“Probably,” he said.
It was a strangely surreal experience, being kidnapped by Reykon. It all seemed to go so smoothly, like a regular vacation. He’d thought of everything. He’d prepared everything. There was a plan in motion with a level of precision that astounded her. Even the coffee – here she was, getting ready, sipping Jo, and brushing her teeth in a five-star hotel side-by-side the man that abducted her. And after? He’d thrown her a protein bar for breakfast. Because Reykon could kidnap thousands of people, and probably kill puppies, but starving someone would be a cruelty beyond belief. When she’d imagined the horrors of human trafficking or being snatched off the street by a serial killer, this strange mundanity was hardly the picture she’d come up with.
When it was 6:30 – on the dot - he’d put the taser bracelet back on, which seemed customary for any of their transitions, and replaced it with zip ties once they’d gotten in car. He was beginning to seem like a bit of a robot, and definitely a control freak.
They’d gone about fifty miles without a word. She adjusted her arms, and her legs, but no matter where she put them, the position was more uncomfortable than yesterday, her joints still stiff.
“Are these really necessary?” she asked with a frustrated huff. “You’ve more than proven your point about the futility of escape. And I’m not going to try to overthrow you and crash the car while I’m inside it.”
He smiled. It seemed to genuinely amuse him. “Not that you could overtake me even if you had free hands, but those are more for you than me.”
“How the hell do you figure?”
“I’ve had a surprising amount of jumpers,” he replied. “And asphalt at high speeds turns you into ground beef.”
“God,” she muttered, turning away with a disgusted expression. She’d like to think that she’d never risk her life like that, but she knew with certainty that if she was free and they’d slowed to a reasonable speed, she’d be out of the car faster than he could blink. Especially if they got closer to Louisiana, whatever was waiting for her there.
She turned to him. “You said that we’d talk about it today.”
He nodded slowly. “I did, didn’t I?”
“What’s in Louisiana?”
“This information needs a lot of prefacing.”
“You’re avoiding it,” she accused.
“No, I’m trying to figure out how to relay the situation without sending you into denial.”
“Denial?”
He shrugged. “You asked for it. In Louisiana there is a man who found out about your adoption and wants you for himself.”
“Wants me?” she pressed, knowing that he was leaving out the lions’ share. That only served to bolster her imagination of how horrible the truth was.
“Yes, wants to have you as a… slave,” he said, stating the last word gently.
“Like a sex slave?” she asked, her throat tightening.
“Um, sort of,” he conceded.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Robin growled.
He glanced over to her, studying her face for a moment. A small smile formed. “You and your sister – you’re more alike than I first saw.”
“That’s a distraction,” she said sharply. “You’re leaving a lot out. I want to know about this man, meaning exactly what it is that’s so horrible you’re omitting. Then, we talk about my so-called sister.”
“It’s kind of early to kill the mood, but we’ll do things your way, I guess,” he grumbled. After a sigh, he continued. “The man that sent me is named Magnus Demonte. He’s a vampire, and he wants you to be his slave, which basically means you have to do whatever he wants you to do, whenever he wants you to do it, which will mainly involve drinking your blood.”
She stared at him, angry eyes blazing. “Fine. Don’t tell me,” she snapped, turning away from him.
“I told you.”
“Seriously? You can’t even have the decency to treat this situation with a little tact?”
“I’m telling you the truth. Vampires exist. I told you it wouldn’t go over well, which is why I didn’t want to have this conversation so early. It always happens like this, there’s denial, and anger, and then there’s accusation… even if you don’t believe me, you’ll see soon enough.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Vampires is the best you can come up with? No robots, or aliens?”
He sighed and turned the radio up.
Robin let it sit for a few minutes, the anger building. It didn’t help her temper that she was exhausted. Finally, when she felt the irritation mount, she spoke loudly, over the music.
“So where does one find these vampires?”
He turned the music down. “Are we still on this?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Lots of places,” he said. “Louisiana for one.”
“They’re just walking around the French quarter?” she mocked.
He shot her a look. “They live in compounds. House Demonte is about thirty miles north of Lafayette, set on a large rural property. They like their privacy.”
“Of course, as one does when they’re sucking blood,” she said with fake rationalization.
“Believe me or not, but I’ve no reason to lie to you.”
“You could be messing with me,” she pointed out.
“Why would I make you think we were headed for vampires when you were really headed for a greasy-haired, pot-bellied pervert?”
She glared at him, calculating his expression, his tone. Not that she was an expert, but from what she could tell, his words were genuine. She tested what lengths he’d go to with the story.
“Garlic?”
“No,” he said with a smile.
“Holy water?”
“No. And no silver, unless it’s been charmed by a witch, and-”
“A witch?” she repeated with obvious venom.
“God, can we not do this?” Reykon asked. “We’re talking about vampires, are witches really the leap for you?”
She sat back, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Coffins?”
“Yes, actually.”
“They sleep in them?” she asked.
“Some of them do, and only sometimes. It’s mostly ceremonial. But sometimes for protection – they’re not coffins like you would think. More fortified crypts than anything.”
“And you’re, what, one of these vampires?”
“No,” he said.
“So you just do what they ask? Are you
