Being Ruby

by Brandi Bell

  “Fuck that hurt!” I screamed.

  “Too bad, you’ll live. It’s time for your rehabilitation,” he replied.

  “Fuck off.”

  “Now when you answer correctly, things will be ok for you, but if you answer wrong, you will be punished,” he explained looking crazier.

  “Fuck off.”

  “Wrong answer,” he replied, then threw a bucket of cold water on me.

  “Go fuck yourself you crazy motherfucker!” I screamed at him.

  “Now, Ruby, you don’t want to keep answering wrong,” he said.

  “You haven’t even asked a fucking question moron,” I spit at him.

  “Fine, who do you love?” he asked.

  “Not you,” I answered.

  “Wrong again,” he said then threw another bucket of cold water at me.

  “Fuck you! You can throw water at me all day and it won’t change a thing. I could never love a pitiful excuse of a human like you,” I said with a sneer.

  His eyes went dark with anger, he opened the cage door and slapped tape across my mouth. After he closed the cage he pointed a fan at me, turned it on high, then stormed up the stairs and slammed the door. I lay on the cold, wet ground, shivering until the sun came up.

  I had a horrible empty feeling inside when I woke up. I could also feel Jake staring at me.

  “Enjoying the freakshow asshole?” I asked.

  “Good, you didn’t die,” he said.

  “What the fuck do you mean I didn’t die?” I questioned him.

  “Well, Jade felt cut off from you and she wasn’t sure if you guys would die when the switch was supposed to happen because of the collar,” he explained.

  “Then why didn’t you take the stupid collar off dumbass?”

  “Um, the witch who put it on is the only one who can take it off.”

  “Goddess, you are a fucking idiot.”

  “You can just stay down here in silence until I figure out how to fix you,” he growled, then stomped up the stairs.

  I sat down, grateful that he hadn’t bothered taping me up. I let my mind wander, and wondered if anyone was looking for me. I tried to get out of the cage, but there was no way to open it from the inside. My strength was even more muted, I felt like half of me was missing.

  A few hours later, Jake came back down the stairs. He shot me with a dart again.

  “The fuck is wrong with you?” I asked, when I woke up arms and legs taped together.

  “You need to learn better manners, and I don’t want you getting any ideas of escaping,” he replied, then went back up the stairs again.

  I had hoped I could get out of the cage, since he was worried about taping me up. I was unable to get to my feet, so I scooted next to the bars of the cage and tried to find a weakness. I was still searching when Jake came back down the stairs and sat and stared at me.

  I ignored him, and kept studying the cage until the sun came up.

  Chapter 12

  My eyes focused on a gorgeous man that held me in the air with one arm, and he chanted some strange language.

  “Well, lad, it looks like you were correct. There are two of them in one body,” the man said with a Scottish lilt.

  “The fuck you doing to me?” I asked, while I struggled to get away.

  “This one has some fire in her,” he laughed, dropped me on the ground, and shut the cage door.

  “Again, what the fuck is going on,” I asked with my jaw clenched.

  “Lass, you’ll never find a nice boy with that kind of mouth,” he replied.

  “Blah blah blah, I’m a dirty whore. I don’t give a fuck about finding a nice boy,” I said.

  He started chanting again and I couldn’t move.

  “Go bind her arms and legs now, lad,” he instructed.

  Jake did as he was told, then left me closed in the cage.

  “Why did you do that?” I asked.

  “Ah, she can talk without saying fuck,” the Scot said.

  “I like to say fuck, thank you very much,” I replied.

  “Now tell me, how did a creature like you end up in a place like this?” he asked.

  “Well, it looks like dumbass over there knocked me out and locked me up, you idiot,” I replied.

  The Scot began to chant and I faded into the darkness.

  Ugh, I was tired of being on a concrete floor. I wasn’t tied up, and I was alone in the basement. I stood up and walked around the cage, tired of being cooped up, and very hungry. I was trying to remember when I last ate, it had been a few days. There was no telling what would happen if I didn’t eat either, since I wasn’t a typical vampire.

  I sat alone in the basement for a few hours without hearing a noise. I gave up and laid down on the concrete floor and daydreamed.

  In my head, I was back on tour, performing in front of people, going to the clubs with my guys. The thought of my guys made me want to scream. I missed them more than I thought possible.

  Finally, dawn came and I left.

  Chapter 13

  I woke up sitting on a couch with a book in my hands. I looked around confused, it appeared I was in a library. I tossed the book down, stood up, and walked the room. There were bookshelves lining each wall, all full of books. There were two doors situated off of the wall in front of me, a third door was on the wall to the left of that,and a staircase leading up off of a third wall.

  I opened the first door I came to and there were boxes on shelves. I closed the door and opened the next. It was a small bathroom, I closed the door and moved on. The third door was a nice home gym. I went in and walked around the equipment.

  Whoever owned this house obviously had money, I thought to myself.

  I left the gym and went up the stairs. It led me out in a huge foyer. There were stairs that went up further. To the left of the foyer was a sitting room, all in shades of creams and white. The urge to get it muddy was there.

  I walked across the foyer and opened the two huge sliding doors, inside was a fucking ballroom. I had no interest in going further, I turned away from the door and walked to the back of the house. I ended up in a kitchen. It was a nice kitchen, but since I didn’t eat food I couldn’t give a damn about it.

  There was a small door to the left of the kitchen, I opened it and it appeared to be an office. I went in and tore it apart looking for a phone, or something useful. I heard someone clear their throat, I snarled at them. It was the fucking Scot from crazy Jake’s basement.

  “You won’t find anything useful there, but feel free to keep digging around. This is your home now, so you can explore anywhere you would like,” he said.

  “I won’t be here long enough to explore,” I spit at him.

  “Ah forgive me, I failed to introduce myself. My name is Seamus, this is my house. You can roam anywhere up to the property line. There is a spell there that will contain you. I don’t recommend pushing it, it will cause you pain,” Seamus explained.

  I didn’t bother replying, instead I took off running out the front door. At the end of the driveway, just when I thought I would be free, I crashed into an invisible brick wall. I fell back on my ass while what felt like electricity shot through my body. I had never felt anything so excruciating.

  I laid there in pain for a few minutes, then it started to subside. I stood up and Seamus was there watching me.

  “I tried to warn you, lass,” he said.

  I snarled and showed my fangs and ran at him. He raised one finger and touched my forehead and I blacked out.

  When I came to, I was hung from the ceiling by chains around my arms.

  “Motherfucker, let me go!” I screamed.

  “Not until you learn some manners, lass,” he replied.

  “Fuck you and your manners,” I hissed.

  He grabbed a whip, and spun me around so I was facing the wall. He cracked the whip at my back, without touching me. I flinched then cursed under my breath for showing him a weakness.

  “Ah so the tiger does have fear,” he
said, amused.

  “Fuck you, asshole,” I spat at him.

  He cracked the whip, this time hitting my back. I let out a hiss, then laughed.

  “You’ll have to try harder than that,” I taunted him.

  He obliged and hit my back with the full force of the whip. I screamed, then kept my mouth shut.

  “Was that better, lass?” he asked.

  “Fuck off,” I replied.

  He whipped me twice more. I screamed out both times, but refused to give him what he wanted, thankful that I healed fast.

  “Do you really think you can break me?” I asked.

  “I don’t want to break you, lass, just teach you to behave a bit,” he answered.

  “Fuck off,” I replied.

  He ignored me and walked off. When he returned he had a new device in his hand.

  “I tried to do it the nice way, so now let's do this the hard way. This is a cat of nine tails, it’s used for flogging, and it will cut through your skin,” he taunted me.

  “Fuck you, asshole,” I grinned.

  He spun me back to the wall, then flogged me. I could feel the cuts on my back, and them knitting back together. He flogged me again, and again. I felt the pain of the flogging, and my skin as it knit back together.

  “Is that all you’ve got? I can do this all night,” I taunted him.

  “If you insist you wicked little wench,” he replied.

  He walked up to me and smacked me hard across the face. I spit out blood, then smiled at him. He grabbed his cat of nine tails again and started flogging me again. I flinched after an hour of this, but I refused to give in.

  “Aren’t you a stubborn lass,” he replied.

  The sun came up before I could answer again.

  Chapter 14

  I was on the couch in the library when I woke up. Jade must have been having a nice time rolling over, the wimp.

  I stood up and stretched my legs, then Seamus snuck up behind me. I snarled, then he tapped my forehead, and I blacked out again.

  I was hanging from my arms again when my head cleared.

  “One trick pony?” I taunted him.

  “Oh I have many tricks, but you will have to wait to see them,” he replied.

  “Oh, goody,” I said.

  “Oh no potty mouth, lass?” he asked.

  “I fucking could, but then you’ll just hurt me,” I snarked.

  “Ah there is Ruby, you’ll stay up there until you learn who’s in charge around here,” he chuckled.

  “Fuck you,” I growled.

  “Ah let’s give you some time to think, shall we?” he asked, then walked off.

  It hurt my joints to hang like that, and it was almost worse than the night before, because there was nothing else to focus on.

  It seemed like hours before he came back. He let me out of the chains and I hit the floor. My limbs were unable to support me yet, so I laid on the floor, then I was out.

  I was in a nice hot bath when the sun set and I came around. It felt wonderful. So this is how Jade is living, I thought, I could get used to it.

  I laid in the tub for a while then got out. The bathroom was huge, with a vanity area, a huge soaker tub, and a walk in shower. I made my way into the bedroom, and it was huge as well, with a king size poster bed in the middle. I opened the other door on the wall the bathroom came off of, and found a walk in closet full of clothes that both Jade and I would like.

  I dressed in clothes that were my style for the first time since our abduction, and dug around and found a collection of makeup. I sat at the vanity and made myself feel slightly normal for a change.

  I made my way down the stairs and out the back door before I ran into Seamus. I took the time to breathe, I really didn’t want to hang by my arms anymore.

  “Little tiger, what are you doing?” Seamus said as he snuck up behind me.

  “Breathing air that doesn’t smell like blood and sweat,” I replied, biting my tongue.

  “You won’t have to see that room again, if you can follow some simple rules,” he said.

  “What rules?” I questioned.

  “You will go back and change in the same place that you were when your change came,” he started.

  “What?” I asked, not understanding what he said.

  “You woke up in a place, go back there for Jade to wake up,” he said, annoyed that he had to explain.

  “What else?” I questioned.

  “No more running into the barrier, you could permanently damage your body, and no attacking me,” he finished.

  “That’s all? What about feeding me? I haven’t had blood in a long time,” I demanded.

  “We will cross that bridge when I see you can behave,” he answered.

  “Fine, whatever,” I said, then walked off.

  I had a lot of pent up energy, so I went down to the home gym and got on the treadmill and ran. When my legs were jelly, I got off the treadmill and laid down to catch my breath. It was weird to run like a human, but oddly satisfying.

  I made my way back up the stairs and Seamus stopped me.

  “There are TVs in your room and bathroom. The remote on the bedside table will allow you to access it,” he said then walked off.

  I went up the stairs, found the remote, laid on the bed, and started binge watching a series on Netflix.

  It was getting close to dawn, so I reluctantly turned the TV off, went to the bathroom, and drew a nice hot bath. The jasmine bath bomb smelled good, so I dropped it in, then settled in for the change.

  Chapter 15

  I was laid on the bed, in yoga pants when dusk came. The clothes didn’t bother me, so I turned on the TV and went back to binge watching the show I had started the night before.

  After five episodes, I needed to stretch my legs. I got up and went downstairs and out the backdoors to explore the garden. It smelled nice, with the flowers that were planted out here. I noticed the hedge maze, and decided to explore it.

  As I walked, my mind wandered to my guys. I missed them so much my chest ached. My goal was to find a way out of Seamus’s house. I would have to figure out how to communicate with Jade. It was getting close to dawn when I made my way back out of the maze.

  I went back upstairs, laid on the bed, then dawn took me away.

  I could feel the movement before my eyes focused, I was in a car.

  “Good evening, lass, we were delayed at a party and decided to leave before you came around,” Seamus explained. “Would you like to get a bite to eat? I know of a place that caters to vampires.”

  “Yeah!” I exclaimed.

  “Just warning you, you are tied to me by a spell, you can’t get far away from me, or speak of your captivity. IF you do this correctly, I will bring you out to feed more often,” he said.

  “Fine, whatever,” I answered, although I was excited to finally feed. I hadn’t had blood since Phoenix. I had already figured out that Jade could eat for both of us, but it didn’t change the hunger pains I experienced daily.

  We rode for a while, before arriving at the back of a steakhouse. Seamus lead me to a door that was partially hidden and knocked. A vampire answered the door and led us down a dingy hallway then into a gorgeous red velvet walled room. It was a bit cliche, but I was too hungry to care.

  I was nearly drooling knowing I would feed soon. The vampire led us to an alcove and left a menu with me. This was a new experience.

  “Vampire fine dining,” Seamus said with a smirk.

  “It’s different, I’ll give you that,” I replied.

  I looked at the menu, there were people listed by blood type, then supernaturals listed by type. I was curious as to what some would taste like.

  “What’s my budget?” I asked, not having any money on me.

  “Whatever you want,” he said dismissively.

  I looked for the most expensive thing on the menu, knowing I wouldn’t get this opportunity again. It was listed as Fae-Sidhe blood, at ten thousand dollars a feed. I wondered if he would rea
lly let me order it or not.

  “Ok, I’ve decided. I want this,” I said pointing the Fae-Sidhe on the menu.

  “Very well,” he replied, then waived over the vampire that seated us.

  “The lady would like the Fae-Sidhe,” he ordered for me.

  I bit my tongue, not liking the fact he thought it was ok to order for me. I didn’t want him to take away the chance to feed.

  “I will need payment upfront,” the vampire said with a suspicious look.

  “Put it on this,” Seamus said, handing over a black American Express card.

  “Excellent, he will be right out,” the vampire replied before walking off to process the payment.

  A beautiful man, came out from a door on the far wall and walked towards us. He was tall and thin, with very feminine features. He sat next to me and tilted his head, offering me his neck. He smelled so sweet, my mouth watered and my fangs ached. I leaned into him, licked his neck once, then sank my teeth in.

  The blood wasn’t like any other I had tasted. It was complex with layers of sweet flavors. I felt drugged. I stopped feeding, licked his wound to close it, then started giggling at the thought of licking him.

  “Your first time having fae blood?” the beautiful man asked me.

  “Yup, you taste sweet and I feel great,” I said as I giggled.

  “You will want to keep an eye on her,” he told Seamus over my head, “My blood tends to make vampires high for a few hours.”

  “Thank you for letting me know,” Seamus replied.

  The fae walked off and left us sitting there alone.

  “You would be handsome if you weren’t such a prick,” I told Seamus.

  “Lass, you may want to watch your tongue, it seems a bit loose,” he replied with a grin.

  “Well, I feel better than I have ever felt in my life!” I exclaimed.

  The vampire returned with Seamus’s card and a receipt. Seamus thanked him, and we sat in silence for a bit longer.