The Shadow Walkers

Chapter Three

The cold touch of a vampire woke me up. Unfortunately, when my eyes slowly slid open, Mitchell's face wasn't the first one that I saw. My eyes widened immediately and I flinched as one of his hands reached up to touch my face. The man's nails were long and well-kept as they caressed my cheek. The hair on the back of my neck rose and my body stiffened. He smiled wide, his fangs showing clearly, and then moved his face closer to mine.

There were plenty of things that I found wrong with vampires, but the part that got me the most was the fact that they didn't breathe. When he should have been breathing down my neck, there was nothing but the cold of his presence. I shuttered as his lips reached my throat. There was a sharp pain in my left arm and he laughed. Pulling away, I finally got a good look at his face.

His name was Julian. I had met him the last time I visited New York. It wasn't a pleasant memory. He leaned back and for the first time, I realized that my hands were tied behind my back. Between my extremities was a metal pole, warm to the touch from my own heat. I was being pushed to the floor of what seemed like a giant crate, but I couldn't be sure.

"Katherine, it's been a long time!" He addressed me as if we had been friends forever. "Master Wesley has missed you so much. He just can't wait to see you again, after what happened last time." Julian was much too happy for my tastes, he always had been. "I wonder. Have your cuts healed any?" His playful smile darkened as his hand shot out towards me, grabbing my chin between his thumb and index finger.

Without a word, he tilted my head roughly and moved his hand down to grasp my neck. Teasingly, he squeezed a little bit and then loosened, his thumb finding a horizontal scar on my collarbone. His nail dug in a little bit and I winced as he drew blood. The cut curved and I knew what he was doing. "This way, you'll never forget me." He whispered so that only I could hear. Julian stood up very abruptly, pushing my head in the opposite direction as it had been tilted. "I'd have a taste, but I don't think I could control myself if I did." He winked, and I shuddered as he bounded away like a child.

My eyes followed him until he exited, using a door that blended in with the walls, and then switched back to the view in front of me. Across from my own feet was another set of shoes. I made my way up the legs, and then the torso, knowing that I would not like what I found, and found Mitchell. His head was bowed and he was tied to a pole, same as me. To the side of him was an IV, the bag filled with a crimson liquid.

'A vampire can only be sedated by the use of a dead man's blood...' My memory kicked in again and I almost threw up. The thought of that stuff coursing through his veins right now put me off, making me feel dizzy. It was strange to see my best friend so vulnerable.

"I'm so sorry Mitch." My voice was hoarse and quiet, not unlike what I had expected. I licked my dry lips and leaned my head back against the metal pole limply, only to have it roll to the side.

That's when I noticed that we were rocking back and forth, as if we were on a boat. That would explain why my stomach felt so uneasy. I groaned with the realization that we were on our way to London.

I fidgeted with the bindings at my wrists, my heartbeat steadily gaining speed. The skin of my wrists grew raw and it became painful to move them, so I stopped, giving up on escape. A small part of me refused to give up, but the rest knew that it was pointless. I had been through all of this before.

There was the sound of a bolt being locked came from outside the door and vents opened up in every corner of the room. I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting to happen, but I was wrong.

With the loud noise of something coming on, a smoky substance began to flow out of each opening. It took a long moment for the substance to reach my feet, and it swirled up around my figure. I held my breath for as long as I could, but the fear of asphyxiation made me breathe out. As I inhaled, the gas replaced air for the most part, and I momentarily broke out in a fit of coughing.

I was beginning to feel light headed and my vision blurred in and out of focus as I slowly lost consciousness. My head fell forward and my breathing slowed down as I blacked out again.