Page 65 of Curse of the Asuune
“Umm…what?” Kathrine couldn’t believe the words coming out of Sarah’s mouth. She was a little embarrassed but this thought had crossed her mind a time or two. She really wanted Paul, if given the chance she would take it.
“It will complete your bonding and it will get very difficult to stay apart. Why do you think I let Charles take over the recruiting? It’s probably gonna be a year or so before your dad and I can be apart and not go crazy,” Sarah said.
“Umm…ok, I won’t,” Kathrine conceded as she left. It was a strange conversation but she guessed that Sarah was serious. Kathrine put this out of her mind and headed home to pack.
In the morning Hailey was waiting at the gas station with a small bag. She hadn’t brought much stuff with her so Kathrine guessed that this was all she had. Kathrine, on the other hand, had packed light on purpose. She had enough money in her bank account to cover anything they might come across. In fact, when her parents ‘died’ they had left her their entire fortune. She had only used a little of it to pay for her college, other than that it sat untouched.
“You ready?” Hailey asked as Kathrine walked into the station.
“Yep, he should be here in a little bit,” Kathrine replied. “You look nice today.” Kathrine was attempting to make small talk to pass the time but Hailey seemed to get upset. Hailey stood up and started walking to one of the large windows and tried to appear as if she was watching for the truck.
“I still have urges when I smell humans. Please don’t let me relapse. Smack me if you have to,” Hailey said trying to change the subject.
“If you insist,” Kathrine joked.
The truck pulled up moments later and a younger man got out. He was slightly overweight, a side effect of the job Kathrine thought. The man stepped out of his truck and started to pump the gas. Many times there was no attendant and any of the regular drivers would just fill up and then be on their way. They provided transport for the Asuune and worked for Sarah so there was never any reason to pay for the gas. Each driver had a code to punch in to the keypad of the gas pump, Kathrine being there to help them wasn’t actually required.
Kathrine and Hailey snuck around the back of the distracted man and then quickly hid behind the truck. When the man entered the station to use the bathroom they lifted the door just enough to slide underneath then shut it quietly once they were inside. Within a few minutes the driver had taken off for his next stop. Kathrine wasn’t quite sure where this particular truck was going but likely it was heading to another one of Sarah’s stations or drop offs. Bored with the silence and a little nervous, Kathrine decided that now would be a good time to test Hailey.
“So, you’re from Egypt?” Kathrine asked.
“Yes, lived there most of my life until recently. Been hiding from my brother for the last two hundred years or so in America.” Hailey looked calm. Talking about her homeland seemed to put her at east, just what Kathrine had predicted.
“You don’t have much of an accent but I guess you’ve had two hundred years to practice. I’m still getting used to this living til the end of time thing. So strange,” Kathrine trailed off. She hoped this might get Hailey to talk more and it worked.
“The first few hundred years it was an adventure and I always had new things to do and see. The next hundred I was depressed. Having run out of new things I headed back home only to find my brother had enslaved the whole countryside. Some of the family names I had known as a child were now slaves. These were wealthy families, the celebrities of that age. My brother had forced everyone into poverty except for himself and a few families that shared his goals. Until then I had drank the blood as if it were just another wine, never realizing what had to happen to the humans that it came from. Maybe I did know but refused to accept it. I was naïve, like the teenager who goes to a fast food restaurant not realizing that their double cheeseburger was once a cow.” Hailey seemed very passionate about this. It didn’t seem like a lie.
“Then the years after that are a blur. First I tried to resist my brother. He had an ingenious system of torture that ensured I would need him. He would lock me in a cage and refuse to give me blood. After the withdrawals started he would give me enough blood to last another day, set me free then recapture me and start over. He did this for what must have been decades. Sometimes he would let me stay out of the cage for a few days but never longer. By the time he was done with me I would have done anything to not feel that again, except kill. Even the torture was not enough to make me kill humans. One time I refused for so long that I nearly died before Elyon gave in. He broke my spirit but he couldn’t take that last bit of humanity from me.” Hailey looked like she might cry.
“I’m not sure I would have been able to take it, I might have broke.” Kathrine was trying to be supportive but strangely it seemed to upset Hailey.
“Like that could even happen to you,” Hailey laughed resentfully. “I saw the way you were sickened by the smell of blood. It never would have happened to you, because you’re strong. I’m weak.”