Free Eternal Bloom - Book 5 (The Ruby Ring Saga) by Chrissy Peebles Page A

concentrated on the words. The Immortal clearly tells the other Immortal, “You’ve fed enough. It’s my turn.”
    I looked at Beth, and then at Liz. My heartbeat spiked. “Did you hear what he said?”
    “It was too fast,” Beth said.
    “Not for me,” I said.
    “I heard it,” Liz said. “What does it mean? Are they feeding off humans?”
    “What did the man say?” the red-haired woman asked.
    I told her and Beth what I heard and the woman looked away in complete disbelief.
    Beth jotted down some notes and then frowned. “This particular group of Immortals seems to be feeding off the energy source of humans.”
    The witness shrieked. “They were feeding off of him. That’s sick!”
    “I wonder if they can feed without killing their victims,” Beth said.
    Liz shot her a look. “I’m sure they have excellent hearing. Why didn’t they hear Erica when she crept away?”
    “Because they were too busy killing my brother,” Erica said. “That’s why! They were too focused on feeding off of him.” She ran a hand through her hair. “You know what this means, it means vampires are real.”
    “But they don’t drink blood,” Liz said.
    “They’re Immortals who kill people for food,” she retorted. “I bet this is how the vampire legend got started. Maybe people got creative over the years and added in blood and fangs.”
    I thought about what Beth told me. She had said lots of those people in those pods were from all over the United States. Some were from here, but others were from Texas and Michigan and other places. Those people might’ve not been there for test experiments like I suspected. They could’ve been brought in as food .  My stomach dropped. Do these Immortals in my home world kidnap people as a food source? The thought sickened me. Why hadn’t Dr. Meyers been more forthcoming? I couldn’t believe she could keep something like that from us. I had to tell Victor  about my findings the second I got home. He needed to know what we were up against. Could they feed on other Immortals? I didn’t have a clue. 
    “You can’t go public with this video,” Liz said. “If you do, then they’ll kill you too.”
    “But my brother needs justice,” Erica said. 
    I touched her shoulder. “They’ll say your video is a hoax, then they’ll put their own special spin on it.”
    “In the end, they’ll try their best to make you look like an idiot,” Liz said. “And then they’ll kill you.”
    Erica shook her head. “You’re not talking me out of this.”
    Liz stood. “I smell smoke.”
    Erica glanced around. “I wasn’t cooking anything.”
    When I darted into the kitchen, I gasped. Dozens of small flames flickered to life.
    “Fire!” I shouted.
    “The front door,” Liz screamed, pulling my arm. 
    Beth tried to turn the knob but it wouldn’t budge. “Somebody’s locked us in here.”
    “The window,” I said.
    Beth, Liz, and I tried to open the windows but it was like they were nailed shut by an invisible hand. Erica came back with an axe and slammed it into the window. It didn’t even crack. The window had some kind of protective barrier to keep us from breaking through it. And that’s when I knew who was behind this little attack.
    “It’s the Immortals,” Liz shouted through the smoke engulfing us. 
    I could barely see in the hazy blue-gray smoke swirling around me in billows. Hungry flames leapt, and heat radiated from all around me. I could feel the intense, blinding heat on my face. “We have to get out of here!” I shouted over the crackling flames. My lungs burned, and it was hard to breathe. Pulling my dress up over my mouth and nose as a mask, I took quick, shallow gasps.

Chapter 10
    T he fire spread quicker than I’d ever imagined. I’d only come to help Beth interview a witness and now I was fighting for my life. I sucked in my breath as rivulets of sweat started to run down my spine. Coughing violently, I tried to breathe.
    “This way!” Liz shouted