21. Lost

"You think I'll let you go?"

Joe crossed his arms on his back. He kept looking back as Ruby walked past him. But Ruby did not do the same. She stared straight ahead even though she stopped because of Joe's words.

"I'm serious," Ruby said, "you're going to die in the arena. Maybe not just you. I don't know for sure. Hmm... should I hug them one by one?"

"Are you bragging so you can get away from here... or so I'll be on your side?" Joe guessed. "There's no way you're hugging me for no apparent reason," he countered.

The famous narrative of the Vampire clan was that their brains were fluid and intelligent. Their ancestors were educated aristocrats who preserved that title for centuries. The vampires said that was what distinguished their caste from the other undead.

Ruby wondered, were the vampires in this dead forest outcasts?

They occupied this ugly place instead of living in skyscrapers with all the luxuries of the city center and routinely attending balls with wine glasses fil