My attention moved back to the living. The crowd gathered around the fire--a couple dozen or so--fell silent as our escort led us in. At first, all I saw were numbers. That was the warrior in me, counting opponents and planning for attack. Then, just like I had earlier, I truly took in the faces. More Moroi mixed with dhampirs. And--I was shocked to discover--humans.
These weren't feeders either. Well, not in the sense that I knew feeders. Even in the dark, I could see glimpses of bite marks along some of the humans' necks, but judging by their curious expressions, I could tell these people didn't give blood regularly. They weren't high. They were mixed in among the Moroi and dhampirs, sitting, standing, talking, engaging--the whole group clearly unified in some kind of community. I wondered if these humans were like the Alchemists. Maybe they had some sort of a business relationship with my kind.
The tight formation around us began to spread out, and I moved closer to Sydney. "What in God's name is all this?'
"The Keepers,' she said in a low voice.
"Keepers? What does that mean?'
"It means,' said the bearded Moroi, "that unlike your people, we still keep the old ways, the way we truly should.'
I eyed these "Keepers' in their worn clothes and the dirty, barefoot children. Reflecting upon how far we were from civilization--and based on how dark it was away from the fire--I was willing to bet they didn't have electricity. I was on the verge of saying that I didn't think this was how anyone should truly be living. Then, remembering the casual way these people had spoken about fights to the death, I decided to keep my views to myself.
"Why are they here, Raymond?' asked a woman sitting by the fire. She was human but spoke to the bearded Moroi in a perfectly ordinary and familiar way. It wasn't the dreamy manner a feeder usually used with a Moroi. It wasn't even like the stilted conversations my kind had with the Alchemists. "Are they joining us?' Raymond shook his head. "No. The Tainted are after them for killing their queen.'
Sydney elbowed me before I could deny the claim. I clenched my teeth, waiting to be mobbed. Instead, I was surprised to find the crowd looking at me with a mix of awe and admiration, just as our welcoming party had.
"We're giving them refuge,' explained Raymond. He beamed at us, though I didn't know if his approval came from us being murderers or if he simply liked the attention he was getting. "Although, you are welcome to join us and live here. We have room in the caves.'
Caves? I jerked my head toward the cliffs beyond the fire, realizing now what those black holes were. Even as I watched, a few people retiring for the night crawled off and disappeared into the dark depths of the mountain.
Sydney answered while I worked to keep a look of horror off my face. "We only need to stay here ...' She faltered, not surprising considering how sketchy our plans had become. "A couple days, probably.'
"You can stay with my family,' said Raymond. "Even you.' That was directed toward Sydney, and he made it sound like quite the favor.
"Thank you,' she said. "We'd be grateful to spend the night at your house.' The emphasis on the last word was for me, I realized. The wooden structures along the dusty path didn't look luxurious by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd take one over a cave any day.
The village or commune or whatever was getting increasingly excited as our novelty sank in. They bombarded us with a flurry of questions, starting with ordinary things like our names but moving quickly on to specific details about how exactly I'd killed Tatiana.
I was saved from having to answer when the human woman who had spoken to Raymond earlier jumped up and steered my threesome away. "Enough,' she said, chastising the others. "It's getting late, and I'm sure our guests are hungry.'
I was starving, actually, but didn't know if I was in dire enough straits to eat opossum stew or whatever passed as food around here. The woman's proclamation was met with some disappointment, but she assured the others they could talk to us tomorrow. Glancing around, I saw a faint purpling of what must have been the eastern sky. Sunrise. A group of Moroi clinging to "traditional' ways would most certainly run on a nocturnal schedule, meaning these people probably only had a few more hours before bedtime.
The woman said her name was Sarah and led us down the dusty path. Raymond called that he'd see us soon. As we walked, we saw other people wandering near scattered, ramshackle homes, on their way to bed or possibly woken up with all the commotion. Sarah glanced over at Sydney.
"Did you bring us anything?'
"No,' said Sydney. "I'm just here to escort them.'
Sarah looked disappointed but nodded. "An important task.'
Sydney frowned and appeared even more uneasy. "How long has it been since my people brought you anything?'
"A few months,' said Sarah after a moment's thought.
Sydney's expression darkened at this, but she said no more. Sarah finally took us inside one of the larger and nicer looking of the houses, though it was still plain and made of unpainted wooden boards. The inside was pitch black, and we waited as Sarah lit old-fashioned lanterns. I'd been right. No electricity. This suddenly made me wonder about plumbing.
The floors were hardwood like the walls and covered in large, brightly patterned rugs. We appeared to be in some hybrid kitchen-living-dining room. There was a large fireplace in the center, a wooden table and chairs on one side, and large cushions on the other that I presumed served as sofas. Racks of drying herbs hung near the fireplace, filling the room with a spicy scent that mingled with the smell of burnt wood. There were three doors in the back wall, and Sarah nodded to one.
"You can sleep in the girls' room,' she said.