Briefly:

This chapter was originally going to be part of another, but due to length, I separated them. Therefore, this is still a pretty information-heavy chapter. Some of you may like that, and I apologize to those that don’t. But I want you all to get attached to this world I’ve created, and to do that, I have to thoroughly explain its inner workings.

The action will pick up in chapter 8 and even more in chapter 9.

Vote…comment…and point out the nasty mistakes, please.

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7.

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“So I know this is the time you probably ate dinner as a human, but for us it’s breakfast,” Gabby stated, leading me downstairs towards the mess hall.

She had given me a quick tour of some other key places of the HQ, such as the workout room (one of three, apparently), the gigantic living area, a library, and a couple other offices. There were many other rooms that would be relevant to my training, she’d said, but it wasn’t up to Gabby to show me those.

We’d met several other vampires along the way. All seemed to be between their late teens and early thirties. They’d been friendly for the most part, although some were more wary than others. A couple had the same confused look Zack had when he met me, and I wondered if their Spirits were also reacting to mine. I couldn’t wait to find out more about her, for she remained very quiet save for an annoying comment here and there.

We entered the mess hall, and I guessed there were at least three-dozen vampires already in there. I tried not to shrink away; I was never one for crowds. Fortunately, most of them didn’t really notice the newcomer’s entry. The curtains were open now, and I could see the stars twinkling in the night sky over the green grass outside. Waves of sound and chatter washed over my ears in a near-deafening roar. My enhanced senses would still take some getting used to.

For the most part, it seemed so…normal. Like we were at a less-formal version of a military training camp, not that I’d ever been to one of those, but that was the closest analogy I could think of.

My idea of normalcy went straight out of the window when a sudden aroma washed over me. I hadn’t been hungry before, and Gabby said it was normal to not be hungry immediately after Turning; in fact, some vampires were extremely nauseous in the beginning as they adjusted. But when the tantalizing scent wafted into my nostrils, it felt as if I had been punched in the gut.

My stomach clenched up, and I felt saliva already pooling in my mouth. My hands immediately balled into fists as I inhaled as deeply as I could. The smell was….amazing, and addictive. I couldn’t get enough of it.

Before I knew what was happening, I felt something slide out of both my top and bottom gums. I winced, uncomfortable with the sensation. Tentatively, I raised a hand and confirmed what I already knew: I had fangs. Two on top, and two smaller ones on bottom. The teeth were sharp, although not nearly as long as I was expecting; in fact, they felt almost like baby teeth. Positioned right in front of my canines, they must have been sheathed in my gums all along.

It was a testament to what I’d gone through that this barely shocked me. I remembered Adam’s fangs sinking into my neck, after all….all too well.

“I see you’ve smelled blood for the first time,” Gabby remarked, a grin forming on her face. She eyed my mouth knowingly.

“How did I not notice them before?” I mumbled, barely coherently around the teeth. “And how did this happen?”

“When it enters your body and mind, the Spirit has a physical effect, too. It alters your DNA somewhat. Your body adapts, becomes more predatory. You develop more carnivorous teeth to take down prey, even though we don’t really use them.”

“How did I not notice?”

“Yours aren’t very long, yet. They still fit completely into your gums. When they are fully grown, you’ll be able to see them peeking out from your top gums if you pull your lip up a bit.” She sighed, almost wistfully. “I remember I was shocked when I first saw mine, too. I hadn’t even felt them grow in, even though they appear so much faster than normal human teeth.”

“You’d think they’d itch or…something.”

“Trust me, you won’t even notice them growing, or at all until you’re hungry. Or really pissed. Our bodies accept the transition really naturally.”

“Is that what that painful feeling in my stomach is? Hunger? I figured.” I stated distantly. My words were still a bit muffled as I tried to speak around the fangs. It was then that I focused on the seemingly innocuous bottles sitting in front of the vampires at the tables. The bottles were opaque, so I couldn’t see inside, but now I knew. I was so hungry, I couldn’t even be grossed out by the fact that I was craving blood, of all things.

“Come on,” she said, grasping my forearm in a surprisingly strong grip and leading me over to the low countertop. A light-haired guy and a girl with a pixie cut stood behind it, handing out bottles to the small queue of vampires that had formed. The bottles were different colors, I noted.

“We have squirrel, rabbit, deer, cow, and avian. As good as they smell, they’re really all pretty bland. Deer is the best but it’s usually in short supply, so only those that have been here a long time get it. There isn’t much difference other than that.”

My stomach clenched again. “As disgusting as animal blood sounds, my stomach says otherwise,” I muttered. My eyes were zeroed in on the bottles as if they were my saving grace.

Human would be much better, my Spirit remarked sourly. It was then that I realized the cravings were coming from her. She was the one that needed the sustenance.

That won’t happen, I retorted. I was trying not to think of human blood right now. I knew that would only lead down a dangerous road.

She sighed in aggravation. Get whatever tastes the saltiest. I knew she’d only given up the “human blood” concept because she was starving right now, and anything would do.

I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation. “Um…what’s the saltiest one?”

Gabby tossed me another knowing look. “Your Spirit craves salty blood, huh? Strange. Mine always likes the sweetest.”

Whatever disgusted look was on my face made her giggle. “It’s gross at first but you’ll get used to it. You really don’t have a choice. And don’t worry, they add a few nutrients and other things to the blood to make it taste a bit more appealing to our human side.”

I wasn’t entirely convinced, but when we reached the front of the queue and Gabby asked for avian blood, I quickly snatched the bottle.

I was on the receiving end of several curious looks from the vampires at the tables, but I tried to ignore them, hugging my bottle to my chest as Gabby looked for a table. 

“How many vampires are here?” I asked, trying not to rip open the drink right then and there like a savage.

“Less than a dozen are new recruits like you, meaning they’ve been here less than a year. I’d say another dozen are in the first few years of their training. Then we have over fifty that are fully trained, like Kaz and Adam, and are sent on regular missions. Even among those, Kaz and Adam are pretty high up. The other two dozen are supervisors, strategists, and the like.”

We settled down at an empty table in the corner of the room, near the bar.

“So there’s over a hundred?” I was slightly awed, not realizing how many were here.

“Well, yeah. This is one of five Headquarters in the United States. Our numbers are actually lower than they’d like. That’s because-“ She paused, and gave me an amused smile. “You can start drinking that, you know.”

I didn’t need more encouragement. I screwed open the top of the nondescript bottle and the fresh, enticing aroma hit me yet again. Without further ado I tipped the bottle up, trying not to think about what I would be drinking. My Spirit was egging on, practically begging me to drink it.

The salty liquid filled my mouth, and I was simultaneously grossed out and craving more. It didn’t taste horrible, but other than the overwhelming saltiness, it was pretty bland. Even so, my body craved it like I craved water when I was thirsty. Despite the taste I took giant gulps, feeling the liquid pour down my throat. It was still warm, I realized. These bottles must be insulated. My stomach clenched again, welcoming the blood.

Gabby, grinning, began to speak again. “Like I was saying, they want us to have higher numbers, but it’s hard. We can only recruit people between certain ages. They have to be terminally ill….for moral reasons. Even among those, we observe them for a while before we approach them. Only humans that are very strong-willed and mentally fit, despite everything, are ideal candidates. Believe it or not, this narrows the number we can recruit significantly.”

I was absorbing her words, but still busy gulping down the blood without being too obvious. With every mouthful, I felt stronger, more alert. I hadn’t realized how weak I felt last night in comparison.

“It takes a certain mindset to become one of us. And often, we can tell the people that won’t be able to survive the Otherworld experience. Sadly, some of the ones we choose still don’t survive.”

I remembered Kaz had said something similar, although he’d tried to downplay it.

“Above all, we have to be cautious. We can’t recruit too many people or it will be obvious. Our existence must be kept a secret. Humans will panic.”

Now that, I could understand. I finally finished inhaling the beverage, and set it down on the table with a dull thud. I wiped my mouth self-consciously, starting to feel embarrassed. Gabby smiled at me kindly.

“Don’t worry. Everyone drinks like that the first few times, especially since you hadn’t been fed yet.”

“I feel a million times better now.” It was true. I raised a finger and realized my new fangs had receded without me knowing it.

“I bet.”

I leaned forward, planting my elbows on the table. “So what about this place? How has it not been discovered?”

“Well, many vampires don’t even live in the HQ. For example, we have a couple of contacts in the government.”

“Really? How do they-”

“They are trained for years first, but it’s imperative that we have operatives everywhere. They are infiltrators, but the humans don’t know. They work normally, of course, but they also help make sure we aren’t discovered.”

“And if we are?”

“They…Persuade the humans to not talk about us.”

There it was again, that concept of Persuasion. “How does that work, exactly? Kaz said to wait to ask until today.”

Gabby looked mildly uncomfortable. “Honestly, I think Adam would be the best one to explain that. He’s one of the few that can do it well.”

I snorted in an unladylike fashion. “Never mind then. Talking to him is like pulling teeth. He’s kind of an asshole.”

Her lips tilted up in a smile. “Sucks to be you, then. He Turned you, so he’ll have a significant hand in your training.”

I sighed with resignation, but I couldn’t help the brief moment of excitement that I felt against my better judgment. My Spirit, of course, was glad to hear that we would be closely interacting with Adam. 

“What’s his story, anyway?”

She grinned, flashing her teeth. “You mean: why does he act like such a dick?”

I returned her grin. “Yeah. Did some girl stomp all over his heart?” I wanted to make a joke out of my prying question. Obviously, I knew next to nothing about guys, and I was just grasping at straws here.

Gabby rolled her dark eyes. “Not even close. Actually, it’s the opposite. Girls fawn over him, even the vampires here. You’ll be surprised how much this place feels like high school sometimes. Probably because a lot of the people here were not much older than high-schoolers when they were Turned.”

“Do girls not see his horrible personality or something?”

That made her giggle, and she put a hand over her mouth to stifle it. “Careful, vampires have good hearing. There are some here that would kill to be Turned by Adam.” She shook her head, and the two long braids she’d done that morning swayed with the motion. “He’s really not that bad once you get to know him. And if you don’t know him as a good friend, like I do, he knows how to talk to women to get what he wants.”

“I bet,” I replied. I was irritated for some reason. If the Spirit had a corporeal form, she’d be smirking at my reaction.

“He has the looks, obviously. He’s my friend but I can objectively say he’s one of the best-looking vampires here. Kaz, too. And, as I said, he’s pretty high ranked. Close to getting promoted.” 

I idly batted the empty bottle back and forth between my hands. I wasn’t sure why I cared so much. I supposed I needed to know more about the vampire that Turned me.

I realized then that I hadn’t actually found out anything about his “story”; we’d gotten sidetracked by how Adam acted around the opposite sex. I was about to ask, but a look from Gabby silenced me. I recognized why when my sensitive hearing picked up on Adam’s voice across the mess hall. My body automatically tensed, and I felt the place when I’d been bitten tingle a bit…which was odd, because I’d looked in the mirror this morning and I could barely see it. Gabby had told me it would be gone soon.

Adam’s voice grew louder, and it was accompanied by a higher-pitched, delicate one. Gabby and I turned to see Adam and an unfamiliar girl standing in the queue to get blood. Now that I was full, the thought of drinking it grossed me out again so I looked away from the bottles quickly.

Gabby began talking about a couple other vampires I had to meet, but it wasn’t long before Adam and the girl approached us. His icy glance hovered on me for only a millisecond before he nodded to Gabby. “Do you mind?”

“Do I ever?” She retorted, and nodded towards the girl. “Lindsay.”

“Gabby,” the girl said smoothly. Her voice was carefully neutral. The two interacted as if they weren’t quite friends, although not enemies, either.

Adam sat down next to Gabby, leaving Lindsay to come sit next to me. She was average height and relatively thin, although she had more curves than I did. Her tank top showed off her creamy skin and toned arms. Almond-shaped green eyes and a pert nose gave Lindsay an almost catlike appearance.

She turned to me, eyes flicking quickly over my features. “I’m Lindsay,” she said, and again her voice was carefully neutral. She didn’t offer to shake my hand.

“Lucy,” I replied, matching her tone.

“The new recruit that Adam Turned. You’re not what I expected.” For some reason, I felt like she meant her words as a bit of an insult.

“What did you expect?” I asked. If she was going to insult me, she may as well bluntly say it.

Her delicate lips quirked in an almost-sardonic smile. “A blonde,” she retorted smoothly. It was as if she expected me to ignore the implication.

“Like yourself?” I indicated her long, curly blonde hair.

Lindsay’s eyebrows rose. From my peripheral vision, I thought I saw Adam’s blue eyes focus on me. “What are you implying?” She asked calmly.

“The same thing as you,” I retorted, keeping my face expressionless. I knew how to play this game. I’d dealt with girls like her in high school, even if that was a couple of years ago.

“You shouldn’t expect the worst of people. I wasn’t implying anything.” Her green eyes glimmered coldly. Did she think I was stupid? Her condescending tone suggested it.

The Spirit was extremely irritated, shifting restlessly in my mind. Call her out on it, she instructed. I didn’t want to obey her orders, but in this case, I agreed.

“Really? You weren’t implying that you thought the woman Adam Turned would look more like you?” I was actually impressed with my own gutsiness. I’d always been a painfully honest—and often sarcastic—person, but that side of me usually only came out when I was comfortable with people. I was not comfortable now.

This time, Lindsay’s expression hardened. “Adam, you should teach your little vampling to respect her superiors.”

“I’m trying to eat, here,” he retorted. “This deer’s blood is a hell of a lot more interesting than a catfight.” Despite his lazy tone, I knew he was observing with interest.

Lindsay turned back to me with an angry grimace.

“Listen, you’re new here. You don’t get it. But the hierarchy of authority is very important. I’d suggest you don’t talk back.” The threat was obvious.

“Maybe you shouldn’t start arguments, then.”

“You’re out of your pay-grade, vampling. You should shut your mouth,” she hissed.

Gabby looked acutely uncomfortable. Lindsay’s words must have held some truth. 

The Spirit absolutely loathed being spoken to like that. Her irritation simmered in my entire consciousness. Before I could help myself, I said, “Or what?”

In a flash, Lindsay leaned forward until she was looking directly into my eyes, face-to-face, our noses almost touching. Her green gaze burned with a newfound intensity, boring into me. It reminded me of Adam’s expression in the car. It was as if Lindsay wanted to bend me to her will, force me into obedience.

“Do not talk back to me,” she hissed, and when she spoke, her voice had taken on a deeper timbre. It wasn’t entirely her speaking, I could tell. It must’ve been her Spirit. 

Apparently her Spirit, unlike Zack’s, didn’t recognize the potency of the one in my head.

I should have been terrified, really I should have. I was in an unfamiliar place, with vampires who were probably a lot stronger than me, and hardly anyone to back me up. But my Spirit was having none of it. As soon as Lindsay spoke in that commanding tone, I felt the Spirit rise up in the back of my mind, surging towards the front of my consciousness. She was pissed.

“I could crush you with a thought, you pathetic weakling. How dare you address me,” I snapped, but it wasn’t me speaking. Not really. My Spirit was speaking through me, and my voice had taken on a deeper quality. She wasn’t controlling my actions, but she was influencing my words. Even I thought I sounded incredibly intimidating.

A look of profound shock crossed Lindsay’s features. The mess hall had grown much quieter as I realized everyone nearby was witnessing our confrontation. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Adam had grown oddly still. He and Gabby were staring at me in complete disbelief. Whatever had happened, it wasn’t ordinary.

I did not miss the flicker of fear that crossed Lindsay’s expression. She abruptly pulled away, averting her gaze. Her shoulders were hunched. I wasn’t completely sure, but it seemed that her Spirit had just obeyed the will of mine.

Of course she did. She was no match, my Spirit muttered, in my brain again this time. She was inordinately satisfied with herself. 

“Outmatched by a vampire just out of the grave, Lindsay. You’re losing your touch,” Adam drawled sardonically, but I could hear the underlying tension in his voice.

So whatever I just did, it was very strange, indeed. The mysteries kept piling up.

A cold hand gripping my arm sent electricity shooting up my spine and brought me out of my thoughts. Adam had stood up and was staring at me, expression inscrutable.

“Come on,” he said impatiently. I blinked up at him. His hand burned on my bare skin.

“What? Why?” I asked. His lips flattened into a thin line. I stood up slowly and he released my arm. It was so deathly still in the mess hall, that I could’ve heard a pin drop. I glanced at Gabby to see her staring at me with a mixture of worry and near-admiration.

Adam jerked his head towards the exit, cold eyes flashing. 

“We’re going to see the Commander. Now.”

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A/N: You guys will be pleased to know that I have written chapter 8, although I need to try to self-edit. If all goes well, I can upload it this weekend, maybe even tomorrow.

Comments will encourage me to work faster ;) 

Again, sorry for the information dump! I promise the action will be picking up next chap and in chapter 9 (which I have started on). Your continued patience is much appreciated.

What do you guys think the Commander’s interaction with Lucy’s Spirit will be like?

Cover: by Cyntoriah