The Children Of The Night (Book 1, The Bloodline Chronicles)

5. Punishment

Camilla

Camilla wondered if her grandfather noticed she was missing by now. She hadn't come across a clock yet, but she knew it was almost time for the sun to rise. He would be back from hunting by now, and he'd notice she was taken.

It had been several hours since her transformation. She knew that much. Time felt somehow faster now. She didn't know what to make of that. Everything felt different.

She also wondered if Emma had gone out to the party after all. It was the start of a new millennium, so all the students in their class were invited to a party at Jackson's house, which Emma was particularly thrilled about. Camilla had refused. She wasn't a partier unless it was for a horror film rerun, then she'd stay up all night with anyone willing to join her. Which was only either Emma or Kris.

Kris was definitely at the party. She was a partier at heart. Maybe she dragged Emma along. Emma wasn't the type to do something on her own. She was scared too easily.

The idea that she might never see any of them again made her blood boil. With both hatred and regret. For Kassan and herself. If she had only pushed more, tried and fought harder to get away: that wouldn't even be a possibility. If she had gone out with her grandfather like she used to, she wouldn't have been alone in defending herself. But because of her unpreparedness, she now ran through the corridors of this Vampir prison.

She remembered back to the minuscule tour that Alexander had provided, where the common rooms doors stood. If only she could find her way back. Retracing steps in the dark wasn't one of her best suits. She hardly knew where the room she had been transformed in was. She hadn't yet found the end of this maze. Was there an end?  How far did it go? It couldn't be endless.

Although she wasn't good at retracing her steps in the dark, she knew how to pick up on obvious things. Like the indentations on a wall, or the number of steps she took in a hall, the number of corners she turned, etc.

After a while, she started regretting her decision to leave Alexandre's room without having asked a single question. He said he wouldn't have helped her escape, but something told her that with puppy dog eyes or a jab to the throat, he'd pipe up and give her what she wanted. In other words, he looked like a pushover.

She eventually came to the two door common room. The seal looked the same anyway. She wondered how many Vampir's were behind it, if there were any. And if they would even notice her presence.

She went to open one of the doors but both opened instead, and behind them were hundreds of glowing red eyes in darkness. The dark itself looked different now, almost lighter, if that made any sense to the logical side of the brain. Nocturnal, almost, but not as clear as x-ray vision.

They were all looking at her. She stood, immobile, with her hand to the door, and looked at them without expression. Could they see her better than she saw them? The thought sent fear down her spine.

Then she saw familiar piercing green eyes that now gleamed in the dark. Kassan.

"My kin. To be frank, I had hoped the introductions were made later on, but what better time than the present?"

Immediately there was light, candles upon candles lit up after he spoke. She saw the amount of Vampir's before her and wanted to bolt for the nearest door. Preferably, the one that led to the exit.