The Wolf Within

Chapter 20: Groggy Beginnings

Toni's PoV:

I didn't sleep that night. Maybe it was partly because of worry -- everything seemed to be worrying me -- but I also had a plan. When Sophie came up to bring me dinner I watched her closely -- there was a bundle of keys hanging from her waist, and I hoped that one of them would be the key I needed.

"You have a lot of keys," I said in between bites of roast potatoes. 

"Yes! One to nearly every door in the pack house. We have to be able to get in so we can clean."

"Do you have a key to the dungeons?"

Sophie snorted. "The dungeons? It's not my job to clean down there. There's never anyone down there."

"But do you have the key?"

"No, only the guards do. There's an easier way to get down there though -- the guards sleep in the same quarters as the servants, so there's a corridor connecting the two."

"Really?" I scrunched up my face in disbelief.

"Sure. We haven't had a prisoner in decades, and the cells are super strong anyway, so there's no need for locks on those doors. It's basically impossible for anyone to get out that way."

"What about getting in, though?"

Sophie eyed me carefully. I took a sip of water, keeping eye contact. 

"Why do you want to know?"

"I think there might be someone down there."

Sophie snorted again. "I'm sorry, Toni, but there's nobody down there. If you want to check for yourself, though, I can help." She unhooked a single iron key from the chain at her waist.

"This will let you into the servant's quarters. Just follow down the stairs I usually come up and then, when you get to the kitchens, follow the corridor. Go after midnight, though, when everyone's asleep, and then before four o'clock. That way you won't run into anything."

I stared at her. "You are absurdly helpful."

"I know." Sophie smiled, a funny look in her eyes.

***

Long after Sophie had left, I was awake. The only sound in my room was the ticking of the clock, edging nearer to midnight. I was tired from the night before and bored out of my mind -- I didn't have a phone or computer or book to distract me, so I was left to just stare at the wall for hours.

Eventually the clock struck twelve and I slipped out of bed. Slowly, cautiously, I crossed the room, key grasped in my hand, and down the servant's stairs. My footsteps were silent, like a ghost's, and I opened my eyes wide as they adjusted to the dim light of the staircase.

The steps were small are steep, with no carpet and no rail, so I took my time walking down them, hoping that I wouldn't fall to the bottom. When I reached the end of the staircase I was enveloped in near total darkness. I pushed my left hand out in front of me, using it to feel my way down the corridor.

In one hand, I felt the cool metal of the key gripped hard between my fingers, while the other brushed against uneven stone. The air was cold and still, with no sign of life in any direction. I trembled, regretting my decision to sneak out.

Eventually, the flat plane of the wall gave way and became a valley, opening up into what must have been the kitchen. I proceeded slowly around the edge of the room, my hand back against the wall, and prayed no one would hear me walking past.

When I reached the next doorway I sighed in relief. I was close -- just one more corridor to go and I would be in the dungeon again. I sped up a little, still as quiet as possible, and held the key up in front of me.

The door was wooden, with an iron lock. I couldn't see it, but as soon as I reached it I ran my hand along it, feeling for the handle. I slipped the key inside and turned it slowly. Click. I held my breath -- silence. No one had heard.

With a shaking hand I pushed the door open, letting a sliver of light pour through. I listened carefully for a noise, using my werewolf senses to reach for any tiny sound that might mean there was someone there, but there was nothing. I pushed open the door a little further and stepped inside.

The dungeon was nearly the same as I remembered it: a line of twenty strong, silver cells on one side, the staircase, a table and two chairs for the guards on the other. The table was new, but the sickly sweet scent of blood and dying flowers was the exactly the same as it had been the night before. I blinked at the harsh artificial light coming from the strip lights on the ceiling and grimaced. It was far to bright for night.

No one was in the clear part of the room -- no guard, no servant, no interrogator. Sophie was right when she said it would be deserted.

 Well, mostly.

As I my eyes adjusted to the lights, I realised there was someone else huddled in the corner of room, locked away in the further most cell. The man I had seen during the storm -- only it wasn't a man. As I watched, the mound of torn cloth and long limbs climbed over itself -- herself -- and straightened out, the figure sitting taller and staring straight at me.

She was tall and slim, with brown, but somehow pallid, skin. As she watched me, eyes latching onto mine with a ferocity I'd never seen, I watched her too. The girl had high cheekbones and soft, round lips, with beautiful red eyes. The red wasn't bright, though, it was softer, more natural than I'd imagined -- it was beautiful. Her hair was long and curly, flowing over her shoulders in a cascade of silky black, framing her heart shaped face perfectly. She was hypnotising. She was dangerous.

I edged closer -- danger or not, I wanted answers. My heart beat hard against my chest, breaking the silence of room. I watched the girl smirk -- I knew she could hear it too.

"Who are you, little wolf?" The girl's voice was silky and sensuous, like the chiming of bells. I faltered, but I knew I  had to muster up the courage to talk to her if I wanted any answers. I was a Veriten wolf -- I had to be brave.

"You can call me Toni."

"Hmmm."

I reached the edge of her cell and ran my hand across the silver. It didn't hurt me, but to a vampire it would be torture to touch. The girl was covered in dried blood -- her own or someone else's, maybe, I didn't know -- and up close her pretty hair was tangled, her soft red eyes feral. She was a vampire, that much was obvious.

"What are you doing here, little wolf?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Then you will get nowhere."

I sighed. "How about this then -- I'll answer a question for every question you answer?"

The vampire nodded.

"What's your name?"

"You may call me Carmen."

"Is that your real name?"

"Now, now little wolf," the vampire wagged her finger at me. "It is my turn to ask a question."

I sighed and slid to the floor, crossing my legs beneath me. The girl -- Carmen -- stayed at the edged of her cell, watching me carefully, but with a knowing glint in her eye.

"Why are you here?"

I paused. I was shivering in the freezer like dungeon. "I came to find out about you. No one was telling me anything so I decided to find out myself. Are you are vampire?"

She smiled wickedly at me. "Can't you tell, little wolf? Can't you smell it on me?"

I blushed. "I've never met a vampire before. I want to be sure."

Carmen was playing with me, I realised. She was sat, weak, trapped, on the wrong side of a cage, and yet she was playing with me. Her eyes shone in the yellow light, sparkling playfully.

"Yes. Yes, I am a vampire. I would have thought your whole pack would know by now."

"They're not my pack." 

"Oh?" She raised a perfect black eyebrow. "You smell just like them."

I looked away, not letting her see the stormy look on my face. "A few weeks ago I had to join this pack, but I don't know anyone and I hate it here. I'd much rather be home with my old pack."

Carmen hummed. It was hard to tell whether she was listening intently or if just didn't care. 

"Where's home to you?" I asked.

"Now that, little wolf, I cannot tell you. Your guards have already tried to get it out of me, but I will not betray my family."

"Your family? Vampires have family?"

"Of course we do. We have covens and families and friends -- a little like your packs, I suppose." Her voice was softer then, and distant, as though she was remembering her family.

"Do you miss them?"

"Everyday. Do you miss you pack?"

"More than words can say."

Carmen hummed again. When she opened her mouth to speak I could see her teeth -- pearly white and sharp, but not nearly so fang like as I had imagined -- hell, when I shifted into a wolf my teeth were bigger.

We fell into silence as I thought of another question to ask. There were so many, it was hard to decide which one to ask first, and I didn't want to give Carmen any more information about myself if I could help it. Eventually, I decided.

"Why are you locked up?"

She stared at me, her eyes sad. "I am tired and the guards will be back from patrol soon. I don't want to talk to you anymore little wolf." Carmen turned away.

"Wait, look at me, I want to know!"

"And I want to know you, Toni, but I don't think you'll tell the truth. Try again tomorrow, maybe you'll have better luck."

She sounded tired more than anything. I looked at her gaunt face and pallid skin -- even her eyes seemed drained of life. Maybe that was normal for a vampire, but it was hard to tell. I stood slowly, my gaze fixed on her the entire time.

"What time are the guards usually back?"

"They leave at eleven and return around two o'clock -- only a handful of people know I'm here, so they have limited people to guard me. Just two morons, actually. They take it in turns but don't bother this late at night -- they know I won't escape while they guard your stupid territory."

It seemed a bit neglectful to me; I could see that the cells were strong and that the dungeons where literally underneath a house full of werewolves, but Carmen was a vampire -- and vampires were meant to be terrifying. Carmen certainly was.

I lifted a shaking hand up to move the hair out of my eyes. "Will you answer my questions tomorrow?"

"Maybe."

I realised that was the best I was going to get, so I turned around and walked away. It felt wrong having my back to her, like I was committing some serious crime, and the sick feeling in my stomach didn't help. I glanced back at Carmen, who was looking over her shoulder at me.

"I will answer as many questions as you will, little wolf."

"Good night." I said forcefully. She was just trying to mess with me. 

I crept carefully out of the room and back along the corridor. When I got back to my room I was exhausted, and my mind was going at a hundred miles an hour. I curled up in bed and tried to get some sleep.