Page 9 of Surging Reef
He yanked again, the metal sizzling, the scent of charred flesh attacking his nostrils, and he gagged.
“What are you doing?”
“The chain. Silver.”
There was some rustling, then light was aimed at him. The phone.
“Ugh. What the fuck is that?”
“Silver.” Ashby breathed hard, trying to make his brain work, to come up with a way to get out of the chain.
“You’re allergic to silver?”
He flashed fangs at the man who scrambled away.No!Fuck, now he was out of reach. “Sorry.”
The man snorted and crawled over to the dog. Had Ashby gone insane, or was the man wearing shoes, underwear, and a shirt? No pants. Who left their house not wearing pants?
“We’ll…eh…leave you to it.” The man swayed as he stood, a hand flying out to steady himself on the wall, then he crouched and dropped his head while panting. Fuck, Ashby had taken too much blood.
The man then held out his arm, and the dog walked closer. He hugged it to his chest and slowly stood, more or less leaning on the wall. The pink leg remained in an outstretched position. It looked ridiculous.
“Please, don’t leave me.” He hadn’t meant to sound so pathetic, but the idea of this man—insane or not—leaving him here made fear curl around him. “She’ll kill me.”
The man hesitated. “Who is she?”
“Anne, the vampire queen.”
He frowned, the light from the phone shaking slightly. “Vampire queen. You’re a vampire? Wait! What the fuck, dude! Will I be a vampire now?” He raised the hand he held the phone in to his throat and touched the place where Ashby had bittenhim.
“No. It isn’t contagious.”
“And you’re sure you’re not a ghoul? This is a graveyard after all.”
Ashby stared, trying not to feel the silver eating his flesh. “Not a ghoul. I don’t think ghouls are real.”
“You don’t think they’re real? Well, I don’t think vampires are real, so where does that leave us?”
Eh…“In a lighthouse?”
The man snapped his mouth shut and nodded briskly. “I guess.”
“Please, don’t leave.”
The man shifted his weight, adjusted his hold on the dog, and sighed. “I know it might sound selfish, but I don’t feel like meeting your queen.”
“She’s notmyqueen. Or I guess she is, but she’s not a queen like a human queen is queen. She’s the ruler of Waterside.”
The man stared and kept on staring for an eternity. “And you’re waiting for her here? Chained to the wall.”
Ashby huffed. “She put me here. I’d love to get out.”
The man gestured toward the doorway, then he pursed his lips. “If I come near you, will you bite me again?”
Ashby smiled his best smile. “Only if you want me to.”
“No. If you so much as think about biting me, I’ll kill you. Or leave you here to…melt.” He gestured at the chain and grimaced.
“I can make it good.”
