Page 14 of Succubus Sins
Speechless
Luke
I’d grown so accustomed to silence during the spanning hours in-between Anderson’s torture sessions that it was unnerving to hear my cellmate’s breathing. But after a while, the sensation grew on me. The soft intake and exhale drew me in until I measured each one, marking its minute difference from the last. His breaths came in long and deep, holding for a second before releasing. He seemed so calm, and somehow it made me feel safe.
When the breath stopped, my heart flung into my throat. I rushed to the bars and beat my palms against the slick iron. “Hey. You okay, dude?”
His sharp intake of breath followed by a ragged cough sent relief flooding into my chest. It was just human sleep apnea.
My panic had woken the poor guy from his slumber. He groaned and scuffled across the ground. It was pitch black and if I were him, I’d be freaking out right about now.
“Hey. It’s all right. Over here,” I offered.
An incoherent grumble preceded dragging steps towards my location. Finally, a warm hand fumbled against mine. I stiffened, not used to physical contact that wasn’t followed by blinding pain. But I kept my hand where it was. For once, someone needed me. Someone innocent who didn’t deserve to be here. The least I could do was offer comfort.
His hand slid around mine, as if there would be Braille on my skin to explain where the heck we were. “Who’s there?” he asked.
I plastered a smile on my face and even though he couldn’t see it, perhaps the gesture would seep through my words. “My name’s Luke. I’m a prisoner here, just like you.”
The grip tightened around my fingers. “Prisoner?”
“Yeah.” I shifted uncomfortably, my hand growing sweaty under his clammy touch. Damn, the guy’s skin was freezing. “What’s the last thing you remember?” I asked.
A moment of silence. Then he said, “I’d finally got my shot with Sonya. But then it all went wrong, and some bum must have attacked me from behind. I don’t know how I got here.”
I finally couldn’t take it anymore and withdrew from the bars. “Sonya? Is that the succubus?”
A short chuckle. “What makes you call her that? Though she is damn irresistible. I know I couldn’t keep my hands off her.”
Shit. I’d hoped he’d been simply fed on, maybe she got in a lick or two. But if he’d gone all the way, he was a dead man walking. I tried to keep the panic out of my voice. “Did you fuck her?”
“Excuse me? What kind of question is that?”
I crossed my arms, now getting annoyed. “You’re in a pitch-black cell, talking to a fellow prisoner, and you find myquestionodd?”
As if it hit him this wasn’t a dream, he rushed to the bars. The sound of metallic jewelry clanking against the metal made my ears hurt. “Where the fuck am I? Who are you?”
“I already told you, I’m a prisoner, just like you. If you slept with this Sonya girl, and she’s a succubus, then that’s why you’re here. Anderson must think he can learn something from you, or use you to get to her somehow.” I shifted my weight and grunted. “He’s obsessed with supernaturals.”
A moment of silence, then he asked, “What are you?”
“Ah,” I said, spearing my finger up in the darkness, “now you’re asking the right question. Too bad even I don’t know what I am. I just know what I’m not, and that’s human.”
A sea of fluorescent lights blinked across the ceiling. Out of reflex, I snapped my eyes shut. But I’d still been too slow. Black dots sprinkled my vision when I tested my sight again, revealing the abhorrent contents of my cell. Anderson hosed it down once in a while, but man, I was starting to feel like a cat stuck in a litter box that never got emptied. Except I had way more than nine lives, which Anderson loved to remind me.
I tensed, expecting to see Anderson and his tools of torture. He favored the good ol’ hammer and nails, but to extract my eye he’d used only a spoon. When I got out of this place, I’d never be able to have tea again.
When my vision cooperated and revealed a petite blonde instead, I blinked in confusion. I was about to say, “My, Mr. Anderson. You’ve changed,” which I found quite witty and chuckled to myself, but when I opened my mouth to impress the pretty lady with my mad joke skills, complete gibberish came out instead.
I coughed, rubbed my face, and tried again. “Blurg mangaravatah!”
She blinked and tilted her head. “Uhm, excuse me?”
What the hell was that? I’d heard of an attractive woman rendering a man dumb, but this was ridiculous.
My cellmate pressed his face against the bars. “Sarah! What’re you doing here?”
Relief flooded her face. “David!”
