by Irina Argo
“So, what are you going to do with me? Study me?” She put all her venom into the question, but she just felt like an alley cat arching her back and hissing at a snarling dog.
She had to do something to save herself. She wasn’t in a position of power; all she could do was negotiate. “Please, let me go ... I can pay you, any amount you demand. Can’t you see I’m almost human? Look, I look like you, I speak the same language, and—and I’m actually a citizen of France! If you keep me here, I’ll complain to the French Embassy that you have violated my human rights!” What the fuck was she saying? Human rights?
* * *
The look on her face told Oberon that she realized how ineffective she was sounding. He suddenly felt sorry for her. “Look, we won’t keep you long at all—if you cooperate with us. What happens will depend on your level of compliance.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Just try to behave yourself, let the staff perform the tests they need, and then we’ll let you go with your promise never to tell anyone where you were and what you saw,” Oberon lied smoothly. Of course he had no intention of letting Simone leave. But giving her that hope would make her work harder to get herself set free—and while she was doing that work, Oberon would be working hard to bring her to his side.
Oberon’s initial intention had been to kill Simone so her Keeper’s power could revert back to the Amiti. But everything had changed when he’d seen her lying unconscious in the snow in her white gown, her thick mane of raven-black hair splashed around her head. He’d flashed back to Theores’s dark hair against pale linen pillows as she waited eagerly for him to indulge her with feeding and sexual play.
She’d loved him and he had betrayed her, exchanging her and her brother, Leon, for Tor’s bloodstock—one of whom had been his best friend.
He’d planned to find Theores right away and ask for forgiveness, ask her to come back to him, but she broke their blood-bond by bonding with Istara, cutting off his access to her, and then joined the Royal pride. As Theores became infamous for her hatred of all Amiti, Oberon realized there was no way back; he had to accept that he’d lost her forever. For centuries he had tried to unburden himself—of his painful memories, and of the guilt he felt over abandoning her—but to no avail.
Now, he thought he might have been given a second chance. Maybe this girl was the key to his redemption; maybe if he spared her life, his soul would finally stop eating him alive. Instead of killing Simone, he’d try to bring her over to their side. She was half Amiti. He’d show her all the horrors vampires had visited upon the Amiti, and if she had a heart, she’d agree to assist the Keepers.
“What’s my guarantee that you’ll let me go?” Simone walked to the middle of the room, took a seat at the table and crossed her arms across her chest.
“Well, you don’t have any other options.”
He watched her think about that. She was trying to be so tough, trying to bargain with him even though she didn’t have any chips to play with—and she obviously had no idea how very unsuccessful she was at hiding her feelings. Everything she thought was broadcast across her face.
She sighed. “OK, I’ll do what you ask. But I wasn’t alone; there was a male with me. What happened to him?”
“Odji? He’s fine. Actually, he’s having quite a good time with the Amiti girl he rescued.”
“What! You’re not keeping them together!”
“Why wouldn’t I? They seem quite fond of each other.” Oberon liked toying with her; she seemed quite intelligent.
“You simply can’t! If you know anything about our two species, you must know that we can’t live together.”
“And that would be because ... ?”
“You know how we feed. You should know that if you keep them together you force him to feed on her. She belongs to the species we use for our blood source.”
“So what’s the big deal? He feeds on her; it won’t kill her as long as he doesn’t drain all her blood at one time.”
“Because she’ll kill him!”
“What? Why?” He made a surely-you-jest face. Oh, this was fun.
“Because that’s what they do! They kill us!”
“Wow, that’s pretty dramatic. How do you guys manage to coexist on this planet?”
“It’s complicated. I can’t get into it—but please, separate them before it’s too late.”
“I need to go now, Simone. This monitor is also a TV; the remote control is on the table. The remote also opens a panel on the wall. You’ll find food there.”
He severed her connection to him, but kept watching her in one-way mode as she opened the panel, picked up the tray of food waiting for her in the warming unit, and hurled it against the wall, then flopped onto the bed.
He was still watching a half hour later as she was returned to the bed, paralyzed by one of the research technicians she’d attacked when they came in to perform tests. Only her eyes moved as the techs took blood and tissue samples and placed them in small, labeled glass vials.
Yep, life was unpredictable. You never knew how things would turn out.
Chapter 37
Odji opened his eyes, which throbbed with pain despite the soft lighting. He was sprawled on the floor, his body stiff and bruised. With some effort he raised his upper body, supporting himself on his elbows. He was in a clean, comfortable, elegantly nondescript room. In fact, if he hadn’t had a background in security, he might not have even noticed the signs that it had been built to detain prisoners—powerful ones. There were no windows, and the door and ventilation system were reinforced with a metal alloy of some kind—
His assessment of the situation screeched to a halt when he saw her, the golden Amiti girl. She was sitting on the queen-sized bed, squeezed tightly against the wall, hands clutching a blanket that she’d pulled all the way up to her ears.
Dizzy and nauseous, Odji staggered to his feet. Damn! Whatever force had been used against him had to have been supernatural to have given him this much of a hangover. He couldn’t even remember what it had been. Clumsily he stumbled toward the door.
“I already checked,” said a soft voice. “It’s locked.”
Odji pivoted, tilting his head to consider her. Huge, dark-brown eyes were locked on him.
A wave of relief washed over him: no matter where they were, they were both alive and she was with him, and that made him almost giddy with excitement. It was something Odji had barely even hoped for when he’d rescued her. “Any idea where we are?”
She shook her head. “No idea at all.”
He turned back to the door and checked the handle just in case, but it was locked, just as she’d said. He kicked the door with all the strength in his leg and almost broke bones in his foot.
“So. We’re prisoners.” Odji was disgusted with himself; he always tried to stay in control of his circumstances, and had had enough practice that he usually succeeded. He aimed several more kicks at the door, throwing all his frustration into it. Even reinforced, the door should have been damaged, but there wasn’t even a dent in it.
Whoever had locked them in here knew what he was capable of and was prepared to handle beings of his strength. He needed to clear his mind and think rationally. He was responsible for the Amiti girl’s life.
He lowered himself onto the couch and stretched out his legs in front of him before returning his gaze to the girl. She sat there quietly, watching him intently.
Several locks of her golden hair spilled over the blanket, shimmering in the warm glow of the soft light. She’d lowered the blanket to below her chin, exposing full, pale pink, slightly parted lips. Odji imagined kissing them and how sweet the kiss tasted. Was she naked under the blanket? He’d never forget the perfection of her nude body; her full breasts, the beads of perspiration rolling down her abdomen, the curve of her hips, the juncture where her thighs met, hiding the sacred spot between her legs ...
Odji was dying to see all of her ag
ain. Now he understood why Sekhmi would disrobe an Amiti at the first opportunity. Damn, Odji wanted her, right now and right here: on the bed, on the floor, the table, anywhere. If someone didn’t separate them soon, one of them was going to die. And it would no doubt be him.
“Why are you staring at me? You’re making me very uncomfortable,” the girl said warily.
Odji quickly composed his face into what he hoped was a placid expression. Had he been leering openly at her? How long had he been staring like that? “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. But you are the most lovely thing in this room—and probably on this side of heaven.”
“Thing? I’m not a thing.”
“Sorry; I just meant that you are quite beautiful, and I find it hard to take my eyes off of you.”
The girl blushed.
He was mildly encouraged by her reaction. “What’s your name?”
“Why do you care? Sekhmi don’t call us by our names.”
“Sorry again. Please, don’t judge me by the behavior of others. My name is Odji. By the way, Odji means wicked, which I’m not, by the way.” He really sounded stupid ... by the way.
“Fine. My name is Zlata.”
“Your parents did well, giving you such a beautiful and fitting name.” He wanted to reach out and run his fingers through her thick mane of golden hair. She had to be his. She belonged to him.
Just then a large display monitor on the wall came to life with a crackle of static. The man who appeared on the screen looked to be in his early forties, some kind of scientist or medical type.
“Good morning,” the man said, smiling as he shuffled through a pile of papers scattered on the desk before him. “Welcome to the Project research station. I’m sure you have no desire to remain here, so you should know that if you cooperate, you’ll be released much sooner than if you resist.”
The guy went on to explain that they had become involuntary subjects in a long-term research project and that their living arrangements would depend on their cooperation; the researchers could make their lives relatively comfortable or unbearable.
“So I suggest that you and your friend here”—the man nodded toward Zlata with a sly grin on his face—“make yourselves comfortable. Who knows? You might find your stay here a pleasant experience. It will certainly be a fascinating experiment for us.”
“You pervert! I’ll rip your heart out.” Odji hurled himself at the monitor, throwing all of his weight into his punch, but the monitor won the fight, bruising and bloodying Odji’s knuckles while staying completely unscathed. “Go to hell, or wherever you humans believe in. Actually, just go fuck yourself; I’m sure we can all agree about what that means.”
The man just raised an eyebrow. “Well, aren’t we touchy? Sorry to upset you, but we make the rules here. End of conversation.” The monitor slowly slid back up into the ceiling without a scratch on it.
Odji burned with hatred and frustration. Needing a target for his rage, unable to aim it at its real source, he swung around and slammed his fist into the table, which splintered and collapsed into pieces.
The human knew that no matter how fiercely Odji resisted, eventually he’d be overcome by bloodlust and wouldn’t be able to resist feeding on the Amiti girl. On Zlata. The blood-bond would kick in, and his golden angel would turn into a devil and kill him as he fed. This was not the outcome he’d envisioned when he’d rescued her.
He wheeled around to face Zlata. “Did you hear that? I feel like a rat in a cage.”
“He said they’d let us go if we cooperate. I’m going to do that; I’d much rather help in human research than spend my life locked in your bloodstock dungeons.” She was glaring at him, her face tight with hostility.
“Zlata, I never would lock you in a dungeon.”
“And you expect me to believe that? You were planning to, what, let me go?”
“No. What would be the point of that? You don’t yet have the ability to shield so you’d just end up back in the sacred chamber of Sekhmet.”
Zlata shivered visibly. “Then what did you have in mind when you kidnapped me?”
“I wish I could explain, I don’t know what happened to me when I saw you on the altar about to be sacrificed. Something deep inside me exploded and I lost control. All I could think about was that I had to protect you.”
“I don’t believe you. Vampires only want to use us for our blood.”
“No, that’s not true—”
“Yes, Odji, it is, unless you can convince me that you’re feeding on animals or humans.”
Odji stood in the middle of the room, speechless. He drank Amiti blood on a weekly basis—plus more, casually, just another mixer for his cocktail. He closed his eyes to the source of the blood and how it was harvested. Everyone did.
Zlata watched him, her eyes reflecting suspicion and mistrust. How desperately he wished that they would shine with love—for him, Odji. Why didn’t life ever turn out the way you wanted it to?
He could easily kill her now: she wasn’t even immortal yet, and it would only take one stroke of his fist to expel the life from her body. But he couldn’t make her love him.
“No, uh,” he stammered. “Well, uh ... I can’t deny it. I feed on Amiti blood. Now you have a reason to hate me.”
He’d fallen into a hole filled with despair. She was lost to him. In her eyes he’d forever be no more than a monster who fed on the blood of her people.
At that moment a large slot in the wall behind them slid open, revealing a tray with two appetizing-looking meals—green salad, baked potatoes, and fried chicken—and an ice bucket holding a small assortment of beverages.
Maybe food would take the edge off, ease the cramping in his stomach? He’d been ignoring the arousal he’d felt ever since he’d first seen Zlata, and now he could feel the bloodlust rising in him like an awakening dragon.
Damn, this was going to be one of the greatest challenges he had ever faced.
He picked up the tray. Since he’d broken the table, the only place to sit was the bed. So he put the tray on the bed in front of Zlata.
“You should be hungry. Please, eat.”
She didn’t move, just stared up at him with wide brown eyes. He realized he was too close to her and felt another rush of sorrow—which was immediately overwhelmed by exhilaration at her fear. It aroused Odji even more, every instinct shrieking to claim her. He felt his eyes narrow as he closed the remaining distance between them, a predator ready to rip her throat out.
Zlata lowered her gaze, her thick lashes brushing her cheeks. She inhaled deeply, and as she exhaled, the tension seemed to leave her body. Odji could sense what she knew: the wheel of fortune had turned. It was she who was now in control.
“Are you naked under the blanket?” the question escaped before Odji realized what he was saying. His voice was hoarse. “Take it off.” It was an order.
Averting her eyes, she obeyed. The blanket slid down, revealing her beautiful nude body. It seemed to radiate sunlight, her golden hair spilling over her shoulders and breasts like a veil.
Odji knew he was signing his own death sentence, but he didn’t care. He wanted her more than anything else in the world, the passion rising in him beyond his ability to tame or control it. This would be end of him. He knew it. So be it. He would die in ecstasy.
Odji leaped at her. He heard the tray clatter to the floor. Panting like a wild beast, he grabbed her by her ankles and pulled her down, spreading her on her back. He dropped next to her, pressing his body against hers, and slid his hands along her silky skin. Then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly to his chest. Roughly, he pressed his mouth to hers, totally carried away by the sensation of her petal-soft lips on his. He broke away and gasped, buried in the glory of her hair.
“Kill me, if that’s what you want. I don’t care. I can’t resist you another second. I’ve been searching for you all my life; at least I’d die knowing what it was like to love you for even a
few short moments.”
He began covering her face with obsessive, demanding kisses, moving gradually to her neck.
Zlata tilted her head back and offered him her throat.
Chapter 38
In Simone’s windowless room, days and nights merged together, broken only by the comings and goings of the humans. She tried to mark the passage of time with their visits, which seemed to happen every day, but then they came at irregular intervals. Every time, the humans restrained her and took more tests—blood and tissue samples, and all kinds of scans using machines she didn’t recognize.
Scared and frustrated, she began having panic attacks. She yelled at her captors and begged them to release her. But the humans paid no attention to her. She was just a subject of their research, like a dog would be. That was it.
Finally and unexpectedly, her bloodlust exploded. She had no idea how long she’d gone without blood; it must have been over three weeks. She screamed at the technicians who passed through her room that she must feed on fresh blood to live. The humans ignored her and continued to bring her standard human food: soup, potatoes, meat, salad, fruit and even some desserts like ice cream and cookies.
A few more days passed and Simone became feverish; her stomach felt as though it was digesting itself, cramping so violently that she wailed in pain, lying on her bed in a fetal position, squeezing her knees to her chest and gagging uncontrollably.
Desiree, who’d been on duty observing Simone on the monitors, couldn’t bear to watch her suffering any longer, and the lab techs were reporting that she had a high fever and sporadic pulse. She went into Simone’s room and checked for herself. Dear Goddess, what was Oberon thinking? He’d said he was going to spare this vampire’s life, so why did it seem like he was trying to kill her?
