High Stakes

•III•

For a moment they just stared at one another, taking each other's measure, neither of them daring to make a move. If it weren't for the fact that Lucien's heart was about to beat through his chest wall, it would've seemed as though him and Vivica were just two old friends who'd had a serendipitous moment to reconnect. That, and the fact that Lucien's hand was now slowly sliding to the gold chain secured at his waist.

"Don't do that," Vivica warned, brandishing the dagger still held in her own hand. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Lucien's eyes roved back and forth between the dagger and her own assessing glare, gauging the likelihood of surviving a one-on-one fight with a fledgling vampire. She'd be fast, probably much faster than him despite her youth. He couldn't help but notice that Vivica's eyes appeared to be the same gray they had once been before turning the sinister red of the rest of them, and wondered whether she were wearing contacts to disguise it. It would be just like her to be vain enough to care about such things.

"If that's the case, then you can just step aside and let Helsie and I walk right back out of here," Lucien said, fingers grazing the edges of his weapon. As if he'd summoned her, Helsie came skidding to a stop at his heels.

"Nice eyes, Vivica," Helsie barked from behind him with as much sarcasm as she could muster. "Already regretting your life choices?"

Vivica gave a haughty laugh. "Not at all," she retorted. "The gray just matches my new complexion so much better, don't you think?"

"I should kill you, you self-centered, sadistic bitch," Helsie snapped back.

"Nobody's killing anybody," Lucien loudly interrupted. The chain was now wound tightly in his fist. Vivica noticed, those fake gray eyes darting rapidly back and forth between it and the weapon Lucien assumed Helsie was already holding behind him. "Now here's what's going to happen. Helsie and I are going to back up slowly, towards the door..."

"We're what?!?! Helsie shrieked. "Oh come on, Lucien, we can take her..."

"We're not 'taking' anybody, Helsie. Nobody is getting hurt here. We're leaving. Now."

"Unfortunately, I can't let that happen," Vivica said. Lucien could've sworn that it was regret in her voice as he came to the heart-rending realization that they would, indeed, have to fight their way out. He'd never been particularly close with Vivica, but the idea of physically harming her settled no better in his gut than if he were about to face one of his own. In a way, she had been a victim too - swayed entirely too young to make a decision of which she couldn't have possibly understood all the consequences. Still, left with no other choice, Lucien pulled the chain free from his belt and began swinging the three-pronged star in long, arcing circles at his side.

He didn't want this. None of them did, evidenced by the fact that nobody had yet to make the first move. He used the brief delay to quickly assess his surroundings, looking for anything that might give them an advantage, but the tall, sturdy bookshelves looming on either side of them didn't offer much in the way of hope. Maybe, if he could break one of the globes sheltering the torches on the wall behind him, a fire might be enough of a distraction to buy them some time...

His thoughts of the flame suddenly made him aware of just how cold the air had turned around them. And the temperature seemed to be steadily dropping, so much so that he could see his breath when he next spoke. "What's going on?" he anxiously asked, the words turning to an icy cloud the moment they left his lips. The back of his neck prickled as his hair stood on end in warning.

As if in answer, a frigid breeze blew past them with enough force that the torches flickered for a few moments within their protective globes, before the angry, bitter wind extinguished them completely. They were left in utter darkness, the cold creeping into Lucien's bones as though he'd already been left to rot in his tomb.