Total pages in book: 209
Estimated words: 196141 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 981(@200wpm)___ 785(@250wpm)___ 654(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 196141 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 981(@200wpm)___ 785(@250wpm)___ 654(@300wpm)
“Thirsty …” The man chokes out a sob. “H-Help …”
Then he full-on collapses in Kyle’s arms.
Kyle, who was already exhausted making this reckless trip into the middle of the desert, has now been given the unasked-for gift of another burden: the passed-out body of some guy running for his life from likely the very individuals Kyle seeks.
Perhaps this is sign enough that this mission was a bad idea.
Kyle should turn back, carry him to Nowhere, and return another night. If he heads home now, he may beat the sun if he’s lucky. And that’s assuming he can even carry an amateur bodybuilder. Or football player. Or fitness model.
Or whoever this naked mystery man is.
Kyle’s first and second attempts to lift the young man fail, his body proving far too heavy. Kyle keeps trying to grip him in different ways in an attempt to hoist him onto his back, but the man’s body is either too slippery, too awkward, or too naked. “I need you to help me help you,” mutters Kyle in frustration, “or else both of us might die out here once that sun comes up.”
Kyle even considers leaving the poor guy here. But then he will certainly die, whether eaten by a pack of coyotes or the deadly sun itself, which given the right circumstances can be just as fatal to a human with zero supernatural sun allergies. Kyle waves his phone in the air, angry with himself suddenly, to no avail. He closes his eyes and, crouched next to the guy, attempts to cast his Reach out as far as it can go. Beyond the distinctly different pulls of animal presences, Kyle detects no other humans.
Shouldn’t he be getting another surprise passive-aggressive visit from Wendy right about now?
Kyle grows more desperate as the minutes tick by, grabbing the naked man in an awkward bear hug, one hand on his back, the other trying to find purchase on his ass, the man’s bare cock grinding against Kyle’s front as he strains to hoist him over a shoulder, or at the very least carry him like a sack of luggage. The moment he thinks he’s winning, after managing seven and a half steps, his sweaty human cargo slips through his arms and crashes onto the hard ground. Kyle trips, catches himself, then lands atop the muscled man with an awkward grunt, rolls onto his back next to him, sighs with exasperation.
“Do you not know the hour?”
Kyle rises off the ground at once, turns.
The dauntingly tall Lazarus towers over the two of them, his shape painted over the pallid moonlight, his long black hair swaying like cables in the dry night wind.
“Part of me didn’t think you’d come,” admits Lazarus with his usual detached expression and deep voice. “But the Devil’s Mouth is a bit farther, however.” He points off. It’s only now Kyle notices how long the vampires fingers are, with nails as sharp as talons. “In a shadowy basin, safe for us even in the morning hours, but not in the late afternoon.” Then, like an afterthought, he adds, “That one belongs to Salazo.”
Kyle is confused for a moment until his own eyes return to the body by his side. “You mean—?”
“I don’t understand those of you who keep pets,” Lazarus goes on. “It annoys me. But Salazo loves keeping one from time to time. This one’s lasted longer than the others.”
Kyle feels protective suddenly, frowning. “He cried out to me for help. I’m not just gonna let him go back to you. I—”
“He isn’t yours.”
“He isn’t yours, either.”
“No, he isn’t.” Something whips past Kyle’s face, sweeping dust into the air. Kyle barely flinches, blinks, then discovers the body of the young man now hanging limply from Lazarus’s pale arms, like he’s as light as a bundle of sticks. “This is Salazo’s.”
Kyle can’t help but be staggered by his supernatural speed and strength. “He doesn’t belong to anyone!” he shouts back.
“You’re being disrespectful. Did I not quitclaim my interest in your human when you confronted me? Did I not respect you in your lair? I expected that courtesy returned.” Lazarus’s eyes darken—and it does something quite terrifying to his already off-putting face, causing Kyle to step back. “Unless you wish to rescind your own claim on that human you had tied down.”
Kyle swallows hard, reassessing everything in the space of seconds. The young man still hangs limply, head lulled to the side, arms dangling, cock flopped onto his thigh, hair messy.
If Kyle attempts to defy Lazarus, it could spell disaster for everyone Kyle knows and cares for. He needs to keep Elias and the people of Nowhere in mind at all times—especially seeing as Lazarus has proven he can slip undetected through Wendy’s allegedly impenetrable radar.
“Of … Of course not,” says Kyle at last. “He’s yours.”
“No, he’s Salazo’s. Like I said.” Lazarus peers down at the man in his arms with a mixture of weariness and disgust. “They do this often. Salazo pretends to set his pet free, then captures him again, over and over … It’s a game they play. He insists it makes his pet’s blood taste sweeter, all that adrenaline, all that excitement …” He lifts his cold gaze to Kyle. “Do you wish to see our lair? The mouth armed with fangs I described … I shall take you there. You’ll meet all of us … and see what you are.”