“Not much, but it’s boring enough at night to help lull me to sleep.” Elijah gave her a genuine smile, hoping she would just leave. Instead she sighed, turning to face the monitors and narrowing her beady eyes toward them.

Great.

“I feel the same way. Nothing like boring chores to entice the sleep to come.” She reached out and clicked through cameras, viewing the different sections of Vida as though she was looking for something.

Come on…get on with it. Leave, he silently urged her.

Not finding anything of interest, she frowned, the lines around her lips betraying her age. Katrina was not that old, but her unsavory habit of smoking had done a number to add some wrinkles to her otherwise flawless face, making her look like she was in her late thirties, not thirty-three. She was older than Elijah by twelve years, but he often wondered if she had a thing for him. She made it no secret that she favored him out of the twelve, though for what reason other than his looks, he had no idea. He gave her no cause for thinking otherwise. He’d rather die than go there.

“Very well, I’ll leave you to it, then. I think I’ll have some warm milk and head to bed. Don’t be up too late, tomorrow is a busy day.” She gave him a warm smile, but he just averted his gaze. Finding this unsatisfactory, she was about to turn and walk away when she froze in her steps, her eyes widening in shock as she stared at the camera monitors.

“Did you see that?”

He sat up and did his best to act dumbfounded. “See what, Katrina?”

She rushed to the console, clicking the buttons rapidly until the screen flashed to the end of the secondary greenhouses that led to the main market of the city. Darkened and dim, it was abandoned at this time of night, but a sole silhouette of shadow gracefully walked across the camera, sending his blood running cold.

There she was, April, sneaking through the makeshift streets of their market. Elijah paled at Katrina’s discovery, knowing he would be meeting this girl again in a whole different way than he’d planned.

“Notify security, get down there and detain her. She’s not one of us,” she hissed, pointing him out the door before he could even protest. He grabbed a radio and bolted out of there before she suspected anything, calling out to the security that roamed the halls at all hours to meet him in the market.

Damn!

Elijah broke out into a run to get to April before anyone else could. He sprinted down the staircase leading down the side of the large warehouse area that housed the greenhouses, taking them three at a time. His heart burned in his chest, making him determined to find her first. He knew the others were nowhere near that area, so it bought him a few minutes before they would come running. He wanted to be the first to lay eyes on her. He had to reach her before anyone else did, it was vital.

Pummeling through the last set of double doors, he slowed down, knowing that she was armed and probably ready to slice his head off if need be. He readied himself. He’d forgotten to get any weapons since he was off duty, but he was sure he could overtake her. Yet, he wasn’t completely positive. It had just occurred to him that she might be highly trained. Maybe she would find him first and finish him off before he had any time to think. He hoped not. But she had seemed pretty strong back at the apartment. He wanted to ask her so many things.

He stopped as he neared the rear of the market, the rhythm of his frantic heartbeat booming in his ears, making it difficult to hear. No alarm had been raised besides via the radios that the security guards carried, to make sure she didn’t sprint off and get away. She was, in essence, trapped. With few exits from the market to the outside world, she would not get away that easily. In a way, Elijah wanted to catch her and interrogate her. But he knew Katrina would not allow him to do that. She would throw her into quarantine up in the prison cells before even speaking to her. He shook the thought away as he came up behind where she was last seen, knowing she should still be in this area, somewhere close.

She was silent, this one.

He craned his neck to capture any slip she might make, straining to hear movements in the dark. His eyesight was pretty good at night, but not nearly as perfect as it was in the daytime. He hated how they dimmed the place to simulate nighttime. It was more for the comfort of the people than for anything else. It seemed useless since the sleeping quarters could be dimmed by each individual anyway. What was the point in that? He had no idea, but who was he to second guess Katrina’s motivations?

There it was: a brief sigh, like a breeze in the still air of the city. Elijah catapulted from his position to where she was, just around the corner from him. Reaching the end of the storefront of one of the many small shops lining the makeshift street market, he paused once more, knowing she would be waiting for him around the corner. He hoped he had made it there unheard. If not, he was about to find out.

Slipping around the corner, he felt a sharp prick on his collarbone, causing him to freeze and suck a breath in. He hadn’t been stealthy enough, obviously. April had been a lot quicker than he had given her credit for.

“You.” She hissed, a knowing glare staring back at him. “Why are you following me?” Her voice was liquid, smooth and soft as it echoed in the alley between the stores. She stood brazen, tall but not reaching his height, with ink black hair tied in a ponytail. Her shiny blue eyes captured what little light emanated from the street lamps. He held his hands up, radio still grasped in his palm, hoping to get her to stand down. Her jawline was well defined but feminine, along with the rest of her. In all black, she looked a lot thinner, but he would not call her a skeleton. This close to her, she didn’t look a day older than seventeen.

“I live here. They’re coming for you, and I suggest you do what they say,” Elijah whispered back. If he could be the one to subdue her, she might stand a chance of not getting killed. His eyes scanned the length of the short katana she was using to pin him down. Another was gripped tightly in her other hand. He felt pretty sure she could use them proficiently and could very well hack him up into tiny pieces if she so desired. Her fierceness was intriguing, but he had to get control of her now, before all hell broke loose. “Put the weapons down. I’m not going to hurt you.”

She huffed, pushing the razor edge of the sword harder into his skin. A warm fluid seeped from where it made contact, soaking his shirt, but his gaze did not waver from hers. He was hoping his reluctance would make her nervous, and as the moments ticked by, he could see it working as her hand began to quiver. He guessed that she would run when the others arrived. He hoped not. Instead, catching the slight hesitation in her stance, he reached up, pulling her arm along with the sword forward and caught her other arm before she could stab him.

He didn’t expect a fight, but she had other plans.

Stars splayed across his vision as she cracked her skull against his, sending him stumbling back and forcing him to let her go. She helped him along with a good shove from her foot. He caught himself on the edge of a windowsill and hurtled his weight forward as she turned to run. He grabbed at her legs, and they landed hard on the floor, her grip on the dual swords loosening, sending them flying across the smooth cement.

Her attempts to kick him off were useless but annoying. Her boots scraped at his chest as she tugged and pulled, jerking her knees up and down. Her skin was smooth under his grip; only streaks of dirt and dust marred it and her clothes. She must have been bathing in the dust up above to look this filthy. He pulled himself up, locked her legs under his and grabbed her forearms to pin them down. He was definitely grunting from the effort to hold this wild one down. She was no sedentary thing. She worked out and it showed. Sweat gleamed on both their faces as he glared down at her.

“Enough!” he hissed, hoping the tone of his voice would make her stop. Instead, she flashed him a narrow, evil glare before continuing to buck her hips, hoping to dislodge his grip. It was exhausting for both of them, but more so for her than him. Eventually, his weight wore her out and her chest heaved to catch her breath.

“That’s better.” Elijah attempted to ease up on her arms but she squirmed immediately, bringing him right back to pinning her down. He shook his head but grinned down at her, grateful for the challenge. Not much kept his attention down here, but this woman was feisty and definitely worth his attention.

“What are you doing down here?” he asked, studying her luminous eyes, watching her hate toward him deepen. This was not the feeling he had wanted to induce, but he hoped to atone for it later. “How did you find out about this place?”

“Get off me, Elijah,” she hissed. A low growl flickered into her words, which made him smile even wider. At least she remembered his name. He was getting a kick out of it until he caught scent of her blood, now seeping from her cherry red lips. Tilting his head, he watched it drip down her chin, mesmerized as it dropped into a perfect circle on the concrete. It wasn’t so much the color or the consistency of it, but the smell that made his eyes widen in surprise. Her entire scent was off. She smelled too familiar, like the others—like him. Not quite human.

“What are you?” he whispered urgently as he heard footsteps approaching, echoing off the walls. He had smelled this scent before, and there were only a dozen people who claimed the same affliction. “You—you’re not all human, are you?” The stricken look on her face made her anger fade and the fight temporarily subside. They were both shocked, even as the other security guards grabbed her by her arms and pulled her up. He let her go, a knowing knot forming in him chest. There was only one explanation: she was also a hybrid human, just like him.

Watching as the other guards relieved her of her weapons, Elijah stood frozen in his steps, ignoring the continued drip of crimson blood staining his shirt from where she had nicked him. Another hybrid? Living above ground? How they could have missed this was beyond him. He knew of the hybrid vampires, who pretty much left them to their own devices. Katrina didn’t seem worried about them at all. But another human hybrid? How did she survive up above where the zompires craved nothing but flesh and blood? How had she avoided them all this time by herself?

“Great work, Elijah.” Katrina’s irritating voice came up from behind him. He turned toward her, morphing his face into a blank slate of calm. She walked up to him and handed him a handkerchief. “You’re bleeding all over yourself.”

“Where are you taking her?”

“To the prison, of course.” She glanced at him curiously, as if she could see right through to his soul. Elijah, however, knew better. The only power she had over him was the reason they, the twelve, had a place to live. If she had the chance, she would be rid of him and the other hybrids without a seconds’ notice if she could. He knew she would. “Anything wrong, Elijah?”

The way she said his name made him cringe.

“No, of course not. I’ll take her there myself.”

She laughed, giving him a mocking smile. “I don’t think that will be necessary. Besides, you’re pouring blood. Go clean yourself up. We don’t want to excite our other guest, now do we?” Katrina smirked, seemingly eager to throw someone else in with the other guest.

Disappointed and seething, Elijah held his tongue and gave her a nod, watching them drag April out of the market and down the corridor to the city’s prison cells. It was an isolated area, quarantined for the people’s safety. He might be able to sneak in there later, but it would not be without difficulty. He gritted his teeth as Katrina waved to him nonchalantly and left with the guards. He had missed his chance to talk with the girl.

But he had made a decision: he was going to enjoy killing Katrina, if it was the last thing he ever did.

Chapter Fifteen

Cheshire Smile

April

PULLED UNCEREMONIOUSLY ALONG, I let the guards hold my weight, not helping them one bit. They cursed at me, tugging and digging their nails into my flesh as I dropped my body slack, giving them the brunt of my dead weight to contend with. Struggling was useless and would just wear me out further. I wondered where they were taking me. Wherever it was, I was not going to go into any prison cell lightly. Especially not with some other guest they had mentioned.

Waiting for the most opportune time to escape was my only option. It wasn’t going to be easy. The woman who accompanied the guards had her hawk eyes on me. Her very essence reeked of something unnatural, which made me shudder under my clothes. Whatever she was, she wasn’t human either, but I doubted she was a hybrid human or vampire. I wondered how many were affected by the viral outbreak down here in their, supposedly, safe abode. If the virus had made it down here, was everyone immune? And what the heck was Elijah doing down here? He seemed pretty comfortable with the surroundings and I wondered what exactly he was hiding. I had more questions than I’d had before arriving. I had to get out of there before we arrived at the prison where it would be impossible to escape. I had to get out now or never.

I shifted my feet, picking up the pace to be even with the guards. Immediately using their surprise at me finally helping with my own weight, I stomped on one of the guard’s foot, pulling the other one on the side of me into him, where they collided into each other. I didn’t count on the guard behind me to slice my back with his Rambo knife as I stumbled over the two trying to run forward. The pain in my back was agonizing and I stifled a scream as I fell, sprawling across the floor. As I pushed myself off the ground, I felt a sharp prick on my thigh. I kicked at the woman who held the now empty syringe in her hand, making her drop it before getting my footing and running ahead of the collapsed guards.

I had run around the corner and farther down the hall when my vision began to blur and my legs turned to jelly. Drips of blood spotted the ground behind me, and I felt myself melting to the ground before I finally let my body fall. I struggled to turn around and stare up at the fading ceiling, unable to move but hearing everything around me, including the chaos of the guards stumbling to catch up. The perfectly crisp, white tiles lining the floor were smeared with crimson fluid. It stood out stark against the pale, pristine color. My voice gurgled in my mouth as my jaw slackened.