Empire of Vampires ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Five

The rest of the week went by with no event, and by Friday evening the twins were ready to head to the crater. A series of trains would let them reach the base of the mountain by the next morning. They could walk from there, or possibly catch a boat going downstream. Andrew tagged along as they went down the double staircase and to the main entrance.

'Well, goodbye then,' James said pointedly as Andrew followed them out the doors.

'I'm coming with you,' he insisted, already pushing past them and heading through the path.

'Absolutely not, it's much too dangerous for you,'

'Oh, let him come James, we can keep him hidden inside a bush while we do our hunting.'

James glared at his sister's careless attitude and opened his mouth to disagree.

'I can stay in the bush!' Andrew said quickly, cutting him off, 'I don't mind, really, and I already packed for the trip,' he pointed at his backpack filled with foodstuff and a change of clothes.

His judgement being overruled by the majority, James grumbled to himself about the dangers of the night as he walked rapidly to the station. Marie gave Andrew a sideways wink as she loped behind her brother, and Andrew gladly walked in step with her.

The railway was built into the side of the mountain in a zig-zag pattern, a new set of diagonal tracks appearing at each level. The two-story train stations were made such that the train leaving from the ground floor took them downhill and the train leaving from the top floor travelled uphill. It was necessary to switch trains ever so often as it gradually took them downhill.

They dozed off now and then, not getting much rest at a stretch as they had to keep changing tracks. The twins didn't need much rest anyway, but Andrew insisted that he wasn't too tired.

Both suns had long gone down by the time the group neared the base of the mountain. James had fallen into slumber and Andrew was close to falling asleep as well. Marie gave a long-suffering sigh as she gazed out the window, realizing they still had about an hour left before they reached the crater.

'I'm hungry,' she wailed.

'Hm?' Andrew glanced at her through half-lidded eyes as he tried to hold back a yawn.

Marie turned sly eyes towards the human. 'I'm hungry,' she repeated, enunciating her words carefully.

He blinked a couple of times and then his eyes flew wide open. His jaw went slack as he realized what she was asking.

'Just let me have a sip-

'No!' Andrew exclaimed in horror.

'Just a teensy tiny sip,' she batted her eyelashes, 'I'm starving to death, Andrew— I could actually die.'

Andrew stared at her aghast, the blood draining from his face at her unbelievable request. 'You can die?'

'Yes! I haven't fed since those two men and it was interrupted.' She glared at him to convey that he was responsible for her current thirst. 'It won't hurt that much anyway,' she added, 'I'll just drink a little bit to tide me over till the train stops.'

Andrew swallowed. 'But what if you can't stop?'

'No promises but I'll try-

Andrew was partly worried that she couldn't, and partly worried for her health. Marie could get weak and maybe even "actually die," like how she said, if she waited too long to feed— although, she looked as fit as a fiddle right now.

Andrew nervously reached his hand across the table. It shook a little as she clasped it within both her hands and brought it closer to her face. The skin on her palms felt hardy and rough; iron-like grip uncomfortably tight around his slim wrist.