Page 4 of Taken By the Vampires
“Like us.”
“Stop being sarcastic, Xander. A curse can’t last for eternity. Even Ginevra wasn’t that powerful.”
“Oh, she was powerful, all right. And pissed as hell when you killed her husband. That brings a certain extra element to any curse, don’t you think?”
Killed? Murderers?
Shock shot though me. I opened my eyes and whimpered as a glare struck like lightening in my brain. I tried to move, but my limbs weren’t responding as they should. My head felt cracked open with ice pouring in from the open elements right into my exposed brain. My body ran sweltering and freezing at the same time. I shivered, helpless as chills racked my body.
“Hey, keep still. You’ll open those stitches I put in.”
A hand on my shoulders kept me down. I opened my eyes to see three men bearing down on me. I struggled even more, panic rising like floodwaters. “Keep away!”
“She speaks! Finally!”
“Let her go, you’re scaring her!”
“If I let her go, she’ll drop like a ton of bricks on the floor and hurt herself. She’s sick. We could do anything to her and she couldn’t do a thing about it.”
“We already have.”
A fresh flurry of chills racked my body at that comment, building on the fever that ran through my veins. Jumbled thoughts, disjointed and sharp, scraped the inside of my skull. I looked about but could only make out blurred walls, a curtained window and shadowed figures.
“Where..? Who..?” My mouth was sandpaper—dry and rough.
“You’re safe. Drink.” A hand supported my head and a cup was placed at my lips. I was parched. I sucked in a mouthful of water, gagging in my haste. Fire burned my veins and I was desperate for anything to cool me down.
“Hey, take it slow. You’ll be sick if you have too much at once.”
“More.” I managed to speak.
A hand on my forehead. “She’s burning up.”
“What did you do to her, Davon?” That voice was demanding. Cold.
“I’ve tried everything I can think of. The fever, it should have broken by now.”
I tried to focus on the source of the voice, but it was too difficult. I closed my eyes, taking refuge in the comforting darkness.
I had to get back to the town. Mom would be worried about me. Hide my Grimoire. Gary. The townspeople. Wait, they were talking about it. My fingers clawed thick arms. My heart lurched and then skittered with jagged beats. My breath came short. Too short. “Home.”
Fingers brushed hair off my face. “Shhh. There’s a good girl.”
Why weren’t they listening to me? Had I even spoken aloud? I tried to open my eyes, but it took so much effort. I was too tired. Sleep. I needed sleep.
“Do you think we should try..?”
“You know what happened last time.”
“There’s a world of difference. Literally.”
The harsh voice, filled with bitterness, ate beneath my skin. Another voice had spoken like that to me. Gary. Blackmail. My skin crawled. I needed to get out of here. I needed… Needed…
“Hey, calm down.”
Hand on my shoulder pressing me down. No. I wanted to go. Go now. I thrashed but it didn’t do any good. The hands pressed harder, taking me down…down…down…
*
