Arctic Fire 2 (20 page)

Quinn woke slowly. Her head throbbed like someone was beating on it with a hammer and her shoulder felt like a hot poker was digging into it. Her arms… why did they hurt so badly? They were above her head? What had happened?

Her eyes fluttered open before instantly closing again. The pain caused by just trying to look around was excruciating. She dimly recalled the last time she’d seen anything. It had felt like a bad acid trip as she hadn’t been unable to figure out if she was inside or outside, and everything had seemed wrong. Someone had hit her with enough force to cave her skull in. She tried to move her hands so she could feel the back of her skull, but her fingers were numb and swollen.

Think.
Feel your surroundings if you can’t see them.

Taking a couple of seconds to gather her spinning mind, she gradually took stock of her body. She was standing, or at least it felt like she was in an upright position as she could feel air moving all around her body. There was no breeze; it was the simple ebb and flow of air currents as they traveled from one place to another.

Her arms
were
above her head. There was something cool and solid clasped around her wrists.
Chains
, she realized. She was chained with her hands above her head and… Yep, her ankles were chained too; she could feel the weight of the chains dragging against her legs when she tried to move them forward.

The metal clinked against something hard, concrete most likely. Lifting her head, she tried to open her eyes again. Blackness surrounded her, but for all she knew, it could be bright as day around her and her eyes still weren’t working right from the blow she’d taken. She closed them again as the rest of the details of what had happened slowly came back to her.

They’d been set up, attacked, ambushed, and outmaneuvered. It had been a genius move to weaken her and Dani before coming for them. She wouldn’t underestimate her opponent again. She’d also been shot. The burning in her shoulder was from the bullet making its way out of her body. She moved her feet, trying to turn on the chains she hung from. She was brought up short when they tightened to the point she couldn’t move anymore.

If she were at full strength, or even at half her usual strength, she could’ve easily broken them. Right then, her muscles were cramped, her bones grated together in her shoulder blades, and she could feel her ribcage pressing against her skin.

When she’d been younger and still had pets, she’d once held her rabbit as it died after being attacked by the neighbor’s cat. Beneath her hand, its coat had still been thick and fat still lined its body. However, a coldness she hadn’t been able to understand at the time encompassed the animal. Something had been broken within it, but her aunt and uncle hadn’t been home to help her get it to the vet. So she’d held it, feeling the life fading from its tiny body until all that remained was the limp, lifeless shell.

She felt like that now, cold when she shouldn’t be. Drained and fading. She wouldn’t die, but if she didn’t get blood and feed on someone’s life force soon, she would be as helpless and weak as that rabbit against these vamps.

A creaking sound from her right caused her to go completely still. She kept her head bowed and unmoving as she listened to footsteps entering her place of imprisonment. There were at least three of them, she realized.

“Skinny thing. I can’t see her being a menace to anyone,” a woman’s voice said.

“She’s weakened right now, and we’ll keep her that way until I can take control of her mind.”
That
voice she recognized as Rat-Face. It took all she had to remain immobile and not fight against her chains until she tore free and beat him to death.

“I’m still not sure about that plan,” the woman murmured.

“It’s the only way we’ll be able to keep her under control and make her do what we ask,” Rat-Face replied.

“Hmm,” the woman murmured. One of the footsteps approached her and began to circle. “But you could also make her do whatever you command against any of us.”

“Come now, Helena, we must have trust between us.”

“I trust no one,” Helena replied, “especially not a man.”

Quinn could feel the woman standing before her, staring at her. So not all of the vampires with Rat-Face were part of his burgeoning tribe. Judging by the vibe of power radiating from Helena, she was old. Older than Rat-Face, and Quinn craved her life force like a smoker craved nicotine.

“I must agree with Helena on this,” another male said. “How are we to know you won’t turn her against us?”

“I vow it,” Rat-Face replied.

Helena released a bark of laughter. “I give more worth to fool’s gold than your vow.”

“Watch it,” Rat-Face warned.

“Or you’ll what, take control of my mind? Then everyone here would know you’re not to be trusted.”

“They wouldn’t know if I did, and neither would you.”

“Don’t threaten me.
I’d
know, and I’d shred you before you could ever try and take control of me.”

The other man snickered; Quinn could feel the tension in the room ratcheting up. She hoped the two of them tore each other to pieces and solved part of her problem, but neither of them made a move toward the other.

“What about Julian?” the other man asked.

“What about him?” Helena inquired.

“He’ll come for her.”

“Of course he will,” Rat-Face replied. “And when he discovers his little girlfriend is under my control, we’ll also have control of him. He’ll do anything we say in order to ensure we don’t hurt her.”

“Are we sure she means so much to him?” Helena snorted. “Men tend to be fickle about women. He may move on; it’s not like she’s anything to look at.”

Helena has a huge problem with men
, Quinn decided.

“Maybe she’s no beauty, but she’s prettier when she’s got some weight on her, and he’ll come for her. I’ve seen the way he watches her, the way he treats her. She’s special to him,” Rat-Face replied.

“If they’re mated we’ll have him at our mercy,” the other man said. “Did you check her neck for bite marks?”

“Any marks would have healed by now,” Rat-Face replied.

“Perhaps, but if he’s fed from her recently, they could still be on her body somewhere.”

Quinn’s stomach clenched. Julian had fed from her before she’d gone to work, but the bite mark was on her inner thigh. If they decided to strip her in order to look…

Don’t move
! She barked the order at herself, but it was taking everything she had not to squirm against the chains binding her when someone grabbed hold of her chin and turned her head back and forth.

“No marks,” Rat-Face replied.

“Hmm. It would be a huge bonus for us if they were mates,” the other man said. “We’d not only have control of the vampire of the prophecy, but also one of the remaining two Elders.”

“Julian won’t bow to our will, no matter whose mind we have under our control,” Helena replied.

“How do you know?” Rat-Face demanded.

“I’ve met him, I know,” Helena replied absently.

“We should strip her and see if there are any of his marks on her,” the other male said. The eagerness of his voice made her already queasy stomach pitch and roll.

“And if there are, what would that prove? Have you never fed from another vampire in the throes of passion?” Helena asked.

“Perhaps, but I’ve never allowed another to feed from me.”

“Well, aren’t you special,” Helena drawled. “I have.” Another hand clasped hold of her chin. The tips of Helena’s pointed fingernails dug into her skin as Helena lifted her chin and took a long, deep sniff of her neck. Seeming to find what she was looking for, Helena abruptly released Quinn. Her chin slumped back to her chest. “There is another’s blood in her, and it’s powerful.”

“Julian’s?” Rat-Face asked.

“I can think of no one else’s it would be,” Helena replied.

“It’s best if you let me at her mind,” Rat-Face said. “If she’s ours, we’ll control them both.”

“You’re very eager for this, Earl,” Helena replied. “Maybe too eager.”

Earl
! Quinn almost laughed at the innocuous name. Over the years, she’d imagined what his name would be, but could never come up with a name monstrous enough for the man who had laughed as he’d pinned her to the floor with his knives before draining her dry. Earl had never been one of the names to cross her mind. Satan or Lucifer had been her top two.

“I’m only eager to see us reclaim our rightful place, Helena. She could lead with me,” Earl replied.

“Do you really think we would allow
you
to be our leader,” the other man replied. “You’re younger than either of us.”

“I’m almost two centuries old,” Earl replied.

“And we are nearing three hundred. You are still a teen in comparison.”

“Fine,” Earl relented, “but she could be my bride.”

“If we agree to you taking control of her mind, I will not allow you to abuse her in such a way,” Helena replied. “She is
not
to be touched by any man she does not give her willing consent to.”

A man had once hurt her
, Quinn realized and actually felt a stab of sorrow for the powerful woman standing next to her. The last thing Helena deserved was her pity, but she knew well what it was like to be at the mercy of others.

Quinn could practically feel Earl seething, but he didn’t argue with Helena. “Fine, she will simply do what she is told to do, when she is told to do it,” he relented.

Quinn didn’t buy that for one second, she doubted Helena did either, but the three of them finally stopped bickering. “When she wakes, we’ll have her readied to be brought before the others. Perhaps we should get some weight back on her too,” Helena murmured.

“If you’re not going to let me control her, then keep her weak. She’ll destroy anyone she gets her hands on otherwise.”

“A weak vampire of prophecy is no good to us,” the other man said. “If we’re not able to use her to destroy our enemies, we might as well kill her now, so no one else can get their hands on her.”

Apprehension slid down Quinn’s spine. Helena’s sharp tipped fingernails pinched her skin as she grabbed Quinn’s chin once again. “You are right, what good is this pathetic creature to us? Earl, when she awakes take control of her mind.”

No!
The scream echoed within Quinn’s head. Her heart twisted at the idea of this monster having control of her in such a way. If Helena thought Earl wouldn’t use her in every way possible before turning her against anyone he deemed a threat to him, she was sadly mistaken.

“I have a feeling that won’t be much longer,” Earl replied.

Quinn heard a single footstep before a hand grasped her breast, twisting it cruelly as he fondled it. Instinct brought her instantly to life; she came up spitting at him as he laughed in her face. Quinn’s fangs burst free of her mouth; rage poured through her body, replacing her physical weakness.

She swung her legs forward, jerking and twisting violently against the chains binding her wrists and ankles in an attempt to break free. Earl released her breast and stepped away. Quinn lunged forward again, her fangs only inches from his face.

Something behind her gave a groaning creak. Metal bent and twisted as she swung her legs forward again. There was a lessening in the tightness of the chains as something gave way. She may not be at her strongest, but with her heritage and Julian’s blood, she was still stronger than any normal vampire of her age would be.

“Guards!” Helena shouted.

Three vampires rushed into the room as Quinn swung her legs forward, dragging the heavy weight of the chain with her. She caught the first guard under the chin with the end of the chain. Blood burst from his mouth as he staggered into the wall. Twisting to the side, she smashed her feet into the chest of the next one who lunged at her. The force of her kick knocked him into the vampire behind him.

Swinging herself up, her feet hit the ceiling before she pushed herself down again. She landed on the shoulders of the third guard, causing him to grunt from the force of her weight. Her thighs clamped against the sides of the man’s head. He howled and grabbed at her thighs as she began to compress his skull. Tentacles of power slithered out and latched onto the man’s face. A groan of pleasure escaped her as more of his life seeped into her body, replenishing her strength.

Before she could feed from him too much, the chains clasped to her ankles were jerked down with enough force to knock her victim’s feet out from under him. They toppled toward the ground together. A scream tore from Quinn when the chains binding her wrists abruptly stopped her fall. Her shoulders popped out of their joints with a resounding crack that reverberated within the small confines of the room.

Helena and the other man had scurried away from her, but Earl stood before her with a smug smile on his lips. He held up the chain he’d grabbed for her to see before slipping it over one of the massive metal hooks jutting from the wall. He turned to give a pointed look at Helena.

“Do you see why she must be kept under control?” he inquired.