Vampire's Prey

Chapter 7: Sold

His nails scrape against my skin as he grabs my shirt. One hard pull tears my shirt off my body, leaving just my bra behind.

"You are lucky that you were even allowed to live," he says. "Welcome to the rest of your pathetic miserable life."

He presses his legs between mine, forcing them apart. I turn my head and shut my eyes. I shut out the world around me. I don't want this. I don't want this. I'm not here. It's not real.

"Look at me."

I stay still.

"Look at me!" He yanks my hair, making my scalp sting.

My eyes open, focusing on the rotting wooden ceiling and letting his face remain a blur.

"Beg."

What?

"Beg to be defiled, whore!"

Tears well up in my eyes.

He pulls my hands back down to my stomach, and a hard slap hits my face.

"Beg me! Beg me to take you!" He slaps my stinging cheek again. I can't take this anymore. I can't. He ripped up my clothes. I'll be like the humans by that corner table. It's going to be like this forever. Tears roll down my cheeks, and I start to cry.

He pulls my hair to cause me further pain. I sob aloud, not caring who hears. I've got nothing left.

He slaps me again, and again, and again. I cry louder and louder, keeping my eyes closed.

He releases my wrists and jumps off the bed. I snap my legs together and curl up into a ball.

His arms wrap around my small form and lift me into the air, pressing me against his chest.

"You crook!" the man shouts. His voice isn't above me, it's below. I open my eyes. The bald man is on the floor, struggling to get up without tripping over himself.

Who's holding me? I don't need to look up. I recognize the leather coat. It's no knight in shining armor. It's no hero. It's Rahlan, the vampire who decided I was worth less than a horse.

I curl into myself and hide my eyes behind my arm. Maybe they're right. Maybe this is my place in this new vampire world. A new wave of tears washes over me, and I press my face into my arms.

Rahlan wraps his dark cape over me, shielding my body from the outside world. I bob up and down with his rhythmic steps. The tobacco smoke and incomprehensible murmuring returns as he steps into the bar section of this wretched place.

"Return the silver," the barman says.

Rahlan adjusts his posture to hold me with one arm. The coins jingle as he drops them on the bar counter.

Sunlight pierces through my cocoon's threading as he steps outside. The gravel crunches beneath his feet, and the smoky smell fades away.

What's next? Am I going to be fed to wild animals, or be used to test a sword's sharpness? I don't even want to know what awfulness awaits me.

He walks further before placing me on a log. The sharp bark irritates my backside. His cape is pulled away, exposing me to everyone. My eyes stay shut. I don't want to know how many vampires are watching me sob in my pathetic state. I can't stop whatever he wants to do to me, but at least I can spare myself the torture of watching it unfold.

The jeers don't come. It's almost silent other than chirping birds and the occasional gust of wind.

I peek my eyes open. The world is blurry, but the blotches of green leaves mean that we're far from the trade post. It's a forest, and it's just the two of us.