‘I love it,’ I say. ‘So much.’
‘I love you,’ he says, gathering me to him, taking my hand with the ring and kissing it, then kissing me as we slide down among the feather pillows, the soft sheets, tangling together once more.
A while later, freshly showered, we venture outside. Morning light slants between branches misted with spring leaves, huge trees like guardians around the edge of the clearing, shading the rows of ivy-shrouded houses. Children play on green grass, laughing as they kick a ball around. It’s so beautiful, so carefree, it brings tears to my eyes.
Michael slings his arm around my shoulders as we walk across the clearing, towards a gap in the houses. When I see what lies beyond them, I gasp.
‘They built a town?’
‘The town was already here. Abandoned, the forest growing up around it after the Rising. There are thousands like this, across the globe. It’s how the cells were able to expand.’
We’re at the beginning of a street, more houses visible down side streets leading into the deep woods. Humans stroll past shops filled with goods, a greengrocer with gleaming displays of fruit and vegetables, a bakery with shelves of pastries and golden loaves. I pause at one window filled with jewellery and tiny enamelled boxes, just like ones I saw in Old London. Another shop sells perfume in gilded glass bottles, while another has clothing and shoes. It’s a world away from the Safe Zone, from the market with its worn and patched stalls, shops filled with second-hand goods. These are like vampire shops but staffed by humans. The scent of freshly brewed coffee drifts from a bustling café, tables and chairs filled by people talking and eating. There’s no illusion here, I realise, as we head further down the street. It’s what I thought the Safe Zone would be like. But this is the reality I was seeking.
Except…
‘What about the blood?’ I keep my voice low. ‘Surely humans have to give blood, for the Reapers. Or, darkness forbid, they’re nothunting, are they?’
Michael points to a low brick building, a sign with a red flower on it next to the door. ‘There’s a bleeding house in every cell. But it’s voluntary. Most people are happy to donate blood regularly, seeing it as the price to pay to live like this.’
‘A bleeding house? But … if they can’t leave, and they still have to bleed, how is it different from a Safe Zone? Apart from everything being a bit nicer. Aren’t people just as trapped here?’
‘No. Not at all. You can’t leave the network, but it doesn’t mean you’re tied to one place. You can go anywhere in the world, as long as it’s within a Reaper network. Everything is digitally connected, plus there are trade networks bringing in goods, which is why everything is so nice.’
‘This isglobal? What the hell, Michael? Why couldn’t you tell me?’
‘Look around,’ he says, his voice soft. ‘And think about why.’
I look around. At the children playing, the happy people in the café. The gleaming shops and comfortable homes. I think about the small ships I saw, crossing the Channel. And I understand, even though it stings, why he might not have felt he could tell me. We barely knew each other in the Safe Zone, and we’d both been betrayed. I kept my secrets from him, he kept his secrets from me.
‘How do people get here?’
‘You saw the van, in the Safe Zone. The numbers are tightly controlled. Though the network is still expanding, it’s limited by the expanse of forest. Wherever a red flower appears, there’s a connection point. And when spaces open up, people are brought in. They call it “passing through”.’
‘That’swhat the red flowers mean?’ I laugh, shaking my head. This is beyond anything I could have ever imagined. It explains so much. The humans going missing from the estate. The woman on the bus, crying about someone she knew passing through. And Ira… Oh my God. The Dome must be a connection point.
A couple of young women come out of the bleeding house, arm in arm, both laughing. One has a sugary cake in her hand, while the other carries a small paper bag.
‘Did they just…?’
‘Yes.’
It’s so different from the industrialised misery of the harvesting plants in the Safe Zone. No shuffling line of people. No blood ports. And I doubt anyone was offered cakes.
‘I understand,’ I say. ‘I’m still pissed, but I get why it’s so important to keep this a secret. What I don’t understand, though, is how no one has ever found this place, or any of the others.’
‘We’re deep in the woods. Like, miles deep. Vampires don’t fly, so they’d have no way of seeing this place. Even if a cell was discovered, there’s a protocol in place to shut things down immediately and disconnect them from the network, keeping it safe.’
‘There is?’
‘And there’s a reason Reapers have such a fearsome reputation.’
Of course. It makes sense. Vampires stay out of the Great Forest, not wishing to tangle with Reapers. But… ‘I thought all Reapers were vampires. How were you one?’
‘Humans can be Reapers as well. It’s not easy for vampires to go out during the day, even with protection against the light. So they train humans as well.’
‘That’s how you know the Morningstar.’ And how he knew to disable Jessie, when she attacked me.
He says nothing, just kisses my hair, his arm tightening around me as we continue on.
