Free Blood Vengeance by L.E. Wilson Page B

the ones with the headline “Please help me find my sister, Keira.” She’d gloated over it. That couldn’t have been more than two weeks ago. How would Emma have been able to find her between then and now?
    Again, she shook her head. She couldn’t have. There was just no way. This must be a trick; just another one of the head games that the bitch so enjoyed.
    So why had she ordered her to remove the cloaking spell?
    And who the hell was the male that was supposedly with her sister? She said he looked like Luukas…did she mean a vampire? Did a vampire find out where Luukas was and bring Emma with him? But why would he bring her along? A human?
    Keira was at a loss. She didn’t know what to think, what to believe.
    One thing she did know, however, was that the dead body on the floor was the end of her trading blood for Luukas. The other guards weren’t nearly as interested in her as this one was, and were much more afraid of Leeha.
    And even if they hadn’t been before, they would be now, once the word about Blondie’s death got out.
    Grabbing the body by the ankles, Keira attempted to drag it over closer to the door. She barely made it a foot before she fell on her ass with an “Oomph!” Three tries later, she’d managed to pull it a mere four feet or so, but at least it was farther away from Luukas and her stash corner.
    She thought about trying to roll it onto her blanket and move it that way, but then what would she use for herself? She’d freeze to death down here, and she wouldn’t want to use it if it had his blood all over it.
    The body would have to stay where it was.
    Picking up her blanket, she shook the dirt off of it as best she could. Mind still reeling with Leeha’s departing words, she shuffled over to her corner and sank down with her back against the stone, pulling the thin wool around her body.
     
    ***
     
    A howl shattered the stillness of the night, startling Keira awake, and she sat up with a start. Still half asleep and disoriented, she rubbed her eyes, and tried to get her bearings.
    She must've been sleeping for a while. All of the torches except one had burned out, and lack of light caused shadows to leap along the walls like creepy puppets.
    She’d felt so drained this morning. Literally. She’d barely remembered to undo the cloaking spell, before sinking back down into her corner to try and sleep. She must’ve slept through the entire day, dead body in the room and all.
    Another howl sounded, closer this time, raising the hair on the back of her neck and goose bumps on her skin. She faintly heard a male voice shouting in answer from far within the labyrinth of cells.
    There was someone else down here with them? She’d never heard anyone else in all the years they’d been here, and had always assumed they were the only “guests”.
    Hearing a ruckus on the stairs, she jumped to her feet and ran to the door.
    Dammit, the window was too high! She couldn’t see anything. Swinging around, her eyes landed on the dead vampire. He was beginning to disintegrate, but with the lack of sunshine down here, it was taking much longer than normal. She stomped on him a few times to see how solid he remained, and quickly decided he would do.
    Adrenaline and fear flowing through her, she grabbed him by the ankles and dragged him close enough to the door so that she could step up onto his legs and see out the small window.
    Just as she did, a body came hurtling through the air down the stairway, landing with a thud at the bottom. A gaping, bloody hole was all that remained of the guard’s throat. She barely caught a blur of what appeared to be a huge furry creature lunge down the stairs after it, leap over the body, and disappear down the hall away from her cell.
    What in the hell was that?
    A loud crash came seconds later. The beast must’ve burst through another door. And then all was quiet again.
    She held her breath, listening carefully, but heard nothing, until…there! More howling from