Accidental Sire (Half-Moon Hollow #6)

“I honestly don’t know. I’m just glad it’s not made of silver,” I huffed. “This isn’t your ‘clever’ plan for finding a way for us to spend time away from River Oaks together, is it? Because this is not what I meant.”

“No,” he told me. “Phone. Do you have your phone? We could call for help.”

I searched my pockets and looked down at the empty cage around my feet. “Nope. I’m getting the feeling we’re not supposed to be able to call for help.”

“Maybe this is some sort of training exercise from Jane?” Ben said. “Like survival training, when they drop soldiers on the top of a mountain and expect them to get home safe?”

“I don’t think Jane would lock you up in a Saw murder box just to teach you life skills. The woman made you chocolate breakfast blood yesterday with a little chocolate syrup smiley face. That’s the vampire equivalent of cutting the crusts off your PB and J.”

“She likes you, too, you know,” Ben insisted. “You just don’t let her get close enough to make those little gestures.”

“Not the time, Ben.” I grunted, pushing at the door. Even with my superstrength, I couldn’t make it budge. I craned my neck to get a look at the latch. It was sealed with a padlock.

“Maybe we screwed up paperwork for the Council or something?”

“That seems extreme, even for the Council,” Ben said. “Besides, what are the odds we both screwed up paperwork that badly? You’re actually pretty good with the paperwork, from what I hear.”

“Good point,” I said through gritted teeth as I unleashed the full force of my biceps on the door. And suddenly, I remembered standing outside the elevator with Ben. The flash of movement behind him. A needle and the sting in my neck.

“Dr. Hudson,” I growled. “He lured us to the library and injected us. We were betrayed by Post-its.”

Ben groaned, smacking his forehead against the cage. “I told you. Only trust instant messages.”

“Yeah, yeah. Also, have you noticed that the sun is coming up?” I said, nodding at the horizon. “And we’re in a box that offers no sun protection.”

“I did notice that.”

I wriggled my hips so I could work my feet up on the door. I braced my back against the wall of the box and pushed. The metal groaned and gave a bit but definitely not enough for either of us to squeeze out.

“The padlock,” I said, nodding to the metal loop that was keeping the door pinned to the cage. “Think we can break it?”

“It’s a Master Lock,” he muttered as he propped his own butt against the back wall. “Who seals up a death trap with an unbreakable lock? That’s just a douchey thing to do.”

We put our feet against the door, extended our legs, and pushed as hard as we could. There was a loud groaning noise as the door buckled. Breathing hard—out of habit, really, and not need—we dropped our feet to the ground. I shoved at the door, but the latch and the lock were still pretty much intact. Maybe it was a special supernatural-strength Master Lock?

“I’m guessing Dr. Hudson was mad about not being able to complete his ‘research’ on us. Remember, Jane busted in before he could expose us to UV rays? Maybe this is his way of finding out once and for all how we react to sunlight,” I said.

“I am going to find that man. And then I’m going to shove a stake up his—”

Grunting, I pushed with my feet again. “I got it, I got it. More pushing, less anatomical threats.”

In the distance, the purple of the sky was giving way to orange, and I could feel the warmth of the sun coming over the horizon. It wasn’t unpleasant, really. And sort of a refreshing change of pace from the constant nighttime cycle we’d been through over the last few months. Though the fact that I almost welcomed the sunrise was a little concerning, in terms of my frame of mind.

“One more time,” I told Ben.

He nodded, and we braced our feet against the door. I linked my fingers with his, as if I could gather some extra vampire mojo just by touching him, and then we pushed with all of the strength in our legs. The door buckled, and the box frame twisted, giving us enough room to slide out. Ben gently pushed me through the opening, cupping his hand over my head so I didn’t smack it against the frame.

When he was out, too, I turned and saw that the padlock was still intact. Goddamn Master Locks. Growling, Ben kicked at the cage. It didn’t budge. I brushed the dirt from around the bottom of the cage and saw that posts on each corner had been buried to stabilize it. And the stamp on the bottom bar of the cage read “Titanium alloy—Made in the USA.” Dr. Hudson had put quite a bit of planning into this crazy vampire trap.

“We’ve got maybe five minutes before sunrise, and we’re in possibly the largest tree-free space in western Kentucky. These tobacco leaves are nice but not wide enough to shade us all day as we lie here unconscious. And on fire.”

“Fair enough,” Ben said. He grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the distant tree line. It was only a mile or two away but seemed to be moving farther from us with every step. There was something wrong with my legs. I couldn’t move fast enough. And the more the sun peeked over the horizon, the slower I moved. It was that same moving-through-Jell-O sensation I’d experienced my first morning at Jane’s house. And add to that, we’d just busted our way out of a metal death box, so our muscles were tired.

“What’s wrong with my legs?” Ben moaned. “I feel so weak and tired. I feel like my dad after Thanksgiving dinner.”

“Fight it,” I told him, dragging him along. The sun was coming up. The sky was a beautiful coral, and I could feel the beginnings of warmth on my face. I couldn’t help but think that if I had to die, at least I would see those colors, I would feel that warmth, and I wasn’t alone. Ben’s fingers were laced through mine, and it felt right to be linked to him in this way when it could all be gone in a few moments.

We skidded to a stop, still too far from the trees to dive to safety. The top curve of the sun was visible, a beautiful, glowing, golden orb peeking over the edge of the world. It was like standing on a cliff, waiting to fall off, knowing this would be my last moment alive.

Ben yanked me close, cupping my face in his hands, and crushed his mouth to mine. I sobbed into his kiss, holding him tightly against me. I threaded my fingers through his hair, trying to memorize the silky sensation against my skin. If I was going to die, this was the last thing I wanted to feel. Ben’s arms around me, anchoring me to him.

That warm light washed over my face, and I braced myself for the pain.

Nothing.

The eyes I’d squeezed shut slowly opened. And Ben was standing in front of me, whole and perfect.

“Why are we not on fire?” I asked him.

Ben shook his head, but before he could answer, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out. He landed in the dirt with a thud, sprawling over a couple of crushed tobacco plants.

“Huh,” I mumbled, before toppling over and landing facedown on his chest.