Page 55 of High Stakes

She turned her attention to me. “Because Enoch has never invited him here. Trust me, he’ll come.”

My eyes widened. “Never?” I looked to Enoch to reinforce what she’d said.

He toyed with a silver ring on his right middle finger, twisting the band in one direction and then the other. “Never.”

“Why not?” I asked, unease prickling my spine.

“Because he isn’t like us,” Terah answered for him. “He’s...” She looked between me and Titus. “Well, you’ll find out soon enough.”

“You’re scared of him.” Titus watched Terah’s reaction.

She straightened her spine and lifted her chin. “I am as strong as he is.”

“But not as evil,” Enoch added. “Not nearly as evil as he.”

“And you are?” she scoffed. “If there is a kind sibling among us, it is you, brother.”

I couldn’t help but wonder what event would change him, and when.

Enoch folded his hands in front of him, pushing his half-empty plate away. He’d eaten some of the meat and a few bites of broccoli. “When are you from?” he asked, staring at the flickering flame of the candle in front of him. “How far into the future?”

I answered, “The year two thousand, one hundred fifty-seven.”

Air rushed from Enoch’s lungs as he blinked, trying to comprehend. “How is this possible?”

I raised my hand, the back of which was now glowing from the tech embedded beneath my skin. “A lot is possible in the future,” I replied with amusement.

Terah shook her head and marveled, “How did you garner powerful enough magick to take you across time?”

“It’s not magick,” Titus answered, “it’s technology. We understand a lot of things you don’t, like how germs are spread from person to person—like the plague, for instance. The building we live in has seven floors, but it’s small in comparison to most of the buildings in our day. Most tower straight up into the clouds. We have machines that carry us places, instead of using horses. They’re made of metal and steel and have rubber wheels that roll along the ground. Once upon a time, we even made a flying machine that carried men into space to land on the surface of the moon.”

Their eyes flicked up to the glowing, silver orb disbelievingly. “You lie!” Terah spat.

Titus shook his head, looking from her face back to the moon. “I wish I was lying. My life would be a hell of a lot simpler.”

Enoch scooted forward on the bench and reached for my hand, brushing his thumb over the surface of my skin that housed my tech. “Is this what makes you ill?”

Titus glanced between the two of us speculatively and I pulled my hand away, placing it in my lap. “I’m not sure if it’s the tech, or just the toll that traveling took on my body.”

Terah looked Titus over. “He looks well enough.”

Titus’s chest puffed up over her appraisal. “Thank you,” he answered flirtatiously.

Her brows furrowed, but she shrugged and brought her goblet to her lips, taking a long swallow. Her gown was a rich midnight black, the color of the night sky unfolding overhead. Her flawless skin glowed in the candlelight. “Enoch said you call the creatures who hurt your people vampires... What is a vampire, exactly?”

Titus explained the basics, ticking off qualities on his fingers. “They can’t walk in sunlight like you can. It burns their skin like holy water. They have fangs like yours, but can’t stop at a single drink,” he aimed at Terah pointedly. She squirmed in her seat. “They kill without hesitation or remorse, whenever they want, wherever they want, to whomever they want. No one is safe in our time,” he finished softly.

The memory of the guard in the loading dock and the fear in his eyes came flooding back. He knew he was dying. He knew I couldn’t help him in the end. I was too late.

Just like I couldn’t help my mother.

“Do you know how a vampire,” she paused, tasting the word, “is sired?” she asked, sitting up and looking between the pair of us.

“Of course, we do,” Titus scoffed. “But I’m not sure we should tell you.”

“Why not?” she huffed. “It’s not like we’d willingly make monsters who would compete with us for food. It’s scarce enough now as it is, since the plague is taking out entire towns.”

Titus rolled his eyes. “At some point, sweetheart, you change your mind about that. And we’re the ones who pay the price.”

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