Blood Relations - Chapter 15

Scotland, 1939

Vicky and William had just started to settle into their new home when William’s family arrived.

Having fed from yet another intoxicated human, Vicky got home feeling giddy. She was still hypersensitive from an extended bloodlust, and William took advantage of her being in the mood to cuddle. He’d stripped her while he guided her back across the room to the side of their four-post bed, and they made love until just before dawn.

Vicky lounged in a damp patch of his sweat, and William brought a bowl of water and a rag to clean both of them. With the first light of day, he drew the drapes tightly and returned to bed with their nightclothes.

Vicky was just settling into sleep when she was grabbed by her upper arm and yanked out of bed. The arm that William had clasped around her waist held firm for half a second, and then he was flying off the bed in the opposite direction.

Vicky opened her eyes as she flew away from William, but she couldn’t make out anything but a blur of dark figures. She shut them again when she slammed onto the floor. Vicky rolled with the impact and tried to get to her feet, but she was still in a half crouch when her body froze.

All around her were men dressed in black. The men all looked frighteningly similar because of their whirling silver irises, and because most of the halflings stared at her with masks of unrestrained hatred that obscured their faces.

It made them appear even more monstrous, and Vicky responded to their hatred by thinking the bloodiest, most hideous diversionary thought she could. She fantasized about ripping the men limb from limb, then shearing their flesh until nothing recognizable was left.

But her angry thought died when she saw William pulled roughly to his feet, and then her fears were laid bare for the halflings to see clearly.

William was pinned in place, held by his upper arms by two men while another, much younger man strode up to William. His hair was dark brown and curly, though it was difficult to appraise his looks with his face frozen in a snarling scowl.

“You were very foolish to return this close to home, William,” he said. “You accepted the role of leadership, and you can’t hide yourself from us.” He waved a hand toward Vicky, though his gaze remained fixed intently on William. “Tell me this isn’t what it looks like.”

“If I’m the leader, I shouldn’t have to—” William was silenced by a hard backhand slap.

“You abandoned the family, so Kyle passed the role to me.”

“Shouldn’t you be happier—?”

The leader struck William again. He reached out to pull the collar of his thin white nightshirt down to reveal a recent bite wound on his collarbone.

“You’ve allowed her to defile you,” the leader said, his head snapping around before he snarled at Vicky. “He told you our laws, and still you sought to break him.”

It’s a lie! Vicky wanted to scream, but she had no control over her voice. She hardened her glare as she thought, I love William, and I’ve done nothing wrong by offering myself to him.

The leader’s eyes narrowed. “Offering yourself?” He rushed across the room and yanked open Vicky’s nightgown, tearing the fabric to expose her chest.

The leader’s eyes froze on the bite wounds covering her shoulders, most of which were almost healed despite being made that night.

The leader’s jaw clenched, and his hand rose before slashing down in a backhand punch. Vicky was held in place, unable to lessen the blow across her cheek. She felt a sharp pop, and her eye welled with tears. Then the blood rushing in her cheek swelled her lower eyelid shut.

The pain was intense, and she wanted to drop to the floor and curl up in a ball. Instead she was forced to stand up.

The leader drew back and slammed another punch into her jaw, then another which flattened her nose. Blood exploded from her nostrils, and still the men invading her mind would not let her scream or pull away. Another blow burst her lips against her teeth, and then another hammered her jaw, breaking the bone in two places.

Her faced numbed, and she lost track of where the hits landed. The flurry of blows continued until the leader laid a punch on her already shattered cheekbone, and the world became grey in her good eye.

Only then did he stop. He panted and kept his fists clenched, as though he were resting before he hit her again.

He said nothing, but the men holding William dragged him away. The rest of the men began filing out of the room, save for two men who leaned against the wall by the window. As the last of their kinfolk folded out, both men pulled back the drapes.

Even the indirect light hurt, and Vicky tried to throw an arm in front of her eyes. She raised her hand an inch, and it was forced back down.

Vicky walked stiffly into the full light of the sun. Her mind begged for her to squint and block out at least some of the painful light. But she was held in place, her eyes wide and her head tilted back to stare at the sun.

Fire tortured her skin, and hot blades sliced her muscles. Her brain reeled from the pain, but she couldn’t pass out.

The leader was behind her, his hot, angry breath on her ear. “I know you’re thinking of revenge. You plan to rescue William, so let me explain why that would be a mistake.”

He stepped back from Vicky and kicked the small of her back. Something broke with a gut wrenching pop, and her legs went numb. Vicky flew through the paned glass, her arms flailing in the burning sunlight. She hit the cobblestone street, and her face split on contact.

Then her mind was released, and she fell into an icy blackness.