Page 3 of King of Moon and Claws

Finally, her pupils shrank and she was able to meet his gaze. A tall vampire with black hair down to his shoulders stood in front of her. His eyes were dark, cruel, and filled with a rancor that made her shudder despite herself.

“What do you want?” she repeated, sounding braver than she felt.

He spoke with a soft, greasy voice that was better suited to a venomous snake than a person, even a vampire. “My name is Vasilis Caleah.” He widened his arms and took a bow. Elora knew right then that absolutely no good could come of this interaction.

“What do you want with me, Vasilis?”

“I am the vampire lord here. No harm will befall you if you simply agree to work with me.”

She glanced at the door behind him, wondering if she’d be fast enough to make it around him, slam the door shut, and lock him in. His gaze narrowed, and he shook his head.

“I wouldn’t,” he murmured.

She dismissed the idea angrily, knowing it was futile. She knew this man was far more dangerous than he let on.

“Work with you how? What do you need? Clothes mended?”

His laughter was ear-piercing, and she had to forcibly deny the urge to cover her ears. “No, my dear girl. It’s not your sewing skills I’m interested in. It’s your witch abilities.”

Nothing, absolutely nothing he could have said would have stunned her into silence more than that statement. “My… my witch abilities?” She managed a small smile, thinking perhaps this entire thing was a giant misunderstanding. “I’m sorry, but you have to have me confused with someone else. My abilities are mundane. Unless you have a pet you wish to communicate with, there’s not much I can do for you.”

The amused look on his face vanished instantly, replaced with a furious scowl. “Do not play dumb with me,” he snapped. “Of course, I don’t want you to communicate with a pet.”

The smile she sported faded and was once again replaced by a look of confusion and fear. “Then I don’t understand. I don’t know what you want from me. I’m not sure what you think my powers can do. I can talk to animals. That’s it.”

Vasilis took a step closer to her. Lifting a hand, he raked a finger down her cheek, and she shivered involuntarily at his touch.

“Then I guess we’ll just have to work to develop those powers. Won’t we, Elora? Because that’s what you’re meant to do. To use your abilities not only to talk to animals but to control them.”

She jerked her face away from his touch. “Why would I want to control animals?”

He lowered his hand but did nothing to put distance between them. “Because it’s not just animals you can control. With your abilities, you’d be able to control shifters as well.”

Unsure of what he was after but knowing it couldn’t possibly be good, she shook her head. Her heartbeat picked up, pounding furiously in her chest once more.

“Shifters? This is insane. I can’t control shifters,” she managed to spit out. “I can’t control anything. And even if I could, why the hell would I want to do that?”

Her words angered him beyond reason and that alone caused fear to surge. Her breathing came out in short, shallow gasps. If she was trying to put on a brave front, she was failing miserably.

Vasilis clasped his hands behind his back and walked around the room. When he came to the opposite wall, he gingerly touched iron shackles bolted to the ceiling. In the darkness, Elora failed to notice them, but their presence terrified her beyond anything else.

He turned to her and grinned. “You can control shifters. If you think about what a shifter is, they’re a hybrid. A human-animal. Therefore, my little witch, you can control shifters.”

With her eyes locked on the iron shackles, Elora found a swell of strength she didn’t know she possessed. She shook her head. “Even if that’s true, why would I want to control the shifters?”

Vasilis turned to her now, his patience gone. His fangs slid through his gums, and he looked every bit the monster he was. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him, menacing and lethal.

“It doesn’t matter if you want to or not. You’re going to.” He stalked toward her, grabbed her by the arm, and hauled her to the iron shackles. “You see, Elora. I have ways of getting what I want.”

She tried to fight him, tried to free herself. With every ounce of strength she possessed, she tried to pull free, but his grip was tight and unyielding. Before she even knew what happened, she was shackled to the wall, her arms above her head and her toes barely scraping the dirt floor.

“You’re going to help me,” he snarled. “Whether you do so willingly or because you can’t take this anymore.”

His long index fingernail raked down her side, drawing a deep gash that caused her to scream in pain. “I can keep this going for years. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than the sound of your pain.” He lifted his hand to his lips and licked the blood from his finger. “Trust me, I will take great pleasure in breaking you.”

Elora tugged on the shackles and shook her head, swallowing repeatedly to keep the bile from rising in her throat. “I will never help you,” she managed.

Vasilis shrugged and drew another gash, this one along her arm. Blood dripped in a steady stream, and he watched the trail of red with a gleam in his eye. The smile that played on his face was one of actual pleasure. He enjoyed this.

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