to hear. This area of town was mostly businesses, and they had all closed down hours ago. I tore at his hand where it grasped my wrist. I gouged at his skin with my nails, and angled around to bite him. I might as well be attacking a statue. I doubt I did any damage, and although he swore softly a couple of times, it seemed that my attempts were more annoying than painful. He continued to drag me down toward the river, off the sidewalk and across the soft grass.
Finally, we reached the water’s edge and he let go of me. Turning, he flung my chair out into the middle of the river. It made a surprisingly small splash for such a large, expensive piece of equipment. The moment he turned his back, I began pulling myself across the grass away from him. It was a useless gesture, but I wasn’t going to just sit here obediently and let him kill me. I stopped short when a pair of pink converse came into my field of view. Frantically searching for the face of my rescuer, I looked up and found Cynthia. She ignored me, crossing her arms, and tapping her toe in irritation.
“Viktor, what the hell are you doing?” She didn’t sound angry so much as exasperated. Small matter, his killing me. Since she was ignoring me, I kept crawling, angling myself around her.
Viktor didn’t sound the least bit repentant. “Pete is behaving like a child. He needs to take responsibility for our race, just like the rest of us. Leah babies him because he’s her favorite, but he’s undermining her power.” His voice was petulant. “They tried to use his girlfriend to get to Leah. It’s an embarrassment.” He walked around Cynthia and grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, hauling me up to dangle from his extended arm. I was having a hard time staying alert. I think the blood loss was making me woozy.
Cynthia sighed. “You always overdo it Viktor.” She said softly. “You know he refuses to turn anyone against their will. You’ll just be a murderer.”
I didn’t bother to chime in on their argument, too busy trying to get free. Viktor wasn’t convinced by Cynthia’s logic. He shook me for emphasis. “He likes this one. He’s fucking her. He’ll be happy to keep her.” Cynthia sighed in exasperation and Viktor continued. “And if he doesn’t, then at least he’ll be punished.” His voice took on a strange note. “I’m willing to murder for Leah. She’s the only reason we can be together.”
He had let his arm sag a little while he argued with Cynthia. I used his distraction to snake out an arm and make a grab for him, my hand curled into a claw. I managed to grab something soft, and I twisted viciously. He yelped in surprise and dropped me. I hit the ground with a moan. I couldn’t even try to crawl away this time; I was too weak. Everything was going dark around the edges, even the fuzzy glow of the streetlights.
Cynthia laughed dryly. “Well if you’re doing this, you need to hurry up and let him in on it. You have no ability to plan. She’s going to die before he gets here.” She tossed a glance my way. “Blood loss alone is too easy to fix. Make sure he doesn’t have a choice.” She pulled out a cell phone as Viktor scooped me up once more. “Sorry sweetheart,” he said seriously. “I won’t break anything until you pass out.” I flailed weakly. Oh good.
“We’re at the park,” Cynthia said flatly. “You’d better hurry. Viktor is getting a little carried away.” She flipped the phone shut and eyed me with interest. “I like your spirit,” she said, matter of fact. “Most humans would be screaming and crying right now.” I did scream then, which made black spots dance across my vision.
Viktor let me slump, but kept a hold on my right arm. He stretched it painfully, almost pulling me upright again as he sank his teeth into the vulnerable spot at the inside of my elbow. I struggled weakly, fighting not to let the numbness overtake my fury. They were using me to punish Peter. And there was nothing I could do about it. I thought of how he would feel, finding my lifeless body in the park where we had eaten lunch together. I couldn’t spare him that. I was too weak, too useless.
No matter how hard