by J. L. McCoy
Chapter 16
I stalked to the alleyway and stuck my arm and middle finger in the air when Dean and Archer called my name. There was no way in hell I was going to speak to them anymore tonight. I had had more than enough bullshit for one day. Why did everyone treat me like I was weak and stupid? I was an adult and could deal accordingly. So what if I wasn’t a pack Alpha or a 1,300 year old vampire? I wasn’t some delicate flower dammit! I handled Archer’s ‘I’m a vampire’ news pretty damn well I thought…and Dean’s.
I sighed as I picked up my pace, desperate to get as far away from The Mausoleum as possible. I was so angry at everyone right now. What I couldn’t wrap my mind around was why Archer tried dictating what I did, where I went, and who I saw. Who the hell does he think he is? He doesn’t own me. I’m not his girlfriend, I’m his assistant. What a high-handed assbag!
When I got to the end of the alley, I turned right and made my way toward the multi-level parking garage a few blocks away. Archer’s Audi R8 was on level 5 waiting for me. All I wanted to do was get back to Archer’s, pack my shit, and go home to my duplex. I may have to work for Archer, but I wasn’t going to let him dictate where I could live. I missed my bed and I missed Styvi Nix. I felt a tear slide down my face and I hastily wiped it away.
I was about 100 yards from the parking garage when I heard someone walk up behind me. I stopped, glanced back, holding my keys between my knuckles at the ready, and saw that it was a well-dressed older gentleman. I relaxed a bit, turned back around, and kept walking to the car.
“That was quite entertaining,” the man said from behind me.
I stopped and turned around to face him. “Excuse me?” I asked, confused. Is he talking to me? I looked around and saw that the street was completely deserted; not even a car in sight. That’s weird, I thought. Where did everyone go?
The man chuckled and stepped closer. I got my first good look at him and saw that he was around 40 years old or so with slicked-back dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and high cheekbones. He was lean, semi-tan, of average height, and wore an expensive black tailored suit with a crisp white mandarin-collared shirt underneath.
He cocked his head to the side and studied me for a few seconds. “You are so headstrong,” he said in a thick foreign accent. I had never heard an accent quite like his before and I had no idea where he was from, but I could tell that he definitely wasn’t from around here.
“Excuse me,” I said again, my brow furrowing with the beginnings of anger. “What are you talking about?”
The man chuckled and took another step closer. “In my time, women were nothing more than property; to be used and traded accordingly. They did not talk to their masters as you have just done. How interesting…”
My jaw dropped in shock. “Look here, mister,” I huffed as I took a step back. “I don’t know what your deal is, but what I do is no concern of yours. Have you been following me?”
He smiled slyly and took another step forward.
I put my hand out in front of me to stop him from walking any closer. “Stay the hell away from me, weirdo. I’ll call the cops if I have to.”
I turned around and walked faster toward the parking garage. I suddenly had a really bad feeling about that man and I wanted to get as far away from him as I could.
I blinked for a second and he was suddenly standing in front of me. I stared into his eerie blue eyes and I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out.
“Silence, child,” he whispered, as he stared into my eyes and closed the gap between us. “Do not move.”
All of a sudden, my body didn’t feel like it was my own. My mouth closed and my body relaxed. This man, this thing, was somehow controlling my body. Oh my God. RUN, I screamed to myself in my head, but my legs refused to obey. I had no choice but to stand there and watch as he cocked his head to the side and studied my face intently.
“So headstrong,” he whispered, inches from my face.
I tried desperately to move my legs, my arms, a finger, but nothing would respond. What has he done to me?
The man chuckled and reached out to touch a strand of my waist length red hair. “I have enthralled your mind, human,” he said simply. “You are a means to an end and you will come with me this night.” He released the strand of hair and reached out to brush his knuckles across my left cheek. He smiled and I saw his long, deadly fangs slide down. “Such a shame…” he whispered as he leaned closer and put his nose in the hollow of my neck, taking a deep breath.
I screamed inwardly and started praying. Oh, dear God, please don’t let him drain me. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done…”
The vampire threw his head back and laughed. “Your God cannot save you, human,” he said as he slowly walked around my body. “Do you know how many have prayed, just as you have, in my presence? Nothing saves them. Your God does not exist. I EXIST!” he said venomously, raising his voice. “I have been around longer than your weak, shallow human mind can even fathom. I am the beginning!” He came to stand in front of me and grinned wickedly. “And, I shall be the end.”
I felt tears slide down my face as I silently resumed my prayer.
“Enough,” he commanded and my mind immediately blanked. All I could do was watch him as he stared at me.
He reached into his coat and pulled out a sharp stone dagger. He extended his hand up and gently slid the tip down the left side of my face, to the side of my neck, and stopped when he reached the hollow there. He grinned savagely as he reached down and grabbed my wrist.
“I have waited over a millennium for the opportunity to exact my revenge,” he snarled as he vertically sliced open my left forearm. Blood immediately welled up and poured down my arm. I watched as he held it out and let the blood pool on the ground beside us. I felt no pain, and was unconcerned as I watched the precious life blood quickly drain out of me.
After a few long moments, the man licked the stone blade and the blood from my forearm, and put the knife back in his jacket. He stared into my eyes and I saw for the first time that his eyes were no longer blue; they were solid black; not even a smidge of white remained.
He suddenly sniffed at the air behind us and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he grinned savagely. “It’s time,” he whispered and then commanded me, “Scream.”
I opened my mouth and released a bloodcurdling scream. I screamed for all I was worth. All too quickly, his voice was at my ear.
“Sleep,” he whispered to me and I immediately descended into a deep darkness.
Chapter 17
I came to very slowly. I heard a door open and then shut. I moved my head and instantly became aware of the incredible pain in my shoulders, arms and wrists. I opened my eyes and saw that I was upright, chained at each arm to a metal pipe that ran the length of the ceiling. I groaned with the pain I felt and straightened my body, standing up, and releasing some of the pull on my arms and wrist. My right shoulder ached terribly and it felt like it was probably dislocated.
“Where am I?” I questioned aloud hoarsely. I licked my dry, cracked lips and swallowed thickly. My mouth was so dry that my tongue felt like sandpaper. I tried to make saliva, but it wasn’t much use.
I looked around and saw that I was in a basement of some sort. I could tell that I was definitely underground by the cool, damp feel of the air in the room. I looked to my right and saw a set of stairs that ascended up a floor to a white door. The door was plain, giving me no clues as to where I was. I looked in front of me and saw a metal water spigot sticking out of the wall that was steadily dripping water. I moaned and pulled on my chained arms in an attempt to free myself, but it didn’t budge and I only succeeded in sending shooting pains through my right shoulder.
“Help,” I yelled as loud as I could, which wasn’t very. “Somebody help me! Please!” The pain in my throat worsened and I tried to swallow again. My vocal chords felt raw, like I had been screaming recently.
I have, I remem
bered. When I was walking to Archer’s car…that man…, it all came rushing back to me in a tidal wave of horror.
I looked up at my left forearm and saw that it was cut very deeply, but no longer bleeding. I had no idea HOW it wasn’t bleeding. It was a gruesome sight. I could see muscle and tendons; the stranger had cut me that deeply. I looked away in horror. “Oh my God,” I cried. Tears poured down my face as I sobbed at my condition.
Minutes ticked by, hours dragged on, and no one came down those stairs. I had tried everything to free myself, but I only ended up exhausted and in unbelievable pain.
I must have passed out again because, when I opened my eyes next, the man I met on the street was standing in front of me.
“You will drink,” he said as he held a small metal cup to my lips.
I turned my head away weakly. I had no intention of drinking anything he gave me.
A second person I hadn’t seen in the room walked up to me and roughly grabbed ahold of my face, turning it back to the man with the cup. My eyes darted over his face and I recognized him immediately. It was the vampire that had attacked me opening night at The Mausoleum when I told him that he couldn’t speak to Courtney, one of our VIP dancers. Archer had referred to him as a ‘Dark One’ after he threw him out.
“You will drink!” the Dark One said. “Or I will force you.”
“Go…to hell,” I managed. He squeezed my jaw harder and I cried out in pain.
“Enough,” the older man said to the Dark One. He focused his gaze intently on mine. “Drink,” he commanded forcefully and my body immediately obeyed.
The liquid was slightly warmer than room temperature and it tasted divine. It immediately coated my parched mouth and tongue, offering me much needed fluid. I greedily leaned my head forward in an attempt to drink more of it, faster than he was offering it to me.
He tsked and took the cup away. “Slowly,” he commanded and I instantly obeyed again. As I drank the liquid from the cup, he brushed the hair back from my face. “You must drink slowly or your body will reject it,” he said plainly. “You’ve lost a great deal of blood. I imagine you must feel very weak.”
All too soon, he pulled the cup away and I moaned my displeasure. He turned to the man I had met before and quickly spoke to him. “Get the human some bread Martin, and make sure she eats it.”
“Yes master,” the Dark One called Martin answered as he bowed his head respectfully.
I watched as Martin flashed up the stairs and disappeared behind the door.
I looked back at the man who had abducted me, and saw that he was watching me closely. “We will talk again once you have fed,” he said simply and flashed up the stairs as well.
I pulled on my chains roughly in frustration, using all of the energy I had, and screamed. “Just let me go! Please! I haven’t done anything! Please…”
I exerted all of the energy I had in my body screaming out, and my legs became like Jell-O, no longer able to hold me up. My vision began to swim as the full weight of my body once again became supported by my frail wrists; the pain was unreal. Please God…help me, I silently prayed before I lost consciousness again.
I awoke to a sharp pain on my left cheek. I moaned and slowly opened my eyes.
“Finally,” Martin laughed cruelly. “I was starting to think you weren’t going to wake up.”
He was standing right in front of me and he had an evil smile upon his pointy face. His long black hair hung just past his shoulders and blue eyes were as menacing as I remembered from our first encounter at The Mausoleum.
“Here,” he said as he thrust the torn-off end of a load of bread at my mouth. “Eat.”
I closed my eyes and turned my head away a few inches. I felt incredibly nauseated and didn’t think I had the energy to chew let alone swallow.
“EAT!” he screamed, his cool spittle raining down upon my face. “Eat, or I will make you eat.”
He thrust the bread roughly into my lips again, cutting the inside on my teeth as I weakly turned my head the other direction.
He slapped me across the face so hard that my body swung on the chains. I cried out as he suddenly stopped my momentum. My right wrist had snapped just as he stilled me, and the pain now emanating from it was excruciating.
“Please, no more,” I barely managed to whisper.
He threw his head back and laughed. “Not so tough now, are you human?” he taunted. “Without your day walkers to come save you again, you’re all mine. We won’t be interrupted this time, I assure you.”
I whimpered as hot, new tears slid down my face.
Martin stared at my lips intently as his fangs descended. “You’re bleeding,” he said as he leaned forward and ran his slick tongue across my dry lips. I closed my eyes and tried to turn my head away, but it was no use. I had nowhere to go. When he leaned back, I saw that his blue irises were now black and he hungrily licked his fangs.
“You taste good,” he growled and smiled. “Well, since you won’t eat, I hope you don’t mind if I grab a bite.” With that, he struck faster than my eyes could follow and sank his fangs deep into the right side of my neck. I cried out again from the sharp sting of his fangs, and waited anxiously for the euphoric feeling his saliva was supposed to provide, but it never came. I felt every deadly pull of his mouth; every gnaw of his deadly teeth.
A few seconds later it was over and I was more lightheaded than ever. The room swam as I hung limply from my chains.
“You’re lucky I have let you live,” he said, out of breath. I heard the sick, smacking sounds of him cleaning his fangs before he continued. “You have lost a lot of blood. You may not survive the next few days. If you cooperate, I won’t feed on you again. If you don’t, I’ll drain you next time.”
Martin picked up the bread from the dirty cement floor and shoved it into my lips again. It took everything I had to open my mouth and bite down. He pulled the hunk of bread from my mouth, tearing the bitten piece off, and told me to chew.
Somehow, I chewed. I chewed the piece of stale bread and swallowed it thickly. “Water,” I whispered.
Martin walked over to the spigot, turned it on, and filled the metal cup. He brought it to my lips and tilted it. More water ended up on my shirt than in my mouth, but I didn’t care. It was cool and wet, and helped the hunk of bread go down.
He took the cup away and put the bread to my lips again. This continued until half of the hunk was eaten.
“You’ve had enough for now,” he said plainly. Thank God, I thought silently. I didn’t think I could possibly take another bite. It was hard work forcing food down that you desperately wanted to vomit right back up.
“If you keep that down, you’ll get more water later,” he said as he turned to the stairs. “Be a good little bitch and don’t cause trouble for my master. Remember, your life is in my hands, human. I can snuff you out whenever I please.” He ascended the steps and locked the door behind him.
I started sobbing uncontrollably as my stomach churned with my emotions. I fought hard to keep the bread and water down, too scared to find out what Martin would do to me if I didn’t.
When I calmed down somewhat, I tried to move the fingers on my left hand, but none moved. I forced myself not to look at the gaping wound that the older man inflicted upon me. I didn’t think I could handle seeing it again. I tried to move the fingers on my broken right hand, but only my pinky managed a faint twitch. I attempted to stand up, but my legs simply couldn’t hold me any longer. I roughly sank back down and prayed hard that if I somehow got out of this, I’d still have the use of my hands. The way it was looking, if Martin or the guy he called master didn’t kill me, I’d be, at the very least, crippled in my left hand.
Minutes once again ticked by and hours passed. I fell asleep a few times and was jolted awake by nightmares each time. One in particular had been extremely vivid and terrifying. In it, the man who kidnapped me was standing in front of me, talking to me in a language I had never heard before. He suddenly reached o
ut, grabbed a fist full of my hair with one hand and my chin with the other, forcing my mouth open. The man leaned forward a few inches and blew thick smoke the color of desert sand into my mouth. The smoke felt like it had a life of its own as it roughly forced its way down my esophagus and curled to rest heavily into my lungs. I gagged and it burned like battery acid for a few seconds, causing me to scream out in pain, before it suddenly stopped. I watched in horror as my kidnapper smiled in satisfaction and turned away.
I woke up in a panic immediately after that dream and had to convince myself that it was, in fact, just a dream. I had no idea how long I had been in this room, as there was no way to tell time in here, but I knew I had to have been in here at least a solid day…maybe two.
Please, please…let Archer find me, my mind prayed over and over as my body hung limply from my chains.
Chapter 18
When I awoke next, I heard the door above the stairs closing. I slowly lifted my head and saw the man who had taken me walk over.
He tsked as he lifted my face higher to meet his. “I see Martin has fed from you,” he said plainly, his foreign accent thick. “You have lost much blood, human.”
“What…do you…care?” I whispered weakly.
“I don’t,” he said simply as he watched me with detached fascination. “I’ve been watching you with those day walkers for the last few days. Why are they so…taken with you? I see nothing special about you…you are just a lowly human,” he said plainly. “I don’t understand it.”
“I…I just work…for them. I’m not…special.”
The man chuckled and shook his head. “You don’t see,” he said, turning away. “It’s of no consequence. As I said before, you are just a means to an end for me. I want them dead and you are going to help me accomplish that.” He turned back to me and smiled cruelly. “They will come looking for you, without a doubt, and I’ll be waiting.”