Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
To where I had salvation for one, brief moment.
Salvation that came with violet eyes.
Until everything went up in flames.
Suddenly, we stop before a heavy door, and the smell of human blood floods my senses, overpowering the scent of oil, brine, and salt that has permeated the ship for the last few days. I feel my fangs harden in my mouth, the hairs on my body standing on end, my pulse picking up speed.
Ramsay nods as he looks me over. “It’s surprising, isn’t it, that you haven’t smelled them by now? I think the Nightwind does a good job of keeping it contained. Otherwise, we’d be reminded that we have them down here for the taking, and no crew could function with that.”
“More of the ship’s magic,” I say, clearing the thirst from my throat.
He nods. “She provides when she needs to.”
“So, you have humans in there?” Abe gestures to the door. Even the pupils in his eyes have gone red with hunger. “Ones you’ve kidnapped?”
“We call them bloodletters,” Thane explains. “And yes, they’ve been kidnapped.”
“They were given a choice,” Ramsay says to him testily.
Thane stares at him for a moment and then shakes his head. “A choice. Yes, of course.” He looks to us, his expression somehow even more tired than usual. “Back in the day, we would attack other ships or raid ports, and humans were the main cargo we were after—not just jewels and money and weapons, but the humans themselves. We kept them in the hold as prisoners and fed from them until they all died…a slow, gruesome death. But ever since Maren joined the crew, she wanted to change our tactics to one that’s more humane and merciful.”
“We give the humans a choice,” Ramsay says, eyeing his brother with a hard, warning look, as if he doesn’t want Maren mentioned again. “They become our sustenance or die. If you choose the former, you’ll live and eventually be taken back to shore, albeit drained of a lot of your blood.”
“And if you don’t?” Abe asks.
“Well, you die, and we take you anyway,” he says.
“But you can’t possibly let these people out after you’ve been feeding on them,” Abe says, the red starting to fade from his eyes and the insatiable curiosity of his doctor’s mind taking over. “They’ll tell everyone what happened.”
“You seem to forget the power we possess naturally, Doctor,” Ramsay says, tapping his temple. “We compel them to forget. At any rate, there’s nothing a good old spell won’t fix.”
“Who on this ship knows how to use magic?” I ask, wanting an answer of some kind. Are there Vampyres who are also witches, who weren’t turned like I was?
“I do,” Ramsay says, his voice stern, his gaze telling me he won’t divulge any more. In due time, I suppose.
Thane adds, “Even if the humans do remember what happened, no one will believe them.”
“That’s what they said about what happened in Eastern Europe,” Abe points out. “But now we have the term Vampyre because there were one too many stories that legend turned into rumor.”
Ramsay shrugs. “We’re doing our best to be a little more moral. If it backfires, I have no problems sliding backward on the scale.”
Thane lets out a wry snort. “Maren wouldn’t let you.”
“She lets me do what I need to,” Ramsay says pointedly.
“Oh, but when the crew voices their displeasure…” Thane says.
“I take it not everyone is happy with your new system?” Abe asks.
“No,” Thane says. “And we are supposed to be a democracy on this ship.”
Ramsay just shakes his head. “Enough with this jibber-jabber. These men are starving, and I’ve been a most inhospitable host thus far.”
To be fair to the captain, he has given us food, which was rather good, but not the sustenance we really need.
He takes out a skeleton key and opens the door to the hold with a loud creak.
The smell of the humans hits me like a fist to the face.
It’s dark in here, but there is a lamp nailed to the wall, high off the ground, that gives off a low glow, casting the humans in deep shadow.
There are five of them, one woman and four men, all dressed in simple shifts, the white clothes splattered with blood. They are sitting on a pile of hay, chained to the wall by their hands, with enough slack to let them turn around, lie down, or reach for their latrine bucket. They all have empty plates beside them, where a few crumbs of bread linger, and there are jugs of water between each person.
Frankly, it looks like hell, and it smells like it too, even with their sweet blood scenting the air.
They all stare at me with dull expressions, their eyes glazed.
“Are they drugged?” I whisper to Ramsay.
He nods. “It’s a combination of us feeding on them all the time and the rum we keep flowing through their veins. I swear, it gives their blood a little bit of a kick.”