Hollow Waves | OFAF #1

4

Eryn stepped in front of Marina and tilted her head slightly, "you need to leave, now." Eryn's heart pounded in her chest. The last thing she expected was Lucinda's cronies to come into her bar. She kicked them out a couple of months ago for almost feeding on some patrons.

"What's going on?" Marina slid off the stool.

"Aw, don't leave now, the party is just getting started. How long were you going to hide a mermaid running around Queen Anne, eh?" The bald guy with the scar over his eye took another step forward.

Marina peered at him over Eryn's shoulder, her blood running cold. The bloodthirsty glint in his eye, she was no stranger to that look. Her father described that look since the day she could swim on her own. The stare of a beast. She didn't need a Daesonri stone to let her know what he was.

Marina gripped Eryn's shoulder, "that's a vamp—" She drifted off, feeling how cold Eryn was. Her eyes dropped to Eryn's hand. The veins under her hand weren't blue, they were darker, leaning closer to purple.

Eryn cast her a sidelong glance, her eyes flashing red. The veins under Eryn's eyes shifted, sending a shiver down Marina's back. Her back was ramrod straight as she searched Marina's face. How could have Eryn been so clueless?

Something in Marina's gut told her to run, but her desperation took over. "You know something about Neri." She couldn't just let it go, not when she was so close.

"Marina, not now," Eryn pleaded, her eyes softened and her name gentle on her lips amidst the tension growing, "this isn't the time, you need to run."

"Run? That's cute. I'm surprised she still has a heartbeat." The bald guy chuckled, his cold, harsh laugh sending a shudder up Marina's spine. "I wonder who would like to hear about this first? The quaestor? Lance? Oh! I know, Hades, perhaps?"

A low inhuman noise came from Eryn. She pushed Marina backward gently, "leave."

The word came out more like a hiss. Scarlet flashed once again. Marina wasn't making a mistake. She knew what she saw despite the cocktail. This whole time... she was talking to a vampire. Laughing with one, touching one... Flynn was right. His words appeared in Marina's mind, Queen Anne is dangerous, all sorts of people could be lurking around, especially vampires.

She whirled around, heading straight for the exit. With a speed her mind couldn't comprehend, the bald vampire appeared in front of her, blocking the door with his wide body. Marina's eyes traveled upward, meeting his crimson stare. Pure terror seeped its way into her body, her bones locked. His irises pulsed red and were surrounded by a ring of black. His white pupils raked over her body.

A scream lodged into Marina's throat. She scrambled backward, standing in the middle of the dance floor between two—no, three—vampires.

The bald one swiped for Marina, but an arm wrapped around her waist. Her back hit against something solid and the room blurred. She squeezed her eyes shut, as a sharp feeling grew into her stomach.

"Keeping her all to yourself? Just like the last one, eh? I'll be sure to let Lucinda know." One of the vampire's voices drifted away.

Wind whipped around Marina, slapping her hair against her face before stopping abruptly. She unclenched her teeth and looked around frantically.

"Are you OK?" Eryn's soft words did nothing to calm the panic brewing in Marina. Eryn swallowed, doing her best to ignore Marina's hummingbird heartbeat.

They were in a hallway; one Marina never recognized before. "Where are we?" She demanded. The second location. This was the worst scenario Flynn told her about—never let them bring you to a second location.