Seth
His captors had dropped food through the slot while he’d been out, though, as well as water in a little plastic pouch. The tin cup he’d had before was gone now. It disturbed him that he hadn’t woken up, even with someone else in his room, close enough to retrieve it.
The tray tasted like typical bad hospital food—some oversalted, vaguely meat-like main dish with bland sides of indeterminate vegetable origin. The water tasted like the plastic surrounding it, and presumably they’d forgone the cup so they could avoid opening the door more than they needed to.
If they were going to act like perverts, he was going to treat them like perverts.
No one came to see him right away, which wasn’t exactly surprising. He doubted he was much use to them until Riley arrived.
If Riley arrives, he reminded himself. Not when.
Seth paced to pass the time, periodically pressing his hands against different parts of the white walls, as if there might be a secret latch to freedom his captors had maybe just forgotten they’d included in their grand design.
At least it was better than doing nothing.
Seth tried very hard not to think about Riley. He tried not to imagine Riley scared and worried and running straight into danger with no thought to himself.
Riley would go to his moms first, right? They’d talk some sense into him. They’d claimed Seth was precious, but surely he wasn’t any more precious than their own son. Maybe they’d snap Riley’s neck again and flee the state before he woke.
It hurt Seth’s heart to think that, but it would be better than the alternative. Riley couldn’t ever be in this place. He’d had too much taken from him already, too much of his life stolen by hunger and fear. It just…
It couldn’t happen.
At some point, Seth heard the whale song again, which meant it hadn’t been a hallucination after all. And it definitely seemed to be coming from underneath his cell.
Seth crouched on the hard, cold floor and bent over, placing his ear against the tile. The sound was higher-pitched than any whale song Seth had heard before, but there was the same looping, haunting quality to the calls.
Seth pounded his fists against the floor, then cupped his hands around his mouth to call, “Hey! Down there! Can you hear me?”
There was the briefest pause, and then the song started up again. Maybe Seth had only imagined the break.
He pounded his fists again. “Hello?”
But the song didn’t stop a second time. Seth wasn’t sure why he was hoping it would, other than that it would be nice to have another creature acknowledge his existence in this fucked-up place.
He knew the cameras were capturing him trying to communicate, but he didn’t give a shit.
They must have been expecting him to try something.
“What exactly are you hoping to accomplish?”
Or maybe not.
Seth sat back on his heels. The lawyer was back, either in the same suit or another identical one. Really, how the hell was Seth supposed to gauge the hours down here?
Seth pointed to the floor. “Who are you holding down there?”
He was expecting abject denial, but Mr. Perkins only said, “I think you mean what are we holding down there?”
Seth scowled at him. “No. I mean who. Just because they’re creatures doesn’t mean they aren’t people.” He was really guessing at the creature part—for all Seth knew, they really did have regular whales down there—but the lawyer’s next words confirmed it.
“I think you’ll find that’s exactly what it means.”
Was that a clue? Was all this because of some anti-creature prejudice? Some drawn-out punishment for their existence? Seth still had so many questions.
He supposed he might as well ask them.
He cocked his head, placing his hands in his lap. “You know, I consider myself very pro-science, but aren’t there supposed to be ethics committees you answer to? Some sort of oversight? None of this feels very ethical to me.”
“Perhaps if we were funded by the NIH or NSF, that might hold true.”
Seth narrowed his eyes. “Who are you funded by? The government?” Was this some sort of top secret Department of Defense thing?
Mr. Perkins’s lips curved into a small smirk, like he knew very well Seth was pumping him for information but wasn’t threatened by it in the least. Possibly because he knew Seth was never getting out of here, so he’d never have the chance to reveal any of what he’d learned.
“God, no. Think of the red tape. The thing is, Mr. Carter, that there are many wealthy parties extremely interested in the long lifespan of the supernatural. The anti-aging aspect alone would entice almost anyone, don’t you think? ”
Seth stared at him blankly, the words taking longer to process than they should have. “You’re telling me you’re working for youth-hungry millionaires?”
He couldn’t help the disgust that leeched into his voice. He was trying to keep Mr. Perkins talking, which meant not offending him right out of the gate, but really? Kidnapping and threats and spy cams to watch Seth pee all in exchange for what—anti-wrinkle serums?
“Oh, exponentially more wealthy than that,” Mr. Perkins told him mildly. “You scoff, but eternal life, eternal youth—the search for these things has been driving fanatics through the ages. Not all of us have an easy ticket like some.”
Easy ticket? Was he talking about the mate bond? Clearly Mr. Perkins had never been wooed by a half-feral recluse with obsessive stalker tendencies. There was nothing easy about it.
Except for the fact that Seth had fallen for it within weeks.
Maybe it had been easy.
“Too bad your particular ticket couldn’t protect you better, Mr. Carter.” Mr. Perkins shook his head in false pity. “I’m afraid he doesn’t have the strength to deserve these gifts he’s been given.”
Seth stared at him, aghast. “Gifts?” he echoed incredulously. “Gifts? He was turned against his will. As a child. He’s been through enough without you poking and prodding him.”
Seth stood slowly, his hands clenched at his sides as heat flushed through his body. He was surprised he wasn’t melting the floor where he stood. He approached the glass with slow, careful steps. He felt the need to rattle this man, to wipe that unconcerned little smirk off his lawyer face.
Seth placed his hands on the see-through wall and lowered his voice to a low croon.
“You think Riley is the only supernatural I know? You’re wrong.
Dead wrong. I have connections you couldn’t even dream of.
I’m the fucking Godfather of supernatural beings.
And when they find out you’ve taken me, they’re going to bring down a wave of destruction on this place the likes of which you’ve never seen. So stay. The fuck. Away from him.”
Seth had never spoken like this in his life. He had no idea where it was coming from, other than remnants of old TV shows he’d watched once upon a time. But it had the effect of finally putting a little wariness behind Mr. Perkins’s dead eyes, so Seth was grateful for the inspiration.
It didn’t last long though. Mr. Perkins’s expression quickly shuttered, and he tutted at Seth, meeting him threat for threat.
“Are you aware how rare a vampire turned in childhood is, Mr. Carter? The fact that Riley aged to adulthood? Fascinating. There’s so much to be learned.
We’ll be running tests on your Riley for decades upon decades.
He won’t be seeing the light of day in this lifetime or the next. ”
The heat of Seth’s momentary triumph was replaced by cold chills and a sour taste in his mouth. He could see it too clearly: Riley, captured and contained, trapped in this place longer than most humans lived.
Seth swallowed past the bile. “How do you sleep at night?”
He hated that he asked, but he couldn’t help it. He genuinely wanted to know.
Mr. Perkins didn’t even flinch. “He’s a beast. An animal.
They all are. I don’t turn a blind eye to what we do here—I enjoy it.
” He followed that disgusting confession up with a nod to Seth.
“You, on the other hand, are human. We will try to make you as comfortable as possible for your stay. And if one day it’s necessary to complete the mate bond for further study, we’ll attempt the most humane conditions possible. ”
“He was human once too.”
“A human who, within hours of turning, tried to drain his own mother? Some might say he was a monster all along.”
And with that, Mr. Perkins broke the intercom connection and walked away.
And all Seth could do was watch, even as his muscles tensed and twitched, his futile rage burning higher and higher, hotter than his body could contain. For the first time, Seth wished he wasn’t human after all. He wished he had claws and teeth and fucking dragon fire, if that was a thing.
But he didn’t. He was helpless. So helpless.
It wouldn’t happen again. Seth might have been bullshitting the lawyer just now, but he would make it true.
No more sitting on the sidelines. No more getting left in the dark.
Seth might not have been a fighter, but so what?
He knew people, and he would use that however he could.
He would protect himself. He would protect Riley.
Eventually someone came to draw his blood again. Seth let him, although he was surprised his blood didn’t sizzle in the tubes with how fired up he was.
He still couldn’t tell how much time was passing while he was stuck in this cell. It felt like days, but that was probably the boredom talking. Things dragged when there was nothing to do.
At one point the lights flickered, and Seth heard hurried steps and murmured voices. Which, if he could hear them at all through the soundproofing, must have meant they were louder than murmurs.
What would happen to him if the power turned off? Would that see-through wall open for him? Or would he be locked inside in the dark?
Seth could guess the answer, and it wasn’t the one he wanted.
Some time later Mr. Perkins was at the door again. He didn’t look quite so smug or unconcerned anymore. There were tight lines around his mouth and a vein pulsing in his forehead.
He looked pissed, actually.
“Tell me what other supernatural entities you know.”
Seth was sitting cross-legged on his cot, where he’d been counting the ceiling tiles. It had been as boring as it sounded. He cocked his head at Mr. Perkins’s audacity. “Um. No?”
Mr. Perkins stared at Seth, then tapped the glasses covering his eyes. “You see these? Every member of this facility has a pair, or goggles of the same material.”
That was true, from what Seth could tell. The two lab coat goons who’d drawn his blood so far had been wearing goggles. Seth had assumed it was in case they accidentally hit an artery and sprayed blood everywhere. Maybe that didn’t happen in real life, but it had been his best guess.
Still, why Mr. Perkins felt the need to keep Seth updated on the fashion choices of his institute was a bit of a mystery.
“These protect against compulsion,” Mr. Perkins explained impatiently. “A benefit of our research so far. We can’t be compelled, and we have tranquilizer guns that can put a vampire down in less than three seconds. Any rescue attempts will be futile, I assure you.”
Seth bit back a small grin. “You’re really riled up right now, aren’t you?”
Mr. Perkins’s eyes flashed fire, but before he could respond, a new guy showed up. This one wasn’t in a lab coat or a suit. He looked almost like he was military, all dolled up in beige fatigues.
Of course they had a private militia at the billionaire research facility. Why not?
“Sir,” the guy greeted Mr. Perkins respectfully. Seth almost expected him to salute.
“What now?” Mr. Perkins snapped. “How can three vampires—two mothers and a child—be giving you this much trouble?”
“Sir, there’s someone at the door. The, um, front door.”
Mr. Perkins turned to face the newcomer fully. “There’s someone at the front door of the secret research bunker,” he repeated.
“Yes.”
“Subdue it,” Mr. Perkins hissed.
The faux soldier cleared his throat. “Well, sir, she’s not an ‘it,’ is the thing.
She’s human. One of the local population.
” He lowered his voice and leaned in, but Mr. Perkins still had the intercom button active, so Seth could hear his every word.
“A minor, sir. She said she’s writing a school report and has questions for the facility. ”
Violet.
Seth knew it without a doubt. Violet was here.
What the fuck? Seth’s confusion was mirrored by the mystified look on Mr. Perkins’s face, although that was soon washed away by the sheer rage that swept over the lawyer’s usually bland features.
“You allowed a local high schooler to slip onto the grounds? To find the entrance?”
It was the first time Seth had heard him raise his voice. It was incredibly satisfying to think Violet was the one who’d made it happen.
Employee of the month, for sure.
As if reading Seth’s mind, Mr. Perkins shot him a vicious look and cut off the intercom. He and the faux soldier hurried away.
Seth was really tired of watching people abandon him in his cell.
Worry swirled in his gut. He really hoped Violet knew what she was doing. Seth would never forgive himself if she got hurt.
The lights flickered, same as they had before. Except this time they did it again. And again.
And then Seth was thrust into complete, unrelenting darkness.