8. A Hunting We Will Go…
EIGHT
a hunting we will go…
I stare at the woman in front of me. While the children are dressed in clothes from what I presume is their era of death. she's wearing a pair of designer leggings and a fitted shirt. Her coal black hair and oversized dark eyes are a beautiful contrast to her pale skin. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was in her mid-twenties, driving an oversized SUV with three kids in the back, and on the way to a soccer game.
"Why are you here?" Patrice asks, looking me up and down.
"I want to be a mother," I lie.
She sniffs the air in front of me. "You're old. Why now?"
"Before becoming a vampire, I had eight brothers and sisters. I miss them."
Patrice steps closer toward me. "What happened to them? "
I look at the floor. "One was killed by the vampire that changed me, another was changed by the vampire that changed me, and one of my sisters married a lycanthrope." I clear my throat. "I don't know about the rest."
"What happened to the one that was changed?"
"Dead." I don't go into detail.
"Can we play with her, Mother?" Alexander asks.
"Oh, please, Mother. Can we?" the girl joins.
"I believe we have a mutual acquaintance," I interrupt the children's attempt to murder me. "Elijah told me he spoke to you earlier on my behalf."
"He did," Patrice agrees. She begins to walk around me, making me feel like prey. "How old are you?"
"A little over three hundred years old," I answer truthfully.
"Why do you feel older?"
I shrug. "I'm not sure." No one has ever told me that before.
Patrice steps behind me, placing a cold hand on my shoulder. It takes every part of me not to wince with her touch. "If I allow you to stay, what are your intentions?"
"To help with the children."
"I don't need help," she retorts.
"I'm not implying otherwise. Being the eldest of nine, I always helped care for and feed my brothers and sisters. My mother never needed my help, but I was there in case she did. Being with the children would bring back those treasured memories I've lost." I give myself a mental pat on the back for thinking under pressure.
She steps in front of me, pulling her hand away from my skin. "Caring for immortal children is not an easy task. They can be quite…temperamental."
"Aren't we all?" I laugh, hoping to ease the tension.
"Elijah didn't share much information about you." She ignores my attempt to ease the tension. Patrice steps toward an empty pew, sliding into the seat. "Enlighten us."
My mind reels over how much of the truth I should share, and I decide on an abbreviated version. "I was taken from the ship that brought the rest of my family to America in the early 1700s."
Patrice slides back, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Go on. This has the makings of an interesting story."
"I was kept aboard the vampire's ship for a century until finally escaping."
"I was right! This is going to be good."
"Since escaping, I've been on the run, hiding from everyone and everything." I resist the urge to fidget my hands while speaking. "On a trip to Charleston, I met Elijah, and we became…friends."
"Isn't he handsome?" She claps her hands. "And so well versed in using every inch of him, if you know what I mean."
"We weren't that kind of friends," I interrupt .
"Oh, that's a pity. He's quite well-endowed."
I glance at the children, who are listening intently. My first instinct is to speak carefully around them, but with the amount of life they've seen, I doubt censoring my comments is needed.
"Maybe I'll change our relationship," I tease.
Patrice stands, moving toward a door on the other side of the room. "Your room is through here."
My stomach jumps into my throat. Does this mean I'm in, or is she setting me up for something far more sinister? I smile, not knowing which. "Thank you, Patrice. I'm looking forward to learning from you."
"The children will decide if you stay." She turns toward the two children in the room. "Come, Alexander. Come, Autumn." They step ahead of her obediently. I follow them through the door into a narrow hallway.
Rooms line each side of the hall, serving as what I would guess are rooms for the rest of the children. She stops in front of a door at the end. "Here's where you'll stay." The door opens, revealing an empty room. The smell of sulfur hits me instantly.
"Elsie?" Thorne questions. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," I lie. I step into the room while my mind reels over who has been here before me. The worn carpet and asbestos-covered ceiling welcome me into their womb. "This is perfect, thank you."
"You'll be expected at feeding time," Patrice says, closing me inside. The sound of a heavy lock sliding into place brings memories of the bottom of Kragen's ship to the surface.
"She locked me in a room. I'm safe," I call through our connection.
"Is everything okay?" Even in my head, his voice sounds frantic.
"Aye. I'm fine. I'll be expected at feeding time."
"What does that mean?"
"I have no idea." I slide down the wall, sitting on the filthy floor. "How did you know I needed help earlier?"
"I felt you."
"Felt me? How?"
He pauses a while before answering. "I'm not sure how to explain it. I felt anxious and could tell it wasn't my emotion I was feeling."
"Singing helped."
"Amelia says we shouldn't be able to communicate like this."
I feel my forehead scrunch in question. "Through our minds?"
"Aye. She says that is something that some vampires can only do with their makers."
I scoff. "You're not my maker."
"It's also possible through a strong bond. Viktor could apparently speak to Celeste that way even though he wasn't her maker."
I pause. "We have a strong bond."
"Aye, we do." Thorne breathes deeply through our connection. "Stay safe, acushla. "
"I am," I lie. Truthfully, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing.
I lose track of time, sitting alone in the sulfur-filled, moldy room. The smell I've attributed to Kragen all these years, now associates with Marnie, too. Does that mean she's been here? I think back to what Amelia said at the death house. I smell like sulfur. Anyone who's had contact with Kragen most likely smells the same. Closing my eyes, I focus on keeping thoughts of the pirate who kidnapped me out of my mind.
The only audible sound in the building is the echo of the water, lapping against the shore not far away. PTSD hits hard as my mind switches into the dissociative mode it spent a century in. I stare at the door, willing it to open. The sound of a key rattling brings memories of Kragen to the surface, causing me to recoil instinctively.
The door creaks open slowly. Standing in the crack is an image from a nightmare. Alexander holds the key in his hand and smiles the smile of a cold calculating killer.
"Mother would like for you to come with me."
I stand, moving closer to the door, trying to seem unfazed by his behavior. "Where are we going?"
"It's time to eat," he answers, smiling once more. "Follow me, please."
He leads me down the hallway, back into the room I entered earlier. Scattered throughout the room, intermittently filling several pews, are children. Most have silver chains wrapped around their torsos, holding their arms to their sides.
"What is this, Alexander?"
He turns, smiling once more. "I told you. It's time to eat."
I count the number of heads as we enter. Not including my tour guide, there are nine children in the room. Gretchen said she had ten brothers and sisters. That means the two new children are missing.
"Is this everyone?" I ask.
"Nearly," he answers without elaborating.
"Children!" Patrice calls from the stage. "I would like to introduce you to Elsbeth Abernathy." Chill bumps cover my skin at the realization that I never told her my name. Shit. Did Elijah tell her? Does Elijah even know my last name?
The children hiss in my direction.
"Elsbeth is here because she wants to be a mother."
Again, the children hiss. The ones being held with chains begin struggling against their hold, fighting the silver holding them in place. What the hell is happening?
"Elsbeth?" Thorne calls.
"I'm okay. Just not sure what's going on."
"You get to choose whether she stays with us," Patrice continues. "Before you vote, she must prove her worth."
Shit, shit, shit. This is going downhill fast .
"Elsbeth! What's going on?" I ignore his call and focus on the children in the room.
Patrice turns toward me. "Prove your worth to them, Mommy."
"How?" I whisper.
"Feed them."
I turn back toward the immortal children. Most of their faces have contorted to the monstrous form I witnessed from Alexander and his friend. "Where do I find food?"
"Anywhere you can," Patrice answers.
"She wants me to feed the children."
"Is there…food there?"
I look around the room, seeing and sensing only vampires. "No."
"Alexander will accompany you on the hunt," she continues. "He knows what we need." Oh, my God. I can't do this.
Small fingers lace through mine. "Are you ready, Mommy?" he asks.
"Elsie?"
"Yes, sweetie. Where are we going?" I lie, holding back tears.
"The beach is where Mother finds the best food."
The realization hits me that Patrice didn't take the two missing children to add to her horde. They were food.
"Alexander, make sure Mommy makes good choices." Patrice pats him on the head.
"Yes, Mother." He smiles, pulling me toward the door.
"We'll be waiting for your return." Patrice waves like she's sending us off to camp.
Once outside, I take a deep breath, hoping to clear my mind. "Elsie, talk to me. What's going on?"
"We're coming to the beach to hunt," I answer, still holding onto Alexander's hand. I look down at the immortal child. "How are we going to get there?"
He looks confused for a moment. "We run, silly."
"Who's we?" Thorne asks.
"Alexander is coming with me. He's one of the children."
Alexander drops my hand. "Are you ready, Mommy?"
Hell no. "I am. Lead the way."
He takes off at vampire speed, almost faster than I can move, heading south toward the Gulf. It doesn't take long before we're standing in front of the familiar restaurant from this morning. "This is where we found food before."
I look around at the huge crowds, milling around the beach and open area of the restaurant. "We're back at the same location the children went missing from."
"We're almost there. Fynn insisted on driving."
"No! He'll feel you."
"Dammit, Elsie. What do you want us to do?"
I sigh, as Alexander laces his fingers through mine again. "I don't know. You didn't see those children, Thorne. I have to see this through. "
"Look, Mommy," Alexander interrupts my silent conversation. He points at a young woman sitting alone at a secluded table. "She wants to die."
"What?" I ask, looking down at the boy.
"She wants to die," he repeats. "I can hear her thoughts."
"You can hear her thoughts? How is that possible?"
He shrugs. "I don't know. Mother says I'm special."
I turn back toward the girl. "Why does she want to die?"
"Because her boyfriend has been fucking her brother." He looks up at me, confused. "What does that mean?"
"It means she's very sad."
"Is that what Mother does? She has you listen to people to choose the best food?"
"Yes," he answers. "I don't like to choose the happy ones."
"Amelia and I will stay back far enough he can't sense us, but the lycan are moving closer."
"Okay," I relent. "The child has picked out a human for dinner."
"You can't take the human to them," Thorne states the obvious.
"I know. But what else can I do?"
"Mommy?" Alexander looks up at me. "Who do you keep talking to?"
"What do you mean?"
"I can hear you."