Page 72 of Blood Descendants
We have our limits, and I’m pressing up against the boundaries of mine.
Ares holds my eyes, the conviction in his own shining through in the deepest of promises. He’s begging me to hold on, to keep it together just a little longer. When I give the smallest of nods, he turns back to our informants.
“Is there anything else helpful you can give me?” he says. “Anything that can help me find those who have already been sold?”
“There’s another Red party this weekend,” the redhead says as she rushes to her prison bars again. “I heard them talking about it when they brought our dinner.”
Ares nods. “I know about that one. I’ll be there to make sure no one else falls victim to Al.”
“Are you going to let us out of here or what?” the man asks, desperation rising in his tone with every passing second.
“I am,” Ares says, nodding. “But I need you to understand that you are dealing with a very powerful, very hungry man. A man who has incredible resources. Money. Influence. I am not threatening any of you, and I am not blackmailing you. But you need to understand what might happen to you if you get out of here and talk. That you will likely be found, and you will likely be silenced.”
Chills wash over my skin. I always knew Augustus was dangerous. I knew he was sick and twisted for his drive to make so many children. But this? Trafficking and imprisonment? Ares is right. The things Augustus might do to cover his tracks…
“It’s in your best interest to leave here and get out of the city if you can,” Ares continues explaining. “Do not make a scene. Do not say what you know now. Just get out and try to move on.”
“You mean it?” the man asks. “You want us to just leave and not say a word?”
“Have you not opened your eyes since you came here?” the brunette says, her tone cold. “These are not reasonable people we’ve been dealing with. These are people willing to sell you for your blood. Listen to this guy.”
“I won’t say anything,” the redhead says, staring out at us with wide eyes. “I swear. I just want out of here. Please.”
Ares nods. He crosses to her cell, where he fumbles with the lock. When he finds it made of solid steel, nothing to really break to open it, he grips the very bars themselves. They groan and scream in protest as Ares pries them open until there’s an opening just wide enough for the woman to slip out. She givesa terrified but relieved sound as she slips out. She doesn’t wait as she races to the stairs, climbing them two at a time.
Ares moves to the man’s cell, prying the bars open, bending the inch thick rods.
“Thank you,” he says as he squeezes his way out, pausing for a moment to look Ares in the eye. “Thank you.”
Ares just nods, and the man takes off for the stairs.
Finally, Ares walks to the brunette’s cell. He pries the bars apart until there’s an opening just large enough for her to slip through.
“Thank you for all of the information,” Ares says as she steps free. “You might have helped save a lot of lives from being really miserable.”
“You think you can stop this guy?” she asks as she stands in the walkway.
“I know I can,” Ares confirms, his hands rolling into tight fists.
“Good to know not all vampires are pure fucking evil,” she says. And she turns and walks for the stairs.
I feel chilled. Cold to the bone as I look around this terrifying place. Ophelia was here. She was literally in a cell. And she was sold. For her blood.
“Get me out of here,” I say, my words coming out as a hoarse whisper.
Ares hand slips into mine, and he pulls me forward, crossing to the stairs. He leads me up them, and we cross the warehouse after the brunette, watching as she walks out the door. As we make our own exit, I see two figures running down the street toward the lights of civilization, and the last woman walking calmly behind them.
My body feels stiff as Ares directs us back to hisbike. My legs feel like they’re full of sand. My joints need oiling. My shoulders tense toward my ears.
Bars.
Darkness.
Money.
Blood slaves.
Fuck.
