Page 13 of Club Blood

I looked at Cecelia and flashed a wicked grin. “There will be blood spilled, those fighting for his power. War will be brewing, and I am sorry that you are now involved, little flower. I would be worried if you had fallen into the hands of another coven. As it is, you are very lucky that it was me. I am cruel. I am malicious. I am a nightmare. For you, it will be a blessing. You are safe because I will win the war.”

9

CECELIA

Mercy had left me,scared and alone, as she rushed off with Narcissa. I was to make myself at home apparently because I was no longer allowed to leave. It didn’t matter how much her pretty lips tried to make it sound better than it was—I was being kidnapped and I had no way of leaving unless I wanted to end up drained.

I shivered and wrapped the woolen cardigan tighter around myself. I had to admit, the clothes that Mercy had left for me were absolutely divine. I tried not to think about where the clothes had come from— we were most certainly not the same size—and instead took comfort in the fact that I was warm and, for the most part, safe.

Ha. Safe.

Was I really safe? It was doubtful. I was currently residing in the self proclaimed Queen of Sin City’s own home, where fuckingvampiresroamed freely. And if I wanted to survive, I would have to be in my room by nine o’clock. I mean, seriously, a curfew? I was playing a high stakes game of cat and mouse while being treated like a goddamn rebellious teenager.

I was a prisoner, bound to this hellish place. Laura would be worrying herself sick looking for me; my boss would be writing up my termination letter for not turning up for my shifts. My life was being royally fucked up, and all because I went out to celebrate my birthday.

The thing about being in someone else’s home, especially one of the Known’s, was feeling out of place. Fear kept me rooted to my huddle of blankets on top of the plush bed and I couldn’t hear a single sound from the rest of the house. I didn’t doubt for a minute that there were monsters lurking in the shadows, guarding me, so it made it even eerier that I could hear my own heartbeat thudding.

Unease prickled my skin and I checked the lock on the door for the third time. Mercy said I shouldn’t unlock it for anyone but her, as though she were the one person I could trust. I couldn’t trust anyone but myself, but even I had little faith in my capabilities as a human.

The silence was freaking me out so I grabbed the television remote and switched on the huge plasma attached to the wall. The thought of watching a movie with all the fake pretenses and happiness made my stomach churn, so I switched to the crime channel. There was an irony to be found somewhere in the fascination I found in crime shows, understanding the mind of serial killers, as I was being held by one of the scariest types of killers to ever exist. It was there somewhere, but I didn’t quite have the energy to call myself out like that.

I huddled further under my blankets, and closed my eyes, listening to the voices drone. If I was going to get anything out of this whole ordeal, let it be the best sleep of my life in the softest, most luxurious bed I had ever seen. And boy, did I need the sleep.

Sweat coated every part of my body as I tossed around on the bed, wrestling with the last grips of slumber. The heat from the cardigan, duvet and two blankets I had fallen asleep with proved too much for me to handle. I kicked at the layers and rolled off the edge of the bed, my knees hitting the floor with a thump.

The distinct voices of crime show hosts buzzed from the TV I had left on, though I didn’t know how long ago that had been. My stomach grumbled, a horrible gurgling sound that occasionally happened when I found myself too preoccupied to eat. Kidnapping was one of those times apparently.

I shut off the TV and made my way to the door, unlocking it as I opened it a crack to listen for any movements. A momentary lapse in judgment—could hunger do that?—made me forget that the Known were particularly silent as I made my way into the kitchen area.

As with the rest of Mercy’s home, everything was clean and organized. Mugs and drinking glasses were arranged by color and size in the cupboards and varieties of coffee filled an entire shelf. I ignored the growl of my stomach as I searched the rest of the kitchen, looking for some scraps of food. I couldn’t find anything.

The Known survived on blood, I knew that—everybody knew that. But did they really not need any other sustenance to survive? A shiver ran down my spine.

The fridge was no help, except to turn my hunger to a slight queasiness at the sight of glass bottles of blood lining the entirety of it. I closed the door over as quietly as possible and contemplated my last, and most dangerous, option.

I tiptoed as silently as possible across to Mercy’s bedroom. Narcissa hadn’t yet given me the key to the bedroom, though I wasn’t convinced I would need a key to my captor’s room, so I rapped my knuckles on the door.

Voices sounded from the other side of the door but I couldn’t make out what was being said. Was itcome in? My skin was pale as I twisted the handle of the door, opening it just enough to step inside.

“Merc—” I stopped dead in my tracks, my eyes widening more than I thought possible at the sight before me.

Laying on top of silk bed sheets, Mercy was a terrifying vision. She was completely naked, perched up by a mountain of pillows like a true Queen, as someone buried their face between her thighs. Her nipples were peaked and her nails dug into her duvet, scrunching it in an iron grip as she moaned, her tongue running over the canines elongated in her mouth.

I gasped, which drew her attention and made my heart beat faster in my chest. Her eyes flew open and she hissed at me, ripping the woman by the hair from between her legs. Something dark twisted inside me as I realized the body was that of Narcissa, who wanted nothing more than to sink her fangs into me. As though sensing my thoughts, the beautiful monster offered a truly wicked grin.

My feet carried me back to my bedroom without me being entirely aware of it, and I struggled to lock the door behind me. Why was I shaking? There was nothing about what I had just seen that should have made me scared, but yet my body trembled. It had to be fear.

It had to be.

“Little flower, let me in.” Mercy’s voice commanded me from the other side of my bedroom door but I couldn’t find it in myself to obey.

“I’m sorry for interrupting you both. I didn’t mean to walk in on you and Narcissa doing… You can go back to your evening.”

My voice trembled and I hoped that Mercy couldn’t hear the confusion in my voice. Thefear.

I heard her sigh before she slid a key into the lock and opened the door, leaning against the doorframe. She was still naked and it was hard for me to keep my eyes averted. She was divine, from what I had seen before, and it felt wrong for me to appreciate that given the fact that she was, you know, keeping me locked up and all that other stuff.

My internal eye roll at myself wasn’t enough to keep me from running my gaze over her figure once—just quickly—before meeting her stare. She didn’t look angry—was that a smile tugging at her lips?—but I couldn’t be sure.

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