Cold Blooded

I gathered power to myself and sent it outward, trying to sense if there were any other spells or signatures around me. The two vamps had surprisingly strong magic pulses when my energy cascaded over them. They must be very old. Almost as old as Eudoxia, but not nearly as strong. Conan had said the male’s name was Yuri. That sounds Russian to me. Maybe we should shackle him up and try to wake him? If he’s been around that long, he must know something. My wolf growled, undecided. What else are we going to do? I don’t feel any other power signatures nearby. I want to know why she put me in here with these two, because I don’t think this was a mistake. She knew they would be easy for us to defeat. Something was definitely up and that was puzzling. I was missing something big. I’m beginning to think there was trouble brewing all along between her and Valdov and I’ve somehow propelled us right into the middle of it. I glanced at the still-unmoving Yuri. Let’s find out what he knows. We don’t have a better option.

I didn’t wait for my wolf to agree. I walked over to the crumpled Yuri and crouched next to him, not wanting to touch him yet. I peered closely at his face. It was beginning to heal, but it was going to take a while. I stood and paced over to the free chain that had dropped off my arm—the one that wasn’t currently tethered to Alana’s forehead.

I couldn’t look at her without cringing.

We’ll have to deal with her next. I’ll have to secure her before I pull the plate out so she can heal. Gross. When I do it, we pray she doesn’t wake up. Of the two, she seems the most deranged. Yuri may be our only chance of getting any good information.

I grabbed the chain and went back to Yuri. I bent over and gingerly picked up one of his dirty feet and tugged him by the ankle toward the wall where the chains had hung before. I’m going to try and twist the bolts back in. He’s not that strong, so they may hold. I don’t want him to come after me once I wake him up. I stopped in front of the wall, resting my hand on the stone and running my fingers over the holes. They were completely torn open. There’s no way the bolts are staying in there. Let’s look for something else. I eyed the room critically and spotted a piece of rebar sticking out of the far wall. Bending the rebar over the chain might work. I made my way over, toting Yuri behind me. I reached up and hooked the end of the link on the rebar.

Now we just have to bend it.

This was going to be straight out of a superhero movie.

I knew I was strong enough, but actually doing it was another matter. I went on my tiptoes and palmed the end of the steel and pushed upward. We can’t break it off, so watch the angle and go slow. My wolf channeled power into my hand and the muscles hardened to aid me. The metal began to move. I slid my hand down and wrapped my entire palm around it so I could mold it like clay. It totally worked.

It was kind of badass bending metal with my bare hands.

Once I secured the rebar over the chain link, I slid Yuri in front and hooked his ankle with the shackle, snapping it shut. He hadn’t woken, but his face had improved. The chain didn’t quite reach the ground, so his leg hung in the air a few feet above the floor. It was an awkward position, but it would help him stay put.

Now we just have to wake him up.

I went to the opposite wall and sat down, wanting to be clear of him just in case he awoke in a rage. I laid my back against the cool stone and called, “Yuri, can you hear me?”

No response.

“Yuri, it’s time to wake up.” I tried to infuse power into my voice.

Nothing.

He’s too badly damaged and malnourished. He needs more power. But in order to transfer power directly, as Tyler had done to me when I was in Stasis, it meant I had to touch him.

I really didn’t want to touch him.

Resigning myself, I crawled forward. Transferring power was coming more easily to me, especially after I’d done it on Selene, and most recently on the Porsche. As I moved, I gathered gold strands in my mind, concentrating them as I settled next to Yuri. We give him one burst and move out of the way. I rested my palm on his forehead and released the accumulated power. It shot straight into Yuri with a jolt, making my hands tingle. I retreated backward quickly.

The old vamp jumped like he’d been defibrillated.

His eyes blinked open.

“Hello,” I said once I settled back against the wall. “My name is Jessica McClain, and I’m sorry I had to smash your face in, but I think you’re going to heal. You may want to rethink your attack modes in the future, however, to avoid another massive head injury.”

He hissed at me, shaking his leg, struggling to right himself.

“I don’t think you can get free, but if you do, I’ll just knock you out again and try something else. So instead of trying to get free, how about we just make some kind of a deal? I need information and you want out of this cell. Right? If you tell me what I need to know, I’ll release you and … your bride. Does that sound fair?”

“Waaast do you want? … I”—his voice was broken with a strong Russian accent—“need…”

It was clear Yuri hadn’t spoken or dealt with anyone in a very long time.

“You need what? To escape this place?” I prodded.

“More … power…” He hissed. It was paining him to speak. He had healed more, but it was still going too slowly. What we won’t do for information. My wolf yipped in agreement. I crawled back over to him, mostly because it was easier to stay on his level.

“I’m here to help you,” I cautioned as I moved closer. “But if you lash out, I won’t hesitate to defend myself. After I give you power and you heal a little more, we are going to make a deal. Nod if you agree.” I looked down at him, wondering if I’d receive anything coherent back. “And once you make that deal, I’m going to hold you to your word.”

He nodded once.

I placed my hand over his forehead and pushed more power into him. His head arched under my grip, his eyes fluttering. They went from dead black to a hint of normal flecked with silver. “Ahhhh…” he moaned. “Haven’t … felt … in too long…”

After a moment he went still and I brought my hand off his head and moved back on my heels, but stayed where I was. He blinked a few times and then glanced up at me.

“How long have you been down here?” I asked curiously. “Did Valdov put you here? Or was it the Queen?” I had so many questions, but being in the shape he was, he may not be able to answer all of them.