Catalyst Page 0,22

Alice turned and wandered off. The lost expression in her eyes was shock. Alice had been chosen to be bred for offspring.

Cassie and Cole looked at each other. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Then, Cassie finally asked, "Who'd they pair her with?"

"I don't know," Cole replied. "I left before breakfast to come and find you. This is the first I've heard of it." Cole didn't like this. Something changed last night, something big enough to force up a premature Pairing.

"She's not ready for that. It'll kill her," Cassie said, leaning closer to Cole to make sure Alice couldn't hear. Alice was staggering down the hallway letting shock steer her feet. They could still see her from where they sat on the couch.

Cole nodded, "We need to find out what's going on. The Queen's entourage moved through the palace last night, so it was hard to sneak around. I was lucky to find you after the King questioned you, but I didn't really find anything else. Just that several vamps died, and that those moving around were looking for the missing girls. They were in our chambers, looking for Kahli and the other two, as if they were hiding."

Cassie stared blankly. She wished that was it, but her gut told her something very different. She gazed after Alice. "Do you think they bumped up other the Pairings? Do you think they would really risk one generation to breed the next?" Cassie's voice was small and frightened.

Cole knew he couldn't save her from the Pairing. It was something they all had to do eventually, but it was worse for the girls. Many of them didn't survive childbirth, despite the vast quantities of blood given to help alleviate the hemorrhaging that followed. The blood disorder was too far gone.

"I don't know," he finally said. "Whatever happened here last night has everyone on edge. It feels like a power shift is coming."

"What do you mean?"

Cole stared blankly. He didn't want to say it, but Cassie needed to know that they were in danger. "Remember when we were younger? Remember Deliverance Day?"

Cassie's face paled. She'd never forget that. It seemed like nothing at first - some people running around trying to figure out what happened, while she and Cole played quietly. The night ended in more spilled blood than she'd ever seen in her life. The Deliverance Day Cole was referring to was a massacre. She nodded once, her throat too tight to talk. Cole saved her that night. "Do you think that'll happen here?"

"I'm not sure," Cole replied, "but based on the way things feel - yes. It's possible." The tension in the air was palpable. They both sensed it.

Cassie's gaze lifted to see the end of the hallway was empty. Alice was gone. Cassie didn't want to be Paired. She didn't want to die. Not yet. She leaned forward and pressed her hands to her face. Strange thoughts started to drift through her mind, foreign thoughts of living on their own of surviving without the vampires. Was that even possible anymore?

"Cassie," a new voice called her name, snapping her out of her thoughts. A slender servant walked toward her before finishing, "The Queen has requested you."

"For a feeding?" Cassie asked, hoping that it had nothing to do with Kahli.

"I'm not obligated to say, however since I'm not your Handler, I would think not."

Cassie's throat tightened and her pulse jumped. She nodded slowly. Before she could stand, Cole took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Cassie gave him a weak smile. "I'll see you tonight."

He nodded once, watching his sister walk off to be questioned by the most powerful vampire in the world.

Chapter 11

Sophia was agitated. Nothing was going the way she planned. When she tried to drink Kahli's blood, she could barely manage a drop, however her husband managed to swallow it fine with his throat still intact. That made Sophia ask for more, but the same thing happened. Every time she tried to drink Kahli's blood, it scorched her throat and caused a series of very uncomfortable sensations. It was like drinking toxins and her body couldn't tolerate it. The King had said to give it time, but he managed his share without issue. Sophia continued to request tastings without her husband, trying to build up her tolerance to the blood, but it was for nothing. And, now the girl was missing, and the King's rooms were filled with freshly spilled blood.

Sophia looked around his room.