Harris reached over and held my hand. “Ctrl-Z, Chey.” Even with a pint of whole blood and two IV bottles hanging above him, his face, hands, and arms were still bloated as though he were a corpse pulled out of a lake several days after drowning. His hands and arms spidered out with angry punctures of red lines radiating from the dart’s impacts.
“Guys, how can we go on knowing our rescue attempt is what ultimately killed her? We weren’t prepared. We should have done so much more to make this successful, but we didn’t. We needed back up. I—I can’t handle it.”
“Chey, it’s not our fault. Don’t you dare think that way.” Harris sat two chairs down from Khaldon, so I sat in a chair between them to talk to them both. “We were set up. There’re no two ways about that. But there’s one thing I do know.” Harris pointed directly at me. “She wasn’t going to be alive much longer if we hadn’t of shown up. So you need to get that kinda crazy talk outta your head.”
“I understand it was a set up. The Rakshasa were expecting us. But we should have had more people, more ways to defend ourselves. How am I going to tell Sheridan and Daddy that Dakota is dead?” My chair creaked under me. I was convinced it would collapse if I moved or adjusted wrong, so I sat perfectly still for fear of another floor debacle.
Harris sat up and tried to stand. I stood to help him steady his balance.
“Damn, Chey, I’m sorry and you’re right. We should’ve been more prepared.” Harris pulled on the back of his pants trying to remove a wedgie. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “I’ve got a rotten case of monkey butt. I’m in desperate need of a shower.”
“Gawd, a shower would be fantastic,” I agreed.
Torchy had walked back into our room and he picked up a chair seated closer to the door and brought it over to me.
“Thanks, Torch. Have you spoken to Dr. Ratta … Rattoko …Dr. Raattatakosin… Dr. Whateverthehellhisnameis. Have you spoken to him about the dragon adrenaline donation? Are you compatible?”
“Dr. Rattanakosin? Oh aye, they’re prepping for the procedure now. Tis very simple, but we willna be able to fly in our dragon forms for a couple of fortnights.”
Torchy picked up several bamboo darts that Harris had on his bed stand. “Starting yer own collection, huh?”
“Are those the wolfsbane darts?” I pointed toward sharp, angry shivs still dirtied and bloody.
Harris nodded with an uplift to his chin, most likely proud of the awful things. “I figured I’d take them back to my pack and tell war stories. I’m sure my Cub Scout troop will think they’re awesome.”
After running the allergen tests, we learned how Harris had been poisoned with wolfsbane in the blow darts. In the United States, wolfsbane had become a non-existent weed. But on this side of the planet, werewolves take special precautions against rarer species of the weed to avoid these kinds of poisonous reactions.
It never occurred to me that werewolves might need allergy shots. Dr. Rattanakosin said the allergy medicine would take much longer to work against this type of plant because it was so rare. The known antidotes might not be sufficient.
The nurse came back in the room and asked for Torchy to begin his prep. I asked her to please be on the lookout for a woman and an older man who were family members of Briggs. The nurse acknowledged my request with a nod and a grimace, and then she quickly left again.
“I bet she’ll be happy when this shift is over,” I muttered under my breath.
Harris tried to smile and nodded his head. “Yeah, I’m sure they’ll claim worker’s comp from you biting them so much.”
Khaldon sat up a bit. “Do they have worker’s comp in Phuket?” He tried to smile, and more ash fell away from his face as layers of pink skin shined through the charred crust.
Normally, I laughed at his jokes, but today I wasn’t in the mood. Little black spots still floated across my vision. I deliberated the situation we were in. It didn’t make any sense how each of us had been uniquely injured.
“Just look at us. Who could have known what weapons to provide the Rakshasa to mortally injure or kill each of us?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Who other than Amicula and her crazy aunt?” Harris said as he reached for a glass of water. He knocked it over with his swollen fingers. “Dammit.”
“Do you think Ludovic got a message out to her somehow?” I asked.
“Why would he take that chance when he was trying to save Dakota?” Torchy asked.
There were no answers to our questions. Only silence.
Since Harris spilled his water, the unnamed girl sitting next to him sat up in her chair and offered him sips from her cup. She also had an IV stuck in her arm to help replenish fluids.
“Thanks for helping him,” I said. “You’re very kind. What’s your name?”
The girl pulled the water cup into her lap and glanced up at me under dirty blond hair, which hung limp over her shoulders. She was filthy from being held captive in that pit.
“My name is Tiffany—Tiffany Miller.” She looked at Harris once again and gestured in his direction. “He saved me. I owe him my life. It’s the least I can do.”
Her voice was whisper quiet. It was fortunate I had what I called vampionic hearing. One of the perks of vampirism I had learned.
“Are you hurt, Tiffany?” I asked. “Can I help you with anything?”
She shook her head and stared at her feet.
“Do you know why we were there on that island?”
She shook her head again.
“We were trying to rescue my sister Dakota, but—” My voice trailed off as the explosion of my sister’s body played over and over in slow motion, in black and white until I was sure I might pass out again.
She wiped her nose, her slack expression mimicking my own. “I knew her. She was nice to me—until they took her away.”
Tiffany’s hazel irises barely encircled the black holes of her pupils. Her eyes were dull, mostly lifeless, utterly defeated.
My own bloodshot blues stared back at her. “Do you know why you and Dakota were on that island? When did you get there?”
She shook her head possibly trying to erase painful memories. Her face was haggard and beaten with time. I noticed she had a nervous twitch to her left eye. She sighed a heavy breath, and her knuckles turned white from holding the cup so tight. I was sure she was going to shut down again.
“Hey, hey.” I reached for her. “Shh—you don’t have to go there. I’m sorry for asking.”
She shook her head again, “No. I’m okay. Beyond fine. I’m downright pissed, that’s what I am. I’m thankful to you for saving my life, but I want to go home.”
Her unbridled outburst startled me. I pressed my back against the chair and stole a glance over at Khaldon. His eyes shot open. The scent of curry and turmeric filled the air. The nurse escorted a woman with long, brunette hair and an older gentleman dressed in a long-sleeved blouse with lacy cuffs, reminiscent of a pirate. He held a top hat and coat tails over his arm.
Khaldon sat up straight and reached for the dragon scythe. He pulled it up close to his chest and then tried to conceal it under the sheet.
The brunette had elaborate, ornate tattoos all over her body, or the parts visible. She swept the room with her eyes, and I saw Briggs motion to her to come to him. She walked at once to Briggs and gently took his hands. The man looked about the room and glared at the place in disgust. His lips pursed. His eyes grazed past us, and I noticed Khaldon had turned to face the window.
Tiffany continued her story. “They took me and my friends. We were shopping at the mall, and these guys came up and asked if we wanted to party. They had some booze in their car. We figured we were in a public place, so what could go wrong? Right?”
“Ya know, Tiffany, I’ve come to learn almost everything can and will go awry in public.” I teased her with a half-hearted smile reflecting on my own attack at a public theme park.
She cracked me a half-smile perhaps agreeing with my sentiments. “So we went.
It was stupid. We got drunk, and the next thing I knew, I woke up in this crazy place where people were strung up in racks being fed all different kinds of food. They kept shoving oranges down my throat until I thought I was going to puke citrus juice. They refused to give me anything else.”
A thick knot formed in my throat and I checked Khaldon for any reaction. It seemed she was describing a blood orchard, but Khaldon said those were voluntary. He winced at her words. I wondered if the same question crossed his mind.
“It’s okay now, Tiffany. You’re safe here with us. Then what happened? Is that where you met my sister, Dakota?”
Briggs’ family turned their heads toward us. I gave them a small wave with my fingers. “Hi. I’m Cheyenne, a friend of Briggs. This is Torchy, Khaldon, Harris, and Tiffany.”
The woman nodded at me and returned her attention to Briggs. The man’s eyes were locked onto Khaldon’s.
Okay, not much for conversation, are they?
The older man broke the stare-down with Khaldon and abruptly turned back to attend to his son.
Tiffany took another sip from the water cup, and she laughed out loud as though she remembered a funny joke. “You should have seen it. We started taking bets as to how many of those freaks your sister could eat. For a while, they had her in a caged area by herself. Those creepy black-eyed kids kept trying to draw blood from her. But every time anyone got close—she ate them. I think we got up to five before they started getting smart about how to handle her. Can I call my parents now? I really want to go home. Is there any Coca-Cola here?”
I blinked at the way she changed topics, barely able to keep up with her random thoughts. “Yes. Yes, of course. Let’s just get a few more cups of water in you, and some food. Then we’ll call them, okay?” I tried to give her a genuine, kind smile. One that could convey the message that we cared about her and wanted her to get home.
How were we going to prepare this girl for civilized life without the authorities throwing her into a loony hospital? No one would believe her story. Would Khaldon need to wipe her mind like he did with the human absturger teams?
She nodded and handed Harris another sip from the cup.
I sagged into my seat thinking about what the dhampirs had done to my baby sister. What they were doing to countless other women all over the world. At that very moment, I felt impotent to help any of them.
Tiffany continued her story. “After three days of those bastards shoving oranges down my neck, they started taking my blood. Every time I jerked away, they would Taser me into submission. I finally had enough and let them take the blood. I didn’t care anymore. If I cooperated, it wasn’t as painful. They took two pints and then pumped me full of liquids and oranges again.”
Guilt swelled through my guts as I realized how much I loved the orange bloodwines. How would I ever be able to stomach that luscious infusion knowing I could be consuming blood that wasn’t volunteered? Were all the bloodwines illegal? No, they couldn’t be. There had to be legitimate orchards set up for vampires. At least I hoped so.
Tiffany used her hand to stretch out her neck by pulling down on her head in the opposite direction. “Over and over, week after week we had the same routine. It was a dream come true when they started feeding me salted chocolates. Then I realized it was going to be the same thing. They didn’t give me anything else but those damn candies. I never want to look at that stuff again as long as I live. We were being fed food and then they were draining our blood. Nobody understood it, but every week more and more people and creatures were showing up at this place. It was totally surreal. Then, about three weeks ago, they marched some of us over to the other part of the island. It was me, two other girls who didn’t speak any English, and a guy. Your sister too. Where is she, anyway?”
“Wait? What? There are more of you on that island?” Khaldon sat up on his bed.
She nodded with a puzzled expression, almost as though she were shocked to learn that we didn’t know there were more prisoners there.
This was truly unexpected news.
“Do you mind me asking how long you were there? At that facility, I mean.” Khaldon continued.
Harris squinted with swollen eye lids at Tiffany as she handed him another sip.
“I honestly don’t know how long. It was our summer vacation before starting my first year at university. What day is it, anyway? I’m sure my parents are going nuts looking for me.”
My gaze met Khaldon’s and Torchy’s. Harris gently reached for Tiffany’s hand with his bloated, puffy fingers and turned his body to look at her. His voice slurred from the way the muscles had contorted around his mouth. “Tiffany, I’m sorry to tell you that it was New Year’s last week. This must be hard for you. Can you tell us if there was anyone else in that cave with you?”
She covered her cheeks with her palms. “January?” She fell vacant again, her voice reduced back to a mere whisper. “Yeah, there was another girl, but they were forcing blood from your sister on us.” Tiffany’s voice cracked. “She turned into the same kind of winged thing your sister is. It was like they were cloning her or something. Look, even my hair is turning red like hers too. They took the other girl away. I’m pretty sure I was next. They kept feeding me jars of the blood to drink. It was the only liquid they would give me. At first, I threw it all up. But then it began to be what I needed. I know that sounds really gross, huh?” Her eyes pleaded with me as if I could grant her forgiveness.
This has got to truly be what nightmares are made of.
“Are you going back for the others?” Tiffany’s question jolted me out of my morbid memories. “There’re more people and creatures on the other side of the island. You can’t see the building because it’s covered in vines.”
“Tiffany, are you saying there are a lot more survivors on that same island?” Torchy asked.
She nodded. “Didn’t you know? Those creepy natives have all kinds of weird people in there. Monsters, even. Hell, I never knew there were real things like trolls, elves, and dragons. I know you think I’m crazy, but I’m not lying.”
“You saw people who weren’t human looking?” Harris asked. “Maybe like huge dogs?”
“Uh huh.” Tiffany pulled up the sleeve of her ragged shirt and showed us the festering, infected bite marks on her arm. “The worst part about it was the freakish dog-elk-zombie-creatures. The other prisoners called them the Wendigos or something, and they walked on their hind legs and had hideous long arms that dragged on the ground. There was nothing inside their rib cages; they were possessed like zombies.”
She held out her arm for the doctor and winced as he applied the peroxide. “The creepy-assed black-eyed kids who would order the Wendigos to bite us if we didn’t do what they wanted. I’ll never look at a little girl in piggy tails the same ever again in my life. They’re evil.” Tiffany pulled down her sleeve. “I almost preferred the Taser to the wolves, but those freaky kids were the worst. It was like they were sucking everything out of me and all I could feel was fear. My head always ached after they left me, so I did whatever I could do to avoid them.”
Harris winced at the sight of the Wendigo bite marks.
“Black-eyed kids?” I asked.
“Aye, I’ve heard of such creatures in folktales,” Torchy said. “Claim to roam the countryside, and if you’re unlucky t’see them, they’ll shroud you with doom and fill yer guts with fear.”
Dr. Rattanakosin looked over the tops of his glasses at Tiffany and pulled out the necessary tools for stitching her up.
Tiffany continued, “It’s true, I never felt well after those creepy little kids were around me. But I could’ve sworn I saw something that looked like a Bigfoot once, but it had huge fangs. Scary as hell, but they had it in chains. Then a couple weeks ago, they moved us over to those disgusting caves.”
My eyes darted at Khaldon and Torchy. Harris met our sentiment. It seemed as though we all had the exact same thought. How in the hell were we going to rescue those people without getting
ourselves captured, killed, or eaten in the process? We had to save them. But the bigger question was: Why were they there in the first place?
“Tiffany, can you tell us about how many people were there? Ten, fifty, a hundred?” Khaldon asked.
“I dunno.” She shrugged. “Twenty or thirty, maybe. They brought new people or things in all hours of the day, but when they left, you never saw them come back again.” Tiffany’s voice trailed off and quieted as she took another drink of water through a straw while staring at the floor.
Harris put his arm around Tiffany as her body shook. I noticed a quiet tear drip onto the lid of her cup. I winced at the reality of what she had revealed to us.
“What are we going to do? We can’t just leave them there,” I said. “There’s a crazy weird, experimental blood farm turning other creatures into more blood demons like my sister?”
I was met with no words. Only blank expressions from everyone in the room, including the doctors, nurses, and even Briggs’ family. Possibly, it seemed they were considering the same questions as well.
Briggs tried to roll over and gasped out in pain. My attention turned toward his bed. I watched as his sister held his hand and it looked as though they were mind-messaging one another. Maybe he was too weak to speak out loud.
I noticed Khaldon and the older man were staring at each other again.
What the hell is going on?
Chapter Seven
Phuket Hospital - Thailand
The La Rivière Family
Kalina La Rivière searched the room for the energy presence of her brother among a group of strangers. She slowly walked past each bed searching for the face of her younger brother. She stopped at the foot of a man she did not recognize, but his scent was familiar. Warm, spiced tobacco with a hint of vanilla. His signature blend. Was her brother wearing the mask of another man?
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