Vampire's Prey

Chapter 24: Trading a Lie for a Life

My eyes peek open, and a seething headache follows. I shut them again, hissing from the pain. My limbs remain still, waiting for the wave to pass.

I open my eyes again. It's dark. Night already? Was I left in the street?

No. There's a tarp overhead – a tent. I recognize the black and brown circular weave. This is a vampire tent.

I grit my teeth and force myself to sit upright, further aggravating the throbbing in my head.

I'm alone in this small place. The blanket falls onto my legs, and the air's cold embrace makes me shiver.

I'm topless. My stomach flips. Both my bra and tunic are gone, but my chest is wrapped in bandages. I yank back the blanket, relieved to see that my armored pants are still in place.

Tight bandages cover my right forearm, protecting the wound I got on the wall. The bandage around my chest covers the small cut from Rahlan's blade. I gently touch the sore spot on my head – another bandage. A vampire tended to my wounds.

My eyes are drawn to the thin curtain blocking the bright world outside. It wasn't some random vampire, Rahlan tended to my wounds.

I sigh and rest my head in my hands. He couldn't bring himself to kill me, but he's still hunting Ivan like a rabid dog.

The occasional murmuring makes it to my ears. The battle must be over for it to be this quiet.

Something pokes me as I adjust my leg. I pull the offending object out of my pocket. It's Jacob's iron bow necklace – the symbol of the Huntsmen. I wish he was here. He'd know what to do. My fist tightens around the necklace. If Rahlan saw it, he wouldn't be pleased.

To my headache's displeasure, I twist around and leopard crawl under the back of the tent where the cloth meets the dirt, peeking my face out from under the material before going further.

Ominous black smoke rises from behind the city walls. A large number of frightened humans huddle together on the ground, surrounded by vampires. There are wagons filled with silver, ornaments and- I cringe. Human bodies.

They are stacked high on top of each other with their heads hanging over the edge. I count four wagons of bodies, all human from what I can tell.

I squeeze the pendent in my hand, and an idea pops into my head.

A boot lands in front of my face, and my heart jumps.

The vampire moves on, not noticing me. I peek out a little further. A couple vampire's idle around the loot carts, but the ones with bodies appear unguarded.

I crawl out from under the tent and slowly rise to my feet. The pain lingers in the back of my head, like it's waiting for me to lower my guard before it strikes.

I take a step, but my feet slip beneath me, and I fall against a large wooden desk. A stack of metal swords on the desk slip over each other with a clank, and I duck at the loud noise.

A minute passes, and no vampires come to drag me across the camp. I step forward again, using a series of trees and stolen furniture to keep my balance. The headache creeps forward, but I stumble onwards.

The pain threatens to overwhelm me by the time I finally reach my target – the wagon of cadavers. Either none of the vampires have spotted me or they just don't care.

My fingers snap to my nose at the putrid smell. I scan the bodies, looking for someone with a slender face and graying black hair, someone who looks like Ivan.

I settle on a man who's little chubbier than Ivan, but he may be close enough to fool someone who's never seen him before.

I kiss Jacob's iron pendant goodbye and place it around the man's neck. Jacob would never take this thing off, even when washing in the stream. He was proud. I'm sorry, Jacob.