Free The City Beneath by Melody Johnson

survived this long in the city because of our anonymity.” Dominic sighed deeply, as if this conversation was a topic he was weary of defending. “Speaking of which, I must help Jillian tend to the scene. There are uncountable victims and witnesses we need to address.”
    I stepped forward, intrigued despite myself. “How do you ‘address’ something like this? How can you possibly find and convince hundreds of people who witnessed tonight’s slaughter that they didn’t see anything?”
    â€œI know who witnessed tonight’s attack and I know the friends and family they told and I know where they live the way you know your heart is beating and your valves are pumping and your blood is carrying oxygen to your muscles.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œIt seems to me that such human bodily functions are a constant and time-consuming activity that would consume your life. They are a matter of life and death, yet do you consider them a priority?”
    â€œOf course not. Bodily functions occur without conscious thought.”
    Dominic smiled.
    I blinked. “That’s ridiculous. How can you just know those things without conscious thought?”
    â€œLet me explain it this way. Imagine if every bodily function depended upon conscious thought, and you had the capability to control your body and still function throughout your daily life.”
    â€œThat would be impossible.”
    Dominic smiled. “Imagine if you could not only control your own body and thoughts, but others’ bodies and thoughts, as well. Imagine an entire city’s worth of thoughts, feelings, wants, desires, wills, and memories as your own and having to focus to separate everyone else’s mind from your own. That is how my mind feels. Some people’s minds simply slip into mine, and I need to actually push against them to keep them out. Others’ thoughts are more difficult to control.”
    I narrowed my eyes. “But you can only control my actions. You can’t control my thoughts at all.”
    â€œNo, I can’t.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œI thought at first that my powers were severely diminished or your mind was very strong or a combination of both, but I was wrong. Vampires simply can’t control night bloods like we can humans.”
    â€œBut I’m human,” I said.
    Dominic’s smile widened. “We will continue this conversation when I return. I promise.”
    â€œBut I—”
    He was already gone. I was talking to the darkness.
    The moment he left, the confining grip his mind had exerted on my will disappeared. I took a deep, gratifying breath, reveling in free will. The moment passed quickly, and panic constricted my throat in a stronger, more deadly hold than even his will. Before I could consider the ramifications, I screamed and pounded against the bars of my cage. This isn’t happening , I thought, even as I shouted for help and bruised the sides of my fists against the metal bars in desperation. I am not being held captive within a locked cage by a vampire in a secret tunnel system that no one knows exists below the city and where no one will ever find me . I rattled the cage door desperately.
    â€œHelp! Someone, please, I’m underground! Can anyone hear me? I—”
    In the surrounding darkness, pairs of glowing blue, green, and purple eyes stared at me. I couldn’t decipher the outlines of their bodies in the pitch-blackness, but if the looks on their faces were any indication, they could see me just fine. Some of them wore expressions pinched with hunger. One had exceptionally purple eyes—almost a shade of plum—shining with the same luminosity as the blues, greens, and violets. All of them were flanking the cage and stalking closer.
    I jerked away from the cage’s edge and stood in the center where, I hoped, none of the creatures could reach me. I tried to think of them as vampires. Although they