Page 2 of House of Ydril

Trying to avoid being murdered by some vampire stalker, I choose to go to the part of the city I usually ignore. The posh street that's all luxury stores and fancy restaurants.

When I finally get there, I find a crowded spot around an ornate fountain and throw myself on one of the freshly painted benches. I glance at my watch. And just as I my eyes land on its face, 8:29 changes to 8:30.

I look up, but nothing happens. There’s a lot of people rushing past me, but no one gives me so much as a glance. I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding in.

It’s at that exact moment that I hear it. Music of the kind you rarely hear on the streets. It reminds me of an opera I once went to. But it’s not that which throws me off. It’s the fact that it’s somehow managed to drown out all the other sounds. The people’s chatter, the sound of water gushing from the fountain, the honking of cars from a nearby street.

I don’t even manage to look around for its source before it happens. My body starts acting of its own accord, making me get up and start walking, away from the fountain and straight towards the little convent, the only building on the street that doesn’t look modern.

My mind is buzzing. I’m reacting to the sound in a way that I’ve never reacted to any sound that came before it. If someone looked at me right now, they’d think I’m just a tourist taking a leisurely stroll, finding herself fascinated by Gothic architecture. On the inside, I’m fighting the onset of a panic attack. And as I’m slowly approaching it, I’m looking up at the stone lace adorning the convent, but I’m only doing it because I’m looking for clues.

It’s a lesson I’ve learned early on. You never know what piece of information might mean the difference between life and death.

But as soon as I find myself in front of the convent, I realize it isn’t this building I’m being led to. The alley between the convent and the fancy apartment complex right next to it is narrow and dark, but there’s someone waiting there, holding some kind of flute to their lips and using it to play that strange music with which it all started.

I don’t even have to see her properly to know that it’s the woman.

But the trick is, I find myself unable to stop walking straight towards her. My steps are small and measured, but my heart is making up for it, threatening to erase me from existence with its violent pounding. I know that a vampire doesn’t really need blood to live, but some still drink it, either to get a boost in power or, well, to get off. Which doesshehave in mind?

As soon as I find myself in front of her, the woman stops playing. I urge my body to run the hell away, but it doesn’t listen.

“Hello, little mouse,” I hear her smooth, deep voice break the silence. She gives me an amused look. “We’ve had our fun, but playtime is over,” she says as she takes me by the upper arm, her touch making me instantly nauseous.

My eyes rounded with fear, I see a black hole form where she touches me. The world around the hole starts slowly spinning, until it gets sucked into it in a single, violent jerk.

Chapter two

Iwakeupsomewherebright and warm, my head swimming. I barely have time to register that I’m lying in a bed before my entire body starts convulsing. I lean to the side to throw up and find a metal basin placed on the polished stone floor beside me.

As soon as I’m done puking my guts out, I push myself back up and check the state of my body. I’m not tied down, I don’t seem to be injured and I’m still wearing my clothes. I breathe a sigh of relief.

But there’s still no reason to celebrate. I nervously glance around the room, but all I see are rows of empty beds. I’m alone, there’s that at least. The woman who took me is nowhere to be seen.

As the memory washes over me, the memory of her appearing out of thin air, my heart skips a beat and I realize I still have to make it quick.

Trying not to make a sound, I carefully get up off the bed, looking for the door as I do it. I seem to be in some sort of hospital, but it’s unlike any hospital I’ve ever seen. The ceilings are so high, the distance makes me nauseous. The windows have stone lace on them, just like the Gothic convent I just came from. And the beds stretching in rows all around me seem modern, but not much else does.

As I tiptoe to the huge double door, my eyes land on a weird metal contraption placed beside one of the beds. It looks like a miniature water slide, but instead of water, there’s foul-smelling vapors traveling up and down its spiraling length.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think I got myself kidnapped to one of the First Cities. There’s not a lot of them these days, given that the Originals and us humans are mixing at record speeds, but even I know of a couple by name.

I’m almost in front of the exit when a door on the other side of the room flings open. I freeze, but I don’t turn around. I just crane my neck, letting my eyes dart to the source of the sound.

A young man is walking straight towards me. His features are delicate, he’s wearing a white robe and he’s carrying another one of those metal basins in his hands. I turn around, frowning.

“Top of the morning to you,” he chirps out as he stops beside my bed and bends down to replace my basin. “Feeling better?”

“Where am I?” I ask, fighting to keep the anxiety out of my voice.

“You’re at the Academy,” the young man replies as he straightens up, a frown forming on his face. “Do you know what year it is?” he asks as he rushes to feel my forehead.

I slap his hand away.

“Twenty twenty-three,” I blurt out. What the flying fuck is going on here?

“Oh, alright.” He breathes out a sigh of relief. “You did take it harder than most students, so you had me worried for a sec. Was this your first time traveling by the Pull?” he asks as he peers into my eyes intently, as if doing a check-up.

“I don’t know what that is,” I mutter. But I have more pressing things to find out. “Where’s the woman that brought me here?”

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