Dhampirica

IX

THE FIRST THING SHE REGISTERED was the endless drone of tires rolling against asphalt. The second thing she heard was the sound of rattling, like chains clinking against a hard surface. The next thing she knew was the burning sensation in her hand and thigh, a painful reminder of what had just happened.

Groggily, Yvanna opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. Her hair was undone, black strands obscuring her vision, but she spied her wounded leg wrapped in a bandage. When she looked up, she could see the stained white walls of what she presumed was the back of a cargo truck. She saw her arms hanging above her head, chained to a metal fixture on the wall. And then she saw Lord Dante. He was sitting across from her, unconscious, his jacket gone and arms also hanging above him. Slowly and quietly, Yvanna shifted, stretching her leg out to tap his shiny dress shoe with her own bloodstained boot.

He mumbled something incoherent under his breath. She nudged him again, and then his eyes snapped open. He opened his mouth to speak, but she shook her head vigorously, hoping he would understand the gesture and not raise his voice.

"We need to be quiet," she whispered, too low for any human ears to hear. "And calm."

"How long have we been out? Where are they taking us?" he returned with hushed urgency.

She glanced at her wrist, only to find her watch missing. When she looked back at him, she saw that his was also gone. "I don't know. A few hours at most, I'd guess. I doubt their drugs would keep us down for any longer. I'm sure there are people already looking for us, but we need a plan."

"Any ideas?"

She glanced around the truck, finding nothing of note. "You make some noise. I'll pretend to be unconscious. If they come close enough, I might be able to do something."

He nodded, and she closed her eyes and went limp. A few seconds later, she could hear him thrashing wildly in his binds. "HEY! WHERE THE HELL AM I? LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

The car rolled to a stop. Twenty seconds later, the doors to the cargo hold were being opened. "I think we'll need a bigger dose of the sedative this time. Looks like this one woke up a little too early," came a man's voice.

"We already gave him a double dose, and her a dose and a half. At this rate, we won't have enough to last the whole trip," another man said in reply.

"Do it anyway, at least until we get over the border."

Over the border? Yvanna made sure to keep her expression blank, but inside, she was growing quickly alarmed. She could not fail here. If she did...

The men grunted as they hopped into the cargo hold. When their footsteps grew louder and their breathing more distinct, she knew they were right in front of her. She heard the sound of their clothes rustling as they bent over to restrain Lord Dante, which he helped visualize for her by yelling at them to get off him.

Slowly, Yvanna opened an eye to peek at the scene in front of her. The men were too far for her to do any effective surprise attack. When she caught Lord Dante's eyes, she nodded at him. Understanding flashed in his gaze, and in the next moment, he kicked one of the men backwards and towards her.

Yvanna seized the opportunity instantly, kicking her legs out and wrapping them around the man's neck as he stumbled in her direction. Her right thigh protested at the movement, her wound throbbing fiercely in response. She forced herself to ignore it and jerked the man closer to get a better grip, squeezing her thighs until his face turned purple.

"You bitch!" The other man lunged for her. He grabbed her jaw and slammed her head against the wall. Yvanna winced, but made sure to keep her chokehold firm. There was not much she could do with her arms restrained. She could only hope that the man she was suffocating would pass out soon, or she was going to be in for a world of hurt.