Stolen-Kindle1 (3 page)

“I’m so sorry, Pam. I swear, if I would have foreseen any of this…”

Pam sighed. What was the point? Though she was upset, she knew there was no reason to make Ally feel any guiltier about their circumstances. Shit happens, and now they needed to figure out what to do next. A problem cannot be resolved if one continues to procrastinate at finding its solution.

“No, it’s okay, Ally. Honestly, I’ve been so worried about you. We both were. I’m just relieved that you’re alive and well.” Pam pressed on. “After we left Flambé, Trish and I searched up and down the streets for you. After an hour, we were finally going to give up, when, out of the blue, a car pulled up right beside us. I never saw this type of vehicle before, so I thought it could be someone who needed directions. As the rear window pulled down, there you were sitting and smiling up at us.”

Ally frowned. “What? That’s impossible.”

“Yeah, we know that
now
. The fake you asked us to hop in, that you wanted to give us a ride back home. We asked who did the car belonged to, and you simply shrugged.”

“I admit this was probably the first sign we missed.” Trish added.

“At any rate, it was too late. Once the imposter opened the door and we stepped in, there was no way we could have escaped. It was so weird, Ally. I had the same feeling of discomfort that I had for that guy you liked.” She informed.

Ally moved away from their cell. Could they now feel the discomfort from her? “That guy I liked is named Benedict.”

“Well, whatever. By the time Trish and I knew something was off, the doors locked and the fake you transformed into Moira. We tried desperately to get out, but the car sped away and oddly enough, we started to drift into sleep. I think she was chanting a spell but I’m not so sure… Once we came to, we knew Moira was off to get you.”

For a moment, the girls were silent in the small room. Ally wondered if Pam and Trish knew the
real
reason as to why they were lock inside of here. Did Moira tell them that Ally unintentionally stole her fiancée? No, that would have definitely been their first question.

Ally sat back down on the cold floor. Gosh, this was a mess. She needed to figure out a safe way to get her friends out of here. But, how? Would she be able to negotiate their release with Moira?

“Ally?” Pam asked.

“Yes?”

“I didn’t want to bring this up, but I thought that you should know that this Moira chick isn’t well. Bluntly speaking, she’s downright
crazy
.” Pam laughed. “Do you know what she told us? That woman actually believes she is a vampire! Crazy, right?”

Ally only groaned in reply.

CHAPTER
THREE

November 1st

6:16 AM

G
reat, just great, Ally thought to herself. Moira told her friends that she was a vampire. Ally wanted to be the one to inform her friends of the reality of things. Of what Ben was and what she was turning out to be. She wanted to state to Pam and Trish that things were getting quite weird in their small city, and that it would be in their best interest if they could keep a very open mind.

Yet, Moira had beaten her to it. Her friends already thought that their abductor was crazy. Pam and Trish would never believe in vampires! Gosh, how was Ally to explain what was really going on? Hell, Ally barely believed it herself!

Sitting in her cold cell, her costume torn in numerous places, she realized that Moira must have been stalking Ben ever since he postponed their nuptials. Obviously, Moira was aware that he must have been more aggressive in his search for his mate. Determined, she would not have let any human stand in her way. As soon as Moira learnt that Ally was indeed Ben’s mate, she laid her trap and kidnapped her.

Ally cursed herself for being on that stupid balcony. Why did she felt the need to leave Benedict’s side? He told her that she was in danger. Wouldn’t that proclamation be enough to keep her near Ben? Still, even if she stayed beside him, and was never taken away, Moira would still have held Pam and Trish as hostages. Why did she have to abduct her friends? Wasn’t this creepy dungeon with its iron shackles enough? But, Ally knew the answer to that question. It wasn’t. Ally would have found any and every way possible to escape. She would have been damned to allow Moira to marry Benedict; to have their marriage officiate by the high councils. But, what now? What was she to do about her friends?

Ally smiled weakly to herself. That bitch knew exactly how to keep her in check. Though her chains and shackles would never have been enough to prevent Ally from trying to flee out of this prison, the lives of her friends undeniably were. The stakes were too high. She could not imagine risking their livelihoods.

Trish became restless under Ally’s silence. She assumed that Pam’s “vampire” comment pushed Ally to the edge. Gosh, why were they here? Who exactly was Moira? Trish asked herself these questions over and over again. It made no sense; it was as if Moira had a vendetta against them. But, a vendetta over what?

“Ally, are you ok? You’ve been pretty quiet.” Trish asked.

“Yeah, Ally, don’t be afraid. Moira is not really a vamp... just a lunatic,” Pam added, nervous that she might have upset Ally with her news. Trish glared at her. As if, Moira being a lunatic was any better! Good grief!

“Are you
sure
, Pam? Look, I don’t know what she is or isn’t, but how do you suppose she was able to transform herself?” Trish asked.

Pam was visibly shocked. “So being a vampire is the logical reason?”

“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it. What other explanation can it be?”

“Ever heard of David Copperfield? He could fly, you know.”

“What?! So it makes logical sense to assume that Moira is a magician?” Trish demanded.

“I’ll take magician over a vampire any day of the week!” Pam retorted.

As the two bicker over the plausible reason as to what Moira was, Ally realized that now would be a good time to set both of them straight. Things were only about to get weirder, and she should take this opportunity to explain what was going on before Moira showed her face. Or, before Ally was completely transformed…

Looking down at her wrist, Ally gazed at her punctured wounds. The small red dots glowed on her delicate pale skin.

God, Ben, where are you? Ally was disturbed how much she missed and needed him. Would she ever see him again? How long had she been apart from him?

For god’s sake, get a grip, Ally! She chastised herself. She was no damsel in distress and she knew how to take care of herself. She just needed a game plan. Wallowing and wishing would get her nowhere. Her friends depended on her and so did Ben.

“Would you two quiet down?” Ally yelled.

The room fell silent. Ally was not used to yelling at her friends, but now it was time for action. They needed to be united against Moira. Bickering was futile.

“Ok, you two are going to listen to me. We are in grave danger. I mean it! We are in deep shit.”

“Okay…How so?” Pam asked.

“Because Moira IS a vampire!”

“What! Ally, vampires do not exist! It’s Halloween for crying out loud! It’s a stupid costume!” Pam exclaimed.

“No, Pam, you’re wrong. She is a full-fledge vampire! They exist, I can assure you.”

“How can you be so sure?” Pam demanded.

“Because Benedict is one as well.”

Both girls gasp immediately upon hearing this. So far, this was not exactly how Ally planned to tell her friends about her new love. She was hoping that she would have had more time, and preferably not within the walls of a prison. Everything turned so sour.

“I knew it!” Pam exclaimed. “Didn’t I tell you that something was off with him?”

“God, Pam, he’s a good guy. Forget all the crap that we read in books or saw in movies. It’s all lies!”

“Oh, really? Then what the fuck are we doing here?!”

Ally was taken aback. Shit, did Pam really just cuss her off? Ok, things were totally getting out of control. Ally pondered how to get things back on a better foot.

“Girls, he isn’t the reason why we’re locked here. Moira is the one who imprisoned us.”

“Whatever, Ally. This is getting all too weird for me. You’re probably just mistaken... or drunk out of your mind.” Pam replied sourly.

“No, I was not drunk or have I mistaken anything. Newsflash: you two had better start believing me and listening to what I’m telling you. Things are only going to get worst before we can get ourselves out of this mess.”

Again, all three were quiet. Pam and Trish just received a wallop of information, and right now, it was time for an intermission. Ally decided to give them a few minutes to digest what they just learnt.

Whether they believed her or not, Ally had to come up with a plan. She needed to know just how much time she had. Being locked where she was, did not give her any indication of time. It could have been a full 24 hours since she was knocked out. Perhaps more. Where was Moira? Why hasn’t she come yet? Was she with Benedict? The idea of her with Ben, beside him, talking to him, made Ally grit her teeth.

“Well, I, for one, will consider what you said, Ally.” Trish replied.

Thank God, Ally thought.

Pam cleared her throat. “Ok, let’s say I’ll entertain this crazy notion. If Moira is a vampire, then what does she want with us?”

“Well, if you think they are going to drink our blood, than you’re wrong.” Ally replied.

Both girls sighed in relief. Apparently, this was exactly what they were thinking.

“So, do you think we’ll make it out alive?” Pam asked.

“Yes.” Ally returned. “In short, Moira locked us here so she could marry Ben without any interference from me. I assume she threw you two in the mix as collateral. With both of you here, I dare not do anything foolish.”

“Let me get this straight.” Pam said. “The only reason we’re locked in here is to prevent Moira’s marriage from getting annulled?”

“Yeah.”

“And once Moira and Benedict are married, we’ll be freed?” Pam asked.

“I can’t see why not.” Ally said.

Pam and Trish stared at one another and squealed excitedly!

“Oh, thank goodness! I thought we were goners!” Trish exclaimed happily.