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“Vampires,” Psycho and Trigger said in unison.
I nodded. “They were, I realized when they’d only come around at night, despite my window being blocked. They must have been sleeping all day.”
“Fuckin’ leeches,” Menace groused.
“It actually gave me hope I could escape, knowing they couldn’t chase me during the day if I did.
“But, weeks went by. They began only drugging me about three times a week, but it was enough to suppress my powers and keep me weak. Just when I’d start to feel stronger, I’d get another dose.
“After about a week, they let me out of the room but kept me on a leash like a dog. The house was average-sized but was full of vampires, and eventually, I was put into a large room with about five other girls. Sometimes they’d add a girl, then they would subtract one. I would never see the ones who left again. The captors never said a word. Not even when they would take us to individual rooms to…” I trailed off, fighting back stupid tears.
“It’s okay,” Psycho interrupted. “We get the picture.”
Grateful, I took a breath and continued. “I never fought any of them once I realized they were vampires. There would be no use without my powers. So I decided to bide my time and plan an escape. I ate what they fed me and didn’t fight them when they drugged me. I knew I’d be at my strongest the morning of the third day before my dose. I never did figure out what they planned to do with us. Trafficking, I could guess.”
“Did they ever bite you?” Menace asked.
I looked into his dual-colored eyes and shook my head. “Surprisingly, no. Not once. I thought for sure we’d be held as blood slaves. None of the girls were bitten. They were all human so I wondered how they resisted.”
“Is it possible they hypnotized you to forget?” Psycho asked.
I hadn’t thought about that. It had slipped my mind that they could use mind control on humans and sometimes witches if we were weak. Then, I shook my head. “There were no bite marks on me or any of the others. I always checked when they’d take a girl then bring her back.”
“Probably wanted to avoid getting drugged with your blood,” Psycho commented. “Go on.”
It was getting easier to talk and it felt oddly good to get this all out, even if it was in front of a bunch of strangers. Perhaps maybe that made it easier, knowing I’d never see these people again—these wolves.
“I woke up one morning feeling good. The night before, I’d spent some time in one of the guys’ rooms. While he was, uh, distracted, I reached my hand into the pockets of his pants he had pulled down and fished out a key. I hid it underneath me until he was done. He turned around when I told him to let me dress, and I quickly hid the key where nobody would find it.” I tried and failed to not cry but a tear slipped out and I swiped it away quickly.
Murmurs and curses of anger echoed through the bar.
That part was not fun to recall but I was sort of proud of myself for that idea. I’d had relations enough times with that particular vampire to know he got very distracted during sex while I just lie there like a limp doll, waiting for him to finish while I mentally collapsed in on myself, pretending I was anywhere else and praying he didn’t hurt me. The drugs helped numb it and make the experience hazy, as much as I hated to admit that. He used to try to kiss me and tell me I was pretty. It was disgusting. He was the one who’d lured me out of the club and into the alley so I guessed he thought we had some kind of rapport or connection. If I ever saw him again, I’d push him into the sunlight and then spit on his ashes.
“That morning, after I was sure the bloodsuckers were asleep, I used the key to unlock the door to the room where they held us. There were about seven of us and I told them I needed to lock the door behind me in case one was awake, as I planned to hide until I knew it was safe. Only three girls decided to come. The rest were too scared they’d get caught and they’d hurt them. I left the key with one of them and told them to lock it from the inside, as it was just a single deadbolt. I hoped she and the others eventually got brave enough to escape. As for me and the other three, we shockingly just simply walked out the front door. I hitchhiked to the Biloxi Greyhound station and caused a distraction with another passenger, then snuck on the first bus that was leaving—to New Orleans. From there, I called Amanda’s cousin Duke since I knew he lived here, and the rest you know.”
“What about the other girls?” Wizard asked.
I shrugged. “We were so panicked we just took off running in different directions. I hope they’re okay.”
“And the guy who lured you into the alley—was he one of the vamps?” Psycho asked.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“What did he look like?”
I cringed having to recall his face, but I’d never forget it. “Black—light-skinned, dark green eyes, black hair shaved short. I thought he was in the Navy when we were supposedly hitting it off inside the club.”
“I’ll use AI to come up with a composite sketch. And the others?” Wizard asked.
“Average White guys, didn’t look at them too closely, but they were so mundane I’m not sure I could identify them again. I could try though. Maybe I’d know when I saw them.”
“You’d be amazed what the human brain can do. Anything can trigger a memory,” Wizard commented.
“Thank you,” Psycho said. “Church dismissed. Stay for a drink.”
He escorted me off the stage and we stood at the bottom of the stairs. “That was really brave, larkspur. I’ll take you to Tampa myself. In a car. Do you want to call Amanda and tell her you’re all right?”
I nodded. “Yes, please. But why do you keep calling me larkspur?”
