Free After the Fall by A.J. Martinez Page B

Rhiannon stepped out into the hallway and shut the door. I tried not to look her in the face.
    “What’s the matter with you?” she asked. “You seem so tense.”
    “There has been a lot of excitement today.”
    “I’ll say.” She bit her lip and looked at me. Her hand slid up my arm and pressed us closer together. I was trying hard to resist her.
    “Hey, what’s with all the noise out here?” asked Matthias. He was dressed in his underwear and holding a lantern in our direction. “Oh, for God’s sake!” He glared at the two of us and slammed the door.
    “Get back,” I said. When she stayed put, I gave her a gentle shove. Alaric came back out the door dressed and ready to go.
    “Let’s go speak to the Guard. I foresee much work no one will want to do.”
    “But it has to be done, if we are to ever set foot outside these walls. I have seen your food stores, and they will not last forever.”
    We went to the main gate and spoke to the head Sentinel, a well-meaning officer who followed orders to the letter, sometimes forgetting the spirit of them. At this point, I was beginning to feel a little unsteady.
    “Are you all right?” asked Alaric.
    “I am fine for right now, but I must feed soon. Tonight must have taken more of me than I thought.”
    Alaric looked around and took stock of his men. They were all strong and healthy. A few were a bit past their prime but every bit as tough as a rawhide sandwich. One of those in particular caught our eye. He was a young greenhorn who had been staring at me since we arrived. Alaric called him over.
    “Yes, Commander?”
    “Please come with us. There is something we need of you.”
    “For you, Commander, anything!”
    A little overeager for my taste , I thought. We walked over to one of the doors to the wall. Alaric unlocked it and led us into a small study, where he lit a small oil lamp.
    “Please, sit down.” He locked the door behind him and addressed the young guard. “John-Jay, you have been with us for about a year now, right?”
    “Yes, Commander. One year and eight days, and just as proud to serve you as the first day.”
    “I’m glad to hear that. You know I would never ask anything unreasonable of you. Anything I ask of any of you I would do myself, and I would not ask you to do something unless I had a good reason.”
    “Sir?”
    “Mordecai here has saved us all. His inhuman skills are impossible to believe unless you see them firsthand.”
    “Indeed, sir, it’s like he’s an angel descended from Heaven!”
    “This may be hard to believe, son, but angels do not eat as we do. There is no worldly food that can sustain them.”
    “They feed from God’s own grace.”
    “Yes, that, but seeing that once they’re on Earth, they’re on their own. Just as God has given us dominion over all the creatures on Earth, he has given them dominion over them as well as us.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “We need a bit of your blood, my son. You will not be hurt and the pain will be minimal. Isn’t that right, Mordecai?”
    I nodded. “Just pull back your sleeve and I will see to the rest. All you’ll feel is a sting.”
    “Something about this doesn’t feel right,” he replied.
    “Listen, if you don’t do this, Mordecai will weaken and may not be able to protect us. Is that what you want to happen? Do you want to see this place overrun?”
    “No, never!”
    “Then you must do your part. Someone else will do it next time, and so on.”
    “He’s right,” I said. “After a few days, it will be as if nothing happened. You won’t be hurt except for a small needle stick on the arm.”
    I reached for my exsanguination kit and began to unfold it on the table. They watched me join the thick needle to the clear plastic tube. The next part might be the hardest.
    “Okay, just look away if you need to. It’s just a little sting,” I said. The boy did not look away. He stared at my hands as I tied off his arm and tapped the fat vein on the inside of