Fall With Me

and the predator in me was desperate for release. I hated myself for it, but I wanted nothing more than to suck every last drop of blood out of every single one of them.
     

Chapter 5: Sofia
     
    My eyes were glued to the young man Vivienne was embracing only moments ago. There was no question in my mind that it was him. He was the one Vivienne told Lucas I was here for. He was the one the guards and servants were whispering about. He was Derek Novak.
    Soon after Vivienne left me inside the dungeon, guards arrived to bring me to another area of the place they called The Shade. I and several other girls around my age were brought out of a network of underground caves they called The Cells. I assumed it was The Shade’s prison system of sorts. My first instinct was to try to figure out where we were.
    Once out in the open, I saw the tallest trees I’d ever laid my eyes on – I assumed they were giant redwoods that I’d read about in books. They surrounded us on all sides except for one – our side – which from what I saw, consisted of a huge mountain range, whose ragged cliffs spelled danger. It was in the intricate cave system of this mountain range that they managed to carve out the dungeons they’d kept us all in. I was impressed by how they were able to pull it off, but I couldn’t help but wonder if human blood was shed in turning The Cells into a reality.
    From The Cells, the guards ordered us girls to form a single line and follow them as they guided us onto a well-traveled dirt pathway right into the dark, murky wood. My teeth chattered as they herded us beneath the shadows of the wiry branches. It wasn’t really the cold that was making me shudder, though the howling wind certainly wasn’t helping – especially taking into consideration the outfit I had on. It was that everything about the forest we’d entered reminded me of those I read about in fairy tales – home to big bad wolves and nocturnal creatures waiting to devour any unfortunate passerby. At that point, I regretted ever watching horror movies, because I was pretty much certain that we were being led to some sort of awful, grisly death.
    At the mercy of vampires. I shut my eyes and shook the thought away. It really wasn’t helping my predicament.
    It had probably been less than twenty minutes, but it felt as though we’d been walking for hours by the time an exit from that haunted wood came into view. We stepped into a large clearing.
    “This, lovelies,” one of the guards spoke up, without bothering to hide the way he was leering at us, “is The Vale.”
    I wondered what fate awaited us there. Still keenly aware of the dread I felt, I found myself making way for a new feeling: awe. The dirt path we were trekking along eventually led to a cobblestone street that was teeming with life. It was obviously some sort of hub for trade, based on the large crowds of people milling about the place - as if it were the most normal thing in the world to go to market at this unholy hour of the night.
    I almost forgot my fear for a moment as my eyes widened with fascination. Parts of The Vale looked like a town that had popped right out of the medieval era. The streets were lit with burning lanterns. Thatched roofs, clay exteriors, tents housing a variety of wares. Some buildings, on the other hand, made me tilt my head to the side, wondering what exactly they were for, considering their unique geometric and angular architectural designs. It was almost as if we were in a town that managed to mix the past and the future in one place and I began wondering how long it had been since The Vale first came into existence.
    We took about half a dozen turns through the maze of streets until we were led to the front door of a two-storey building, whose exteriors were painted with a variety of cool pastel colors. It looked out-of-place compared to the overall dark vibe I was getting from the rest of The Shade.
    We were ushered through the double glass doors and I found myself utterly confused. I was expecting to be brought to some sort of dungeon or interrogation room – some place dark and foreboding. Instead, we were brought to a … spa. The smell of jasmine and lavender, the sound of gushing fountains, the cool, rhythmic music … I had no idea what to make of the whole thing. It almost felt as if I were in the spa Ben often dragged me to for massages on vacation.
    I soon learned that they called the place “The Baths”. Upon entering the