He grinned and slid his arm around my waist, pulling me snug against his side. Lucas watched all of this without saying a word. Ethan didn’t lead me to his car, instead taking me to the end of the street. His arm fell away from my waist as he bent to open a round manhole cover.
“Eh, no way am I going down there,” I said emphatically as Lucas’s eyes gleamed with mirth. I bet he knew all along I wasn’t going to be up for this.
Somehow, I’d failed to make the connection that an underground market would be among the sewage system. In my head, I’d imagined something a little more mystical and a little less e-coli and rat-infested.
“I can walk you back to the house if you like,” Ethan offered, his silvery eyes looking back and forth between mine.
I glanced at Lucas for a moment, and the fact that he clearly assumed I’d turn back made me determined to keep going.
Taking a deep breath, I replied, “No, that’s alright. I still want to come. I just needed a minute to get used to the idea.”
“Once you get through the tunnels it’s not so bad. You can climb on my back, and I’ll get us to the market in a matter of seconds. You won’t have to endure the stench for too long.”
I eyed him warily. “Okay, then.”
Ethan went down on one knee, so I could climb onto his back. When I was securely situated, he moved toward the manhole and climbed down. Lucas followed suit. The second we hit the tunnel Ethan began moving at vampire speed, and everything became a blur of motion. Unfortunately, I could still smell the sewage.
Moments later he slowed down, and I realised I’d been squeezing my eyes shut to keep from getting dizzy. I opened them and looked around to see a mass of vampires gathered in a large open space. The place was huge, about the size of a football field. There were market stalls set up in orderly rows selling all variety of goods.
I stared in fascination, still holding firmly onto Ethan’s back as I took the place in. Vampires stood and chatted amiably, others hovered by stalls bartering and haggling for goods.
When Ethan entered, the conversation hushed, and they all turned to look at him with what appeared to be reverence in their otherworldly eyes. He patted me on the thigh, and I let go of his neck, hopping off onto the ground.
Some of the vampires watched me instead of Ethan, and I knew that they were aware of what I was—of what I could give them. It was weird, though, because I didn’t feel unsafe. I had this odd sense of safety at Ethan’s side. I knew that none of the vampires would be able to get to me because of him.
Ethan slipped his hand into mine, a show of solidarity but also possession, and led me on a walk around the market. The vampires continued what they’d been doing, but without the same vigour as before. They were all far too curious about Ethan’s presence, anticipating his announcement.
A mezzanine floor ran around the edge of the upper wall of the market, and tugging me to him, Ethan pulled me up onto his back again before climbing a ladder to the mezzanine. Once he reached the top, he let me off and walked to the railing. Placing his hands firmly down on the railing, he cleared his throat, and every vampire present fell silent for the second time.
They looked up at him, heads all turned to attention. I spotted Lucas below, standing by a stall. He picked up a gold watch and examined it, perhaps the only vampire in the whole place who wasn’t staring at Ethan.
“Today, while you all slept,” Ethan began, “the sorcerer Theodore made a televised broadcast to the humans of the city. To put it simply, he told them to mark their doors with a circle in chalk before gathering at Campion row. From there, he instructed them to visit every home without a circle and burn it to the ground.”
The revelation was followed by exclamations of shock and surprised intakes of breath. Some vampires clutched their partners, unmistakable fear in their eyes. All of a sudden, I saw Ethan’s species in a new light. They might live a lot longer than humans, might be a lot stronger, but they were still mortal. They could still lose the things that they held most dear.
“I have called you all here tonight so that you can be aware of this and mark your doors as the humans do.”
Before Ethan could say more, a dark-haired vampire stepped to the front of the crowd. “Why don’t you just let us all have a drink of your little blood whore, and we won’t have to worry about daytime attacks?” he asked, his mouth a cruel slant across his face. My heart thundered in my chest at the suggestion. Remind me why I thought it was a good idea to come here?