***
He’s in pain, so much pain and I’m so damn useless. I’ll kill them. I’ll kill them both. I keep fighting with my handcuffs, snarling, cursing, and thrashing. But I can’t move. I scream his name.
“Fletcher!” My voice echoes as I jolt awake from my nightmare. It’s been awhile since I’ve relived that night. One advantage of not sleeping.
I glance around. I appear to be shackled to the wall of a cinderblock basement. Florescent lights hang from the ceiling, giving the room an industrial, uninviting look. There’s a metal table and chairs directly under the florescent lights. Shovels, picks, nets, traps, the implements of a hunter hang on the walls opposite me. In my corner, there’s nothing but the cemented iron ring holding me in place.
James is sitting backwards in a chair, facing me. Behind him, Chase is sharpening something at the table along with another young man who is probably a cousin or other close relative by his appearance. He’s just longer and lankier in build.
My face is slightly sore from being smacked twice by Chase. Though it’s nearly healed now. I meet James’ gaze.
“Good morning,” he humorlessly says. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, thank you,” I lie, my voice like honey.
“Hmm. Who’s Fletcher?” James asks.
I screamed his name out loud, didn’t I?
“You kept saying his name, over and over.”
I glare at James. “Be very, very careful what you say about him, Huntsman.”
To my surprise, he doesn’t push me further.
I straighten. I’ve been lying in a piled heap. “What time is it?” I ask.
“Why do you want to know?” James counters. He’s clearly the leader here. If he’s also the father of Chase and the other Huntsmen, he would be.
“Because we have until nine,” I respond.
“What happens at nine?”
“My brother leaves without me,” I explain. “You see, if I wasn’t back by nine, he was to assume you’d killed me and get out of here.”
“Hmm. Where’s he going?” James wonders. By his unhurried response, I’m guessing we have a few hours.
I shrug. “Away from here.”
“You told Mary and Chase that you have a problem. What is it?” James probes.
“You mean, aside from the part where I’m handcuffed in a basement being held by three armed men against my will?” I don’t really expect a reply, but I bat my eyes at him patronizingly. “Well, aside from that, I came here because I understand that you and your kind are dedicated to protecting humans from the likes of me.”
James watches me. His eyes are a predator’s eyes, a wolf’s eyes.
Chase and the other young man at the table are staring at me, too. But I look straight into James’ face and ignore them.
I continue. “There’s this girl. This human girl and my brother and I want to keep her safe.”
James’ face remains neutral, contemplative. I can’t tell if he believes me or if he’s calling me a lying bitch inside his head. “Why would two vamps protect a human?”
I shift, casually sweeping a hand over my pant leg. “Because, my brother happens to be in love with this particular human.”
Chase scoffs from the metal table. The other young man stifles a sneering laugh. Even James looks amused.
“Alright, cut the Twilight crap. Why do you really want her?” James coolly demands.
“Is it so hard to believe that vampires are capable of loving humans?”
James scuffs one boot on the floor. “Yes. In thirty years of wrangling Kaiju, I’ve never heard of a vamp having a relationship with a human that lasted longer than breakfast. You things feed on us. You don’t even try to substitute with animals.”
I roll my eyes. “Now who’s pulling Twilight crap?”
James keeps me in his gaze, either trying to figure out what to say or waiting for me to say something.
Since we’re on the subject, I decide to enlighten him. “Animal blood doesn’t have everything we need. We can’t substitute. There was a group of about a dozen vampires at Woodstock who tried feeding strictly on animals, and the ones who weren’t smart enough to give it up died of starvation within two years.” I’m not sure if James knew that or not. “So there’s your trivia for the day. If it makes you feel any better, neither I nor my brother has ever killed a human.”
“So why’s this girl in danger?” Chase’s arms are folded across his chest and he’s looking at me like I’ve done something bad and he’s waiting for me to confess.
“Because my father strongly disapproves of human-vampire relationships that last longer than breakfast,” I drily explain.
“Huh. Who’s your father again?” James probes.
I really, really wish I didn’t have to tell them this part. “Kenley Chadwick.”
Silence descends on the room. James, Chase, and the other young man blink at each other and back to me. I keep my face impassive, impatient if anything. Whether they believe me or not, it’s up to them.
“Kenley Chadwick? As in, the Kenley Chadwick?” James cautiously asks.
“As in, the Vampire King with the third largest territory on earth. Yes, that Kenley Chadwick.”
I turn my attention back to the Huntsmen. They’re bewildered, freaked out, disbelieving, angry, and curious all at once. I’m aware that their hearts beat faster, though they do a fantastic job of hiding it on the outside.
James seems to be processing this new development. “So you would be—”
“Princess Hadassah. But you can just call me Hadassah. I think I’ve more or less forfeited the title.” Talking like this, like this is a perfectly normal situation, is helping me to keep my feelings in check. It occurs to me how every minute here is a minute wasted. I either need to get them on our side or get out of here so I can help Damian.
The three humans survey me with apprehension. A fanged princess in their midst.
“But then, how did you get that?” James motions vaguely to my neck.
I give him a coy smirk. “Which one?”
He doesn’t specify.
“Why should we believe a vamp?” Chase demands.
I put on a face of mock concentration. “Well, let’s see. I could’ve killed your mother. I didn’t. I came alone to a house of Huntsmen, which means I either have a death wish, am incredibly stupid, or I’m telling the truth. I gave up my death wish awhile ago, while I can be stupid, I’m not usually this stupid, and that leaves telling the truth. So…” I give Chase a shrug. “Your mother invited me into your house and I could’ve gotten inside, but I was polite enough to let her know what I am first.” I yank on the handcuffs holding me in place. “Shows what I get for manners—shotgun stock to the face and shackled to a basement.”
“How would your brother even meet a human girl like that?” the second young man, the one who’s still unnamed, asks.
This is good. This means they’re starting to question if my story could be true.
“Where do teenagers usually meet? She’s a student at our private high school. Her wealthy, childless aunt’s paying the tuition.” I try to make my face go blank. Fletcher hadn’t come from money either.
James frowns. “High school? How old are you?”
I arch one eyebrow. “I’m nineteen. My brother and Madelyn are seventeen.” I glance over to Chase. “So I’m legal, if you’re looking for a date.”
I meant that to sound casual, calm, and unworried. Chase looks away from me. He even blushes. How adorable.
“So did you just bring me down here for some scientific confirmation before you lop my head off?” I fearlessly meet James’ face once more.
James shrugs. “Just trying to figure you things out, is all.”
Ah. So I’m a thing. “Do you figure out all Kaiju before you murder—ahem—execute them, or am I special?” I want to know now if I have a chance of living or not.
“Be careful, girl. We’ve killed hundreds of Kaiju and dozen
s of vamps,” James growls.
“And I’ve already told you that I’ve never killed a human. That I’m trying to protect one. Put that way, it really makes me look like the reasonable one, doesn’t it?”
“Looks can be deceiving,” James quietly counters.
“Ooh. That was a good one!” I give him an artificial smile. “Are you people always this clever?”
“Are you always this careless?” He shifts and moves his hand on the chair. His sleeve slides up and I glimpse his wristwatch. It reads around six o’clock in the morning. So I’ve been passed out all night. The seconds hand of the watch ticks forebodingly, reminding me of Uncle Devin closing in on Madelyn and Damian.
“Look, let’s drop the games. Are you going to kill me or help me?”
“You seemed to be enjoying the games,” the second man at the metal table puts in.
“That was before I saw the time,” I reply.
Immediately, James knows where I got it from. He pulls his sleeve over his wrist. Not letting me know the time was clearly a control thing.
James glances over his shoulder to Chase and the other young man. “Seth? Chase? You got anywhere you need to be?”
Chase shrugs. “I can call in sick today if you need me.”
The other man, Seth, nods. “Me, too.”
The Huntsmen have jobs. That’s strange for some reason.
“Alright, vamp,” James says, facing me again. “We’ll check out your story. Tell us where to find your brother and his human and we’ll look into it.”
I consider that for a moment. “No.”
James tilts his head. “But isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Well, you see, I have no doubts that you’ll try to protect Madelyn. But there is the issue of my brother being the first in line for the Vampiric Throne and, well…quite honestly, I don’t trust you. Why do you think I came myself?”
“So what does Your Royal Highness propose?” James takes on an air of mock reverence.
“I’ll take you there,” I say.
“And how do we know you aren’t leading us into a trap?” Seth demands.
“Oh, please.” I roll my eyes. “If I were working with other vampires, do you really think we would need to lead you into a trap? No. We’d storm this place and shred you all like sticks of string cheese.” I know because Uncle Devin talked about his fantasies of biting into Huntsmen throats on a regular basis.
James gives me a hard, unrelenting glare. “If you’re in as much trouble as you say, delivering Huntsmen to your father would be a good way to smooth things over.”
I honestly hadn’t thought of that. “Hmm. Thank you for the tip. So when do we leave?” I meet his glower straight on with a sweet smile. No one says anything. I’m sure they’re trying to figure out what they’re going to do. “I’ll give you directions on the way over.”