by Alisha Basso
Satisfaction oozed out of the mage as he watched me with those dark, frenzied eyes.
“Why do you want his name?” I said, my voice a dry rasp, my throat throbbing from my endless screams.
“If I kill him, I can stop this ridiculous search for me. I have a spell to change my name, but I can’t use it if the person who named me is alive.”
“Why should I help you? You’re going to kill me anyway.”
His eyes went calculating. “Maybe not.”
Even as hope surged in me I knew it was nothing but wishful thinking. He would have no compunction about lying to me. I was at his mercy, but if I could buy some time…maybe I could figure a way out.
He stepped forward and crouched, his velvet blue robe pooling around him. It looked so warm and I was so, so cold.
“I could drop you into a different realm. Just as long as you don’t come back here.”
“How would I even get back here?”
“I have a feeling you’re a resourceful little witch and would figure out a way. Give me his name. You are out of your league, Lily Starbuck. You cannot fight me with your paltry Earth magic, nor can you conjure a portal, or translocate. I made sure of that.”
The promise of survival was so tempting, and I longed to believe him, but I also knew I would find a way back if he did drop me in a different realm. He knew it, too. He knew I had no choice.
Bleak smiled, and I pushed my hair out of my eyes, straightening. He was right to feel confident. I was an Earth witch who had spent all of the three years I could remember using my spells to enhance my food. He was a runic master who had bested three seasoned OS wardens and one foolish, foolish witch.
I wanted to survive. Right now the how of it didn’t matter, as long as giving him a name, any name, got him out of here. I had to cling to the hope that he would do as he said and I could find a way back home. But, would there even be a home if he succeeded?
“I want something in return.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “You’re in no position to bargain, but I like your tough girl act. What is it you’re dying to know?” he said, his voice a hard rasp.
“Why did you kill Olivia?”
He leaned in, his eyes going as cold as the invisible hand of death clasping my throat. It felt like I had one foot in the grave.
“Because someone gave me something I wanted, something I would have done anything to get. It was a dream come true. Now you’re standing in the way of my dream. It wasn’t personal. I was just the weapon.”
I shrank away from him and the vitriol in his voice. He grabbed my shirt front and jerked me close to his face. “The name, Lily. Now.”
I trembled, sick with fear he would again unleash his dark, ugly magic. “Styx,” I said, giving him the name of the undead vamp who had tried to drain me. Perhaps Bleak wouldn’t be a match for an undead. Even runic magic might not be enough to overcome Styx’s coercion. But he would keep the mage busy. And I owed the vamp some payback.
“That fucking bastard,” Bleak said, his brow furrowing and his eyes going liquid black in anger. “I will fucking stake him.”
Now I understood the fear I’d seen flash across the undead’s face. He knew Bleak, and he’d been very, very afraid of him. I wanted more answers, had many more questions, but Bleak threw me viciously away from him, and I slammed the back of my head against the desk.
He gestured and oily black chains clicked around my wrists and ankles, locking me to the cold concrete.
“If you’re lying, I will come back here and rip your heart out of your chest. I’ll keep it alive and enjoy watching you kick, scream, and writhe in agony while I torture you into dust.”
I squeezed my eyes closed. He was going to kill me whether he got the name or not. I could only survive a finite amount of his dark energy. My hands trembled and I shivered all the way down to my soul. I knew the OS was unlikely to find me in time. They had no idea where I was. I had no idea where I was. If only I could get to a window and look out.
But Bleak had no intention of letting me go. I was already in my grave.
Dead witch walking.
Chapter Twenty
As soon as he was gone, I started to pull on the chains, but they scored my wrists raw and I quickly realized it was no use.
“I thought he was never going to leave.”
I stiffened and turned to find Nock sitting cross-legged on the desk.
“Are you well enough to plot our escape, Lily?”
I really loved the little guy already, but I had never been more ecstatic to see him than I was right then. “Things are looking up. How did you get here? Doesn’t he have dampening fields?”
“He sure does, and nothing is getting through them. But we’re not going through them, are we?” he smirked. “We’re going through the earth.”
“How did you find me?”
“I was on the roof the whole time. Do you actually think I would leave you alone with those three?”
I took a relieved breath.
“I slipped into the portal with you. You were too busy freaking out to realize I was holding onto your shirt.”
“I wasn’t freaking out.”
“Oh, you were freaked. All the way out. It’s a good thing I am a nosy, curious little sneak, because I would never have been able to find you…here.”
I nodded. “I’m very thankful you’re a sneaky little bastard.”
“So you won’t complain about my invisibility ever again.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Buzz-killer.”
“Get me out of these chains.”
“I can’t. Nothing can break those except another runic master, and it ain’t me.”
“Then….”
“When he comes back, I’ll distract him. When I do, take my hand and we’ll dirt elevator out of here.”
“What if he doesn’t release me?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll figure something out. There’s one other problem. I’m not sure where we are.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know where we are and I always know where I am. It’s innate, but something is different about this place, and I can’t figure it out. So I have to do some recon. You might need to stall him a bit.”
“He’s going to kill me the minute he gets back.”
He jumped off the desk and walked up to me. Squeezing my face between his slender hands, he looked me in the eyes. “You will never know how much willpower it took not to try to kill the freaking bastard when he was torturing you. Gnomes don’t normally participate in violent acts, but I wanted to…”
I cupped his face and his eyes went moist. “You don’t need to say it, Nock.”
His face was a mask of gnome determination and gremlin orneriness. “I’m not leaving you here, Lily. Now, stop channeling Eeyore and let’s get positive.”
“That’s your pep talk?”
“Yes, and that’s all the mush you’re getting out of me. I want to feel mean and dangerous by the time he gets back.”
And without another word, Nock went invisible.
And I sat in relative silence, watching the computers’ percentage of download go from forty-five to fifty percent. With each tick of color on the status bar my heart beat just a bit faster.
The task of escaping Bleak was monumental. I was bound by chains I couldn’t break, and surrounded by a magic dampening spell which effectively made it impossible to find me, even if someone wanted to.
I had a few defensive spells, but using them against Bleak would be like throwing rubber balls at a tiger. It was laughable. My only hope was to get him to release me so Nock could get me out of here, but that was just as risky. He’d have to expose himself, and when he did, he’d also be a sitting duck.
But Nock was resourceful, and he had invisibility and his gnome magic going for him. I’d only seen him actively use it once, against the Bleak thought-form assassin which had stepped out of the refrigerator’s shiny door.
I sat and worried about my newfound friends and wondered how I was going to get out of this.
Suddenly the air shimmered and stirred as if I was looking at the surface of water. My nerves drawn tight, I waited, bolstered by Nock’s presence.
The air solidified and the same black and white swirl which had appeared on the roof now whirled in front of me. The mage stepped through and, bound behind him, Styx followed.
“Oh, goddess,” I whispered and tried to retreat as terror filled me. I jerked at the chains, not caring about the pain.
Bleak’s face was set in harsh and angry lines. He jerked the chain on Styx’s wrist and the vamp hissed. Then he saw me and his eyes went red, his lips pulled away from his teeth.
“You? You lying bitch!”
I was dead. So, so dead.
“Holy shit!” I said and just kept pulling as the chains bit into my wrists. I knew I couldn’t get away, knew it was fruitless, but the blind panic overtook all reason.
Styx lunged for me, but the mage brought him up short.
“There seems to be a dispute here,” he said, his dark-scary eyes meeting mine. “Styx said he never gave you my name. You asked, but he tried to drain you instead.” He chuckled. “You bested an undead? That’s hard to believe,” he scoffed.
“She had an FDA dust hound with her. He was the one who screwed things up.”
“Nevertheless, you said it was him. So one of you is lying.”
“It’s her,” Styx said.
They both stared at me and I hoped Nock had a plan for this because if not, I would never leave this room.
“It was me, but you asked me for a name I don’t know. But Styx does.”
“What? I don’t know what she’s talking about.”
Bleak grabbed the vamp by his shirt front. “Who is it?”
“I don’t know!”
“You do know. It’s your keeper, Styx.” I said. “The man from the sky. The one you talked to.”
“What?” His breath hissed in, and he turned to look at Bleak. “Fuck. I can’t give you that name, and you really wouldn’t want to mess with him. He made me a promise, and I can’t betray him.”
If only Bleak would release me from these shackles, I could get out of here.
The air writhed around me and the creepy feeling strangled me again, just before Bleak released a ball of dark magic at Styx.
The vamp fell to his knees, his hissing, keening wail rending the air. I curled into a ball, wishing I could cover my ears.
He grabbed the vamp’s hair and dragged his head back. “The name.”
The vamp’s face convulsed, but he stayed mute.
More cursed runic magic and pain and Styx was writhing on the floor.
As the mage gathered for another assault, Styx’s head jerked to the side as if he was listening, then he shouted, “Wait!” He caught his breath. “I’ll whisper it to the witch and she can tell you. That way it’s not me and he can keep his promise to me. But,” he said, licking his lips. “I want her when you’re done.”
Bleak stood there for a moment and to my horror, I could see him consider the bargain. “I’ll consider it.”
My blood froze.
Then, Styx said, “Release her. I don’t like bound prey. I like it when they run.”
My blood went cold at the same time hope blossomed in me. Was it Nock? Could he somehow manipulate a vamp, or was it just my dumb luck Bleak had brought the damn vamp back with him? Hah! What a tough predicament. I was going to have to play this very, very carefully.
Bleak let go of the vamp’s hair and my bones went liquid. He was going to take the vamp’s bargain and I was about to be set free. Would there be enough time? Had Nock figured out how to get us out of here?
“Agreed,” Bleak said and with a sweep of his hand he set the vamp free.
Styx turned to look at me and I cringed away from him. He grinned and came to a standstill a few feet from me. It looked deceptive. It looked as if I had enough room to maneuver, but with the undead vamp’s blinding speed, even ten feet wasn’t enough. A drop of saliva slid off its fang, hissing as it hit the concrete floor.
My eyes darted around the room. Even though I knew Nock was here and he wasn’t going to leave me, fear was like a live, crippling thing inside me. “Please, no,” I cried desperately.
“Release her.”
The chains binding me to the floor disappeared, and I scrabbled sideways, away from the barrier of the desk and into the open where I would have a chance to fight.
“Run, little witch.”
My fear fed him. It also turned him on, but I already knew that.
His eyes got redder. My heart in my throat, I shrieked as Styx lunged. I turned to run but only got two steps before he was on me.
“Witch,” he hissed, gripping my shoulder. “I’ll have what I want. And then you’ll die.”
“Go to hell, Styx,” I snarled, turning and punching him in the face. He laughed and backhanded me. I flew away from him and crashed into a wooden chair which must have been so old the wood was rotted. It broke apart as I rolled and lay still, stunned.
I shook my head to clear it. Then, coming out of my stupor I turned frantically to look for Styx, and saw he hadn’t moved. He was so confident, not in the least concerned that I was so far away from him. I swallowed hard.
He met my eyes. “Are we having fun yet?”
I flipped him off and both men laughed.
“She’s got guts,” Bleak said, “I’ll give her that.”
I turned around and flipped him off, too.
I had nothing left. For three heartbeats I stared. Styx’s lips curved into an eager smile.
I jerked into motion. But even my fastest wasn’t enough, Styx blurred and casually reached out to grab my arm before I could get to my feet. I punched at him to get him to let me go, but it did no good. He easily lifted me up.
Fear rolled through me, mixing with nausea, twisting my stomach.
He bared his fangs. Saliva gathered there and formed into thick drops that oozed from them.
I struggled wiggling to get try to get away from him. Teeth gritted, I went for his eyes.
Styx jerked back. With casual vamp strength, he backhanded me again.
My cry echoed across the high ceiling.
Styx’s eyes flashed an even deeper red.
“I’m going to give you a name. It’s not the right name, because if I give the right one to you, there will be hell to pay. I don’t get what I want. So, little witch. It’s up to you. Do you want to die in slow torment or quickly?”
Lungs heaving, I tried to breathe past the fear so I could speak. The stink of death was on him, musty, dank earth and the distinct smell of decomposition. “Go to hell,” I growled.
This time he pinned me to the cold, hard concrete floor, he squeezed my neck.
“Tell him it was Agent Talon Sunstrike. I hate that bastard. How he survived two vamp bites is still a mystery to me.”
He squeezed harder, and my air was cut off. I couldn’t even draw breath to scream. Styx’s eyes flashed into hunger, his instinctive, predatory drive triggered by my struggles. The red of his eyes expanded.
He released the pressure on my neck. “No,” I sobbed. “I’m not giving him that name.”
Styx closed his eyes, his expression showing a tired irritation. He straddled me and my fear increased tenfold. Oh, goddess.
I jabbed at his face again, but, he caught me easily before I connected. Fangs glinting, he held me still.
My breath was shaking. I stared, waiting, as his tension increased, his muscles tightening as he pinned me down. His gaze was riveted to my neck.
“No!” I shrieked as he gave a lusty groan.
While I panicked, struggling helplessly, Styx grinned to show his fangs. “You’re so afraid,” he whispered affectionately, tilting his head. “After this you’ll beg me for more.”
I felt a calm settle over me, something sweet and wonderful, relaxing my muscles, m
aking me tingle everywhere. My skin pulsed with longing. Vamp pheromones.
I didn’t react as he scored my collarbone with his index finger, breaking the skin, blood welling.
“Ah, that’s it, no more fighting,” he said, his voice now as soft as a lover, brushing all over my body like sensual hands.
His head dipped and he sucked at the blood welling at my throat. His hand settled over my breast and he squeezed, rubbing his thumb over my nipple. Unable to help myself, I groaned, the pressure of his hand settling into the core of me.
His mouth, wet and carnal against my skin, and he growled like an animal, deep in his chest. “Your blood…I’ve never tasted anything like it. I want more. Sweet, so sweet.”
He turned to look at Bleak. “I need to bite her to get her more submissive. Injecting phonemes into her will loosen her tongue.”
“Go ahead. Just don’t drain her until I get the name.”
“I won’t. I want to show her afterward what vamps do behind closed doors.”
“No,” I could barely hear my own voice. Even though he disgusted me, I wanted it.
“As long as she dies, you can do whatever you want to her before then.”
“We have permission to play.” I was not too far gone with the pheromones to lose my self-preservation. He played on all my fears and terrors.
“Tell him, little witch, tell him the name, or I’ll convince him to give you to me and I’ll fuck you and feast on you for an eternity. He’s a sadistic bastard and he wants you to pay.”
“Go to hell,” I said.
He eased back to see my face. “Let’s begin,” he said,
I wiggled. I thrashed. The warm wetness of his tongue was replaced with the cool sharpness of teeth, grazing but not piercing.
“Say it,” he whispered, tilting his head so he could see my eyes.”
Nausea swirled sickly, churning with the sharp, fine edge of fear. I bucked under him. I fought viciously for my life. Praying Nock would do something very soon. He was my only hope.
