoor, why don’t you?”
Oz pulled the trapdoor open forcibly, all four of them climbing down to the cellar. “Wait, let me go first,” he said, motioning for Isabel to stay away. She wondered whether he still cared about her like she did about him, and deep down, she knew he did. Oz landed on his feet in the cellar. His nose crinkled at the smell, which must have resulted from the vampires being in there for so long without having a bathroom. Oz’s eyes darted from one ashen face to the other, and it was only then that he realized trying to question these fallen creatures was a lost cause. “Hey, check this out,” he said. The others landed on their feet next to him, their faces drooping to a scowl as soon as they caught the stench that was slowly diffusing to the top floor.
“That’s nasty,” Isabel said, her wrinkling her nose. She spotted Gavin in the corner. He looked just as tired as the rest of them. Asleep on his back, his wings were spread out to his sides. Isabel caught a glimpse of his chest slowly rising and falling and she breathed a sigh of relief. He was still alive. The fact that she felt such relief, though, made her question everything; it scared her shitless. Did she still care about Gavin? If he belonged to the enemy, then why should she care if he lived or died? The thoughts were driving her crazy, but right now, she knew she had to stay focused. “I don’t think we can question them right now,” she murmured to the others, watching as the vampires winced at the soft rays of light coming in through the trapdoor. “We’re just making them weaker… we can’t kill them, that’s not what we want. We want information.”
“You’re right,” Presten said, nodding. “I think we need to get them fed— that is, if we want to get something out of them.”
“I’ll go get it,” Ava said. Isabel walked over to Gavin, not taking her eyes off him. Oh, how the times have changed, she thought to herself.
“I heard that,” Gavin said, opening his eyes. Isabel froze. “I can still read your memory, you know… I created you, remember?” Suddenly she felt her heart drop to her knees. Was she never going to get rid of him? Even at his weakest moment, Gavin was still menacing, still annoying. Now Isabel just wanted to see him dead, as cruel as that sounded. She pretended not to hear him, but he was persistent. “You’re never going to get rid of me,” he said, smiling slowly. He closed his eyes and froze in the same position as before, not caring to roll over. He had been lying on his back since the night before; his lips were chapped and his face was an ashen white. Isabel wondered how much longer he still had to live. She fetishized starving him to death; at that point, Gavin was just a menace, something that reminded her of how weak she was, how incompetent. But she couldn’t let him get to her. She couldn’t let him win. She stomped one foot against the floor and looked him in the eyes.
“I’m going to block you out, you won’t know how to get to me anymore,” she said, her jaw clenched. Gavin just stared at her and grimaced. “You look like you want to say something,” Isabel said, leaning in close to him. Gavin didn’t threaten her anymore, or at least, she was getting used to the idea that she was hundreds of times stronger than he was.
“I, I,” he breathed. The corners of his mouth looked as though they had been glued together and he was left mumbling words that even Isabel could not understand. He closed his eyes and stiffened back into his initial position. A smile settled over Isabel’s face; she was in control again.
“I’m back,” Ava said, her legs appearing through the trapdoor. She carried three trays of food, not nearly enough to suffice for the number of hostages trapped inside the cells. She walked over to Isabel, trying not to drop anything. “This should get ‘em talking,” she said, her lips curving to the contended maw of a wolf after feasting on a fallen elk. There was a sudden movement in the cells. It was like the vampires could smell the food and they flinched awake one by one, trying to sniff for anything to eat. They gawked at Ava hungrily, their eyes darting from her face, to the plates of food, and then to her face again. If she wasn’t mistaken, they looked like they were about to bite her face off.
“I think we’re going to need more food than just that if we’re going to feed them all,” Presten said matter-of-factly.
“I don’t see you moving,” Ava said bitterly. “The kitchen’s up there.”
Presten smiled to himself. “You’re a sassy one, aren’t you?” he muttered. “Isabel, would you like to come with me?”
“Sure,” she said, averting her gaze to Oz, who nodded at her. Presten hopped out of the basement first, reaching his hand back to Isabel so he could pull her out with him. “Do you know exactly where the kitchen is?” Isabel asked, staring somewhere over Presten’s shoulder. The place was totally unfamiliar to her, which, in some ways, she found to be extremely unsettling.
“Ava said it’s a few floors above,” Presten said. “I guess we’re going to have to find out.” They made their way up the stairs, which seemed to spiral forever. It was awfully quiet and Isabel thought something would jump out at them at any second. “So, I’ve been meaning to ask you… how old are you?” he asked, breaking the silence.
“Twenty-four,” Isabel said without giving it much thought.
“No, how old are you?” Presten asked, popping his neck forward.
“Oh,” Isabel said, her eyebrows furrowed. “In succubus years?” Presten nodded. “Around six months,” she smiled, brushing the hair out of her eyes.
“Me, too,” Presten said, tilting his head sideways. Their heels clicked against the hardwood floor, the silence of the halls even more smothering than before. Isabel opened her mouth to speak but no words came out; a familiar feeling was trickling through her, the feeling of hunger. This past week has been nothing but overwhelming for her and for the first time in days Isabel was able to bask in the silence. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to make conversation with Presten, but she was exhausted. “We’re both pretty new to this, I would say,” he said again, turning to look at her.
Isabel noticed his eyes. They were deep, electrifying, even, and for some reason she couldn’t stop staring at them. “I would say we are,” she said, holding his gaze for a second before she looked away. “How did you feel when you first found out?” she asked.
There was a pause. “I found it to be quite hilarious, to tell you the truth,” he said. “It was Rene, my maker, who told me. My first reaction was; I fuck two girls on one night and I get this?”
Isabel chuckled. “I felt the same way,” she said. “Although, I felt like something about me was different… I knew something was terribly wrong.”
“Terribly wrong… or undeniably right?” he asked.
“You know, even after all this time, I really can’t tell you,” Isabel said, shaking her head.
“You’re a very special creature, Isabel,” Presten said. “You’re the type they hear about in legends.”
“And so are you, I’m assuming?” she asked, her head cocked to the side. At that point, they were just pacing the halls. Isabel wondered if Presten had forgotten about the task at hand.
“No,” Presten shook his head. “You’re different. In mythology, women are portrayed as goddesses, because they are.” Isabel could tell he was flirting.
“You flatter me,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes. Presten couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic.
“You’re really hard to tap into, you know that?” he asked. There was a pause.
“You know, in this world, it’s really hard to know who you can trust,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong, I know I can trust you, or else we wouldn’t be here… but I’ve been through hell trying to figure out who was on my side and who wasn’t. So I’m careful now.”
“You have every right,” Presten said, his eyes roaming her face and neck as they walked. “It’s hard to tell who you’re talking to, let alone figure out who’s on your side.”
“Yes!” Isabel jumped. “The shapeshifters, Presten, oh, the shapeshifters!”
“Have you encountered any recently?”
“Let’s just say… I’ve spent a considerable amount of time sleeping with the enemy without even knowing it,” she said, raising an eyebrow at him.
Presten shook his head. “That sounds horrible,” he admitted. “What if I told you Rene, my maker, turned her back on us all and joined the vampire council?”
“What?” Isabel asked, her eyes wide as a set of plates.
Presten nodded. “She’s really close with… the King vampire, if you’ve heard of him.”
“I’ve heard stories,” Isabel said. “But I’m not sure—”
“Oh, hey, there’s the kitchen,” Presten said, sprinting for the door. He pushed it open and flicked on the lights, his eyes travelling up and down the black decaying walls. This mansion was nowhere near as fancy or luxurious as the last one. Isabel stepped inside, and could immediately feel the cold air envelope her entire body. Splotches of the original paint hinted at the house’s former prosperity; has this one caught fire, too?
“Well, this is definitely spooky,” Isabel said, her arms folded across her chest. The windows were covered with grime and dirt, and a large jagged hole dug through the wall as though daring anyone to enter. “Let’s just get this over with,” Presten said, walking over to the fridge door and swung it open. Oddly enough, it was filled to the brim with food. Together, they took out some fruit, a jug of water and some leftovers, and soon enough, they were on their way back down. As they walked, Isabel became more and more certain that the mansion was filled with secrets, and she was adamant she would find them out. The corridors seemed to stretch out indefinitely, and she knew that if she were to unlock a single one of the doors, she would be opening up the gates to a never-ending maze of halls and passageways. “Do you want to come back and check this place out?” she asked Presten, a smirk on her face.
“Do you really think we should be loitering around here?” Presten asked.
“Come on, where’s your sense of adventure?” Isabel asked, strutting down the hallway. “Seriously, though, we kind of need to figure out the anatomy of this place if we’re ever going to carry on this battle.”
There was a pause. “You’re absolutely right,” Presten said. They climbed down the trapdoor leading to the cellar. “This should last them the night,” Presten said, setting the food down on the floor in front of the hostages. They eyed him hungrily, as if ready to pounce at any second.
“I think you’re going to have to go back for more,” Oz said.
Presten opened his mouth to protest but before he could, Isabel stopped him. “We’re on it,” she said, cocking her head to the side. She and Presten exchanged brief glances, and it was only then that he realized Isabel wanted to go on an adventure.
“We’ll be back in a second,” he said with a smirk.