“You’re a Vampire;you’re strong and fast. You need t’kill the guard with his chain.Wrap it around his neck and yank hard. You will decapitatehim.”
What?
“You don’t havemuch choice. If you continue t’be a little bitch, they will justtake you somewhere else, lock you up, and eventually kill you forreal since that’s what the big guy at the front wanted to do tobegin with. It sounds like you should already be dead andburied.”
Did you just call me abitch? You can’t use language like that at your age.
“Realistically, I’mnow twenty-five, and for all y’know, I could cuss like asailor.”
Still. Iglanced down the line at the three Vampires before me. One againstfive—Vampire or not, I didn’t like my chances. Say I do it. SayI manage to decapitate this guy, then what?
“Run, obviously.Run, and if they chase you, it will be easy t’take them one on one,but you need t’run and to not stop until you’re far away fromhere.”
What if I can’tdecapitate him? What if I’m not that strong?
“Then they willeither kill you now or knock you out for the rest of thetrip.”
I’m not liking myodds.
“That’s onlybecause you still think you’re human. You’re not.”
I’m not.
“No, they took yourhumanity away from you. You can’t age. You can’t go out in the sunor eat food. You can’t see your family ever again. You can’t havekids of your own. You will be forever twenty-six. You’re stuck likethis, because they kidnapped you and turned you against your will.You must drink blood t’survive, hurt people t’survive. Why aren’tyou angry about that?”
“I am.”
“Shut up.”
“You don’t seemangry. You’ve been locked up for weeks. You’ve clearly gone madbecause you’re talking t’yourself—”
“I’m talking t’you.”Irritation wound round my spine.
“And I said shut up,”my guard grumbled.
“What, and that’snot insane? I’m a figment of your goddamn imagination, Nathan. I’mnot actually here, talking t’you. You’re alone with a bunch ofVampires. You’re dead. You’re cursed. These bastards have takenyour life from you, your human rights from you, and you’re fuckingscared of hurting them, of decapitating one of them t’get away.Jesus, you are a little bitch. “
My eyes narrowed toslits as I glared at her. “Shut up, Elle.”
A punch hit my back.“Are you deaf?”
I threw a dirty lookto the dickhead behind me.
“Deaf and stupid,like a little bitch. Scared t’fight the creatures that have takeneverything from you. They wouldn’t have taken me without a fight,but then, I’m not useless. No wonder we’re not friends anymore.You’re a fucking pussy, Nathan.”
“I said shut up!”
Something poppedinside me, the irritation bursting through my arms, and before Iknew it, I was in front of the guard with the chain. Only, itwasn’t a glistening length between us, but a thick necklace aroundhis neck. His eyes had already started to bulge, and tendrils ofsmoke were rising from beneath the links of metal.
“Pull!” Ellescreamed.
So I did.
Time seemed to slowdown, or was it already slow? It wasn’t like I could count a secondsince I had no pulse.
The male’s face wentslack as the chain slid through skin, cartridge, and bone, likecheese wire on a block of cheddar. Blood splattered across my face,black, rancid, and thick. His head toppled off his shoulders.
The female behind uslost her grip on the box she was carrying. Files slid, spilling tothe ground, her expression stunned as she watched the male’s bodysinking to the forest undergrowth.
“That file has yourname on it.” Elle’s voice was all I could hear. “Grab it andrun.”
The blood-stainedchains dropped before me, the weight pulling my arms down hard, theheft causing the shackles to rub further into my wrist. Sizzlingpain bit me. Gravity felt as though it was standing on my shoulder.All I wanted to do was fall, but Elle wouldn’t let me.
“Nathan! Grabit!”
One look at Elle’sstartled eyes was all the motivation I need. Even though my legswere about to buckle, I lunged forward. My right knee smacked theground as I reached for the folder Elle was pointing at. Theshackles pressed against my skin, sending blazing pain up the backof my calves.
“Run!”
At that command, Iseemed to have lost control over my entire body. Before I couldeven think, my feet were hitting the forest floor in short, awkwardstrides. My arms stretched out in front of me while I pressed myfolder tight between my palms.
“After him,” Constanceshouted in the near-distance.
Hands still bound, thesilver chain followed, slashing against my upper arms and back.Each hit felt like fire licking across my skin, the agonyshort-lived for as quick as a cut was delivered, I could feeltightness as my flesh knitted back together and wounds weregone.
Footfalls soundedswiftly behind me.
“Run faster.”Elle ran beside me.
“I can’t,” I growledthrough clenched teeth.
A howl split the nightsky, the sound so unexpected, I lost my footing and ended facefirst on the ground.
“Get up, youeejit,” Elle screamed.
I propped myself on myelbows and twisted to see the other male mere feet away, his eyeslost on the treetops, searching.
“Leave him,” I heardJonathan call. “Let the Pack have him. As far as anyone isconcerned, they killed him when they came for the girl.”
The guard sneered atme and quickly ran back to the group.
I watched as the fourremaining Vampires disappeared into the wilderness.
“They’re letting mego. Why?” I looked toward Elle. Her focus moved across the treesthat surrounded us, staring into the darkness.
“So something elsecan finish you off.”
I rolled back onto mystomach and crawled toward the nearest tree. “Would it hurt yout’say something like dumb luck?”
Another howl split thesky, followed by dead silence. Nothing in the forest moved, noteven the trees.
“Wolves.”
Twisting, my back hitthe rough bark. “Wolves in London. Don’t be crazy.”
That was presuming wewere still anywhere near London, near where Freddie and I had beenjumped. Poor Freddie ... What had they done with hisbody?
“The female Vampdidn’t seem t’think it was a crazy idea.”
Constance had gone outof her way and said that Wolves were to blame for what had happenedat the facility. But how would Wolves even get in? Surely, theywould be helpless against Vampires?
“You need t’get outof here, Than.”
“And go where exactly?My mum’s probably worried sick about me since I haven’t called forweeks. I don’t know how long I’ve bloody been like this. Whatt’hell am I supposed
