The quietest of whistles zinged in the air.
I flinched and grabbed my neck. “What the fuck?” My attention slammed to the stranger, my fingers gripping and yanking out a dart that had jabbed me in the neck. I flashed my fangs, snarling hard. I waggled the dart at the fucker, two seconds away from jabbing him in the eye with it. “What is this about?”
The man lowered a small tube from his mouth, pocketing it. He’d freaking shot a dart through the air with a hard push of air through the tube—primitive warfare, just like this shithouse.
The vampire simply smiled, baring his fangs.
I shook my head hard, darkness edging in on the outside of my vision. I sniffed at the dart, even as I drew one of my guns and aimed it at his head. I wobbled to the left, banging against the dirty wall. I slurred, “What is this?”
“Vampire’s Draught,” the man deigned to speak this time. “Queen Niniane wishes your company.”
My eyelashes fluttered shut. I swayed where I stood, rocking back and forth. I mumbled drunkenly, “She could have just asked…” My words fell off into nothing, my mindwhirling.
I still pulled the trigger.
I managed to peek open one eye.
The vampire dropped to the ground, dead right in front of me, half his head now gone. But another vampire took his place, rushing right into the hut and slamming my back against the wall. The lantern tumbled to the ground, cracking and swiftly extinguishing in the piss. The sizzle of the fire going out brushed against my senses as I was disarmed, my entire body no longer my own—dead to this realm, like stone.
Limp as a noodle, I was tossed over the vampire’s shoulder. I groaned under my breath. That had hurt. I should have saved my piss for this asshole.
The wind whipped around our bodies.
The vampire was moving at a dizzying pace.
We raced from the area, getting farther and farther away from safety. I was weak, unable to move. I couldn’t even get my claws to unleash. I wanted so badly to rip into this bastard’s ass I was repeatedly blinking at—a lot of flesh there to tear apart.
I swallowed hard when we stopped abruptly.
“Get the bag,” my captor demanded brusquely.
I blinked again, stating stupidly, “A bag is good. I may throw up.”
My captor chuckled…then stuffed me in a bag made of red velvet, the cloth brushing against my frame like a dream. My mouth bobbed up and down while I sat slumped in confusion. I stared up at the vampire as he shoved my remaining limb—my right arm—inside the bag, too.
I snarled drunkenly, “I don’t think Santa Claus has a vampire on his gift list. Many children wouldn’t like my smile.” I grinned crookedly, fangs showing.
“What?” The vampire glared down at me, holding the edges of the bag close together so only a little light shined inside it. “I haven’t a clue who this Santa is you speak of. It is my queen who demands your time now.”
I slumped further on my side, my muscles not listening. “Look, asshole, just let me go. And I promise you, and whoever you have here with you, won’t die from my hand.”
Now…he may die from Bel’s. You know, since he liked killing everyone, for reasons unknown to me.
My captor snorted hard, completely amused. “At least you are worried. You should be where you’re going.” He jerked the bag closed over my head, tying it tight and cutting off any view. “Enjoy the ride. It will be the last time you have any peace. Trust me.”
“Like I’m going to trust someone who is kidnapping me,” I grumbled under my breath. The bag—and my person—lifted off the ground suddenly. I grunted in surprise and then shouted in pain as they dropped the bag onto something hard—like wood. My head bounced twice, and I barked, “Careful with the fucking merchandise! I doubt your queen wants damaged goods, you dumb fuck. She obviously sent you for me—alive—so try to keep me that way.”
I sniffed. I think I was bleeding.
I was absolutely going to kill him.
Whatever I lay upon wobbled beneath me.
My captor sighed. “Dart her again. She’s a nervous talker.”
“I amnota nervous person.” The wood beneath my deadweight body shifted. “There’s no need for another dose of the Vampire’s Draught. I can’t feel my tongue as it is.”
A hand pressed down onto my back from outside my velvet bag of seclusion. I couldn’t fight back when a sharp prick jabbed into my side, poking in deep.
