A Bond of Blood (A Shade of Vampire #9)(25)

“No, of course not,” she said, almost breathless with exasperation. “I couldn’t hold a grudge like that against Sofia, or any of you. I couldn’t live all these years with that weighing my heart down. And in any case, it’s not like you can choose who you fall in love with. These things just happen.”

She appeared agitated and stood up. She abruptly left the room, closing the door behind her.

Again, I found her behavior strange. My assumption had always been that Abby was a calm, cool person. Not the type to storm out of rooms in the middle of a conversation.

Once I felt confident enough to put the vessel on autopilot for a few minutes, I left the control room in search of her. I found Abby in the passenger chamber next door. She leaned against the wall and stared blankly at the opposite wall. She didn’t look up as I entered the room.

I sat down on the bench next to her. “You all right?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she muttered, blowing out. “I guess I’m just sick of people pitying me. I’ve moved on from my past. I’ve found a new life. And each time someone thinks my past might affect how I relate to others, or how others should treat me, it feels like I’m being pulled back to the place I’ve fought for so long to climb out of.”

A silence fell between us again.

“Well,” I said, “I had no idea, so thanks for telling me. It sure makes me feel a lot less awkward around you. I won’t mention anything about your past again. I’ll treat you the way I would any other girl on the island.”

She looked up at me and smiled, her blue eyes sparkling. “I’d like that,” she said, sitting up straighter on the bench.

“So, on another subject… what are you going to eat while we’re on this sub?” I asked.

“Oh, I won’t be hungry for a while,” she replied. “And if worst comes to worst, we can stop and I’ll try to catch myself some fish. Their blood is revolting, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

“All right,” I said, and walked back toward the control room. Abby followed me there. We both resumed our seats next to each other. Once I’d made sure we were still on course and traveling as fast as we could, I asked, “Did you find it as painful turning into a vampire as everyone else seems to?”

She smirked. “Oh, yes,” she replied. “There really is no way to not experience that pain. You and Rose, you’re still thinking to turn at eighteen?”

“If we survive until then,” I said grimly.

“I turned again at eighteen,” she said. “I think it’s a good age. You’re old enough to be an adult, young enough to still be excused for having fun.” She grinned.

I couldn’t think of a single occasion when I’d witnessed Abby acting her age. She always seemed so serious. More confirmation that I ought to get to know her better.

It was something I was now looking forward to doing once we were out of this dark tunnel… if we ever got out of it.

Chapter 23: Ben

I was beginning to doubt my navigating skills, but eventually, with Abby’s help, I managed to reach the beach Corrine had marked.

By the time we surfaced, the sun had already dipped below the horizon. Darkness was good for Abby, though of course not for me. I rummaged around in the submarine and was relieved to find a flashlight in one of the cabinets.

I stuffed my backpack with as many weapons as would fit, while Abby took some of her own to carry, and we both climbed out of the hatch.

A warm breeze blew against our skin as we emerged. We slid down the edge of the submarine into the shallow waters and waded through the water onto the beach. Careful to keep the map away from the waves, I shone a flashlight on it again once we had reached dry sand. I held it lower down as Abby approached so she could look at it with me.

I cast my eyes along the length of the beach.

“That way,” Abby said, pointing to our right. “I see the entrance to a cave.”

I squinted, trying to make it out in the distance. Failing, I had no choice but to trust her superior eyesight. We jogged along the beach. My heart hammered against my chest as the cave entrance came into view.

Abby’s breathing had quickened too, and she reached for my arm, gripping it tightly.

We stopped. I reached for my backpack, pulled out a gun and made sure it was fully loaded. I handed it to Abby, then took out another for myself. We walked to the entrance of the dark cave. I was wary of shining a flashlight, but it was either that or tripping and breaking a bone.

As we crept deeper into the cave, several tunnels came into view. We paused, wondering which to take first. Abby pointed to the first tunnel on our right.

“We may as well start with this one,” she whispered.

The passage was narrow and since we had to walk in single file, I took the lead. The crashing of the ocean waves became quieter and quieter with each step we took. Soon, the only sounds were our echoing footsteps and the dripping of water from the stalactites. I stopped short as we hit a dead end.

Great.

I turned around, and was about to tell Abby to do the same when she pointed to something on the ground. I shone the flashlight to see that she had spotted the entrance to some kind of narrow underpass.

“Down there?” I frowned, crouching down. “Really? If we retrace our steps there are other tunnels we could try.”

Abby crouched down next to me. “It’s not very far to the other side,” she said. “It could be a shortcut.”