Ignoring her thinly veiled threat, I happily followed after her.
We walked down a hallway that was about as dimly lit as a tomb. Vampires didn’t need much light so I supposed it was normal for them. I didn’t envy their human servants though. Just squinting in this myself was making my eyes ache.
An idea came to mind. An awful idea.
Maybe they didn’t keep it this dim on purpose. Maybe this was all for my benefit. Or rather disadvantage. They were trying to make it so that I couldn’t figure out where I was going on my own by making it so that I couldn’t see more than three feet in front of me.
Well, if that was the plan, they were doing a good fucking job of it.
Still, I tried my best to keep track of where we were going. Down the hall, to the right, down a flight of stairs, another right, then a left and then we were outside.
I stopped right outside the door and just breathed in the fresh air. Each lungful of air was like a little burst of happiness in each and every cell in my body.
Agnes turned to me with an impatient scowl. “Are you coming? Or did you change your mind and we should go back?” She cocked a brow with a smirk.
I hurried across the courtyard with a panicked frown. “No, no. I’m coming. Just enjoying the air.”
Agnes wrinkled her nose and stared up at nothing. “Breathing. Not something I miss.”
I frowned. “But vampires breathe.”
Turning her back to me, Agnes scanned the courtyard. No doubt checking for any ways for me to escape. “Not because we have to. Very few things can kill us.” She gave me a knowing look at that. “You should know. Weren’t you a hunter?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “One does what one has to to survive.”
Agnes stared at me curiously with a murmur, “Yes, one does.”
I walked along a stone path, trailing my hands along the bushes and plants, hoping that I looked like I was just enjoying the freedom. My eyes however were searching every part of the courtyard, looking for possible exits, weak points that could be exploited. Anything that I could use to my advantage.
Soon I found out that while I had gotten out of the room, I hadn’t left my cage. The courtyard had only one door, the one we entered. The area, while large and full of plants and in any other circumstances a gorgeous fountain, was not what I needed. At that moment though, I would give it all up for a boring old wall I could climb. This was one of those stupid kinds of courtyards that were smack dab in the middle of the house. Useful to those who had pets but about as useful to me as sunblock to a vampire.
“Not what you were expecting?” Agnes asked beside me with a smugness in her voice.
I spun around and faced her, a radiant smile plastered on my face. “No, it’s great! Wonderful even.” I turned around in place, staring with my mouth agape at the high walls of the building. No way I could climb those and not plummet to my death. “So, I get to come out here every day? Whenever I want?”
Agnes eyeballed me carefully. “Yes, as long as someone is available to escort you.” When she didn’t find what she was looking for she harrumphed and bobbed her head, lacing her fingers before her. “We can’t have you wandering into the wrong part of the house and getting hurt now, can we?”
I nodded absently, still scanning the area for any way that I could use this to my advantage.
Agnes was quiet for a moment and then asked with a bit of uncertainty. “Is there anything else about human births that I should know about?”
“Huh?” I glanced away from the trees I was debating on climbing and back to my jailer. “About human births?”
“Yes,” Agnes tucked her hands into the pockets of her apron and frowned. “I can agree that many things have changed since I was a midwife and if I am to make sure you are well taken care of and there are no complications then I need to be more up to date on the latest studies.”
“Oh,” I arched my brow and peered at her for a moment. Then a thought came to me. “You know...” I saddled up next to her with a sly smile. “There are all kinds of videos and such I could show you, lots of information about delivering babies in this day in age. If only I had my phone...” I tried not to be too eager as I casually laid out the bait.
Agnes was full on thinking about what she could do with that information no doubt. She probably hadn’t even thought to get more up to date with her skills until now. I mean, why would she need to? If she suspected I wanted my phone for anything other than to help her and my child out she didn’t mention it and I tried to be on my best behavior the rest of the time I was in the courtyard. Perhaps she’d be too curious herself to think straight about it and get me my phone. One could only hope.