Chapter Five

"I wouldn't even know where else to ask about."

Compared to the vampire, she was utterly ignorant. She expected him to lord it over her, just as he'd lorded his strength. Jared had never hesitated to remind her how little she knew of the outside world, which had eventually driven her to stop asking questions since she just felt stupid.

But Silas simply stood from the loveseat. He went back into the cavern, disappearing behind a pile of gold. Is he getting more maps?

When he returned, he carried an object unlike anything she'd seen before. It was a sphere, held up on a stand at an angle, so it spun slightly as he carried the base. He moved the map and set it down in front of them, returning to his spot on the loveseat—with his arm over her shoulders this time.

She didn't even mind, trailing her fingers around the sphere as it spun. The majority of it was smooth blue, with large splotches of it covered in raised greens and tans. Turning it, she found one that matched the shape of Eurobis. On the other side, one that matched Wyrdova.

"It's a globe," he explained. "Simply pick a spot on it, and I will describe the land."

His tone was patient. He didn't treat her like an idiot for not knowing about something she hadn't encountered before.

What an un-monstrous thing for a monster to do.

She picked a spot at random, and Silas began to explain the shape of the continent, the climate, the culture. She probed him on further questions, and he answered each one to the best of his ability. Questions relating to the specifics of people, he admitted to having less detail on. Because he'd held himself separate? Even vampires had kingdoms, though Silas didn't live in any of them. She forced herself to keep asking about different spots on the globe, even as the list of questions she had about the vampire mounted.

When they exhausted one spot, she picked another. Then another.

The strangest thing happened. Esmae knew she was cursed to die, doomed unless she could bleed the monster—the few drops not sufficing, it no doubt meant she needed to kill him, which was seemingly more and more impossible. She knew she'd never get to go to any of these places.

And yet… she was enjoying herself.

She'd been raised that vampires were the natural enemies of witches, but this vampire didn't seem so bad. The forced captivity was certainly a mark against Silas. However, since one of her own kind had cursed her for breaking up with him, it didn't exactly feel fair to judge the vampire for that. Especially since she had been the one to seek out the creature of the Condemned Cliffs.

Esmae prided herself on being rational. Could she hold a vampire to a higher standard than she held her fellow witches? Herself ?

The hours passed quickly. She couldn't track the time precisely, but she had been awake for several hours. Her stomach growled, putting an abrupt end to Silas's description of the desert sands some distance away.

"I don't suppose you have food for humans here?" she asked. "Otherwise, this will be a rather short abduction."

Of course, she had her own countdown she was working against.

Silas frowned. "I'll return directly with something suitable."

He disappeared down the caves he had led her through.

Esmae had no intentions of simply sitting around and waiting. She couldn't break his thrall and attempt to escape—even if she ever managed to find her way through the winding paths. But she could look for other weaknesses the vampire might have. Esmae was resourceful. Her copper knife was forgotten on the floor of the place she'd woken up, but there might yet be something else.

Though she might feel bad, just a little, if she killed Silas. He hadn't really harmed her. On the contrary, he'd saved her. But she couldn't die, not with her father counting on her.

She ventured deeper into the caverns. Upon closer examination, there were trinkets of all sorts around. Religious totems. Clothing of any number of styles in all manner of colors. Pottery, paintings, sculptures. Plates of obsidian that looked almost like scales, only they were far too large to belong to any creature she'd ever seen. No copper, however.

She passed another row of treasures and stumbled, clutching her chest. A chill spasmed inside her.

Cold, so cold.

A moment passed. Another.

Eventually, she could move again, her heart once more beating. She cursed Jared aloud.

The curse. She didn't have much time. Perhaps a week, at best.

Desperate times…

The deck of cards was still at her side. She flicked through the cards quickly, finding the second to last card her mother had left her .

With her mother's stored oracle magic, she only had to think her question to draw forth the magic. How can I defeat Silas and make him let me go?

The magic spoke in her ears, ominous words ringing:

Find his fated mate.

"Lady, what are you looking for?"

Esmae startled and looked around. "Who said that?"

"You can understand me!" a voice squeaked.

She sighed, her magic swelling around her. She'd been so distracted after using the oracle card. Normally, the card would at least point her in the right direction, like when it showed her the path to the cliffs, but this time, nothing happened. Only the echo of an answer rattling through the cavern for her ears. It was puzzling. Or maybe there was no puzzle; maybe the card didn't have enough magic to guide her. In any case, she hadn't realized she had company.

"My magic allows me to understand animals," she explained.

"Oh wow!" was the excited reply.

She was used to it. Animals, so often ignored and overlooked, tended to get very excited when they realized she could understand them. It came from being so often overlooked, she supposed. Considering she, too, had leaped into the arms of the first man to overlook her poor social status and shower her with attention, it was hard not to empathize.

"Why don't you come out where I can see you?" she encouraged. She hated talking to disembodied voices. "If you do, we can talk more."

A beat of hesitation. "The creature doesn't like when others enter his hoard."

"He won't hurt you." Maybe she shouldn't have promised that, but she could hardly see Silas caring about a little mouse or whatever she was talking to.

Another moment of silence. Then, there was a flurry of scurrying, gold coins rattling in her periphery until a small, fuzzy lump emerged. A long pink snout protruded from the sightless skull, eyes squeezed shut. Not a mouse, but a mole .

"Do you have a name?" she asked.

Some animals didn't understand the concept, but the mole answered confidently, "Dirt."

"Okay, uh, Dirt. It's nice to meet you. My name's Esmae. Have you lived here long?"

"All my life," Dirt squeaked proudly . "One and a half years."

Well, it was something. "So you know the vampire who lives here, it seems. Is that right?" Maybe the mole could offer her some insights. Doubtful, but with her mother's magic striking out, her only hope was her own might work in a roundabout way.

"I do. I know he hates other creatures entering his hoard." Dirt's gray body shook, as if he was afraid the vampire would come back at any moment.

She plucked the mole from the ground and cradled him to her chest. "You're being very brave, Dirt. Have you seen him"—err, could he see?—"or heard him with any other creature? Maybe one he called his fated mate?"

The little rodent shook its snout. "No. He' s always alone."

Always alone. Why did that make her chest ache? Alone, unless he magically compelled a witch to keep him company against her wishes.

But then—if the vampire was lonely, he could've done that at any time. He'd only done it after she'd invaded his territory (and, well, tried to kill him).

She sighed, pushing the self-flagellating thoughts aside. What else could she ask that a mole might know? "Do you know the way out?" Not that she could leave.

Dirt chirped in the affirmative. Well, if she ever found a way around his thrall, that could be useful.

"Do you know anything else about the vampire?" Maybe that was the way to do it. Open-ended questions.

Dirt's voice faded to a whimper. "I do. I know he's back!"