Free Rise of the Fae by Rebekah R. Ganiere

days,” said one male.
    “Go home.” Neeman tried to keep his temper in check.
    The vamps watched him and Stephos for a minute and then turned and walked away. He made sure they were halfway down the block before continuing. The scent of blood hit Neeman as he stepped onto the crumbling porch. His stomach lurched. It wasn’t human, but vamp blood, sour and almost rotten.
    “That’s not a little blood,” said Stephos.
    The music pounded out the front door. “Stayin’ Alive” played loud and hard. Neeman took a deep breath and readied himself for whatever he might see. He and Stephos stepped through the door. The front room was empty, not a vamp in sight. Neeman motioned for Stephos to go left into a different room and he continued right. The blaring stereo sat on a table in the corner. Neeman turned it off, his gaze constantly scanning the area. The suddenness of the silence made his ears buzz.
    Giggling drifted down the staircase. Stephos came from the back of the house followed by Riley and John.
    Neeman pointed upstairs. Stephos nodded.
    “The stench is coming from the basement,” Stephos mouthed.
    Neeman locked eyes on Riley and pointed. Riley nodded and he and John headed to the back of the house once more.
    Neeman followed Stephos to the staircase. They reached the bottom stair the same time as a female vamp. She smiled and then her smile faded.
    “You’re not supposed to be in here. Master Rex will be most displeased.”
    She turned, but Neeman grabbed her by the arm. “Get out.”
    She laughed. “Of course not. Master Rex likes me. I’m his favorite.”
    Neeman gripped her tighter. “Get. Out.”
    Her brows furrowed, but she kept on smiling.
    The hairs on Neeman’s neck prickled. Something wasn’t right. Before she could move, he backhanded her. Her head rocked to the side.
    She blinked twice, her smile fell, and her eyes widened.
    “Where am I? Get me out of here,” she whispered. She looked up the stairs and her frame shook. “Get me away from him. Please. He’s a monster.”
    John and Riley ran to meet them.
    “Bodies,” said Riley. “The basement. It’s full of dead female vamps.”
    “Get her outside,” said Neeman.
    Riley took the female’s hand and helped her to the door.
    “I don’t hear my music!” A male called from upstairs.
    “Let’s go.” Neeman and Stephos took the steps two at a time, trying to keep the creaks to a minimum. Peeling and faded green-striped wallpaper was held up only by faded, yellowing photos of a human family. The threadbare, matted carpeting barely covered a scratched wooden floor. At the top of the stairs, several doors were open and light shone from inside.
    They passed the first. Naked females sat on a sagging bed braiding each other’s hair. Neeman stared at the scene in disbelief for a moment. He motioned to Stephos and nodded. Stephos stepped into the room. Neeman passed other rooms full of equally saggy and worn furniture with naked women in them. They were all doing innocuous female things. Fixing their hair, putting on makeup, laughing, talking.
    “Wife number one, where is my music?” called the male again.
    The voice came from the end of the hall. Neeman stopped just outside the room. Riley joined him, with John behind.
    “Get the females out,” Neeman whispered.
    His finger twitched on his gun and he pushed open the door. He took a step back and covered his nose with his arm in an effort to keep from vomiting at the smell. Bile gagged him forcing him to get a hold of himself before stepping in the doorway again.
    The dirty, crumbling room was mostly bare except for a wooden chair and a small broken table. An enormous old claw-foot tub loomed in the middle of the worn wooden floor. In the tub lay a man. Two female vamps held a third over the side of the tub, her throat slit and bleeding out. Neeman’s stomach lurched again.
    The man held a cup in his hand and he dipped it into the liquid filling the tub. His smile fell at the sight of