The Inferno

Chapter 10: Blood lust

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Cassia woke up groggily. Her vision made her dizzy with its constant shifting of her eyesight, focusing in, zooming out. What the hell had she been doing last night? It must have been good, to warrant this much of a concussion. A concussion with out a headache. But an insistent ache in her upper jaw. It was like teething, where the original teeth where being forced out, the pressure building and building with intense discomfort.

Red. Warm.

Cassia felt her stomach contract. Breathing seemed to be hard, the air getting stuck in her throat. Why am l hyperventilating about being locked up, again? Another cell, the white paint peeling, windowless and only the piece of foam that she was now sitting on inside. The floor was stone, and on inspection tilted to a drain in the middle. Last night had obviously not been good for her prestige as a hunter. And dwelling on it, where the hell was the light coming from?

A door slammed, it echoed outside of her cell. She gritted her teeth with anger as a familiar voice reached her ears. Flame Azure.

"You are soo lucky boy." Was the answer to Flames mumble.

Cassia grinned, so he was getting wrong. Now that she could enjoy...

"Boy?" Flames snort reached Cassia's ears hampered by the walls. "Boy? Need I remind you about the boy issue?" Even muffled the annoyance shone through Flames voice. Cassia bit down a laugh, as a smacking sound was identifiable. She was disappointed when no sounds of Flame crumpling into a heap where heard. Now where did I get that from...? "Remember, play nicely with the newbie." The voice was decisive, and commanding. Chase... A flash back hit Cassia, as the locks clicked, bolts where removed and the hatch that had been placed over the grating in the door was removed.

Pale light hit Cassias eyes, and hurt. The sight of a grinning Flame made her nauseous.

"Cassia Edwards," Chase stated, business like, over riding Flame. "I have four words for you. Location. Of. The. Enclave."

Deja vous struck Cassia, leaving her as confused, as she had been when she'd first prised her eyes open. "Location? Enclave?" Dumb blonde never failed... And there was Flame, blonde to the extreme, just to add an extra dimension to that statement. A disgrace to blondes everywhere.

"Maybe you're not lucky Flame." Chase observed clinically.

"Can't blame me." Flame said.

"You are over doing the 'pity me'." Chase growled, ominously.

Cassia glanced between the two of them, confused. What the hell was going on here? "Me?" Flame was saying, something akin to sincerity shining from his face and oozing from his words.

"Yes. You." Obviously Chase knew that if someone could fake genuineness they really couldn't be trusted. Cassia really admired that in a person. She supposed it could be translated to vampires. She took the opportunity to stumble to her feet, heading for the door. She hung back, not wanting to touch the grate, but not wishing to be seen swaying on her feet. "Who? What?" She needn't have worried. Flame was too busy antagonising.

"Surely not me." He smirked. "You going to 'interrogate' her?" He waggled his light eyebrows. Honestly to the fire, he did. Cassia stared.

"Do you honestly think I'd trust you to do it, after the last time? You practically killed her."

Killed me. Oh no... Oh no... She concentrated on the conversation with everything she had, feverishly.

"Practically? And that wasn't my fault." Flames voice was as bland as rich pudding, made by one of the more memorable of Cassia's foster mothers.

"If you hadn't screwed around with her in the first place and killed her little group on the Nightworld orders she would never have ended up in this position." Chases voice was level, the anger barely showing in his eyes.

Flames grin shot up fifty watts. "Nightworld orders? Nightworld paycheck!" The punch that Chase gave him doubled him over, putting him out of Cassias sight.

Cassia took the moment to get a word in. "Hey! Am I in hell? Is this the ninth circle?"

"Yes! He's here!" Flame didn't reappear; instead Cassia heard him running down the uniform grey corridor, quickly but still sounding overtly merry.

"Hey? Blondie!" Cassia called over him, trying to see Flame, but the door blocked her view. She heard his footsteps halt.

"Look who's talking." He sounded delighted.

Maybe I shouldn't have encouraged him. But what the hell. She stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry. The effect was lost on Flame, and Chase received the full effect. His expression was as blank as normal, eyes vaguely and disturbingly pleasant. Cassia ignored it. "Anyway. I was just about to ask: WHERE THE HELL AM I?!" Her voice echoed around, and Chase's expression never faltered. Cassia mused that her difficult manner might have been more of a challenge to the leech, if he hadn't have been putting up with Flame, for what seemed like a long time. Damn the bastard for undermining her authority.

The last echo died of her shout, a faint dripping could be heard. Cassia strained to hear Chases answer, expecting and receiving more word games. "In my dungeon." Was all he said. She gritted her teeth.

"Huh? And. Why. Am. I. Still. ALIVE?!" her involuntary yell again rebounded, drowning out any sound of escaping water, but there was a slight change of facial muscle arrangement on Chases face. It didn't bode well for Cassia's near future. She'd rather not have a future. The careful smile on Chase's face was promising something… She had a vague flash of silver before he answered.

"You are going to live for ever, with all it entails."

Cassia felt the blood drain from her face. Her hands started to shake. "Oh no…" The whisper was thorn from her throat. "Oh no…!" Louder this time, as if volume would overlie what he was suggesting. "You didn't!" there was an edge of pleading to her voice that made Cassia cringe, and fall silent.

She bristled under the amused, and 'duh' look she was receiving. "You want blood."

The statement stopped her cold. Blood. Red. Sweet. What she wanted- She felt her jaw slacken, the ache increase-

"You! You had no right! I'm no… I can't be…" She fell into a fighting stance automatically, her feet planted in forward stance, ready to kick, as if she could hurt 'Chase' through the door. "I never wanted to be a monster." She said, stronger this time. Savagely she kicked the door, the gunshot like bang rebounded by the surroundings. "You mother fucking parasite!" She kicked the door, harder this time. Its unyielding surface crushed at the top of her foot when she and the door connected, pushing her over as her balance over swung. She landed on the floor, blissfully out of the sight of his blistering gaze. His eyes had looked like sheer black in the dark of the dungeon, even now she was- NO!

"Location. Location. Location." Chases voice was soft as I fell down to her. She leaned against he door, the metal cool on her forehead. So much so it made her feel fevered. "You tell me the location of the enclave, and you get our of your box." His words where pressing down on her mind, with panic Cassia realised her shields where in tatters around her now nearly exposed mind. You're in deep shit girl! Her mind told her, unhelpfully. How the hell do you get yourself into these situations?

They get done to me! She snapped back. She smiled into the metal of the door. She had her anger. She had her hate. "You! You changed me! Into a blood sucking parasite! Just so you get the location of an enclave?" her voice held disbelief, the kind that didn't focus on the big crisis, because she'd go mad if she did, but the smaller one. The one that stated there where bastards wherever you happened to be, what ever species they where.

"No shit." The voice was amused.

The anger calmed her, steadied her. "Fuck you." She said levelly.

"Do you want out?" Chase asked, as if she hadn't sworn at all. Playing on the pressing nature of her cell, she could feel the weight pressing down on her…. Ready to crush her… she shook her head, her hair clinging to the faint sheen over her forehead.

"No! No…" Out. Humans. Blood. "I fucking don't. Because as soon as I get out of here I'm going to jump some stupid..." Blood filled "human."

"So. Do you want to learn how to control yourself? How to feed and not kill." Chase smile. She was weak. He could feel the tatters of her shield fall further and of cause there where was more than reason as to why he'd changed her…

"No!" Chase heard her sit up, her blood suddenly pumping harder at the through of feeding, over her fear of being what she hated. "No I fucking don't! I just wanted to die! For gods sake was that too much to ask? You probably kill people everyday. It's not like it would make a difference." Her voice faded to a murmur. Sad. Depressed. Running on anger still. Interesting.

He made her an offer she wouldn't be able to refuse. "Tell us the location, and you can die the way you chose." The lie rolled easily of his tongue.

Cassia felt her gaze slow to a stony gaze. She pulled herself to her feet, and got a shock that made her stomach jump, to see he was standing close to the grate, and his eyes really where black. "Why do you want to location anyway?" She asked, buying time, her throat starting to crack. She was always one to need a gallon of water because she a sink like thirst… Red. She concentrated intently on Chase's answer.

"I owe it a big stake through the heart."

Cassia leaned against the door, and despite herself, she smiled. "Gee, why didn't you say so. I' really going to believe one the devils own."

Chases smile mirrored hers, only with calculation, and more viscously. It made Cassia shiver. Hunter instincts told her there was a vampire, and she was unarmed. Useful. She ignored it. "We may be vampires, and other… oddities from a human point of view, but we are definitely not Nightworld." There was a cold anger in his eyes, a long way down, barely detectable.

"OH, you're not a damned Daybreakers are you? I've already had the 'save the world' talk for today."

Chases eyes flickered. She wasn't to know she had been dead for three days before his blood had rearranged her body to be stronger. Better. "Not Daybreakers." He said calmly.

What the hell? Well, why not it's not like I have the back up anymore to take a whole enclave on…. Not like I'm going to live once I tell him… she felt a burning, cold peace in her as she told him. "It's the first island in a cluster of three close to Australia. If you go by air it looks like a snake. The enclave you want is the head. Now fuck off." Her voice remained matter of fact.

Her heart chilled as she saw the grin on Chase's face. "You're coming to." Cassia's mouth dropped open. "What?" She glared at him. "You promised you'd let me die after I told you." She said, indignant. Typical, she could have remembered that a leech was a leech was a fucking fanged leech.

"No until we know you're not lying." Chase smiled at the irony of his statement, and the rage that flared up at his condescending tone. She growled at him, in frustration. He grinned. Amusing.

"If I was lying wouldn't you be able to tell oh powerful Vlad I am blood of your fucking blood."

Chase gave a Gaelic shrug that meant everything and nothing and told a partial truth that he knew would annoy the little spark. "It's far more fun to have you with us."

He raised his eyebrows as she started to kick his door again, not loosing her balance, emphasising he almost scream with each kick. "You PROMISED!"

Chase watched her, blank face. "To be precise I said if you agreed to tell us where, then we'd kill you. However, you told me before we'd greed properly."

The door quaked on its hinges as she kicked harder. "Dam it. Damn it DAMN IT! I- I- hope you fucking BURN!"

No, Cassia Edward wasn't totally wreaked. Chase drew back from the door. "The flight should be in a few hours." He turned to leave, and heard her yell after him, her throat raw: "hey! Aren't you at least gonna let me out?"

He didn't' turn as he walked away, but told her that some salvation would be coming. "Flame will be bringing you clothing."

The kicking of the door continued, the noise following Chase upstairs, still held in his head as he climbed above the dungeon level to organise the flight.

Down below, Cassia bit her lip, moaning at the blood on her tongue, and fighting off tears.