Page 75 of Wicked Thirst
Prisha swayed from side to side the way she always did when she was nervous. I brushed my fingers against her arm and she stilled. “Sorry.”
“No worries.”
“Smile and wave, ladies. Smile and wave.” Jester spoke, smooth and calm.
I forced myself to look as excited as the others around us. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“If they think you’re with them, then no one will suspect you.” He glanced at me, then turned his full attention toward Marius. When the crowd erupted into applause, Jester joined in. I followed suit.
“We will make the Night Spawn a place for all to live and prosper! Why should we dwell in the shadows just because we are relegated to the night? They have the power to change that!” Everyone looked at each other in confusion.“I’ve seen it! The Blood Borns are hiding their relationship with the most powerful witches to ever walk this Earth. You think they can’t find some way to give us immunity to the sun? No! They could help us. They just choose not to.”When the crowd seemed to hesitate in surprise and their brows furrowed in confusion, Marius lowered his voice. “I will prove it . . . when I too walk in the sunlight.”
Silence.
Marius chuckled. “Don’t believe me? And what if I told you those witches had the power to do it and so much more? It’s just another thing the crown has kept for themselves. Why not spread the wealth? Why keep us locked underground?”
“Because we’d burn to death otherwise?” I muttered under my breath. Jester and Prisha both gave light chuckles.
“They want us hidden away, trapped under the boot of superiority. They made us yet they refuse to offer us the same resources they’ve been privileged enough to have for centuries before any of us existed. Wealth is but a construct made to keep us down!”
The crowd broke out into yells of agreement. Jester leaned in closer to me. “He’s not bad.”
“He’s a bit too good. To be honest.” This wasn’t what the Night Spawn needed. They didn’t need their heads filled with dreams of walking during the day or lifestyles of the rich. The truth was that the Night Spawn made up a huge percentage of vampires, and no amount of shared wealth would save us all. Yet Marius made it sound like they had an infinite amount at their disposal.
“I know many of you have seen the new underground city. And the truth is, it is lovely. They have worked hard on it.” He paused for dramatic effect. “But too little too late!”He hunched over with a loud cackle that the audience mirrored. He swiped his hand under his eyes at fake tears. “But really, though, we can do better. We deserve better.”
Vampires cheered his words and whistled their approval. It was like one of those political rallies I saw on TV. I didn’t know how much more of this I could stomach. The very air I breathed felt toxic. Grayson and Titus worked so hard to build that city, much of it coming from their own funds to help Night Spawn vampires live a better life. Marius made it sound like they kept us in hovels, when in truth even the older Night Spawn headquarters had every available luxury. It was just dark and dated. Yet they’d taken the time to build a new one. It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t fair. Marius was making zealots of normal vampires based on these lies and promises of a better future he could not keep.
“I’ve seen enough of this.” Disgust rolled through my body.
I turned for the door and Prisha was by my side in an instant. “This does not bode well.”
“Not in the least,” Jester agreed as he stepped around us to take the lead.
When we exited the room, we walked down the hall and turned toward the train to leave.From the corner of my eye, I spotted the woman who’d introduced Marius to the crowd. She stood with two other of Marius’ loyal followers. One was a huge vampire with muscles bulging from his body like he was a bodybuilder. The longer I looked at him, the surer I was that he was the one who’d picked me up and dragged me along the tunnels after the attack on the castle. The other one was a skinny, sleazy-looking vampire with greasy brown hair and dark-brown eyes. Though I couldn’t make out their words, the woman seemed to be snapping at the other two. She gave them sharp gestures and cross looks while the two of them stood there taking it with their heads hung.
I grabbed Jester and Prisha, then pulled them around a corner and against the wall with me. Jester lowered his voice. “What?”
“Look.” I motioned around the corner, pointing toward that little meeting of the minds.
Jester leaned around the corner and watched the group. A moment later he waved his hand, motioning for us to follow him. He pressed his body to the wall and we followed suit as we moved down the hall.
“Where are we going?” I whispered.
He pressed a finger to lips and shook his head. We continued creeping down the hall, and slowly it became darker and more cave-like. The three minions all continued walking until they hit a line of doors. They were lined up one after the other. Windows were on one side of them like in a precinct.
They flung the door open and marched into the room like they were about to attack something or someone. A moment later, I heard the woman’s booming voice. “Who are you?” There was a faint murmur I couldn’t make out and her voice boomed again. “Take him.”
She marched out of the room with the huge vampire right behind her. He had a smaller vampire draped limply over his shoulder with his arms dangling over his head. Sweat soaked his clothing and dripped from his hair. The huge vampire turned toward the woman. “Now what?”
“We’ll add this one to our ranks.” She gave a harsh look at the two doors at the end of the hallway and her lip sneered. “I don’t think the other two are going to make it. We’ll clean that up later.”
Not going to make it?How could they be so callous? I watched as they walked away farther into the darkness and out of sight. Once they were gone, I hurried to one of the doors and placed my hand on the knob.
Jester put his hand over mine, stopping me. “Maybe you want me to call in backup to handle this?”
“Why?”
“Because what you’re going to find behind that door is not going to be pretty. And there are certain things you can’t unsee.”
