Page 53 of Sergi
Once she’d replaced the water, she moved toward him, her steps tentative, and her steady gaze never left his body. He flinched when she touched the gash where Gheata had sliced him. It had been one of Gheata’s techniques to anger Sergi, or more accurately, to encourage the beast to come out.
Sergi could have kept the beast at bay, but Gheata had to believe him weak. And while it had been the right move, thebeast had been more powerful than Sergi expected. When the physical change began, he wasn’t sure he could pull the beast back.
He would have eventually won, but the female saved him the energy it would have required. He grimaced when she touched a bruise along his ribs, but when her fingers moved over his tattoos, his skin tingled. Her fingers were warm, soft, and light as a dove’s feather and triggered shivers along his skin.
“You need more blood.” She turned away and rushed to the doorway. Satisfied they were alone, she walked to a corner and pulled up her shift, revealing long, lean legs. There had been muscle there at one time.
“How long have you been here?”
She spun around, a makeshift belt hung from her hand, and her shift settled over her knees. “You can talk.” She took a step closer. “And you’re eyes are clear.”
“The beast has settled.” He heaved a heavy breath. “Gheata had to believe his potion was working. It’s a struggle to keep my beast quiet, but the blood and Blood Poppy you gave me seems to be helping. But the hunger will eventually do what the Magic Poppy hasn’t been able to.”
“Let’s see what we can do about that.” She laid the belt on the table and unwrapped it. His eyes widened as he watched her pull out one vial, then another, and another until there were fourteen vials on the table. Then she placed a fifteenth one off to the side. “It’s been a year since I was sent to find the lab.”
“What?”
“How long I’ve been here.”
“A year without shifting?”
She picked up a vial and strode to him. “We’re not allowed to shift, and it comes with severe punishment if we do.” She shrugged. “The cells don’t have cameras, so the guards don’t know what we do at night.” She gave him a quirk of a smile.“I only do it once a week, sometimes less, sometimes more, depending on the need.” She opened the vial. “Now, open up.”
He opened his mouth and closed his eyes as the drops of blood fell on his tongue. She had to stand on tiptoes as he leaned his head back so he wouldn’t lose a drop. It was stale but not too old to have lost critical nutrients. He needed fresh blood, but this would do for now.
All but one of the vials had been emptied, and she wrapped them in her belt and took them to her cart, most likely hiding them in the trash. Would she be able to get more?
When she returned, she picked up the last vial. “A trusted friend gave me this. From what he overheard, this should revitalize you. I was suspicious, but my friend tells me a couple of lab assistants were tempted to try it.” She shrugged and brought it to him. “This is labeled BP-X. I don’t know what the X means, and it wasn’t on the first vial I gave you.” She held up the vial so he could see the label. There was a date behind the name, but it meant little to him since he’d lost track of how long he’d been captive.
“How old?”
“A little over a week. This has obviously been modified, but I don’t know how. And I have no idea what this might do with the Magic Poppy already in your system. This could help you, make you worse, or possibly kill you.” She looked up at him. “This has to be your decision.”
At first glance, her expression was one of doubt. He looked past it to the worry in her eyes. For a split second, he caught a blush of the tell-tale sign of a shifter’s red-eyed glow. Something else bothered her. “Tell me what’s happening.”
Tears instantly erupted, and she blinked rapidly, trying to keep them at bay, but a few slipped past her defenses. Her lips tightened while her eyes darted around the cell. Like a teapot blowing off steam, the words tumbled out—a new experiment,a shifter partially morphed, unable to talk or shift back, his temperament dulled by drugs, the ability to force him into a snarling rage. The shifter probably lost forever to the drugs.
Sergi considered her story. A shifter physically changed, and their behavior controlled by the push of a button. A vampire addicted to Magic Poppy until they could no longer control their beast. He was beginning to see a pattern.
When her tears dried, she gripped his arm. “I can’t let it happen again. I won’t be able to hold back my wolf.”
Without hesitation, he said, “Give me the Blood Poppy.” When she looked doubtful, he gave her part of his plan that was coming together as they spoke. “When the beast battled for control, I felt the metal band give. If you can use one of those instruments to pry the bolts loose, I can do the rest. The question is what to do once I’m free. Were you able to confirm where the command center is?”
“Yes. It’s where I told you, but there’s something else you need to know.” She told him about the hidden back door. “It’s on this level. All you have to do is go through it.”
A back door. That was unexpected, but it shouldn’t have been. The door might not have been used in decades, but Venizi always had an escape route.
“Oh, I almost forgot. The guard said they were short on staff. Something about training, but they’ve been light on guards for the last couple of days.”
“We won’t have a better opportunity. But I need that Blood Poppy.” He nodded toward her hand.
She hesitated, then opened the vial and poured it on his tongue, ensuring not a drop was wasted. “I’ll have to hurry. The guard will come for me if I’m not at the stairs on time.” She found a metal tool with a thin, sharp edge at the tip. He flinched, remembering Gheata’s creative use for it. She wedged it under the bolt that held the band in place. She pried it several timesbefore moving to the next one. With each loosened bolt, he felt a gentle release.
“That’s enough. Do the ones holding my arms.”
“Are you sure?”
When all he did was give her a grim smile, she didn’t hesitate. She was working on the second to last bolt when boots echoed in the hall, growing close.
