Mad Woman Rambles

Day 3

More and more of the same torture. Healthy food with no chips as a treat. Old Mary hasn’t been back by to see me. And what in all of the Heavens is that smell?! I can’t take it anymore. I need to get out. 

“Parlay!” I shout even though I know all of the vampires can hear me, even when I whisper. “I demand, Parlay!” 

Day 4

“It is about damn time!” I say, seething at the amount of time it took them to come down here. 

“By Jehovah, what is that smell, girl?” Marcus replies while fanning his hand in front of his face in an attempt to ward off the rank odor. 

“You know what that smell is, and I demanded parlay yesterday,” I retort, crossing my arms and catching a whiff of the funk that has invaded my person. Marcus smirks at me as he reaches for the bars to my cage. 

“Girl, we are vampires, not pirates,” he says with amusement coloring his words. “You should know that by now.” He undoes the locks and opens the cell door. I look at him warily as he sweeps his hand out, gesturing for me to walk out ahead of him. 

“Pirates. Vampires. Werewolves. It doesn’t matter. Parlay is supposed to mean something to you.” I moved out into the hallway where I could see several other cells. Some housed shadows moving beyond the bars. Others appeared empty; however, with smells worse than mine emanated from them. I swallowed hard against the bile threatening to rise in my throat. 

“Let’s get moving, girl,” Marcus propped, gently pushing me towards the end of the hallway. Moans and shuffling pulled my attention to a hunched-over being to my right. Their nails, if you could call them that, were curled and thick, resembling claws. Its body was shrouded, and it whispered something. I inched closer to listen to what its raspy voice was uttering, curiosity getting the better of me. 

When I was closer, the being reached for me with its razor-sharp talons and screeched. Fortunately, for me, vampires are faster. Marcus pulled me away and had us at the end of the hall before I could blink. My hair, the only victim of the unprompted attack. 

“What in the seven Hells was that?!” I exclaimed, my heart beating out of my chest. 

“We call it Margert,” Marcus mused. “She is a delight.” He quirked and pushed me forward gently. 

“Margert?!” I huffed. “Now I am going to need to trim my hair. Man, this sucks,” I whined as we headed up the stairs to where I knew the living quarters to be. Hope sprang in my heart as we came closer to Korbin’s room. I knew the path here all too well. I may have fallen for his ridiculous good looks, height, and well … other things. Butterflies fluttered up a storm as we came right up to the threshold. I could feel Korbin on the other side. I was always aware of him, no matter where we were or what we were doing. Stupid psychic imprinting. As I went to grab the door handle, Marcus grabbed my arm and led me down the hall to another door to our right. 

“Here we are,” he said, opening the door and escorting me into a large room. A huge four-poster bed taking up most of the wall in the back of the room. Light from French doors filtered in, giving me the impression it was late morning. We entered a small living space with a nice-sized fireplace and an even bigger television above it. Part of me sighed as I longed to park my butt in front of the television and binge-watch my K-dramas. ‘I missed you most of all, Scarecrow.’ 

“The bathroom is through that door over there. There are clothes waiting for you on the vanity. Lunch will be brought to you to enjoy. Freshen up and eat. I will be back to get you soon,” Marcus pointed out as he made his way back to the door we came in through. 

“Wait, where are you going?” I asked, cautious about the turn of events. 

“I have vampire things to attend to before our meeting,” he replied. 

“Vampire things?” I asked, shaking my head. “Marcus, what is going on?” I prodded, coming closer to him. “What does Korbin have up his sleeve? Please, tell me he is letting me go?” I pleaded, unashamedly grasping his forearm. 

Marcus sighed and patted my hand, “That all depends on what you can give us, Krystal. I will not lie to you. This is a serious matter, and you have uncovered a dangerous game. Your counsel will be here soon.” He paused, “You know he won’t keep you long. He enjoys having you back under our roof. He isn’t the only one.” Marcus gave me a tight-lipped smile and left. A minute later, he reappeared, “Normally, I wouldn’t have to say this, but seeing that it is you, don’t try to escape. You know you won’t be able to get far.”

I huffed at his accurate warning as if he were the psychic. “Fine, I won’t, but it’s only because you are letting me bathe, eat, and watch TV.” I turned to storm into the bathroom, then paused. “Are Hearts over my Eyes—” 

“Yes, you can access it through my profile on the TV,” he replied as he left the room, closing the door behind him. 

“This is why I love you! Not Korbin but you, Marcus!” I shouted before skipping into the bathroom for some much-needed self-care.