I stood next to Salazar and two of his vampire guards on the long elevator ride down, trying hard not to fidget and glance at the numbers every half second. Every so often, the box would shudder or hit some kind of snag, making me clench my fists. I told myself that we were fine, that Salazar wouldn't use the elevator if it wasn't safe. Of course, Salazar had taken a crossbow dart right to the chest and survived, so a hundred-foot fall in a tiny metal box probably didn't worry him too much. He had changed into a new suit jacket, and he looked as pristine and perfectly groomed as ever. He had also warned me, in no uncertain terms, never to speak of the events in the office, and left Stick in charge of "cleaning up" when we left. I had no doubt that, when and if we returned, all traces of the carnage Sarren had left behind would be gone. Except maybe the broken window.
Where was Sarren now? I wondered. Was he still out there somewhere, lurking in the city? Or had he already left New Covington, which would make finding him and bringing him back next to impossible?
I couldn't think about that. Kanin was my priority right now. One thing at a time. We'd worry about Sarren once I'd dealt with my sire.
Zeke and Jackal had been taken to separate rooms upstairs, so at least for now, they were safe. That was my only comfort as the lift shuddered and groaned, making me grit my teeth and wish, yet again, that there was another way down. Screw ancient technology or whatever old power made these things work-what was wrong with taking the stairs?
Finally, finally, the elevator squealed to a grinding, clanking halt and the doors swished open with an obscenely cheerful ding. I forced myself to walk out calmly and not leap through the doors as soon as they moved. Salazar and the guards followed, stepping into a narrow, dim hallway. The Prince's shoes echoed briskly against the tiled floor as he led us down the corridor to the door at the end. A guard stood beside the frame and straightened quickly as the Prince strode up.
"Sir!" He bowed, and the Prince nodded absently, gazing through the small square window in the door.
"Is Dr. Emerson inside?"
"Yes, sir. He's been with the patients all night."
"Any changes?"
The guard shook his head. "We had to put a couple down this evening. The screaming was getting to be too much. Sir."
"I see." No change in Salazar's expression, but his voice dropped several degrees. "Open the door."
"Yes, sir."
We swept through the door into a stark white room that reeked of blood and chemicals. Curtained sections with individual beds lined one wall, and every one of them held a body, some covered with a thin sheet. Low cries and moans of anguish drifted through the air as the bodies thrashed weakly, held to their beds by thick leather straps. Several pale figures in white coats moved among the cots, checking on and tending to patients, which seemed odd to me. A hospital in the bowels of a vampire tower? Vampires taking care of human patients? Something was definitely wrong with this picture. Or were they experimenting on them, like the patients in the D.C. lab? My stomach churned at the thought.
Another vampire broke away from one of the cots and walked toward us, staring at a clipboard and shaking his head. He had been a young man at the time of his Turning, with short brown hair and a handsome, beardless face. But his dark eyes held a clinical impassiveness that belied his youthful appearance. Leafing through his clipboard, he didn't seem to notice us until he was just a few yards from the Prince and one of the guards cleared his throat.
"I know you're there," the vampire said without looking up. And though his voice was young, he sounded like an exasperated grandfather being prodded by a relentless family member. "No need to grunt and growl at me until I make eye contact."
The guards stiffened as if offended by this, but the Prince remained unruffled. "Dr. Emerson," Salazar greeted in his cool, low voice. "I hope we are not disturbing you."
"Not at all. At this point, I'm so disturbed that anything else will seem tame compared to the week I've had." The vampire finally lowered his clipboard and faced Salazar, his eyes dull and exhausted. "What can I do for you, my Prince?"
"What is the status of those infected?"
"At this point?" Dr. Emerson shook his head. "They're fucked. Sorry to put it so bluntly, but that's how it is. I'm probably going to need a whole new batch to study by the end of the week. I might start shooting this group in the head to get them to stop screeching and babbling at me nonstop."
I was suddenly glad that Zeke wasn't here. Salazar didn't seem amused, either. "I will not risk sending my people out into the Fringe to retrieve more test subjects for you, Dr. Emerson. You will have to make do with these." He stared hard at the other vampire, who dropped his gaze. "Have you made any progress at all?"
Emerson started to reply, but suddenly noticed me, waiting rather impatiently behind the Prince and trying not to say anything. I didn't know why we had stopped, and I really didn't care. I was only here for Kanin.
"Who's this?" Emerson asked in a tone that suggested I might get in his way or knock over something important. I narrowed my eyes and scowled back. "Are you sure it's wise to bring civilians down here, my Prince? If she forgets herself and bites one of the patients-"
"That will be my concern, not yours," Salazar interrupted. "And we are not staying long."
Thank goodness, I thought. Get me out of this creepy place. I want to find Kanin.
"I have but one request before we go," Salazar continued, and I bit down my impatience, tapping my heel against the floor. "Our 'volunteer.' Is he still alive?"
Emerson's face fell, making him look far older. "Yes," he murmured. "Barely. By now, I wonder if we shouldn't just take his head and put him out of his misery." He looked at the Prince for consent, but Salazar didn't give it, just continued to watch him with blank eyes. The doctor nodded slowly. "You want to see him? Follow me."
"I thought we were going to see Kanin," I told Salazar as we trailed the doctor down another hallway, the guards close at our back. "You gave your word you would release him, and I'm not going after Psycho Vamp without him."
The Prince gave me a cold smile.
"Patience, girl. I assure you, Kanin is not going anywhere. Before you meet your sire, I want you to see this."
We'd come to a door in the side of the hallway, marked with a strange yellow-and-black sign in the center. WARNING, it read in bulky letters, but before I could read the rest, Emerson unlocked the door and pushed it open.
Salazar motioned for me to go in. Cautiously, wary of things that might leap at me through the door, I stepped inside. The room was dark, lined with shelves of instruments that winked at me in the shadows. Nothing moved or made a sound, until I heard a low groan coming from the far corner. A curtain hung from the ceiling, obscuring whatever was there from view, but beyond the sheets, something was moving.
Resisting the urge to draw my sword, I stepped up and pushed back the curtain.
A rotting corpse lay there on a mattress, flesh decayed and blackened in areas, showing hints of bone beneath. I could see the chest cavity, where the skin had withered and shriveled away, and ribs poked up through disintegrating flesh. Some of its fingers were missing, either fallen off or lost as it had thrashed around in life, for leather cuffs still encircled the bony wrists, tying it to the bed. Its skull lay on the pillow, gazing sightlessly at the ceiling, much of the skin rotted away. I saw the curve of bone in its jaw, the outline of teeth through its wasted cheek. And just as I was wondering why Salazar would show me this, the corpse turned its head and stared at me with bright, glassy eyes, opening its mouth in a silent scream, and I nearly bolted from the room.
It was a vampire, or it had been, once. I could see its fangs, hear the click of teeth as it opened and closed its mouth, silently gaping at me. Like it was trying to speak, but was unable to make a sound. Horror twisted my stomach when I saw his eyes, glazed over with agony but conscious and alert. He knew what was happening to him.
"Disturbing, is it not?" Salazar said over my shoulder. The vampire Prince moved beside me, staring blankly down at the living, rotting corpse.
"What happened to him?" I asked.
The Prince put a hand on the bed railing. "He was volunteered for an experiment, and given the infected blood of the humans in the Fringe. This is what happens when we feed on the sick outside. Not only does the virus affect humans, it carries over to any vampire who bites one of the infected. We start to rot away from the inside, until our bodies are so damaged they cannot sustain us anymore."
A virus that attacked not only humans but vampires. No wonder the city vamps were freaking out. What had Sarren done? Salazar turned from the body and stared at me with hard black eyes, his expression grim and frightening.
"Now you understand why we must find this madman," he said. "If Sarren truly caused this, we must stop at nothing until we capture him and force him to give us a cure. Otherwise, New Covington will be lost." Without taking his eyes from me, he gestured to the vampire in the bed. "Remember what you have seen tonight, Kanin's daughter. If Sarren is not found, we could all end up like this."
I could only nod. Salazar studied me a moment longer, then turned away. I gazed at the horrific, rotting corpse one last time, seeing his mouth gape, pleading silently for death, before I shuddered and hurried after the Prince.
One of the other vamps met us at the door with a cooler, which he handed solemnly to a guard. Then we followed the Prince through another set of doors, another maze of hallways and, finally, down a long flight of steps that continued past several floors until it seemed we were miles below the surface.
Just as I was about to ask Salazar how deep this place went, the stairwell ended at a pair of massive steel doors, padlocked shut and barred from the outside. Salazar gestured, and we waited as the vampire guards removed the bar, unlocked the chains and pushed the doors open with an earsplitting groan.
The room beyond was dank and cold, carved from natural stone. Cement pillars marched down the aisle, and cells with thick iron bars lined either side. A bloated, hulking figure lumbered toward us, a vampire whose head nearly brushed the low ceiling, whose eyes were beady and cruel. His bottom jaw didn't quite fit the top half, and jagged teeth poked from his mouth like shards of bone. He loomed over the Prince and the guards, eyeing me curiously, until Salazar snapped his fingers.
"Take us to Kanin."
The huge jailor grunted then turned, lurching away down the corridor. We followed him, stepping over puddles and weaving around pillars, until we came to the last cell.
My skin felt tight, crawling with nerves. Through the bars, I could see a pale, ragged shape, shirtless and filthy, huddled against the far corner. Salazar and the guards didn't move, but I edged closer until I was touching the cell door, peering in. Heavy iron chains dangled from rings set into the wall, jangling softly as the figure shifted on the hard ground. I couldn't see his face, but I could suddenly feel him watching me.
"Kanin," I whispered. "I'm here."
He raised his head, and my insides shrank in fear and horror. The face was his: it was Kanin, but the man staring across the cell at me was a mere shadow of my mentor. His skin was chalky-white, stretched tightly across his bones, withered and gaunt. His eyes were hollow, sunken and stared at me with no spark of recognition, no sense of self, nothing but Hunger. His lips curled back, revealing deadly fangs, and he lunged at me with a roar.
I jerked back, even as the chains brought him up short, several feet from the bars. Kanin roared again, straining to reach us, his face a terrifying mask of Hunger and rage.
I felt sick, close to tears, and swallowed hard to control myself. I'd come so far, put everyone through so much, just to find my sire. And now that I'd finally found him...he was gone. Driven to madness by Sarren's cruelty and Salazar's hatred. I never thought I'd see him like this. Despite everything, I'd always thought Kanin was too strong, too wise and composed and stubborn to turn into the savage creature in the cell. A Lost One, like Salazar had said.
I clenched my fists. No. No, I wouldn't give up on him. There had to be something left. Kanin was starving and crazy with bloodlust, but that didn't mean he was gone. He was too strong for that.
The hiss of plastic drew my attention, and I turned to see one of the guards open the cooler and pull out two bloodbags. Their attention, and the attention of the monstrous jailor, was on Kanin, still hissing and snarling at the end of his chains. But Salazar was watching me, a small, pleased smile on his face.
"He can't hear you now, girl," the Prince said over the mad snarling coming from the cell. "He doesn't recognize you, or me, or anyone. All he knows at this moment is Hunger. Let us hope that his mind is still intact when he comes out of his blood frenzy."
Anger flickered, but I pushed it down. I watched the guards approach the cell, and stepped aside as they very cautiously reached through the bars, being careful not to lean too far in. I could see the fear in their eyes. Kanin hissed and snarled, fighting to get to them, a demon barely restrained.
They tossed the bags at his feet, and he fell on them instantly. I forced myself to watch, even though it was hard, seeing him like this. A mindless animal. He ripped the bags to shreds in seconds, gulping down the blood inside, until his lips and hands were dripping with red and the floor of his cell was splattered with it.
At last, the savage feeding came to an end. Growling softly in his throat, Kanin slowly rose, dropping the mangled plastic. For a moment, he just stood there, staring at the bloody floor of his cell, his expression blank. Then, without looking at us, he slowly backed away. Hitting the wall, he slid down until he was hunched over on the floor, staring straight ahead, at nothing.
Salazar turned to me.
"Now it is up to you," he said, dropping a small iron key into my palm. "If you think you can reach him, you may go into his cell and free him from his chains. But be warned- if he is truly Lost, he will attack you viciously, and if that happens, we will not open the cell door again. You will be trapped with a mindless, savage Master vampire, and he will tear you apart. So be very certain, Kanin's daughter. Are you sure you want to do this? Do you trust your sire that much?"
I closed my fist around the key. "Just open the door."
He nodded and motioned to the jailor. The massive vampire drew a ring of keys from somewhere beneath his bloated stomach, inserted one into the cell lock and pulled back the door with a rusty screech.
If I were alive, my heart would've been slamming against my ribs as I approached the cell and slipped through the frame, the key clenched tight in my fist. I took one step forward, and the door shut behind me with a clang, trapping me in the small space with a half-crazed Master vampire fully capable of taking me apart. I gazed at the huddled figure against the wall and shivered. If Kanin attacked me, I would have to defend myself with lethal force. Even if he was shackled and I was armed, he was still far stronger and far more deadly than anything I would ever face. Even if I got away from him, Salazar wouldn't open the door to let me escape, he'd made that very clear. If my sire was truly Lost, if he came at me with nothing on his mind but Hunger, the only way I'd leave this cell would be if I killed him.
Slowly but deliberately, I moved forward until I stood just shy of how far his chains would stretch. Kanin remained still, staring at the floor. But I felt his awareness shift, stirring to my presence. Even though he wasn't looking at me, he knew I was there.
"Kanin," I said very, very softly, ready to surge back if he lunged. "It's Allison. Can you hear me?"
Nothing. No movement or sound from Kanin's hunched figure, though I could still feel his cold stare, aware of my every move. "I'm going to try to set you free," I continued, slowly gathering the nerve to take that first, and perhaps final, step. "I don't know if you can understand what I'm saying right now," I went on, searching for any sign that he was at least listening, "but I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to kill me when I get close."
Again, there was nothing. Kanin shifted just the tiniest bit, making his chains clink against the wall, but he gave no indication that he'd heard. And, standing in that filthy cell, just a few feet from the man who had saved my life, Turned me into a vampire and taught me everything I needed to survive, I suddenly realized...that I was afraid. Of Kanin. Not because I could lose him, though there was that, too. I was afraid to step forward, because I didn't know him anymore, because I'd seen the true demon that lay beneath that smooth, unruffled facade, and it was terrifying. We were all like that, deep down. Stripped of our awareness, our presence of mind, our logic and reason, we were all just monsters waiting to feed.
This was what my demon looked like. What I could become.
What Zeke could never see.
I shook myself. This was getting me nowhere. If Kanin was Lost, he was Lost, and nothing I did now would bring him back. The only thing left to do was to see if his mind was still intact, or if I was going to have to cut him down before he could kill me.
I clenched my fist...and stepped forward, into his reach.
Kanin didn't move. I took another step. And another. Until I was right beside him, gazing down at the top of his head. Relief hammered through me, but I didn't relax. Standing this close to Kanin felt like watching a rabid that hadn't quite noticed me yet. But once it did...
With slow, cautious movements, I knelt beside him. He stirred faintly, and I heard a low growl that made me freeze, but he still didn't attack.
My hands were shaking. I bit my cheek to steady myself then smoothly reached for his arm and the iron shackle on one wrist.
He let me take it without protest, without spinning around and lunging at me with bared fangs. My heart rose a bit higher, but we weren't out of here yet.
Still shaking, I put the key into the metal band at his wrist, turning slowly until it clicked under my fingers. The shackle loosened and dropped away with a clink.
And Kanin moved.
His head came up, turning to me. As if he'd just realized I was there, how close I was. For a split second, I met his blank, glassy stare, daring to hope.
Then his lips curled back from his fangs, and I knew I was dead.
I threw myself backward as Kanin lunged, snarling, his eyes bright with madness. Getting clear was the only thing on my mind now, putting distance between myself and this vicious demon who could easily rip me apart. I wasn't nearly fast enough. Kanin grabbed my leg and dragged me to him, hissing, and I howled in fear, kicking at his chest. He yanked me beneath him, and one hand clamped over my throat, squeezing hard. Thankfully, I didn't need to breathe, but my vision went red with pain-he was so strong!
"Kanin!" My fingers grabbed the hand on my throat, the other groped for my sword-hard to do while pinned on my back. "Dammit, get a hold of yourself! It's me-"
His grip tightened, crushing my windpipe, and I gagged on the words. Standing, Kanin yanked me upright, turned and slammed me into the wall. My head struck the stone with a sickening crack, but I barely felt that pain as Kanin brought his head down and sank his teeth into the side of my neck.
I went rigid, unable to move. For just a moment, I was there again, the night I was Turned, where I died, Kanin's fangs in my throat. It did not feel the same. My last night as a human, I remembered the pain, but also an intoxicating pleasure and warmth that had radiated from my core, soothing me to sleep, to death.
This was nothing like that. This was pure, blinding agony. With the exception of a wooden stake through the gut, it was the most painful thing I'd ever felt. I couldn't move, I couldn't even think. My mind emptied of all rational thought, except for one memory that flashed across my consciousness, clear as day.
"Vampires do not feed from each other," Kanin had told me once in the hidden lab. "One, feeding from our kind does nothing for the Hunger. In some cases it can make it worse. Two, forcibly taking blood from a vampire will cause that vampire untold pain. It's one of the most violent, intrusive acts we can commit on another kindred, and is viewed as barbaric and needlessly cruel by most."
"Ew," I had responded, making a face. "Good to know. So, vampires don't bite each other? Ever?"
"I said we don't feed from each other," my mentor replied in that infuriating way of his. "However, on rare occasions, two vampires who are attracted to one another will sometimes share blood. It becomes more of a sensual thing, the desire to offer a part of themselves, to feel close to another, rather than the need to sate the Hunger."
"Ewww," I'd said again, with a little more emphasis. "Well, thanks so much for that lovely image. Let's just say I'm not going to let any vampire near my throat, now or ever. I can promise you that."
The memory flickered and was gone in an instant, leaving nothing but pain behind. And a savage regret that I hadn't heeded my own promise. "Kanin," I gritted out, my voice harsh and ragged. I tried to make my arms move, to push him off, but he growled and sank his fangs in deeper, making me gasp. I closed my eyes, clenching my jaw to keep from screaming. "Kanin, s-stop. Please."
Abruptly, Kanin froze. He still had me pinned to the wall, but the hand around my throat loosened the slightest bit, and his fangs finally slid from my neck. I shuddered, slumping in relief as the vampire paused for a long moment, his brow furrowed as if trying to remember something.
"You..." The voice was low and raspy, as if it hadn't been used in a long, long time. Kanin blinked, and his gaze shifted to me, still confused, tormented by indecision. But his eyes were clearer now, the glassiness fading into the black. "I... know you."
I nodded painfully. "It's me," I whispered, my own voice ragged and faint. My throat burned, raw from abuse, but I tried to keep my gaze steady. "That night in the rain, when you saved me from the rabids? Do you remember?"
He stared at me, frowning. I watched his face, watched him struggle to claw himself out of the dark pit of madness, back into the light. Come on, Kanin, I urged him. You're stronger than this. You're almost there. Please, don't make me lose you again.
Kanin closed his eyes, his face tormented. When he opened them, I saw the last of the madness fade away, and for a moment, his expression was a raw, gaping wound. Horror, shame, guilt and despair lay open on his face as he looked down at me, recognition breaking through at last.
"Allison."
I almost collapsed in relief. "Yeah," I whispered, forcing a pained smile as he stared at me as if I were a ghost. "It's me. Damn you, Kanin. You were a pain in the ass to find, you know that?"
Kanin didn't answer. Without warning, his hands rose, pressing to either side of my face as I went rigid. His stare was awed, hopeful, as if he couldn't quite believe I was real and had to touch me to make sure I wasn't a phantom.
"You're here." I barely caught the whisper, and Kanin's eyes closed again as he bowed his head. It was a broken sound, a man desperately grasping at the last thread of hope, when he had been in the darkness for so long. "You came."
And, as I stood, shocked, against the wall of the cell, Kanin sank to his knees in front of me, holding the backs of my legs. The top of his bowed head pressed against my thighs. "You came," he repeated, a chant holding him to sanity. I swallowed the lump in my throat and touched his broad shoulders, biting my lip to keep the tears in check, as the cell door opened with a creak, and the Prince beckoned us both to freedom.
