"We're on an island," said Selene, standing on the beach as the sun rose over the waves, the water brown and dull as it rose up and rocked over the sand.
"That doesn't mean we can't find Vampire sewage here," said Xander.
Selene shivered and Xander looked at her and slipped off the velvet smoking jacket he wore and placed it over her shoulders. It had been Hector's, and for a moment she thought she could still smell him on it; but no, it was too dirty, too full of Xander's scent and sweat to smell like Hector anymore.
She pulled it round and smiled at him, thankful for the extra fabric to protect against the sea-salt breeze. He stood next to her, his mouth firm and his jaw tense, watching the waves glisten, rippling a murky reflection of the rising sun. The cotton of his shirt inflated in the breeze and pressed against the muscles in his arms as he crossed the over his chest.
"We can filter it right down so you won't be able to see it, and then when we go inside you won't have a desirable human scent, so no punter would choose you above any other girl," he continued.
"Can you guarantee it?"
He looked down at his feet, digging the toe of his right shoe into the sand, forcing it to burrow deeper and deeper, throwing up dark lumps.
"No. I can't guarantee it." He looked up at her, his brow tense. "If I could guarantee your safety I would. But I can't. I can't guarantee anything."
"Well, we have to try anyway," she said.
"You don't want to run away?" He asked.
"What?" Selene turned to face him, turning away from the waves for the first time.
"No part of you wants to run? To leave? To try and live somewhere else, somewhere no one would find us?" His eyes were wide as he stared at her.
"No. I don't want to run."
"You want to find him," Xander muttered, filling in her blanks. She nodded.
"I think he's here. I can feel him," she said, pulling the smoking jacket tighter about her.
"Don't get your hopes up," he said, uncrossing his arms and moving his hair off his forehead with a flattened palm.
"I've found it," came Virgil's voice, shouting at them from further down the beach. He raised an arm and waved, and Selene waved back, keen to distract Xander from their previous topic of conversation. They both began to run towards him.
"Be quiet," said Xander, his breath puffing from the sprint he had taken down the beach to reach Virgil.
"Sorry," Virgil panted back, "I was excited. I've found the sewage pipe. It's just round the headland, and it pumps right out into the sea. It's not far away."
"Could you see Epershand?" Asked Selene.
"Yes. Up on the cliff. It's incredible; a completely impenetrable fortress. I think the entrance for prisoners must be further round the coast. We could probably walk there."
"Can we go?" Asked Selene, turning to Xander, although why she was asking his permission she wasn't entirely sure.
"Not yet. Did you bring-"
"Yes, here," answered Virgil, throwing down his pack and taking a bottle from inside it. He unscrewed the lid and the smell of sewage filled the air.
"Great. Bring it up to the cave, we have to filter it as soon as possible. We can dilute it with seawater."
They trotted up the beach and back to the cave, and Xander set about the filtering process.
*
"I don't want to stay outside. We won't even be able to keep in contact. I'll have no idea where you are," said Virgil, as they stood in the cave, their skin recently painted with an invisible layer of sewage.
"You can go up via the sewage pipe then," said Xander. "And Selene and I will go in with the other prisoners. We'll just need to slip into a boat as it sails past the rocks. They won't even notice us."
"And then what?" Asked Virgil, and a look of panic flashed across his features.
"And then you'll find us inside."
"We only have one gun," said Selene, looking at the gun that Virgil had strapped to his back, the bullets a belt over his chest and round his hips.
"Well, we can't take it into Epershand in the prisoners' boat, that's for sure. Virgil will have to keep it. And anyway, we have stakes," answered Xander, pulling the wooden stake he had carved using Virgil's knife from his belt. Selene clasped her hand round the hilt of her stake too; thankful that Xander had thought to make them when they had spent all those weeks hiding in the forest.
The sun was about to set as they crept out onto the beach again; the filtering process had taken all day.
"Shouldn't we do this during daylight hours?" Asked Virgil.
"No time like present," said Xander, "and anyway, they won't take prisoners up during the day. They'll need to be escorted by Vampires."
The sun's light dimmed to that strange twilight that made it difficult to see into the distance properly, and Selene willed the sun to disappear and the moon to rise. It would be a full moon, and the sky was clear, so they would be able to see by its light.
Virgil led the way north up the beach, keeping close to the rocks and cliff face that soon rose up to their left. He had worked out where to place his feet on the protruding rocks, avoiding slick seaweed covered spots and dodging hazards. Selene made sure to place her feet in the exact spots he had, her movements nimble and graceful, ever the dancer.
Suddenly Virgil stopped, and pointed upwards to a spot far off in the distance.
"That's it, do you see?" He whispered.
Selene gasped; Epershand was no prison: it was a palatial mansion that stood tall and beautiful on the top of the cliff, its proud facade looking out to sea.
"Wow," hissed Xander.
"I never imagined..." Selene's words faded as she gazed at its beauty.
"It was the Stanley family home, back in human times. They owned everything on the island, and a lot of the mainland too," said Virgil, still staring up at the castle on the hilltop.
As Selene looked at the dark stone of Epershand she shivered; yes, it was beautiful, but it was also frightening, like something from a nightmare. It was nothing like hector's clean, white, pristine home on Cadogan Place.
"They're in there," she murmured so quietly that neither Virgil nor Xander heard her voice over the rush of the waves and the whirling of the wind.
"We need to keep going, the sewage pipe isn't far from here," said Virgil, as he strode onward across the beach, darkness falling across his back as he moved. He began to climb up the rocks and the others followed, thankful that the cliff face was not sheer here, but rather the different levels of protruding rocks formed ledges that they could walk along and climb up. As the sun disappeared over the horizon they got higher and higher until they were well above sea level, the dark waves crashing against the rocks below.
The smell reached Selene's nostrils before she saw the pipe. It was foul and potent as it mixed with the sea breeze, polluting every inch of fresh air. Then she saw it, vast and round, protruding from the rock, its mouth spewing thick sewage straight out into the sea.
"Can you actually go in there? Won't it force you out?" She asked, watching the power of the sewage-flow vomiting into the water below.
"Yes. I've looked. There's a steel ladder inside. I guess it's there in case the pipe needs repairing and someone needs to go up." Selene saw Virgil swallow, his larynx bobbing up and down his neck when he finished speaking.
"Do you need help?" Asked Xander, as they edged closer to the pipe, having to shout over the roar of the outflow. Flecks of sewage and seawater sprinkled them as they stood on a nearby ledge and Selene ducked her head and protected it with a raised arm.
"No, I can do it. You should go on. You'll have to climb over though," he shouted, gesturing to the rock face from which the pipe exploded. Selene glanced up, the height of the rock face above seeming to reach up to the sky, and below her feet the waves crashed against the cliffs, sweeping away the sewage.
"We'll see you soon," said Selene, trying to force a smile she didn't feel.
"But if you don't," said Virgil, reaching out and grabbing Xander's hand, the two of them shaking clenched fingers in a gesture that accentuated their masculinity, and hugging Selene to him, "best of luck."
Xander nodded, his lips pressed together, a straight line across his face.
Virgil's jaw clenched and his jaw jutted forward, in a gesture that was supposed to be reassuring. To Selene, it was anything but.
Virgil reached out and pressed his fingers about her upper arm, a grim smile flexing over his mouth.
"Goodbye," he said.
Selene nodded, aware that the pity she felt for him was probably visible in her gaze, and he broke eye-contact, turning to face the pipe, fastening the straps of his backpack before moving off towards it.
"Let's go," said Xander, tipping his head in the direction he meant Selene to follow.
The rocks were slippery with brine and algae, and each step was treacherous as Selene began to climb, all the time keeping an eye on Virgil who clambered about below her, struggling to find his way into the sewage pipe. The outcrops of rock refused to hold her feet and fingertips for longer than a few seconds before they slipped off, and she had to keep her movements swift and deft.
Moments later Virgil disappeared into the pipe, and the full force of what they were attempting to do dawned on Selene, and she felt as though she had been wandering around with a cloud wrapped over her head. This was no easy feat; each one of them was willing to risk their lives. And it was very possible that the sight of Virgil disappearing into the vast red pipe was the last she would ever see of him. Had she appreciated him enough? If she never saw his face again, would she remember it? Would she forget the curve of his eyebrows, his strong jaw, the small dark freckle beneath his left eye? The way his cheeks blushed when he was embarrassed or self-conscious?
No. She would probably forget; and as she realised how temporary her memory of him would really be she paused on the rock, looking down to where he had been only a moment before.
"Come on Selene, keep moving," said Xander, who climbed ahead of her, his carved stake dangling at his belt, Hector's smoking jacket crumpled around his shoulders.