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“I simply need to talk. We already had an agreeable discussion with Gabriel. It’s your turn now.”
His words meant only one thing. Something went terribly wrong.
“If you’re not going to open the door willingly, I’ll have no choice but to break it,” Mr. Iglesias said.
At that moment, I realized I had a target on my back. I needed to sprint to the hideout now.
I thought the Special Forces would barge in using heavy tools, but no, I simply heard two short buzzes of a drill, and the door fell to the ground. I guess this department didn’t have time to fool around. Still, amid door-falling, dust-clouding chaos, I felt I had a small chance of escaping. I dashed to the Petra mini-museum, and right as I was inches from the hideout, someone grabbed me by the hair.
I collapsed to the ground, similar to the door’s fate. It took me several seconds to understand what had happened. But before I could attempt another escape, Mr. Iglesias appeared before me dressed in combat garb. He was still handsome (what was with all these evil people being gorgeous?), but the streak of hatred skewed some of his features. “We meet again, Milady,” he said, not forgetting to add a tinge of sarcasm to the last word. “Now, I believe we can talk on my terms.”
“Mr. Iglesias, I thought you were, first and foremost, a humanitarian. Why are you doing this?”
“When a person decides to side with the enemy, they become the enemy. It is not that I am no more a humanitarian, but rather I follow a strategy of war.”
“What war? It is but us here.”
“The potential of war can be just as hazardous. Threat prevention is part of our mission.” He grabbed my hand and helped me stand. “Now, let’s focus on you, Petra. There are two options. First, you join our forces against this supernatural evil. If you refuse, we’ll use you as leverage to convince The Count to obey our commands.”
“I cannot believe you named him The Count. Your administration should consider investing in a new department. You know, the Creative Department?”
“A witty mouth can elicit great repercussions, Milady. I advise you to keep it shut for the foreseeable future.”
“And what if I refuse?” I asked, surprised by the stream of courage escaping my mouth.
I could see his anger rising, almost reaching a boiling point. He twisted my arm to the back, and suddenly there wasn’t an issue for me to talk but to be able to breathe.
Mr. Iglesias’s actions infuriated me. I didn’t spend years in Wallachia to be manhandled by a professor gone rogue. I kicked his shin with my heel and elbowed him in the neck. He, of course, didn’t expect his history class student to brawl medieval style, so he let me loose. I sprinted out of the study in a split second.
Behind me, I could hear weapons clicking, but it all stopped when Mr. Iglesias said, “Lower your weapons. We need her alive.”
My initial plan of escape had failed, but if I could find any of Gabriel’s staff, they could help me escape. To my dismay, the castle looked deserted. All the usual hustle and bustle got switched by an eerie silence. The only other exit from the castle was through the main doors, so I climbed down the stairs and into the foyer, where suddenly I heard bangs. Strikingly loud, the bangs sounded like a magnified crumple of aluminum cans. Gabriel told me to hide if I heard any unusual sounds. But my curiosity got the better of me as I approached a window and moved the curtain to the side.
What I saw on the other side crushed me. Bodies upon bodies sprawled all over. Some had already reached their natural state of decomposition, while others still held on to their dear life. But most vampires, including Shadow, were held hostage behind a dome of electrical wires. Between them, I could distinguish Troy, trying to recover from a near-death injury to the heart. The entire front yard festered with tanks and soldiers dressed in black. They roamed freely as if the place belonged to them. What in the humans acting worse than vampires was this? These people were no joke.
Again, I heard massive bangs coming from outside, but I couldn’t pinpoint its provenience. Were these people shooting the vampires somewhere? Also, there was no trace of Gabriel. How did they manage to capture him? On the next bang, I realized it came from the inside of the largest tank they had on the premises. Once I focused solely on the tank, I could see bulges protruding out of it. The amount of force needed to dent a tank from within had to come only from Gabriel. Still, I wasn’t sure why he couldn’t escape. No piece of metal could hold him down. Unless…They must’ve coated the interior of the tank in silver.
I so direly wanted to release him from those confinements, but I had to make sure it wasn’t some kind of trap. I also wondered why Mr. Iglesias’s men didn’t follow me. There had to be a reason, and the reason could turn out deadly.
I made the difficult choice to move away from the window. Nothing much could change if I simply watched these people destroy everything Gabriel had built. Hiding within the intricate corners of the castle till I figured out what to do next seemed like a better plan. I turned around to see if anyone was coming and sprinted into the castle’s main kitchen. The numerous pantries should offer enough options to hide.
For the time being, the best I could do was hide in the cupboard of the island in the middle of the kitchen. It had enough space for me alongside a stack of pans. I never questioned it before, but why did blood-drinking vampires need a kitchen and especially pans? Or was it done for aesthetical reasons? The cramped space made my spine curl like a noodle on a fork. I struggled to find a better position to withstand a longer period of time. As I did so, I elbowed one of the pans, and the entire stack tumbled down on me, not only bruising my knees but also producing a cacophony of sounds. Great. Just great. Right when I believed I had reached the next level in my spying career, it decided to tumble down right back at me.
I hoped and prayed no one heard my not-so-elegant representation of spies, but as the noises inside the kitchen island subsided, I heard footsteps. They were slow and deliberate as if the person was trying to figure out where the noise came from. I stopped breathing for several seconds, fearing any movement would betray my location. Then everything calmed down. The footsteps left, and I could breathe a deep sigh of relief. Maybe there was still a chance for me at spy school.
Except, when I tried to straighten myself, the doors flung open, and a heavy hand yanked me out of my hideout and covered my mouth so I couldn’t scream. Then silence descended. But my assailant didn’t need to say anything. I already knew I was done for.
Chapter 10
My assailant dragged me into a large pantry and closed the door. The complete darkness forced me to count my blessings faster.
“Your Majesty, I am so happy to see you again,” said a familiar voice.
“I would be just as happy if I could see anything,” I said. Vampires and their night vision. They never missed a chance to boast about it. One thing I knew for sure, the being next to me was on my side. A flashlight illuminated our surroundings, and I could finally see Kira’s cerulean eyes. I rushed to hug my friend like my dear life depended on it.
“I’ve missed you too, Milady,” Kira said.
“You cannot even imagine how much I missed you. There’s so much I need to tell you. About Gabriel’s past, and Vedoma, and…”
