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She saw lights. She heard sounds, and she smelled the blood of the humans. Her first instinct then was to feed. Fresh human blood would help her to regain her strength, and then her other powers would return. She considered her current condition and thought the better of it. She was too weak even to create a personal shield for her protection. She decided she didn't want to encounter them, only to follow them out of the exit they must surely have made out of the deathtrap that used to be Castle Lee. Once free of the castle, however, she would rest and gather her strength until she decided on her next course of action.
She pressed back against the wall as she tried to remain hidden and took a misstep as she stumbled on some of the rubble.
"What was that?!"
Lights from multiple beacons shone in her direction and illuminated her before she could escape into the background. She squinted as the lights flashed in her face.
"Who is she?"
"Look at them clothes, that necklace. She's gotta be the count's daughter, Lamika!"
Through her haze, for just a short moment Lamika considered how awful she must look if they couldn't recognize her immediately.
'Disgusting. Well then. I shall soon wash away this muck and...'
Frightened that she would kill them for trespassing the castle, some of the men turned and fled. Gareth crouched as he remained where he was, and, thinking himself a fool for not following the others, shone his light on her once again. Something was wrong. He squinted for a better look and then from thirty feet away, another light was trained on her.
"Gareth!"
It was Doran. A handful of men had remained with them.
"I'm still here!"
"It looks like it is Lamika, but it might be a trick."
"Right. Be careful. Grab a couple of the rifles."
"O.k. Keep the lights on her."
It wasn't the light from the candle that Greco had stolen but it was irritating and disorienting. Lamika growled and hissed her threat should anyone come any closer.
"It looks like she's hurt."
"I think you're right. She would have tried to kill us by now if she was at full strength."
The men crept cautiously closer.
"What do you think we should do?"
By now, Gareth had closed the gap between himself and Doran to a few feet.
"We should take her into custody if we can. She's got a lot to answer for."
"But that's not what we came here for."
That might be true, but as town deputy, I think I can speak for the sheriff. He would want... Caleb! What are you doing?"
Stumbling backward as she tried to get away, Lamika shouldn't have been surprised to see one of the men moving menacingly toward her. A foundry laborer as well as the town blacksmith, Caleb Forsythe was a man-mountain. Six foot-three and three hundred and twenty pounds, he had a temper to go along with his size.
As quickly as she could, she unsheathed her dagger to defend herself. However, along with her strength, her speed was also greatly diminished. As he closed in on her she slashed at him twice, missing both times. He grabbed her wrist and squeezed it in his powerful grip until she dropped the blade. He grabbed her other wrist and twisted it as well. Her mind exploded in white-hot pain from the break in her arm. She willed the tears from falling. These pigs would never see her cry.
Slap!
His first strike hit her across the jaw.
"Where is the gold, bitch!"
"Caleb! what the hell are you doing to her!"
"Hey! We been diggin' for two days and we ain't found shit. This bitch can tell us where the count hid the gold. She maybe used to be hot shit, but them's was the old days. She ain't nothin' now. Look at her, she can't even hurt a fly now."
He balled his fist and slammed it into her stomach, to emphasize his intention.
"My brother. You freaks... what you did... " He grunted in a voice only she could hear.
He held her up by her hair in the strong grip of his other hand. She was barely 100 pounds, if that; like a doll in his hands. Now that things were different, now that the humans had the power in this region, now that she was in this weakened condition, he had no fear of her. They would get what they needed from her and then he would kill her.
"You ain't acting like you're hearing too well."
Slap!
He struck her once again, this time back-handed, his knuckles stinging that side of her face.
Lamika squinted at her captor through one swollen, blackened eye and a wry smile crossed her lips before a chuckle escaped.
"What's so funny, bitch?!"
A trickle of blood ran down the side of her mouth where he hit her. Her tongue darted out and licked at it before she spoke, almost wheezing from the effects of the previous blow.
"I... am... laughing because... I am... going to... kill you."
"What? why you..."
"No... filthy... human scum... puts their... hands... on me and... lives..."
"Caleb! Put her down, now!"
"The rest of you stay back! I'm gonna get what we need from this little freak and then put her out of her misery."
"Doran! You can't let him just... even if she is a vampire... it's murder!"
Gareth grabbed a rifle and raised it to the large man's back in order to force Caleb to put her down. He had had his fill of killing, enough to last him a lifetime.
"Caleb!"
"Wait Gareth! She... she might know something. We've got nothing to show for our efforts. We... we won't let him kill her."
"I don't believe this!"
Caleb released her hair and then grabbed her by the throat with both hands. He increased the pressure on her larynx.
"Kill me, will ya? I don't think so... Heh heh heh... "
As she struggled under his powerful grip, her legs kicking at him as her good hand scratched at his face, their macabre dance with each other had an effect on him he hadn't anticipated. As he clutched her windpipe, literally lifting her body off the ground, the sense of power over her surged through him and flipped an obscure switch deep inside his brain. His blood pounded in his temples as it reached its boiling point.
To take her life with his bare hands...
Bloodlust had attracted a deviant sexual component, and a thrill went through his body.
He had become aroused.
"Oh yeah... you little fuckin' ... I'll kill ya. I'll kill ya."
By now he had completely forgotten that interrogation was the primary purpose of his actions. All he wanted for now was to watch the light of life flicker out of her eyes, for her muscles to relax as he took the fight from her and her struggling ended. He wanted to feel her last breath caress his face as it left her body. It would be almost orgasmic when that happened. His own breath came in hiccups as he alternated between bestial grunts and maniacal laughter.
Something else was happening, however.
Although he physically overpowered her, and was now asphyxiating her, her narrowed pupils locked onto his, and he found to his dismay that he couldn't tear his eyes away from hers. He had trapped her windpipe and she was not taking in oxygen but her will was powerful. He was falling into her deep aquamarine pools and he soon realized he couldn't escape. Like a cobra sizing up a spellbound rat, she did not blink. She was using the last of her life force to take control of his mind. This was the only chance she had to save her own life.
But wait!
Hadn't she wanted to die? All she had to do was submit, to end this war of wills and let his hands do what the crumbling stone could not. It would be simple, really. Then everything would be over. She would be gone from this cursed world. In the momentary lapse during that contemplation, Caleb felt her control over him slipping.
"Yeah. Thought you had me, you little blood-sucking bitch. Now you die."
His spittle made a track of drool down his face as he shook her.
'No. Not now. Not like this. Not at the hands of this... this human filth.'
With new resolve, she re-engaged the battle for her life. He couldn't believe it. Why wasn't she dead yet? He was using all of his energy but he couldn't finish her? Fear crept in and then terror began to seize his mind. He was now weakening under her spell. This couldn't be. He would succumb to her and then she would feed from his blood.
'Oh god, n... no!'
He tried to tighten his grip. He had to kill her now. He had to kill her before...
She did not blink.
With the last of her energy, she bared her fangs. The large man now began to panic. Failing to crush her larynx, he had to try something else. He would break her neck, killing her instantly. Letting go of her throat, he grabbed her shoulder with one hand and was about to twist her head with all of his remaining strength.
Everything went black for Lamika, as she had nothing left with which to fight.
And then for Caleb.
Gareth had had enough, and rushed up and struck him on the back of the head with the butt of his rifle. The large man dropped the unconscious vampire, then fell to his knees before the rest of him hit the ground.
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Ashley Sinstar: Thank you for your comments. I will try to make this entertaining and insightful, but we'll touch on some dark, intense subject matter (like Caleb's response to Lamika).
Wolf-pup25: Thanks. Hope the move went well. This fic will get darker and deeper, hence the rating upgrade. Hope you like it.
mke: Thanks for your review. Lamika a vampire hunter? Hmm. That is interesting. I'll have to think on it some more.
Next: Lamika is brought back to town where she is locked up and kept in a weakened state to stand trial for her father's crimes. The purpose of the show trial will be to find her guilty and publicly execute her.
ja ne.
W.