I did not know how much time had passed, but it felt like days since I had seen the sun other than the dim light that managed to get through a tiny window that faced out into the side of another building. They brought me food and water, but no one talked to me.
Which was fine. I was frustrated with twinges of some occasional ridiculous guilt over having staked her.
Still, every time that slight remorse returned, my anger surged up and overwhelmed it. Sure, I had staked her. Sure, Lucas and Rene were not dead after all, although she had certainly been willing to let me believe it. Sure, she seemed to be against the very vampire council that spent all it's time trying to crush the few humans that were left.
But regardless of all that, the entire situation was her fault because she had insisted on keeping me in the dark about everything. I could understand why she would feel the need to feel out new humans before bringing them into her plans, but it had to have been damn obvious that I was not about to run and tell other leeches that there was a vampire working against them. I had not even attempted to hide my dislike of her kind.
It pissed me off, and then I would feel just a bit bad which was the seed for a new bout of anger. Her slaves—or whatever they were to her, who the hell knew?—maintained an irritating solemnity when they came down to sustain me, as if it were I who was entirely at fault.
It was frustrating that I was trapped again. Nothing that had happened had made me waver from my goal, although once again I was kept away from it by the leech's hold. Those few hours I had been running had given me a taste of what I once had and I wanted it back.
I tried to find a way out, but this cellar that was clearly typically used for storage was annoyingly sturdy. I had carefully searched to try to find something to jimmy the lock or pry open the door, but all I found were random jars of preserves and other such items useless for the task of escape.
I could have tried to fight and overwhelm the people who brought me my sustenance, but I did not really have the heart to fight humans again so soon, especially since it would be futile. My confusion about their purpose here, the thought that they seemed to be truly working against our oppressors, stole whatever was left of my motivation to resist.
And, surely they would not leave me here indefinitely, if for no other reason than because it would be inconvenient for them to lose the easy use of this space. A few times a day someone would come down with guards and gather what they needed for the day.
It was obvious that they did not usually keep prisoners here, wherever here was.
My attention was caught as the door opened. A black haired youth brought in a tray with a bowl and a jug of water on it, accompanied by a pair of guards.
I glowered at the guards until they left me alone again in the shadows.
* * * * *
I did not know how much time passed while I waited in the dark, but I ate my food and drank my water, and after the pale dimness began to fade, finally the door cracked open and a lone human came into the room carrying a lamp.
My eyes took a moment to adjust to the light, but the voice identified Blondie readily enough. "Hey, Jamie."
"You're alive, Lucas?"
"That I am, you saw Rene, too?" He referred to the woman carrying his child.
"Yeah, but I heard her screams."
"Yeah, having the brand destroyed hurt like a son of a bitch," Lucas agreed. "As bad as getting it in the first place. And maybe Vienne was a little crueler than she might have been since she was furious about my 'absolute idiocy' and my 'irresponsible behaviour'. I've never seen her so angry before." He rubbed his shoulder sheepishly.
"Her eyes were red."
"Oh, yeah. Your interference didn't put her in a better mood, either. Probably why she didn't tell you what actually happened. Well, maybe not, I don't know what goes on in that head. She's a bit of a mystery to us all. Just gotta roll with it."
I did not bother to respond.
"I'm not as angry as Marcel, but I'm not happy that you staked her, either."
I could have protested that she had me in a corner and basically goaded me into it, but what was the point? Nothing I said would convince them that I had only done what I had to do. I was at their mercy.
"Where are we?"
"New Haven. It's a bit of refuge for Vienne's most trusted humans and the headquarters of the human rebellion. She's been building up a resistance for a long time."
"A resistance? Why the hell would any leech do that?"
Lucas shrugged. "If you believe what she says, it's because she's bored."
"Bored?"
"Must be hard to live so long, I guess. Her reasoning doesn't matter, though, does it?"
I supposed not.
"A lot of them don't want me to tell you this quite yet, but you didn't actually succeed. She's alive."
"But Marcel said—"
"He assumed. She told us to tell you that your lack of success was due to your failure to obey simple instructions. She's also displeased that you could possibly believe a little dagger would be enough to finish her off like some brand new fledgling."
An unwilling smile twitched at the corner of my mouth. The aggravating creature was alive.
"So, now that you know, hopefully you can restrain yourself from staking the one vampire we have on the inside."
"I can probably restrain myself."
"Not that it matters, since you aren't going anywhere. Sorry, man."
I kept my disagreement to myself. I was not going to harm this cause, but I had no intentions on remaining locked up forever either.
* * * * *
My solitude was interrupted a number of times as I was fed and watered, but I largely simply lay upon the cot they had brought me and bided my time.
I did not even get up when the door opened and a teenage girl brought in my next meal, accompanied as always by guards. She moved jerkily, like she was uneasy to be there.
They left again and I was left in the gloom.
It surprised me when there was noise outside the door a short time later. The door opened and her voice reached my ears. "No. Don't be silly, I'm perfectly recovered. I can easily handle one human."
I got to my feet warily. The thought that she might come had crossed my mind now that I knew I had not hurt her permanently, but I had no idea what she would do.
She stepped into the room and shut the door. She set an oil lamp on top of a shelf of supplies, presumably for my benefit. "Can't I, Jamie?"
I didn't bother to respond. She turned to me, her smirk familiar as she cocked her head while watching me.
"Cat got your tongue? Don't tell me now that we know each other so intimately you're going to ghost me."
"Seems like we're exactly where we started."
"In some ways," she agreed lightly. "In others, we're a world apart from where we were."
"What do you want with me now?" I asked, wondering if she would get to her point. Was she here to pass judgment on me and get revenge, to take me back to her main layer, to what exactly?
"Oh, everything that I always wanted, Jamie. You've fascinated me from the very start, although even I'm not quite sure why. Perhaps the novelty of that hateful gaze, that stubborn pride, that handsome face, that killing intent? Who can truly say?"
If she did not know, what chance did I have?
"But, perhaps I could tell you that you're the one man who has ever managed to break my heart," she said, her fangs showing in her smile as she mimed stabbing herself in the chest.
My buried guilt reminded me that I did not feel entirely in the right about what I had done to her. "I am sorry I staked you," I told her bitterly, and it was at least half true.
She chuckled. "I'm not. It was my most interesting assassination attempt by far. Usually, it's so impersonal and unoriginal, but this one had all the hallmarks of a good dramatic scene. A person I wanted to be able to trust, a conflicted assassin, a vendetta. I do suppose you failed to kill me, but you did ultimately keep your promise, and what more could I ask for than that?"
"But—"
"Don't go ruining it now with regrets, Jamie. I'm not angry with you in the slightest, even if everyone else is. You're in no trouble."
"Then...?" The same questions were still present.
She simply watched me expectantly with that half smirk on her full lips. My mind flew back to kissing her and I realized I insanely would happily do it again, in spite of everything.
"Then what do you have planned for me?"
She studied me for another long moment. "Nothing."
Her answer took me by surprise, but before I could recoup, she moved up far too close to me, so that she had to tilt her head up to meet my eyes.
"Except..." Her word was almost musical.
Except?
"Jamie, you are not to speak of me or my plans and affairs or let on anything in any way about my secrets to anyone, human or vampire. If any other vampire attempts to compel you to discover the truth, you will lie. Your story will be that you were out in the wilderness the entire time as you normally would have been, you've never met me, or my humans. You were never captured and taken to the slave cages and you were never bought. You will speak as if you have never heard of nor seen New Haven. You were branded under the newest catch and brand program of the council and you don't recall your identification number."
I became suddenly aware my gaze had unfocused and I shook my head to clear the clouding inside it.
"Your story is that you were never here. Do destroy your brand once you're somewhere relatively safe and before you throw yourself into danger again, Jamie."
My mind was sluggish and struggled to keep up with her words. Had she compelled me? My ire rose at this new invasion, but before I could summon the words to curse or question her about it, she continued.
"You've won."
"What?"
"Our game. Nothing lasts forever, not even vampires. You're free to leave."
"Marcel, Felix, Javier, come in here, now," she said, turning her face away from me.
The door instantly opened and the three entered, looking alert as if they expected me to be threatening her further. I frowned, although as much from my confusion as from anger.
"Mistress?" Javier asked, looking at her.
"See Jamie out of New Haven. He's leaving."
"Out?" Javier looked at her searchingly.
"Yes. Give him back his pilfered supplies, and release him at the exit. Now." Her tone was firm and both Marcel and Jeffry stepped forward and grabbed me by an arm.
She stepped out of the way as they dragged me past. "Good luck, Little Human."
I did not fight them as they led me up the stairs from the cellar, and through the building, and out into the predawn light of the day. It was the most light I had seen in days and I blinked at the change.
They did not give me time to adjust as I was dragged across a vast clearing that was dotted with various buildings and surrounded by naturally placed rock walls on all sides. We reached a tunnel, and I was taken back into the darkness.
"What the hell is going on?" I finally had the wherewithal to demand.
"Seems she's letting you go, and you should be singing her praises to the sky right about now. If you had staked any other vampire and they had lived to know about it, you would be a dry corpse. Hell, if it was up to me—" Marcel threatened as they continued to urge me on.
He was making sense, which was strange. "Why?"
"Damned if I know."
I was forcibly escorted through the darkness of the tunnel by lamplight, until we came out into the first light of the dawn on the other side. Marcel and Javier pushed me forward and the other guard tossed the canvas bag onto the ground beside me.
Marcel glowered at me. "If I ever see your face again, I will beat you to death." Unsurprisingly our vague truce had ended when I had staked his leech.
I did not bother arguing, because all three already had turned back into the darkness of the tunnels.
My mind was spinning, because how could this impossible situation have come to be?