Page 65 of Trapped for Her Blood
“Who cares?” I shout. “Cut the chains!”
“I’ve got a few things stashed away.” Psycho cuts some of the chains across Ryker’s chest, and then, using the wolf pelt, I carefully peel metal links from Ryker’s body. Pieces of his burnt skin come off too.
Ryker screams, his face still unrecognizable, but I know that it’s him.
Psycho cuts more chains, and then his hand brushes my shoulder. “Let Zuben and I do it. It will be quicker.”
I look up through tear filled eyes to see what almost looks like compassion in Psycho’s eyes. It’s beyond surprising. Getting off my knees, I back up a few feet and let the two vampires work.
Moving more quickly than I could ever hope to, Psycho cuts links of chain while Zuben pulls them off Ryker’s body, rolling him periodically to pull the strands from underneath.
Soon it’s clear that Ryker’s naked under the chains. Whoever did this to him wanted to inflict the maximum amount of pain and suffering.
The salt of tears runs into my mouth, and I swipe the streams from my cheeks, not aware I was crying. Zuben claimed that Ryker abandoned me, but instead he’s been suffering, wrapped in silver and burning in the sun. Has he been like this for long? It’s a wonder he’s alive.
The two vampires remove the silver from Ryker’s face and he howls in agony. The sound fades to nothing, but his mouth stays twisted as if trying to expel a scream that won’t come.
Slowly the burns start to heal. The thick black ash that covers Ryker turns to dust, and the redness and blistering fade as his features become recognizable.
Ryker screams again, and I rush forward.
Zuben stands to stop me, blocking my view. “Do not watch this part,” he says. “Keep your eyes on his face.”
I nod, but glance down to see what Zuben was shielding me from. Ryker’s genitals have been bound in ropes of silver, and twisted…
Zuben is right. I can’t watch.
Kneeling next to Ryker’s shoulder, I look into his eyes, so full of pain, but recognition flashes inside them. He tries to speak, but his lips crack and bleed.
“Don’t try to talk,” I say softly. “They’re cutting all the silver chains. Just let yourself heal.”
I flash back to when he sliced his arm open in my apartment, demonstrating that he was a vampire. And how he looked burned when he came out of that torture chamber. I need to trust that Ryker will heal from this too, but the burns are so extensive, so deep.
I shudder. What if it’s too much? Axe said that vampires die from incineration and Ryker’s burnt so badly, it’s hard to imagine it won’t be lethal.
Ryker’s back arches up, his face twisting in agony, and I have to assume that the guys are unwrapping his cock and balls. But I keep my gaze on his face, looking into his eyes, letting him know that I’m here beside him as he suffers through this pain, and that I’ll be here when he reaches the other side of it. And he will. I have to believe that.
His back straightens, dropping to the rock again, and he pants, breathing far too quickly.
I turn to the other two. “What can I do to help him? Does he need blood?”
Zuben pulls links of silver off one of Ryker’s legs as Psycho continues to cut the chains and ropes. “Not yet. He is too weak to drink. Later.”
Hearing a splash, I glance up. The rippled evidence of Axe’s dive shows on the water’s surface, and I wonder if he’s back in the form of a man, and if his silver burns have healed. But it’s Ryker who needs me most right now.
“How about water?” I ask Zuben. “I could soak my dress and drape wet cloths on him?”
Zuben reaches across Ryker’s body to stroke my cheek. “He will heal, precious one. His burns are severe. Whoever did this, meant for him to suffer, but the silver is almost removed. He will survive.”
“I need to do something.” My throat is so tight the words squeak out.
“All we can do is wait and hope,” Zuben says as he continues to remove links of silver. “I know that it causes you pain to see this, but removing the silver is the best we can do.”
Grateful that Zuben recognizes how I feel, I return my focus to Ryker. Zuben hates Ryker, he doesn’t trust him, and so I’m even more grateful that he’s helping him now, that he sees how much Ryker’s recovery means to me.
Another splash in the water draws my attention. Axe’s powerful arms press down on the stone at the edge of the pool, then, like a rocket, his massive body shoots out of the water and he lands on his feet.
He shakes his head and his long hair flies around him, spraying water. Axe is nothing short of magnificent, but I return my attention back to Ryker who’s healing before my eyes.
