Blood Vengeance by L.E. Wilson

slithered out of the room. Her young pet followed closely behind.
    He waited until they were well and truly gone before he relaxed his stance and stepped from in front of Shea, dropping his head down again so she couldn’t see him.
    She stiffened her spine, wondering what he planned to do with her, and gave him a wary look. “So, what are you going to do with me?”
    Ruffling the raven’s feathers, he appeared to think about it.
    "I don't know."
     
     

 
    Chapter 6
    Keira
     
    Keira’s arm shook with the effort to hold Luukas elevated, until she was certain he wouldn’t come out of it again for a while, and then she gently lowered him down again, easing his body weight back onto the chains.
    Fucking Blondie. He’d taken too much blood. Her lightheadedness and growling stomach urging her on, she made her way back over to the door, hoping they hadn’t switched guards for some reason. She sent up a silent thank you when she saw his straw colored hair. She needed to eat.
    “Psst. Hey, bloodsucker. I need some food. And some water.” She waited for a response, any response, but it didn’t seem like there was going to be one forthcoming.
    Glaring at the back of his head, she wished she could zap him, and force him to cook her a gourmet meal. But it wasn’t good to stretch your magic around too much. It became less effective that way, and made a witch too vulnerable. And she was already spread thin keeping up the cloaking spell on everyone in the fortress, the incombustible spell allowing them to use fire on Luukas, and having the heavy burden of possessing his power.
    Not to mention the recent blood loss.
    Deciding her need for sustenance was more important than not angering a vampire, she stuck her hand through the small window opening and poked him hard in the back of the head.
    “Hey!” she whispered loudly, “I’m talking to you.”
    Very slowly, the blonde vampire turned his head just enough for her to see his exposed fangs and the displeased look on his face.
    Good, she’d finally gotten his attention.
    “I need food, jerkoff. You took too much blood. And if I get too weak, so do my spells, and you’d better believe I’d throw you under the bus in a heartbeat when Leeha wonders why everyone suddenly knows we're here, and her prisoner goes up in flames. Besides,” she added in a matter-of-fact voice, “If you feed me now, you’ll be able to have some more nice, fresh blood tomorrow. Provided you leave me your bagged stuff again, of course.”
    He didn’t respond for so long she began to worry she’d pressed her luck too far, but then, with a quiet hiss of displeasure in her direction that made her hair stand on end, he strode off to get her meal.
    Keira breathed a sigh of relief when he'd gone, and leaned back against the wall to await his return. She hoped he’d bring enough water to allow her to clean the ugly wound he’d left. She could practically feel the germs crawling off of the filthy blanket to infect her, but it was better than slowly bleeding to death she supposed. At least with an infection, she’d have a fever, and with any luck would be completely out of her mind with delirium when she died.
    Footsteps echoed down the corridor outside the cell and she pushed herself up off of the wall, not wanting him to see how vulnerable she actually was.
    The bolt slid back and the door was cracked open. A bowl of mush was shoved at her through the opening, followed by two water bottles tossed onto the floor. The door slammed shut again, and she listened carefully for the bolt to be replaced back into the lock before she gathered up the bottles and took her meager meal over to the corner.
    Sinking down onto the floor, she sat cross-legged and scarfed down the lukewarm contents before the taste – or lack thereof – could register. Once it was scraped as clean as she could get it and rubbed with dirt to prevent the local rats from seeking it out, she drank down half of a water bottle, saving the