A Blood Seduction (Vamp City #1)(27)

Pushing herself up, she managed to turn onto her knees. She glanced down, glad to see that she was still fully dressed, boots and all. No backpack, of course. God only knew where that had gone.

She looked around, studying her companions in this dark game of Twister. The best she could figure, there were about twenty of them chained together by one ankle, men and women alike. All looked to be relatively young - late teens to midthirties, though that was where the similarity ended. They were from all walks of life. Black, white, Asian, Middle Eastern, wearing everything from business suits to fraternity T-shirts, fanny packs to saris. Though a couple remained unconscious, most were fighting to get free, shouting, crying, screaming.

A dull haze of smoke filled the air, along with the smell of burning lamp oil and rank, acrid fear.

"He's killing her." The woman on Quinn's left, crouched like a terrified animal, stared at a spot over Quinn's head.

Turning awkwardly, her leg caught under the person next to her, Quinn followed the woman's gaze. Ah, hell. One of the people standing around the room . . . were they all vampires? . . . had a young woman caught tight in his arms as he fed from her neck. The victim, dressed in a pair of skimpy shorts and a running bra, whimpered as the vampire lifted his head and handed her to the man beside him as if she were an oversized rag doll. The vamp met Quinn's stare and grinned at her, his fangs gleaming with blood.

Her face paled, and she looked away quickly, not wanting him to think she wanted to be next. Sweat broke out on the back of her neck. She might have come here voluntarily this time, but that didn't mean she intended to die here. And she was going to have to watch her step very carefully, or that was exactly what would happen.

One by one, the circling vamps drank their pint of blood from the young runner, passing her along to the next in line. After the third feeding, she'd fallen unconscious. By the time the seventh vamp sunk his teeth into her neck, he pulled up a moment later, his fangs clean of blood. The young woman was dead.

The disgusted vamp tossed her back into the tangle of humans, raising another round of screams as the body landed on them. The girl's head came to rest near Quinn's knee, her bloodless face a mask of calm repose, before one of the panicked men kicked her away.

Quinn turned, bile rising in her throat. Panic tore at her control. As a bloodcurdling scream rose a short distance outside the circling vamps, she began to shake. She'd thought she understood this place. One vamp had attacked her; the second, Arturo, had nearly seduced her. He'd also treated her like a guest, apologized for scaring her, and left her virtually unmolested.

The screaming continued, a horrifying sound of unendurable pain. Quinn squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could close it all out. Arturo had treated her like a princess in comparison to these monsters. If only he'd show up and whisk her out of here. She'd happily let him tie her to his bed again. Too late, she realized that she'd understood nothing about this place. Nothing at all. And she was in deep, deep trouble.

Several of those in the tangle cried out in fear. One of the men, one who'd managed to climb to his feet, choked with horror and turned away. "Sweet Virgin Mary. They're tearing her apart."

The crying intensified, the humans huddling together in abject terror, no longer concerned with untangling the chains, no longer worried about the corpse that couldn't hurt them as they trembled from fear of the horrors that awaited them next. The smell of carnage caught Quinn's nose. She gagged and began breathing through her mouth instead.

By the time the bloodcurdling screams fell silent, Quinn was shaking badly. The vamps around the circle began to move away. One strode into the tangle of humans and jerked a sobbing girl in a pair of dirty white shorts and a navy blue GWU T-shirt to her feet, yanking her around to face him. The tears drenching her face gleamed in the firelight.

"Look at me!" The vampire gripped her tanned face between pale fingers. Her crying stopped. Instantly.

The girl straightened, her body relaxing as her expression transformed to one of calm acceptance. No, not acceptance. Blankness. Vampire mind control. The glamour Arturo had tried on her and failed.

"On your feet, all of you!" While the vamp held the arm of the now-silent girl, two others waded in to untangle the rest of them, hauling them, one by one, to their feet. Quinn tried to get up on her own and was knocked down twice, her shackled leg repeatedly jerked out from under her. One of the big vamps grabbed her arm roughly, jerking her upright, until finally, they were all on their feet.

As the vamp led the first girl off at a slow pace, his companions forced the rest of them to follow in chained order. Quinn found herself squarely in the middle of the line, directly behind a slim, dark-skinned cop. Most of the humans were silent, now, or crying only quietly, glad to be standing, Quinn supposed. She certainly felt more in control on her feet again. Though any control was an illusion.

As the line started forward, clanking like any chain gang, Quinn kept her gaze studiously away from the place where all the screaming had come from, terrified of the carnage she'd see. As they crossed the open floor, vampires watched them from either side, dozens of vamps. Maybe a hundred or more. Why? Was this about to turn into some horrific feeding frenzy? An all-you-can-eat buffet, vampire style. A chill slid down her spine.

The first in the chained line began to climb a short series of steps, and Quinn realized that there was a stage up ahead. Perhaps just a dais. What kind of horror would the vampires visit on them this time, just for the sheer entertainment value? Losing her focus, she got out of step with the cop and nearly lost her balance as he stepped before she was ready.