Free This Blackened Night by L.K. Below Page A

but he was alive. With his dark skin and the dim light, she couldn’t tell if he was bruised, but he’d certainly been abused. He would need her help to escape.
    She tried to stand, but was yanked back to the ground. Something abrasive tightened around her wrists. She twisted to peer over her shoulder. Her wrists were tied with coarse rope, secured to a tall metal pole that looked to have been sawed off well above her head. Yoga and contortionism had never been her strong suit. She wouldn’t be able to slide the rope off.
    “Michael,” she rasped. Even that one word scraped her raw throat.
    The Spenta Michos glanced up, startled. She felt irreverent calling him by name, but what else could she do? He didn’t know about the Order dedicated to protecting him. He didn’t know his importance to them.
    She licked cracked lips and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll get you out of here.”
    Wherever “here” was. From the intense fishy smell and the roar of the ocean, she seemed to be on a pier of some sort.
    “And how do you intend to do that?”
    Lori jumped at Pierre’s cold, amused voice. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. With the Spenta Michos in her sights, nothing could stop her from escaping. Pierre was just one more obstacle, she told herself.
    But maybe an insurmountable one.
    Keep him talking. She needed time to break free of her bindings.
    “I’m going to kill you, of course.” Never mind that she had no knife or stake.
    Discreetly, she felt along the rope for the knot. She hadn’t been particularly adept at freeing herself the last two times she’d been in this position, but now she was spurred on by the thought of saving the Spenta Michos. Somehow, that motivated her much more than only saving her own life.
    Plus, she knew what not to do now. Don’t tug on the rope and tighten the knot. Don’t rush or panic. Just continue talking while she worked herself free.
    The vampire smiled. In a sickening way, he reminded her of Terrence. The amused grin Terrence wore when he didn’t believe a word she said.
    Terrence. She would see him again, wouldn’t she? Her stomach lurched. Or had Pierre already done away with him?
    Pierre said, “And how do you plan to kill me?”
    She narrowed her eyes at him. Her fingers found the knot. She slowly and painstakingly started searching for a groove to loosen.
    To distract him, she took a guess. She’d only seen bits and pieces of the past, but she had a hunch. “I’ll scar up the other side of your face with holy water.”
    He snarled. The light glinted off his long, sharp canine teeth. “Try it,” he threatened. He reached out to grip her chin.
    The burst of tender pain receded beneath the onslaught of a vision.
    * * * *
    Farmer-Lori, clad in a kerchief and long, shapeless woolen dress, exited from a barn. The metal latch shut behind her with a click. In her hands, she clutched a small vial.
    Holy water. Given Pierre’s violent reaction, it could be nothing else.
    Pierre stepped forward from the shadows near the barn wall. His eyes glinted in the meager light.
    Farmer-Lori tensed, though she couldn’t possibly see his sinister expression. Deadly intent. Her mouth curled in distaste, while her thumb idly caressed the stopper of the bottle.
    “I said leave me be, Devil. I’ll have no part of your deceit.”
    Pierre loomed closer. As if sensing his approach, farmer-Lori turned.
    “I know you for the devil you are.”
    A cruel smile displayed the tips of Pierre’s fangs. A vampire, even then. “If you know me for what I am, then you must know you haven’t got a prayer.”
    “I am a God-fearing woman!”
    Pierre roughly grabbed farmer-Lori’s arms. “You must face the truth, my dear. You belong to me.” He smashed his mouth onto hers.
    Farmer-Lori gasped. Her eyes widened, filming over with white. Is that what I look like when I have a vision ? Lori thought in disgust.
    Seconds later, farmer-Lori battled a few inches of distance between their bodies. The seal