The Way of Escape (11 page)

“Dinner will probably be ready soon,” I said, pulling away and regretting not doing so sooner. “We should head downstairs.”

“Someone will tell us when it’s ready,” Augustus dismissed. “Now, am I correct in assuming that you’re as attracted to me as I am to you?”

“Yes, I am
physically
attracted to you. That doesn’t mean I’m going to do anything about it.”

“You’re not going to be a mortal for much longer, Clara. In a matter of days, you will be a vampire as well.”

“What you are isn’t the problem. The fact that you don’t share my beliefs is,” I clarified. “Sure, you’d be a lot more tempting if you were a human, but I still wouldn’t give in to whatever desires I have.”

“There it is again.”

“There what is?”

“Your conviction. It’s positively fascinating.”

“You wouldn’t find me so interesting if I ignored my convictions for the sake of fleeting pleasure. You’d lose your interest eventually because of my hypocrisy and move on to the next
fascinating
girl.”

“I’m not the Lothario you seem to think I am. Yes, I’ve had my fair share of short-lived, passionate flings, but when I find someone who stirs more than my carnal appetite, I don’t take that for granted. Why would anyone toss a prized diamond aside after successfully mining it? That’s the definition of idiocy.”

“So is letting someone who didn’t buy the mine dig up your prized diamond.”

“Touché.”

Thankfully, someone knocked on the door before the conversation could continue.

“Come in,” I called, taking several much-needed steps away from Augustus.

The door opened and the black young woman I’d seen my first night on the island entered, giving a slight bow before speaking.

“Dinner is ready,” she announced softly, keeping her gaze lowered.

“Thank you. We will be down in a moment,” Augustus replied.

The slave turned to go, but she faced us again when I spoke.

“What’s your name?”

The young woman’s weary eyes stayed trained on the carpet.

“My name is Rachel, mistress.”

“Have you seen a new slave named Leah?”

“Yes, she is Master Grayson’s new slave.”

“Do you know if she’s alright?”

After casting an uneasy glance in Augustus’ direction, Rachel turned her eyes back to the floor.

“She is well and will be at dinner tonight.”

In an instant, that news lifted the burden that had been weighing down my shoulders since I learned of my friend’s fate. If Leah would be at dinner, she was probably in good physical health. After all, Emmanuel surely realized that parading my bruised friends in front of me wasn’t exactly going to improve my opinion of him. On the other hand, Leah’s good condition could mean that she had been more obedient than Connor, and I knew that submitting to the vampire who’d purchased her was likely just as damaging as our battered friend’s rebellion had been if not more.

Despite wanting to ask Rachel more about Leah’s wellbeing and about her own life under Emmanuel’s thumb, I let the conversation wind down. I knew from prior experience that my questions would go unanswered. Instead, I placed a hand on her arm, causing her to look up again. When I met her dark brown eyes, which looked so much like my own, I gave her a warm smile.

“Thank you, Rachel,” I said gently. “We’ll be down in a moment.”

The tension never left the meek slave’s body as she flashed me a tight-lipped, rehearsed smile. After another bow, she left the room and I closed the door behind her.

“Before we go downstairs, I need to make something clear,” I continued. “Like I said,
nothing
is going to happen between us. We will be allies at the least and completely platonic friends at the most, but that’s it. Is that going to be a problem?”

“Not at all,” he answered, seemingly unaffected by my unchanged resolve. “However, it will be my duty as your maker to teach you about your new life, so we will be in each other’s lives for quite some time.”

“I know. I just want to make sure we’re on the same page.”

“We are,” he confirmed, opening the door again. “You’ve made your desires extremely clear.”

We left the room and I walked through the mansion with Augustus by my side as we made our way to the dining room. When we entered, I immediately swept my gaze across the room in search of Leah. Unfortunately, the only familiar faces I saw were those of Emmanuel, Danielle, Anna, and Patrick. Augustus pulled out my chair for me and I flashed him a smile of appreciation, avoiding Emmanuel’s silent scrutiny as he sipped on his wine.

“Good evening,” Danielle greeted. “You two seem quite comfortable around one another.”

“Sharing a bathroom does wonders for breaking down barriers,” Augustus joked.

Danielle exchanged a smirk with Emmanuel as she reached for her glass.

“Speaking of comfort, I’m sorry if last night’s festivities upset you,” the coven leader apologized. “Augustus was right. Allowing my coven to feed in front of you was foolish and tasteless. I forgot that dhampirs only crave vampire blood and that spilling human blood can still be detestable. Will you please forgive me?”

“I forgive you.”

While I did forgive Emmanuel for the previous night’s transgression, that didn’t change my willingness to move forward with trying to liberate the slaves. After all, he might have apologized to me, but the human slave by his side looked as miserable as she was high and that told me that he was as unrepentant as ever. Even then, he was probably more concerned about offending Augustus than upsetting me since he’d been so vocal about his disapproval.

“That was easier than I expected.”

“Well, I’ve had to forgive a lot of people in my life. I know from personal experience that it’s better to forgive sooner rather than later.”

I reached across the table and grabbed the bottle of merlot, pouring myself a glass as the slaves entered and served the first course, French onion soup.

“So have I ruined the chance to have you as the first dhampir convert in my coven?”

“No.”

“Tonight is your third night under my roof. I know that I said I’d give you extra time to choose whether you’d like to become a vampire or remain as you are, but are you any closer to making a decision?”

“Yes, I—”

The sound of footsteps and a familiar laugh captured my attention and every word evaporated from the tip of my tongue as Leah came into view with the vampire I could only assume was Grayson. My former bunkmate’s blonde curls bounced with each wobbly step she took and shone almost as brightly as her radiant smile. Her sequined black dress and its plunging neckline showed off the impressive assets that she usually chose to downplay back home and hugged her every curve.

Even though most people would have assumed that Leah was a naturally bubbly, vivacious woman, I could tell by her dilated pupils and unsteady steps that her so-called happiness was chemically induced. My relief gave way to shock before I finally settled on concern as I remembered that Leah had once been addicted to drugs. Before she knew Christ, Leah had escaped the emotional and physical pain that came with having an abusive stepfather with weed, ecstasy, pills, and anything else she could get her hands on.

Unfortunately, the jerk she’d been married to for two years before she became a Christian made her father look like Atticus Finch, so her drug use escalated as she sought higher highs to compensate for her lower lows. After a few stays in the hospital caused by her “clumsiness” and two near fatal overdoses during their divorce, she found healing in a relationship with God.

Now, the woman whose sobriety had inspired so many people was stumbling into the dining room wearing four-inch red-soled stilettos and clinging to the arm of a vampire who had purchased her body with money and won her compliance with drugs. Grayson pulled out Leah’s chair much as Augustus had done for me, and my fellow missionary’s bloodshot blue eyes lit up when she recognized me.

“Clara,” she shrieked. “I didn’t know you would be here. How are you?”

“I’m okay,” I answered, carefully weighing my words. “How are you?”

“I’m good. I’ve just been hanging out with Grayson,” Leah giggled before taking a large swig of her wine and glancing at Augustus. “Is he your new owner?”

“No, he’s … It’s complicated.”

“Yes, sharing a bathroom with someone must make things
very
complicated,” Danielle teased. “Is Augustus as good at plumbing as the rumors suggest?”

“Don’t be crude,” Augustus cautioned.

“Let’s revisit my original question,” Emmanuel spoke up. “Are you any closer to making a decision about joining my coven, Clara?”

“Yes, but I have a couple of requests.”

“Go ahead.”

“I’ll only join the coven if Augustus is the one who changes me,” I said.

“That’s fine with me. It would be an honor to have a vampire from the Damiani line in my care. What is your other request?”

“I’d also like you to set a few of the slaves free before Augustus turns me.”

“Anyone in particular?”

“Amy, Rachel, Connor, and Leah.”

Leah looked up from the soup that she had been savoring and opened her mouth to speak, but Emmanuel cut her off before she could say a word.

“I understand asking for Leah’s and Connor’s freedom since they are your friends, but why the others,” Emmanuel pressed, “and who are Amy and Rachel for that matter?”

“Amy has been your cook for over a decade and Rachel is a maid,” I explained, quelling my anger at him for not knowing the names of two women he’d been oppressing for years. “I’m asking you to free them because I want something good to come of me joining the coven. If I can have the chance to be free, why shouldn’t they have the same opportunity?”

“That’s awfully thoughtful of you, However, who will prepare these decadent meals for us if I let Amy go?”

“Why do you need gourmet food when you can have Anna’s blood whenever you want?”

“Because I still enjoy a good meal every night,” the coven leader justified. “Since the maid can be easily replaced, I will let her go, but the cook stays.”

“You could let your sous chef go in her place,” Augustus suggested. “You wouldn’t lose your prized cook and Clara’s conscience would be at peace.”

“I’ll agree to that. What about you, Clara?”

“That’s fine,” I begrudgingly agreed.

“Now, in terms of your friends, I will only let one of them go. Which one would you like me to send home?”

“Why—”

“I’m already being more generous than usual. I’m not going to change my mind,” Emmanuel interrupted. “Make your choice.”

I let out a deep breath as I tried to choose which of my friends would get to return home. Connor had been beaten and abused, and his mistreatment would likely continue until I fulfilled the prophecy, he gave in to Marie, or she grew frustrated with him and ended his life. On the flip side, Leah seemed to be relishing in her degrading position. Though she didn’t look like she’d been harmed, she had given in to desires and addictions that she had fought and conquered for years. I knew that Connor was suffering greatly, but I couldn’t let her spiral any more than she already had.

“I choose Leah.”

“We have a deal,” Emmanuel said as he extended his hand.

“Wait,” Leah interjected. “What about what
I
want?”

“I don’t care what you want,” the coven leader replied dismissively. “You’re just a human.”

Before I could give Leah a less flippant response, she abruptly stood up from the table and stormed into the hallway. Rather than closing the deal with the coven leader, I abandoned my seat and followed her. Thankfully, she hadn’t gone too far. I found my friend seething as she paced back and forth on the hardwood floors.

“I don’t know what’s happened to you or what you’ve taken since Grayson bought you, but you don’t want this,” I pleaded. “You worked
really
hard to get sober, and now you’re using again. Do you really want to throw away years of sobriety so you can be used by someone who doesn’t even see you as a real person?”

Leah faced me and seeing the tears glistening in her eyes as she fixed me with an indignant glare broke my heart. While she and I weren’t exactly best friends, I never thought that I would see hatred in the eyes of the woman I’d shared countless meals, prayers, and moments with.

“Won’t you be using someone too after you’re turned,” she challenged. “How can you sit up here and say this crap when you’re about to become one of them? You’re a hypocrite.”

I wanted to tell her why I was becoming a vampire and that I wouldn’t participate in the coven’s oppressive lifestyle, but my lips had to stay sealed. I needed to play the part of the selfish woman who was trying to make herself feel better about a catastrophically bad decision.

It’ll all be worth it in the end,
I reminded myself.
She and the others will be so much better off away from this horrible place.

“I have the chance to become a vampire and avoid what you and Connor are going through, so I’m going to take it and get you out of here.”