A Trail of Echoes (A Shade of Vampire #18)(24)

“Are there lots of people our age in The Shade?” she asked.

“Yes,” I replied. “There are lots of people of all ages in The Shade. It’s kind of a place for everyone.”

“You must be the hottie of the island.”

I rolled my eyes. It would be a lie to say that it wasn’t a constant effort to keep girls at bay back home. But that wasn’t something that I was interested in boasting about or letting on to. So I chose not to respond to her comment.

“And what about you, beautiful? I was surprised when you told me that you’ve never had a boyfriend. I would’ve thought that you’d be the target of all the boys in your class.”

She shrugged. “I guess I don’t make myself very approachable. And I’ve had family problems, lots of them. Even if I did get asked out, I’d never really have felt stable enough to commit myself much… You, um, you’re the first boy I’ve ever kissed.”

“Wow… I, uh, wouldn’t have guessed if you hadn’t told me. You’re a great kisser.”

She grinned.

I was glad that she had told me. Knowing that I had been her first was something that I didn’t take lightly.

“You said that your brother is autistic,” I said. “Is that the ‘family problems’ you’re referring to?” I hoped that my question wasn’t intrusive. I didn’t want to pry into something that wasn’t my business, but I felt genuinely curious.

“Well, my dad has been… kind of an *, shall we say. He’s actually in jail right now. He’s been sentenced to ten years.”

“Oh. I’m sorry,” I said.

“Nothing to be sorry about,” she said. “It’s just life… He put a real strain on our finances before he left, and my mom has been struggling for a while to care for all of us, including a disabled nineteen-year-old. So I got into the habit of working a lot to help out. My grandfather, he’s comfortably wealthy, and has often offered money, but, well, he and my mom fell out recently and things have been awkward between them… Anyway. I don’t want to bore you with my sob story.”

I was silent for a few moments, thinking about her words.

“You’re a strong person, River,” I said.

She shrugged. “As my mom would say, when life throws stuff at you, you either duck or catch.” She paused, then changed the subject. “You keep saying how you want to cure yourself of your human bloodlust, but do you have any idea how long that is going to take? Or how you’re going to do it?”

If I was honest with myself, since I’d realized that River was my responsibility, and I had offered to bring her to The Shade, I had postponed thinking in depth about my problems almost entirely. My focus had been on fulfilling my promise to River and getting her to The Shade in one piece. Once her situation was sorted, I’d be able to direct my attention to my own problems.

“I’m not sure how to answer either of those questions yet,” I replied.

She shifted in her seat. “I just… I feel like you’ve helped me so much. Is there anything that I could do to help you?”

I looked at her seriously. “River, you have helped me—have no doubt about that. You’ve helped me more than you realize.”

“It doesn’t feel like it, at least not compared to what you have done for me.”

“Well, I can’t think of a way you could solve my problem permanently. I also don’t know where my mystery might lead me, and I wouldn’t want to drag you into any more danger than you’ve already been through.”

She looked down at her feet, appearing dissatisfied by my answer. But she said, “Okay.”

After that, we were mostly silent for the next few hours, apart from a bit of small talk.

Once I felt confident to leave the submarine on autopilot, I caught River’s hand and led her toward the back of the submarine where we explored the rooms—something we hadn’t had time for until now, due to being so bent on escaping the harbor at Colombo. It was much bigger than I had estimated. There were five cabins with single beds, three toilets, a galley, and a small sitting area. River said that she wanted to take a shower, so we parted ways in the corridor. I headed to one of the bedroom cabins and sat down on the single bed, leaning against the wall.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for human blood now that we were in a submarine bound for the Pacific. I’d ended up finishing the blood that we had caught in barrels from the blood shower while we were still on the ship. So for now, I wasn’t craving. But sooner or later, I would start feeling the thirst again.

That had been the advantage of being in The Oasis—at least there, I never had to worry about running out of human blood. It was restocked in my fridge as if by magic the moment I began running low. Now, I had to start thinking about possibly murdering another innocent person in the near future.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to last all the way to The Shade, and then waiting for River, and then traveling back somewhere else, to wherever my next destination was. No. It was inevitable. Somehow, I would have to get human blood. Perhaps stop on a remote island and find some hospital where the patient was already dying. That was the most humane way I could think of to satisfy myself.

I brought myself back to the present. For now I was full, and I had River with me, who would hopefully stave off my cravings longer than usual.