Page 95 of Nocte

Altaris sighs. “That place. Always causing trouble. A den of sin, it is. In any case, come closer, you. Come in.”

He sniffs as I inch forward, leaving the narrow hall by the doorway for a wider room packed to the brim with shiny, dusty, gleaming things.

“You can stay here, for a price,” Altaris repeats, eyeing me warily.

I just nod.

Any price, I will pay it. Anything.

For Caspian, I will give anything.

CHAPTER36

Niamh

This corner of the realm is so strange. So different from what I imagined, and so different from the empty field I first glimpsed the second I came here.

The Bleeding Hearts Motel was loud and violent.

Life here…

Is quiet. Silent. These vamryre are all broken, lost souls that scurry and scatter at the slightest glance. Like me. Like I did in the Citadel.

Like they fear attention or the slightest touch. They fear their own shadow.

Will Caspian become like them? A broken, hollow thing. I hope not. Oh, please… I hope not.

I need him angry and bitter and full of sin. I need him bloody and thirsty and violent. I need him exactly as he was, no more, no less.

It is important to me that he remains Caspian. He can’t change too greatly.

He can never lose his spark.

Because without his fire, I will fade out, a dying ember devoid of a flame. I will die out. Here in this perfect mortal realm…

Without Caspian, I will die out.

So, I wait for him. I wait impatiently, but I wait.

I let Altaris show me into another room cramped with bright furniture and paintings and too much to think clearly. A busy, noisy room, though silent if I keep my eyes closed.

“Let your boy rest for a night or two,” he says. “His mind has been damaged. For decades. For years. From being one of the collective, to one alone… It is as though one has lost all of their limbs. Their eyes. Their tongue.” He releases another wistful, heavy sigh. Whatever Caspian is experiencing, he too has been through it. Once.

How long ago?

I can’t tell.

But I am not hopeful as I stare into his haunting green eyes. He keeps his thoughts locked up tight, more tightly than even Day did.

“I want to be with him,” I say. Want to, because it may not be necessary. I would rather stay away from him than cause him any further pain. I would rather stay away from him than hurt him anymore.

“I suppose if you are silent and calm,” Altaris stresses, “You may see him once he is settled in. Once we have settled upon a strategy for repayment.”

“Caspian delivered your payment,” I say.

He shrugs. “That was Mo’s pay, for the stay in that dreary little shack. Here the rules are different and my prices vary. For succor here, it will cost you. The vamryre will stay free of charge, but not you.” He sniffs at me and frowns. “You will upset my darlings, and for that you must pay.”

I swallow hard and wrack my mind for anything of value. He is a vamryre. Perhaps blood is what he wants? Or my body, Like Caspian…