CHAPTER SEVEN - NO CHOICE

The water surrounded Grayson. Or maybe it wasn’t water. But he was suspended in it. It was a dusky blue, lightning above him to a clear gray and darkening below him to a pitch black. Grayson slowly spun in a circle, trying to see if there was something different depending on where he looked, but every direction showed him the same: nothing. 

And yet… Grayson felt like he had been here before. In this nothing. Though when he couldn’t quite place.

“... did Grayson do that? How? He’s not a Vampire,” Demos’ voice rose up behind him.

Grayson whipped around, but Demos was not there. He was alone in the blue void. 

“Humans have spoken about powers like those for ages. I always thought that it was because of their exposure to our kind,” Ryder answered on the other side of him.

Ryder?! 

Grayson spun around again, but, again, it was still him.

“As far as I know, there are no humans who can do what he did,” Demos said.

“And yet, here he is,” Ryder said.

Grayson thought he felt someone tucking a blanket around him.  He wasn’t sure if he imagined the brush of warm fingers against his jaw or the light placement of a palm against his forehead, 

Ryder?!

He knew it was Ryder touching him. The man--or Vampire--was a mass of contradictions. He seemed to want to protect Grayson. Picking Grayson up as if he was a toy. Standing between Grayson and danger. Touching him as if his hands should be an anchor for Grayson. And they weirdly had been. He didn’t like being touched, but when Ryder had done so… he’d felt safe. 

But safety was an illusion.

Then there was the Ryder who looked at him out of narrowed, burning silver eyes as if he suspected Grayson of something. There was hunger in his clenched jaw and parted lips. Ryder seemed wild in those moments as if about to lose control. 

The two aspects of him shouldn’t be allowed to exist in one man, one Vampire, but they did. And that meant that any safety that Grayson felt with him had to be fought. The Vampire was a predator. Through and through. No matter that he could be gentle. No matter that he seemed to have a desire to protect. No, he was still a creature who drank blood, who fed on Grayson’s kind.

“What happened between you two back there at the church?” Demos asked, and his voice was now located forward and to Grayson’s left.

Grayson couldn’t just hear him, but also the hum of tires on the road, and the faint thump-thump as they passed over sections of highway.

We’re in a car. Demos is driving. I’m in the backseat, probably lying down and Ryder is in the front passenger seat, Grayson realized even as the blue world did not change. Am I asleep? Unconscious? Somewhere between the two? Yeah… must be. Used too much of my power and now I’m here.

“What do you mean?  There was nothing,” Ryder’s voice had gone all growly and low, which gave lie to his words.

Demos noticed it too. The duality. But he seems to think it’s unusual for Ryder to be the way he was with me.

Demos let out a bark of laughter. “What do I mean? Don’t you play me, boy! I know you down to your bones and I swear I thought you were going to take Grayson right then and there with our enemies all around us.  Now Grayson is beautiful and he’s got that doe-look you like so much, but when we’re about to battle? You have never been so distracted as that before. So what is the deal?”

Ryder made a sound. Was it pain? Grayson remembered the burns on the bear’s front. He had known that bear was Ryder. He’d known more than that. He’d known that Ryder was in danger. Being in the closet--why did he put me there?! I wasn’t safe there! Small and horrible and… he didn’t know. He didn’t have any idea. And I got out--had been hard. Staying still and silent in the dark while the sound of fighting was going on had been almost impossible. But then he’d heard the triumph in that female Vampire’s voice, faint though it had been. He’d blown open the door to the closet and then… then he’d moved with a certainty that he’d never had before. He’d shattered the back door to the church and sent the stakes flying at her before he’d even seen her. He’d known where she was. He’d known.

They know now too, Grayson realized. They know what I can do and they aren’t scared… but they’re going to take me to the Ever Dark and there’s nothing I can do.  

“His blood would be useful about now,” Ryder answered, this time a mixture of amusement and discomfort.

“Blood we took off those homeless was not enough, I know, but it would have been too dangerous for them if we took more,” Demos reminded him. “And you did not want to stop and find a club--”

“No, we need to get Grayson to the Ever Dark. Plenty of willing Acolytes there to feed me and heal this,” Ryder answered.

Grayson could faintly smell the scent of burning flesh. He thought of Ryder’s perfect chest all blackened and weeping fluids. 

“It could have been loads worse if Grayson hadn’t… well, hadn’t staked that Horys Vampire,” Demos said almost casually, but Grayson knew that the emotions behind those words were not casual. These two men were friends, brothers, and the devastation of losing the other could not likely have been calculated.

Grayson wondered what it would be like to have someone you could trust like that. Was their kinship an illusion? If it was tested would it last?  But, more importantly, caring that much for someone else was dangerous. Because it meant you were not free to get out of a situation. They counted on you. You counted on them.  Definitely dangerous.

“She was much more powerful than I thought,” Ryder answered. “She was able to send lighting out of her hands.”

“We’re sure she’s dead?” Demos asked after a moment of digesting this news.

“I hope not. I want her alive to be questioned.  But she’s dead enough that she won’t get out of the trunk. Nor will the others. Got to find out who they are. The Eyros will do it,” Ryder answered.

A chill went through Grayson. The female Vampire was just feet away from him in the trunk of the car and he was unable to even move, let alone run if he needed to. 

“The old dude was a lot tougher than he had any right to be either,” Demos said and Grayson assumed he was talking about one of the Vampires he fought. “Not good that he got away.”

“They got the drop on both of us.”

“Not my finest hour that is for sure,” Demos said quietly.  “So you didn’t answer my question. What is the deal between you and the little one?” 

There is no deal! Grayson huffed. And I am not little! These two are abnormally big!

Ryder let out a sigh, but then said, “I don’t know. I felt like I was losing control--”

“Felt like or were?” Demos countered.

“I was. I fixated on him like we used to do when we were young fledglings just out for our first hunts,” Ryder admitted. 

Grayson swallowed. He could feel his throat and mouth. That was good. But was what he was hearing good? A Vampire being fixated on him couldn’t be good.

“Maybe it has something to do with his powers. Maybe his blood called to you,” Demos suggested.

Oh, right, make it my fault that Ryder nearly loses control and--and bites me! Grayson thought.

“If that was the case, it should have called to you as well and it did not, right? Or did you just hide it better than me?” Ryder asked, and there was a hint of possessiveness in his tone as if Demos better not have craved Grayson’s blood.

Grayson felt odd when he realized that. Everyone who had found out what he was wanted him gone. His powers scared them. He couldn’t be normal. He was dangerous. His powers hurt people. But then the female Vampire hadn’t been scared, but found him fascinating. She should have been scared though, considering what he did to her. 

“No, I did not. Doe-eyed and broken are your thing, not mine,” Demos snorted.

Doe-eyed and broken? Is he saying that about me?!

“He just seems… haunted. When I put him in the closet I think I made a big mistake. He was ready to claw his way out of there,” Ryder said.

Grayson swallowed again and pushed down the claustrophobia that even thinking of dark, tight places brought. This strange blue place was vast. He felt a different kind of angst here. But so long as he could hear their voices, he was okay. He’d just pushed himself way too hard. He’d never used his powers this much. His fire needed fueling. But right now he needed to rest.

“And you still put him in there?” The disbelief in Demos’ voice was hard to miss.

“It was the safest place!” Ryder hissed, clearly annoyed. “I couldn’t just leave him sitting on a pew! I could bring him with me! He needed to be somewhere he wouldn’t be able to get into trouble from--”

“And yet, thank the Immortals, he did because he saved your Vampire ass and likely mine too,” Demos interrupted him, completely unrepentant. 

“You’ve changed your tune on him. Where’s all the suspicion and narrowed-eyes from before?” Ryder pointed out.

It was true that Demos seemed to be more in his corner than before, which Grayson was glad about. But, then again, it was because they had him unconscious in the back seat and Grayson had saved Ryder’s life as he said. So that’s all it took to take Demos to change his mind.

“He was lying, Ryder. I was sensing that and was playing bad cop since you were ready to pat him on the head--or more like kiss his temple--and tell him everything was going to be all right,” Demos teased.

Grayson thought he felt heat flare in his cheeks. Kissing him? Demos thought that Ryder wanted to kiss him? This was ridiculous to feel embarrassed about. 

Kiss me or feed from me. Which is it? Or is it both?

“He looks like he’s had a hard life,” Ryder said, not denying the kissing bit, which had Grayson feeling all sorts of strange.

“Yeah, imagine having powers like that. I bet it's played havoc with his life,” Demos agreed.

“He lied to us probably because anyone he’s told about them has either disbelieved him--

“Which we, of all people would not have done!”

“Right, but the other sort, I bet have wanted to examine him,” Ryder pointed out.

Grayson’s heart started to thump faster. He heard someone turn around in their seat. He thought it might be Ryder, having heard the difference in his heart rate, and was checking on him. Grayson tried to calm himself down, but being unable to move was making that difficult. 

“Is he coming to?” Demos asked, more squeaking and shifting as he moved, too.

“Keep your eyes on the road,” Ryder muttered. “Not quite yet.”

He felt fingers move along his forehead, smoothing out tension lines that he hadn’t known were there, and Grayson found himself relaxing under those touches. He told himself not to. He told himself to fight the comfort that Ryder’s touch brought. Had he not just heard them talking about how Ryder was having difficulty not wanting to bite him? 

“It’s okay, Grayson. Let yourself sleep. You’re safe,” Ryder soothed.

And Grayson, despite himself, drifted down into the blackness. But it wasn’t scary. It was comforting. And he slept. 

The next time he came to, he was no longer in the blue space, but was actually awake. He knew this by the fact that his head felt like someone was drilling a hole into it and then pouring in acid before sloshing his brain around. He lifted a hand to his head, relieved to be able to move, and touched his temple. But even that caused him to wince. 

He lay there, trying to figure out where he was without opening his eyes and looking around. He wasn’t in the car anymore. He didn’t hear the hiss of tires over asphalt of the thumps. Also, wherever he was no longer had streetlamps that would flash over his closed eyelids. The room was dimly lit, if there was any light at all. For this he was eternally grateful. 

But then he wondered if the room was small. Like a closet or a coffin small. His hands stretched out to his sides. All they found was more sheets. Definitely, crisp, cool, cotton sheets overtop a very comfy mattress. He turned his head slightly to the right. His nose hit a soft pillow that had a faint sandalwood scent. There was a light duvet over him. It was airy and yet very warm. He was… comfortable except for his head. 

I’m in a bed, he realized. And then he realized what that meant, I’m in the Ever Dark!

His eyelids shot open and, thankfully, the only light came from wainscotting at the top of the wall where the walls met the ceiling. Soft, silvery light was emitted from there. Most of the light was blocked by the heavy hangings that surrounded the bed. It was a four-poster, something that Grayson had only ever seen in movies that had castles. So it fit the Ever Dark. Wasn’t every city in the Ever Dark supposed to be one of the Immortal’s castles in a way?

He heard a sound--the scratch and hiss of a match being lit--and his gaze shot towards the fireplace at the end of the bed. A man was kneeling there, lighting kindling. It caught quickly and immediately cast a golden glow on the person’s features.

He was in his mid-thirties--though he was likely a Vampire so how he looked didn’t mean anything about how old he really was--and wearing a well tailored three-piece suit in gray and blue. He had brown hair with copper highlights that brushed the top of his collar. 

“Hello, Grayson,” his voice was tinged with an English accent.

Grayson jerked and his head thrummed with pain. He brought both hands up to his head and opened his mouth in a silent scream even as he curled into a fetal position.

“Oh, dear, I didn’t mean to startle you, but I thought since you’d seen me that it would be all right to speak. My fault. Should have checked,” the man continued.

Through his fingers, Grayson saw him gracefully rise from the fireplace and approach the bed. Grayson couldn’t even move or talk to tell him to keep back! He doubted it would have worked anyways. He was noticing that Vampires did what they wanted. The man then touched him and he didn’t like it! 

“Not Ryder!” Grayson managed to shout, which just had his head vibrating like a bell with agony. 

“Not Ryder? Hmmm, so he isn’t the only one to feel a connection,” the man murmured, undeterred by his words as he put fingers on Grayson’s temples.

“No! No!” Grayson cried.

He was trying to say that he had no connection to Ryder and for this man not to touch him. But everything came out garbled and not as he wanted. The pain was just unbelievable! Ice picks stabbing his brain.  Acid sizzling his gray matter. Throbbing pain that radiated throughout his body.

And then… it was gone.

The man took his fingers away from Grayson’s temples and drew a chair over to the side of the bed. Grayson didn’t move for long moments as he tried to ascertain if the pain was really gone. After all, how could it be there--ever present and agonizing--and then vanish?

“It’s not actually gone. I’ve just told your mind not to concentrate on it. The command will fade when the pain has gone away,” the man said.

“You--you read my mind?” Grayson brought his hands down on his face and looked at the Vampire. 

He sat easily with his legs deftly crossed one over the other. His long fingered hands were loosely held in his lap. The word to describe his affect was… languid. He was completely at ease, so at ease that he was arguably melting in his chair. 

“Who--”

“Am I? Lord Balthazar Ravenscroft or the Immortal Eyros, if you prefer. I answer to both.” The Vampire--or Immortal--bowed without leaving his chair.

“Eyros… you’re the headmaster of the academy. The Vampire wannabe school, right?” Grayson asked as he took in the well-dressed figure who smiled at him with absolutely no fear, disgust or concern.

“Vampire wannabe school? Oooh, I’m going to use that to annoy Caemorn. He is deadly serious about this school and the students,” Balthazar said with a pleasant, low laugh. 

His silver eyes glowed softly in the low light. They were… mesmerizing. Not in the way that Ryder’s were, but they invited him to relax and open up and tell Balthazar everything…

“What the Hell?!” Grayson rocketed up in the bed and winced in expectation of pain, but it did not come.

Balthazar merely chuckled again. “You felt that, did you? Interesting! One of so many interesting things about you.” He put a hand to his chest and explained unnecessarily, “I read minds. I’m reading your mind.”

“I don’t want you to!” Grayson grimaced because he heard the child’s wail in his voice. He doubted what he wanted mattered.

“I’m afraid not. Not in this case in any event,” Balthazar said, reading his mind again. He brought his hands together and leaned forward on his elbows. “As unpleasant as the thought of me poking around in your head is, isn’t this better than having to tell me everything?”

Grayson opened and shut his mouth. He remembered flashing red and blue lights. He remembered police officers asking their questions again and again and again. He remembered feeling like every time he had to open his mouth was like being stabbed and saying sentences was like bleeding out.

“I guess there’s some benefits,” Grayson finally said.

“Yes.” Balthazar nodded, clearly knowing this was true regardless of what Grayson said out loud. “And I’ve only looked at tonight’s events. No further back. Though I really wanted to.”

Grayson tensed. “Just tonight? Why?”

Balthazar sighed. “I’ve been asked not to.”

“By who?”  

Did Ryder ask?

“Oh, Ryder most certainly didn’t want me asking you anything. He got quite het up when I told him that he couldn’t be here with you while I looked at your memories,” Balthazar said. 

“I don’t know why he would care,” Grayson lied. 

But was it a lie? He didn’t understand why Ryder would care? Or why he would care that Ryder might care.

“He doesn’t either! Which is interesting in and of itself.” Balthazar leaned back in his chair with a grin. “He is a protector. And you’re his type, though you’re a bit tougher than you look.”

“I’ve had to be,” Grayson found the words just slipped out!

Balthazar tilted his head to the side. “You’re special. And the world wants to destroy special people unless they’re strong enough to survive it.”

Grayson didn’t answer. He tried keeping the memories that those words brought up down so that Balthazar didn’t read them. He wasn’t sure if that actually worked. But he had to try. Though this Vampire seemed all right it wasn’t safe. None of this was safe.

“Am I… am I in the Ever Dark?” Grayson asked, wanting some of his own questions answered.

“Yes, in the city of Nightvallen. You’re actually in the Eyros Palace. My palace.” Balthazar beamed.

He was clearly quite proud of this.

“So if you looked into my head and know what all happened with Gregory Starn, I take it that I’m not staying here?” Grayson didn’t actually think this. He was simply hoping it was true.

“You know that’s not happening,” Balthazar snouted softly. “Even if we were to just let you go, do you think that would be a good idea?”

“I…”

“The Sect of Dawn--or whoever this group really is--will be gunning for you,” Balthazar reminded him. “You have no money to relocate. You have no car to simply drive off and disappear into the sunset. You have no family to take you in. You are a sitting duck.”

Grayson swallowed. “But you can’t care about that. I’m nothing to you.”

Balthazar went very still. He didn’t even seem to breathe. And then he was moving again like a photograph come to life.

“Well, that’s not true. Among other things, we want to stop those people who want to stop you,” Balthazar said. 

“The enemy of my enemy is… my friend?” Grayson asked, recalling the old adage.

“Indeed!” Balthazar’s grin didn’t dim. 

But Grayson was sure he wasn’t telling the full truth. He didn’t have to read minds to know that.

“So… what do you want?” Grayson asked, hands fisting in the duvet that seemed deceptively soft now.

“Many things! Ask me what I want and you might as well ask me what the meaning of life is! But what you’re really asking is what is going to happen to you now?” Balthazar rephrased.

Grayson just nodded.

“We want you to stay here and go to school at the Vampire wannabe academy. Oh, I so love that!” Balthazar’s grin was infectious if it wasn’t for the dread he felt.

“Why?”

“As I said before, you have nowhere else to go that is safe. We… want to keep you safe,” Balthazar said. “Maybe you can help us figure out who these people are. Maybe you can… figure out who you are.”

Grayson stared at him. “I know who I am.”

“You know who you are… now. Let us help you discover who you are going to be,” Balthazar said.

“I don’t want your help with that.” Grayson slid his legs out from under the duvet. He was no longer wearing the clothes he had been in. He was wearing just a light pair of drawstring pants. “And as to those people, they just found me by accident. They weren’t looking for me. So they won’t keep looking. They have--”

“They’ll keep looking, Grayson.” Balthazar’s voice was soft. “We both know that. And though you have demonstrated great skills, you were lucky. You won’t be so lucky again.”

“I saved your people and--”

“Yes, you did. But you couldn’t have gone up against five Vampires alone, could you? You needed Ryder and Demos as much as they ended up needing you, didn’t you?” Balthazar’s silver eyes were focused on him like twin lasers. Seeing inside of him. “You shouldn’t lie to yourself and it really is pointless to lie to me.”

Grayson swallowed. “Staying here isn’t a request, is it?”

Balthazar’s smile did not dim. “We now have an open spot at the academy. Most people would kill for it. We’re giving it to you, Grayson. Be sensible and simply take it.”

“Right, just give in and be your--”

“Student. There are so many things here that will benefit you,” Balthazar told him, and then with a rather impish smile added, “Including Ryder. He’s outside my palace. Pacing. And being ridiculous and all Weryn-like. It’s very exciting.”

“I don’t care about--”

“Remember what I said about lying, young man?” Balthazar wagged a finger at him. “Now, you should get dressed. Ryder is waiting. And we have some pomp and circumstance to get through.”