"Who is it you fear, Asim? The human?” Jabril scoffed. “You are an old woman sometimes. Perhaps I should have brought Calixto instead of you, after all. He, at least, would not be fretting over unseen dangers. No, Asim. Soon, Raphael will be humiliated and Elizabeth will be mine. Permit me to enjoy the moment."

Having little choice in the matter, Asim acquiesced with a sharp nod. “Your will, my lord."

"Yes, Asim. Always."

Chapter Fifty-four

The Land Rover had pulled off the highway some time ago, leaving the road behind and bumping across the hard desert. Their movement finally stopped, and Cyn heard the PI muttering as he climbed from the driver's seat. She dared a quick peek out the window. They were parked in the middle of nowhere, the lights of a small town in the far distance. Her truck's halogen headlights illuminated a cool rectangle of light close to the ground, making it harder to see anything beyond their glow. The white-haired PI was standing by the side of the truck, rubbing his back. Apparently the long drive had taken a toll on him physically.

"Try it from back here, you fuck,” she snarled.

She ducked once again below the back of the seat. The tape on her hands and mouth was gone, but her feet were still bound, her fingers too slick with blood and clumsy with fatigue to get a grip on the multiple layers of tape. So the hell with her feet; she didn't need her feet to shoot a gun and Jabril could be here at any moment.

"Elizabeth,” she said softly, shaking the younger woman. “Wake up, hon. I need you to move."

Elizabeth woke with a start, her eyes going wide with confusion. “What? Huh?” She struggled to sit up, and Cyn saw the knowledge of where they were flash across her face before she fell back to the floor with a moan.

Cyn agreed with the sentiment. “That about sums it up,” she said briskly. With no time to waste, she took hold of Liz's arms with both hands and urged her to move away from the side compartment where her weapons were stored.

"Your hands!” Liz whispered in shock. “How ... Can you undo me too?” She held her hands out eagerly, frowning when she saw the blood slicking Cyn's fingers. “What happened? Oh my God..."

"Don't worry about that; we've got bigger problems. Switch places with me."

Cyn glanced up again as they maneuvered around each other, feeling the truck rock slightly with the movement, but their captor had walked away and was staring into the distance.

"I've got a bad feeling about this,” she muttered, scrabbling at the edges of the side compartment. It came loose finally, and she shoved it aside, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw everything still there and reaching immediately for the Spyderco folding knife velcroed to the wall of the compartment. She cut the tape binding her own feet first, and then freed Liz's hands with a quick swipe and handed her the knife. “Do your feet,” she said tersely.

She grabbed a black canvas case next, unzipping it to reveal two Sig Sauer handguns. She picked up one at a time, did a quick safety check on each and reached for a box of 147 grain Hydra-Shok ammo. This was her vampire killer load; it made a neat little hole going in, but a really big mess coming out. She figured even a vamp couldn't stand up to having his brains splattered into tiny pieces. If nothing else, it would put him on the ground long enough for her to stake him. She slammed the magazine into the first gun with practiced efficiency and picked up the second.

"Okay, we're in a world of shit here, Liz,” she said, speaking fast and low. “But we're not down yet. Have you ever shot a gun?"

She looked up and saw total fear on the teenager's face. Cyn stopped what she was doing, put the gun down and drew a calming breath. Panic would kill them both. “Listen to me, Liz,” she said slowly. “Raphael's on his way. I can feel him in my head, but I don't know how far away he is or how long it'll take him to get here. Either way, we can't afford to sit and wait, so I need your help.” She took the girl's shaking hands in her blood-covered fingers. “Can you do this? You were strong enough to get away once, can you do it again?"

Big tears began to roll down Liz's face, and Cyn's mind was already running alternative plans when the girl suddenly returned Cyn's grip strongly. “I'd rather die than go back there,” she whispered. “Tell me what I need to do."

"Good girl,” Cyn breathed. “Okay. Have you ever shot a gun?” she repeated. Liz shook her head mutely. It might have been better if they could both shoot, but the truth was a straight 9 mm shot wasn't going to do shit to a vampire, and Cyn had no intention of turning over a load of her “special” ammo to a novice. It would be too easy for the wrong people, like Cyn or Liz herself, to end up dead.

"All right. We can't beat them in a straight up fight anyway. They're too fast and too strong, so we need to be smarter. I want you to fight. Scream, kick, bite, I don't care what you do, but do not go easily. Jabril wants you alive, but he's a sick fuck, so he'll probably bite you for the hell of it.” Cyn didn't honey-coat the possibilities. She wanted Liz angry and ready to fight, not hysterical because the big bad vampire had sucked a little blood, or even a lot of blood. “Remember this, Liz. It might hurt like hell, but it won't kill you and it won't make you a vampire. It takes a lot more than a single bite to do that."

Cyn ducked down as the darkness was suddenly drowned by a wash of light. Peering over the seat, she saw three cars drive past the truck and come to a dust-churning halt in a rough semicircle facing the rear of the vehicle. One of those cars was a nice long limo, and Cyn had a pretty good idea who was sitting in the back seat. The appearance of Jabril's bodyguards confirmed her guess, and she gave fate a nod of thanks that the giant Calixto wasn't among the vampire lord's traveling security detail. The vampires jumped from the still-moving sedans and took up positions around the limo as the white-haired PI went over to greet his employer.

Cyn watched long enough to see Asim emerge, carrying a black briefcase, then dropped back to the floor of their compartment and sent a silent plea to Raphael to hurry. “It's Jabril,” she said to Liz, struggling to keep her voice steady. “Asim's with him and a whole lot of others. Are you ready for this?"

"No.” Liz's voice was shaking and she gave despairing chuckle. “Do I have a choice?"

"Good point,” Cyn whispered as she heard footsteps crunching closer.

The hatch swung upward. “Your carriage awaits, ladies,” the PI said with a bluff good cheer that made Cyn's stomach turn. Jabril must be paying this asshole a whole lot of money.

The PI grabbed Liz first, jerking her out of the truck. His mouth fell open when he saw the cut tape and Cyn rolled to her knees, prepared to take advantage of his surprise. But Asim leapt forward and snared her with that uncanny vampire swiftness, taking the gun from her hand as easily as if she were a child. The PI grunted an embarrassed acknowledgment of Asim's help, and he glared at Cyn before manhandling Elizabeth upright to face the limo as Jabril emerged from its depths.

"Don't do this,” Liz pleaded, twisting in the PI's arms. “Don't you know what he is, what he'll do to me?” She was doing her best to make it difficult for him to hold onto her. There was no need to fake the terror in her voice.

"The law says he owns you, missy."

"No! Not anymore. I'm eighteen. Today's my birthday. Please! Please, let me go. He'll kill me."

"Well, now, how do I know you're telling the truth, huh? Whereas Mr. Jabril Karim there has given me fifty thousand reasons to believe him."

"You bastard,” Liz screamed. “Let me go!” She went ballistic then, flailing her arms, kicking him, even smashing her head forward in a failed head butt. The PI struggled to grab her and she bit him, sinking her teeth in hard enough to draw blood.

"Bitch!” he swore. He raised a meaty hand to hit her, but Jabril intercepted him with a casual gesture, locking the PI's thick fist in one delicate hand.

"That won't be necessary.” He gripped Liz's chin in one hand, turning her gently to look at him. He smiled.

Cyn watched helplessly as Liz succumbed to Jabril's power, and wondered why she'd ever thought they'd be able to resist him. The vampire lord spoke softly, and Liz leaned into him, rubbing against him like a cat. Jabril embraced her in an obscene parody of affection and sank to the ground, holding her effortlessly across his lap as his fangs slid out and he lowered his mouth to her neck. Cyn turned away, unable to watch, but Asim forced her head around, holding her with a wiry strength unexpected in that skinny, sunken-chested body.

Her eyes closed against the sight, and Asim chuckled.

"Did you think to resist us, Cynthia?” he whispered in her ear. He tightened his grip, one hand gliding over her breasts and down her abdomen suggestively. Cyn didn't bother to conceal her shudder of revulsion, and Asim's voice hardened with anger. “Tell me,” he said, shaking her slightly. “Did you think your puny weapon could harm my master?"

"With respect, sir,” the PI spoke up from behind them, where he was rummaging through Cyn's hidden cache. “That weapon's packing a pretty heavy load. Bitch knows what she's doing."

"Really?” Asim purred. He jerked his head at the PI. “You there. Assist Lord Jabril Karim. When he's finished with the girl, you can put her in the limousine."

Cyn thought at first the PI would refuse, but then he dropped the box of ammo and took several steps closer to Jabril, muttering, “...not a fucking servant.” Cyn stared at his back. She didn't need to see what Jabril was doing to Liz. She could hear the sounds of his feeding perfectly well.

"Is it true what he said?” Asim murmured at her ear. “Could you kill my master with that weapon?"

Cyn fought the instinctive urge to pull away from his hissing breath. “Probably. Long enough to stake him anyway. I was looking forward to it."