Free Soul Bound by Mari Mancusi Page B

I finger the box in my pocket, wrapped in black-and-gold paper. The Christmas present I never got to give her until now.
    Suddenly, Drake stops. I look up. The passageway ends abruptly at a large stone wall. Confused, I search the area for some kind of side exit, but see nothing. Are we lost? Did Drake take a wrong turn?
    “Here we are,” he says instead. “The entrance to our lair.”
    I squint at him, then at the solid rock wall ahead. “Um, entrance? I don’t see no stinking entrance.”
    He smiles. “Down here, my little slayer, things are not always as they appear.” He whistles for Fluffy, who runs up to him, tongue lolling from her mouth. He nods at her and claps his hands once. I watch in amazement as Fluffy turns and dives at the wall, without hesitation—bracing myself for a loud crack as her head slams into solid stone. After all, I’d much prefer to be able to say that no animals were harmed in the making of this rescue.
    But to my surprise—the creature does not hit her head. Instead, the head in question completely disappears into the rock, followed by her furry body.
    “Holy crap!” I cry, reaching out to touch the rock wall with my own hand. Sure enough, my fingers slide easily through the optical illusion. “I want one of these for my bedroom door.”
    Drake chuckles, then his expression turns serious. “We have many vampires among us who do not wish to be found under any circumstances,” he tells us. “It is best to be overly protective in all cases.” He gives me a small bow. “After you, my dear.”
    Right. I suck in a breath and take a determined step up to the rock. As I move forward, I’m still half sure I’m going to whack my head against solid stone. But instead I slide right on through—enveloping myself in a slick curtain of mist—before reappearing on the other side. A moment later I’m joined by Jareth and Drake.
    “That is too cool,” I mutter. “You are so going to have to give me that secret.”
    Jareth reaches out and squeezes my hand, giving me a small smile. “We made it,” he whispers.
    I look up, taking in my surroundings. My brows furrow as I scan the wide, high-ceilinged, rock-walled cavern around us. I guess I wasn’t sure what to expect here, but I can tell you for sure I didn’t expect to see such heartbreaking poverty. I mean, practically every vampire I’ve ever met is super rich, possessing luxury and amenities beyond compare—or at least a decent middle-class income. This place is like the opposite: a shantytown of cardboard box homes and half-rotted tents. Hammered tin, shattered glass, bones strewn about. The camp centers around a large fire pit, the heavy smoke stinging my eyes. I glance over at Jareth, trying to shoot him a look of dismay without Drake seeing. This is where my sister has been living all this time?
    He gives me a grim smile. “Welcome to life for vampires outside the Consortium’s embrace.”
    I swallow hard. Wow. When he said the Blood Coven would suffer if they were kicked from the Consortium, I guess I figured they might be stuck with Top Ramen once in a while. Not living in ultimate squalor. No wonder the other vampire masters in the Consortium are so scared to go against Pyrus’s orders. I wouldn’t want this for my people either!
    Drake gestures for us to follow him toward the center of the camp. All around us I can feel the stares of vampires hiding behind closed doors or cloth tents. Here and there I catch sight of some movement behind an oily glass window—but as soon as it comes, it’s gone.
    “My apologies,” Drake says, ushering us over to the bonfire and inviting us to take seats on the rotted wooden logs placed around it. “My people are quite shy. They do not meet many outsiders. And many still fear being tracked down by Consortium agents and made to suffer for their alleged crimes.”
    I grimace as I take my seat beside Jareth, trying to imagine what it would be like to be stuck down here in eternal