Catalyst Page 0,36

she could stop them.

Reginald darted to the cage, swung open the door, and grabbed Kahli by the throat, yanking her out. Kahli kicked, but the flailing stopped when Kahli realized that Reggie was going to snap her neck or crush her throat. The elegant hands held her too tightly. She couldn't breathe. Kahli's fingers clawed into Reggie's wrists, trying to wrench free, but she couldn't. Kahli's legs dangled, pulling her toward the ground, as the vampire's fist kept her neck high above the floor. Gasping for air, she hung there, suffocating. Her throat ached as her lungs burned, demanding that she breathe, but Kahli couldn't.

Leaning close to her face, Reggie hissed, "Never forget your place. You are nothing, meaningless. And, unlike the Queen, I do not care how pretty you are. If you fail to give me what I want, I will make you regret it one eye at a time, one lip at a time, one scar at a time. Do you understand my meaning?"

Kahli's eyes went wide at his threat. She tried to nod, but couldn't. A strangled sound came rasping from her throat. Reggie tossed Kahli back into the cage and slammed the door shut, locking her in. As soon as his hand withdrew, Kahli sucked in air and fell onto her back. The cage door slammed shut. Kneeling, Kahli coughed until she could breathe again. When she looked up, Reginald was handing her a tool, the one that would pierce her skin. Kahli needed more time, and she couldn't have this guy rip her apart while she figured out what to do. He seemed as crazy as his sister. Why did Will think she'd be safe with him?

A thought crossed her mind. Kahli took the tool as asked, "If I don't do this, you're going to rip out my eyes?"

Reggie cringed, "You're so crass." He looked her over, before sneering in disgust, his mind drifting to the bet with his sister. "I would have won that bet with the Queen, by the way. William failed to teach you anything proper." Reggie rolled his eyes, sighing deeply, as if it was impossible to civilize Kahli before saying, "But yes, I'll wound you one eye at a time, blinding you, scarring you. Try running away when you can't see."

Kahli rolled the tool between her thumb and forefinger, looking at him. "Will thought I'd be safe with you." It was a statement. Kahli said it to see what he'd say, but she didn't get much of an answer.

He laughed, "Will thought wrong."

Kahli stared at Reggie when she lifted the golden tool to her neck. Pressing the sharp point gently, she felt the familiar prick of metal cutting through skin. Kahli pulled it away slowly, careful not to spill the drop, when she felt the side of her neck grow hot and wet. Lifting her hand, Kahli started to offer the drop to Reggie, but her hand lingered half outstretched. She asked, "What do you have on him?"

"What you care?" Reggie snapped. The vamp was always irritated. It was like a chronic case of PMS that never ended. "Will's probably dead, and if by some freak chance he's still alive, the King will fix that when they find him."

"Won't they just follow us back here?" Kahli asked, looking at the bright red drop on top of the needle.

Reggie stared at the drop as he answered, salivating, "We saw to it that they had nothing to track. Now, give that to me." Kahli held the golden tool for a moment, wanting to ask more questions about Will, wanting answers that she couldn't get. Instead of pressing, she handed the vampire the needle with the tiny drop of blood. Reggie took it gingerly, gazing greedily with his narrow black eyes.

An idea formed in Kahli's mind. It was insane, but it might be worth it. Maybe. There wasn't much time to consider the idea and all its drawbacks. Not seeing another option, she quickly offered, "I won't fight back. I'll give you as much blood as you want, when you want, if you'll answer my questions about Will."

Reggie pressed the drop of blood to his tongue and closed his eyes. When he swallowed, a serene expression passed over his face. The only trace that the blood was hard to consume was the repeated bobbing of his adam's apple as he swallowed again and again. Potent blood was like trying to swallow kerosene. Even so, Reggie's expression lingered until he opened his eyes. Looking