Chapter Thirteen - Torture

As he sat bound and immobile on the floor of that creaky old barn, Deke spent his time stewing over his situation and how he could possibly have gotten himself mired in it. Damn, he had to think of a plan.

Rance came in to toy with him and he knew more bad events were headed his way.

"Hey, pretty boy. You think Lila's gonna save you from me? She gets so easily bored. You'll be her plaything for a while, but she'll tire of you and then you'll be all mine."

"Hey, I tell ya what. Why don't you go ahead and have your fun? Why should she always get first dibs? Be a man, Rance. Stand up for yourself." Deke taunted.

Rance slapped his smirking face, which stung but really wasn't what he had in mind.

"You a man, or a sissy boy? What the hell was that? You mad at me so you slap me? You can't do better than that?" Deke again tried to get Rance's dander up to the point that just maybe, he would lose control and fall for something stupid.

His meager plan was working as Rance started to untie him, ready to continue with his vengeance, unfortunately Lila walked in at that precise moment.

"Rance, don't go messin' with my man. Daddy won't be happy when I tell him you hurt my lover." Lila warned.

Damn. This was not going to end well.

"What's up lover, looking for a new playmate? I'm not enough for you?" Lila teased.

"Well you know what they say Lila? Not really a one woman man. What can I say; I just feel a connection with Rance. Kindred souls or something." Deke grinned, knowing how he was getting under her skin, better that then her getting under his.

"Rance finish untying him and get him on his feet. I feel like having some fun."

Rance smiled a wicked smile as he roughly grabbed Deke and pulled him to his feet. Deke's legs barely supported his weight from the numbness of being immobile for so long. It took a few minutes but as soon as he felt steady on his feet, he made his move.

He forced his shoulder into Rance's chest, knocking him off balance before swinging his fist into the foreman's startled face. Rance staggered back and Deke threw a kick into his chest, throwing him hard onto the floor. He quickly turned to face Lila but she was already upon him, wielding a solid block of wood that struck the back of his head knocking him out cold.

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As the room gently spun and he swayed with a motion that threatened to make him hurl, Deke woke up with his hands tied tightly over his aching head, hanging from a meat hook with his boots barely reaching the ground. Damn, here we go again.

"Awake lover?"

"You know you really should come up with another pet name for me, cause you know what Lila? It ain't gonna happen. You're too much of a bitch. You just lost your chance." Deke taunted, again denying to himself that his words were only gonna make things worse.

"Oh really? We'll see about that. Regardless, I will have my fun." She calmly replied.

She slowly unbuttoned his shirt, opening it to reveal his well toned chest, firm muscles stretched and taut. She rubbed his chest slowly, in sensuous massaging circles, longingly gazing into his luminous eyes before returning her attention to his chest and the fine physical specimen that lay beneath her fingers.

"How does that feel Deke? You sure you don't want me? You have no idea what I can do for you."

"Sorry, bitch. Not really into the whole necrophilia thing. Kinda like my women alive."

"Deke when are you going to learn to behave? Of course, I like a bad boy, but even I have limits of what I'll put up with."

"Well, Thank God! Have I exceeded your limit yet? Let me know, cause I got more where that came from."

"Have it your way Deke."

Lila suddenly extended her vampire claws and ripped her razor sharp nails down his chest drawing deep rivers of blood as she went.

He gasped more from the shock, for the searing pain was not what he'd been expecting. As smart as Deke was, he had a way of ignoring how his smartass remarks could affect his situation. His stubborn pride wouldn't allow him to admit he was somewhat culpable for this turn of events; of course the truth was, Lila would have found an excuse one way or another to torture him. That was just her nature. The nature of the beast.

"Lila, you sure have a strange idea of foreplay." He gasped.

"Deke you told me you no longer wanted me. A girl has her pride…. and her vengeance."

She then leaned in close and started licking the warm blood from his wounds, sucking the blood harder, causing the wounds to bleed even more. As her hot breath hit the gouges the pain increased and her ravenous tongue only added to his misery.

His face contorted from the pain of his injuries, but also the absurdity of his situation. How did he ever get in this position? As Lila finished doctoring his wounds, she drew back smiling that same confident, you are so fucked smile.

"I have a surprise for you Deke. I'm going to let you pick your favorite."

"My favorite? My favorite what?" He asked, puzzled by her obscure comment, already weary of her games.

She motioned to two guards who unlocked a door across from him and opened it revealing her prisoners. Gabrielle and Aggie were ushered in and paraded before him. All the breath in his lungs escaped as he struggled to free himself, intent on rescuing these women who had no part in this, except for their unfortunate connection to him.

"So Deke, which is your favorite? Which should be turned and have eternal life, and which will just be food for the minions? I leave the choice to you."

"Lila, I swear to God, if you harm either of them I will hunt you down in hell and rip you to shreds. I will kill all of you."

"Promises, promises." She smirked.

"Lila, let them go. Do what you want with me, but you leave them alone."

"Getting pretty emotional there Deke. Settle down lover. I tell you what. Would you like a little time to consider your choice? Whatever you want dear, that can all be arranged. You have until tomorrow."

She walked back up to him, putting her arm around his chest, caressing his back, delighting in his muscles, massaging the tension in his shoulders.

"Deke, you're so tense. Just relax. Everything's gonna be all right. Lila's here to make everything better."

"Bitch, you're going to die."

"Deke, you need to learn to play nice. Guess I'm gonna have to teach you some manners."

She tried to kiss him again but he struggled to keep her lips from his. She just smiled as her hand on his back once again extended her claws and ripped down his spine with more vertical stripes of pain.

"Think about it. I'll be back tomorrow." She whispered in his ear. Then to the men guarding the women, "Put them all in the dungeon, but make sure they're secure. Chain him to the wall. He's a dangerous man."

Deke and the women were taken to a dark, dank dungeon and Deke was manacled to the wall. Aggie stripped off his blood stained shirt and pulled up her dress and ripped her petticoat to get rags. She asked Gabrielle to bring her the bucket of water that was near the door of their cell and proceeded to gently clean his wounds as he softly moaned.

Gabrielle was confused by everything she had just witnessed but stood by trying to help, still unsure what exactly their situation was. Her mind processing more questions than she could even begin to voice.

"I don't understand. Who are these people and why are they doing this?" She asked with just a slight hint of terror in her voice.

"Not who, exactly. It's what." Deke responded.

"What?"

"Vampires. Lila's a vampire."

"You're kidding right? I mean that's just a story Bram Stoker made up, they don't really exist."

"Wish I could tell ya different, but sorry, they're real and they've infested this ranch."

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Scott had just given the horses their evening feed when he collapsed to the ground from the pain piercing his head. The vision that overwhelmed his senses filled his heart with terror. Jake rushed to his son's aid, realizing another vision had just overcome him.

"Deke, your time is up. I will have you as mine; you have no choice in the matter."

A sinister raven haired woman decreed as she took a deep bite out of his exposed neck, drawing a long, sensuous drag of his blood before releasing him, then cutting her wrist and sucking in her own blood to mix with his before opening his mouth for a long exchange of fluids. Deke gagged on the blood that was expelled into his mouth and then his eyes rolled back in his head as his unconscious body fell forward, his bindings the only thing keeping him from slumping to the floor.

Scott shuddered from the intensity of his vision and the implication. Deke was in major trouble and they had to get to him now. A quick explanation to his dad and they were mounting their horses and galloping toward the Carpenter spread.

Deke had mapped out two possible locations for the vampire's den of hostages, but had not yet determined which was the right one. It was a calculated risk which to go to first, and Jake went with his son's instincts.