Almost To Die For Part 12

Elias understood my question instantly. "My prince's blood stains your threshold, my lady. More than that, you are his blood. The befuddlement spell is no match for such a marker."

"Oh," was all I could think to say. I had my hand on the door latch. I glanced between my house and Elias. "So, uh, do you want to come in? I just want to grab a few things. Then maybe we could, like, go out to lunch or something."

"The invitation is generous, but I can't count on this rain to last," he said, peering at the dark wall of clouds. "I'll need to return underground soon."

"Seriously?"

"Quite."

SO I LEFT ELIAS WAITING in the car, especially after he explained that my mom would likely sense another trespa.s.ser of his "caliber," whatever that meant exactly, on her doorstep. It was enough for me to know that Mom's Spidey-sense would tingle if Elias came in.

I did not want to alert Mom. Especially since on top of everything else, I was now officially truant from school.

Pulling my schoolbooks out of my backpack, I dumped them on the parson's bench. With the whole Thompson licking incident, I knew I wasn't going back to school today. I just couldn't face it. My cell tumbled out and bounced on the floor. Picking it up, I thumbed it on.

The screen danced with missed calls, voice mail, and text messages. I must have had three dozen! Just scanning the t.i.tles of the texts, however, I knew most of them could wait. Everyone wanted details about gym cla.s.s. Taylor was the only one to ask if I was okay. There was nothing, not even a gossipy taunt, from Bea.

I quickly wrote Taylor back just to rea.s.sure her I was . . . mostly. I told her I'd call after school, if I got a chance.

To Bea, I couldn't resist a sarcastic, "Glad you care so much."

My finger hesitated over the SEND b.u.t.ton. Should I let her know how much she hurt me? She seemed to be just fine with acting like I didn't exist. Maybe I should pretend I didn't care either.

I still wore the necklace she'd given me yesterday. I could feel all the care she'd put into it resonating from the stones. If she wanted to pretend our friendship didn't matter to her, fine. But that's all it was: pretend.

I hit SEND.

And I took the necklace off. I thought about tossing it on the floor, but I just couldn't. So I stuffed it into the outer pocket of my backpack.

Quickly, I dashed upstairs to gather a few things. I had no idea what a person was supposed to wear to her debut as a vampire princess, so along with some utilitarian stuff like socks and underwear, I pulled out my nicest sundress, nylons, and matching heels. From the bathroom I gathered my toiletries, some makeup, bits of my favorite jewelry, and Mom's sandalwood perfume. I paused before tossing it into my bag, but it wasn't as if I was stealing it. I'd be back . . . eventually.

What else?

Money.

Back in my room, I frantically dug through my dresser drawer until I found my collection of gift cards. Many of my extended relatives, especially those who weren't witches, didn't know what to give me for birthdays or holidays, so I'd ama.s.sed a fat wad of no-expiration-date gift cards for everything from Barnes & n.o.ble to Home Depot.

Alas, the only other cash I had was my penny jar, which was really an old pot I'd picked up at an antiques store that I tossed my change into. Even though it probably had twenty or thirty bucks in it, it was far too heavy to bring along.

I had no idea what else might be important, so I whispered a quiet, heartfelt "Good-bye" and bounded down the stairs with my overflowing backpack. Somewhere deep inside the jumble of jammed clothing and such, my cell rang.

Ignoring it for now, I rifled through the hall closet until I found a waterproof jacket. I lifted the lace curtain by the parson's bench to check to see if Elias was still there. I could see the silver drops of rain reflected in his headlights beyond the shrubbery and fence. Shrugging into the jacket, I clutched my backpack. As the call rang into voice mail, I remembered to lock the door and ran out to the warmth of the waiting car.

"Where shall we go, my lady?"

Even though it was horribly old-fashioned, my heart still skipped a beat when Elias called me his lady. I watched the rain-drops spatter the window. Were they slower now? Would the sun be out soon? I didn't want Elias to be hurt, so I said: "Underground?"

Sixteen.

I was glad I hadn't changed into my sundress when Elias showed me the sewer manhole.

The rain had slowed considerably by the time we parked in the Swede Hollow neighborhood. The cloud cover was breaking up. Rain had changed from sheets to a miserable light drizzle that ran down the collar of my coat and plastered my hair flat against my face.

"You're kidding, right?"

The residential block was deserted; apparently most people in the area worked nine to five. Elias squatted in the middle of the empty street, prying the manhole cover off with a crowbar he'd retrieved from his trunk. I leaned against the door of the car with my arms crossed in front of my chest. My head shook in dismay and disbelief.

Okay, I didn't know what to expect when I suggested we go underground, but I'd gotten it into my head that vampires were natural creatures. The last place I expected Elias to take me was to a sewer drain.

"You aren't seriously expecting me to go down into there."

Elias had the cover off and pushed to one side. For a moment, he regarded me with a hint of wounded pride. "There's more underground than rat tunnels, my lady. If you would but follow me, you shall see."

I could smell the distinctive smell of treated waste even from a distance. "No way."

With a quick look up at the lightening sky, he deftly lowered himself in. "The time has come for me to return. You must do as you wish, of course, Your Highness. But whatever you choose, pray do so quickly."

It would be a long, wet walk home. Besides, I couldn't really go home . . . not tonight, anyway. I was still worried that Mom might decide to magically ground me, as it were. That scared me, especially now that I knew that vampires were easily enslaved by witches. Would I even know if she put me under?

I shuddered at the thought of the gross damp tunnels, but I said, "Fine, I'm coming."

With a nod, Elias began his descent.

Just below the mouth of the slender hole, a ladder disappeared into the darkness. In less than a foot or so, it was so pitch-black that I couldn't see any sign of Elias. I knelt by the opening and peered down. "Uh, h.e.l.lo?"

I nearly jumped when Elias's face materialized out of the blackness. "Please, my lady. Let us make haste." Then he was gone again.

"But I can't see."

His disembodied voice echoed in the musty, dank air wafting from the hole. "I will guide you. Hurry, we can't be seen coming this way."

Did I need to shut the door, as it were, behind us? I looked at the heavy manhole cover. I tried to move it, but no matter how hard my muscles strained to lift the cover, it didn't budge. "I can't get it."

"I will send the Cerberus to hide our tracks." Soft clanging footfalls retreated deeper.

I didn't want to be left too far behind, so I finally made my move. Tentatively, I put a foot on the first rung. It felt far too slender and slippery, and the hole seemed way too deep and dark. I held my breath and grabbed the top with my hand.

As I started down, I looked up. The sky was a gray circle surrounded by black. My knees trembled. "I don't like this." My voice sounded even shakier and weak.

"Just keep climbing. It's not far."

Despite his a.s.surances, it became hard for me to release each foot to the surrender of that horrible moment of nothingness between steps--especially now that the shadows had completely surrounded me and I could see nothing. It was like dropping down a ladder with your eyes closed. Only worse, because no matter what I did, I still couldn't see where I was going.

"I don't know if I can do this," I said. When I looked up, the fading gray sky of the exit was no larger than a doughnut. My stomach twisted and turned into shivering knots. My knees locked. I couldn't go farther down and, instead, had to fight the urge to scramble back up the way I'd come.

Light flared below me. Suddenly, I could see that I stood on the final rung, which was situated about a foot above the floor. I hopped down quickly, thankful for solid ground. The tunnel had opened up to a large, hand-hewn sandstone pa.s.sage. A set of railroad tracks ran down the center.

Elias held a flashlight with a wide beam. Swinging it around to illuminate the wall I'd just climbed down, he indicated a shelf that had been placed near the ladder and that was filled with various sizes and shapes of flashlights. I gasped when I noticed the young, pale-faced, dark-eyed boy sitting silently in the ratty wicker chair beside it. His dark hair fell in lanky strands. The dark pits of his eyes watched me, unblinking.

"Your Highness, this is a Cerberus. He guards the gate," Elias said as the young man stood and bowed in my direction.

"Um, hi," I said.

The boy nodded again. Taking a flashlight from the pile, he handed it to me. I took it. With another bob of his head, the boy scrambled up the ladder.

"Won't the sunlight bother him?" I asked.

"He's human," Elias said simply. Perhaps in the dark Elias could see my stricken expression, because he added, "He's well looked after. Better here than above, at any rate. From time to time, we take in strays--people that otherwise have no place--and in exchange, they guard us while we're vulnerable and asleep." Elias pointed his flashlight down the tracks. "Now, if you'll follow me?"

Well, I'd come this far, hadn't I?

Switching on the flashlight the strange boy had offered, I followed as Elias walked along the tracks. I flashed the light around the chamber, surprised how high the ceiling was. At intervals, thick beams of dark wood reinforced the tunnel.

I was glad I had my coat. The underground air was chilly and damp. The smell I'd a.s.sociated with the sewer was fainter here, though water glistened on the tan sandstone, making the walls appear dusted with a fine spray of glitter.

We moved along the pa.s.sage without speaking. Something about the s.p.a.ce brought on a reverent silence. Sounds of scrabbling on stone echoed and rebounded in the cavernous dark. I swung my flashlight around trying to see what it was. When a bat flitted past my head, I squeaked in fright, nearly tripping in the gravel-strewn areas between the ties.

Elias laughed kindly, and his hand lightly grasped my elbow to steady me. "We have long shared our daylight living s.p.a.ces with bats," he said. "Hence the a.s.sociation."

I smiled like I appreciated the information, but all I could think was Ewww!

Bats flashed in and out of the beams of our lights, and I did my best not to flinch. Ahead, I heard a gentle gurgling sound. With a brief touch on my shoulder, Elias directed me toward a more natural opening in the wall. We stepped off the tracks and ducked through the entrance. The inside revealed an odd scene. A creek flowed between sandy banks. Frogs peeped on the sh.o.r.eline. They plopped into the water with a splash as we walked along the edge of the water.

"This is cool," I breathed. The air smelled fresher. Only a hint of the moldy darkness marred the air.

The walls of this new cave were a combination of river-cut sandstone and industrial debris. The ceiling would have felt more like a cavern's except for the rebar, steel beams, and broken concrete that formed an artificial roof. Occasionally the walls rumbled and shook with the sound of traffic pa.s.sing overhead.

Elias continued to lead me along the banks of the underground river. Once again I was startled by the appearance of a sentry who stepped out of the shadows and blocked our path. Her long stringy hair appeared almost white and her eyes bulged slightly, reminiscent of those blind albino cave fish. She wore khaki hiking shorts, combat boots, and a tank top underneath an army surplus jacket. When she saw Elias, she snapped a smart salute and all but clicked her heels.

"Sir!"

"At ease," Elias said after returning her salute. "I present Her Highness Anastasija Ramses Parker. We request entrance to the city."

"Granted," the guard said. "Welcome back, Captain."

She smiled and then the two of them clasped hands. To me, Elias said, "I'm afraid there won't be much to see. The court sleeps."

THE Pa.s.sAGE WIDENED. STALACt.i.tES DRIPPED from above, creating graceful, latticelike patterns. In these various nooks and crannies people slept.

I'll be honest--they didn't look entirely human. There was something animalistic in the way they huddled together. Men and women slept partly on top of one another, and most were quite naked. Their pale bodies gleamed like deposits of alabaster.

"The exile court of the dark realm," Elias said formally, gesturing in the direction of a platform formation I had not initially noticed. A waterfall split around a tall outcropping. In the center, between the twin sprays, a man sat on an indentation as though it were a throne.

"Dad?" I asked, recognizing the figure. I took a step closer and shone my light directly at his face. It was him all right. He wore fancy clothes and was wrapped in a purple cloak. His eyes stared forward, and I thought he must see me, so I waved. Elias shook his head. "His Highness is indisposed. The sleep has reclaimed him."

"Oh." My voice was small. I shone my light around at all the sprawling, naked bodies. Everyone seemed to have fallen into heaps, like victims of some horrible plague or nuclear disaster. "Aren't they cold?"

"No, we're impervious to temperatures of all kinds."

"Oh." I toed the soft sand ground. "So this is where you live?"

He glanced around as if trying to see how the place must look to me. "Yes," he said finally. "I know it's difficult to imagine, but it has its beauty. Tonight you shall see this transformed into a glittering palace, alive with laughter and delight."

He was right about one thing: I couldn't picture it. What he described sounded lovely, but what I saw now was kind of disturbing.

"The sleep calls to me as well, my lady," he said. "Soon I'll be of little use to you."

"You're taking a nap? Now? " I was horrified at the thought of being abandoned among all these lifeless vampires.

He looked stricken. "I must."

"Please stay awake with me, Elias."

"I'll do what I can," he said. Taking my hand, he brought me to a spot near where we'd first entered. He sat down on the ground, with his back against the cave wall. After a brief hesitation, I took off my backpack and set it on the sandy floor. I perched uncomfortably on top of it. The spot he'd chosen hid the view of most of the cadaverous court.

Elias's eyelids drooped, but he fought to keep them open. I snuggled next to him, sensing the heat of his body.

Was this the life I had to look forward to as a vampire? Sleeping naked in a cave during the day?

"Do you like being . . . what you are?"

"Hmmm?" Elias asked sleepily.

I lifted my hands to indicate the cave and its inert inhabitants. "Do you like your life?"

But he didn't answer. He'd fallen fast asleep.

I SAT FOR A WHILE with my b.u.t.t getting colder, feeling kind of stupid and bored. What time was it? I wondered. Out of my bag, I retrieved my cell phone. It was nearly three. The final bell would be ringing soon. There were no signal bars--no surprise, I supposed, given how far we had to be underground. I scrolled through my messages anyway. Most of them were from people I knew only tangentially.

There was a text I hadn't noticed. It was from Nikolai. He wanted to go out tonight. Talk about a dilemma! Stay here with the unconscious vamps and have my debut at the exile court, or go bowling with a hottie rocker witch whose family hunted people like this?

Elias huffed quietly in his sleep. Water dripped from the dank-smelling walls.

Sitting here pretty much sucked.

But could I find my way back?

First, I dug out a notepad and a pen from the front pocket of my backpack. My pen hovered over the half-sized page I tore out. What to write? "Sorry. Had to go, got better offer" might be accurate, but it was hardly kind. "Dead naked people not my scene. Went bowling" sounded too flippant. I mean, I was giving up my supposed "debut" to go off on a date with Nikolai, and it wasn't Elias's fault I found this cave-sleeping part of vampirism unsettling.

In the end I settled on not giving any kind of explanation. I wrote simply, "Sorry," and left my phone number and my name. "Will see you tonight as promised."

I had no idea if Elias even owned a cell, but he'd surprised me with the car. I felt a small pang as I tucked the note between his fingers, which were laced on his chest. Elias deserved more, but I couldn't condense my feelings in a short note. Everything had happened so quickly. Only yesterday I found Thompson annoyingly cute. Today, I tried to eat him. And grew fangs. Sitting in a cave under St. Paul surrounded by dead-looking people was not what I needed.