Black Blood

Chapter 81

I want to run to the bars, pull on them and flee. However, it is anything but a good idea. I recognise the branches the bars are made of. They are the same as the ones that entangled the man in the forest. The corpse in the bars a few metres away is another signal that I'd better stay away from. I have never been in a dungeon before and at first glance it is not a nice environment.

It is freezing cold. The stone-clad walls let all the moisture through. The stones are wet, there is an insect here and there. It smells musty and muddy. The few oil lamps do not give much light. The floor is damp and cold.
Despite everything, I decide to stay on the floor. I push myself a little further towards the wall and lean my back against it.

Time passes, but I don't know how much. There is no daylight or clock. The only sound is the dripping water from the walls. My body trembles from the cold. My stomach growls with hunger and my mouth is dry from lack of water.

Several times already I have almost fallen asleep, but I restrain myself. I have to get out of here, get Rave and hope that Novak is still alive. I can only hope that the elves have it in them to want to and be able to help him. He won't make it to the end of the day without help.

The silence and loneliness make my head spin. All the events of the past few months seem to play out before my eyes. I can still hardly believe that I am gone from the castle. Everything they told me and or taught me there turns out to be nonsense. I hate Christiaan even more than I ever did.

Novak made me realise that life isn't just about rules and achieving goals. I have developed a love of nature and the smallest of daily activities. Eating pancakes in the kitchen with the vampires is one of the memories I like to think about. It gave me a homely feeling for the first time.

I also never thought I would regain some of my trust in men. As far as we are concerned, Novak showed me that sex can also be nice and that not all men are like Christiaan. I remember well what Novak said before he lost consciousness. It makes me think about my feelings. Do I love him? In any case, I can't bear the thought of losing him.

'Get up.' I jerk up from my thoughts and look in surprise at the men behind the bars. They are different men than the ones who brought me here. They are wearing exactly the same clothes. I push my trembling body off the floor. My muscles are cold and tense from sitting on the floor for so long. I stand half a metre from the bars.

'Closer,' urges one man. Without saying a word I take a step closer.

'Put your hands out. wrists visible.' I do what I am told. The man ties a rope tightly around my wrists and then lets me go. The other man has a knife in his hand. He cuts a hole in the bars in one swift movement.

'Running away is punishable by death,' he says unemotionally. I don't think about running away in a strange village full of hostile elves. I step through the hole in the bars. If I wanted to run away, I wouldn't have had the chance.
One of the men immediately grabs me by my upper arm and pulls me into the corridor.

I do not dare to say or ask anything. The men push me just as hard as the previous two through the corridor and up the stairs. The door is open but no light comes through. It is dark outside.

Still, my eyes have to get used to the little more light as soon as we are outside. The small narrow streets are lit by torches. Here and there, an elf looks interestedly in my direction.

'Come along,' says the man holding me and pulls me further into the village. I try to find a sign of Rave or Novak, but there is nothing to be seen. We walk through the streets full of small houses. Every now and then, a ladder hangs from a tree trunk to make the houses in the tops accessible.