Page 29 of A Velvet Kiss After Dark

Her brief inhalations of air were strangled and choking her, yet the void seemed to eat the sounds like a ghoul, stealing it from her to continue the morbid silence of terror, which forebodingly succumbed her to imminent death.

Salty hot tears trickled down her cheeks.

Oh God, I'm going to die here.

Her mouth opened, and she let loose a scream that seemed to go into the black hole she was surrounded in, for no sound escaped her throat nor echoed back. It was all empty and horrifying. Her lungs burned like fire, and she yearned to be back home in her bed asleep where she should be.

She cried harder as her lungs burned more and more with each passing second, like having one's head held under water for far too long.

Pure terror shook her and her body began to twitch spasmodically as oxygen deprivation sunk in quickly.

Gasp.

No more air. All out.

She attempted to suck in some sort of air, but only made a grotesque sounds, as no oxygen could fill her bleeding lungs.

A rivulet of blood drained out from her nose, meshing with tears, and then just like that, Tabitha died.

PART TWO

6

"What have you done?" a familiar male's voice growled down at her. It was Kane.

Slowly the world came to, and it was not the world Tabitha was used to looking at, but a colorized techno-visual of rainbow colors, as if a bright filter had been applied to the world, making the sky, the ground appear more vivid and colorful than usual.

Four strapping warriors bedecked in armor and weapons like something out of a fantasy film surrounded Tabitha's weakened form where she lie on the dirt-strewn ground. She'd lost everything to that vagabond: her wallet, keys, and her camera.

She wanted to explain, but her throat was swollen, face reddened from her ordeal and relief nowhere near.

Slowly she looked around at a desert landscape of dusty copper ground, twiggy trees and a strange indigo sky with a foggy sun.

"Where am I?" Her voice was hoarse and crass.

Kane glowered down at her with an unforgiving look. "Welcome to Hell, Tabitha."

"Can we put her back?" The one who spoke was a werewolf judging by his size, and he had a Scottish accent.

Life was a complicated matter. People made mistakes constantly. It was all part of the process of life. Some mistakes were huge. Some were costly. The one Tabitha just made put all others to shame. She'd just won American Idol for Biggest Mistake Ever, and it wasn't even her fault. Tracking Kane after he'd left her apartment was a terrible idea, apparently.

Kane let loose a tirade of gibberish in a language she didn't recognize as he leveled a furious look at her. She actually retreated into herself, sensing no ounce of tenderness that he usually had for her.

She didn't even have a moment to be grateful she was still alive.

"The portal has already closed," said a tall slender female with silvery hair resting down to her waist in a braid. She pulled a black bow across her shoulders and nocked an arrow as she gazed out across the horizon. "The instructions on the scrolls say the portal incantation can't be used for another three days. Who is this female, Kánnérd? A late joiner to our entourage?"

Tabitha surveyed the landscape as her throat acclimated to air. She appeared to be in a desert wasteland of sorts with nothing but a blistering sun, steep mountainous terrain and parched earth for miles in every direction.

Tears of gratitude at surviving the black void fell down her cheeks. "I thought I was going to die," she whispered. She couldn't look him in the eyes, but eventually his strong, leather-gloved hand appeared before her face, and she took it so he could pull her upright. She wanted to lean against his strength; she felt weak as a babe, but managed to main upright with only minimal swaying side to side.

"Where am I, Kane?"

A male vampire with equally long silver hair skewered her with a pensive gaze. "Who is this woman, Kánnérd? She smells human. She'll be useless here unless she has some appropriate skills I'm unaware of?"

The female kept her gaze on the horizon as if checking for any incoming threats. "You're in Hell territory."

Tabitha took a moment to digest this, her brain felt sluggish, and her mouth parched for water. Kánnérd? So, was that his true name?

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