them. Like giant fanged bugs, they hung from the ceiling and crawled across the walls. This was what Tamara had been trying to show me.
Gruesome’s hold tightened, and I lost it. To hell with putting on a brave front. Panic turned into a scream as he lifted me off my feet and carried me through the gates of hell.
The smell hit first—it was a mixture of blood, excrement, and fear. As he casually strolled to the middle of the dirt floor, not a twitch was made from the peanut gallery.
“Be a good girl,” he whispered in my ear.
The minute my feet hit the ground, I leaned forward and vomited all over his shoes. The blow came fast. My face exploded in pain as I flew through the air and landed on my side with a loud grunt.
“That’s one way to get her on the floor,” a voice spoke. Two others, including Gruesome, chuckled. Fuckers.
Thankfully, I landed at an angle that put my foot within reach. As my hand inched toward my boot, I prayed for Zack to get his ancient vampire ass here and save me. Slowly, I extracted the serrated throwing star. It was smaller than a normal throwing star but perfect for slashing throats. Now, if I could only get to my machete, I might have a fighting chance.
“It’s chow time!” One of the vamps called out.
That was my warning to move. I sprang to my feet and reached for my machete as the bug-like vamps began dropping from the ceiling. I immediately started slashing. They were fast, beyond fast, so fast that I couldn’t keep track of their movements.
“She’s up!” I heard someone shout.
Fangs pierced my shoulder. Flaming-hot pain seared through me, and I let out a terror-filled scream in the form of a giant “Fuuck yoou!” While I managed to dislodge the one on my shoulder, another latched onto my leg. That’s when I saw them coming.
“PHD sent me! They know I’m here!” I shouted.
Gruesome came in fast. I let out a streak of curse words, then I swung. He exploded into a pile of ash. Talk about lucky. I took out two others before Twosome came at me. He took me down hard. I got his throat with the machete but not before he crushed my star-throwing hand. Excruciating, teeth-rattling pain scorched through me, and I screamed in agony.
I must have blacked out because when I came to, GI Fang was standing over me. Grasping the machete with my good hand, I pushed to my knees and vomited from the pain.
GI laughed. “Stupid bitch, I’m the only thing stopping them from eating you alive.”
My vision wavering, I got to my feet. It was at that moment that I realized the bugs were no longer moving. They just stood there, like creepy, inanimate statues of horror.
“So, you’re the new PHD bitch. I heard about you.”
GI wants to chat? I could be down with that. “Get me out of here, and we can work out a deal,” I panted.
He laughed. “And miss all the fun of seeing them rip you to shreds? I don’t think so.”
From what I could see, there were several baby vamps and one giant dickweed standing between me and the door.
Time to slash and burn. Burying the pain, I dodged left, and sprinted for the door, slashing as I went. As the first vamp’s head started to teeter from its shoulders, I was already to the second. Off with his head! I was almost to the third when GI dumbass finally caught on.
With an enraged roar, he charged. I tried to change directions, but it was too late. Five million pounds of pissed-off vampire tackled me from behind. Something snapped as I hit the ground, I was pretty sure it was a rib, possibly all of them. He pinned my machete arm to the ground with one hand while grinding my face into the nasty, blood-encrusted dirt with the other, all the while talking smack about how he was going to drain me dry.
The hell you are.
“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you who sent me, just let up so I can breathe.”
He rolled from my back, taking the machete with him, and ordered, “Talk, bitch.”
The pain was too much, and my stomach threatened to revolt again. As I slid my hand into my cargo pocket and pulled out my one and only stake, I considered vomiting on him. My ribcage seized as I flipped onto my side. I was a mess. Breathing deeply, I