keep the wooden obstacle between us. He lunged left, twisted, and sped right.
A powerful hand grabbed my braided hair, just as I shifted to outmaneuver him. A yank had me in his grasp, my back slammed against the unforgiving wall. Struggling and kicking, I worked to break free.
His right hand pulled my left arm behind my back, higher and higher until I yelped from the pain. The other hand went to my throat, squeezing ever harder. I now knew how Custer felt right before losing his hair.
A great roar broke through the film of ever-increasing blackness. The bursting door forced my eyes back open. A blur zipped across the room, easily pulling Weasel off me, while shoving me aside.
I focused on catching my breath, as I stumbled to the far corner, staying well away from the action.
My gaze locked onto the violence before me. Like a horrid car crash, I didn't want to look but couldn't help myself. The sandy-headed Weasel wrestled with the slightly taller Ducky. Growls, grunts, and curse words followed. In mere seconds, the vampire grabbed the upper hand, tilted the man's neck, and sank his fangs in deep.
I gasped, blinked, and still couldn't turn my head. Never before had I seen the violence of a vampire drinking in fury. I never wanted to again. In fact, nightmares were certain to linger for all the remaining years of my life.
Blood taking was necessary. Vampys needed to eat, right? It's not like they had a choice of what to sup for dinner. And, most of them didn't kill. I chose to believe in vampires dining as nature intended, snacking from their chosen prey and walking away. Never had I envisioned this act of brutal violence.
With shaky knees, I sat down on the floor, my back to two walls.
Numbly, I watched the evil man slowly crumple while Ducky's color turned from pale to pink. His strength seemed to escalate as he handled the body effortlessly. A single trickle of blood slid down the man's neck. White teeth stained in red flashed, repositioned, and sank deep once more.
For the first time since I'd really entered the Enforcer helper profession, I knew terrorizing fear. A vampire stood before me in all his capabilities. The thought hit home that it could just as easily be me providing Ducky's much needed sustenance, resulting in stunned clarity and regrets for past misgivings. How many times had I teased and tormented Ducky? Called him names? How many times had I flirted with certain brutal death in doing so? I clutched my knees to my chest, trembling.
"Shyanne?" I glanced up at the sound of my name. "Shy?" Ducky squatted down in front of me. He looked as refined and clean as ever. You couldn't tell seconds ago he'd battled for his life. Mr Elegance once more.
His gaze found mine. "You okay, Princess?"
I managed a weak nod. Long moments of silence passed.
He released a sigh. "Scared of me now?" His brow arched up.
Scared? Me? Well, duh, yeah!My gauging of his brain power went down another notch.
"You know…" He paused, obviously judging his words. "If I knew that would get you to quit that incessant moronic yapping, I would have done that hours ago on the boat."
Moronic? Oh, no. He didn't just call me a moron, did he ? After all I had been through? I don't think so. Finding my voice, I rasped out, "I'll have you know, I'm cute and innocent and sweet and intelligent." I missed sounding like a haughty queen, but a small bit of spirit came through fairly well despite the nervous squeak.
He grinned at me. "I'll give you two of the four."
Frowning, I looked at him. "Which two?"
"Not telling." He chuckled, stood back up, and offered a hand down to me. In mid-reach, a loud belch popped out from his throat. He grinned wryly, using his free hand to thump himself in the chest. "Tastes like chicken."
"That's disgusting." I wrinkled my nose, but slowly took his larger hand, letting him pull me to my feet beside him. Dusting off my pants bottom, I grasped my wits tightly and pulled them together with sheer will power.
A powerful hand grabbed my braided hair, just as I shifted to outmaneuver him. A yank had me in his grasp, my back slammed against the unforgiving wall. Struggling and kicking, I worked to break free.
His right hand pulled my left arm behind my back, higher and higher until I yelped from the pain. The other hand went to my throat, squeezing ever harder. I now knew how Custer felt right before losing his hair.
A great roar broke through the film of ever-increasing blackness. The bursting door forced my eyes back open. A blur zipped across the room, easily pulling Weasel off me, while shoving me aside.
I focused on catching my breath, as I stumbled to the far corner, staying well away from the action.
My gaze locked onto the violence before me. Like a horrid car crash, I didn't want to look but couldn't help myself. The sandy-headed Weasel wrestled with the slightly taller Ducky. Growls, grunts, and curse words followed. In mere seconds, the vampire grabbed the upper hand, tilted the man's neck, and sank his fangs in deep.
I gasped, blinked, and still couldn't turn my head. Never before had I seen the violence of a vampire drinking in fury. I never wanted to again. In fact, nightmares were certain to linger for all the remaining years of my life.
Blood taking was necessary. Vampys needed to eat, right? It's not like they had a choice of what to sup for dinner. And, most of them didn't kill. I chose to believe in vampires dining as nature intended, snacking from their chosen prey and walking away. Never had I envisioned this act of brutal violence.
With shaky knees, I sat down on the floor, my back to two walls.
Numbly, I watched the evil man slowly crumple while Ducky's color turned from pale to pink. His strength seemed to escalate as he handled the body effortlessly. A single trickle of blood slid down the man's neck. White teeth stained in red flashed, repositioned, and sank deep once more.
For the first time since I'd really entered the Enforcer helper profession, I knew terrorizing fear. A vampire stood before me in all his capabilities. The thought hit home that it could just as easily be me providing Ducky's much needed sustenance, resulting in stunned clarity and regrets for past misgivings. How many times had I teased and tormented Ducky? Called him names? How many times had I flirted with certain brutal death in doing so? I clutched my knees to my chest, trembling.
"Shyanne?" I glanced up at the sound of my name. "Shy?" Ducky squatted down in front of me. He looked as refined and clean as ever. You couldn't tell seconds ago he'd battled for his life. Mr Elegance once more.
His gaze found mine. "You okay, Princess?"
I managed a weak nod. Long moments of silence passed.
He released a sigh. "Scared of me now?" His brow arched up.
Scared? Me? Well, duh, yeah!My gauging of his brain power went down another notch.
"You know…" He paused, obviously judging his words. "If I knew that would get you to quit that incessant moronic yapping, I would have done that hours ago on the boat."
Moronic? Oh, no. He didn't just call me a moron, did he ? After all I had been through? I don't think so. Finding my voice, I rasped out, "I'll have you know, I'm cute and innocent and sweet and intelligent." I missed sounding like a haughty queen, but a small bit of spirit came through fairly well despite the nervous squeak.
He grinned at me. "I'll give you two of the four."
Frowning, I looked at him. "Which two?"
"Not telling." He chuckled, stood back up, and offered a hand down to me. In mid-reach, a loud belch popped out from his throat. He grinned wryly, using his free hand to thump himself in the chest. "Tastes like chicken."
"That's disgusting." I wrinkled my nose, but slowly took his larger hand, letting him pull me to my feet beside him. Dusting off my pants bottom, I grasped my wits tightly and pulled them together with sheer will power.
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