A Shade of Vampire (A Shade of Vampire #1)(14)

I got off the bed as quietly as I could – I had no idea where Derek was, but if he was in the chambers closest to mine, I figured he’d hear every single noise that I made, so I took care in making none. I slipped out of the slippers I found in the large wardrobe inside the bedroom. I figured I’d make less noise with bare feet.

I rummaged through the closet, which I discovered mostly contained women’s clothes. It made my stomach turn as I wondered why. The idea that the room next to Derek’s was specifically meant for a woman – and what that woman could possibly be intended for – made me sick. Whatever reasons these vampires had for taking us, what they were doing was terrible. I wasn’t just going to sit there and be the victim.

I tried to look for jeans or something comfortable to run in, but found none. My hands sifted through dozens of silken gowns, cocktail dresses, skirts and lingerie.

Eventually I found a pair of denim shorts and a black hoodie two sizes too large for me. I frowned, noting how out-of-place the outfit was considering the rest of the contents of the wardrobe. I shrugged it off and was just thankful that I didn’t have run through a dark forest in a cocktail dress. It was the best I could come up with and I figured it should be enough. I slipped the clothes on as quickly as I could. I knew there was no time to waste. The further I got without anybody noticing I was gone, the better off I’d be.

Satisfied with my outfit, I snuck outside the room, carrying the rubber slippers I had with one hand, careful to close the door as noiselessly as I could. I made my way toward one of the glass-covered walkways connecting the corridor to the guest room to another wing of the penthouse.

Standing in the walkway, I saw one of the girls I was with walking through the walkway parallel to where I was standing, all the way to the wing on the opposite side. She was the one whose hand I held when we were first brought in front of Derek. I couldn’t remember her name. My hopes lifted. If she was there, perhaps Derek was also. I thought for a moment if I should include the other girls in my escape. I wanted to, but I figured it would be a case of the blind leading the blind. My best chance of helping them was to escape and expose the Blood Shade to the rest of the world. Surely someone would help me save the people brought into this coven as slaves.

I didn’t spend too much time musing over this and instead, focused on how on earth I was going to get back to the ground. I looked outside and smiled faintly with relief. I saw a lift not too far away. That must be it. I pulled the black hoodie over my head and made my way to the lift. It didn’t take long before my feet were back on the solid ground. It was almost too good to be true, but no one seemed to be around to keep watch over me, so I just slipped the slippers on and made a run toward the direction opposite the Vale, the town center. I figured that north of the Vale were the Cells, east of it was the Sanctuary, while on the west side was the Pavilion. If I made a run for it in the direction away from the Vale, further to the west, I just had to reach an exit sooner or later.

Where there’s a way in, there must be a way out.

I was so wrong. After what felt like hours of staggering through the dark trees, with the rubber slippers blistering my feet and getting completely battered by the sharp twigs and stones, every muscle in my body aching and scratches all over my body due to branches I hit or bushes I stumbled into considering the severe lack of lighting, I finally reached a clearing leading out of what almost seemed like an endless forest.

But what I saw made my heart sink. It was a wall so tall and seemingly so thick, I was surprised no one’s ever noticed the Blood Shade on a map before. This will give the Wall of China a run for its money. I frowned. How I planned to get past that wall, I had no clue, and the fact that I had no idea whatsoever what was on the other side of it didn’t help either.

I bit my lip, unsure of what to do. I just sank to the ground to my knees, fighting the urge to break down and cry. There was no way I could climb this wall. I could barely even stand up. I was beginning to grow desperate. The thought of returning and facing the consequences of my botched escape was playing tricks on my mind. I was overwhelmed inside by more fears and doubts than I knew how to handle.

Suddenly, I heard a twig snap behind me.

“Well, what do we have here?” Spoke a voice that was a tad too high-pitched for a man.

“Looks like dinner to me,” a deeper, huskier voice replied.

My fists clenched. I was suddenly so aware of how many scratches I had and how blood was oozing through those scrapes. I’d practically turned myself into bait for these creatures.

“What are you doing way out here by the fortress during a night so dark?” Pitchy, with the high-pitched voice, asked.

“Taking a walk. My master said I could,” I bluffed. I could feel my face turning red.

“Really now?” This time, it was Husky speaking. “Did he also ask you to get yourself all bloody and ready to become his breakfast while you’re at it?”

I could feel them drawing closer from behind me. I slowly turned so I could face them. Based on the clothes they were wearing – black garb with red crests worn by the guards escorting us the night before - I assumed both of them were guards, assigned to keep watch of the fortress.

“Who’s your master, lovely little thing?”

Pitchy was right beside me now. He held a clump of my hair within his fingers and took a good long sniff of it.

I was about to tell them that Derek Novak owned me and harming me would be a big mistake, but was interrupted by Husky before I could speak.