The thick crowd cooed with wonder and awe at the light show on Fremont Street. Brilliant colors flashed overhead and the music seemed to vibrate the sidewalk as we struggled to inch through the never-ending blanket of live bodies toward the novelty shop Stevenson’s note directed us to.“It is a novelty shop on the next block,” Shen called over his shoulder while pushing through the unyielding crowd. He took a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure he didn’t lose me.“I’m right behind ya,” I called back.I groaned when a woman turned swiftly to address her companion and the enormous tote bag she carried slammed into my ribs. I wondered how she could bear the weight of it. Its impact gave the impression it was filled with lumps of iron.Although it was evening, the desert air was still too warm for my northeastern standards. Beads of sweat coated my forehead and neck as I persistently nudged my way to keep up w

 I lay sleeping in the fetal position on the damp earthen floor of my cell as a hazy light filtered through the small windows. The clanking of heavy metal as a pair of large hairy hands unlocked the cage door brought me quickly to the alert.My eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness and I was able to see a fair bit of my surroundings. I rose up slowly, staring in disbelief as an enormous man-wolf-like creature reached down and put both of his hairy hands under my arms. He picked me up off my feet as if I was nothing more than a rag doll and held me dangling in the air. Without warning, the creature slammed me down so hard I was sure my feet were going to be repositioned above my head. I was given only a brief moment of reprieve to catch my balance before I was pushed out of the cage.Puffs of dank dust swirled around my head as I stumbled and landed on the dungeon floor. I was grateful for my martial arts training and my understanding of going with the motion i

 Stripped of my shirt and shoes, I paced the eighteenth century styled bedroom. After struggling with the locked door in hopes of escaping, I was evaluating the possibilities of what was on the other side of the tightly sealed and darkened glass windows.They’d tossed me into the room and locked the door about an hour earlier. My muscles and joints were still stiff from the time spent in a cell with nothing to separate me from the harshness of the dank earthen floor. Without having contact with the outer world, and my worldly possessions stripped from me, time became an illusion. I could only guess how long it was since Shen and I were captured and separated. By the rumbling of my empty stomach, I surmised I’d missed more than one meal.I wondered what had happened to Shen.From Dumitru’s sneering remarks, I was fairly positive he was still alive, but where was he being held? Was he somewhere in this hell hole? He had to be.The gua

 Shen and Dao-Ming lay together in satiated silence. He’d just finished making love to her once again. His frustration over their situation swelled within him, but his frustration at his inability to subdue his own carnal needs overshadowed all else. He’d always been able to control his wants and desires. His whole life’s training was focused on control. Now he was no more than an animal rutting repeatedly throughout the day. What made it worse was that it was a function that he was ordered to perform for the ‘Master’. He and Dao-Ming were little more than the pigs they kept out in the yard.Shen rolled off the bed and walked to the basin. There were no mirrors in the room, so he did his best to wash up and groom myself without the visual assistance he’d taken for granted all of his life. He’d noticed that the hollows in Dao-Ming’s eyes were worsening and he wondered if the same was happening to him. He didn’t feel ri

 I reflected on our decision as I stood in front of the mirror inspecting the marks on my neck. It was the only thing we could think of to fool the guards and make them believe Mei-Lien had finally fed. With great deliberation, she’d taken a strand of her silky hair and measured the width between her fangs. Then she carefully took a steak knife that fell off the tray when the guard removed my dishes. She positioned the strand of hair on my neck and she punctured my skin to look like her fangs had penetrated. After which, she dabbed my blood on the corner of her mouth and fought the urge to lick it.“The urge in me is strong. I am changing. Soon it will be too late,” Mei-Lien moaned in frustration.She dreaded becoming like Wadim and was fighting it as hard as she could. Soon she’d no longer have control over her body and she’d give in to the desires and ways of the vampire.“Do you want to become one of them?” I ask