Page 79 of Unbound By Shadows
“Do you have flying mailmen? I saw a postcard with such a thing once.”
“Not quite,” Selene said. She tried to ease back against a tree, mentally cataloging the various ways she knew to kill a vampire. Sunlight, fire, removing the head—none of those were viable at the moment. She vaguely remembered something about silver, but judging by the amount of silver-set jewels Margery wore, it was a myth. Her eyes darted to Sam, and a lump rose in her throat. She tried to see if his chest still rose and fell, but she couldn’t tell for certain. Maybe if she humored Margery for a bit, Sam would wake up and end this.
“Airplanes,” Selene said. “No underwater cities or flying mailmen, but we can fly hundreds of people anywhere in the world in big machines called airplanes.”
“Really?”
“Of course. You can fly from New York to Los Angelesin about six hours,” she said, while another nugget from her self-defense class came back her.Always go for the eyes.Selene’s fingers clawed at the ground for a handful of dirt, but she only came up with limp blades of grass.
“How many live on the moon?”
“None. Not yet, at least. We’re doing a lot of research on Mars, though.”
“Mars! Amazing,” Margery said. The vampire reached down to wrap her cold fingers around Selene’s forearm. “Come now, stand up. You’ll tell me more as we journey to my king’s castle.”
Selene was abruptly pulled to her feet, swaying from the strength Margery used to jerk her upright. She tried to pull her hand back, but Margery only tightened her iron grip.
“That hurts. Let go,” Selene protested, but Margery tugged her close so that their bodies were nearly touching.
“Oh… ohhhh, your scent,” The expression of ecstasy that transformed Margery’s face was terrifying. She leaned in to sniff, then brought Selene’s hand up to nuzzle her wrist. “You smell delicious.”
“I said, let go.”
“How long it’s been since I tasted human blood…”
“You said you wouldn’t hurt me.”
“I wouldn’t dare spoil my prize.” Margery’s pupils were blown, making her appear ferocious. “But all the same… one little taste wouldn’t hurt.”
“No! Let go of me!” Selene tried to yank her arm back, but Margery was too strong.
Licking at the skin of her wrist with a tongue that felt both slimy and gritty, Margery quivered with pleasure. “You’re right. It’s too risky to feed from the vein. I’ve never been known for my control,” she chuckled. She dragged her lips over Selene’s palm, then twirled her tongue around the fleshy end of Selene’s thumb.
“Here. I’ll take a teeny-tiny drop from here. Just to put a spring back in my step. It wouldn’t turn you—it would only be a pleasurable pinch. No one has to know. Julian had it all wrong with hisblood wagons. Blood isn’t better when it’s tormented. It’s much sweeter when both parties are in agreement.”
“I don’t agree!”
Margery’s expression flashed from hunger to madness. “You don’t know what it’s like! To only feed on these Aurelians and their inferior blood… it’s agony! I’m so hungry, always hungry. I drink and drink, but I’m never full.”
“Get away from me,” Selene tried to pry Margery’s fingers from her arm.
“Quit squirming, will you, darling? Just let it happen.”
“No! You can’t do this!” Selene’s muscles were trembling from the strain of trying to pull away.
“Yes, I must!” Margery shrieked, her voice echoing through the trees. “I NEED YOU!”
The last three words were shouted with wild desperation. But to Selene, they could have been whispered, and the effect would’ve remained the same. Her body stiffened before an unnatural calm took hold of her. While the trees around them rustled, everything seemed to move in slow motion.
I need you.
She rolled the phrase over in her mind, feeling the weight of the words. The entreaty, the implication. The obligation.
I need you.
How many times had she heard that before? How many people in her life used that phrase to manipulate her?
I need you, her boss always repeated before a board meeting. When she’d be stuck working all weekend onhisPowerPoint presentation. “You’re so much better at it than I am,” he would say over his shoulder before walking out the door at 4:00 on a Friday.
