An End of Night (A Shade of Vampire #16)(61)

Another thing that surprised me about this place was the fact that all of these humans seemed to have a room to themselves. One also wouldn’t know that one was in the desert down here. It felt like there was some kind of air-conditioning system.

I didn’t understand why they held such high standards for their prisoners. I wasn’t used to seeing prisoners being treated like this by supernaturals. It was odd. Especially considering—I assumed—they only ended up using these humans for blood anyway.

I finished traveling along the corridor to meet with another door. This one was not locked. I pushed it open and continued walking forward. I could detect half-bloods now.

This area was lined with similar rooms, but they seemed to be bigger and had a more comfortable feel to them. More effort had been put into making these people feel at home. I noticed bookshelves in some of them, and even the occasional mini-fridge. I continued looking from chamber to chamber, passing half-bloods of all ages and genders. Finally, at the end of the long winding corridor, I found Tobias. It was impossible to tell what state he was in because he was fast asleep. Still, he was alive.

Now I just had to hope that his life wouldn’t be worse here than if I had just let cancer claim him.

The area Tobias was in led to yet more corridors lined with rooms. I walked further for about five minutes, and still hadn’t reached the end of them. I was shocked by just how many people they kept down here.

If someone came down, it would be impossible to avoid them. The corridors were narrow and there was nowhere to hide. I decided it was time to return upstairs even though I hadn’t finished looking around.

Passing back along the various corridors, I climbed to the top of the stairs and walked back out into the small room where I had picked the lock. I closed the door behind me and, sliding my claw into the keyhole, I fiddled around with it again until it clicked shut.

Then I walked back out onto the terrace outside. Unsure of where to roam next, I found myself walking absentmindedly toward the lush gardens in the center of the atrium. I walked past the various exotic plants and flowers, barely appreciating their beauty and the effort it must have taken to grow them. My thoughts were lost elsewhere.

It was only when I passed by a pond covered with blue water lilies that something caught my eye. A stone slab, fixed into the ground at the edge of the water. It caught my eye because the grayness of it was so at odds with the lush surroundings. I strayed from the narrow path and crossed the grass to stand over it.

Even though I had perfect eyesight, I was convinced that I’d been imagining things.

But, as I bent right down close to the stone, there was no room for doubt.

Etched into the stone were the words:

“In memory of Lucas Dominic Novak.”

My jaw dropped.

Lucas Novak?

Who on earth would have installed this here?

It had to have been done since this coven had arrived here. Jeramiah had already told me that they’d rebuilt this place from scratch.

Could it be possible that one of these vampires or witches used to be a friend of his and knew that The Oasis was where he had met his demise?

Shaken by the idea that I could be in the presence of a close acquaintance of my family, I headed straight back to my apartment. Whoever had erected this wouldn’t be a well-wisher of my parents. Lucas and my father had been bitter enemies, and he had met his death at the hands of my grandfather while trying to murder my mother.

No friend of Lucas would be a friend of mine.

Locking the front door behind me, I headed back to my bedroom. I almost jumped as I laid eyes on a blonde girl sprawled out on my bed. Marilyn. She was naked but for a sheet pulled up to her chest. Still holding a bottle of wine in one hand, she looked up at me through hooded eyelids.

“Don’t mind if I sleep here, do you?” she slurred.

“What are you doing? Where’s Jeramiah?”

She scowled. “He said I drank too much tonight. Didn’t want me in his apartment. Said I snore too much,” she replied, before taking another swig from her bottle.

I snatched the bottle from her and shoved it out of reach.

Her frown deepened.

“You can’t sleep here,” I hissed. “Find a spare room in someone else’s apartment.”

Her lips formed a coy smile. “I’m not used to sleeping alone.” I looked away as she sat up abruptly in bed, the sheet slipping to reveal her bare form.

Jesus Christ.

Keeping my eyes fixed on the door, I said through gritted teeth, “Get out. Now.”

“If you’re worried about Jeramiah, he doesn’t mind really. He shares me all the time…”

He shares you, or you share yourself?

To my discomfort, she leapt out of bed and flung herself at me. I brushed her away, grabbing another sheet from the bed and wrapping it around her tightly so that her arms were trapped within it. I looked toward the door before turning back to face her. Her eyes were glassy and bloodshot.

“If you want to stay here, you’re going to answer some of my questions,” I said, my voice low.

“Sounds fair enough, I s’pose.”

I sat her down on the bed, before leaning back against the wall, watching her intently.

I showed her the mark on my right biceps.

“Who did this?” I asked.

She eyed the tattoo. “I dunno. We all get them once we arrive here. I’ve got one too, see.” She struggled to show me her tattoo, but failed miserably due to the tightness of the sheet around her.