Chapter 7

I jerk awake with a scream, pain searing through me as I look around, gasping for breath. I was hanging from the stone ceiling by chain manicals above me. Look around me, I try to remember back to what happened. I remembered coming out of my highrise building and hailing a cab. Another man from my building came out, well dressed and somewhat familiar to me, asking to share the fare. I agreed and got in with him, my mind already on getting to the airport to get out of town.

Then I remember it, he pulled out a gun, turning to me and said, 'Sorry, they are making me do this.'

I jerk back, remembering the deafening bomb and impact of the bullet as I had turned in shock towards him, then nothing. Vampires didn't sleep, they can go into hybernative states, but are still aware of what is happening around them. But to truly knock a vampire out, you had to shot them in the head. We will regenerate, but depending on the weapon used it is slow. Even now my head throbbed as it continued to heal.

Looking down at my clothes, I see all the blood, now dried a dark reddish brown on my clothes. This made me despair, as I had only had a liter of my food source in almost three weeks and it required a large amount to regenerate or took a long time. It had likely been several days since my execution by bullet to the brain. The taxi driver was likely dead.

The young man hadn't been a vampire, but was likely hypnotized by one. It made me mad knowing that young man had likely killed the cab driver and then himself to keep any knowledge of us from being found out.

I look down and see I'm about five feet from the ground. They were being very careful with me, as I try to pull at the chains.

Suddenly a voice calls out from a grainy speaker, 'It will be useless Ms. Simmons to get out. The iron is infused with silver and the tie downs reinforced. Struggle all you want, but you will not get out.'

I feel the fear now starting to build. Unlike most movies where vampires can only be killed with wooden piks, holy water, and Christian symbols, there is very little that can kills us and only other vampires are capable of doing so. In truth the only thing that can hurt us is silver. Something in our biology made silver deadly, like Mercury to humans. My breathing and heart beat quicken as I look at the thick cuffs glinting slightly in the semi darkness. I felt no sting from the silver but knew I wouldn't have enough strength to remove the bonds.

Stopping my movement, I look around where I can, not seeing anything until a shadow in a hooded cape comes forward from the almost ultimate darkness beyond the small cone of light above me. I jerk, the chains clicking slightly as he says in a very old, gravely voice, as if air can barely pass the restrictions of his vocal cords, 'Ms. Simmons or is it Schultz, no Carter or O'Laughlin. You have had many reincarnations among the human species. It took time to pin you down.'

My blood runs cold as I look at him, how he knew that much made me worry about what else he knew. He walks arround me and as he does I notice a familiarity to his walk and ask, 'Have I met you before?'

He circles me and I can smell his pheremones growing and becoming cloying to me. Coughing, I realize he is trying to intimate me, but strangely I'm calm as he says, 'In the vampire world, anything is possible. There are so few of us.'

'I wouldn't say few and I have little to do with the clans or the Five Pureblood rulerships. Now why am I here and what do you want from me.'

He stops in front of me, never allowing his face to show under the cowl of his hood as he says, 'You are a rare gem in our world. A vampire who can walk by day and by night. But the question is... Who turned you?'

My insides feel like Jell-O and I try to hide my fear as his pheremones start to take hold and I say, 'I will never say. No vampire ever truly tells who turned them! That is one of the first laws of the vampiric code!'

He nods, but I see the cruel smiling twist of his mouth as he says, 'We will see about that.'

Another vampire steps from the shadows, another male, slim and elegant. I can feel his power unlike this shadowy dark one and he smiles at me. The cloaked one says, 'Find out her heritage Etienne, and if she holds anyone dear to her, besides those we have found so far.'

He lifts off the ground and my heart beat quickens. He had to be an A rank easily. But why was he doing what a weak vampire asks? His pheremones pushed away the cloying ones of the cloaked one and push on my senses, the room comes to point. His eyes were nothing like the welcoming smile on his face. Everything told me to try and get away but even as I think this it feels like a vice is gripping around my body.

He pushes my hair away from my neck and I growl. I was already weakened by the bullet wound, the lack of food, and now I was going to be bitten. He chuckles at my growl, his pupils slowly transforming into slits among the mossy green of his eyes as he says in a rich French accent, 'Brace yourself, Mon cheri.'

In a flash, I feel his teeth sink into my neck. I let out a blood curdling scream as he saws into my neck, tears rolling down my cheeks. Vampires do not bite other vampires unless invited. To bite another without permission is similar to rape.

Your life is in your blood , no truer statement could this be as, your blood sings to your memories. I can feel him draw what little blood I had produced over the days of captivity as I healed and scream out again. I wanted to prevent this. Jerry, my life before, my maker. Whoever this person was and his accomplice, there was more to the story than simple knowledge of my ability to walk in the light of day.

His teeth release and I cry out again, as he pulls away. His mouth is covered in my blood and says with an even colder, wolf like grin, 'Mon Cheri, my apologies, but I must take more.'

My eyes widen as I realize his statement and in a flash he bites me harder on my shoulder and I feel my collarbone break. I scream in agony and feel myself dying once again, but not from a man made bullet, but from a devilish phantom who had lost what little spark of humanity he had many years ago.