The council kept their computer systems in the basement of the building, in a room that reminded me so much of the slave holding pen that it gave me chills. Everything from the dark grey stone to the scent of damp was the same. The only difference was that instead of bars and slaves the dreary lights illuminated screens and keyboards and a number of other things attached to masses of cords that I had no ability to identify.
Standing watch while Theo and Lars did whatever it was they were doing made it all the worse.
It was unnerving. It was not my usual style. When I was after a leech, the trick was to get in fast and take it down hard, not stand around waiting and watching and doing nothing.
Worse, one of the humans that the leech had compelled was standing right next to me, looking very much as if I and the other two were invisible.
I almost wanted to wave my hand in front of his eyes to see what he would do, but it would be stupid to push my luck. Instead, I leaned against the wall and kept an ear out and hoped that they would hurry up with whatever they were doing.
I glanced at my unwary companion again. His eyes scanned the hall once more, completely skipping over me. This ability of the leeches had not been unknown to me, but I had never witnessed it before.
That I knew of, since it was entirely possible that one of them had gotten into my head or any of the heads of the other humans around me.
Had I been too hard on the leech's slaves? They were undoubtedly well under her control and if not, if she truly was not manipulating their minds, perhaps they were in the best possible place that they could be in the disaster of a world the bloodsuckers had forced on us.
My desire to see her dead wavered yet again and I reminded myself of what I had seen them do. Destruction and pain was their only purpose and she could be no different.
Still, at least she seemed to have tired of me. With her guard down, I would surely eventually find my chance, just as soon as discovered my quarry's identity. It was surely so close I could practically taste it.
My companion's gaze dodged me again. I glanced towards where the other two were working. I had been mildly disappointed that I had not been able to see any of the entries immediately, although it did make sense in light of time constraints. I could only hope that the leech would continue to allow me access to the information. If he was truly in there...
The tech slaves began picking up the objects they had brought with them and hid them in the serving cart they had used as camouflage. I was glad they were finished and filled with anticipation to see what updates they might have made and also a desire to get away from the unnerving slave who could not let himself see me.
They met me in the hall and none of us spoke. Just because the majority of the leeches were in the council chambers that did not mean there were not one or two parasites still wandering around.
I walked ahead of them, signalling that the corridors were free of bloodsuckers, keeping myself relaxed as if I were just doing some simple innocent task for the leech.
We met a few emaciated slaves along the way, but we did not meet a single vampire as we walked. Apparently they had chosen our time to act well.
The lack of trouble almost made it worse.
Theo seemed to agree. "Well, that was anticlimactic," he commented under his breath.
I opened my mouth to speak, but he shook his head.
I understood that it was all a part of the leech's caution about potential eavesdropping. Her desire for secrecy seemed to border on paranoia, which seemed odd since she always had that overbearing overconfident smirk.
Combined with everything I had observed about her, it only added up to the fact she was a contradictory mess. I resolved not to worry about it beyond finding my escape.
I followed Theo and Lars back into their tech closet, mostly because no one stopped me. I wanted to see if I would have a chance to look for the leech from my memories again while we were here.
I indulged myself in a fantasy of the goal that had kept me going for the last decade, the beautiful vision of staking the monster that had drained Melissa dry and threw her away. I would love to drag it out so it suffered, but the way to defeat these demons was to use surprise to my advantage.
When the moment came, I would be well armed. I would waste no time as I shoved my weapon into its heart and then perhaps broke its neck for good measure. I would drag it out into the sun and if I had the luxury of time I would light it on fire to speed up the sun's destruction of its form. I would watch the light leave its eyes as Melissa's had.
Then, finally, I would have peace.
I wanted it so badly I could almost taste it.
My pleasant thoughts were interrupted by Theo. "We don't have the necessary equipment to cook that meal you're craving here in the capital. You'll have to wait until we're back in the mistress's domain."
It took me only a second to realize he was attempting to be covert and another to feel my impatience surge. Right here, right now, could be the final piece that could lead me to the one that haunted me and I could not have it.
Nevertheless, I nodded my understanding and left. At least the way he spoke implied he thought she would not keep it back from me, even if she would hold me back from him.
If his identity and location were in there I would find him and all that was left for me was to escape.
* * * * *
A few hours later, the door to the chambers opened and the leech paraded in with her predictable satisfied smile. I watched her covertly from the spot where I was standing and she did not even once look in my direction.
She glanced at one of the tech slaves I did not well know. "Christopher. Go and fetch Theo, I'm especially hungry."
I did not let myself groan at the idea of listening to the sounds of more torture ringing off the walls. I found myself looking forward to going back to her main lair, which was insane, but at least there I should be able to get a look at the databank in the archives, isolated from the noise of her feeding.
I waited until Christopher returned with Theo and they walked back into the depths of the chambers. Shutting the screaming out of my mind, I walked down the hall and into the room where I slept. At least there, the noise was somewhat muffled and I doubted she truly cared what I was doing.
At least the sound of Christopher's suffering at her hands was more tolerable than some of the others.
Still, I was glad when everything was quiet again.
* * * * *
The next day I did what I was told as per our agreement. I passed Magnus in the halls one time, but I kept my head down and it did not stop to bother me.
That one was another leech I would love to see the end of, but there was no strategy in letting my desires overwhelm me under the circumstances, so I forced myself to move past it. I tried to relax, but I'm not sure I succeeded. Hopefully if it noticed me it read my tension as fear.
I found myself walking towards the kitchens while picking up more supplies for Jeffry. I had devolved into little better than an errand boy, although I supposed it was a step up from being shackled to the wall and tormented by the leech.
Or perhaps it was a step down, since I was complying with her orders as delegated by her slaves.
I was acting as an errand boy to enslaved humans.
What an unpleasant realization.
My pride mattered not at all in light of my goal. I focused on the fact that I was, with any luck, far closer to my quarry than I had ever been.
And also further away, because I was well trapped.
I considered why it was so difficult to escape this leech when I had managed it before. Perhaps it was her age, or more likely it was because she had so many humans working towards her goals. In all my time trying to find him, I had never seen a vampire with humans who were so dedicated.
Maybe it was more than mere compulsion, but even if it was, I still wanted no part of it.
I was handed some cardboard boxes by a gaunt woman who worked in the kitchen. It was clear from a single glance that she did not only feed the other slaves in the capital. She wore a beige dress and it bore more than one faded brownish red stain, presumably from her own blood. I spotted at least three wounds from vampire fangs on her neck under her stringy hair, even while trying not to be obvious.
My stomach felt sick at the sight of her. I tried not to think of it, but she seemed around the age my sisters would be if they had somehow survived. Had this been their fate, too?
Perhaps, Melissa and my parents had a better end than Candace and Angelique.
The thought was no comfort, because the vampires had stripped all comfort from our world.
* * * * *
Supper felt odd, most especially since the leech had not decided to join us and was not even in her chambers and her slaves were subdued. I wondered if it was her direct instructions to maintain their quiet, or if they felt the oppressive force of the knowledge of being surrounded by so many vampires as I did.
I was looking forward to seeing the last of this place. I promised myself that I would be gone by the time the bloodsucker returned for the next quarterly assembly. I would get away from her and destroy that demon leech.
My mind kept running in circles with my tense anticipation. I had difficulty sleeping that night. I stared at the stone of the ceiling and tried to stop thinking about the possibility that I was close to my goal.
I had to know, but the possible weeks we would be stuck here seemed like an eternity.
Finally, I slept.
* * * * *
The next day was much like the previous. I was sent on odd errands and otherwise left alone. I almost resorted to offering my assistance to help the moments pass by more quickly, but I did not get quite as desperate as that. Obeying was one thing, volunteering was another.
Another night fell and the leeches became active again. I barely saw her in the evening after she got up and left her chambers after her cup of bloody coffee. There was another supper and I found my bed.
It was trying, but I finally slept, a dark sleep of twisting memories and reality and imagination.
Melissa was there, so pretty, so radiant. Damn, I wanted her, and she had wanted me, too. Our parents kept us apart, because the last thing we needed living on the very edge between death and survival was a young unplanned pregnancy.
At the time I had been annoyed, although I had seen enough human suffering since to understand our parents' caution.
In my dream, the vampires never came for us. She was mine and pregnant. We were happy. A mocking, rebellious happiness, in spite of all the fears and troubles of our lives.
She died in childbirth and the baby turned to dark sand and slipped away between my fingers, forever lost to me.
I woke with a start.
My frequent nightmares were of leeches and remembered horrors, never of such natural grief. Where my mind had conceived such an idea I did not know, but my pulse raced as if I had just buried Melissa all over again and this time without my anger to sooth the ache.
Sleep eluded me afterwards. Theo snored across the room from me and finally I could take no more. I pushed out of my bed and opened the door quietly so he would not wake up and enquire as to what I was doing. I walked silently out to the kitchen and discovered too late that I was not alone.
The leech was there, which surprised me, because I was under the impression that she spent most of the nights in the council chambers. I would have left, but I was certain that she already knew that I was there, so I ignored her presence and went forward to find something to eat.
She did not say anything so I assumed that she was also ignoring me, which was just as well.
Except she was not. "What's wrong?" she asked, her tone sounding shockingly soft and human in that moment. Like seeing her in the early sunlight, I might have been fooled if I did not know the truth of her nature.
"Nothing."
"Your heart's beating faster than normal," she commented, before bringing her cup up to her lips.
"Oh."
"Nightmare?"
"Yeah." What was the point in denying it?
"I recall those, vaguely. We vampires don't get them."
"How nice for you."
"Indeed. We don't sleep," she said, meeting my eyes and holding them for a long moment.
"I know that's a lie."
She shook her head, her hair falling sensuously forward. "It's not. We do something like rest, but it's more of a pause than a slumber. It's empty and cold, like death, like we cease to exist for a time, except we do not."
I shrugged. I did not care what they called it. All that mattered was that the leeches were especially vulnerable while in the state.
"It was quite unpleasant when I first was turned, but I rather like it now. Blood makes all the unpleasant bits worthwhile."
"I'm sure it does."
"Mistress. I know your fear makes it difficult to remember, but you should use my title every now again if you really want to be a proper slave."
"As you say, Mistress. I'll endeavor to be a better slave." Until the moment we left the capital, or maybe the moment when I got at the database again, or maybe the moment she completely let down her guard. Whether it was in there or not, I was leaving after I found out.
"Come sit beside me, human," she said.
Annoyed, I moved to obey.
"First get yourself whatever you came for."
I continued to root around in the cupboards until I found some sort of bars made of various grains and with chunks of a bittersweet dark brown substance that melted in my mouth.
I got myself some water as well, taking my sweet time so the leech would have to wait.
Then I sat on the stool beside her. She casually took another drink from her cup.
"Do you know why I drink coffee rather than wine?"
"No, Mistress." No matter how hard I tried, I just could not call her that without a faint tone of derision.
She smiled. "I would probably look much better sipping blood mixed with red wine from a fancy wineglass, it would certainly fit my image better, don't you think?"
"Yes, Mistress." I could not care less about her image.
"But I can't bring myself to do it. Wine is horrid warm and blood is unpleasant when it's cold. I can't heat blood up by itself without spoiling it, unless perhaps I warmed it in a water bath like a baby bottle." She shuddered dramatically.
"I tried tea, which was a comfort when I was human, but it just does not mix well with blood." She smiled as if lost in memories. "But coffee, just at the right temperature, brings the blood to a level that is almost as good as the source. But of course, nothing is as good as the source. It's best fresh and best of all, almost impossible to tamper with."
I munched on my grain bar and tried to act like I was not listening.
"Will you feed me, Jamie?" she asked, looking curiously at me. Her eyes were wide and asked me to give her whatever she wanted.
Still, I wanted to say no, but I had both offered my blood and I had promised to obey her. It would not kill me, although I sensed that this final submission would make me long for death.
"Yes, Mistress."
She leaned closer and I could feel the air that was not quite breath from her mouth. She was cold, but cold like the air around us, not like ice.
I braced myself.
"Truthfully, I am tempted. But I'm not actually hungry at this particular moment. Next time, perhaps," she said, moving backwards and away from me.
I tried to keep my breathing even. Again she was toying with me. Maybe this game she played was all the worse than if she had simply fed off of me the moment she had bought me instead of this constant back and forth.
I hated the leech, or at least I wanted to hate her. Anything but the unnerving conflict she built inside me.