Ash(29)

Was that possible? I wasn’t sure what Jayden was talking about. They had tested my blood and I was an ash … right? I couldn’t actually remember if they had given me those results or if it was just assumed because, well, what the hell else could I be?

I took an extended sip of my blood, and almost against my will my eyes flicked back to where Ryder had been. He was gone. Some of the other enforcers lingered around the wide, wooden bar, but no tall, dark, and broody to be seen.

I noticed that a group of ash, all wearing jumpsuits, had just walked into the room. A few of them exchanged looks before strolling across to where Jayden and I sat.

“Something tells me there are a few alliances going on before the culling,” I murmured, sitting forward in my seat, the bottle of blood forgotten as I prepared myself. Surely they wouldn’t start something here in a room filled with ash and vampires.

Jayden straightened also, and without saying a word both of us jumped to our feet. We would not be taken sitting down. The three male ash, two brunettes and a rather scrawny dirty-blond, paused about eight feet from us. A sense of hesitation came across them, and they exchanged another glance before turning and fading off into the crowd.

“Hell yeah,” I said, “seems our reputation has gotten around.”

A hand landed on my shoulder, and I suddenly knew that it wasn’t our reputations which had sent those ash fleeing. I swung my head around, only to be visually assaulted by a very sharp-set of fangs. Lucas towered over me, his white trench glowing softly under the lights in this dim atmosphere.

“I need you to come with me, Charlie. Something has happened.”

My immediate panicked thought was of my mom, but I was pretty sure that no one in the Hive cared or monitored the loved ones left out in the human world. It had to be something else. I’d just seen Ryder … so who else was there?

I took a step toward Lucas, before stopping and flicking my head back to Jayden. “Hey, are you going to be okay? I don’t want anyone to jump you while I’m gone.”

He just gave me that cheeky grin and waved me on. “I’ll be fine, you go and do your thing. I’ll see you back in our room.” The smile faltered a little as his eyes shifted across to the vampire at my side. Jayden was pretty up on the politics in the Hive and he knew Lucas was a big deal. All of the Quorum members were. This was not a request I could refuse, but he was worried for me all the same.

I wondered if I should be a little more worried myself. For someone who did not trust easily, who used to genuinely have a hate for anything to do with the Hive, I had come around awfully quick. But something about Ryder and Lucas gave me a sense of security. Like I knew they would not deliberately screw with me. Jayden was the same, and I was going to go with my gut on these three.



Lucas was silent as he led me through the corridors and into the lower levels again. As we stepped off the elevator, I recognized the zone. I was back in the whitewashed hospital wing, which was apparently on level two. I hadn’t paid attention to the level the last time I was here. Shit … what was I doing here? My heart rate increased again.

“Mom?” I gasped. Even if it was not a logical worry, I still had to ask. Lucas didn’t answer immediately. I breathed deeply, trying to slow the rapid pulse of my blood, before grabbing at his trench coat. I was prepared to make him tell me what the hell was going on.

The vampire halted, surprise lighting up his eyes as I pulled him closer to me. We locked gazes for an extended moment, and just as I was about to shake him for information, he leaned closer to me.

“Your friend is right, your eyes are very silver when you feel strong emotions.”

Clearly he had been stalking me even before those ash had approached us.

“And your mother is perfectly fine. We just need to run a few more tests. The first ones were inconclusive, and without the results I cannot ascertain your lineage. It is needed for the culling. I would like to do this quietly before the rest of the Quorum get wind of it.”

My lineage? As in who my father was? I knew his name, but for some reason instinct kept me silent on that. I realized then how close we were, my hands still tangled in his coat. I could see every facet in his silver eyes, which seemed to be swirling and pulsing in the fluorescent light. My grip loosened on his trench coat, and as I stepped back he smoothed down the creases I’d created. He seemed a little shaken, almost mesmerized in a manner, but before I noticed anything further he was back to normal.

“Come,” he said, continuing along the path.

I tried not to breathe too deeply as I followed. Something about the disinfectant smell in the air of hospitals turned my stomach. And with developed ash senses, it was a hundred times worse. I hadn’t noticed it as much the last time I was here – probably because I was too freaked out with the whole “your-mom-banged-a-vampire” revelation. This time though I was seeing everything. Why the hell were there so many rooms on this level? Was it really necessary? Surely, with our advanced healing, hospitals were only needed for those occasional ash who popped up out of the woodwork.