I jolted awake, gasping for breath. My eyes fluttered open, then slammed shut as pain coursed through every inch of my body. I couldn't move without pain.
"Call the doctor; she's awake," I heard a distant and muffled voice say.
I forced my eyes open again, blinking against the harsh brightness. The ceiling above me was pure white, blinding in its emptiness.
Where am I?
My gaze shifted, and everything around me was white; the walls, the bed, and the carpets. For a moment, it felt like I was in heaven, or some twisted version of it. I had heard heaven was supposed to be all white, though no one had ever seen it.
Was I dead?
A soft and feminine voice broke through the stillness. "Hello."
I turned my head with effort, and there she was: a girl my age, standing not far from me. Her long red hair framed her pale, oval face, but it was her eyes that held me captive. They were bright, burning with a force I couldn't look away from.
And then it hit me.
The chaos.
The village head.
The earth elemental.
My mother.
The pain.
Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. The memories came in fragments and out of sequence — her voice breaking on the word run, the space where she had been standing after the vampire took her, the ground uneven under my feet as I ran through the dark forest, the screams that echoed from behind me as I ran, and finally, the end of my village.
The door opened and a man entered, flanked by two other girls. They all shared the same fiery eyes and red hair, fire elementals no doubt.
The man looked human though. His smile was kind, but it did nothing to calm the storm inside me.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, his voice gentle.
I didn't return his smile. I couldn't. "Where am I?"
He chuckled lightly, "Your injuries have been treated. The worst is over. You just need rest."
The girl who looked my age stepped forward, extending her hand. "Hi, I'm Evelyn."
I ignored her hand and looked past her, my mind racing. "Where am I?"
She pulled her hand back, a frown tugging at her lips. The other girl answered my question.
"You're in Safe Land."
Safe Land? I'd never heard of it.
"You were found outside our borders two days ago," Evelyn explained. "We figured you were trying to get here and passed out from exhaustion."
Two days ago?
Outside their borders?
It didn't make sense. The last thing I remembered was running into the forest, then..... pain. But now, none of it mattered. All that mattered was finding my mother.
I had been here for two days. She had been out there for two days. I did not let myself think too specifically about what two days could mean for someone who had been taken by a vampire.
Every hour I spent in this room was an hour I had not been looking for her.
"How do I get out of here?"
The four of them exchanged glances, confusion written across their faces.
"What?" Evelyn asked, her brows furrowing.
"You can't leave," the other girl said, her voice tinged with concern. "It's not safe out there. The entire point of this place is that it isn't."
I turned to face her, my eyes burning with urgency. "I don't know how I got here, but I'm not staying. I need to find my mom."
Please, God, she loves you, keep her safe.
"I'll get the general and seer," Evelyn said and left the room, leaving me with the others. They were silent, their eyes studying me. I scooted to the edge of the bed and tried to stand, but my legs were weak, and they gave up under my weight.
The room spun, but before I could fall, the human man caught me, steadying me with one arm around my waist. "Easy. Weakness is expected."
I pulled away from him, holding onto the edge of the bed for support. "Don't touch me."
He stepped back without a word. I should have thanked him. I couldn't. My relationship with humans has never been simple and I lacked the energy to deal with it right now.
My father was human. I loved him completely. But it didn't change the fact that if it weren't for them, hunters wouldn't exist. They caused this world of suffering, where we were born to die.
The door opened again.
Evelyn entered first. Behind her came a man who filled the doorway; tall, broad, completely bald. He was covered from neck to wrist in scars that ran in every direction, old ones and newer ones layered over each other. He was obviously a hunter who had been fighting for a long time.
Definitely the general Evelyn spoke of.
Behind him came an old woman, moving slowly but with a steadiness that didn't match how bent and frail she appeared.
The general stepped inside the room and looked at me with the expression of a man who has been called in for something beneath his level. He exhaled once. "I hear you want to leave. Why?"
His voice was low and commanding and sent a shiver down my spine. A man like him must have killed countless vampires.
"I need to find my mom," I said, my voice trembling.
He raised an eyebrow, as though my answer was absurd. "Out there?"
"Yes."
He scoffed. "You want to get yourself killed."
"I don't know how I ended up here, but I'm not staying. I need to find her."
He studied me for a long moment, his gaze unwavering from my eyes. "And what gift do you possess, hunter?"
My throat went dry.
Hunters could identify hunters, and that question would always be inevitable unless you were an elemental. I was powerless, worthless.
How could I admit that to them?
"I believe I asked a question," he said into my silence.
"None," I whispered, my voice barely audible. I couldn't lie to them, but I didn't care. I wouldn't be here long. Soon, I'd be gone, and they'd never see me again.
The general's eyes hardened, clearly not used to hearing such an answer.
"Please don't lie," Evelyn said, her voice stern. "We don't have time for games."
"I don't have a gift!" I said, my voice more steady, though frustration still simmered beneath the surface. "Now, where's the exit?"
"No hunter is born without a gift," the general growled. Then he shook his head. "I can't believe I was called for this."
Before I could respond, the seer spoke.
"She tells the truth."
The room fell silent, and all eyes turned to her. The seer shuffled closer. I looked at her fully for the first time. Her skin was dark gray, not from age or illness, something that seemed to have always been that color, and belong to her specifically.
Dense, fine markings covered her face and forearms, so detailed they appeared written rather than drawn, and her eyes..... four irises, golden and unsettling, stared at me without blinking.
I had never met a seer before but my mother told me of them. They could recall any part of time; past, present, and future. The only past we had was dreadful, the future could be hell. Seers had to relive it all. It was a curse. I rather remain powerless than bear such weight.
Her face remained impassive as she took my hand.
I flinched. Her touch was cold as ice.
Her expression shifted, confusion crossing her features.
"What's wrong?" Evelyn asked, her voice laced with concern.
The general stepped closer but didn't speak.
"There's a wall around her," the seer said. "It's blocking me from seeing anything. All I know is she doesn't possess a gift."
Her hands dropped from mine as though I had scorched hers, and she stepped back. "This has never happened before," she said, mostly to herself.
And then in an instant, she vanished.
I flinched and stared at the space she had stood. I didn't have time to process her disappearance though. I looked back at the general and he was looking at me differently than he had been sixty seconds ago, and I could not tell whether that was better or worse for my immediate situation.
"You stay," he said. "No one leaves these walls."
"I'm leaving."
His eyes narrowed, clearly not used to defiance. "You're not leaving today."
"You have no authority over me. I am not one of your hunters. I did not agree to be here, and my mother has been missing for two days. I am leaving."
He held my gaze for a long moment.
He then turned to the room. "Everybody out. Devon takes charge of the girl."
They all bowed like he was some kind of god and filed out without a word. Evelyn looked back at me from the doorway before it closed. I couldn't read her expression.
"Is this Devon going to show me the way out?" I asked.
"Devon will keep you here until you come to your senses," the general said, already at the door.
" Hey! " I yelled, as he walked out the door.
Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted. It felt dark. I recognised it. I had felt it in the forest, and in the seconds before the pain arrived.
I turned.
I did not know how he had entered, there was one door and I had been facing it.
"Hello," the demon greeted.