as he twisted the knob on the side of the building.
The door sprang open with no resistance. He gestured for me to enter and I smiled at our luck as I slid past him into the darkness. I made my way across the seemingly empty floor as the tiny sliver of moonlight that shown through the crack of the door disappeared. Marcus pulled the door tightly closed and twisted the lock.
Chapter twenty-five
War
“Marcus?” I whispered into the darkness as I stretched my arms out in front of me. My fingers collided with the cold chest of another person and I jumped and let out a small shriek. “Damn it, Marcus! You gave me a heart attack,” I scolded him, hitting him playfully.
The room suddenly flooded with harsh light. My eyes struggled to adjust and I rubbed them feverishly trying to help along the process. A deep sadistic chuckle resonated from in front of me and I felt my blood run cold. My body was instantly coated in sweat, my heart raced at an unnatural speed. I slowly peered through my fingers at what was ahead of me. I was face to face with my worst nightmare.
“We wouldn’t want that now would we?” Reid asked sarcastically with his hand placed over his heart.
“Marcus,” I screamed out like a helpless child into the cavernous room. A group of vampires brought Marcus into view, holding him by his limbs as he struggled against them. “Let him go,” I screamed and lurched toward them. Reid grabbed my throat with one swift movement. His fingers slowly squeezed as I struggled for breath.
“That is enough of that,” he said in a calm, disturbing tone. From the other side of the room, another group of thugs carried out someone else. When they stepped into the light, I realized it was a battered Grayson.
“No,” I struggled to yell as Reid’s fingers began to retighten on my throat. Marcus went into a frenzy and began to break free from the grips of his captures. “Please,” I struggled to say, trying to noticeably calm myself down. Reid loosened his grip slightly. “Please let him go,” I sobbed and my vision became blurred with tears. I stopped struggling against Reid as I began to lose all hope.
“Now, now… No more of that, Eva. You are here to witness something spectacular.” Reid replied with what appeared as sympathy. He rubbed my head and brushed the hair from my face.
“I have found a way to strengthen a compound in human blood to make it virtually irresistible. Once that is given to one of my loyal subjects,” he explained, glancing towards Marcus. “They will not stop until they have killed the donor. It really is magnificent.”
My head was spinning with this new information. I stared off at Marcus, who looked as if he was in agony. He wasn’t trying to break free to save me. He wanted to get to Grayson so he could kill him. Reid smiled as he saw everything began to click inside of my head.
“The vials of my blood,” I whispered. His grin spread larger and his fangs glistened in the light. “Grayson,” I mumbled.
“He is my test subject,” Reid explained. My heart sank and my knees gave out from under me. Reid grabbed me by my arms, forcing me to stand. “You are not going to want to miss this, Love,” he said with enthusiasm. He puffed out his chest as he prepared for the show. “Prepare the feast,” He yelled into the giant space. The vampires steadied Grayson and Marcus feet from each other, directly in front of us. I sobbed uncontrollably.
“Please, Marcus! No,” I begged in between moans of sadness. I was losing all hope. Reid looked like a kid in a candy store. His eyes beamed as Marcus fought with all of his inhuman strength to get to Grayson. With his cold fingers gripping my arms tightly to my sides, I could only watch in horror as the fight prepared.
“Release the victim,” Reid bellowed. I watched in shock as the vampires let go of Grayson and he scrambled to escape. He was severely beaten and barely able to stand on his own. He limped as quickly as he could away from the others as they laughed. “Release my killer,” Reid yelled proudly. As the words left his mouth, Marcus was gone in a flash, unable to be seen with my human eyes. I heard a shriek of pain coming from the back of the barn near the