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It didn’t take long for the screaming to start. Cara still had shaky control over her fire - enough to keep it away from herself - but the vampires weren’t so lucky.
She saw one of them running through the flames, blindly stumbling as they slapped at themselves, and they fell, still thrashing until they went still, and they turned to ash just a few seconds later.
More screams, more pain, and suddenly, Cara felt her power ebb. Her magic ran low, and her link with the flames broke.
The unnatural fire was fueled by her emotions, pushed to an inferno by her fear, but suddenly it faded. It burned through the wood, the furniture, everything, and there was nothing left to burn. Without Cara’s magic, the flames faded to embers.
It didn’t matter. She just needed a few seconds to focus on the unlocking spell, and she’d be free.
The wooden door opened again, and her eyes widened. The first vampire, the older one, limped into the room. His skin was burned and his hair was gone, and most of his clothes had been scorched until there was nothing left.
“I’m going to enjoy this,” he said.
He walked forward, looking down at the two half-burnt vampires on the ground between them.
“You don’t have to do this,” she said. The words scraped at her throat like sandpaper, and she tried to take shallow breaths. “I can help you. I can get you out of here.”
“I’m not a prisoner,” he laughed. “None of us are. All of them were humans who chose this. They knew what they were getting into.”
“I can... We could be allies,” she said. “Witches can be useful.”
“Yes, but I don’t want you to be useful. I want you to be dead, and I want to be the one who kills you.”
He stopped beside an injured vampire, crouched down and reached out, and he snapped her neck. Her body collapsed to ashes.
Cara bit back the noise that tried to come from her throat.
“I don’t want anyone interrupting our fun,” he said, giving her another grin. “I’m going to make you bleed, and your blood will heal me. And when I’m ready, I’m going to turn you.”
“You can’t.”
“Oh, I can.” He stopped beside another vampire. The man was on the ground, moaning and clutching his chest. “I’m going to take my time with you, dear. No interruptions.”
He broke the man’s neck, and a terrible silence filled the room, only interrupted by the occasional crackle of burning wood.
“You’re quite the witch,” he said. “Fire magic and healing, I’m guessing, since you walked away from that fall. But I know how your kind works. You ran out of juice, didn’t you? Nothing left in the tank.”
“You’re wrong.”
“I’m right. Otherwise, you would have used it already. You’re running on empty. All your pretty flames have gone out.”
She turned to grab the door and he lunged at her. He wrenched her to face him and she threw her hands up but he slapped them away. He grabbed her shirt, pinning her against the door, and she couldn’t push him off. He was too strong.
His teeth flashed, sharp and white and deadly, and she tried to focus, tried to find her magic. She could fight this.
He sank his teeth into her neck.
White-hot pain shot through her body and her vision flickered. He sank his teeth deep and she groaned. He didn’t care about keeping her in one piece. He just wanted her blood, and he’d turn her into a vampire before the blood loss killed her.
She felt blood spilling over her skin as he drank. Her blood made him stronger, and his burned skin healed. She heard him moaning. Something pushed through the pain - some deep, horrified disgust. She fought the hazy confusion.
He was enjoying this.
Anger flared and she grabbed his shirt. Her grip was weak and he was too strong to fight. If she had anything left, she could have thrown him off. She didn’t have the strength to blast him with fire. She could barely manage more than channelling heat through her fingertips.
She put her hand on his chest. A soft touch, and her fingertips slipped between the buttons on his shirt. His shirt was tattered and burnt, but it was mostly in one piece, and she gripped the buttons, using them to help her brace herself.
Cara pulled up everything she had left, and she poured heat into her hand.
