you’re a masochist.”
“Not normally.”
“Don’t the Vampires have their own bombs?”
“Not that I know of. We have some weapons but nothing big enough to blow up an entire continent.”
She dropped her face into her hands and sat for several seconds. “Then what do you want me to do?”
“I came with a vial. Mason gave it to me. It contains his blood. They took it. If they experiment on it, they’ll see that it isn’t Vampire or human or anything else. Then they’ll have to believe me.”
* * * *
“I’ll see what I can find out.” She searched his face. His eyes were sunken in, and purple bags painted his lower lids. “Have they fed you at all?”
He shook his head. “I’m okay right now. But in a few days…”
“What’ll happen?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been hungry before, starving even, but not a vampyr. I don’t know what will happen.”
“I’ll see if I can find you something.”
She looked at him for another minute and then stood. “They want me to get information out of you.”
He nodded. “They’ve been doing that for days. I’ve told them everything I can.”
She chewed her lip. This wasn’t right. How could they profess to be so much better than the Vampires if they were treating Vampires worse than the Vampires were treating humans? Her ribcage squeezed.
“I won’t hurt you,” she whispered.
“I’ll understand if you do.”
She blew out a harsh breath. “Why are you like that? Why are you so nice to me? So understanding? You should be snarling and yelling and telling me how horrible we are. Hell, you should be trying to kill me.”
He shrugged. “It’s not who I am. It’s not who most of us are. I can assume I’m not the only one of my kind here. Ask your uncle how many have been killed here, beaten and tortured. And then ask him how many fought back, tried to kill anyone or actually acted like the monsters you think we are. I’m not saying there aren’t those out there that are monsters. I’m simply saying humans aren’t all that much better than Vampires. Trust me. I know firsthand.”
She’d never really thought of William as anything but a vampyr before, but he’d been human for over twenty years. She wondered what he was like back then. A dozen questions popped into her mind.
There was a rap on the door.
“I’ll see if I can find you some food,” she said. “And I’ll try to get a handle on what’s going on here. It wasn’t like this when I left, but then, my uncle wasn’t in charge back then either.”
William nodded and then leaned back against the cement wall. “I’ll be here.”
She turned; the urge to hug and comfort and thank William almost overwhelmed her.
This wasn’t right. It wasn’t who they were. She had to find out what the hell was going on.
* * * *
William waited till Evan left before shifting his weight. The broken ribs hadn’t healed yet, neither had the broken collarbone. He held his breath and shifted to lie down. A moan escaped his throat, and he tried to reach some level of minor comfort on his left side. He hadn’t wanted her to see him in pain.
The car wreck had left him dazed and with the gash to his head, the rest had been done upon his arrival. Dragged, kicked, punched, chained, and left in the cell, William had spent the last two days trying to formulate a plan on how to convince the humans that he needed their help. Now with Evan on the mend and her uncle being the one in charge, hope lit inside him at a decent outcome. He just had to last that long.
His thirst wasn’t killing him, but it was becoming agitating. Like an itch he couldn’t scratch that became more persistent the longer it went on. Only the itch wasn’t in one small part of him. It was in his throat that tightened with each passing hour. His fangs that throbbed. His tongue that clung to his dry cheek like Velcro. His limbs that fell weakly at his side, and his legs that had a slight tremor when he tried to stand.
He
“Not normally.”
“Don’t the Vampires have their own bombs?”
“Not that I know of. We have some weapons but nothing big enough to blow up an entire continent.”
She dropped her face into her hands and sat for several seconds. “Then what do you want me to do?”
“I came with a vial. Mason gave it to me. It contains his blood. They took it. If they experiment on it, they’ll see that it isn’t Vampire or human or anything else. Then they’ll have to believe me.”
* * * *
“I’ll see what I can find out.” She searched his face. His eyes were sunken in, and purple bags painted his lower lids. “Have they fed you at all?”
He shook his head. “I’m okay right now. But in a few days…”
“What’ll happen?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been hungry before, starving even, but not a vampyr. I don’t know what will happen.”
“I’ll see if I can find you something.”
She looked at him for another minute and then stood. “They want me to get information out of you.”
He nodded. “They’ve been doing that for days. I’ve told them everything I can.”
She chewed her lip. This wasn’t right. How could they profess to be so much better than the Vampires if they were treating Vampires worse than the Vampires were treating humans? Her ribcage squeezed.
“I won’t hurt you,” she whispered.
“I’ll understand if you do.”
She blew out a harsh breath. “Why are you like that? Why are you so nice to me? So understanding? You should be snarling and yelling and telling me how horrible we are. Hell, you should be trying to kill me.”
He shrugged. “It’s not who I am. It’s not who most of us are. I can assume I’m not the only one of my kind here. Ask your uncle how many have been killed here, beaten and tortured. And then ask him how many fought back, tried to kill anyone or actually acted like the monsters you think we are. I’m not saying there aren’t those out there that are monsters. I’m simply saying humans aren’t all that much better than Vampires. Trust me. I know firsthand.”
She’d never really thought of William as anything but a vampyr before, but he’d been human for over twenty years. She wondered what he was like back then. A dozen questions popped into her mind.
There was a rap on the door.
“I’ll see if I can find you some food,” she said. “And I’ll try to get a handle on what’s going on here. It wasn’t like this when I left, but then, my uncle wasn’t in charge back then either.”
William nodded and then leaned back against the cement wall. “I’ll be here.”
She turned; the urge to hug and comfort and thank William almost overwhelmed her.
This wasn’t right. It wasn’t who they were. She had to find out what the hell was going on.
* * * *
William waited till Evan left before shifting his weight. The broken ribs hadn’t healed yet, neither had the broken collarbone. He held his breath and shifted to lie down. A moan escaped his throat, and he tried to reach some level of minor comfort on his left side. He hadn’t wanted her to see him in pain.
The car wreck had left him dazed and with the gash to his head, the rest had been done upon his arrival. Dragged, kicked, punched, chained, and left in the cell, William had spent the last two days trying to formulate a plan on how to convince the humans that he needed their help. Now with Evan on the mend and her uncle being the one in charge, hope lit inside him at a decent outcome. He just had to last that long.
His thirst wasn’t killing him, but it was becoming agitating. Like an itch he couldn’t scratch that became more persistent the longer it went on. Only the itch wasn’t in one small part of him. It was in his throat that tightened with each passing hour. His fangs that throbbed. His tongue that clung to his dry cheek like Velcro. His limbs that fell weakly at his side, and his legs that had a slight tremor when he tried to stand.
He
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