will do to you. You will be bound in chains, locked away forever to never again see the dark of night, feel the cool rays of the moon. You will grow weak and feeble, forever barred from taking blood. You will not be fed, and you will never feed again.
“Your body will be the first to go. Your muscles will wither away to nothingness, and your bones will crumble. You will become a mere shadow of what you once were. A shadow of what you could have become.
“But they will keep your mind sharp. Make no mistake, you will know you are suffering. An antidote will be administered, and it will stave off the madness that accompanies your feeding deprivation. You will languish forever in misery, forever conscious of your mistake. That will be your sentence. Until the end of time.” The man took one last step, until he was nose-to-nose with Logan. And he spoke just loudly enough for Laura to hear.
“But that pales in comparison to what they will do to her.” Logan snarled. “Yes, her. Your precious human.” He spat the word. Then he raised his voice. “I know you are here, my darling. Listen well to what I have to say.” Then he spoke to Logan again. “She will suffer for your sin. A human mind and body is much weaker than that of our kind, that of the Vassiz, and for that reason… she will be converted. And sentenced to suffer eternally alongside you.
“You know of the savage bloodlust that overtakes a new member of the Vassiz, do you not? Oh, but I think you do. You were once one of them, were you not? You were born a human.” Again, he spat the word. “A despicable thing. A despicable creature to risk to much for, wouldn’t you say?”
Logan didn’t say a word, and the man continued. “I will give you once chance. One chance now, to repent. Give her up freely, and your punishment for your treason will be less severe. You will be only bound for one century, and then be returned your freedom.” He put a hand on Logan’s shoulder. “You know you cannot win. Is eternity in hell worth it, for her?”
Suddenly Laura caught movement at the door. The other hunter. “No!” she screamed. It was a trap.
Everything happened at once.
On Laura’s cry, both newcomers looked in her direction. Logan curled back from the man’s hand and smashed an elbow into his face. The thick man – no, the thick vampire – stumbled back. Then he laughed cruelly, and flung himself at Logan. They both went down hard.
The other vampire, the first one’s accomplice, walked towards her from the door. He ignored Logan and his friend completely. He looked right at her, and walked closer ever so slowly, taking his sweet time. She was trapped, and she knew it. She had to get out. She edged towards the exit, and she could see through the cracks the vampire watching her had stopped. He had a crude smile on his face, and his eyes followed her movement. He just stood there, waiting. He knew where she was, and where she would go.
She heard a shout. Logan’s shout. It was a cry of pain. She couldn’t see him; couldn’t see what happened. She flung herself at the board and crashed through to the other side. And she saw Logan lying lifelessly on the floor.
“No!” she screamed, and scrambled to get to him, to help him up, to do anything. But the vampire who had been watching her moved impossibly quick. He grabbed her roughly by the arm, and pulled her close.
“No, girlie,” he breathed on her face, “you’re not going anywhere but with us.”
“Let go of me!” Laura cried, and struggled against his grip. But his fingers around her arm didn’t budge. “Logan! Logan!” She saw him on the floor, struggling to get up. And as soon as he was on his knees, he collapsed back down as a boot came down hard on his spine.
“Stop!” she shrieked. Desperately, she tried to get away, struggling against the grip on her arm. She squirmed and screamed, but the vampire’s hand was an iron chain. Suddenly, she found herself being lifted, and the vampire was carrying her, over his back, out into the forest.
“Logan!” she screamed. Tears streamed down her face. She frantically wanted to help, to run back in and help him to his feet. But she couldn’t do anything. She was absolutely helpless.