Survivor - By Kaye Draper Page 0,38

matters! What the hell is going on?”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. We went through a couple of big turns and then sped up. I suppose we must have gotten on the highway. The vampire swayed gracefully in the dim light, not bothered by the maneuver. “My master wishes to see you,” he said blandly.

I glared, trying to steady myself as I was jostled around. “And you are?”

He sighed. “Our coven is based in a small town some distance north of here. “

Aside from that, I got nothing out of him. Apparently, he was only the delivery boy. He watched me like I might grow wings and fly away, but that was all. After a very long time, I nodded off, lulled by the swaying motion of the truck and the steady hum of the tires beneath me. I woke when we slowed down and came to a stop. My neck ached from the awkward angle it had been in as I dozed against the wall, and my left foot was numb. Pins and needles raced up my leg when I shifted my weight.

The door was thrust open again and Creepy Jerk Number Two came into view. He was darker than the first vampire, but still very non-descript. Their appearance wouldn’t give the police much to go on if a bystander had happened to spot us. I squinted into the fading light that streamed into the dark interior of the truck. The sun was setting. We must have driven for hours. Who knew where the hell we were now. I thought of my cell phone, likely still lying on the front desk at the library. Even if I did have a chance to call someone, I would have no idea what to tell my would-be rescuer.

Creepy Jerk Number One grabbed me by the upper arms and roughly dragged me out the door. He handled me like a sack of potatoes, flinging me over his shoulder and knocking the wind out of me as his shoulder connected with my diaphragm with a painful thunk. I tried to kick him but my weak, clumsy legs missed by a mile. He raised an eyebrow and I smirked at his surprised expression. It’s the thought that counts right?

I was hustled up the sidewalk to a big, sprawling old house painted a very odd shade of grey. It almost looked purple in the fading light. I glanced around from beneath the curtain of my thick hair. We were out in the country somewhere. I couldn’t see any other houses, only sparse woods. The road was deserted. Great.

The vampire carried me in the house and to a set of stairs leading down. We ended up in a basement that was finished, but seemed to be mostly unused. The glimpse I’d gotten of the rest of the house was spotless and rich, decorated tastefully. The basement was just a basement, bland and a little damp. There were a couple of rooms with doors, and I was taken to one of these. My captor literally tossed me onto a couch and turned to leave, locking the door behind him. I cussed at him and demanded answers but of course, I got nothing.

I don’t know how long I sat there on that ugly little orange couch, alternately pissed off and scared out of my mind. Eventually the door opened and a group of men-vampires-entered the room. The two kidnappers were there. They had changed out of their fake delivery uniforms and were now wearing some sort of dark, matching outfits that looked like martial arts gear. They stood calmly in a parade rest stance as their leader strolled over to me.

I was guessing he was their leader by the way he dressed and the way he carried himself. He was tall and thin, with a starved, hawkish look to him that was not at all comforting. His dark eyes were sharp, darting here and there as they evaluated everything, like a predator. He stopped in front of me and tucked his hands into the pockets of his tan suit, probably trying to appear non-threatening. It wasn’t working.

“You must be Melody,” he said with a warm smile. “Welcome to my coven.”

I sat up a little straighter. “Who the hell are you and what do you want?”

The warm smile never left his face as he slapped me across the mouth. Hard. Pain flared up and I felt a warm trickle from my lip before I even realized what had happened.