“What do you remember about your time there?” Vlad asked softly.
Vee pursed his lips in disgust. “You make it sound like I was there on holiday.”
Damyr unfolded his arms and crossed over to sit in the armchair next to me. The guy was intimidating to most people at the best of times. He looked lethal, dressed well and scowled like he’d learnt it from the Devil. He also exuded power and confidence. I could feel the threat in his stature, the power of his vampire nature bold and unapologetic. It never bothered me, but I’d seen people cowering from him when he let loose the beast inside him. It was quite spectacular to watch, really.
“You’re not going to let me walk out of here without telling you what I know, are you?” the wendigo sighed.
“Nope,” I said, popping the ‘p’.
Vlad kicked my foot, knocking it off my knee. “Don’t be a dick.”
I flicked my middle finger up at him, but he turned his attention back to the wendigo.
Asshat.
“You’re not a prisoner here, Vee, but we would like to know about the creatures in that house and why they were holding you.” Vlad turned his body towards Vee, keeping his movements slow and his body language open. It was amazing how someone so big could make themselves look harmless. I still hadn’t worked out if that was impressive or reckless.
Vee ran his hands down his face and took a deep breath, letting it out in a rush. “Okay, so I’m from this tiny little town in north America—”
“You don’t sound American,” I cut in.
“Because I’m not, and don’t interrupt, it’s rude. Didn’t anyone ever teach you manners?” Vee narrowed his eyes at me and stared deep into mine for a long moment.
I wasn’t going to be the first to look away. “Friendly word of advice, you probably shouldn’t wind up the psychopath.”
Vee swallowed and a rosy-pink blush bloomed across his cheeks. “Well, don’t piss me off or I’ll eat you and all that will be left of you is your hair.”
I held his stare for another moment longer before barking out a laugh. “Just my hair?”
“Yes, it gives me hair balls that I have to cough up and that’s usually back when I’m in human form,” Vee explained. “It’s very unpleasant.”
Well, that was a grim image.
“Makes sense,” Vlad mused. “But please, carry on. I’m sure Byron won’t interrupt again.”
I held my hands up and sat back in my chair. I had to admit, my curiosity was piqued, but I still hoped it was a short story. I had somewhere else to be and a witch to play with.
“Okay, so I’m originally from Manchester, but my parents moved me out to America when I started showing signs of turning. My mum was a religious fanatic and a bit cuckoo but there’s too much there to unpack and I’ve put all that emotional baggage in a locked box I refuse to open. My father was too much of a coward to stand up to her and so we all went to America seeking answers as to why God had cursed her with a son like me.” Vee kept his eyes on the floor as he spoke, and his eyes had a glassiness to them as he lost himself in his memories. His mouth bobbed open and closed a few times before he took another deep breath, blowing out a very shaky exhale.
Vlad wrapped a hand around Vee’s and gave it a quick squeeze. “Take your time.”
Interesting that the wendigo didn’t flinch when Vlad touched him…
Vee nodded before brushing his hand over his mouth. “Three years ago, when I turned twenty-one, I completely changed for the first time and it was… well, I don’t really remember it. I woke up surrounded by pieces of bone and lots of blood. My mum found me and started screaming all this shit from the bible. Next thing I knew, I was strapped to a table with some priest performing an exorcism and I blacked out again. When I awoke, they were all dead but my wendigo had left my mother’s head on a silver platter so that I knew he’d killed her for me. Since then, I’ve been on the run. I’d tried to find other wendigos, but I never found any. I heard about Misthaven and thought I’d find solace here, but I put my trust in the wrong person and ended up in that shitty room, being fed just enough scraps to keep me alive but not enough to keep me healthy.”
The room was silent when he’d finished and it was clear he felt a little awkward. His eyes were downcast, and he buried his hands in the pocket of his hoodie.
“I’m sorry you had to go through all of that,” Vlad said, his voice quiet. He gazed at Vee with a look in his eye I couldn’t quite pin down. Fascination maybe, or infatuation?
“Well, it is what it is,” Vee replied, brushing his life’s story off as if it were nothing. “But to answer your earlier question about the people holding me, I don’t really remember much. I was too weak to really pay attention, and I was always in that room. The only person I saw was my guard.”
Damyr sighed, disappointed he wasn’t going to get anything useful.
“You didn’t hear anything? See or smell anything?” I asked, hoping to get something useful out of this. Otherwise, what was the fucking point of me being here?
Vee turned his head to one side and gnawed on his bottom lip. “Sometimes there was the faintest scent of something sweet and syrupy. It always reminded me of the fairground because it was like—”
“Candy apples,” I hissed, cutting in. That goddamn fucking asshole.