A Wind of Change (A Shade of Vampire #17)(38)

Yes. It sounded like someone was grinding something. And it was loud, at least to my sensitive ears.

Since I wasn’t able to sleep anyway, I was curious to go and see what it was, but I didn’t dare leave the apartment by myself. I didn’t want to wake Joseph either, so I didn’t see any other choice but to head back to my bedroom.

I jumped as Joseph’s bedroom door creaked open. His dark hair was tousled, and his nightshirt hung loosely, revealing his muscular torso.

“You couldn’t sleep either?” I whispered.

He shook his head. “I rarely sleep in this place… Do you hear that?” he asked.

“Yes. That’s why I’m out of bed,” I replied. “Do you have any idea what it is?”

“I’m going to check it out.”

“I’ll come with you,” I said. Anything was better than going back to bed and lying there in silence with nothing to distract myself with.

Joseph opened the front door softly and we began following the noise. It led us down several levels until we realized that it was coming from the ground floor. We descended quietly and soon realized that the sound was emanating from one of the chambers directly opposite the lily pond.

I exchanged glances with Joseph. He held a finger to his lips.

My mouth sealed, I controlled my breathing to make as little noise as possible as the two of us made our way over to the door. Joseph bent down as soon as we reached it and peered through the narrow keyhole. I waited patiently until he had finished looking and gave me a turn.

The room was dimly lit and running the full length of the furthermost wall was a huge piece of machinery. Hovering next to it was a tall man. I couldn’t see his face because his back was turned toward me, but I recognized who it was based on his hair and physique. Jeramiah. His hands were obscured by a wide metal funnel, but it looked like he was lowering something into the machine, and each time his hands descended, that loud grinding noise penetrated my eardrums.

What is he doing?

I remained watching for about a minute longer, and then I looked back at Joseph. He gestured with his head toward our right, suggesting that we leave, and I followed him. We walked quietly, and didn’t speak again until we were back in his apartment. Even then, we spoke in hushed tones.

“That was weird,” I said.

“Yeah,” Joseph said grimly. “A lot of things about this place are weird.”

“What do you think he’s doing?”

“I don’t know.”

It was frustrating. There seemed to be far more things about this place that Joseph did not know than those he did.

I was reminded of another question that I’d been meaning to ask him. “This tattoo, it started burning when I tried to escape through the boundary. Why was that?”

He leaned against the doorway, running a hand over his own right arm.

“The same happened to me,” he replied. “I thought for a while that the witches here might be responsible for these tattoos. But after staying here a while longer, I’m really not sure…” He held my gaze for a few moments and then looked away. “I’m going back to bed. Good night.”

He headed toward his room.

Watching him disappearing down the corridor filled me with emptiness. Though he was still a stranger to me, his presence brought me comfort. And I wasn’t used to sleeping alone. I was seventeen, and although it was embarrassing to admit, I was so used to sharing a room with my two sisters, I actually didn’t like sleeping alone.

“Joseph,” I said, just before he closed his door.

“What is it?”

“I was wondering, would you mind if I just… slept on the floor in your room? I’m just not used to sleeping alone, to be honest. Especially not in a strange place. I don’t think I’ll ever get any sleep…”

He looked taken aback by my request. He looked back into his room, and then pushed his door open wider. He shrugged.

“All right. If you want.”

“Thank you.”

I hurried back to my bedroom and grabbed my pillow and blanket. I was going to carry these to his room first and then come back to drag the mattress. But when I stepped into Joseph’s bedroom, he had already stripped his bed of its pillows and was setting up a sleeping area on the floor for himself.

“Oh, no. Joseph, I don’t want to kick you out of your bed. I don’t mind sleeping on the floor.”

He turned around and gave me a smile. Dimples formed on his handsome face.

“It’s all right, River. You sleep on the bed.”

I felt guilty as he continued to set up his sleeping spot on the floor, but I wasn’t going to object to him acting like a gentleman.

God knew, I hadn’t known enough of them in my life.

Chapter 16: River

After I moved into Joseph’s room, I was amazed that I managed to get a few hours of sleep. And I woke up feeling refreshed. Perhaps that was just one of the many quirks of this new body I found myself inhabiting, that I didn’t need much sleep. I guessed that vampires didn’t need much either. Joseph was up before me. I found him in the kitchen, sipping from a glass of blood.

He eyed me as I entered. “How are you feeling?”

No matter how well rested I was, it was impossible to feel anything but miserable knowing my sister was still trapped in the basement of this horrifying place.