His eyes said more, something I couldn’t interpret, but his mouth shut firmly. It would have to wait. Whatever he wanted to accomplish meant our more intimate alliance wasn’t to be advertised in front of the other vampires.
Sensing the discussion had reached a temporary stalemate, the vampires dispersed. Some, like the hulking figure and the one-armed woman, left to go deeper into the caverns without another word.
I turned to address Gina and Bryce when a sudden electronic ping echoed through the cavern near our trio. Everyone froze. The vampires snapped their heads toward the sound.
“Search everywhere,” I commanded. “It sounds like a phone.” The sound blipped out again. I frantically patted down my body, even though I was sure I had taken my battery out of my phone. Bryce and Gina lifted their hands. Nothing.
I leaned in toward the sound when the second ring started. Dorian stalked over to the gathered bags in the cavern, Sike at his side. I joined him, digging through our gear bags but finding nothing. The sound came again, closer. I grabbed at a leather sack beside our gear.
Dorian saw what I was holding. “No,” he breathed.
I shook the bag out, and something clattered to the floor. It was the old smartphone I had given to him to make our communication easier. My stomach dropped.
“I brought it to the facility,” he said, face grim. “I kept the thing plugged in.” There was a rising anger in his voice, directed at himself. My pulse rocketed.
He brought my gift to the facility.
I swallowed hard and popped the battery out of the back of the phone. Dorian snatched it before I could react. He stalked toward the entrance. I heard the phone ricochet down the side of the rock formation, taking my hope with it. I pushed that feeling firmly aside. Stop. This was about safety.
“Could we have been tracked?” Gina asked in a tight voice.
I bit my lip, considering that. “It’s possible,” I admitted. Anything was. “The Bureau might have tracked any numbers associated with us.”
Dorian came back, sucking in an agitated breath. Scuffling caught my hearing. Some of the vampires had certainly heard our exchange. My lungs squeezed with dread as whispering broke out. This wasn’t going to help our issues with unity.
A harsh voice muttered, “They’re already making trouble. I told you so.”
Another voice rose. “We can’t move until the scouting party comes back!”
Dorian threw his hands up. “Everyone, please. Calm down.” It wasn’t a request. His authoritative voice rang through the caves and sent an unhelpful thrill through me.
Gina looked at me, unhappy but resigned. “I need to check on Zach,” she said. “I know this isn’t the best time, but we really do need to secure water rations and possibly food from the vampires if they have it.” She lowered her voice. “Maybe see if you can ask someone we know and trust.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I promised.
Gina gave me a grateful look, then headed back toward my sleeping brother.
As I crossed the cavern toward Dorian, I felt the hope for group cohesion I had carried from my impassioned speech to the vampires crashing around me. His face was crowded with shadows and agitation.
“This was my fault,” he said. Nobody paid attention, absorbed in their own arguments. He leaned against the wall rubbing his eyes, for a moment looking incredibly fragile.
Bravi sat on a small boulder, seeming tired and annoyed with the other vampires. I didn’t know her as well as some of the others, but Dorian probably needed a minute without a new problem landing on his shoulders. I took a deep breath and approached. She looked at me, neutral but watchful.
“Zach will need water soon,” I said, “and the rest of us, too. Is there anywhere we can get food and water for us humans?” My stomach clenched as I tried to remember that my brother was strong. If we didn’t get rations, though… we would be in the same position as our vampire friends were last week.
Bravi’s bright green eyes glanced between me and the passageway I had come from. Could she sense my worry about the situation? My training was the only thing pushing me forward through the panic clawing at my throat.
Bravi gave a little snort. “You humans are awfully frail. It’s been less than a day.” She studied my face for a beat.
I tried not to wince. It was true. We humans had starved the vampires during the trial and forced their own children to feed off them. But humans couldn’t go much longer than a day without fresh water. Her stare moved, searching the room before it finally landed on Dorian, who had crossed the room to talk to Sike. “There’s a spring nearby. Dorian can take you.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, hesitant. “Dorian might need to help you guys.” I didn’t want to pull him away from strategizing. A moment later, he and Sike left the cavern, heading down the passage we’d come from.
Bravi sucked in a tired breath. “Lyra, you go with Dorian to find the spring. We’ll keep an eye on things here.” At my obvious discomfort, she fixed me with a glare, though it wasn’t entirely hostile. “Go,” she said firmly. “Don’t forget the needs of your own people.”
Chapter Two
Following Bravi’s command, I collected all the canteens and emergency water bags from the gear we had brought with us, then headed in the direction Dorian had gone. I ended up back in the room where Zach was supposed to be sleeping, the room Dorian had originally brought me to on our first visit here, all those weeks ago. My anxious heart climbed into my throat as I entered the cave. My brother was no longer there.
“I had Sike move Zach somewhere more comfortable,” Dorian said, bent over the small sack that had held the rogue phone, pulling out items and setting them on his bed.
I nodded and looked at the meager pile of things on the thin blanket. There was a worn leather-bound book that looked as if it might fall apart any second, a different stone from the one he had given me, some sort of pendant made out of a metal I didn’t recognize. His possessions. Scraps he’d managed to salvage from the wreckage after the tear had breached the Immortal Plane. A sense of sadness engulfed me.
“Bravi sent me to ask where the spring is. I need to gather water for the humans,” I explained. My throat dried as I spoke, but not just from thirst.
Dorian followed my gaze to the bed, and the corner of his mouth turned up in a dark, self-mocking smile. “My treasures that I’ve managed to keep,” he said softly, running his hands over the book.
The empathy felt like grit in my throat as I swallowed. I wanted so badly to reach out, to comfort him. “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head and scooped up the objects, placing them gently into his bag. “I’m a shadow of my past self. Leaving my things behind in our old home couldn’t be helped.”
A grave pressure fell over us as we stood together. There was no banter at this moment.
“Can I see?” I gestured to his bag.
He nodded and opened it for me, showing the belongings together. A strange longing for our happier times during the trial settled in my chest, followed quickly by a wave of fear. The phone. The tracking.
The Bureau certainly had the technology to find a phone, but would they know to look for it? I tried to recall whether anyone had seen Dorian with that phone except my brother and me. Someone at the trial facility could’ve seen it since Dorian had brought it with him. Unless the Bureau had merely been calling any of the numbers associated with me, one of which happened to belong to the phone Dorian now had in his possession?