Page 47 of Desired for Her Blood
Axe squeezes shut his eyes and I can feel the pain in his expression.
“Have you ever made a vampire?” Ryker asks me, and I shake my head stiffly. I have been involved, but have no Progeny of my own. And the process I witnessed was so horrific and pain-filled I could never imagine doing it to anyone else, never mind Ember.
“Me neither,” Ryker says. “I don’t remember many details from when I was turned, either. Except that…it sure as fuck wasn’t pleasant.”
“Notpleasant?” Axe’s eyes narrow and he holds Ember even tighter. “More like torture. A nightmare.”
“It’s too risky.” Ryker shakes his head. “Especially since none of us knows how to do it.”
“I have notdoneit,” I clarify, “but I have seen it done and understand the process.”
Ryker and Ember turn toward me, and I immediately wish I had not spoken before thinking through the consequences. But then realize that, in spite of my initial reaction, Ember’s suggestion has provided the first ounce of hope I have had since traveling through that long tunnel of water.
“No one’s turning her into a vampire,” Axel roars.
“Hey!” Ember shimmies out of Axel’s arms to stand. “Don’t I get a say in this? It’s my life!” She looks at each of us in turn, and, for me at least, it is impossible to argue with her statement.
“And whatareyour wishes on this matter?” I ask her.
“I’m not sure.” She raises her chin. “I need to know more. And I need more time to think.”
Chapter Thirteen
Ember
The heatfrom the fire penetrates my body, warming me, but doing little to release all the pent up tension inside me. Since Zuben came back, five days ago, to conserve wood, we’ve only had one fire a day, and I’m grateful for the warmth and the daily ration of cooked venison it brings.
Without much effort, the four of us have gotten into a quasi routine. The guys like to keep active, and while it’s a challenge given the small space, they’ve found ways to work out.
I like to watch.
Watching them distracts me from the big decision I need to make.
The guys often move so quickly I lose sight of them, but the show is fantastic. Even tightly wound Zuben exercises in the nude, not wanting to damage his suit. The only thing Zuben wears to exercise is his tie, tightly binding down his cock that always seems to be stiff. The guys tease him about it, and the one time I offered to help him release the tension he looked so horrified I dropped the topic.
Ryker paces a lot, moving back and forth across the cave so quickly I sometimes just feel the breeze as he passes. I watch now as he takes a break from running to do push ups, the muscles on his scarred back so pronounced as he pumps. Then he leaps up nearly thirty feet, and grabs onto a small shelf of rock jutting out from the cave wall.
There, he does chin ups, pulling himself up over and over again, his broad back flexing and glistening with dampness in the dim light. My eyes have grown used to the cave’s darkness, but I struggle to see compared to the men.
Hearing a grunt, I turn to see Axe shifting boulders near the cave’s blocked entrance, unrelentingly working even as each boulder he moves gets replaced by a new one that falls forward in a never-ending cascade of stone. But Axe seems determined to explore an alternate escape route beyond the long swim. The long swim that requires my becoming a vampire.
I turn to find Zuben climbing up the cave wall over the pool for what must be his thousandth attempt. He’s convinced that the small aperture at the top of the cave holds the key to our escape, even though Axe brushed off the idea with a brisk, “Don’t you think I’ve fucking tried that?”
Nevertheless, Zuben keeps trying to climb to the arched cave’s apex every night. I’ve seen him make impossibly large leaps, but the higher sections are too sloped, too smooth, and at some point he always slips, falling several stories into the water, disproving yet another human myth about vampires. They can’t cling to walls, and they certainly can’t crawl across ceilings.
At least none of these three can. Zuben, who’s been a vampire the longest, has told me that, just like humans, not all vampires are exactly the same. Some develop unique skills or powers over time, or based on the powers of the vampire who made them.
Zuben’s also partially explained the process of turning me. One of them will have to nearly drain me of blood, and then, after leaving me near death for some time, the same one would feed mehisblood.
And if I survive that, but still haven’t changed, the vampire could try again, but each time it would grow more painful and bring a greater risk of death. Zuben has made it clear that the chances of a successful transition are low, and even if it does work… Am I ready to become something other than human?
If I even am human now.
Curling up into a ball, I close my eyes as confusion overwhelms me once again. I don’t even understand what I am now, or whether or not I had family beyond my mom. Not only might I have magical powers, but also now I’m facing the possibility of becoming a vampire. Creatures I thought were vicious monsters not that long ago.
But my indecision and fear are hurting us all.
“Hey.” Axe’s deep voice rumbles through me as his hand falls on my back, and it’s soon joined by Ryker’s. I raise my gaze to see Zuben is standing nearby too, between the fire and me.
