Page 63 of Inhuman Nature
“Take him through, Boris,” Lynette said.
Shaun expected to be thrown over a shoulder, but Boris and another of Lynette’s ever-present creations grabbed anarm each and frogmarched him instead. They moved so fast that his feet fell out from under him, his toes dragging against the ground.
When they deposited him in a room that resembled the fake dungeons that existed downstairs, he thought for a second that they’d brought him to one of the private play rooms. He was disabused of that notion, however, when he more closely examined an authentic-looking medieval torture implement and figured it might be the genuine article.
“I think you’ve got me confused with somebody else,” he started to explain, but Lynette strode in and advanced on him.
“Your creator told us,” she said.
Shaun shook his head. “What? I—”
Lynette was in front of him before he knew it, a hand fisted in his sweatshirt. “He told us what you did to Julia.”
Shaun stared blankly at Lynette for a second, before realising that Julia had to be the woman Lawrence had taken.
Lynette’s voice broke ever-so-slightly as she continued, betraying her emotions. “How dare you set foot in this place? She almost died.”
“He was the one who did it, not me!” Shaun exclaimed.
“I didn’t just take his word for it. I visited Julia in the hospital, where I smelled your blood and scent all over her. Did you forget that I’ve tasted you before, Shaun? I recognised your blood from a mile away.”
Shaun raised his hands. “That doesn’t prove I attacked her!”
“You’re right,” Lynette admitted, fangs out and teeth bared in a snarl. “That doesn’t prove it alone. But Weston showed her a picture of you. She recognised your face from her attack.”
Shaun was stunned into silence. His mind raced, trying to understand how Lawrence had convinced Lynette with such ease thathewas the one behind it all.
“I’m not feral, and I would never try to drain a human,” Shaun said, trying to keep calm. “Lawrence brought her to the house. He tried to compel me to kill her!”
“Well, there’s just another lie,” Lynette said. “Creators can only compel their creations for the first few years when you’re more volatile.”
Shaun frowned. “But—”
Lynette pushed him, sending him flying into the wall. His back cracked as something broke. He lay on the floor where he fell, unmoving, as his body tried to heal whatever had just snapped. Lynette’s creations didn’t give him a chance, picking him up and dragging him back over to Lynette as he tried not to react to the pain.
At least his time with Lawrence had taught him how to stay quiet when all you wanted to do was scream.
“You will face judgement for attacking my human,” Lynette said.
Shaun was too focused on not passing out to form a response. He would have been on the floor if it wasn’t for the other vampires keeping him upright.
“Julia was going to be my next creation. Thanks to you, she’s now terrified of our kind. I let you and your Master come here to my city, and you repay me by breaking our laws? I wasn’t ready to reveal myself to her and now you’ve forced me to do so!” She finished with a vicious slap to Shaun’s face that left him reeling. “Fuck,” she swore. “I’m not usually this kind of vampire. But you have betrayed me in the mostheinous of ways.”
One of her creations mumbled something about the punishment being justified. But Shaun now understood why Lynette had believed Lawrence. She cared for Julia in the same way that Shaun cared for Rake and DJ. No doubt Lynette wasn’t able to think rationally when it came to Julia.
But now, with Shaun here, Rake and DJ were the ones vulnerable to Lawrence. He had to reason with her. “Please,” he said. “Please, you have to believe me when I say that Lawrence is dangerous.”
“I saw the evidence of your attack around Weston’s neck. You could have killed him.”
“It was in self-defence. He’d been torturing me for days!” Years, if he was more accurate. But if she wouldn’t believe him about the situation now, there was no chance she’d believe that either.
Lynette laughed mirthlessly. “Part of me wishes to deal with you right now. But I won’t pass sentence until you’ve received your due,” she said. “You will remain here and imagine what your fate may be in the meantime. Lock him up.” With that, she left the room.
“You don’t have to—” Shaun’s protests were ignored as Boris dragged him over to a small metal cage in the corner of the room. Shaun made a few half-hearted attempts at a struggle, which only sent spasms of pain through his back. He worried it might be broken. Healing wouldn’t be an easy task.
Boris made short work of stuffing him into the cage. For once, Shaun was glad of his small stature. It gave him the slightest bit of free movement in the tiny space.
He could hardly believe it when Boris locked the cage,switched off the light, and left. Being alone in the dark wasn’t an unfamiliar experience for Shaun, but he hadn’t been expecting to have it happen to him here.