Read The Fugitives, A Dystopian Vampire Novel: Book Four: The Superiors Series for Free Online Page A

his hand quickly and shook it as if he could rid himself of the tactile memory. His voice came low and even, controlled. “Do you want to go see the house?”
    “Yes,” she said, struggling out of the mummy bag. “I’d hug you again, to thank you, but…”
    Draven cursed himself. Why had he done that? He knew, he always knew, but it was so easy to forget for one moment. That’s what happened when he allowed a tendril of his desire to escape his iron hold. He should be glad he hadn’t severely injured her. He could kill her by forgetting even for a second she was only a sap.
    Byron would never do such a thing, would never, ever, even for a fraction of a second, forget the difference between them, forget their places. She was always a fragile, brainless sap, and Byron was always her Master Superior. He would never hurt her that way, not even when he beat her. He calculated everything, stayed rational, doled out punishment. Draven was too impulsive and weak to own a sapien.
    He didn’t speak while he stuffed the tent into the bag and jerked it closed. He yanked the packs onto his back and nodded to Cali, and they began the climb out of the rubble heap.
    “Are you mad at me?” Cali asked when they had reached ground level. Her breath came faster after the climb, but she sounded sure.
    “No.”
    “Then why are you being… Mad. Is it because I asked about your age?”
    “No.”
    “Then what is it? I know you’re mad. I can tell.”
    “How?”
    “Because. You’re quiet, stomping around and shoving things into the backpacks, and being rough. I’m not stupid, you know. I can tell every time you’re mad at me. I didn’t mean to be rude. I was just curious.”
    Draven stopped and faced Cali. He took a deep breath. “I’m not angry with you. I’m only angry at myself for hurting you. You didn’t offend me. And your inquisitiveness is perfectly lovely to me. Satisfied, my jaani? ”
    “Oh. Okay.” They began walking again. After a few minutes, she added, “It doesn’t hurt that much. I can hardly feel it now. And I shouldn’t have hugged you, even if you’re not my master. That’s just what I do when I’m excited. But it’s oddball to hug a Superior. You’re so…cold and…separate. And inhuman.”
    “Yes. We are that,” he said. “But you’re not.”
    After a long, silent walk, they reached the house without incident. Draven kept a lookout for the pack of dogs, but they did not appear again. When he’d helped Cali over the wall and they’d crossed the backyard, Draven knelt and retrieved the pebble. While Cali watched and nodded, he explained its importance to her, that without it, they would be locked out, and their possessions locked in.
    Once inside, Cali marveled at everything, touching the electronic devices on the shelves, running her fingers over the screen in the wall until it buzzed to life and the computer generated woman asked Molly about her vacation again. Cali jumped back and covered her heart. Draven had marveled at the find already, and now he could enjoy Cali’s awe. It was even better than his own. He’d been in a few houses, one much nicer than this. But she hadn’t.
    After Cali explored the house, Draven took the shower room and undressed. He turned the shower on hot and scalded his body, scrubbed every inch of his skin with soap and washed his hair three times. When he finished, he looked a bit better, but he still had the gaunt look in his eyes, a hungry emptiness. He should eat.
    He found Cali in the tiny kitchen area, standing before an open cabinet and eating beets out of a jar of purple juice. When she saw him, she froze, then wiped her mouth on the back of her hand.
    “Eat as much as you like,” he said.
    “Are we going to live here?” Cali asked. “Can I have a garden?”
    Draven shook his head. “No. Someone lives here. I don’t know where she is, but I’m sure she’ll be back. But for now, it’s ours.”
    “So we’ll have to leave?”
    “Yes. I