Dread Nemesis of Mine

chapter 17

Time ticked by at a snail's pace. Worry gnawed at my insides, leaving me with a sick, hollow feeling. I couldn't do a damned thing to help Elyssa or the Templars. Hell, I couldn't even scratch my nose. I was sick to death of being tied down and feeling useless. Though Maximus had been gone a while, Amanda hadn't returned from wherever he'd sent her, which was something of a respite. I'd been unable to resist struggling against my bonds, but succeeded only in chafing myself raw.

The scrape of a foot in the hallway drew my attention, but the angle of the table limited my view. Felicia's head poked around the corner. She looked around the room and rushed inside.

"I have it," she whispered, voice full of excitement and nervousness.

"Have what?"

"Maximus's blood."

"Should I ask what you had to do to get it?"

She smiled. "Nothing terrible. I changed out his razor blade for one with a jagged edge, so he cut himself shaving. Then I sneaked in and grabbed the tissues he used to blot the cuts from the trashcan." She held up a wad of tissue with a couple spots of blood on it.

"He's not much of a bleeder," I said.

She pulled the IV from my arm and stared at the container of blood Maximus had collected. Her nostrils flared, and I could tell it took a lot of effort for her to ignore it. Shaking her head like someone awaking from a daze, Felicia took the tissue and pressed it against the bond on my arm. It parted.

We both heaved big sighs of relief.

"Get me out of here and you can have all the blood they took from me."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

"As if I could put it back inside me."

She smiled and worked on the remaining bonds. The last few seconds of imprisonment were torturous. When she finally separated the last strap I sprang off the table and stretched. My knees almost went out from under me, probably due to such a long period of inactivity. Felicia jumped and hugged me.

"I did it!" She kissed my cheek. "I can't believe I rescued you." She pointed to a bundle on a nearby chair. "I even remembered to get all your stuff."

I was so happy to see clothes again, I forgot to be embarrassed about being in my underwear. I didn't even want to think about all the potty breaks I'd taken in those adult diapers Amanda kept me in. She hadn't put another pair on me since putting me to sleep to clean out the last pair, no doubt because she had some other horrific way of demeaning me in mind. I wasted no time pulling on my pants, Felicia, for her part, wasted no time taking a sip of my blood. She sighed in pleasure. I shuddered and looked away. "Adam would be very proud," I said as I stuffed my arcphone into a pocket and threw on a shirt. "In fact, I think you should tell him what you did yourself."

A gasp came from the door. I spun, expecting to see Amanda. Instead, Katie stood at the doorway, mouth wide with shock.

"Who—what?" she said.

I waved her in. "Katie, this is Felicia. Felicia, Katie."

Felicia wiped a smidge of blood off her lips with the back of her hand, and then shook Katie's.

An overwhelming sense of relief settled into me as I realized I could kill—or save—two birds with one stone. Naturally, I still had to find Ash and Nyte and get them out of here as well, but my manly sense of duty demanded I rescue the women first.

"Justin, oh my god," Katie said, hugging me tight. "Underborn told me he might have to call off your rescue because there's a spy in the Templars, but I was like, hell to the no! And then I told him he could go eff himself with broken glass because I wasn't going to leave you in here. But I couldn't figure out a way to get Maximus's blood for the straps, and the Arcane who's supposed to help me said she wouldn't do anything until she got the okay from Underborn and—"

I put a finger to her lips. "Katie, it's all good." I took her gently by the shoulders. "But now you and Felicia need to get out of here. Is there a way I can get out without being seen?"

Katie and Felicia nodded.

"I know of two ways out," Katie said.

"Technically, there are three viable exits," Felicia said, sounding a lot smarter than I remembered her being. Then again, Adam had told me she was a whiz in school who practically disintegrated when her family was murdered.

I peered into the hallway, checking for signs of anyone coming. No telling how long I had before Amanda reared her ugly hairdo again. "Lead me to the closest one. We have to warn the Templars about the spy." I gripped Felicia's hand. "I want you to come with me. You've more than made up for past mistakes as far as I'm concerned."

She shook her head. "But I helped kidnap your father. I almost killed you and Elyssa with the vamplings."

"Felicia." I took her other hand. "Look at me."

She met my eyes with reluctance.

"I forgive you. It's time to stop letting the past rule your life and time to make your brother do the same. Maybe we can solve the mystery of your parents' murders and put an end to his obsession together."

A tear trickled down her cheek. "You—you really think it's possible?"

"Anything is possible."

She took off the horn-rimmed, geeky glasses she favored and tossed them on the floor. Crushed them underfoot. "I always dressed in these short skirts and nerdy clothes because Maximus wanted me to. Said it turned him on. I'm through being someone's pet."

I squeezed her hand. "If there's anything I learned over the past few months, you just have to be yourself and to hell with those who don't like it."

"Thanks, Justin." Felicia dropped her hand from mine. "If we get out of this alive, that's exactly what I plan to do."

I glanced at Katie. "Where are Ash and Nyte? Do they know I'm here?"

She shook her head. "I just found out they're not here anymore. Maximus sent a whole group back to Atlanta."

I wanted to ask her how and why, but my questions could wait until we were clear of this hellhole.

"I'll need to scout ahead," Felicia said. "Katie, you know the exit by the dumpsters?"

Katie nodded. "I'll take him through the cellar."

"That's a great idea. It'd be too risky taking him up top." Felicia held up a finger and trotted down the hall. She returned with a sword encased in a leather scabbard. "I got you this in case you run into trouble." She held it out to me.

I took it and fumbled with the straps, trying to figure out which way it went. Before long, both women took over, strapping it over my shoulder. Katie closed the buckle and stood back a step.

"Reminds me of that time I went to see you fight all those other nerds in Kings and Castles." She smiled.

A grin caught me off guard as that unfortunate day came to mind. "Wasn't that the same day I got drunk and said all sorts of nasty things about you online?" Talk about bottom of the barrel. It had been the day before I'd hit incubus puberty.

"We really don't have time for this," Felicia said in a low hiss. "I'll go draw the guards off the cellar door. Follow me in fifteen minutes, and I'll meet you at the dumpsters. I doubt anyone will be back there. The odor is awful, especially with a supernatural sense of smell."

"They haven't been dumping bodies there have they?" I asked, horror constricting my chest at the thought of what all the vampires had been feeding on.

Felicia shook her head. "No, even Maximus isn't stupid enough to let his followers drain the locals. All the noms who want to be vampires have to let the others feed off them in the meantime. Otherwise, we'd have the cops busting down our doors." She checked the time on her phone and showed it to us. "Fifteen minutes, then you follow, okay?"

I nodded. Katie and I watched Felicia climb the spiral stairs and leave. Katie took my hand and gripped it tight.

"I'm nervous." Sweat dampened her palm.

I gave her a sideways hug. "We'll be fine." I sniffed my armpits. "Eww. I can't wait to take a proper shower."

"Oh, man," I said as a thought hit me.

"What's wrong?" Sweat dampened Katie's blonde hair. She tied it back to keep it out of her face.

I checked the time. Ten minutes to go. "Wait here. I'll be right back." I jogged into the room where Maximus held me prisoner. A panicked sense of claustrophobia struck me full on at the sight of my table. Taking a deep breath, I surveyed the room, looking at the long rows of tables. In a far, dark corner, I saw a shadowy hump atop one and strode to it. In the dim light, I made out the form of a man, still fully dressed in a suit, lying on the surface.

He stared blankly into space. I snapped my fingers and he jerked. My blue-tinged night vision hadn't come on yet, so I couldn't make out his features, just his general outlines.

"You will help me?" he said.

"Are you a vampire?"

"I am still unsure of my designation."

Whatever was wrong with this guy might slow me down, but my conscience told me it would be wrong to leave a poor, lobotomized dude tied down like this. Touching the straps restraining him didn't do anything, so I had to run back across the room to retrieve the bloody tissue Felicia had used to free me. I brushed it against each strap and they parted. The man sat up. Pivoted and set his feet on the ground. He stood in one fluid motion and looked at me.

"Thank you." His voice remained dull and almost without inflection.

"You're welcome. Want to escape with us?"

He nodded. "It seems the next prudent move."

Man, I really had some questions for this guy. Maximus must have given him electro-shock therapy or really strong drugs. I didn't understand how his vocabulary could be so good with such obvious brain damage, though. I motioned him to follow me, walking around the outside edge of the room. My night-vision kicked on and off as I looked around the half-lit room.

Katie came in and hit something on the wall. The lights in my section flicked on.

"What are you doing?" she said. "It's almost time."

I came to an abrupt halt as the flickering light revealed a heap of arms, legs, hands, and heads. A sick feeling came over me. Good god, it was a pile of bodies!

Maximus, you sick bastard.

I spun to warn my former roommate. Shock froze me in place. I fumbled at the sword, but the girls had strapped it on at such an awkward angle, I couldn't get it out of the scabbard on my back in time.

"What is wrong?" asked the man I'd just rescued.

Except he wasn't a man at all. He was a golem. A gray man.