Elemental Reverse Harem Quartet (part 1: Earth)

Chapter 12

Is it a room? Is it a cave ? Is it a basement in Stoke Newington?

Malka Selby

Walking down the twelve-million-step staircase was a lot easier than climbing it.

Although I wasn't looking forward to having to ascend yet again, Beck assured me we weren't going all the way to the bottom.

We'd reached sub-basement level, and I was kicking up an excellent speed going down when Beck stopped me.

"Do you want to see where the vampire sleeps?"

Who would say no to such a question?

Not me.

Beck pushed open a door, but neither of us stepped inside. You didn't just wander into someone's bedroom uninvited at the best of times. And of all bedrooms, this looked uninviting.

It was dark. There were no windows and no curtains. There was no furniture at all.

Freshly plowed bare earth substituted for a carpet.

The walls and ceiling comprised of nothing more than dirt. The vampire cave was literally that. A bare hollow dug into the ground.

"Unbelievable. He really sleeps in there?"

"Yes, I know, right? You would think someone so old and wealthy would sleep in something big and grand. Although it is Romanian soil that he's shipped over especially to scatter on the floor."

More than the fangs, this was convincing evidence that our host was the blood-sucking demon he claimed to be. No sane person would have a room like that if they could afford wallpaper.

Beck placed a hand high on the doorframe and leaned against it. "I find, if you get too fond of him, it helps to remember where he sleeps. He's not a living human in the way that we are, albeit we're a magical subset of humans. This is where he sleeps, in this dirty little hole. I don't think any less of him for it. But it's a reminder that even though he looks like us, and he's extremely thoughtful and kind, he is a different species."

"He's a nocturnal blood drinker. That's not something I'd easily forget. What about you, are you too fond of him?"

"No danger of that. He pushes me back to Haydn all too often. Like we've already told you, Varu and I are just friends."

As we stood looking in the doorway, I noted the strange turn of phrase about a man who was supposedly saving himself: Pushes me back to Haydn. Beck might have meant the way Haydn trained him to be a witch, but I got the feeling there was more to it. Something distracted me before I could pry further.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed figures. I grabbed hold of Beck's arm, not knowing whether or not to be alarmed by the sight of Maria and a man watching us. "Should we be here?"

He saw them too. "We're fine at the moment, because Varu's not in there. They protect him when he's sleeping. Vampires are deadly when awake, almost impossible for a witch to beat in a fight without powerful magic, but vulnerable when they're asleep." Beck closed the door, and we set off down more stairs.

I didn't want to think about how Maria and the man might protect Varu if we'd intended him harm.

"Why does he trust you?" I asked.

"I don't honestly know. Vampires have abilities we don't. They see our auras. I must have a trustworthy one." Beck chuckled to himself. He paused on the next half-landing, where we'd do a complete turnabout.