Free Bloodstorm (Heart of a Vampire) by Amber Kallyn Page B

running from.”
    The kid sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat.
    Shane’s pity stirred for this lost boy.
     
    ***
     
    Niki watched the kid, remembering how she’d been after her own turning. She’d felt like everything was over, with nothing to live for. Then the ghosts had come, and she’d realized why she’d survived.
    She didn’t know why she was so concerned for this kid. His situation wasn’t anything like hers. Yet, she felt some strange kinship to him. The urge to help him find his reason, help him get through it all, struck her. But first, she needed to know why he was here.
    “ Robby. Robby Jackson,” he said, just above a hoarse whisper. He reached up and tugged at the hair behind his ear.
    “ Where are you from, Robby?” she asked almost as quietly.
    “ Alabama.”
    “ How long have you been a vampire?”
    He shook his head, tugging the hair harder. “I don’t know. It’s hard to track time passing when...”
    “ When what, son?” Shane asked.
    Robby glanced at Niki. She nodded, encouraging.
    “ The guy, the vamp, who had me... He kept us chained up. When we travel, we’re loaded into a dark truck, locked in.” His breath came faster. “New people would sometimes come. Others left and we never knew why. We didn’t even know where we were most the time.”
    Niki stared at him, unable to comprehend the uncertainty, the terror, this child must have gone through. The change itself was bad enough, but to be locked up... “You were a prisoner from the time you were turned?”
    The boy nodded, still tugging at his hair.
    “ And the name of your captor?” she asked, unable to keep the anger from her voice.
    Robby flinched. “Y-you swear you’re not gonna take me back?”
    Niki scooted to the boy’s side. Taking his hand from his hair, she trapped it between her’s, waiting until he met her gaze. “I swear, you will never be with that monster again.”
    The boy appraised her. As if deciding she might be strong enough to keep the promise, he nodded. “He calls himself Jeremy Oakdale. This time. He changes it a lot.”
    She asked, “Has he ever gone by Thomas Montgomery?”
    Robby’s eyes widened and he gulped, nodding slowly.
    “ Son,” Shane said, leaning forward as he rubbed at his chin. “You keep saying us. How many others are there?”
    Robby shuddered. “When I escaped a couple nights ago, there were three in my room. There were others outside, but I didn’t see them. And a woman--she’s got this cool pink hair. But she’s not a vamp. Mr. Oakdale’s had her for almost a year, but she’s not kept a prisoner like us. And he hasn’t turned her.”
    “ Is she working with him?” Niki asked.
    “ I don’t know.” The boy rubbed his arm with his free hand. “She brings us our food sometimes.”
    Niki rose. “Go back to sleep. You can take the bed.”
    As she headed to the door, the boy panicked. “What are you doing?”
    She glanced at him. “Getting another room.”
    “ B-but it’s sunlight out there.”
    “ Yeah.”
    “ Y-you’ll die. Burn to death.”
    “ Whoever told you that?” She shook her head. “Let me guess. Thomas.”
    “ Well, yeah. But I’ve heard stories about vamps my whole life.” He hung his head. “I used to be a horror geek.”
    She laughed softly, kindly. “So it helped prepare you.”
    His eyes widened, shining with something she couldn’t name. “Yeah,” he whispered and sat straighter, as if finding some pride in his human past.
    But made her heart ache a bit for all this boy had lost. “Most of what you’ve read or seen on TV is myth.” She opened the door and sunlight flooded in, caressing her and touching the boy.
    He cringed back into the shadows, but watched closely. When she didn’t burst into flames, he cautiously reached out and let the sunlight fall over his hand. Wonder filled his face as he scooted further into the light, turning to the sun and let it bathe his skin.
    The light warmed her as well. Yet, at the same time,