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"You tell me, Ashryn. How's your heart?"
Pounding harder than it should be, thanks to you. I don't say that out loud. That probably isn't the best thing for me to do. "Beating," I reply instead.
"And your lungs?"
"Breathing."
"And your stomach?"
"Hungry."
"So are you dead?"
"No?" I ask, uncertainty filling me. It may be a trick question after all.
"Exactly. You're not dead. You're just in a different state of being."
"I should start a tally for all the lies I've been told." I pout. I can't help it. I don't like how many lies I've been told over the years, it makes me feel like a gullible fool.
"You're a lot more likable when you're not acting like a bitch," he says, taking me completely off guard.
"Well you're a lot more likable when you're not being an asshole," I reply, but there's a smile on my face as I say it. A couple of days ago, I'd never have considered I could actually enjoy Bram's company. And yet, here we are.
"Can we get there before daybreak?" he asks.
I think for a moment, trying to recall the pathways they had us memorise. "Yes, but we should probably move a little faster, just to be sure. We need time to scout out somewhere safe."
Which could be an issue. Normally, a lot of hunters were there, pretty much all the time. Sneaking in won't be easy, and there's a good chance we'll have to fight our way there. Just the idea of that makes me queasy. The idea of hurting people who've had as little of a choice in this as I did, doesn't sit well with me. Sure, there were some like Ravi and Lily. People who actually enjoyed the bad bits. But most hunters do things for the same reason, I had: because they believe they have to.
The further from the guild I get, figuratively that is, we are walking towards it after all, the more I'm starting to realise just how toxic a place it is.
"How confident are you in where we need to go?" Bram asks, breaking my train of thought. Which is a good thing, really. The road I was taking would have headed very quickly towards guilt and tears again.
"Maybe ninety percent?" A little more than that even, but I don't want to come across as overly cocky, just in case I'm wrong. That's a new development from me. In the past, I'd have been a cocky little shit about it all. Must have been super annoying for everyone around me. I'm sort of regretting it now.
"Want to try something else vampires can do, then?"
A quick glance over at his face reveals a childlike glee that can't be faked. Whatever it is he wants to show me, he truly enjoys it. Which makes me think I probably will too.
"Sure," I reply, smiling back, but with a little more hesitation. I'm not sure what he's planning, and this could go completely wrong considering I don't l have any experience in whatever it is.
"You know we have super speed?"
"I wouldn't call it super." Enhanced, sure, but super is pushing it a bit from what I've seen and experienced.
"I would. Catch me if you can, Ashryn." With that, he starts to run, picking up speed quickly. Far quicker than I expect.
"Wait, Bram, you need me to direct you!" I call after him, before breaking into a run of my own. My speed picks up just as quickly as his did, and I'm soon careening after him into the night. Let's hope I don't run into anything.
Chapter 5
The run is exhilarating. Though I should have thought about tying my hair up before we set off. Then again, I'm not even sure I have a hair tie with me. I keep my hair longer than most hunters, so normally do. But with everything going on at the moment, it didn't cross my mind.
"That's the guild?" Bram asks, looking out onto the bunker style accommodation I grew up in.
"Yes, what did you expect it to be like?"
"A bit more accessible."
