Page 75 of Fire in My Blood
A hand closes around my upper arm and yanks me forward. I automatically take a step to keep from falling on my face, but my foot lands on the hem of my dress, and I stumble.
“Stay on your feet,” he growls as he grabs me roughly around the waist to stop me from falling.
Fury erupts inside me before I can stop it, and I hiss, “I’d like to see you walk around in a dress like this without stumbling, asshole.”
His eyes glow red, and his grip on my waist tightens painfully. “Watch…”
Whatever he was going to say next dies in his throat as the oil lamp on the wall five feet behind us flares before it cracks and dies, leaving us in semidarkness.
We both snap our heads around. A dark patch of what I assume is oil is spreading down the wall.
“Let’s go. They’re waiting for us.” He tugs me along down the corridor, but at a pace I can handle while wearing a dress like this.
He takes me to the end of the corridor where there’s a big set of double doors. They look to be made of thick steel, and there’s no visible door handle or any other mechanism for opening it.
Gerard knocks hard before pulling me back a couple of yards.
A few seconds later, the doors swing toward us, revealing a large circular room. There are torches on the walls and a big roaring fireplace to my left, but the light seems to be swallowed by the rock walls leaving the room dark and gloomy.
Gerard starts walking, and I follow him into the room. Tipping my head a little forward in respect as instructed, I let my eyes dart around to map out my surroundings.
I’m careful not to look into anyone’s eyes, and I don’t let my gaze linger on any of the six male vampires waiting for us in the room. All of them are dressed in black except the one standing a little in front of the others, signifying him as the leader.
The master is dressed in a long red robe with a hood covering his head. The hood is pulled so far forward that I can’t make out his face. But I’m careful not to stare at him, keeping my head down and my eyes on the floor as we approach him. This is the man who’s going to lead the ceremony and, I assume, tell me what to do and when.
We stop a few feet in front of him, and I suddenly find myself struggling to breathe. Evil permeates the air around me, and it’s coming from the vampire in front of me. Dizziness and nausea make my knees weak, and I have to lean into Gerard to stay on my feet.
“I think you should take a step back. Your bride is heavily affected by my presence.” The master’s voice is like old wood creaking, yet he still manages to sound both evil and amused.
“Of course, Master.” Gerard backs up a few steps, and I can finally pull in a lungful of air that doesn’t feel toxic. Breathing freely, I soon start feeling better.
“You have come before me to take this woman as your personal slave and quencher of your carnal desire. What say you, Gerard?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Good, then hear this.” The master starts giving what might have been a sermon, if not for the encouragement to hurt and exploit others, particularly humans that apparently only exist for the pleasure of vampires.
This old asshole needs to die. If only there was a way I could alert Lucas and Markus to where I am. From what they have told me they’re like the supernatural equivalent of the FBI, except I don’t think they take prisoners.
∞∞∞
Lucas
I keep my connection to Erica open while we drive east. It’s draining my energy levels faster than I would have liked, but it’s the only way to find her. “We’re getting closer. Maybe about a mile or so.”
Markus nods. “Good.”
“Is she still okay?” Lyn’s face is tight with concern.
I nod. “It felt like she was suffocating a few minutes ago, but it didn’t last long.” And even though it had my pulse pounding in my ears, I knew a mere lack of air wouldn’t kill her. She’s immortal like me now, and it will take a lot more than that for her to die.Thank God.
After removing my cell phone from my pocket, I bring up a map with satellite pictures of the area. The houses around here are large and hidden behind trees on sizable properties. But it’s impossible to know which one of them has an underground development.
I tense when my connection with Erica suddenly wavers and starts to fade. “We need to stop. Right here!” My gaze finds Markus. “I think we have just passed her.”
Markus tells the driver to stop, and the limo pulls to the side of the road. I jump out of the vehicle and turn in place to try to decide in which direction to go. Erica is not far, but she’s below ground.
I turn to Lyn and Markus, who have exited the vehicle. “The entrance has to be somewhere on one of these properties, but I can’t tell which one.”