The Fugitives, A Dystopian Vampire Novel: Book Four: The Superiors Series by Lena Hillbrand Page A

have done it without result. And the only way to get results was to keep breaking more laws. He finally understood how criminals were formed, how one small slip could lead to more dire ones, until the Law became something fuzzy, or something that applied to everyone else.
    But he’d never be one of those people. He’d just do this one thing—find and punish Draven, and retrieve his sapien. It might be harder now that he couldn’t find them by Navigational Guide Piloting, but he had an idea where they were. He could find the area, and then he only had to look around and feel the people out. Afterwards, he’d go back to obeying and enforcing and holding the Law sacred, the way he always had. The Law was everything, the foundation of government, order, and faith. The Law was ruler and king and friend and god. As long as he still believed, he’d be fine.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER fifteen
     
     
    Cali couldn’t make changes to the little hut because the owner might come back, so she spent her days either shivering under her blanket or returning to the stone house. Sleeping at night again made her feel better, than when she’d stayed up half the night and half the day. She woke, rose and stretched, and shook out her damp blanket. The mat on the floor had begun to stink of mildew, and the ends of the straws poked through at her while she slept. Still, it made a better bed than the thin sleep sack, which had made her body ache on nights when they’d slept on hard ground.
    After she ate, she went to the door of the house, dislodged the pebble, and stepped inside. She stood in the doorway and waited, listening. No sounds. Still, she felt funny going inside now, like she had to sneak in. She always tried to be quiet, and Draven never said anything, never called to her or came out of the bedroom, so she must have been doing okay. She tiptoed into the shower room, holding her breath as she slowly pulled the door closed. She paused, but she didn’t hear him, so she gave the last little tug until the latch snapped into place. Her heart caught for a second, waiting to see if he’d call to her.
    When she didn’t hear any sound, she relaxed. She didn’t even know why she tried so hard not to disturb him. He probably wouldn’t get mad. When she’d left, he hadn’t been mad, he’d been sad. And he’d told her to use the house, begged her to.
    After her heartbeat returned to normal, she undressed. Every time she came into the house, she went through this same routine—the nervousness, the relief, and mixed with it, a tiny flicker of disappointment that he didn’t talk to her. But it was better if he only talked to her in her hut, where she felt safer even though it was outside. In truth, no matter where she was, she’d never be safe from a Superior. But with her out there and him in here, coming out to see her, he seemed like a master, like he’d never…
    Do what? She’d been the one to do something to him.
    She turned on the water and stepped into the shower. Showering had become her favorite part of the day, on the days when she dared to come in and take advantage of the warm water. After a while, she always got nervous and rushed to get out. She felt silly doing it, like a kid running from the dark. Something about the big house, and being in it while Draven slept, made her edgy. Maybe the guilt about the way she’d behaved the other time she’d been in the house while he slept caused the nervousness. Still, she didn’t want to give up the house entirely. She loved this room too much.
    It held a wonderful array of new things, and although she’d liked it when she first saw it and used the shower, she hadn’t seen much. She’d been too happy about getting clean and warm again. Afterwards, she’d begun to notice each separate, amazing thing in the room, how each time she went in, she thought she’d memorized every detail, but every time she came back, she saw something new. Square stones fit