Glitter & Gore [a vampire romance]

5: Into the Maw

After several minutes of Zoran leading us along the cliffside, Amy slapped Hay Head's chest enough times that he finally let her down. She looped her arm through mine to prevent him from walking between us, and with a huff of annoyance, he lingered a few paces behind, pulling out some kind of smartphone to distract himself.

That intrigued me. If technology worked here, maybe I could contact the human realm, expose the vampires to the press or something. Dismantling their whole secret society would be a fun little prank before we skedaddled from this place.

My first step—and main hurdle—would be reducing Mr. Mosquito's suspicion. Usually I liked to hide my intelligence, blend in with everyone else, and wait in the shadows until I was ready to strike. I'd exposed my competency to Zoran too early, though; he already had high expectations of me, and if he had a brain, he would patch up any holes I might escape through.

For now he didn't seem concerned with me, and since I didn't know what awaited us at the vampires' home, I had to take this moment to formulate a plan with Amy.

"Zoran's so hot," I whispered, baffling her into dropping my arm.

"I told you!" she quietly squealed. "His arms—"

"That was a lie, actually. I was checking if he can hear us. He can't, since he wouldn't have been able to resist winking at me or making some conceited comment." I waited a few seconds for him to turn around with a cheeky retort, but he seemed lost in a daydream, his face pensive whenever I caught a glimpse. "We need—"

"Can you believe what happened on the altar?" she hissed over me. "Magic is really real—this is insane. And also, why the hell is there a blood spirit? Is it alive in me now, eavesdropping? I have to assume it always has been, because my favorite dating show asked the contestants that exact sex partner question a few weeks ago."

"It was a horribly generic question," I argued. "But...the blood spirit did seem strangely modern for a timeless entity. Regardless, we need to get out of here, and I want you on board with my pl—"

"Um, no. Didn't you hear the blood? We're gonna marry vampires. I knew this would be amazing! You always doubt my insights, but which one of us got the higher GPA? This bitch."

She pointed both hands toward herself, and I presented her with my blandest face.

"You were having a panic attack back there."

"Yeah, I know, but I survived. I didn't go through all that trauma just to run back home. We're in this for the long haul now."

I pursed my lips but didn't bother fighting, even though I knew she didn't want this. Her perfect life with her mansion and her cookie cutter children was what she'd always enthused about, and as soon as these parasites started biting us, she would remember. That traditional dream life, and even the human realm in general, wasn't necessarily what I wanted, but I wouldn't demean myself to the position of a vampire's slave-wife just for the sake of adventure. When the time came, I would save us both from this fate.

Ahead, the cliff split in two, and Zoran took the descending path, calling over his shoulder for us to watch our step. I did but still tripped on the rocky terrain three times, silently thanking Thoth when we finally reached a black door in the mountainside.

Cavernous stairwells and hallways awaited us within, the dark stone lit by flickering sconces. I tried memorizing our path, but every branching corridor looked the same.

Goddammit, I should have fended off the vampires in the human realm. I always relied too much on my intellectual aptitude and neglected my ability to physically defend myself. Now I had zero knowledge to work with and zero athleticism.