Eat Me.
The night rolls on and my eyes become heavy with the lulling of the motor. The tires hum a steady lullaby; the leather smells like cold air and cologne and old metal. I lean my head on Farah, who swings her arm around my shoulder and tucks me in. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to touch someone. Her comfort is the only thing keeping me grounded while I drift off to sleep with thoughts swirling about the handsome asshole who saved us, just to turn cold and emotionless in an instant. His face keeps sliding through my mind like a blade catching the light, those eyes that didn’t linger, the mouth that didn’t soften. I hate that my stomach flips anyway.
I’m awoken by Farah’s gentle voice in my ear. “Echo, we’re here, wake up.”
I groan and stretch as I look out the window at an old barn in the middle of nowhere. The kind with weathered planks and a roof that looks like it remembers better seasons. Great, this looks… cosy. I’m yanked out of the car by some brute and fall to my knees; the crunch of sticks under skin stings like a mother fucker. Pebbles scrape, and warmth slicks down my shins. I stand up and swipe at my bleeding knees, fingers coming away red. Only to look up and see every fucking vampire surrounding me. A ring of hunger and curiosity. Fucking hell. Blood. The scent blooms in the cold air, rich and metallic. Farah is at my side instantly, but I can see the struggle in her facial expression, tight mouth, flared nostrils, a tremor in her jaw she can’t quite hide. She’s been starved for years.
“Lick it, if you want.” I sign to her, small and fast.
“Echo. I’m not sure I can control myself.” She whispers back, the syllables rough with want and fear.
“I’d rather you eat me than any of these mother fuckers. Do it.”
She drops to her knees swiftly, ashamed and desperate, and darts her tongue out, swiping across the dripping blood and moaning like it’s the best thing she’s ever tasted. Her eyes dilate and become an even brighter shade of red. She latches onto one of my knees, sinking her fangs in deep and begins to suck, hard. The pain is sharp, hot, then it melts into a pull that makes my head float. I can feel the intensity of her gulps slowly sucking the life force from me. The world narrows to a tunnel: her mouth, the wet sound, my heartbeat-that-isn’t. Even if I wanted to, at this point I’m far too weak to use any of my power to stop her.
“STOP!” The broody King yells, voice cracking through the night like a whip, and faster than I could imagine he’s pushing her backwards with a force that could kill. Farah hits the dirt with a gasp, hands splayed. His fangs are extended, a flash of ivory, and he goes to attack her again but he’s held back by that other guy, Jeremy, I think his name is. Jeremy braces him with both arms, boots digging furrows.
“My King. Not her.” He growls. They share a silent conversation, eyes hard, shoulders taut, before the King turns to the crowd around us with a murderous gaze.
“No one will harm the girl. She is the key. That’s an order! Not one drop of her blood will be tasted, or you will die swiftly!”
No one breathes. Several throats work around dry swallows. Without bothering to glance at me once, he storms inside the barn. Jeremy takes Farah away, an arm around her shoulders, and I’m left by myself in front of the crowd. The air feels colder where he was. I sway a little and decide it’s probably best to sit down before I fall over.
“Hey, woah there, are you okay?” Two strong hands support me to the ground, careful as if I’m made of blown glass. I take in a few deep breaths before I look up into a set of deep red eyes.
I nod slowly; that’s all I can really do.
“My name’s Kaiden. You’re Echo, right?”
I nod again.
“You don’t look so great. Can I help patch these up?” He points to my knees. “Wait here.”
Yep, wasn’t planning on going anywhere anyway. He’s only gone for a few seconds before he’s back with a medical kit and a couple bottles of water. Super speed should not be that polite. I wonder how long it’ll take for that to become normal to my brain.
“This is probably going to hurt.” He douses my knees with the water and then pats them dry with a clean cloth. The sting makes my vision glitter at the edges. I search his eyes to see if the blood is affecting him. Wouldn’t want to get eaten again. That wasn’t a great feeling. He must be able to sense my thoughts though.
“The blood doesn’t bother me. I’m well fed and strong. I can resist the urge, but I won’t lie, your blood is the sweetest thing I’ve ever smelt.” He grins at me, not cruel, just honest, a little dazzled.
I wonder what my blood smells like.
“Like melted chocolate.”
I dare to look in his eyes again. He pushes his messy black hair from his face and chuckles. “I can read minds; it’s one of my powers. We each are gifted with one or more unique powers. One of mine is to be able to read one’s thoughts. Only those that are trained to resist my intrusions can keep me out.”
“So, you can hear me?” I think in my head, focusing on the sentence, testing the edges.
“I can.” He smiles warmly at me and finishes checking his work on my knees. “There, all done. Now, you should eat, and drink.”
I think back to the mouthwatering steak that was basically dangled in front of my face, and Kaiden’s eyes darken in sympathy. Is it not just words he can hear?
“No, little one, I see the images and feel the feelings with those images too.” His gaze flicks to my mask. “How do you eat with this thing?”
He looks closer at the metal, and I point to the small hole that you would miss if you weren’t looking for it, and think to the many times I was fed slop through a thin paper straw. The memory tastes like humiliation and old salt. This only makes Kaiden frown more.
“I don’t think we have any straws… hold on.” He rummages through the medical kit and pulls out a large syringe. “We can make this work.”