If I thought my head hurt before, it was nothing compared to now. My initial reaction when I first registered the pain was to go back to sleep. I squeezed my eyes shut, so focused on the relentless throbbing that I almost missed the hushed argument taking place beside me.
"What were you thinking in bringing her here?" hissed a distinctly French-accented voice. "She should be moved immediately, if it's not too late. You've jeopardized our safety, and hers, enough as it is."
My insides cringed at the anger in her voice. Paris. What does she mean? Am I in some kind of danger? To me, it seemed like the worst had already happened, as the hunter had now become one of the hunted.
"What other choice did I have?" countered Aden. "We'll never, ever get another opportunity like this. Fate has sent us a gift!"
"It has sent us a curse!" Paris took a deep breath, as if trying to compose herself. "We should tell Frost."
"Absolutely not. Frost can't be trusted. She'll leak that the girl's here." Aden paused. "I think we're overreacting. We should just lie low. She'll be far safer here than in the city."
My head hurt even more with the added weight of confusion. Who was Frost? And what city were they talking about? Pittsburgh, or rather, what was left of it? Why wasn't I safe?
On impulse, I tried to sit up. White hot pain shot through my core, and I fell back onto the pillows with a stifled cry. Cold metal pressed against my wrists, and when I moved my arms, they would hardly lift from the bed railing. I glanced to either side; someone had cuffed me to the bed. A bandage had been taped to the middle of my right arm, which was sore and bruised from multiple needle pricks. The sheer thought of having my blood drawn turned me green, overpowering my curiosity at why it had been necessary. I didn't want to think about it; otherwise, I might vomit.
Immediately, Paris was at my side, checking my vitals. "She's steady. But I bet she has a nasty headache." The last part sounded like she had said it with a smile.
"Paris," Aden warned, and she smirked, walking away. Through the flood of light, I traced the concern on Aden's face as he leaned over me. "How are you feeling?"
"What were you two talking about, just now?" I asked, ignoring his question altogether. I trusted him about as much as the bus driver I'd interacted with... how many nights ago was it? One? Seven? I wondered how long I had been gone.
I have to get out of here. But first, I need some answers.
I looked at Aden expectantly, and Paris stepped up to the bed. "That's not your concern," she said, crossing her arms.
"No," Aden said, keeping his eyes on mine. They somewhat softened as I returned his understanding gaze with a petulant glare, warning him not to toy with me. "She deserves to know. Besides, I'm sure she has a lot of questions."
That's an understatement. Admittedly, I was a bit surprised he had agreed to tell me anything at all, though I had no idea exactly how much of what he said was one hundred percent true.
Paris pursed her lips, her beautiful face all soured up, but I spoke anyway. "Where are we? And don't say in a hospital."
Aden's mouth turned up in the corner. "We're underground, about two hundred feet directly below Pittsburgh, to be exact."
That explains the bizarre power outages. I bet they have to tap into the White Sector's power supply to run this place.
"Paris and I" – he gestured between them – "are part of an independent military faction called the Syndicate. You're in the medical wing of our training academy. Dr. De Lange here is the Chief of Surgery and an expert in hematology, or 'the study of blood.'"
My mind sorted through the information, latching on to one fact in specific. "Independent? As in, rebels?"
Aden's gaze was steadfast. "Perhaps."
My brain tried to process this. Before now, I – and the rest of the world – had thought vampires to be a plague, nothing more than horrific animals whose basic instinct was to feed off of humans like livestock. Aden and Paris were clearly reasoning, high-functioning creatures. Had I not known better, I would have thought them to be human. Neither of them was chalky, like the movies and literature painted vampires out to be. They could have been living next to me as my neighbors and I wouldn't have been the wiser. It was an unsettling feeling.
And not only were they practically indistinguishable from humans, they apparently also had a secret military base. This changes everything. What are they training for? The humans would never see them coming if they were planning to strike.
I kept my alarm buried, masking my face with cool composure. Based on the presented facts, I drew another conclusion. "Back in the house, you recognized me." I couldn't recall what else Aden had said. Parts of my memory had returned in perfect clarity while others remained riddled with foggy patches.
So that's what Paris meant when she said amnesia was normal.
Paris gave me a look of pure annoyance. "Of course he did. Your face is on the television programs every time your mother makes an appearance."
I chewed on my lip. They had been keeping tabs on the Pennsylvania White Sector and, most likely, on my mother. She had always been proud and driven – just like my brother – and her accomplishments as a Marine made her unique to the political circles she now ran in. She not only served as our sector's Sovereign; as a skilled tactician, she oversaw the military operations, not just for Pennsylvania, but for the entire collection of northeastern White Sectors. If the vampires had been tracking my mother's movements, then it supported my theory they were planning to strike against the human race, possibly starting in Pittsburgh.
"So that's why you were in my house," I whispered. "You were conducting research. You're planning an attack, aren't you?"
Aden's face was perfectly stoic as he took a seat. He neither denied nor confirmed my accusation, which was confirmation enough in my mind.
I have to get back to warn them, even if it costs me my life. If I didn't, there could be hundreds more casualties. My own life seemed vastly insignificant in comparison to the mass homicide that would occur if the vampires launched their raid.
"That's why you needed me," I said, "because you recognized me from the television broadcasts. You want to use me as leverage against my mother."
Aden's eyes flashed as he nodded once, his gaze sharpening. "Yes. When I saw you, I couldn't believe my luck, but I needed to turn you to ensure you wouldn't run back to your human companions so readily. Seeing as you come from a guild of hunters..."
They would kill me if they found out I'd been changed. Somehow I had forgotten that. Thank you for reminding me.
"I didn't want to change you," Aden said, "but you hardly left me a choice. With you, we finally have an advantage in this blood feud."
Paris snorted under her breath. "She's more of a liability than anything else," she muttered.
Aden shifted his weight, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. One sleeve was rolled up. The tip of a white cotton patch hovered right above the crook of his arm, like he had just given blood.
We are in a hospital. Maybe Paris had to check his blood to make sure it was free of Scarlet Steel toxin.
"How long have I been here?" I asked.
"One week," Aden said breezily.
One week, I repeated mentally. Then Leo and the others will definitely know something's wrong by now. I wonder if they'll come looking for me?
Once again, Aden was staring at me. I followed his pensive gaze to my birthmark, a few petals of which showed slightly above the collar of my gown.
"You know," he mused, "if you stare at it with your head tilted at this angle" – he cocked his head about forty-five degrees to the right, keeping his eyes glued to my birthmark – "it almost looks like a forget-me-not."
I tried to look down. My neck spasmed, and I rapidly snapped my chin upright.
"Rather unusual, don't you think?" he said off-hand, as if thinking aloud. "I've only seen one other with a marking as unique as yours."
It took a split second for his remark to register, then my eyes widened to the size of tennis balls. "Orion? You've seen my brother?"
"I have," Aden said without pause.
I was so unbelievably excited, I could hardly stand to lie still. My brother. Someone had actually seen him! If I could find out when he had last been seen, maybe I could track him down and finally bring him home. Then, maybe an inch of normalcy would return to my life. Being reunited with him sounded so wonderful, it nearly brought tears to my eyes.
"Well, where is he?"
Aden looked at me long and hard.
"Your brother is dead."
***
AUTHOR NOTE: Good grief, sorry this took me so long to post! I thought I'd uploaded the entire story when I originally started posting it here, but I guess not. =/ Doing it right now. Thanks to everyone who's read it so far. =) Hope you enjoy it!