Chapter 11

Leisha opened her eyes to see Samantha’s light blue ones inches from her face.

“How are you feeling?” her friend asked.

Leisha breathed in deeply only to feel tight pressure over her lungs. Taking a mental inventory, she was slow to respond. “Better than last night.” She shifted and pain shot from her ribs, the skin on her back pulsing. “Achy, and very sore, but I’ll live.” Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself up and gingerly stretched. “Do you have any more of those painkillers? I think they helped.”

Samantha nodded. “I’ll start some coffee too. My mom said that the caffeine helps speed up the pills.”

Leisha smiled wanly in appreciation and went into her bathroom. After taking care of business and splashing her face with cold water, she stepped into the main area. The aroma of fresh coffee greeted her.

Samantha insisted that Leisha had to have food with the pain killers, so she forced herself to eat a candy bar that she could hardly taste. Leisha’s shower was a bit awkward, but the hot spray soothed the bruises on her front. By the time she was dressed and drying her long hair, she felt a lot better—still sore, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle.

Samantha was dressed and sitting on the couch, flipping through channels on the television.

“Let’s head down to the cafeteria for some real food.”

The girl glanced over at her in surprise. “Are you sure you’re up for it?”

Leisha nodded. “I need something more substantial, and I need to show Victor that his so-called discipline didn’t af­fect me.”

“Won’t he see that as a sign of defiance?”

Leisha pursed her lips. “Actually, I think he’ll respect my strength. He has always been more of a warrior than a politician.”

“Okay.” She went to the phone. “I’ll call Nik’s room and have him meet us down there.”

Phone call completed, they headed out. Once in the cafeteria, they got their food and found a place to eat. It was hard to hear Samantha talking over the sound of most of the other vampires chatting and eating. The crowded room was warm from body heat and the connecting kitchens.

Nikita joined them with sausage, thickly sliced ham, and a hamburger weighing down his plate. He sat next to Samantha and they shared a smile. Leisha noticed the way her friend’s gaze lingered on Nikita and gave a mental groan. That was such a bad idea. She didn’t even know where to start to talk Samantha out of it.

Turning to Leisha, Nikita searched her face. “How are you feeling today? It must be difficult to heal so slowly.”

“Much better. I may be healing slowly, but I am still healing.” She took a bite of crispy bacon. “Thanks for being such a great help last night.” The man had always been good to Leisha. Nikita had been there when Leisha discovered Ellery was dead and hadn’t told anyone how upset she’d become. But now she wondered if his motivation to stay last night was more about impressing Samantha.

“Think nothing of it,” he said and started eating.

If they were interested in each other, there wasn’t much Leisha could do about it now, so she dug into her food. On her third bite, her lips started to tingle. She ignored the sensation, assuming it was related to her pain killers or some human reaction to the food. On her fourth bite, her fingers went numb. She dropped her fork.

Samantha was looking at her with her brows drawn together. “Are you okay, Leisha?”

Unable to find her voice, she nodded. Yet she clearly was not fine.

A clank filled the air. Both girls looked over at Nikita. He’d also dropped his utensil and was studying his hands, his head tilted to the side. Suddenly, the entire room was silent, the only noise forks and spoons clattering down on the tables and floor.

Leisha tried to look around, but found she could no longer move. Her body wasn’t responding to her brain’s commands.

That’s when the pain began.

It felt like acid was slowly working its way up her legs, into her torso, then arms and head. She wanted to move, to scream, to somehow eradicate the fire rising through her. But she could do nothing. She realized that she was holding her breath and tried to release it. But her body still wouldn’t respond.

Suddenly, her eyes teared up, the hot liquid streaking down her cheeks and dripping onto her arms. Then, whatever power was holding her seemed to let go. The agony was gone; she could finally breathe. She bent her head, gasping. She saw red splatters leaking down her arms.

Before she could process the bloody tears, every one of her senses overloaded. The light was blinding, her clothes were chafing her skin. The body odor in the vicinity made her want to vomit.

The room suddenly filled with screams. Screams of every frequency and pitch that made her wish she were deaf.

Leisha felt paralyzed, in a different way now. She also felt something else. It was strong in her mind and her control over it was entirely too feeble.

The Hunger was back.

The silence in the room was ominous. A foreboding crept up Samantha’s spine as she glanced between Leisha and Nik. They both looked frozen in place, staring straight ahead, but they didn’t seem to be seeing anything. When she saw bloody tears tracking down Leisha’s face, she knew what was happening. They were turning back into vampires.

She sat motionless when the screaming began. It was as if a button was pushed, allowing all the vampires to move. They howled like tortured creatures, some covering their eyes, others their ears. Leisha fell into the latter, while Nikita had his eyes squeezed shut and was gripping the table, thick marble crumbling under his fingertips.

Something whooshed past her. She looked over and saw Jonathon on the floor, trying to fight off two vampires biting any flesh that they could reach. Samantha’s blood ran chill. She knew they had to get out of there. She lightly touched Nik’s arm. His other hand shot out faster than she could see and he roughly moved her hand off him. She knew that he was probably fighting off The Hunger and her touch provoked it.

Hesitating, Samantha leaned towards both her comrades, and spoke low, trying to sound as calm as possible. “I have to leave now, but I can’t get past vampires here. Would you two come with me?”

Leisha and Nik both nodded their heads while keeping their eyes shut. Each hunched over when they stood; Samantha hoped that they were not in too much pain. She led the way, glancing back every few minutes to make sure they were following her trail. She wondered how they knew where to go since neither had their eyes open.

Samantha was almost to the door when something heavy slammed into her from the side. As the air whooshed out of her lungs, she fell to the ground, hitting her head on the floor. She looked up in time to see Annette, eyes unfocused and frenzied. Instinct kicking in, Samantha threw her arms over her head in a defensive position. Annette’s teeth ripped into her right forearm. Samantha cried out in agony as searing pain ran all the way to her shoulder.

Annette had only gotten a few swallows in before Nik was there. He gripped Annette’s jaw, forcing her teeth out of Samantha’s arm. Samantha immediately scrambled to her feet. She saw Nik holding the vampire down, trying to avoid Annette’s gnashing fangs.

“Go!” he yelled.

Samantha hesitated a second, but knew there was nothing she could do to help him. Besides, she’d seen a vision of him later in the future, so she knew he’d survive this night.

Leisha was still behind her as they made their way through the mayhem. The hallway wasn’t nearly as crowded but there were a few human servants surrounded by several vampires. The creatures used their hands and teeth to rip off their clothes, exposing the servants’ vulnerable flesh. One of human servants looked up at Samantha. She could see the sheer panic in the young woman’s face. Samantha slowed, racking her brain to think of how she could save them. It was only a second before she felt herself being picked up. She screamed until she looked into Leisha’s face, her friend’s eyes still squeezed shut.

Nausea flooded her stomach as Leisha took off, moving faster than Samantha could track. They suddenly stopped at the elevators and one of the doors slid open at a snail’s pace. As soon as there was enough space to squeeze through, Leisha moved them into the car and pressed the button to close the doors. Three vampires were rushing toward them when the elevator closed. The car moved slowly as they headed up, but at least they were alone.

“Are we going to be safe in our hotel room?” Samantha’s voice quavered.

Leisha nodded. “They’re not in their right frame of mind. They won’t be thinking about stairs or elevators right now. They’re basically wild animals. What you should be worried about are the people outside, in the street.”

Samantha swallowed past a very dry throat and tried not to think about it, or what she had witnessed downstairs. “How are you and Nik able to think past The Hunger?”

Eyes still closed, Leisha shook her head. “Don’t know. Maybe our instincts to protect you are stronger.” She crouched down in the corner of the elevator and put her head in her hands. “Though you should definitely lock your door against me tonight. In fact, I don’t think I should even enter our hotel room with you.”

This is just getting better and better, Samantha thought, but she decided not to comment. Once at their floor, they swiftly went down the hall and to their room. As Samantha was putting their card through the lock, Leisha crouched down again. When the door opened, she looked down to see the vampire had fallen completely to the floor and was in the fetal position.

Chewing her lip, she tried to think of what she should do. Though Leisha was having a hard time controlling herself, Samantha knew she couldn’t leave her friend out here like this. If any of the other vampires found Leisha this vulnerable, Samantha wasn’t sure if her friend would see the next day.

Bending, Samantha pulled the vampire from under her shoulders, literally dragging her into their suite. Her arm screamed in protest, and Samantha was aware of the blood dripping from her wound. She left Leisha in the kitchen and snapped the dead bolt into place on their door, then went back and dragged Leisha into her bedroom. Once there, Samantha looked around as she debated trying to help her friend into bed. When she heard Leisha whimper, Samantha automatically bent to check on her.

That mistake made it all too easy for the vampire to pull her down. Samantha landed on her knees and over Leisha. Before Samantha realized what was happening, she felt sharp teeth biting into her throat, hard. Samantha knew struggling would only widen the wound at her jugular and possibly kill her, so she forced herself to stay still as she felt Leisha sucking through the stinging bite.

“Leisha, I’m glad to donate some blood,” her voice cracked. “But please don’t kill me!” The latter was said with an edge of hysteria; she hoped that Leisha understood.

As if in answer, the vampire raised a hand and placed it over her forehead. Her fingers tightened to an almost painful pressure on Samantha’s head. Suddenly, there was tingling through her mind and at the wound on her throat. The sensation spread down her torso and through her limbs, making her feel heavy and fatigued. Time stood still; it seemed like that odd feeling would consume her body.

The tingling suddenly stopped, but then so did everything else.

As if through a fog, her head slowly fell towards the carpet, her vision gradually fading to black.