by Kylie Price
“Huh. It worked. Let me try,” she said.
“Hey,” she said to the barman as he walked past. He paused and waited. “If I was a vampire, would you let me bite your neck?” she asked with a serious yet flirtatious look.
“Only if you let me bite you back,” he replied and started walking down the bar again, shaking his head slightly.
“Wow. This is freaking awesome,” Nikkee said in excitement.
“Be careful who you say that too. You may actually be asking a vampire to play bite for bite,” Jason said from behind us. We both froze. I did because I didn’t expect to have him there at that moment and my body went into excitement and freak-out mode all at once. Nikkee on the other hand, looked like she had been busted driving his car. Which is a big NO NO.
“What he’s no…” then she looked at the bartender and his eyes grew darker and his smile was well, sexy.
“Do you not know where you are?” Jason asked.
“A club Jason. And a posh one at that,” she replied sarcastically.
“Really, have a look around,” he said.
I still had not moved from when he first spoke, but I turned with Nikkee and looked.
People kept looking at us and then away and when they would look at Nikkee they would turn their nose up.
“What? Are they all vamps?” she asked.
“Pretty much. There is the odd wolf, only because I brought them. Why do you think they are looking at you funny Nikkee?” he asked.
“Because they are snobs,” she replied.
“No, because you are human. Most of the vamps in here are very old, you are human Nikkee and very much beneath them,” he said. He glanced at me for a moment and then his eyes went back to Nikkee.
“What I am not monster enough to fit in,” she said loudly. Then her eyes flicked back to the bartender. “Oh shit, I just offered up a free fang session to a vamp bar boy,” as he walked past.
“The offer is still there,” he said and then winked at her and kept walking.
“I will be right back,” Jason said as he turned and walked over to where Lachlan and Dustin were sitting. I couldn’t help but watch as he walked away. He hadn’t said anything to me. Maybe I was right and that his feelings were no longer there. I was fooling myself to think they were.
“He’s just shy Trin,” Nikkee said and patted my leg as if she knew what I was thinking.
“So you are going to turn into a vamp aye,” I asked with a smirk.
“Hardly,” she said and looked at the bartender as he walked up and placed a piece of paper in front of her.
“Just in case you change your mind,” he said and walked off again.
“Geez, what’s a girl to do Nikkee. Now you have two vampires pining over you,” I said, poking fun at her.
“I don’t think so.”
“Then why has Lachlan been giving,” I paused and looked at the paper, “Steven, the cold eye ever since you started talking to him.”
She looked behind me and then turned back with a big smirk on her face.
Chapter Thirty
Jason had chewed Lachlan out for not warning us that we were going to a club full of monsters. Apparently, it is a mutual spot. No trouble and if you start any, it could end your life. Lachlan was giving Nikkee the cold shoulder. She just shrugged. She hadn’t done anything wrong apart from testing the waters. She definitely wouldn’t have asked those questions if she knew the bartender was also a vampire. I could smell the jealousy from four shops away where Nikkee and I were hanging back from the boys.
“Jason was pissed off,” Nikkee pointed out.
“I can’t blame him. I feel the same way Nikkee. He did throw us in the deep end with a room full of vampires. I don’t think your mum has more money though,” I replied.
“Yeah, I don’t think she does either.”
“I can’t believe you didn’t know,” she said.
We had asked Lachlan why I couldn’t tell they were vampires when I could tell before. He didn’t have an answer. He himself was a bit confused as to why also.
“He is a cranky old man,” Nikkee said with a scowl on her face.
“Who?” I asked and looked around only seeing young people.
“Lachlan. He has his knickers in a knot over me talking to vamp bar boy. And why? It is not as if I am his. He hasn’t even made a move on me. Cranky old fart,” she said with a hint of anger.
I burst out laughing. “Don’t let him hear you say that,” I said still laughing.
“I heard,” came Lachlan’s voice from up the street.
We both started laughing and then covered our mouths to try and muffle it.
“God, I can't even whine about him without him hearing me. Imagine if we were a couple and I wanted to call you to complain. He would hear every word even if I was down the street,” she said with a smirk.
“He could probably hear you from the next town over,” I added. Then we laughed again.
Lachlan, Jason, and Dustin stopped and waited for us to catch up. We were heading back to our hotel to get some sleep then head back home in the morning. They were sticking to the same plan and that was to talk to Marie and see if she can help find Vex and answer some questions.
“Are you two going to be alright?” Lachlan asked.
“Yes. What do we look like little defenceless girls?” I jabbed back.
“In those outfits… Yes,” he said, raising an eyebrow.
“Whatever,” I said and walked past them.
Nikkee followed me and we heard Lachlan calling out, “No more offering free fang sessions.” We laughed and just shook our heads.
We got to the elevator and Nikkee pushed the button for our floor.
“You know, I kind of don’t really want to go to bed. I would love to just have one night of being a stupid legal teen,” I said to her.
“You know what… I totally agree,” she replied.
We both looked out through the doors and seen the guys were gone.
“Do you think we can get away with it?” she asked then she added, “You know with Lachlan picking up on your emotions.”
I thought for a moment and tried to clear my head.
“Who cares if he does? It is my life anyway,” I said.
We both grinned and walked to the door and out into the busy nightlife of the Surfers Paradise.
Nikkee had just ordered us our tenth drink. My mind was kind of sluggish and happy. We were having so much fun and so far, the party poopers had not busted in and burst our bubble just yet.
We had danced and danced. We danced together and we danced with strangers. Sweat was on everybody in the club. It was so full of people now that you had to walk sideways to get anywhere.
“I don’t know why we didn’t do this sooner,” Nikkee said. “This was what I was hoping your birthday night was going to be like,” she added.
“My birthday was fine Nikkee,” I said, letting her know I was not feeling hateful about the turn of events.
She put her arm around me and hugged me tight. “I love you Trin,” she half slurred, which made me laugh loud, even though no one else would have heard over the music.
“I love you too,” I said, squeezing her back.
“Let’s dance,” she said, sat her drink down and turned to pull my arm.
I glanced at her drink and then back to her. “Are you going to finish that?” I asked.
“Nah, I have had enough.”
I set my drink down and went along with her pulling me. We jumped and swung our hips, holding hands the whole time so we could not be separated.
The song ended and Nikkee said, “I am not feeling too good now.”
I wasn’t really either after all the jumping and hip swinging.
“Do you want to head back?” I asked eager to end the night now that my stomach was churning.
“Only if you want to,” she said.
“Yeah, let’s go. We have to wake up early.”
We turned around and started push
ing our way through the club until we hit breathable air. I started to feel better the more I sucked in. Nikkee seemed to perk up too.
“Come on,” she said and started walking to where we needed to go.
“Oh, now I am going to be sick,” she said.
I steered her down a little side street, where no one was. She stumbled a little to the side of the building and started bringing up everything she had for the night.
I gagged a little, but held it down.
“Trinity,” came Jason’s voice.
I looked at him, he was slightly blurred, but I forced myself to focus.
“Jason, go away,” Nikkee said.
He looked at her and then to me. “I need to talk to you.”
I glanced to where Nikkee was and back to him. “But Nikkee.”
“It will only take a moment,” he said.
I took a few steps away from where I was and stopped, showing I was going no further.
“It’s ok, we don’t need to go far to do what I need to do,” he said.
“Do what?” I asked, feeling nervous all of the sudden.
“This.”
He lifted up his hand. I watched as his palm came closer to my face. I glanced into his eyes but they didn’t look right. He had a smirk on his face, but it was not sexy.
His palm went over my face before I could say anything and then there was nothing but bright light for a few seconds as I sucked in the air to scream only to have it released into darkness.
I was laying on the ground. I felt slight dampness under my finger.
“I warned you. You should have asked for help.” The same deep voice from my last dream spoke from behind me.
“I don’t understand,” I said, remembering my last image before I was back in the forest. “Jason,” I whispered in disbelief. My heart felt like it was breaking and then fear overrode that. I said, “Nikkee,” was she safe?, What if something also happened to her?. What if she…
“The human will be fine,” he said.
“What if she is not?”
His warm hand touched my forehead and he started to stroke my hair back.
“Be calm, there is nothing you can do from here,” he said.
“Where is here?”
“The time of beginning.”
I scrunched my forehead. That made no sense.
“Why are more answers, leaving more questions? Why can’t someone just be straight with me for once?” I said getting angry.
“Sometimes one must answer their own questions,” he replied.
“See, what am I supposed to do with that information? I have just been betrayed by someone that I thought was on our side,” I said, getting more pissed off.
“What makes you think it is our side?” he asked.
“Because no one that has tried to kill me had stroked my hair before.”
His hand paused and then he continued stroking. “Your mind can be sharp and quick witted when you are having a quick tongue and smart wit. Perhaps you should convert that to answering your own questions.”
“I am too lost to answer any,” I said and half sobbed remembering Jason’s face and knowing Nikkee was left there with him.
“I told you to look to Old Mothers’ tears for guidance. Perhaps you should listen to me, whether or not I am friend or foe.”
Then his hand was gone and the space around me felt empty, cold and a chill ran up my spine that made me sit up fast.
Chapter Thirty-One
My body went stiff and on full alert before I even opened my eyes. I felt constricted and bound. I twisted my wrist slightly to confirm and then my ankles. I could not even move them a millimetre. I did not want to open my eyes. I tried as hard as I could to not let curiosity get the better of me because I did not want to see the face of one of the person I never thought would have betrayed me. Jason.
My heart started to rip apart from the pain and then again for the fear of Nikkee. Tears started running out of my closed eyelids. They started flowing fast and forced my eyes to open slightly.
My vision was blurred, I blinked a few times as my tears started to slow. The walls were timber logs. There was no window only a metal door. I looked up to the roof and saw the small glow from the light bulb that hung from the ceiling. It set off enough glow that I could see.
My heart started racing fast and panic was setting in but I was feeling ordinary. I couldn’t see better like I used to, I couldn’t smell anything apart from wood. No scents, nothing.
I started panicking more as that meant that Lachlan might not be able to pick up my panic or fear. That thought made me worse. I started shivering. Where was I? What was going to happen? Why did…
The door opened.
“Marie?” I said in a questioning way.
“Hello again, Trinity,” she said while walking towards me.
I cowered back as if I was afraid of her. Well, I was. She knelt down and grabbed my arm lifting me up, then bent down again and the ropes around my ankles were loose and then gone.
“Do not try to run. You will not make it far,” she said not meeting my eyes as I still looked at her in disbelief.
“Come,” she said, pulling me with her.
“Like I have a choice,” I snapped.
She just smirked and kept walking.
“I thought you were on my side. The good side,” I pointed out.
“I am on my side,” she said in a flat tone.
“Where is Jason, I want to punch him in the face… several times,” I said angrily.
She started laughing, loud. “Oh Trinity you are so easily fooled. It was not Jason that brought you here it was me,” she said.
My mouth dropped open. “What?” Was all I could manage to push out?
She didn’t reply, she walked me through the door and down a small hallway built like the room, I was in. It must have been some sort of log house or cabin. I passed a few closed doors and then walked into a lounge room that had a small amount of furniture. There was a two seater couch at the far wall and a small table on the other side of the room. There was a dinning set and all six seats had someone sitting in them only they were wearing cloaks and their faces were all looking into the centre of the table so I couldn’t see who or what they were. There was only one window in the room and two doors. One must have been the front or back door then Marie opened the other one and pulled me through.
We stopped as soon as we entered. She let my arm go and walked over to the centre of the room. It was a kitchen. A small one with only a bench about a meter long housing a sink and then a cast-iron stove. Maria grabbed a latch that was on the floor and pulled it up to reveal a dark hole with stairs.
I took a step back, not wanting to get any closer.
Marie was quick to grab my arm again and pulled me. I tried to pull back, but her strength was a surprise.
I took one-step at a time. The air got colder and the mist started coming out of my mouth at each breath.
Marie stopped at the landing and reached a hand up. I could not see too well from the dark, but the small glow that came from the kitchen light let me see in that small space.
Her arm pulled down and a light turned on in the middle of the room. I froze.
In the centre was a steel chair that had blood on it and on the ground surrounding it. My eyes darted around the room and I saw that all the walls down there were steal and there was what looked like four solid doors. Like a prison.
I panicked and tried to pull away, but her hold did not loosen.
“What do you want from me?” I yelled.
She just ignored me and pulled me over to the chair.
My heart was jumping through my chest and it felt like it was trying to escape up my throat. My palms and forehead started sweating as anxiety was in the frontal lobe now and all I could see was the blood that was everywhere.
She put me in the chair and strapped my legs down, then undid the ropes on my hands and chained them down to the chair's arms. A tear rolled down my face
. I couldn’t think of what to do. I needed help and I didn’t know how to get it.
Loud bangs came from upstairs, my eyes dart to the stairs. It sounded like giants walking down them. Four men holding something that was covered in a black sheet walked over to Marie. She lifted a hand up and revealed a strangers face, yet I guessed who he was. He was huge, no wonder they needed four people they should probably have gotten more. He had long brown wavy hair that was in tatters and his eyes a deep brown that was marred by a sneer.
Garth.
“Do you know this beast Trinity?” Marie asked.
I couldn’t look away from his eyes. I was screaming in my head. Why don’t you run? He was an Alfa, he was strong. How could he let four people hold him in his place?
I shook my head, unable to speak.
“He was one of the hardest to capture. He didn’t seem to take the bait until he heard you were missing. You see Trinity. I gave him a potion and said I had made it to help them get more strength for what was going to come of your change. Garth here is too stubborn and said he needed no more until you went missing that night after Vex,” she said with a proud look.
“Wait, How long have I been here?” I whispered. She only ignored me again.
“Take him to the cell and make sure he is restrained properly. We do not want to let the wolf loose,” Maria sneered out.
They moved him away and his eyes still locked onto mine. I heard a clanging noise. He must have been restrained with chains.
“These beasts want to protect you Trinity,” she said with a sneered laugh.
“I thought you did too,” I jabbed back.
“Oh, I do, I truly do. Not to help you change. No, not that,” she said wandering over to the cell door that they had just opened.
She stood there proud like a mum with her children. As they each walked out she placed a hand on their shoulders. They walked back over to the stairs and climbed up.
“So Jason didn’t betray me?” I asked. I wasn’t quite sure why, but I needed her to say it. She only said that Jason didn’t bring me here.
“No, your pet wolf is still loyal,” she sneered as she shut the door on Garth and locked it.
