Connor shot me a look and I knew, instantly,
That it was dangerous to draw attention to myself.
But it was the only chance I had at saving my friend, so…
I screamed as loud as I could.
Finally, Zoe responded in a shrill and panicked voice
That stopped me in my tracks.
Zoe
Kiara, stop! Don’t come in here!
I stepped out of the tunnel and into a circular room…
Where a thousand candles cast an eerie glow on the corpse of a redheaded girl,
lying at the center of the floor.
Zoe was shackled to the stone wall by her wrists
And her hair was matted with dirt and blood.
Zoe
I’m begging you, please just go.
Kiara
I can’t leave you here, Zo.
I desperately tried to unhinge her shackles.
Kiara
Please, tell me what to do here.
Kiara
I don’t know how to help you.
Zoe
Please, just leave us here and save yourself.
Kiara
Us? What do you mean US?
Kiara
Is Abby like this too?
Zoe struggled to lift her head and I followed her gaze across the room.
That’s when I finally found Abby, but she was also suspended to the wall.
Abby
Ki, please, get out while you can.
Kiara
Who, Abby? Who did this?
The words don’t come easily, but Zoe fought to get them out.
Zoe
I should have… never…
Kiara
Zoe stop! Conserve your energy.
Zoe’s head dropped forward and I rushed toward her,
But Connor grabbed me at the waist.
Connor
Her spirit’s passed—she’s dead.
Connor
You couldn’t save her, but you can still save Abby.
Kiara
Abby? I don’t understand.
Kiara
Did Mr. Archivolt do this?
Mr. Archivolt
I have, Kiara. It’s the truth.
Mr. Archivolt’s voice echoed around the chamber.
I searched the shadows overhead, but I couldn’t see him.
Mr. Archivolt
In fact, you’re about to discover that a great many things you’d call impossible are actually real.
Kiara
I’d like to see you when you talk to me.
Mr. Archivolt
As you wish.
I spun around to find Mr. Archivolt standing beside Abby
And I wondered if I was looking at a ghost.
Kiara
I thought you’d burned to death.
Mr. Archivolt
Where? Up there?
Mr. Archivolt
We’ve been down here, quite safe…
Mr. Archivolt
And well hidden.
Mr. Archivolt
No one will disturb us.
Mr. Archivolt
Ah, Connor. I didn’t see you there in the shadows.
Mr. Archivolt
Thank you for bringing me my guest of honor.
I stared at Connor incredulously, but he looked away quickly.
Mr. Archivolt
Oh, this is just precious.
Mr. Archivolt
Did you think he actually cared for you?
Mr. Archivolt
Connor is on my side. He does my bidding.
Mr. Archivolt
Don’t you, boy?
Every movement Mr. Archivolt made, every gesture, every word…
Was uttered with such… normalcy, that I was shaken to my core.
It became very clear that Mr. Archivolt had performed this act before
And I had no choice but to play along.
Mr. Archivolt
I’ve been waiting for this for a while.
Mr. Archivolt
Don’t tell me you haven’t figured it out yet?
Mr. Archivolt
No? You don’t know what you’re becoming?
Mr. Archivolt
Surely, you’ve noticed more than a few…
Mr. Archivolt
Since your fifteenth birthday.
Mr. Archivolt
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Mr. Archivolt
Really? How did you get in here?
Mr. Archivolt
How did you enter this room?
Kiara
Through that tunnel.
Mr. Archivolt
And how did you get through the outer door?
Mr. Archivolt
When we first began this adventure together, up in the mansion
His voice was patronizing now.
He was like a cat, dangling a mouse by its tail.
Kiara
It wasn’t like it was hard.
Kiara
The wood was old and rotted.
Mr. Archivolt
On the outside, yes. It’s meant to look that way.
Mr. Archivolt
Inside, it was fortified with osium, the densest metal in the universe.. It’s heavy enough to keep our enemies out—and our food in.
Mr. Archivolt
No outsider has lifted that door for a hundred years.
Mr. Archivolt
And you, a scrawny teenager, lifted it? Just like that?
Mr. Archivolt
That takes considerable strength.
Mr. Archivolt
Inhuman strength, actually.
Mr. Archivolt
I was testing you when I asked you -- not poor, dead Zoe -- to lift it.
Kiara
What are you saying?
Mr. Archivolt
I’m not saying, I’m asking…
Mr. Archivolt
What sort of being looks human but has inhuman strength?
Mr. Archivolt
Has the ability to hear every conversation taking place in a crowded room?
Mr. Archivolt
Not to mention has an incredible sense of smell.
Mr. Archivolt
That is, by far, our greatest asset.
Abby
What is he talking about, Ki?
Mr. Archivolt
Think about that childish Kiara’s Game you love so much.
Mr. Archivolt
Kiara never guesses.
Mr. Archivolt
She doesn’t need to.
Mr. Archivolt
She follows a scent.
Mr. Archivolt
And whether or not she realizes it, the smell she craves is the scent of the blood in Connor’s veins.
Abby
What is he saying, Zoe?
Kiara
Nothing, Abby. He’s insane.
Kiara
He can’t be telling the truth. Smelling blood isn’t real.
Mr. Archivolt
Actually, it doesn’t get any more real than this.
Mr. Archivolt
You and I. Right here. Right now.
Mr. Archivolt
I think you know better.
Mr. Archivolt
You can’t pretend THIS isn’t happening
Kiara
And what exactly is… THIS?
Mr. Archivolt
In our world, we call it a ‘Becoming.’
Mr. Archivolt
That’s the English word for it, anyway.
Kiara
But what does that mean?
Mr. Archivolt
It means it’s time to grow up and accept what you are.
Mr. Archivolt
Kiara, you’re a vampire.
