A Shade Of Vampire: A Shade Of Novak Part 14

I made my way to the staircase and began climbing back up. I pa.s.sed a couple of male vampires on my way up, but thankfully they didn't pay much notice to me. They must have a.s.sumed that I had permission to walk around.

Instead of returning to my room, I climbed up one more flight of stairs until I reached Caleb's floor. I inched toward his door and placed my ear against it. I couldn't hear anything.

I gripped the handle and tried to open it, but it was locked. I knocked.

I heard a low groan and footsteps walking toward the door. The door unlatched to reveal a half-naked, bleary-eyed Caleb. His dark hair was ruffled and he wore a sheet wrapped low round his waist. My breath hitched at his bare torso.

"You... How did you-"

Before he could say another word, I pushed the door open wider and slipped inside.

"If you accidentally leave that main door open," I said, forcing my eyes up to his face, "I'll escape and the witch will never know."

He walked into what was presumably his bedroom and returned wearing a black robe. "Who let you out?"

When I ignored his question, he reached to open the door but I slammed my back against it.

"I'm not going anywhere until you give me some answers."

He rubbed his face with his hands and sighed heavily. "I don't need this ha.s.sle. Get out."

"Open the main door, and I'll disappear into the night. n.o.body will ever know you let me escape. It could have been anyone in this castle who left the door open."

He shook his head and glared at me.

"You really think it's that easy for a human to escape this place? There's a spell around this island to keep it cold. Even if you made it down to the sea without getting caught or dying of hypothermia, and somehow broke into one of the submarines and figured out how to navigate it, there's another spell preventing anyone getting out unless they have permission."

"Then why don't you just leave with me now?" I said, tugging on the sleeve of his robe. "Or when the witch is doing something else. She never has to know."

It seemed that he'd had enough of the conversation. He marched me outside and dragged me down the stairs.

He stopped outside of my door and pushed it open.

"No!"

I clung onto the doorframe as he tried to bundle me inside.

"You're not locking me up in here again."

He grabbed both of my hands and pried them away from the door. I leaped at him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and my legs around his waist. My sudden motion made him lose his footing and he stumbled backward into the hallway, his back slamming against the wall.

He gripped my legs and pried them away from him. Then he did the same with my arms.

I stood in the hallway, glaring at him. He glared back at me.

"All right!" he shouted. "I won't lock the door. But if you attempt to escape, you'll end up getting yourself killed or worse. Don't say that I didn't warn you."

I didn't nod, but I didn't object either. He turned on his heel to leave. I was tempted to shout out after him why he couldn't just escape with me and why he had to listen to what the witch said, but I figured that this was a good first step. I was no longer locked up in that little apartment like a prisoner.

Instead, I was locked up in the castle.

I can't believe he couldn't smuggle me out of this place if he really wanted to.

Chapter 20: Rose.

That evening as I was lying in bed, I heard the sounds again.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Against my ceiling. I threw the covers off me and stood up on my bed, trying to get closer to the noises.

"Say it," the witch hissed.

I heard another groan. And the sound of a fireplace spitting.

"I'm losing patience with you."

The smas.h.i.+ng of gla.s.s. The screeching of heavy furniture against the floor.

Grabbing my dressing gown, I ran out my front door and crept up the stairs. I didn't stop until I reached Caleb's door. I pressed my ear against it, the voices now clearer.

"I need you to say it."

"No," Caleb grunted, low and deep. "Never."

I pushed the door open, wincing as it clicked. I froze.

Oh, no.

There was a silence as the witch came into view at the other end of the corridor. She wore a long dark green dress, her loose hair running down her back. She sported a black eye and a deep b.l.o.o.d.y cut beneath her collarbone.

As soon as our eyes locked, fury sparked in hers. She walked over to me.

"Well, look who's here," she whispered, her voice dangerously low.

Before I could stagger back, she reached out and clutched my throat. I tried to scream, but it came out as a garbled choke. She was crus.h.i.+ng my windpipe.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you that it's rude to eavesdrop?"

I gripped her hand, trying to pry her clammy fingers away from my throat, but it was useless.

"Leave her."

The words came as a deep growl from across the corridor.

Caleb stood in the doorway, a gash beneath his lower eye, his s.h.i.+rt ripped and blood seeping through from several gashes on his chest.

The witch chuckled and continued to grip my throat, applying more pressure by the second.

Caleb launched himself at the witch. Gripping her neck, he held her in a choke until she released me.

I slid down the wall, gasping and rubbing my throat.

"Don't take this out on her," he snarled, hurling the witch against the marble floor. "And don't drag her into your sick game."

"You dare," the witch hissed, her eyes dilating with fury, her cheeks crimson.

"Yes, I dare," Caleb bellowed back down at her. "There's nothing more of me you can break."

The witch got to her feet, straightened out her dress, then after glaring daggers at me she stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

His eyes burning with fury and his whole body still heaving, Caleb turned around and walked further into his apartment. He disappeared into a room at the end of the corridor, but he didn't shut his door. I got to my feet and approached the door. I pushed the door open and entered.

As I looked around, I was horrified by the state the place was in. His s.p.a.cious apartment appeared to be open plan-his bedroom, kitchen and lounge all ran into each other. The wallpaper was torn, canvas paintings on the wall ripped. Bloodstained bedding was strewn all over the floor. The curtains were ripped almost to shreds. Caleb sat in the corner of the bedroom, his back turned to me, in a wooden armchair. A bottle of liquor by his side, he was pouring himself a shot. I watched as he downed it in one gulp.

I approached his chair tentatively.

"You shouldn't be here," he said, without turning around. But he made no motion to pick me up and throw me out the door as he had done the day before.

I walked around and stood so that I was facing him. I stared at the gash beneath his right eye that was beginning to heal slowly.

"What happened?" I breathed.

He shook his head and downed another shot.

"Why do you allow her to treat you this way? Are you ruler of this island or not?"

He got up and walked over to the open balcony door, where he stood, gazing out at the starry night sky. The full moon shone down on his chiseled form.

The living room and kitchen area were in a much less damaged state than the bedroom. My eyes fell upon a collection of cla.s.sical instruments in the corner of the lounge.

Since he didn't seem to be willing to answer my questions, I asked, "You play?"

He looked over his shoulder at me as I pointed toward the instruments in the corner.

A faint smile crossed his face.

"No," he said quietly. "Not any more."

I walked over to the instruments and was impressed by the quality of their build. They were covered in a thick coat of dust, as though they hadn't been touched for months, maybe even years. Although I specialized in the piano and the harp, I could play most instruments I saw here. My father was a master of many and had given Ben and I lessons in most.

I absentmindedly ran my hand over the top of the grand piano. Lifting up its cover, I sat down and stretched out my fingers over the keys. I began to play a tune. Soft, haunting, melancholic. I smiled bitterly-my father had played this for my mother when they'd first met.

Caleb left the balcony and walked over to me, placing his gla.s.s on top of the piano, staring down at me as I played. It was unnerving at first, playing beneath the intensity of his gaze, but I didn't let it distract me.

When I finished, I looked up at him. He hadn't moved an inch the whole time. His eyes had glazed over, as if his mind had wandered somewhere else.

"I'd like you to play for me again... Rose," he whispered finally.

The way he said my name was gentle, as though his tongue was caressing the word. The attention he was giving me was unnerving-I was used to him brus.h.i.+ng me away whenever he could. Perhaps it's just because he's drunk? I sure do strange things when I'm drunk. I stared into his eyes, trying to read him. The way he was looking at me was confusing. It was as though he was conflicted as to whether he ought to be looking at me at all.

"O-okay," I murmured.

Although I didn't get any of the answers that I needed that night, one thing had become clearer than ever. If anyone had the power and ability to get me out of there and save my brother, it was Caleb. And at that moment, befriending him-or at least trying to-seemed to be the only available option.

Chapter 21: Rose.

I was woken the next morning by a knock at my door. I got out of bed and looked around. But whoever it was had already vanished.

A black bundle sat on my doorstep. I picked it up and shut the door, then walked over to my bed and unravelled it.

Wrapped up in a black sheet were clothes. Underwear, beautiful gowns, fluffy slippers, and a warm woolen coat.

About time, I thought. I've been walking around in this apartment barefoot with blankets pulled over me in this smelly old nightgown ever since I got here.

I took a shower and, discarding the old nightgown in a bin, I pulled on fresh underwear. I was relieved that it was the stretchy, comfortable type and not the itchy, lacy kind. Then I reached for one of the gowns and pulled it over my head. It was deep purple and made of silk. I layered the coat on top and looked in the mirror.

Hm. Not too shabby.

I brushed my hands through my hair to tame it.

Now all I need is Kristal's makeup.

Kristal. Her name sent a dagger through my chest. I prayed that nothing had happened to her or her brother. If anything does, it will be all Ben's and my fault.

I have to get out of here and save all of them.

Putting on the slippers, I decided to leave the room and go for another roam around the castle.

Walking around confirmed that Caleb was my only hope. Apart from Frieda, no other vampire would even speak to me. They avoided me in the corridors. I tried to talk to one of them, and she gave me a funny look and hurried off.

I reached the ground floor and walked from hall to hall until, at the back of the building, I found the entrance to the kitchen Frieda had taken me to.

I walked around, running my hand along the metal counter. The kitchen was huge-as big as any of the other halls.