Chronicles of the Uprising (Trilogy 1): Trilogy 1 (7 page)

Up an unfamiliar flight of stairs, Mira, her Owner, and the two handlers exited into a brightly lit lobby. Unlike other places Mira had been before, this place radiated an almost cheerful nature. Warm and inviting compared to the drab gray of the prisons, Mira felt as if she had entered a whole new world. Colors she’d forgotten existed were splashed all over paintings adorning the russet-colored walls. Crisp white trim framed the doorways. Comfortable-looking wingback chairs flanked a set of elevator doors that had been polished to a mirror-like finish.

As if to remind Mira of her place, one of the handlers nudged her a little too harshly with the butt of his UV torch. “Quit gawking. Move.”

Olivia took the lead, heading straight to the polished steel elevator doors. She pressed the button, which illuminated to a bright orangey-red. “Your Patron keeps you in luxury. Remember this. If you so much as annoy him in any way, I’ll send you to the lightbox for a week.”

“Got it,” Mira said, with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. She knew what she had to do and didn’t need the reminder. She would do whatever was needed to keep herself alive and hopefully give herself another chance to make an escape. Even as they entered the elevator and exited on the top floor, Mira was paying close attention to every detail, looking for ways out, making sure she remembered exactly how they got to and from all of the new places she’d seen this day.

The hallway they entered was just as warm and inviting as the lobby they’d left. At the end of the hall sat a large mirror. Mira had not yet seen herself after she’d been cleaned. In truth, it had been years since Mira had seen a real reflection. She’d seen images of herself on the big screen in the arena, covered in blood and gore, but nothing like this, a close up, clear look at herself. She hardly recognized the woman staring back at her. Her face, her eyes, her hair – everything was so alien. What was most disturbing though was that in this light, she almost looked human. All the makeup they’d slathered on her covered up the pale skin and the bruised-looking bags under her eyes. Even her hair seemed to have an unnatural glow to its raven color. She supposed that was to make her more presentable to humans, but it made her feel a little like a clown.

The handlers escorted her to the doorway of her Patron’s suite.

Olivia gave Mira a quick once over, nodding approvingly, before pressing the doorbell.

When the doors parted, Mira met the muted green eyes of the man who’d thwarted her escape attempt the previous day. The Regent. The most powerful man in the city. And her new Patron. The irony of it almost made her laugh.

“Leave her with me.” His voice was confident, his smile seductive. The little quirk up at the corner of his lips gave his entire face an impish quality. He might be an attractive man, if Mira were attracted to humans. But that was a moot point. He was her Patron, and she’d have to do whatever it was he wanted of her, attraction or no.

“She’s a skilled warrior, sir,” one of the handlers replied. “Quite dangerous.”

“She knows what’s good for her. This little treat will not harm me,” her Patron replied.

Mira sneered at the way he called her a treat. Like she was some little plaything, no more real than a doll. Of course, that was probably closer to the truth now than anything else, dressed up as she was. She’d been giftwrapped for him like some present for New Year Jubilee.

“I’ll leave my guards at your door. Call if you need anything,” Olivia replied and bowed low, respectfully, to her Regent.

“You’ll hear from me when I need you.” He reached out, grasping Mira by the arm in the same way he’d done the previous day, and pulled her into his room.

The automatic door shut behind her with a soft click.

The Regent released her and walked further into the suite. “Come. Mira, right?”

He damn well knew her name, why was he playing?

“Sit, relax. Please.” He indicated to a plush couch in the center of the room. “Would you care for refreshment?”

“What is your game?” Mira had no patience for pleasantries.

“I thought we could continue our chat from yesterday, with a little more privacy.” The Regent unbuttoned the jacket of his purple suit and laid it carefully on the arm of the couch.

The thought of what was sure to come curled Mira’s lips. She tried to hide it, remembering what her Owner had warned, but couldn’t quite cloak the contempt in her voice. “Why? What do you want from me? Why are you playing nice?”

“Easy now, Mira.” He held his hands out as if to emphasize the calm in his voice. “I want nothing from you but a chat. You’re a curiosity. I want to know more about you.”

“Why, so you can exploit me and my kind later?”

“So I can understand.” Impatience began to overtake his congenial tone.

“Understand what?”

“To get right to the point, then: I want to know how a blood savage can show so much humanity.”

“Humanity?” Mira laughed at the word. “Humans are the savages. Look at how you treat my kind.”

“Kill or be killed, Mira. Survival…”

Forgetting for a moment that she was supposed to keep her Patron happy, Mira yelled, “Don’t feed me that bullshit.” Almost shaking with rage, she stopped herself from advancing on him and doing something she might regret. “My kind are no more murderous than yours, and yet we’re the ones behind bars, tortured, forced to perform like dancing monkeys. Forced to kill our own kind… at your command!”

Seemingly unfazed by her emotional outburst, he responded, “You drink blood…”

“Yes. Because that’s the only thing we can stomach. What’s your excuse for spilling so much?”

“We’re getting off on the wrong foot here. Let’s calm down.” He set himself down smoothly onto the end of the couch. “This is exactly why I wanted you here. I feel as if I may be misinformed about many things, especially your… species. I would like the opportunity to know more. To understand. Please…” He patted the spot next to him. “Enlighten me.”

Wary of what his true motives were, Mira had no choice but to indulge his questions. She had to play the game, as George had so often told her. Walking to the couch to take her seat, Mira glanced around, noting all of the windows and doors in the room. What few there were. The suite itself, though opulent, was cozy. The sitting room appeared to make up the bulk of it. A small door off to her left must have been the bedroom area, as she saw no other door except for the one through which she’d entered.

A smallish curtained window sat above a computer-generated fireplace. Hardly big enough to afford a decent view, it didn’t appear to open, either. Certainly not big enough to use for any type of escape. Even if it had been, they were ten floors up. A jump from that height would most certainly result in broken bones, and she wasn’t so sure she’d be able to heal fast enough to make a break for it. The place was probably swarming with guards and handlers too. Hope of escape from this room was slim to none.

“Fine. What do I call you? Patron, Regent, Grand High Poobah, what?” She set herself heavily down on the couch and almost sprang back up from the bounciness of the cushion.

“Where are my manners? Lucian Stavros.” He stood and bowed. Mira found such a show of respect odd. She still questioned his motives, but at least he was playing his part well enough to be almost believable.

“Do you need anything for refreshment?” His voice was hesitant.

“You already know the answer to that. No. I’m fine.”

“The suite is fully stocked for all needs.” His confidence wavered enough for Mira to catch the worried look in his green eyes.  I am quite sure there is a supply of… blood for you here.”

“No. I’m fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

Lucian took his seat and smoothed out his purple suit pants. He took a deep, almost calming breath before speaking. “I do not wish to use you, Mira. I know you don’t believe me. Can we please just talk?”

Whether he admitted it or not, he was using her. Information, sex, whatever his pleasure, his only reason for having her here was to serve his needs. No matter how politely he was doing it. Mira was not about to forget that. She’d give him only what she had to and nothing more.

 “Whatever you need of me, sir.” Mira’s reply was cold, emotionless.

He smiled politely. “Well, let’s start simply with your history. Tell me. How long have you been in the system?”

“Longer than I care to remember.”

“And have you been a gladiator the entire time?”

“Yes.”

“Do you enjoy it?”

“No.” What kind of a question was that? How could she take any pleasure from having to fight and kill her kind? Humans were either truly savage or clueless.

“Of course not. How rude of me to ask. Were you ever offered any other jobs?”

“I was not suited to anything else.”

“Why not? You’re a vampire, certainly strong enough to work other jobs.”

“My attitude says otherwise.”

“I’m beginning to understand that.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you’re not being very cooperative or pleasant.”

“Why should I be? I’m a slave. I’m being used every day to serve the desires of humans. Even now, you’re only interested in what information I can provide. Call it what you will. Put your positive spin on it, but all you’re doing is using me to indulge your morbid curiosity. Don’t expect me to be all cheerful about it.”

“I may be curious, yes, but have you considered that the information you provide might actually help you? I’m in a position to not only make your life better, but also the lives of your kind too. I am the Regent.”

She hated that he had a very good point, but also doubted he would actually do anything to aid in the better treatment of her kind. Mira reminded herself again that he was her Patron. She really shouldn’t piss him off.  “Apologies, Regent. Please ask your questions.”

He didn’t look convinced by her change of tone, but continued. “Okay. What did you do before you… ah... came to us?”  

Like she was going to tell him that. Now she understood his true motivation. He wanted, like others before him, to know about the safe haven.

“I lived.”

“And how long have you been a vampire?”

“Longer than I can remember.”

He sighed in frustration and stood. “This works better when you actually participate in the conversation.”

“See, that’s the problem. Other than to save my own skin by not pissing you off too much, Patron, I don’t have a reason to do that.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“Why should I? You’re human.”

“I’m trying… That’s why I offered to be your Patron. It is a show of good faith to you that I intend to keep my word. You are safe here with me, under my care.”

“You live in this opulence, while I sleep on a cold hard mattress with barely a scrap of cloth to cover me. You eat steaks and watch my kind kill each other for sport, while I spend my days fighting for survival. You order the death of my kind on a whim and allow all manner of atrocities to be done to us. You cannot ask me to trust you simply because you paid for me to have a shower and some clean clothes to wear.”

“I see. I think we are done for now.” He looked down to the com-link around his wrist and pressed a button. “You may return her now.”

He looked back to Mira. “It’s a two-way street, Mira. At least I am making some effort. Think on that when you return to your cell.”

The door behind them opened and the two handlers stepped through. They scowled at Mira and one of them grunted, “Get up.”

She stood without a second look back at Lucian and walked to the door.

The cell door shut behind her. She was back home in the tiny prison smelling of dirt and mold, filled with the agonizing cries of tortured souls. Coming from the opulent suite she’d just been escorted out of, it was a harsh reminder of who she was and how tiny and insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

Mira wiped the lipstick from her mouth and collapsed onto her mattress. She knew she shouldn’t have pissed Lucian off. Why couldn’t she have hidden her hatred of him and his kind? Was her pride really worth this? She could have just given him some of the information he wanted to keep him happy. Would it really have been so bad to play along? She could have glossed over the important stuff. Told him whatever bullshit he wanted to hear, and enjoyed a few moments of luxury. She could have benefited from extra blood; healed, built up strength, renewed energy to escape. No. She just had to let her anger and her ego get the better of her. Screw everything up.

“You okay, girl?” George asked. He appeared at the bars with a hopeful smile. “You weren’t gone very long.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Mira rolled away from her friend. Even if she had wanted to talk to someone, how could she possibly explain how horribly she’d failed?

“The first time is always the worst. It gets easier. He didn’t try to hurt you, did he?”

As if he could actually hurt her. Mira was a champion gladiator. No. The only thing that was about to hurt her was herself. She’d probably lost her first and only Patron ever. “Go away, George. I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You don’t always have to be the tough girl. None of us like this sort of thing, but we do it to save our skin.”

“I will find a way out of here.” She said it more to herself than to George.

“Yeah. I’m sure you will. But for now, try and make the best of it. Whenever my Patron calls, I try to imagine I’m laying with a hot Island girl. Caramel skin, long dark hair, mmmmmm. You might try it. Next time he calls, just imagine me.”

Despite her self-loathing, Mira let out a small chuckle. “Thanks, I’ll do that.”

 “If it’s any consolation. I heard you’re not going back into the arena this weekend.”

“What?” Mira shot up from the mattress. “Why not?”

“Don’t sound all eager to get into a fight now.”

“I’m not, it’s just… I’ve never had a weekend without a fight.”

“A Patron is good for some things.”

Had Lucian really stopped her from fighting? Was it something she’d said? He may have called her a curiosity, but she was the one completely perplexed by him. Why, of all people, would an Elite attempt to keep her safe? It just didn’t make any sense.