As I made my way to breakfast, I heard a commotion. Fast speech, louder than was the norm in the leech's lair.

I should have ignored the situation, but my curiosity won. I followed the sounds and the leech's voice became more distinct to me the nearer I got. She sounded furious.

Then Lucas's voice responded, "Mistress, I—"

"Don't 'Mistress' me, Lucas! You know that stupid law restricting unregistered human slave reproduction, you knew my orders, you knew there's no room for mistakes, and yet you made the very one that was forbidden to you! I allowed you to do what you wanted, but you were supposed to be careful!"

I turned the corner, and saw her standing in front of Lucas and the woman that he was so often with. She seemed to be trying to shrink away out of existence. I did not blame her.

The leech's form was tense and her eyes were red. There was no trace of the teasing, toying bloodsucker I had grown accustomed to. I understood in that moment that I had never actually seen her angry before.

"Tell me that you weren't stupid enough to put everything in jeopardy over unprotected sex?" she snapped.

"It's not, it wasn't, it—"

"You'll be impossible to replace," she snarled.

Her eyes snapped to the woman. "Tell me that it's not Lucas's," she demanded, her fangs exposed.

Lucas's woman squeaked pitiably. Lucas stepped in front of her. "You know it's mine, Vienne."

Her eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched. She inhaled deeply, as if trying to calm herself and spoke in a more even tone. The red began to recede from her eyes. "You know what I have to do."

"Of course," Lucas said and I could not help but respect him in that moment.

"What the hell am I supposed to do without you, Lucas?"

"I'm sorry, Mistress," the woman said, her voice a plea. She was shaking in her terror and I gritted my teeth.

Lucas just stood there, waiting.

"Lucas, give me your dagger." She held out her hand expectantly.

He pulled the dagger from its hidden sheath and moved towards her. I watched, hoping desperately that he would shove it into her and avoid what she was about to do to them. Even in the wilds, word of the despicably cruel laws the vampires enforced on their slaves ran rampant.

Instead, he passed it to her without complaint.

She took it. "Both of you, come with me," the leech ordered.

I could feel heat building in the pit of my stomach. My pretense of passivity cracked under the pressure and I looked around for something I could use as a weapon.

Her eyes flicked to me for the first time since I arrived. I had not even known that she had noticed me. "Leave, Jamie. This is none of your business."

I frowned at her. "Are you really going to go through with this? You care about him, more than just a meal or a pretty face, don't you?"

"I don't care about anything," she told me coldly.

Her stare bore into me and I met her stare with my own, broken only when Lucas stepped into my line of sight. His brows were drawn down and his muscles tensed.

"The consequences are mine to bear," he said. "And I will."

Before the leech could demand he follow her, he took the shaking woman by the hand and began to lead her down the hall, much like lambs heading to the slaughter.

"This does not concern you. Stay there, Jamie," the leech ordered me and she strode after them.

Screw that.

I followed them. She shot me an enraged expression over her shoulder, hints of red returning to her gaze, but I continued on, forgetting about breakfast and even my own plans.

Lucas drew the woman into her chambers. She followed them, but the guards closed in to prevent my passage. The doors shut soundly.

"Leave, Jamie," Carter ordered me.

I ignored him. "I want to talk to her."

"The mistress clearly does not wish to talk to you, Little Human," Marcel put in, folding his arms in front of his chest. He had been less outwardly hostile to me since our fight, but he clearly had no interest in helping his fellow guard.

Why the hell did I even care what happened to Lucas and that woman? Damn it, I should be looking out for myself.

Still, I ignored their directions to leave and stood defiantly.

My heart pounded and it only picked up in tempo at a faint high pitched shriek muffled by the doors. The two guards who continued to block me remained impassive, although Carter's face paled when the sobbing and shrieking was accompanied by Lucas's loud, pained swear and then finally silence followed.

My jaw gritted harder. I was done and I was getting out of here. I rushed back to the relative privacy of my room, and began to plot my escape in earnest.

* * * * *

The next few days were of watching in vain. I looked for my chance to speak with the newer slaves. I also kept my eye out to look for Lucas, but I did not see him. He did not come to the gym for fitness training, and annoy me with his overtures of friendliness. He did not eat in the dining room for meals. He was not wandering around with the female he had appeared so enraptured by.

I beat on the punching bag until my knuckles were sore, but it changed nothing. Javier walked into the room and greeted me with a silent nod as he walked by.

"Where's Lucas?" I asked him.

"Free humans never heard tales of the bill restricting human breeding?" he asked.

"I've heard," I said. There were plenty of horrifying campfire tales that flitted about from the humans who had escaped their vampire masters. It was just one more way to repress humans.

Javier met my eyes blankly. "Then, you know what happened to them, don't you? She has to follow the law, of course."

The verification did not make me feel better. She had drawn me in until I could almost think there was something there inside that cold shell, but it was truly nothing but an act. She was as despicable and as dead as the rest of them, and the fact that I felt somehow betrayed by the revelation showed only how she had so skillfully drawn me in despite everything I had seen and knew about the creatures.

I had almost forgotten.

Once I finished my assault on the inanimate object, I worked through my reps and routines and left the gym. I made my way to the showers.

The shower was already running in one of the stalls. I opened the door and threw my things on the bench.

"Jamie."

I turned and saw Travis step out of the cubicle with the running shower, fully clothed. He was looking at me almost suspiciously.

"Yeah?"

"You still in?" he asked in an undertone.

I nodded.

"Four days, midmorning, we're setting a diversion while the slaves are prepping for their little party. We're going to take off from different gates to maximize our chances of escape."

I nodded again.

"You okay with taking the west?"

It likely was not worse than any of my other choices. "Yeah. Why'd you ask me?"

"Could see you're not taken with that leech like the rest of them."

Fair point, and doubly true since she had killed Lucas and the woman.

"And it's fixed on you. Not likely it'll hunt the rest of us down while you're loose." He laughed.

Another fair but irritating point. He was right, and it reminded me how unlikely my odds were to get away clear. At the same time, his practical view of my involvement lowered my suspicions. Sharing their plans with me was a smart, self-serving risk and I could respect that.

"I'll be ready," I said.

He grinned, turned off the shower, and left the room without another word.

* * * * *

The rest of the week dragged on slowly, but I kept myself busy. I gathered what I could, and if anyone noticed, no one said anything to me, although who knew what they reported to the leech. I hoped they did not, because so many of them were working towards the frivolous celebration the leech had initiated for Leif. I left the kitchen instruments and anything that could be used as a weapon alone. I could find makeshift weapons once I was out beyond the walls until I got to the cranky old man's stashes.

As I trained with the guards, and some trainer rattled on about some fighting style called aikido, my mind kept wandering over the plan for the next day. There were so many unknowns, but I would manage somehow. I could work with what came and turn it to my benefit; I just had to get to the gates.

I hoped that whatever diversion they planned, it would make it so I did not have to go through too many other humans to get out. Hopefully I could manage without inflicting permanent damage on any of them.

After we finished sparring, I walked inside with the guards, not really listening to their conversations. How the hell were they so unconcerned about the fact that the leech had disposed of Lucas? How was I the most bothered by it?

Or, were they hiding their misgivings to keep themselves in good with the leech.

I wanted nothing more than to escape from this damned place.

I made my way towards the showers, and then I walked towards my room to try to get a good night's sleep. If things went as planned, I would need all the rest that I could get.

Before I made it to the hall where I shared a room with Theo, the leech turned the corner and walked towards me, her smile strained. I met her eyes, but she did not say anything to me, and I certainly was not going to attempt to start up a conversation with her.

With luck, it would be the last time I ever saw the leech. I clung to my anger at all the ill treatment I and doubtless many other humans had suffered at her hands to cover my lack of certainty.

I made my way to bed, and I fell asleep.

* * * * *

I rose with the sun the next morning, Theo still snoring peacefully on his side of the room. I checked that my stockpile was well covered, and then went and did my fitness training as I usually did on any other day.

There were a lot less people working out than normal and I kept to myself, waiting for the appointed hour. I breathed in and out deeply in an attempt to retain my calm. The last thing I needed was someone noting my expectation and reporting or interfering.

At nine in the morning, I left the gym and got my stolen supplies together in a canvas bag. I carried it out into the yard with all the nonchalance I could summon and hid it behind some storage crates near the training yard. No one looked at me twice, likely because they were all buzzing around with their own preparations.

Then I waited some more.