Hinata listened for the sound of Winchester’s steps to go quiet, then she turned to Gwen and asked, ‘Is he gone?’

  Gwen nodded.

  “What the hell was that?!” Hinata hissed at Plenty.

  “I thought it was obvious: blackmail,” Plenty clipped.

  “Yeah, no shit. Why did you bring him here?” she said in an angry whisper.

  “He already knew! I don’t know how he knew, but he knew. He threatened you both. I had no choice.” Plenty was trying to keep his voice down, and failing. He obviously felt awful.

  Hinata took a beat to clear her head. She wasn’t angry at Plenty. “I’m sorry,” she said.

  He shrugged, and it was over.

  “What are we going to do about this?” she asked.

  ‘We do as he says,’ Gwen signed. ‘Tomorrow, we move into our new home. Then, Plenty, you’ll go to Strangers. Learn all you can.’

  ‘What will you do?’ Plenty asked.

  Gwen looked at Hinata. ‘We’re going to scout the university.’

  -8-

  Traveling during daylight as a vampire was difficult, but not impossible. Hinata and Gwen covered themselves in heavy clothes, kept their hands in their pockets, and wore wide-rim hats and scarves to cover their faces. Hinata felt like she was melting under the weight of all the clothes, but the alternative was a far worse burning sensation, so she suffered in silence.

  They relied on a paper map Tess gave them before leaving the embassy. Their new home’s location was circled on the map. Tess even drew a guiding line they could follow as they left through the Great Copper Floodwall.

  Odd glances followed them about the city, dressed as they were. The city districts themselves were stunning works of creation. Hinata found herself wishing she had read Garden: A History a bit closer. She remembered reading that Adam chose talented stonesinger mages to build and improve the city as it developed.

  The Waterfront District had been built by a Forger with an affinity to copper, but outside the copper wall, everything was built of a bright, shiny silver. Beyond the Silver District was the Arbor District, where everything was designed, sculpted, and maintained by Botanis. Hinata hadn’t understood what those words meant before, but after last night’s meeting with Winchester, she surmised the Forgers and Botanis were both premier families.

  Each district was impressive, distinct, and ambitious, but they all had the same theme: glory to Adam and Eve. Statues, engravings, sculptures, windows, and murals of Them were everywhere and built into everything. Nothing in sight wasn’t a monument of worship.

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  The trio wandered through four more city districts, Pearl, Glass, Amber, and Quartz, before finally arriving at the Nightlife District, the foundations of which were composed entirely in hematite, a dark, reflective stone with accents of grey and red.

  This was the first district they’d seen so far that showed any worshipful forbearance. Some modest, detailed engravings, but most of Nightlife was dark, smooth, and reflective. The streets and alleys were indistinguishable from one another, like they didn’t want to be recognized. The walkways were smooth, quaintly uneven cobblestone, and the pathways seemed to splinter, wind, and disappear behind tall buildings.

  Hinata noticed fewer birds in Nightlife than in other districts. She assumed every animal in Garden City was a familiar. Interesting that Nightlife should have fewer. Still a few, and still always watching, just more discreetly. But perhaps there were fewer birds in Nightlife because fewer people were walking about. Pathways were ghostly silent. Windows in most buildings were shut with curtains drawn. The few people they saw crossed the way to avoid them.

  Nightlife probably gets more interesting at night, she figured.

  Plenty needed to stop twice for food. That was a fairly simple but time-consuming process. Every district had one or several meal purveyors. Resources in Garden City were abundant, so district elders requisitioned ingredients; then, trusted volunteers collected the ingredients, cooked them, and fed everyone in the district. Over many years, competition between cooks and better meals drove competition and regional identity. Since the purveyors fed everyone who asked, the lines at some purveyors were very long, and the wait was excruciating.

  Perhaps Hinata might have enjoyed these smells and details before, but she didn’t feel ‘hunger’ anymore. She remembered the sensation, but what she felt now wasn’t so much hunger as she understood the word. It felt more like obsession or addiction. She felt tired and agitated and jonesing for a fix.

  Her skin was boiling, even beneath a thick sweater and jacket. Her eyes were blinded, no matter how much she squinted or looked down. A migraine was building behind her ears. She could hear her own heartbeat pounding in her temples.

  She retrieved the small flask of shark blood and brought it to her lips for a quick draught, burning the skin on her hand in the process. There were only a few drops left in it, but she needed something to take the edge off. She was feeling violent urges, and the first person she wanted to hurt was Gwen for putting her in this situation.

  Cursed. That’s what Gwen told Winchester. She was cursed. Nice way to find that out. Little coward couldn’t be bothered to mention it earlier, and hasn’t brought it up since.

  Hinata knew she was being irrational. She knew she had already forgiven Gwen for turning her into… this. But that didn’t seem to matter. The greater her thirst, the greater her desire to wring Gwen’s monstrous little neck.

  Hinata knew her grip on herself and reality was slipping. She tried to bring herself back down with deep breaths. Then she grabbed Plenty’s arm.

  “I can’t keep this up much longer. We need to get inside somewhere, and I need to lie down,” she told him.

  He understood and got out of line immediately. They hurried the rest of the way to the location Tess circled on their map, which turned out to be the local church, a grand and imposing edifice with ornate carvings and miraculous stained-glass windows.

  Plenty ran up the stairs to find the local elder, an oily-looking man who moved too slowly for Hinata’s liking. He kept trying to start conversation and inquire about them, but Hinata could barely focus.

  Finally, they arrived at their new home. It was a building almost exactly the same as the building next to it, made of the same polished dark stone material, discreetly tucked behind another building that also looked almost exactly the same. They climbed the stairs to the third floor, and the elder gave Plenty the key to their new home. The greasy elder tried to invite himself in, but Plenty shrewdly outmaneuvered him, thanked him profusely, mentioned his exhausted condition, and then shut the door in the man’s face.

  The apartment was sparsely furnished. Two beds, but nothing else. One bedroom was windowless. Hinata chose that room to throw off her clothes and collapse on the bed. She feared bloodthirst would keep her awake and miserable, but exhaustion won out. Hinata blacked out almost as soon as her head hit the pillows.