Redshift by Ashlynn Chantrea (free ebook reader for ipad .txt) 📕

I nodded and turned around, following his sister down the hallway again.

She led the way to a large room, larger than the entire floor plan of my parents’ house. There were stone covered pillars supporting the ceiling at uniform distances, structural support for the heavy castle above. I counted twenty vampires spread out along the edges of the room. They had been whispering among themselves until they had heard our approach. Then there was silence. Now they all stared at us with wide terrified eyes. Obviously they knew what the twins could do, either from experience or observation.

“We have three new members to add to our ranks.” The girl announced softly to the petrified group.

“Be courteous to the new recruits.” While his voice was a whisper just like his sister’s, I could detect a tone of warning, “Remember, you were once new here as well.”

They both glided out of the room without another word. Apparently there wasn’t a need to warn them further. Many eyes looked my way; wary, suspicious.

I looked around the room. The windows were up high, close to the ceiling. I ran to the back, sending a few vampires scattering away as I approached, and climbed up to sit on the ledge of the window. From there I could observe all the vampires much better.

“I wouldn’t try to escape.” A soft shy female voice warned me, “No one escapes from here.”

She was beautiful but I had grown accustomed to that. I had yet to see an ugly vampire. Her eyes were glowing bright red, brighter than the red spikes of her pixie styled hair. I could imagine her with brown eyes and freckles to go with her carrot red hair, but her complexion was a flawless pallor, no freckles. Her back was to the wall and her knees were slightly bent like she might run or leap out of the way at any moment. Her fingers twitched restlessly and her eyes darted around the room every other second.

“I wasn’t planning on it.” I answered quietly, trying to keep too many others from hearing me.

She darted to the other side of the room. She stood beside another vampire. He looked to be close in age to her, late teens. They both wore alternative style clothes, ironic commentary T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers, all in decent but a well-worn state. They didn’t look at each other as they conversed.

It was nice of her to try to warn me. I wondered if it was past experience that made her feel the need to caution me. Something significant compelled her, of that I was certain.

As I looked around the rest of the room, I noted that pretty much all of them had their backs to the wall and held a defensive stance. Conversations were dull and meaningless, just words spoken to pass the time. Everyone was twitchy and nervous. When anyone did move, they moved as fast as they could. Most of them would react to movement by running from it but a few would bare their teeth and growl. It never amounted to a fight and I felt sure that was because of the two that had led me in here. They were in charge of this place and they kept everyone else in line.

What would master say if you destroyed him? The words came to me in a flash of understanding. They were upper management but not the masterminds behind this. Someone one else was giving the orders. They were definitely powerful enforcers but not the top of the food chain. My imagination ran wild, wondering who could be more formidable than the twins.

I heard more vampires approaching the door, interrupting my train of thought. Everyone else heard them coming too as the room fell completely silent. Felix walked through the door completely intact with the two vampires I had decapitated. Mental note: severed appendages including the head can be reattached. Severing the head does not kill vampires. That fascinated me. They seemed fine, just like they had been before. Felix could walk and move his arm as if nothing had happened. Maybe this body was indestructible.

Felix met my gaze and sneered. I hadn’t frightened him, but now I was competition. He must not encounter too many others that can beat him in a fight. He snarled at me for a second before vanishing out the door again.

The other two ‘new recruits’ moved to an empty space on the wall and started talking. The atmosphere seemed to lighten a bit. The conversations became slightly louder and felt a little more personal in nature. Some of them stopped looking around quite so often. Some were even comfortable enough to straighten their posture. Within five minutes the general mood had become considerably less tense.

Then a boy in the far corner of the room from me started to change in appearance. His clothes and his skin slowly changed to match the gray of the stone wall he was leaning against. Even his bright red eyes faded to a matte gray. He wasn’t invisible but he blended into the background perfectly. With human eyes it would be impossible to see him.

The energy of the room became charged, filled with electricity. Others followed the first boy’s lead and started practicing whatever special ability they happened to have. There was so much going on that I had trouble cataloging everyone’s abilities. There wasn’t much that was grandiose about the display other than the fact that it was happening at all. No one was showing off or really trying to attract attention to themselves. And not everyone was doing something that I could see with my eyes but I got the distinct impression that everyone in this room could do ‘something’. We were all ‘special’.

As the mood of the room relaxed, individuals became more themselves, acting on impulse instead of driven by the fear the twins inspired. A few times, one would snap at another one or someone would rip off a limp. It didn’t take much to make some of them react violently. Just one misstep, one accident and he or she would explode into a burst of rage. It never lasted more than a second and any severed limbs were always returned, generally by throwing it at the offending vampire. My attention was completely absorbed by the reattachment process. It was truly fascinating to watch.

The hours went by a little easier with my mind occupied by studying these intriguing creatures. I also noticed that the light of the sun was starting to show through the windows. It wasn’t direct sunlight, I couldn’t see the sun. I wondered if you had to be directly in the path of the sun’s rays for it to cause any damage. How many of the legends connected with vampires were true?

I didn’t have too long to consider it. Everyone went silent, drawing my attention away from the outside world and back to what was happening in the room. Footsteps approached in that familiar almost soundless way. Felix walked in, followed by the girl. They walked to the center of the room.

“Gather around.” Felix said. He didn’t yell or even speak all that loud but he might as well have for how well we could hear him.

Everyone moved cautiously but quickly to form a circle around them. I did the same, curious what would happen next.

“You have been created for a purpose.” He spoke like a politician giving a speech to people at a rally, “You have been chosen to become part of a larger, more glorious existence. All of you have a gift. All of you have the ability to do something no one else can do. And these gifts will help us make our world better for our kind. We have a powerful enemy. An enemy that threatens to destroy our way of life and rob us of our freedom. You have been chosen to help us defeat this enemy and help protect our kind.”

The edginess of the atmosphere had returned and only grew in intensity as he spoke. Everyone was processing this like he had told them there was a threat against their life. The words were well chosen, I decided immediately they weren’t his. Someone wrote that speech for him. It was a rally cry. And we were the troops. We had been drafted to fight a war none of us had ever known existed until now.

“This enemy is strong.” The girl said in a soft but clear high soprano voice. “Some of them are gifted as well. And they are many but we now outnumber them. While you are powerful, you are also young. It will take time for you to develop your talents and learn control. The enemy has been around much longer than you. They have fought and won for hundreds of years. You will need time to become as skilled and disciplined as they are. We know you can become powerful soldiers for the Volturi. It is an honor to be chosen. Remember that as you begin training.”

Felix looked around at the group. He was looking for someone to demonstrate with. His eyes stopped scanning when he saw me. I wondered if he wanted to pick me. A small, juvenile part of me hoped he would. I wanted the opportunity to show the others that he could be defeated. But he was smart enough to keep looking. He didn’t want to take the chance of showing weakness to the rest of them.

He finally picked a guy that was close in stature and build to him. Victor, he called him. This guy was built, Mr. Universe style built. He had the chiseled jaw, buzz cut blond hair and broad cheekbones. He looked nervous but ready for a fight.

Felix gave instruction and critique as they fought. I barely noticed them. It felt unnecessary to me. If I felt inclined to fight, I was pretty sure I could win without his instructions. It didn’t really take practice as much as it took understanding and control.

I paid more attention to the group watching. Some were engrossed in the fight, looking eager to join in. Some looked intent, concentrating hard on what they were being taught. Only a few looked like they didn’t want to participate or even be here at all. I hated to think of what happened to draft dodgers in this world.

The fight ended with Felix catching Victor as he charged at him and throwing him across the room to smash into the far wall. The floor trembled as he landed with a sound like an avalanche of boulders crashing down to the bottom of a valley. Then Victor took his place in the group, observing with the rest of us again.

“Hector. Lars. You two give it a try.” Felix ordered.

He backed out of the circle to stand next to the small brunette girl. She refused to look my way, obviously still pissed I could block her gift for causing pain.

Hector and Lars entered the circle and started to fight. It was choppier and more impulsive than Victor and Felix had been. Then one of them tripped up, stuttering a step. There was something strange about the kid’s clumsy misstep. He hadn’t tripped