Forever Magnolia

by Dyan Chick

  The more she talked, the more insane she sounded. I shook my head. "You realize I have no idea what you're saying."

  Reason clearly wasn't working with her, I was either getting out of this or I wasn't.

  She turned around, and looked at me for the first time since I'd woken up. "Do you really have no idea?"

  "I told you I didn't have any idea what's going on. As far as I can tell you're fucking crazy." Good, Millie. You've totally lost it on a psycho who has you tied up in the back of her car. Well done. "What I mean is, I'm telling the truth. I don't know who you are, I don't know why you have me tied up, and I'm having a really shitty day."

  The woman shook her head. "I'm a hunter. Plain and simple. You know those stories that you heard as a kid? Everything you were told about the bad and evil in this world? All of it was true. Monsters exist. Your new friend is one of the worst kinds of monsters. He's not human. And to make matters worse, he must claim the lives of innocent humans in order to survive. My best guess is that he’s somewhere around 300 years old, which means he's taken down a lot of innocent people in his time. And it's time for his reign to end."

  My brow furrowed, even more confused than I was before. This woman thought she was hunting some sort of creature? ""Have you seen Beau? I mean, it's not like he's got horns growing out of his head."

  "Vampires don't have horns," she said as if I were a child. As if I should've learned this long ago.

  "Vampires?" I lifted my brows, holding myself back from rolling my eyes.

  She blew out a frustrated breath. "Look, I can't hurt you. It's part of the code. You're human, you haven't been bitten. I checked. I'm just using you as bait."

  "Okay," I licked my lips, "let's say I believe you. Let's say you're really hunting a vampire. Why the hell would you use me as bait?"

  "I already told you. He didn't bite you. And you were in his house alone for an entire night. That means you're important to him."

  I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes. There was no reasoning with this woman. My best hope was that Beau would find a strange car and call the cops. Hopefully, someone would be here soon to take this crazy person into custody and let me out. The only good to come of this conversation was the fact that in her delusion she truly believed I was not to be harmed. So while I might be uncomfortable, at least I was safe, for now.

  Chapter Seven

  Beau

  I could smell her.

  It was hard to tell if it was a lingering memory from the short time she'd been in the house, or if it was real. Groggy from sleep, I stretched and greeted the cool night air. There were days when I missed sunlight, but I rarely missed it here. Daytime was too sticky and humid. Nighttime was still sticky and humid, but at least it was cooler. And I grew accustomed to the nighttime sounds of crickets and owls and other nocturnal creatures. We seemed to share an understanding and appreciation of this time of day.

  Quickly, I changed into something a little more modern, and prepared myself for an evening on the town. After a few drinks, most of the locals would probably be willing to open up about whatever kind of gossip I was interested in hearing about. I was certain there had to be some sort of affair or hidden child or runaway at some point in the Miller family history during the last hundred years. People loved a good scandal, even people who pretend they didn't.

  As I went about my preparations for the evening, I could still smell her. It was almost strong enough to cover the lingering perfume that seeped into the wood and hung thick in the air of the house. It would probably take a shaman burning sage for weeks to clear the scent out. But it wasn't my problem, I was out of here as soon as I could find someone suitable to take it over.

  It was probably in my head. She hadn't been here long enough for her smell to actually stick around. I tried to get Millie out of my mind. She was a distraction, a complication. I knew the rules, I knew the risks. It wasn't exactly forbidden to be with a human, but I knew in order for a vampire to successfully have a long-term relationship with a human at some point you had to consider turning them. I'd known a few friends who had been with humans and grown old with them, watching them die. Death was hard enough to go through when you weren't immortal. When you were, and you knew you had the power to prevent it, it was so much harder.

  I opened the fridge and grabbed a blood bag from my stash. It would be enough to tide me over for tonight so I wouldn't feel the need to feed on any of the people in the bar. I wasn't sure why I couldn't shake Millie. Maybe it was just this place. Maybe there was something sentimental about going home, to your original home, that made you long for the things you knew you couldn't have.

  I wiped my face and licked my teeth, making sure I didn't leave any blood. I stepped out the front door and was instantly hit with an undeniable wave of Millie's scent. It wasn't in my head. She was close. The intoxicating smell of hers, the call of her blood, was mixed with fear. Something was very, very wrong.

  I bared my teeth, letting my fangs down as my body tensed, prepared to fight. I let instinct take over, becoming the monster I knew I was deep inside as I charged in the direction of that fear. If someone harmed her, I would kill them. It didn't matter what the repercussions were, I just knew I had to protect her.

  Millie

  The sudden blow to my stomach made me feel like I was going to vomit. Hangover trifecta complete. "What the fuck was that for?"

  I was tied to a tree now, and I had to admit, I came willingly. For some reason, I believed that she didn't want to hurt me, and that maybe I could get out of this alive if I played along. Still panting, and fighting against the urge to throw up, I now had a lot of regrets.

  "He'll come faster if he thinks you're in trouble," she said. "Nothing personal."

  "It's very fucking personal," I said.

  "It'll be over soon," she said, turning away from me and staring into the distance.

  I should've stayed in Chicago. It was one of the most dangerous cities in the world, but I had never been kidnapped, tied up, and kicked in the stomach. This would have never happened in Chicago.

  The woman paced in front of me, back and forth, taking about six steps before turning around and going the other direction. She was nervous. Her dark hair was tied up in a bun and in her hands she held a short stake, an honest to god steak, like the kind Buffy carried, in her hand.

  I wanted to say she was delusional, but as I sat there in my groggy state, I started to wonder if maybe she was right. She sure was selling it, a true believer. Why else would she be out here with a stake in her hand?

  "It's taking too long."

  "I told you," I said. "There's nothing going on between us. Having me captive isn't going to do anything."

  "I went too easy on you; got too friendly. Rookie mistake," she said, more to herself than to me.

  A fresh wave of fear rushed through me as I practically saw that unpredictable nature of hers spike. She'd chosen a spot that wasn't too far away from the Miller property, just out of range of one of the few lights on an exterior structure that looked like it might be barn. If not for that light, I wouldn't be able to see a thing.

  I had a feeling she chose the place so she wouldn't be at a disadvantage. It was weird, starting to see the reasons she was doing things. But that didn't mean I actually believed her. Though, I had to admit, I thought I was more likely to believe that Beau was a vampire than I was to believe that he would come for me based on her strange theories.

  Crazy grabbed a metal handle from her waistband and pulled, revealing a short knife. "Remember how I told you I wouldn't kill you?"

  My heart raced in my chest. Here it was. This was how I died. "Whoa, whoa let's not go crazy here, let's think this through. You don't want to hurt me."

  "I don't want to, I have to," she said just as she sliced the knife across my upper arm.

  I cried out as a burning pain shot through me. Tears rolled down my cheeks and I kicked my legs and wiggled as wildly as I could to try to get away from her. The r
opes around my hands and legs only made me flop over to the ground. Grunting, I forced myself back up to sitting.

  I stared at the blood pouring down my arm, feeling a little lightheaded. "You crazy psycho. Let me go!"

  Crazy knelt down in front of me. "Until he gets here for you, I'm going to add a new scar to that pretty little body of yours every five minutes. So if there's some way you can call out to him that you've been holding out on me, you might want to do it now."

  I spit in her face. She shook her head as she wiped the spit away and took a few steps away from me. "I'm serious. I don't want to hurt you, but I will."

  I was suddenly feeling less sure about my safety. I would be lucky to survive the night if nobody found me soon. "Help me! If anyone can hear me help me!"

  An open hand slammed into my cheek, the slap stung and I turned toward my assailant with my teeth bared. "You need help, you know that?"

  "Try it again, see what happens." She tightened her grip on the knife in her hand, slightly angling the blade so it caught the light.

  "What happened to not killing me?" I asked.

  "I haven't killed you yet, stop your bitching."

  "Help!" I cried out as loud as I could, knowing I needed to get out of this and away from her. "Help!"

  This time, a knee hit my nose sending shooting pains through my cheeks, into my eyes, and into the back of my head. I cried out in agony as I reflexively tried to move my hands toward the injury. They were still tied behind my back.

  Moaning and groaning, I leaned down and pressed my injured nose against my knees. My eyes were streaming with tears and white spots exploded in front of my vision. From the amount of pain I was in, I had a feeling my nose was broken.

  "I told you not to do that."

  I kept my head down, partially because I was still struggling to get a grip on the pain radiating through my face, and partially because I didn't want her to see how pissed I was. For now, it was better to have her think I had fallen into submission.

  At least her attack made me more motivated to get away. While keeping my face down, I started to work on the bindings again. There had to be a way to get my hands out to free myself.

  The knots were tight, and the rope cut into my skin, adding even more bursts of pain to my already injured body. Deciding that pulling my hands out wasn't going to work and that the knots weren't going to budge, I started to feel around the ground blindly. There had to be a rock or something sharp I could use.

  I winced as I jabbed my finger on something incredibly sharp. From the feel of it, it was probably a broken bottle. Could you get tetanus from broken glass? I tried to keep my head clear, think past the injuries and the fact that I had open wounds that were now covered in dirt and germs.

  Gripping the glass as best I could and ignoring the slicing on my fingers, I began to saw into the ropes. As a few strands unraveled, a little flicker of hope filled my chest. If I could get through this rope I could get out of here. Maybe I could survive this bizarre encounter. Or maybe I'd stab her with the piece of glass next time she got too close to me. I didn't like the idea of hurting someone, but I sure didn't want to get hurt again.

  Time seemed to slow as I kept my face down and worked to keep my breathing even as I made tiny movements with the glass against the rope. When I heard her footsteps approach, I closed my fingers around the glass, hiding it from view. Slowly, I looked up at her, unable to hide my defiant glare.

  "Bad news for you, five more minutes have passed."

  "I told you he's not coming," I said, surprising myself at how calm I was.

  "I don't believe you." She took the knife and sliced my opposite arm, creating a twin wound that burned white hot. I winced and held my breath against the pain, refusing to cry out.

  "I'm glad we learned our lesson," she said before turning away from me and taking a few steps out into the open.

  Satisfied that she was ignoring me, probably because she thought she'd broken me, I resumed my sawing. I could feel the rope fraying, but I wasn't through all of the strands yet. I needed more time, but I didn't have it. Who knew where she would use that knife next. I needed to get through this this rope in the next five minutes.

  My pulse raced and I felt sweat roll down my cheeks as I took shallow breaths and told myself the pain wasn't real. When I got out of there, I was going straight to the hospital. Or maybe straight to my grandmother's for an ice bath. Though first I probably needed to coat my entire body and hand sanitizer.

  More of the rope began to fray I was almost through when I heard footsteps approaching again. Cursing under my breath I palmed the glass and looked up and my captor.

  "Five more minutes, now to decide where to go from here. Do I stick to your arms? Or is it time to do more damage to that pretty face?" She smirked. "I can already see the black eyes from the broken nose."

  She moved closer to me, the knife raised, ready to strike. She was hesitating, as if unsure of where she wanted to inflict damage next. I wasn't sure if it came from the fact that she didn't actually want to do it or if she was savoring it and enjoying it. Neither would surprise me. I bit down the inside of my cheek to keep myself quiet as I stared at her. As strong as I wanted to be, fear still dragged its icy fingers down my spine. She took another step and I held my breath, waiting for the bite of the blade.

  Chapter Eight

  Millie

  I squeezed my eyes shut as fear got the better of me and braced for impact. One breath, two breaths, three breaths, four breaths.

  The strike I was expecting never came. I opened my eyes just in time to see someone or something slam into the hunter.

  The newcomer was much larger than the woman who had taken me captive. She wiggled out from under him and even though I didn't want to believe it, I knew my rescuer was the person she’d been waiting for all along. No matter how many times I had told her he wasn't coming, no matter how much I thought I believed that myself, I couldn't find true surprise in the fact that he was here.

  It was as if on some level, I knew he would come. Which made no sense. He didn't owe me anything, he didn't even know me. Yet, here he was, fighting the woman who had drugged me and tortured me.

  Her body landed with a thud, crumbling to the ground. She stood, then squatted in an attack type position. She waited there, her body looked as tense as a spring.

  Beau charged her and she ran toward him, stake raised in her hand. The woman still honestly believed she was facing off against a vampire.

  Rolling my eyes, I doubled down on my efforts to cut through the rope. My fingers were almost numb now, which I supposed in some ways was better than feeling the pain of the hundreds of tiny slices the glass had given them. It was making it harder to hold on as I fought my way through the last few strands. Finally, they gave way and relief flooded through me as I moved my hands in front of me and began to work at the restraints on my ankles.

  I didn't want to stop and look at how torn up I was, I couldn't think about that now. Right now, I needed to get out of there and help Beau restrain this insane person. Cutting through the restraints on my ankles was going so much faster since I didn't have to worry about hiding it and I could actually see what I was doing.

  As the sounds of a brawl raged on in the distance, I cut through the last few strands of rope and kicked my feet free. With some effort, I managed to roll onto all fours and push myself to standing. I swayed, the ground felt very uneven in my damaged state. Taking slow breaths, I tried to ignore the spinning in my head. I pushed forward, taking careful steps.

  The fight raged on in front of me. I waited a moment, trying to decide my best course of action. I didn't want to jump into the middle of something and end up with a fist in my face. I had enough damage done to me already and I wasn't sure I could handle much more. At this point, I was grateful I could still keep my eyes open despite the aching pain in my face.

  As I watched, I got the distinct feeling that Beau was toying with the hunter. He was much faster and stronger than
her, yet she kept coming at him and he pushed her away, almost effortlessly.

  She came at him again, stake raised, and screaming like something feral. I winced at the sound and I thought Beau did too. Once again, he caught her mid-attack and threw her, honest to God threw her, ten feet away. She landed hard and didn't move.

  He wasn't even breathing heavy, none of this was difficult for him. While I was still confused as to why he was actually there, I was incredibly grateful. The hunter was probably unconscious at this point which made me feel a little bit better.

  Carefully, I walked over to Beau. "How did you find me?"

  "That's a funny way of saying thank you," he said.

  "Of course, thank you. But seriously, what is going on here?" I asked.

  Beau closed the space between us and stood just a few inches away from me. His dark eyes scanned me up and down and I watched as his expression went from happy to see me, to fuming mad. He bared his teeth and let out a low growl. "She did this to you."

  I took a step back from him, unsure if the fangs in his mouth were real or product of trauma. "I just want to go home."

  "I'll kill her."

  "No, she's insane. We need to call the police." She was crazy and desperate and she’d tried to kill me. I wasn't sure why I was begging for her life. It wasn't as if I was particularly fond of the woman who tortured me, but in this moment I feared what Beau might do. I worried about what I might have to do if I caught any more of the glimpse of darkness I saw in his eyes.

  "If that is what you wish," he said.

  I was shaking now. My eyelids felt heavy as the adrenaline wore off and my injuries began to take hold. I turned away from him and threw up in the grass. A gentle hand brushed my hair away from my face while I finished vomiting and another hand softly rubbed my back. His touch was comforting, and somehow gave me strength.