The Way of Escape (19 page)

“I have to go.”

“Do you mind if I pray for you first?”

His question caught me so off guard that it took me a moment to respond. Even though Connor and I were friends and saw one another regularly, he’s never actually prayed over me. In fact, I’d never prayed with anyone of the opposite sex other than when we were blessing a meal. However, as jarring as his offer was, it was very welcome. I needed all the prayer I could get considering what was going to happen the next day and the new life I would be beginning.

“No, go ahead,” I finally replied.

Connor reached out and held my hands in his as he bowed his head and closed his eyes. I followed suit and cleared my mind, letting his words wash over me.

“God, your word says there is no greater act of love than laying down your life for your friends, and that is what Clara is doing. She’s giving up the only life she’s ever known and the life she’s been hoping for to help complete strangers. Please protect her tomorrow and help her plan go off without a hitch so that her sacrifice won’t be in vain. More than anything, help Clara continue to cling to you as she begins her new life and give those of us in her life the ability to give her the encouragement and counsel she needs not to succumb to the new temptations she’ll be fighting. I pray all these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

“Amen,” I chorused, opening my eyes again and blinking away a few tears as I gave Connor a hug. “Thank you.”

When the hug ended, I flashed Connor a quick smile and he gave me a dreary grin of his own. Then Augustus and I left my friend alone in his cell for what I hoped would be the last time.

As the two of us walked back upstairs, I could still feel Connor’s hands in mine and see the dejection in his eyes. My friend should have been happy because he would be on his way to the relative safety of human society by the time the sun set the next day, but he probably felt blue for the same reason I did.

Once we were back home, I would be facing unprecedented temptations without a single brother or sister in Christ knowing about my internal struggle. No one would be sending specific prayers up about my battle with blood lust and all of my relationships would be that much more superficial because I’d never be able to share the full weight of my struggles with anyone.

James 5:16 said that confession and prayer led to healing, and I’d be missing out on a lot because of my inability to fully confess to them. My closest friends knew me well enough to spot when I was holding back or not telling the truth, and my never-ending secrecy would undoubtedly drive a wedge between us.

While I loved and needed them more than I ever realized back in Texas, I didn’t want to test that love by dragging them into my dark new reality and making them question everything they knew about the world … and about me. Sure, Connor had accepted the existence of vampires and my fate pretty quickly, but there was no guarantee that they would be as tolerant, cool-headed, and loving …
if
they even believed me. Leah was a perfect example of how an encounter with darkness could awaken the worst in someone, and I didn’t want to rouse whatever slept in the shadows of their hearts.

God, please help me find a way not to bear this burden on my own,
I silently entreated as Augustus and I stepped into his room.

“Perhaps we should skip dinner with Emmanuel tonight,” he suggested.

“Why?”

“You’re obviously not up for putting on another performance for the coven.”

“I’ll be fine. Connor gave me a lot to think about.”

“Care to talk about it?”

“He just reminded me that my life as a Christian is going to become a lot more complicated when this is all over. Not being able to share what’s really going on in my life with my friends means that they can’t encourage or pray for me the way I’ll need them to.”

“If you still feel this way after your change, you can confess to me whenever you want. I’m also not opposed to appealing to the powers that be on your behalf if you deem it necessary.”

I furrowed my brow and tilted my head slightly as I studied Augustus. Yes, he’d said the second half of his offer with a smile and a wink, but I could tell that he was being shockingly sincere.

“You’re surprised,” he observed.

“Of course I am. You don’t believe in God.”

“Even though I don’t fully believe in the Christian God or religion, I do believe that there is something greater than humans and vampires. If entreating that entity would help you, I’d gladly do so,” he explained. “Unfortunately, no amount of hand clasping and eye closing from me will help if having a belief such as yours is the key to having those prayers answered, but you know more about your God than I do.”

“It doesn’t have to stay that way.”

“If you’re still as sure about your faith when you’re a vampire as you are now, I may let you teach me a thing or two after I’m done showing you the ropes.”

“Alright. I’ll hold you to that,” I agreed with a chuckle. “Let’s go over the logistics for tomorrow night again. I want to make sure I have everything down.”

“We’re going to attend the party together. The two of us will dance, drink, and socialize until the eclipse has advanced enough for us to venture outdoors at three o’clock. Even though the eclipse’s totality won’t occur until half an hour later, vampires have always been able to enjoy the eclipse for more than the few minutes of complete occlusion,” he explained. “Just before the moon completely covers the sun, we will steal into the house to free your friend and then flee to our shelter, where I will turn you. If the slaves follow my instructions, they will set the house ablaze right after we leave it. The vampires won’t have any protection from the sun’s full strength, so the slaves will be able to begin their exodus from the island while they burn.”

I couldn’t help smiling at his word choice.

“The autopilot will be set for Port-au-Prince and your friend knows how to drive the boat, but the slaves will no doubt radio for help once the compulsion kicks in and they forget everything that’s happened,” he continued. “At sunset, we will emerge from our little hole in the ground and fly back to civilization.”

“When I wake up as a vampire, will I feel the sire bond right away?”

“Yes, most new vampires awaken with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and devotion. Your thirst will also be distractingly intense. Fortunately, your mind will clear a bit after I give you your first drink.”

Based on my little experiment with Augustus three days before, I knew that I wouldn’t be disgusted when the time came. However, the idea of drinking blood still sounded about as fun as drinking motor oil, so I tried not to dwell on it.

“Speaking of blood, you haven’t had any tonight,” I realized. “Are you going to drink later?”

“No, I’ll go without until we leave the island. I don’t want to harm the little credibility I have with the slaves by opening anymore veins.”

“Why not open mine instead? I don’t want to risk you not being at your full strength if something goes wrong tonight or tomorrow.”

“That’s a very generous offer, Clara. Are you sure it’s one you want to make considering your experience last night?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I know what I’m getting myself into and I trust that you won’t hurt me.”

“Alright.”

Thankfully, Augustus didn’t ask me a second time because I didn’t think I was brave enough not to change my mind. While I hated the idea of him being at a disadvantage while enemies surrounded us, I wasn’t ecstatic about having my neck bitten and my clothes covered in blood again either. However, I could at least prevent one of those unhappy occurrences.

“I’m going to take this off and grab a towel or something. I don’t want to get blood all over my shirt again.”

“That’s not necessary. The only reason Grayson bloodied your clothes was because he wanted to disrespect you and insult me,” he said, sitting on the upholstered bench at the foot of his bed. “I won’t spill a single drop.”

Augustus tapped the space beside him on the bench and I sat down as well. I closed my eyes much as I had the night before, praying that I hadn’t made a huge mistake by trusting the vampire to behave more respectfully than Grayson had. After a few moments, I felt him sweep my hair away from my neck and I wondered if he could hear my erratic heartbeat and my unsteady breathing. When Augustus placed his cool hand on my cheek, I looked at him again and met his tender gaze. That gesture reminded me of our pleasant albeit premeditated kiss and some of my apprehension fled, but not all of it.

“I’m going to make this as painless as possible,” he whispered. “Do you trust me to do that?”

I nodded and closed my eyes again, tilting my head to the side as he leaned in. His breath caressed the bare skin of my neck and the sharpness of fangs followed that gentle sensation seconds later. In a flash, Augustus pierced my skin and his lips covered the wound. Since he didn’t suck or lap at the wounds like Grayson had and simply let my blood flow naturally, the experience was a lot less painful yet still unpleasant and mildly unsettling.

Eventually, Augustus finished drinking and pulled away enough for me to look into his eyes, which had gone back to their normal vibrant hue, as he kept me securely enveloped in his arms. My relief multiplied when I saw that there wasn’t even a trace of blood on Augustus’ lips as he scrutinized me. Seeing the gory evidence of his feeding would have been incredibly unnerving no matter how gentle he had been.

“How do you feel?”

“A little lightheaded, but I’ll survive.”

“Well, having a feeding kit should help with that,” he assured me. “I’ll ask someone to deliver one for you before we join the others.”

“I’ll just have it at dinner like the personal slaves,” I said. “Knowing that you fed from me will help our story along. It’ll also give you a good reason for not feeding from a slave tonight in case someone asks.”

“Good call. I’ll ask them to serve it with your meal,” he agreed. “In the meantime, why don’t you lie down and rest. I’ll make sure no one disturbs you until then.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Augustus helped me up and walked me into my room. I wasn’t sure that I needed his support until I stood up and the walls swayed, reminding me of a bad experience I had with drugs in my pre-Christian days. Thankfully, I had my concerned comrade to lean on and to help me reach my bed without keeling over. I didn’t bother getting under the covers since Emmanuel would be hosting dinner soon, so I curled up on the soft comforter and closed my eyes for a quick nap.

♦              ♦              ♦

The sound of Augustus softly calling my name cut through my brief, dreamless slumber and he was the first thing I saw upon opening my eyes. When I sat up, I was happy to find that my dizziness had died down while I slept.

“Do you feel well enough to join the others for dinner,” he asked.

“Yeah. Is it time to go downstairs yet?”

“Yes, dinner will be served in a few minutes.”

“Let’s head down then.”

As I stood up, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and saw that there wasn’t a single speck of blood on my clothing or my skin. Seeing that Augustus had kept his promise reminded me of what he had said about Grayson’s reasons for feeding so sloppily. Augustus only would have been offended by the way he fed on me if he cared about me enough to be angry on my behalf. The insult wouldn’t have fazed him otherwise. Why Grayson risked incurring Augustus’ wrath over someone he didn’t give a flying fig about, I wasn’t completely sure, but it was definitely shady.

Either Grayson is extremely reckless or he was testing us,
I decided.
Why else would he risk Augustus challenging him to a duel a second time? I don’t know much about either of them, but I wouldn’t want to put my life in danger by provoking someone who got his job by killing powerful people.

“What’s wrong,” Augustus asked.

“I don’t think Emmanuel has completely bought into our act,” I said. “I’m pretty sure Grayson was testing you last night.”

“Yes, he was.”

“When did you figure it out?”

“Before he even fed on you. There was no reason for him to behave so insolently over a lost slave when he could have asked for a reimbursement and procured a new one relatively easily.”

“Do you think they know that we’re working against them?”

“I doubt it. As far as they know, there is no strategic reason for you deciding to become a vampire. If anything, they were probably questioning why you would ask me to turn you and why I would agree to when doing so wouldn’t benefit the league or me. Thanks to my unchecked outrage, they think that my heart has fallen prey to your large brown eyes, warm curves, and endearing spirit,” he answered. “The most effective cover is one based on the truth.”

“Well, hopefully no one will try to test us again tonight. I don’t know if I have the energy or patience to deal with it,” I deflected, walking toward the door. “All I want is to eat and to get away from them as soon as possible.”

“If we’re lucky, whatever diversion Emmanuel has in store for us tonight won’t be terribly interactive.”

“I guess we should go downstairs and find out.”

Augustus opened the door and we abandoned our blessed solitude to join the coven. Grayson, Danielle, Emmanuel, and an unfamiliar female vampire were sitting at the dinner table with their slaves. When I saw Connor sitting beside the unknown woman, I immediately realized that the fourth vampire was the infamous Marie. Her mahogany tresses were styled in vintage waves that accentuated her stark white cheekbones and gave us an unobstructed view of her matte red lips. The vampire’s brown eyes, which were adorned with winged black eyeliner and champagne hued eye shadow, shifted in our direction and she draped her arm across the back of Connor’s chair, causing him to stiffen and recoil as she ran her long, scarlet fingernails along his black and blue neck.