Beyond The Walls (NOW ON AMAZON!!!)

Fatigue

"Hey, Hadley. I don't think I've told you much about my Baron, Lujeo."

The voice floated to Hadley through a heavy blanket of darkness.

Ruqwik.

It was the vampire's voice.

Hadley wanted to smile but couldn't remember how.

"Lujeo used to wax poetic about ambrosia. It's supposed to be this strange, golden liquid that comes from our fangs during a Turn. He would say that Ambrosia exists because vampires can't eat, but still have acid-filled stomachs from their human origins. Over centuries, the acid changes, transforming into the golden Ambrosia that allows a vampire to turn others. This is the only way we can add to our numbers."

Hadley sighed.

She had never been so exhausted.

She should rest.

"Lujeo wasn't allowed to tell me any of this, you know. I rejected the offer to be a Master too many times, and only Masters are allowed to know the secrets of a Turning. But he always became sentimental in the days following a Turn. A little lax with the rules of the Masters. On those days, you could almost forget how annoying he was the rest of the time. He'd say, 'Ruq, you don't control the Ambrosia. The Ambrosia controls itself. It makes itself present only when it is needed. You must be in the right mind space. Calm. Collected. And in love with life itself.'"

The words made little sense to Hadley, but the vampire's voice was soothing, so Hadley let them lull her deeper into the darkness.

She was so exhausted.

She would rest.

She would let the voice sooth her into rest.

"I never knew what he meant by those words. Not until now."

A fleeting whisper now.

Hadley sighed again.

Then, she let go.

"Okay Hadley, I need you to drink."

Irritated, Hadley pulled herself back up from the darkness. Why was the voice trying to ruin Hadley's peace?

"Please, Hadley..."

This was exasperating.

'Please...'

It wasn't just a voice this time. It was a feeling. A desperate plea. A command yelled in her mind.

Hadley's body lurched, surprising her because she thought she was dying.

Not thought.

Knew.

Warmth suddenly pooled in her mouth.

Irony, coppery warmth.

It fell down her throat.

Lit up every part of her.

She wasn't dying.

She wasn't dying?

The warmth suddenly cut off, plunging Hadley back into cold darkness with a force she couldn't fight. She was lost in the darkness once more, exhausted and in need of peace. But there was no peace! Dark shadows ceaselessly twirled and whirled and tumbled around her! An unsettling fury of movement she couldn't see or reach beyond.

Or escape.

***

Hadley woke up with her throat burning, desperate to ease her thirst. She was on a bed with crisp, clean bedding that was scratchier than she'd have normally liked, but she'd been sleeping in tents on the forest floor for weeks. If it didn't have stray moss and dirt, it was an improvement. The lights above her were a soft red. Dim, but enough to outline objects around her, like the bed she lay on flanked by a table and some medical monitoring equipment, and a door in one corner of the room. She focussed on the bedside table. It was bare except for a jug of water and a tumbler next to it. She forced herself to sit up and pour herself a drink.