Dire Straits (Bo Blackman) by Helen Harper

Author:Helen Harper [Harper, Helen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2014-07-08T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen: Truth and Lies

When I finally come to, I’m lying on a single bed in a tiny room. I try to sit up but the effort is too much. Nausea fills my stomach and I’m covered in sweat. At least I’m alone. I twist onto my side, panting with effort. There’s a small wooden table next to me with a jug and an empty glass.

My mouth is painfully dry and my lips are cracked and sore. Just how long have I been here? I reach for the jug but it’s just out of my grasp. Bugger – I’m going to have sit up after all. I curl my fingers round the mattress and pull my feet up, take a deep breath and push myself up onto my elbows. The room spins.

Gritting my teeth, I force myself upwards until I’m almost sitting. I turn my head too sharply and my stomach lurches in response. I breathe in through my mouth, until I manage to regain a little equilibrium. I’m still wearing the clothes I arrived in, although my leather jacket is missing. My arms are bare and covered in goosebumps. I rub them up and down and try to reach the jug again.

I misjudge the distance and fall onto the cold tiled floor. I grimace in pain, cursing my stupidity. The effort to get back up seems too great so I lie there, cold, shaking and very much in need of a drink.

The door to the room opens. From the angle I’m lying at, all I can see is a pair of shoes so shiny that I can see my reflection in them. There’s a loud tut, then arms reach down and pull me back onto the bed. I hear the sound of liquid being poured and a glass is placed in my hands. I raise it gingerly to my lips, sniffing first. Fortunately it is just water. I sip it carefully then look up. My benefactor is Ursus. He’s standing there, watching me with his arms crossed.

‘So,’ he says, ‘you made it then.’

‘I’m a vampire?’ I croak, with equal measures of dismay and relief.

He laughs humourlessly. ‘Not yet. For that you need to drink.’ He gestures down at the cup in my hand. ‘And I don’t mean water.’

‘Blood.’

He nods. ‘Would you like some now?’

Hell no. I shake my head then wish I hadn’t as the room starts to spin again. Ursus raises his eyebrows but doesn’t say anything.

‘Did everyone make it?’ I ask.

He shakes his head. ‘We lost three.’ For a second, his impassive mask wavers. I realise he’s angry about it and he goes up in my estimation. I feel a flicker of sorrow at the deaths but I quash it. Whoever they were, they knew what they were getting themselves in to. But I can’t help hoping that nervy Peter Allen wasn’t one of them.

Ursus points to the door. ‘When you feel ready, you’ll find a shower room two doors to the right. There is clean clothing. Let me know if you change your mind about the blood.

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