Enigma

Chapter 19

"Oh, God..."

Amanda's voice sounded far away for Lillian's ears.

The music was faint, barely heard in the large room Lillian had just stepped in. But the noise of the patrons made up for it. Lillian's numb hands let the doors swing shut behind her. She moved to the shadows.

The room consisted of round, high tables scattered around the space in an orderly fashion, the entire floor covered with a deep red carpet. Artificial fog floated above the ground, giving the place a spooky vibe. What made Lillian's breath hitch was the circular fenced area right in the center of the room, under a strong spotlight. The gray metallic fence stretched from ground to ceiling, enclosing something that held the crowd's attention.

Lillian moved to get a look at the fenced area through the cheering spectators. She jumped at the loud noise.

The fence rattled under the impact of a large body. The man slid to the floor of the ring. Cheers escalated. People screamed, some in disappointment and others in victory. But the man left standing in the ring didn't look or act like a winner. His shoulders were slumped, his face and body all cut up and bloody, and his eyes were a dull amber, bruised and worn out.

Wolves.

People swarmed to a bar on the right, collecting their winnings or paying their dues. Bets, Lillian realized, they were betting on the fights.

"Wolves," Lillian said, quenching the nausea that flipped her stomach. "They're wolves."

"Shit," Benjamin said. Lillian ignored the rest of what they were discussing since she could make no sense of it. They were mostly debating what to do next, barge in or wait.

Lillian moved around, blending with the shadows. Since the place was crowded, and had many humans, she wouldn't stand out. But all the humans she could see were attached to vampires. Those who weren't busy with the bets were busy making out or doing more than that. Lillian turned sharply away from a sight that made her skin crawl. She practically walked into a freaking immortal orgy.

Her eyes caught a couple making out in plain sight. She looked closer, they weren't making out, the vampire was feeding off the human. Blood trickled down the man's neck but he didn't look like he minded the vampire's fangs embedded in his throat one bit.

"Oh God, the vampires are feeding," Lillian hissed into her bracelet, stopping in a dark corner.

"Lillian, you have to get out of there," Noah said, his voice barely recognizable.

"What about the girls? There's no sign of them yet."

"If you don't leave, you'll probably join them," Amanda said. "It's getting too dangerous, if one of the vampires notices that you're not attached, you'll become a snack, too."

Lillian had to agree with her. She watched as the floor of the ring opened up and the two wolves fell down. Before the floor closed back up, she heard growling, whimpering and whining, sounds that tore her heart apart.

Swallowing past the panic and fear, she ignored a couple of male vampires feeding off a very willing human woman. Her head was thrown back as if she was having the time of her life.

Lillian looked around again. She had to find something useful. The ground opened up, which meant there was another level beneath the basement. Come on, come on, come on.

A door.

It was tucked in a dim corner, barely visible, its dark wood blending perfectly with the black walls. Lillian stayed put, watching the door for a few minutes. She was just about to give up and leave when a vampire walked up to it. He pulled some sort of key card from his jacket and put it over a console she hadn't noticed near the door.