Page 85 of Vervain

Saya Claymore

“We will travel until we hit Skulire and stay there for the night,” Serun says as he stops at the caged elevator past Olivia’s dwelling, behind the manor. “Then it will take us four days to reach Coven, and from there we will travel by boat across the border to Shepherd.”

“That long?” I say, my frown deepening. “Why can’t we use the portal orb?”

Serun’s eyes narrow, and the shadows cloaking him ripple with agitation. “I don’t want to use that method of travel when I don’t know if it’s safe on the other side. Using it to reach the feeding ground was risky enough, though not enough time had passed for the slayers to take it—and of course, the Sunken City is always safe.”

“What if Cole doesn’t have that long?”

He glances at me, then away. “If they didn’t want him, they would have left him on the side of the road instead of taking him. I believe he is safe enough for now.”

“Okay…”

The elevator opens, and we enter. Olivia follows. The luggage she had earlier is now two backpacks, after Serun instructed us to pack light. He takes our shared bag from her, and Olivia keeps the other for herself. She pins herself to the other side of the elevator, her red eyes darting to him and then away.

Metal rattles, shuddering until the cage lifts. Wires spin, scraping with a slight, irritating screeching noise as we rise above the manor. Overlooking the Undercity, I grind my teeth as I say goodbye to a place I was finally getting used to.

Nightwalkers and humans roam obliviously. In a strange way of life, there are neither sheep nor wolves here. They each want something from one another—food and safety. So, they work together without it feeling like control.

Why are feeding grounds on their side of the border? Serun made it seem as if slayers had a hand in it, but why would they want blood?

“Do other countries have feeding grounds, or just Naylen?”

Serun unclasps the buckle of the baldric holding the sword he had designed for me, then twirls his pointed finger, and I turn around. Positioning the belt over my shoulder so the scabbard rests on my back, he says, “Just Naylen, from what I know. Others tried other things, but they never worked out in the end. The Nightwalker Lord in Truen created nightwalker cities, caging humans like fodder to feast on. Last I heard, he was seeking any vegodian because the flowers there are dying.”

“Truen…Is that where you are from?”

“Yes,” he says dismissively.

Olivia darts a look between us, confusion in her eyes.

“Here, to conceal your identity while we roam topside,” he says as I turn back around and Serun hands me a fox mask. “Saya’s servant, you will need one too.”

He hands Olivia a mouse mask. I bite my lower lip, my fangs sinking into flesh at her incredulous look as she takes it. “A fucking mouse…” Olivia trails off when she notices the hard glint in Serun’s eyes. “I love it!”

Liar.

Serun grunts in response.

Looking away, determined not to form an attachment, I take a step towards the edge of the cage and survey the Undercity. We’re high above the buildings, getting closer to the ceiling. The city below becomes nothing more than sporadic specks of lantern light, and all I hear is the rattling, clanking of a cage that sounds like it will break soon.

Then, the cage shudders to a halt, careening back and forth. My stomach lurches, only for Serun’s shadow to slip around my waist and pull me back beside him.

We share a look, and with no words needed, I place the fox mask over my face and fasten it at the back. My vision is disrupted, as if there’s always something in the corner of my eye.

I wonder if this is how the masked Bleeders felt.

Serun reaches to the ceiling of the cage, grabs hold of a ladder and drags it down until it snaps into place. My hands curl into fists when Serun steps up, turning into pure shadow. I step where he was a moment ago and look up. Serun is now at the top of the ladder, opening the hatch, and my eyes widen nearly out of their sockets. The stars.

“Your turn,” Olivia says. “I will take the rear and pull the ladder up behind us.”

“Right…” I look up again, my hands gliding over rusted metal, the ladder rattling in a way that doesn’t feel safe.

I climb up, every step weighing on me, my stomach wanting to fall back to the Undercity. Nothing good comes topside. All my darkness bleeds through the air up here, but I need to find Cole.

He is my priority.

Serun lowers his hand when I reach the top, and I am lifted out and onto solid ground. Brisk night air that tastes like twilight drags sharply down my throat.