It's first light. I didn't sleep, and I can't remember when I stopped crying.
The murderer is back, with his ginger-haired friend.
He kneels to my level. "Behave," he growls.
I spit at his face.
He grabs my hair and jerks my head forward, making my scalp burn. A gag is forced between my lips and wrapped around my head, pulling my cheeks back as it's tightened.
He unties my middle and loosens the rope around my wrists. I don't move, refusing to look him in the eye. I'm done cooperating.
He pulls my hands forward and binds them again, leaving a short length of rope so he can lead me and presumably keep my hands away from the gag.
The tension from the rope raises my bound arms and draws me to my feet.
I dig my heels into the ground and lean my body weight against him, providing as much resistance as possible. He yanks the rope, jerking me forward and almost toppling me over. I hate how easily he can overpower me.
I glare at their backs as they lead me deeper into the forest, away from the city.
A group of vampires are marching towards the gates. They stick in tight formation, using their huge shields to protect them from every angle. The human archers on the wall open fire. A couple lucky arrows get through, but the vampires just pull them out. They push forward, dragging a barrel on a rope behind them.
Rahlan and Ohan pull me further back behind the tree line before turning to circle the city.
I catch another glimpse of the vampires before the wall blocks my view. They reach the gates, and the human soldiers drop large rocks and steaming water from the walls. One hits a vampire directly on the head, and I shiver as he falls to the ground. His arms and legs are riddled with arrows. This is it – a warzone.
The three of us continue around the east side of the city, edging closer to the wall with the tree line. An archer up there would make short work of us – well at least of me, and that thought keeps my shoulders tense.
Rahlan passes my rope to Ohan. Ohan's hands clasp together, giving Rahlan a boost as he begins climbing a large tree. His maroon black cape flutters beneath him with every stride upward. The trees trunk stretches high into the sky, sprouting thick branches that nearly overhang the city wall.
I look up at Ohan, and he meets my gaze with an apologetic expression. He could just let me go. I raise my bound wrists to him, willing him to release me. My gag would turn any words into a humiliating mumble.
He shakes his head.
Rahlan positions himself high in the tree, still hidden behind the pine needles. A human stands guard on the wall with his back to us. His eyes are on the gate on the opposite side of the city. Rahlan nudges closer, not making a sound.
I need to alert the man before Rahlan takes his life. I take in a breath but hesitate before making a sound. What if the man whips around and sees me first? I'm beside a vampire, dressed in vampire leather armor. Those arrows in his quiver could end up embedded in me, like the vampires at the gate.
Rahlan moves into striking position. He's going to kill the man if I don't do something now.
I scream into the gag. A hand immediately slaps over my mouth, turning my scream into a squeak.
I look up at Ohan the best I can under his grip. He shakes his head again, and the guard remains oblivious to our presence.
A black plume of smoke rises into the sky. Something's burning at the city entrance. Human soldiers rush across the wall towards the gate, passing right over us, but the single guard remains at his post. I stare at the back of his head wishing I could compel him to follow them.
Rahlan springs from the tree and lands on the wall. Ohan charges forward and the rope forces me to follow.
We reach the wall free of arrows. There's a shout, but it quickly becomes muffled. Something crashes to the ground just two feet away from me, and I nearly jump out of my skin. It's the guard in chainmail armor, dead from the fall. Another one of Rahlan's victims. It feels like I'm surrounded by death every day.
A rope is tossed over the side. Ohan secures it to the loop holding my wrists together. My eyes widen to the size of saucers at the thought of suffering the same fate as the guard.
"Don't worry." He pats my shoulder. "'Tis a good knot."
I hope so.
He tugs on the rope, and it's pulled upward, first raising my arms then my whole body off the ground. I groan from the stress on my shoulders. Ohan retreats back into the forest, and I'm hoisted up and onto the wall.
Rahlan begins untying Ohan's knot, but my wrists are left bound together. I glance at the sword on his belt.
We're on top of the high stone wall, and the walkway is barely wide enough for two people to pass each other. My gaze is drawn to the city and the myriad of thatch roofs. There are so many homes here. It's beautiful.
Rahlan jumps over me. Two swords clash from behind. A soldier has his blade locked with Rahlan's, and another soldier rushes towards me from the other side. I jump upright and shout to alert Rahlan, but it's muffled by the gag. There's nowhere to go. I'm trapped with a thirty-foot fall on either side of me. The soldier's sword comes flying down towards my head. I duck and use my arms as a shield.
The blade slices through my sleeve and cuts into my arm. I let out a wail in horror, but there's no immediate pain. Rahlan whips around and stabs the man in the shoulder through a gap in his chain mail mesh. The man screams, and Rahlan kicks him back, causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards off the wall.
Both soldiers are dead, leaving just Rahlan and myself.
The second it feels like I can breathe again, a sharp pain shoots up my arm and into my chest. I'm bleeding.
Rahlan grabs my arm and inspects the wound.
"You'll live," he says.
He attaches the loop connecting my wrist together to his belt and hurries across the wall. My hands are yanked forward behind him, and the sudden tension over the wound brings an intense pain. I scream.
He stops, turning back to him. My legs buckle, and I wail into the gag. My arm is dripping blood.
He unties my rope from his belt, finally realizing his mistake.
"Follow," he orders.
I shoot him a dirty look and wince from the pain again.
He heads for a guard tower, and I follow out of fear of the alternative. A young guard boy inside bolts the moment he sees us. "They're inside! They're inside!" he screams at the top of his lungs.
We hurry down the tower's steps to ground level. We're inside the city, and my arm is throbbing, but I'm relieved to be off that high wall.
He glances at me as a silent reminder to follow, and I glare back at him.
We hurry down the alleys between houses, crisscrossing from one street to the next. He's searching for something. I manage to yank the gag off my head despite my stinging wound.
We turn a corner, and he jerks backwards, pulling me with him. His hand smacks over my mouth, forcing me to stand flat against the wall beside him. Numerous metal footsteps hurry down the adjacent street.
He waits for them to pass before shooting around the corner. I take the opportunity to run in the opposite direction, back down the street we came. I will not be a part of this any longer.
I'm not even halfway down the road when Rahlan's arms wrap around my waist. He hoists me up into the air and carries me like a handbag, my body jerking from left to right with each step.
Turning a corner puts even more stress on my middle. Eventually he lets go, and I land on all fours on the dusty ground, the impact making my arm flare up.
He grabs the back of my tunic, and the pressure around my chest pulls me upright again. His hands catch mine, and he begins untying the rope holding my wrists together.
Houses are packed tight on either side of us. My eyes are drawn to the tavern at the end of the road. It proudly displays a metal plaque bearing the image of a blacksmith anvil. It's the same stylized anvil from the letter Rahlan stole from the huntsmen by the river. This is the place he's been looking for.
He finishes with the rope, freeing my wrists.
"Do you wish to live?" he asks.
"What?"
"Do you wish to live!?"
I flinch. "Yes."
He points to the tavern door. "Then you will go in there. If you see Ivan, you will return to me and point him out. If not, you will have someone there lead you to whatever little escape tunnel he's scurried off to. Understand?"
His red eyes are burning. I've never seen him so unhinged. The Rahlan I've known for the last few weeks is gone. No, he was never real. I feel like I'm a citizen of this city seeing a vampire for the first time.
He grabs my good arm and shakes me. "Understand!?"
I quickly nod.
He steps back, allowing me to move past him. "You have one minute."
I press the tavern door open and slip inside, quickly closing it behind me. It takes a second for my vision to adjust to the dark room.
Twenty pairs of eyes are watching me. Men and women sit scattered around the tables with drinks in hand, and a woman behind the bar is packing glasses into a crate.
Their initial surprise quickly fades. Figuring I'm just another citizen, they return to their drinks, murmuring to one another. I scan their faces. Ivan's not here. Thank goodness.
Rahlan expects me to figure out where he went, but I will not hand over the last member of my family to be at his mercy.
But what about these people? He could burst in here and murder one person after another.
What can I do? There's thirty seconds left.
"Listen, everyone!" I shout. Their eyes land on me. "You need to get out of here. There's a vampire outside, and he-"
The door screams open and crashes against the wall. Rahlan storms in, his face obscured by the bright sunlight. He grabs me, and my tunic tightens as his hand twists the leather by my back. His grip forces me up to my toes. The men and women shoot up, grabbing swords, kitchen knives and chairs as makeshift weapons.
A cold metal blade presses up against my neck – Rahlan's curved sword.
"Stay where you are!" he shouts. He's deranged.
The men and women shuffle around each other, the unarmed ones moving to the back of the pack. Rahlan's grip tightens, making my shoulders curl back. He angles his back to the wall, and his blade presses against my neck, forcing my head up. I take short sharp breaths, afraid he'll push the blade higher.
"This girl is one of Ivan's." Rahlan kicks the door closed, darkening the room again. "If he wants her alive, he'll crawl out his hole and take her. Tell him!"
If-if he wants me alive? No. No. No. My whole body begins to tremble. I can't die here. I can't.
"Hogwash," a man says, "If Ivan left without her, then she chose to stay like the rest of us."
"She goes by Julia – a good friend of Ivan's, and he would very much like her alive." He shakes me. "Tell them."
No, I can't. I can't tell them I'm Ivan's niece. If he comes back for me, Rahlan could kill him. How could I sleep at night knowing that I sacrificed him for my own life? I couldn't. No one will die because of me.
"Tell them!" Rahlan shouts.
I gulp and shut my eyes.
He swings me around and slams my back against a table. My head hits the wood, and pain radiates through my skull from the impact.
"Do you not understand!?" Rahlan shouts, glaring down at me. He presses his blade in the middle of my chest, pinning me flat against the table. "Do you not think I will kill you!? This is your only purpose! You are worthless if you can't draw Ivan out!"
He's ready to take my life. I'm going to die at his hand, just like Jacob. Jacob – I'm going to see Jacob again. Tears sting the corners of my eyes. I'm going to see Mom and Dad.
Rahlan angles his arm to be ready to drive the blade through me. The tip pokes through the leather tunic and marks my skin with a shallow cut. I wince and grit my teeth. "This is your last chance! Tell them how you know him, or you will bleed out on this table, and I will find him without you!"
I stare at his blade, blinking back tears. I remember the night Mom died. It felt so unfair at the time. I couldn't understand why she had to go so soon. One day I was screaming at Jacob from my own pain, and he reminded me that we don't remember Mom for her death but for her life.
Taking a breath makes me wince, the expansion of my chest pressing against the blade.
I will celebrate my life too, not mourn its end. I'm grateful that I had eighteen years, I'm grateful for the petty arguments Jacob and I used to have at dinner, and I'm grateful that I did not die in that shoddy barn when I probably should have. I had an extra two weeks. Though they were hard at times, I ate some amazing food, I enjoyed a warm bath, and I met a brave woman.
My blurry gaze meets Rahlan's again. I take in a pained breath. Tears flow freely down my cheeks now. There's no need for a tough facade anymore. It doesn't matter what he thinks of me. "Goodbye, Rahlan."
He grits his teeth, his arm shaking, making the sword ripple. I wonder if this was always his plan for me. When I slept beside him in ignorance, did he know that one day he'd run me through with a blade?
I close my eyes. I did my best.
"Bloody hell!" he shouts. The blade's pressure disappears, and his hand slams into the table.
I jump upright, and Rahlan charges towards the men. They parry his storm of frenzied strikes. The door bursts open, and two new vampires storm inside.
I duck under the table. The vampires rush to Rahlan's side, forcing the humans back. One man is cut down with a scream, and more of them funnel out the back.
Their backs are to me. This is my chance. I can get away! I bolt out the door we came through.
The city is breached. Screaming, fire and vampires everywhere. A horde charges in my direction. I run, skidding around a corner.
A blunt object strikes my head.
The sun is bright, overwhelming. I'm on the ground. Who hit me?
I don't know. My vision can't focus. Everything hurts. My limbs aren't listening. There's a loud ringing in my ears and a warm liquid running over my neck.
My eyes close.
Author's Note:
This is not the final chapter. There are many more chapters to this story.