Mote of Darkness

Chapter 15

Planning a kidnapping is hard, but lugging two weeks of supplies and clothing through a motel might just be even more annoying. Especially when it's a smaller motel and there are no luggage carts and no one to help with my bags.

To make matters worse, it's been raining on and off all day. I'm soaked within five minutes of dragging my bags towards the motel.

Then of course, I somehow got a second floor room and am stuck carrying all the bags up a flight of stairs. No elevator. Ugh. But I do get the room for near free as long as I want it, and access to free breakfast in the dining area.

My parents left for the cruise ship this afternoon. It took a lot of convincing, they were even upset with Sarah and Penny for telling me about it. But they must've figured I wouldn't budge on this. They truly need a break.

In the week leading up to the cruise, Sarah, Penny, and I tweaked the details of the plan a bit. Not by much, but hopefully they manage to convince Lucy's vampire friends that I'm in trouble and Lucy needs to save me. I also hope that none of Bonnie's goons show up. Showing up at her home and being the reason why five people were killed might make me higher on her hit list than Lucy. Although Zorin did threaten her if she came near me again. Maybe that will be enough for her to leave me be. I doubt it though.

Once I was sure my parents didn't turn the car around and come back, I made my way over to the motel. Now that it's already five, their boat has already left.

I finally make it up to my room with the bags and the keycard won't work. I insert the card in the door, "Beep." Wiggle the handle... still locked. I try again and again. "Beep Beep." Nothing. I eye the number on the card and compare it to the door again. Yeah this is it. I try the card a fourth time. "Beep." I wiggle the handle. No, still locked. "Ugh." I lightly kick the door. "Beep." The door swings open. Well that seems unsafe.

I pull one of the heavier bags through the door, but freeze at the figure lounging on the chair. He has one foot resting casually on his knee, and one of his arms dangles freely over the arm of the chair.

"Brixlee darling," He comes over and takes the bag out of my hands as if it weighs no more than a pillow. "Did you honestly expect me to stand by while you toy with vampires?"

"Why are you here?"

"Your plan seems a little risky," he says easily.

"I would have been fine."

Zorin eyes my necklace, the one I completely forgot about this past week, and says "Yes, you would have been perfectly fine. Although this room is rather... distasteful." His eyes sweep over the room. Brown tones are everywhere. Dark brown walls, light brown carpet with dark stains, and blue-ish gray bed sheets that most definitely do not work with the brown everywhere else. All that brown is in a small room only large enough for a twin bed, dresser, tv, and not much else. "The vampires should track you here easily enough." He takes my sweater that was at the top of an unzipped bag and tosses it on the chair.

I eye him suspiciously.

He shrugs and says, "We should leave something with your scent on it while we are gone."

I back away, putting a measly five feet between us.

"What do you mean while we are gone?"

"The trap has been set just fine, but you do not need to be here as bait. One of the shadows can wait for whoever to track your scent trail and show up."

"And where will I go?"

He snaps and my bags disappear. "You will be much safer and more comfortable at my place."