Blue Moon

Chapter 20

"Can I ask you all something?"

"Sure," Ris said, sipping her blood beer.

"Why do you all believe that stepping outside the city limits will end in your death?"

Ris and Lennon looked at each other.

"Gamichee said that the surrounding territory leaders said that we had to stay on our own turf. We're not allowed to feed in their land."

"So, they'd get offended if you took a life in their area, but if you were passing through? What if you wanted to go on a holiday? What gives them the right to stop you from going somewhere?"

They had no answer for her. Lyla shook her head as she began to pack the folders back into the boxes.

"What about werewolves? Any territory rules to follow?"

Adley shook his head.

"Interesting. Have you ever seen the movie where these people are living in this little village that's surrounded by a forest?"

They all looked at Lyla, curious as to where she was going with this.

"They're all told that they can't leave the village because there's a horrible monster in the forest, and if they go out there, they're dead. What do you think is the truth?"

"There's no monster."

"Bingo. Start packing. We're leaving tonight. Pick a territory to travel to because I want answers."

Lyla began locking the house, then sent a message to Isaac telling him where she was hiding the keys. With the boxes packed back into the trunk, the group moved out.

"So, which way are we going?"

"North. We're less likely to be killed on sight and may even be lucky to be given a chance to say something. Don't count on it though, vampires are not the entertaining bunch of creatures."

The reprieve of good weather had turned tonight, and the hounding rain had returned. Their choice of car wasn't ideal, the air conditioning was broken. Lyla cracked the window open a fraction, feeling the chill whip past her. Drops of rain splattered on her face, causing a smile. She hadn't smiled because of the rain in a long time, but tonight she had. The scent of freshly fallen rain, the coolness of the air, it was enough to remind her that it was a privilege to feel these things. To still be alive.

On her lap was a small box, Lyla hoped that it was enough to begin the conversation. If the vampires could see that they meant no harm, then there was a good chance that Lyla would get answers. Lyla's need for revenge on Gamichee was beginning to blur into something that involved all of them. Merissa had missing siblings and, like Lennon, was torn away from her family. Even Adley was now being affected. The legion had started conscripting all of the male werewolves between certain ages, and Adley was well within that range.

"Will we make it to the leader's house before dawn?"

"That's not what you should worry about, Lyl's. Worry about whether they're going to open the doors to us because if we don't, we have to turn around and come back to this area and we won't make it in time. Finding somewhere safe to hide won't be easy, and it will come with a lot of risks."

"But the other vampires will be in their homes, won't they?"

"It's not them I'm worried about. It's the humans. In our area, I know how to read the people around me. I'm used to them. This new city, it's a whole different area with humans I've never seen before. It might be easy, and it might be the worst day we've ever had."

Lyla glanced back to Adley and Merissa, who was incredibly quiet. Ris was nestled against Adley with his arm wrapped around her. There wasn't much choice, even if they wanted to spread out. The car was small, and Adley was a big boy. His head touched the roof and those long legs were cramped in the small area behind their seats.

"The humans are fine," Ris murmured. "Our biggest concern is the vampires killing us. Trust me, the humans aren't even going to know we're there. Most of them will be fast asleep in their beds, and those that are roaming the streets are not concerned about vampires."

Lennon rolled his eyes. Merissa thought that all humans were predictable, but she was wrong. As for their journey tonight, it would not be fun. He hoped that Gamichee was lying about the territories and other leaders wanting to kill any travelling vampire, but he doubted it. He'd never come across a vampire from out of town so it suggested to him that there was some merit to it.

Lyla tuned out as Ris and Lennon argued about who was right. The city lights were a blur as they travelled along the motorway.

Leaving the city was nothing new to her. She did it all the time. There were no borders for her, no concern for offending a leader with a mere step into their land, no threat of death. Vampires thought that humans were the lesser species, but Lyla was not the one that had never left the town that she lived in. She'd even been overseas.

It was supposed to be their honeymoon, but that very important person had a summit to attend, so Isaac convinced Lyla to go to Europe for their holiday. She'd agreed but, in the end, regretted it. She spent the entire holiday doing things by herself because Isaac was always busy. It was clearly too much for Isaac to take time off for something as important as his honeymoon. She was surprised that he'd actually managed to make it to the altar or Eloise's birth. His boss came first which, she understood but it was one of those things that caused a rift between them.

As Lyla continued to think of travelling, she remembered that she was a vampire. If it were true that they couldn't leave the city, she could never go anywhere again.