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was a charming smile.
Sliding off his stool he took one step from the bar before Sheila s hand
wrapped around his arm. No, you don t. If I lose you the master will be
angry with me.
Luc shrugged knowing he wasn t going to get away from her any time
soon. Then come along.
They walked through the crowds avoiding the mass of bodies in their
trek to the darkened doorway. Once they passed through the entryway the
quiet was so intense Luc thought he d gone deaf. Magic filled the air but
he could still feel the screams in his mind. Someone was suffering.
Someone he knew.
A long dark hallway spread before them with doors on both sides.
The rooms are soundproofed for added privacy. Sheila whispered as
if not wanting to disturb the unnatural quiet.
Even the feel of the air was different here. Instead of the honest odor
of heat and sweaty bodies whipped about by overhead fans, the air was
still, almost hushed with absolutely no scent. It was like walking into a
bubble, the entire area purged of sensation.
Luc pulled Sheila behind him. If she insisted on going with him she
wasn t going to go first and there wasn t room for them to walk side by
side.
As they passed each door, Luc held up his hand, sensing the occupants
hidden inside.
The third door was the one.
He could feel the pain rumbling through his bones.
Sheila grabbed his wrist as he reached over to open it.
No.
Luc turned his to look at her. What do you mean no?
I mean I know the guy who rented this room and he s an old vampire,
deadly. You don t want to mess with this guy.
On the contrary, my dear. Luc replied with a smile. He doesn t
want to mess with me.
Opening the door the first thing that hit him was the smell of blood. It
soaked the air like a thick, wet fog trying to seep into his skin. The lights
in the room were so dim Luc had to blink a few times for his eyes to
adjust. It was a bigger room than he expected and the lack of light made it
difficult to see.
There was a cracking sound followed by a scream of pain.
Turning towards the sound, Luc was amazed to see vampires filled the
room. They draped across couches, chairs, and even on the floor. More
vamps than he thought belonged solely to Nikko s tribe. All eyes were
focused on a body dangling from the ceiling.
The only thing Luc could see from his vantage point was a skinny,
naked male dangling from manacles in the ceiling. A tall, muscular
vampire stood with a bullwhip slashing away at the pitiful creature.
The mental feel of a room full of vampires washed over Luc like a
cool wave. But over the slightly metallic feel of the vampires, was the
scream of piercing pain from the body in the center of the room. Cuts
slashed the pale skin, traversing the entire body in bloody lines like a
horrible street map of torture. It took him a moment to realize that the
bloody mess was his favorite cute blond waiter with the puppy dog eyes.
Jerrod. That asshole was whipping his waiter.
None of the vamps standing around were doing one damned thing.
They all had varying expressions of disgust, horror or plain fucking
indifference.
Luc used the voice of authority he d learned from his father.
What s going on here?
The vampire with the whip snapped his head around, baring his fangs.
Stay out of this thrall or you ll be under my whip next.
The vampire s voice was breathy and his face had that skinny skull-
like definition. Like someone who hadn t seen a good plate of food since
the dawn of time.
So not attractive.
If Luc wasn t so pissed it probably would ve been frightening, but he
was beyond angry. He d lost his home, his former lover and now this
fucker with a whip was harming his waiter while a group of indifferent
vampires watched.
Righteous anger shot through Luc s body, hellfire crackling through
his veins, burning his bones from the inside out.
The bastard continued to ignore him confident that Luc was frightened
away. Pulling back his whip the sadistic bastard wound his arm up for
another slash. Without conscious thought Luc shifted through time and
space to appear behind the whip wielder.
Taking advantage of the vampire s distraction, Luc grabbed the
vamp s whipping arm at the wrist. Using his weight Luc bent back the
vamp s arm and snapped it over his knee. The vampire screamed with
pain.
I ll kill you. The vamp shrieked.
Luc laughed. A sound that was scarily reminiscent of his father s
laughter.
He couldn t be killed.
Beaten, yes.
Tortured, yes.
But not killed.
Good luck with that buddy.
Unimpressed by the vampire s struggles to be free Luc did the only
thing that would keep this asshole dead. With a soft whisper he let the
hellfire burning through his body free. In his peripheral vision he could
see the runes glowing red on his arms. Releasing his arm, Luc gripped the
sadist s head with both hands and freed the flame rushing through his
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