CLUB NUMBER FIVE (Immortal Blood) (20 page)

“And why would you need help, Samantha Green?”

I
look
ed at her. How did she know my name? I
glanc
ed around and saw that other shadows were moving closer to me, too. I screamed.

The woman grabbed my chin and looked straight into my eyes.“Answer me. Why would you need help?”

“Because I didn't do anything,” I whispered.

She laughed brightly and let my chin go. I stared at her. Was she crazy? I glanced at the others and saw Dane, Jonathan
,
and some other vampires from the house. I also saw Amber and Jo, but they all avoided my eyes.

“Stools
.
”
T
he woman snapped her fingers and someone brought five stools
and arranged them
in front of mine. She sat in the middle and I looked
in
horr
or
as three hard men stood next to her.

“A trial,” I whined. “Oh
my
G
od! This is a trial and I'm
the
accused.”

“Silence,” the woman said. “You are only allowed to speak when we ask. Is that clear?”

I nodded and stared at the sitting men. Their faces seemed to be made of stone and gave nothing away – well, almost nothing, as I could've sworn they looked a bit bored. The other vampires had gathered behind me so I couldn't see their faces. But I didn't need to. I could feel the contempt that
emanat
ed from them.

I closed my eyes and waited for the woman's strike. Minutes went by and eventually I had to open my eyes again. She smiled at me lazily and I shivered. Why was she smiling at me? And why wait? If they were going to punish me
,
why didn't they just do it and get this over with? I gazed at the stony men. One had stretched his legs and was almost slouching on the stool. The other sat straight-backed
,
and the third stared at me like I was his prey.

My
gaze
slid onto the empty stool. Why was it
t
here? And who was supposed to sit on it? Maybe they had made a mistake and brought one too many. Or maybe not. From what I knew, vampires didn't make mistakes. Well, except vampires that were really stupid like me. I
looked in
to the woman's eyes and she lifted her brow questioningly. I opened my mouth but she waved her finger at me and then put it on her lips as if to say
‘
s
h
h
, I didn't say you could talk
’
. I closed my mouth and swallowed. This sucked. I wasn't good at waiting and I knew myself. Sooner or later I would do something really stupid and provoke them
in
to hurt
ing
me.

A breath of cold air tickled my neck and I slapped it. It didn't help and I slapped my neck again, turning fiercely. A man in his thirties was standing right behind me. He smiled. My whole body bec
a
me paralyzed and I tried to back away, but it was impossible to move. I shook my chains and struggled in panic, but that didn't help. I was stuck on the stool no matter what.

The man caressed my neck with his finger and leaned closer.
“Hello, Samantha.”

“No!” I screamed and twisted immediately as the pain hit my brain.
Shoot! I had forgotten I wasn't allowed to speak. I glanced, panting, at the woman in front of me and she smiled as if my pain was amusing.

“Well, Meriel, that was not nice
.
”
T
he man glanced at the woman and smiled cruelly. “But then again, she did deserve it.”He put his hand on my hair and fondled it absentmindedly. “Let's see, what shall we do with you?”

I shook my head and pleaded silently. No, no, no, please don't do anything with me. He laughed and grabbed my chain. Then with one move he broke the chain and pulled me up. I stared at his black eyes and
shivered. I had never been that
scared in my whole life. And if I had thought for a second that Dane was bad, I had been wrong. This man with his perfect manners made my blood freeze. There was something in him that screamed he was all danger. Something that told me that if he had wanted me dead I'd be dead. Just like that. He came to stand behind me and leaned on me. I saw Dane and Jonathan and saw how they were struggling not to interfere. I sniffed.

“There now,” the man whispered and slid his hand on
to
my neck. “You don't have to be afraid. This is just a friendly talk between friends, right?”

“Let her go!” Dane shouted and someone knocked him down.

“Dane!” I cried but was too afraid to even try to move.

“Hmm, is it true that you said you would destroy the other vampires?” The man's hand felt tight on my neck.

“Yes,” I whispered. “But I didn't mean it. I was just so mad about everything that had happened to me.”

“I see
.
”
H
e squeezed my neck a little and I felt
as if I were
choking. “Because there is one rule and one rule only that's on top of the other rules, my beautiful Samantha.”I blinked and a tear dropped on
to
my cheek. He squeezed a bit harder and I cried from the pain. “You want to know what that rule is?”
H
is voice was honeyed.
I tried to nod, but before I could he let go of my neck and grabbed my hair roughly. “Good.  Hear this. We always look after each other. Do you understand? Always. And why is that?”

“Why?” I whispered, but I already knew the answer.

“Because we're family. And family do
es
not betray another family member.”

“Okay,” I managed to hiss as he pulled my hair so hard I almost fell.

“And if someone betrays us, we have to make sure that never happens ag
ain. Surely you understand that?
”I tried to turn my head, but he didn't let me. Instead
,
he pushed me down and knelt next to me. “What does a mother do when her child disobeys her?”

I sobbed desperately and wished that at least Dane and Jonathan would go away. This was awful and I felt so embarrassed. The man was playing with me and everyone in the room knew it, yet they couldn't do anything but watch. And I knew this was as much
their punishment as mine
. I was an example of what would happen if someone so much as thought about deceiving their own.

“Answer me!” he shouted
.

“A lesson!
” I screamed.
“
A mother would
teach
her a lesson.”

“Right
.
”
H
e let go of me and I slumped onto the floor.
“You said this is just a misunderstanding and you didn't mean it
.
”
H
e talked to himself and walked slow
ly around me. “But the thing is
we don't know if you're with us or against us.”

“With,” I whispered
,
begg
ing
with my eyes.

“So you say, but have you ever fed just for fun? 'Cause you see, we might look like we're civilized
,
but underneath our skin there is a beast. And that beast wants only one thing. Blood. And if you don't understand that
,
you can never survive among us. We are the strongest species on the planet. We are predators and we have the power to choose who can live forever and who has to die, and that, my darling, is a gift
.
”
H
e pulled me up and put his hands on my cheeks. “A gift, Samantha. But it's also a curse. We have to hide our true nature
,
as we are so few
,
and without our secrecy
,
humans might find a way to destroy us, and that we cannot allow.”

“I can prove that she's one of us,” a voice said from the crowd.

I lifted my head and cried. “No!”

Jo stepped forward and bowed to the man.

“I'm listening
.
”
H
is fingers stayed on my cheeks but his eyes moved from me to Jo.

“I saw her feeding from a boy,” Jo said bravely. “She rested here for a while and I brought her a boy. She sank her teeth into him without any hesitation.”

“Interesting,” the man said and let go of me.
He
stood
before Jo and gently grabbed her chin. I held my breath.
He
looked searchingly in
to
her eyes and with one move snapped
her
neck and tossed her lifeless body in
to
the flaming barrel.
“Anyone else want to share a story with me?”

The others backed away shaking their heads. I screamed. Yes, I know it was stupid, but I couldn't make myself stop. The man came to me and slapped me. I shut up.

“Now, bring me
a
snack
.
”
H
e grinned wickedly and immediately someone ran from the room.

“Jason,” Meriel said
in
warning.

“Don't worry
;
I know what I'm doing,” said the man and turned as that someone rushed back
in
to the room carrying a frightened girl.
“Perfect
.
” Jason flashed his fangs. “Bring her here.”
The girl was placed in front of us. Jason moved her hair and turned her head, offering her neck to me. I gulped.
“Drink,” he hissed. “Drink as if your life depends on it.”

I wiped my tears and glanced at him. There was no way out. I closed my eyes and begged she would forgive me. And then I sank my teeth in
to
her and drank. I felt myself getting drunk from her blood and lifted my head, but Jason pushed me back.

“More.”

I fed from her again and I felt how I was draining
the
life out of her, but I couldn't stop. Not when Jason's hand was on my neck and he had the power to decide when I was done. I noticed her heartbeat weakening, but kept drinking. And when Jason finally released his grip, the girl was dead. I had killed her.

Jason made me sit on an empty stool and knelt in front of me. He touched my shaking legs with his fingers and tried to
quieten
me. But I couldn't control my body. I was in shock and I knew it was exactly where he wanted me to be. Long sobs
shook
me and my face was twisted
with
guilt, but he didn't care. He didn't care that he had killed a piece of my soul by making me murder that girl
,
and I could never forget that. All he cared about was that he had won.

“Now you're one of us,”
he
said, and a light smile flickered on his lips.

Never
,
m
y mind screamed
!
B
ut I was too afraid to defy him and stayed quiet. I stared at him with burning eyes and wished he would drop dead right there.

“Aah.
” Jason nodded and cupped my cheek with his hand. “I see that you've still got spirit in you. I like it.”

I hissed and tried to slap his hand away. His fingers moved slowly on my cheek. His eyes were halfclosed.
“What am I going to do with you?” he said softly.

“You could let me go?” I suggested and he laughed.

“You see, that's exactly what I cannot do
.
”
He
grinned
in
pity and I flinched.
He moved his mouth close to mine and I could feel his breath on my skin. I tried to struggle free
,
but his hands didn't move an inch. He held me still and his lips touched my cheek.

“Why?” I whispered, and hated myself as a few tears ran from my eyes.

Jason licked my cheek lightly and sighed. “Because I don't trust you.”

“But you can trust me
.
”
M
y eyes flew open. “Seriously, I won't betray you.”

He let go of me, laughing. “I like you. I like you a lot. But don't bother to lie to me. I know you would cross me over if you had a chance. And that is something we have to change.”

He got up and walked slowly around the
C
lub. My eyes followed him and my brain was working hard to clarify what exactly he
had
meant. He was right. I would betray him the minute I got the chance
,
and there was nothing he could do to tie me tight enough to be loyal to him. Nothing but
…
shoot
! I got up, but someone pushed me back down. He was going to make me murder more people and then he would threaten my loved ones if I didn't do what he said. And what if I made a mistake? Would he slaughter my famil
y? Dane and Jonathan? Katie? Oh
no! I couldn't let him do that, but I couldn't murder again either.