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  “Where is the Amulet?” I asked him, leaning in close and flicking my tongue in his ear as I did so.

  “You can’t think this will work?” he asked me, somewhat desperately.

  “Hard to say,” I replied. “I have a while to find out. If not, I’ll try something else. Something not so pleasant.”

  In truth, I had no idea what I’d try next. I was sure there would be a point where the pain would overtake the pleasure if I kept torturing him, but I really didn’t have the stomach for it. Besides, I was enjoying myself too much to stop now. If I didn’t get anywhere in a few days, I’d work out a Plan B.

  I grabbed the cat-o’-nine-tails and set on him with it, laying it across the backs of his thighs, his ass, his back and across his shoulders until the whole back side of him was red. He cried out as I struck him, and I stopped when I noticed a drop of fluid on the end of his cock. He hung in his chains, panting and trembling, and I moved around him slowly, tracing my hand lightly across his back as I did so. He shuddered as I stroked him where I’d been hitting him and groaned again.

  “Where is it?” I asked again.

  He didn’t respond this time. I stood before him and he raised his head to look into my eyes. He looked feverish, and I felt a matching flush as I looked at him. I held his gaze for a moment and then knelt and lowered my head to his penis. Softly I flicked my tongue against the base of it and then licked up its length. He inhaled sharply and tensed. I stopped just before the tip and he exhaled a shuddering breath.

  “Suck it! Please, suck it,” he begged me.

  I rose and shook my head at him solemnly. “When you tell me what I want to know,” I told him, took off the nipple clamps and then I left.

  Chapter Two

  I gave him forty-five minutes before I returned. He looked up at me when I came in.

  “I don’t even know your name,” he said, his voice despondent.

  “Kayla,” I told him after a moment’s thought.

  “Why do you work for them?” he asked me, his voice rough and accusatory.

  “Why would I not?” I replied.

  “Because you don’t seem evil,” he told me. “I don’t understand. You came here to torture me. You’re after the Amulet. But you’re not evil, so why do this? Why work for them?”

  “We’re not evil. They’re not evil,” I exclaimed, surprised. “We hunt evil things, we kill them. We do good things, not evil things.”

  He laughed sarcastically at me. “Yeah, right. The Amulet controls the dead. Zombies and vampires. But you have to have one or make one first. Why do your ‘good’ masters need an army of zombies? How can that be good?”

  “I don’t know. Why should they tell me? Perhaps they want to destroy it, or hide it and keep it safe.”

  “It’s safe now. No one knows where it is but me and I don’t know how they found out I hid it. It’s been hidden for hundreds of years. What possible good could bringing it back into the world do?”

  I hesitated for a second before reminding myself that he was a creature of darkness and couldn’t be trusted. “And why should I believe your lies?”

  “Because it’s the truth, not lies. If you’ve met your masters, you must wonder. You must be concerned. Look in your heart. You know they’re evil.”

  I brushed aside the uneasy feeling his words gave me and grabbed his chin, sinking my nails into his skin. He leaned backward in his chains as I pressed against him and his breath quickened. I looked down and saw he was already erect.

  “And you’re not?” I asked him softly. I let him go and picked up the whip again. This time, as I laid it across his back, I waited eagerly for him to gasp and moan for me. I watched his hips jerk as the lash struck and felt a wonderful power. I had complete control and undeniable evidence he wanted me. I could do anything I wanted to him and he’d beg me for more.

  Shivering slightly, I slowly unzipped my cat suit and pulled it down off me. I paused for a moment and then strode around in front of him. I was wearing a black silk bra and panty set, and my high heels made me legs look a million miles long. Crispin’s eyes widened as he saw me, and he inhaled sharply. I stood in front of him and pressed my breasts against him, reaching around behind him to stroke the tender skin of his back with both hands. His cock pressed against my thigh and I could feel it pulsing.

  I leaned my head in and nibbled lightly on his neck before breathing in his ear, “Where is the Amulet?”

  He lunged suddenly for my neck and I jerked back just in time. The chains stopped him short and I shook my head at him disapprovingly as I grabbed his balls and squeezed them, hard.

  “Naughty boy,” I told him sternly, squeezing tighter.

  “Fuck me,” he gasped back, leaning into his chains and pushing his hips against me. “Oh my god, fuck me.”

  “Where is it?”

  “I’ll take you to it,” he gasped desperately.

  I paused and thought about it, leaning my shoulders away from him while he pressed his body against me. His cock found my clit and I gave an involuntary moan while he rocked back and forth against it. I matched his movements and found myself forgetting why I was here in the first place. All I wanted was to take him and put him inside me.

  “Give me your word,” I commanded with the last of my rational mind. Vampires can’t break a promise they’ve made. Or at least, not without something horrible happening.

  “I promise,” he cried, his voice shaking.

  “Deal,” I gasped and ripped off my panties. I wrapped my legs around his hips and sheathed him inside me in one smooth motion. He cried aloud and threw his head back and I wrapped my arms around his neck and thrust myself up and down on him. He moaned and murmured at me, urging me on, and I lost track of time as my entire world narrowed to thinking about how good he felt. I tangled my hands in his hair and yanked his head back, feeling him throb inside me. I reached climax just as he stiffened and cried out. Our bodies tensed, hard against each other for a moment before I dragged myself off him.

  I gasped and shuddered and tried to recover myself while Crispin hung limply in his chains. When I could speak again, I turned to him.

  “You better not renege on our deal,” I told him.

  “No. But this is a mistake. You should leave well enough alone,” he managed, his voice rough as he grimaced at me unhappily.

  I shrugged back at him. “So you say.”

  He looked down and for a moment seemed so sad that my heart gave a tug. I reminded myself that what happened to him now wasn’t my concern. I tried to ignore the almost panicky feeling I was getting and went to have a shower before reporting in. He didn’t look up at me as I left, and I closed the door behind me tightly and found myself regretting leaving him. I knew I’d never see him again. They’d kill him when they had what they wanted. I tried to tell myself he was only a vampire but I couldn’t stop thinking about the heat of him and his muscles rippling as he strained into me. I forced myself to focus with difficulty and my face was a mask of sober professionalism by the time I arrived at my masters’ room.

  Only the Tramp was present upon my arrival. Fortunately, he was in a good mood, though he grumbled that getting a location would have been better. I gathered that the speed of my results pleased him and made up for the fact that I’d only gotten him a partial answer. He waved at me to leave, and I returned to my room where I fell into an uneasy sleep.

  I was woken a few hours later by a knock on my door. When I groggily went to answer it I saw, to my surprise, the Lady standing outside my door.

  “He says he swore to show you where the Amulet is. Go with him. A team is preparing to accompany you. Find the Amulet and bring it to us.”

  With that she turned and left, and I shut the door behind her slowly. It seemed I hadn’t seen the last of Crispin yet. I pulled on my hunting leathers and gathered a backpack of things I might need. In addition to several weapons, I added two changes of clothes and several packs of military rations. I grabbed my flask and filled it with wat
er and then headed down to the parking lot to meet up with the others.

  In the garage, I found another black van. The team accompanying us consisted of two guards armed with high-voltage stun guns, a tracker, an armed driver and a small woman I gathered was a witch of some sort. I nodded to them and motioned for the witch to take the front seat. The tracker slid in behind them and I paced to the back of the van. Crispin was already there. He was still gloriously naked. His torso was smooth and looked soft and inviting in the dim light. He had chains around his wrists and ankles, which were looped into hooks in the sides of the van. Silver weakens vampires immensely. It doesn’t hurt exactly, but they get numb in the area they are chained in. Bound hand and foot, Crispin could barely move his arms and legs. I remembered him hanging from the ceiling and shivered at how good he’d felt inside me.

  I climbed in next to the two guards and one of them handed me a wireless headset with a built-in mic. I checked in with the individual team members to make sure the headsets were working and then settled onto a bench across from Crispin.

  “You couldn’t have given me some clothes?” he asked me, the corner of his mouth curving upward.

  “You don’t deserve clothes, animal!” one of the guards responded.

  Crispin’s eyes narrowed, though he didn’t shift his gaze from mine. I shrugged at him. In truth, I honestly hadn’t thought about it. After a couple of minutes though, I wished I had. My eyes kept getting drawn to his cock as I remember it hard and straining toward me, begging me to touch it. This was going to be a long drive. The thought reminded me that I had no idea where we were going yet.

  “Well? Where to?” I asked him, reaching out to prod him with my foot as I did so. I considered digging my heel into his thigh, but I knew how he’d react and a hard-on would be less than appropriate in the situation. I didn’t think the guards would appreciate the show.

  “Head out to the airport. I assume you have a plane? We’re going to South America.”

  I nodded and relayed the instructions to the driver. I considered phoning my masters but decided the pilot would let them know as soon as a flight plan was logged. We made good time to the airport and once we’d boarded, Crispin told the flight crew to take us to Peru. We set a course for Cuzco, and I raised my eyebrows at him.

  “You hid an ancient relic at Machu Picchu?” I asked him in disbelief.

  “No,” he replied shortly.

  We boarded the plane without incident and I sat facing him. The guards took spaces in the seats across the aisle from us and the tracker and witch settled in the back of the plane.

  As we took off, Crispin leaned in to me and whispered softly, “Please reconsider. No good can come of this.”

  His eyes begged me to listen to him and I felt worried again. What if he was right? What if this Amulet was evil? Why would they want it if it had been hidden for so long? I looked away from Crispin’s pleading eyes and stared out the window. It was a solid, seven-hour flight to Peru, and I wondered if I’d be able to sleep for a while. After a few minutes, he started talking to me softly.

  “I was born in 1456 in what is now Russia. When I was born, people were very poor. Except for the very rich of course. We were not very rich. My family was serfs, bound to the land and to our masters. In Russia, the land is a hard mistress. Usually, we died young.”

  Involuntarily I turned to look at him. His voice was so sad. He gave me a small, brave smile and I wondered if he was trying to play me.

  “Is that true?”

  “All of what I will tell you of my history is true. I promise.”

  I was surprised. A vampire promising to tell the truth. This must be a first. I nodded at him to continue and leaned back in my seat. I could just hear him over the drone of the small plane and I was relatively certain we couldn’t be overheard.

  “I was out late one night. I’d had trouble with one of my tools in the field and I had to fix it. As I walked, I saw a woman approach me. She was dressed in finery and I couldn’t understand why she’d be walking alone so late, in a place where only serfs lived. I didn’t have to wonder long. As I approached her, she told me she needed a servant and I was handsome enough to do. I told her I couldn’t come with her and she just smiled at me and then leapt. I felt a deep pain, and then a pleasure unlike any I have ever known. I felt myself die.”

  I was captivated by his voice and curled my legs up beneath me. He seemed lost in thought, his eyes turned down, his long eyelashes laying on his cheeks and his beautiful mouth drooping. The pause grew and I eventually waved at him to continue.

  “When I awoke, she told me I was hers and that I had to obey her. I found it was true. After a time, many, many years, I learned why. She took me with her as she traveled around and fed off the innocent. She would have me fetch girls for her and bring them back. Then she would kill them. We would kill them. I had no choice.”

  His voice trailed off and I thought about the things I had done when I’d had no choice, the things I regretted, and I felt for him.

  “Eventually, another vampire came for her. An older one. He confronted her in her tower while I cowered in the corner. He demanded the Amulet of Kain.”

  I jerked in surprise and he nodded at me significantly before continuing.

  “He told her he knew she used it to control other vampires and I understood how she’d controlled me. He told her it also could command zombies and accused her of messing with powers she didn’t understand. She went for the Amulet and clutched it to her, chanting. He flew at her and, just as she finished the last word, punched out her heart. She fell to the ground and crumbled to dusty ash, but her spell was complete. As I watched, a deadly smoke wreathed around his head and he fell to his knees, gasping. In seconds, he too turned to dust. I came out from my corner, my will my own for the first time in years, and saw a sparkle amidst the ash. It was the Amulet. I grabbed it and fled. It took years for me to work my way to South America. I was on one of the first ships to reach the New World. I survived in the jungle with ease, to my surprise. The people there still practiced blood sacrifice and accepted me surprisingly quickly. I hid the Amulet where no one would find it and there it has remained since.”

  He leaned toward me across the seats. “Kayla, when I was in that thing’s power, I had no control. I had to do whatever I was told. There was no choice. Vampires are powerful now, but can you imagine an army of them? We don’t get along and we’d never join together as things stand. But we could be used. Would you unleash that on the world?”

  I looked away again and said nothing.

  “How did you end up here anyway? Why do you work for them?” he asked after a pause.

  I considered not answering for a moment but couldn’t see the harm in replying. He was captive and would soon be dead. He’d take any secrets of mine to his grave.

  “The Three found me when I was little. They saved me and took me in. They trained me to hunt and that’s what I do. We make things safer for everyone.”

  Crispin eyed me thoughtfully. “They saved you? From what?”

  “Well…I’m…I’m not sure exactly. I just know that they did.”

  “How do you know? Because they told you? What if it’s all lies and they stole you from somewhere?”

  I recoiled and stared at him in shock. “Why would they do that?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe they wanted a servant? It happens. I should know.”

  His voice was cold and it jolted me out of my shock.

  “Shut up,” I hissed at him angrily. “You don’t know anything.”

  He cocked his head at me and appeared doubtful and I turned away to look out the window again, fuming. After a second, I got up and tapped one of the guards.

  “I’m going to have a nap. Keep a closer eye on him.”

  The guard nodded and I returned to my seat and stretched out. I gave Crispin one last dark look and closed my eyes. Through long practice, I’d managed to train myself to fall asleep at a moment’s notice, and, despite my w
orries, today was no exception. When I woke up I saw by the clock on my phone that I’d slept for several hours. Crispin was watching me when I opened my eyes.

  “You know,” he told me as I sat up, “you look much younger when you’re sleeping. And rather innocent.”

  I glared at him and he smiled at me.

  “I know you’re not, of course, and I assure you I am appropriately terrified.”

  Despite myself I smiled back at him.

  “Ahhh,” he told me, his smile widening. “A genuine smile. That’s nice to see.”

  I immediately frowned and he chuckled at me. As I glared at him, the little witch came over and sat next to me. I got the impression she was bored and fascinated by Crispin. A captive vampire was a rare thing indeed. She stared at Crispin as she made half-hearted small talk with me and he gazed back into her eyes. To my dismay, I felt myself growing a little jealous. My responses grew shorter and shorter and I eventually just stopped answering her entirely. Finally she got the hint and got up to return to her seat.

  Crispin was smiling at me in a somewhat smug way, but when I grumpily asked him why he was smiling he just shook his head. Annoyed, I tried to ignore him. His words kept running through my mind, though. I had been a faithful servant for almost all my life. What better way to create a perfect serf than to train one from childhood? But how to get a child? I suppose they could have saved me, or Crispin could have a point. I could just as easily have been stolen or bought. Maybe more easily, even. I sat and thought about it, trying to ignore Crispin’s gaze, until finally the pilot announced we were about to land.

  Night had fallen over Cuzco when we landed and the bodyguards exited the plane first, scouting the tarmac and checking to make sure the car we’d ordered had arrived. The tracker went next and then I exited with Crispin, one hand on his elbow. The witch trailed us.