My mouth falls open and my face goes pale. The man who's captured me is eating human meat?

His serious expression breaks into a laugh, and he almost falls back in the sand.

After recovering from his moment of joy, he eats the last piece, leaving the pouch empty.

I force a small smile and avert my eyes. It's a joke. He's just messing with me, conjuring up a fun excuse to not have to share the food. I'm sure he derived great joy seeing the look of terror on my face, as if he hasn't scared me enough already. I should've known that it was a trick. He's an asshole.

He retrieves a large leather cylinder from his bag and unrolls it on the sand. It's a sleeping pouch. He climbs inside and turns his back to me.

I stretch out my feet, but the fire is too far away. If I could reach a lit branch, it could burn through my tether.

There's no way out, at least not yet. I should save my energy and get some rest.

I nudge the sand around with my legs to make a little furrow that hugs me on either side.

Minutes pass, but sleep evades me despite my exhaustion. It's not very comfortable. I can't even use my arm as a pillow, and my skin stings wherever it's in contact with the rope.

"Please untie me... so I can sleep," I ask.

He remains still.

I push myself up. "The ropes are tight, and I'll be too tired to walk if I can't rest."

"They prohibit you from slipping away," he says without turning his head.

"Maybe just the rope around my waist? It's pinching my middle, and I can't escape if my hands are still tied."

Nothing.

I need to find something to bargain with, but all I've got left are the clothes on my back. My eyes scan the shore for something of value. Hey, my brother enjoys hearing me sing. "I'll sing a song for you in return."

I don't care if it's embarrassing. It'll be worth it to get rid of the aching in my abdomen, and this is all I can offer him. I clear my throat and take a deep breath. "A storm is loosed upon the-"

"Do you wish to be gagged again?" he interrupts.

I shrink back into myself and don't answer, afraid of that wretched cloth being shoved back in my mouth.

I curl my legs up to my chest and rest my head on my knees. There's a small beetle walking across the mound of sand. The fire reflects off it's shiny shell, making it sparkle. It crests the mound and wanders towards the lake. Soon it's out of my reach. Even that little creature has more freedom than me. It's silly to be envious of a bug, but it takes my mind off my aching stomach.

The vampire rises to his feet, and I nudge away. He towers over me. Did I do something wrong? I was sitting still?

He reaches out, and I shut my eyes and tuck in my head. He pushes my knees down and fidgets with the knot. The rope around my waist falls away. It feels just as uncomfortable coming off as it did going on, but relief follows right after.

"No more whining," he says.

I nod, and he returns to his pouch.

I maneuver my tied hands to nudge up the hem of the shirt. There's a red rope pattern imprinted across my stomach and over my belly button, but at least there's no bruising.

The rope around my wrists is still tethered to the tree branch, so I lay down again and try to make myself comfortable. The fire helps, but the cold air still nips at my exposed skin. All I've got is a pair of long pants, a short-sleeve shirt and cheap leather shoes. My coat was left back at the barn.

The vampires head rests on white fluffy wool. The whole sleeping pouch must be lined with it. It looks warm and cozy. I shut my eyes and pretend I'm somewhere else - camping with my brother, Jacob.

* * * * * * * *

I watch the sunrise from my nook in the sand. It's already morning, and I barely got any sleep thanks to the cold.

A splash of freezing water hits my skin. I squeal and jump upright. The vampire has an empty jug in his hand.

"I was awake," I spit.

"And now you're energized. Get up. We depart soon."

He packs away the jug and rolls up his sleeping pouch.

I need to pee. It takes a minute to get on my feet with stiff muscles and tied hands. This wretched rope leashes me so I'm never more than a few yards from the tree, which is right in his line of sight.

"Untie me. I need to pee."

"I don't see how those two are related, human."

"My name's not human, it's Julia, and I need privacy."

"Then I'm afraid you'll find the rest of this journey rather uncomfortable."

I shoot him a dirty look, but he's too busy fiddling with his alchemy potions to notice.

I can't hold it much longer, and asking him to stop traveling later would be even more embarrassing. He seems rather preoccupied with whatever he's fiddling with in his bag, so I take the opportunity and scurry behind the tree. I retie my belt at the back where it's easier to reach.

My head pokes around the trunk. He's waiting on the shore.

"Sit," he orders, patting the sand between his legs.

I gulp. "I'm happy here."

"Do not force my hand."

I don't want to be that close to him. Weighing my options in my head, the look on his face says he's not kidding, and I'm still leashed. I have to listen, fighting him here will just get me hurt.

I cautiously approach, not taking my eyes off him, and take a seat between his feet, as far from him as possible while still appearing as if I'm obeying his instructions.

He leans forward, pressing his torso against my bound arms. His hands creep around my middle, and I stiffen.

"What are you doing?" I blurt out.

His big arms wrap around my chest, and their weight rests on my small frame.

"No, no, no. I haven't done anything wrong," I cry, shaking. His arms are like stone. I'm tied up, I'm trapped, and I don't know what's happening.

He blows my hair off my shoulder and sniffs my skin. My heart falls into my stomach. I open my mouth to protest, but before I get a word out, his teeth sink into my flesh.

I shriek from the pain. It's like a blade is being wedged into my neck. I try push away from him, but his arms don't let me move an inch.

"Please stop, please." I can't take this again.

He keeps drinking, and I can feel the blood flowing from my body. My breathing quickens, and my heart beats like I've run a mile.

"Please." I hate this. I hate that I'm so weak that he can draw the life from my body as he pleases.

It takes a good few minutes before he's had his fill. He removes his teeth and pinches the skin near the bite. I sit still, feeling defeated.

He fetches a jug of water from the lake and presses it to my lips. I open my mouth, but his impatient pouring leads to half of it going down my shirt.

He removes the rope from the tree and ties it around my waist like before. It's still tight, but not as bad.

The bag is secured to my back, then his hands shoot under my arms and yank me upright.

"You don't have to be so rough," I grumble.

"I'll consider your suggestion." He jerks the rope, almost causing me to lose my balance.

* * * * * * * *

I didn't walk like this when fleeing with Neil and his companions. We'd take breaks, search for fruit and hunt animals, whereas the man ahead of me marches on and on, unrelenting.

Just thinking about food makes my stomach rumble. My gaze lands back on him. He doesn't look the slightest bit tired. He really isn't human.

I hurry up to walk alongside him. "What's your name?" I ask.

He doesn't spare me a glance.

"I told you mine – it's Julia. Aren't you going to tell me yours?"

"You may address me as Master," he says.

"I am no slave."

"And I suppose the rope binding your wrists is the latest fashion?"

"I may be your captive, but I am not your slave," I spit.

"Relax, human. I won't be needing a slave for very much longer."

I perk up. "You're going to let me go?"

He keeps his eyes forward.

"When will-"

"I gather that you weren't known among your crummy village for your intellect."

My heart sinks. He's going to auction me off? Or worse – kill me? Why would he do such a thing instead of just letting me go? I won't see him again either way, but he could take my life just for his own entertainment.

"Does tearing others down help you feel better about your moral shortcomings?" I grumble.

"You know nothing about me, human."

"And you know nothing about me either. You dismiss me and my home without taking a minute to understand it."

"If your home was so great, then why were you sleeping in a barn?" he mocks.

"Because of monsters like you."

He grabs my chin and forces my head up.

"Mind your tongue, human." His hand is so tight it makes my jaw ache. "There will not be another warning."

I quickly nod the best I can under his grip, and he shoves my head away. I need to escape – soon.

An hour passes without us saying a word to one another. That suits him fine. He knows where we're going, and I'm the one lacking in information. It couldn't hurt to ask a harmless question, right? He only seems to mind when I call him out. I take a deep breath and build up my courage.

"Where are we going?"

"North," he grunts.

I can see the sun too. "Anywhere north in particular?"

"That is not of your concern."

Dead end. Maybe I should lead in with a more casual question? I rack my mind trying to think of what to ask. He's a vampire, and I've never spoken to one before. This week was the first time I even laid eyes on one of them, and that was from a long distance, though I do wish I could've remained ignorant.

I settle on a question I've had since I was a child. "Is it true that vampires don't like garlic?"

"Why would we eat a plant?" he says as if I'm a fool.

"You don't eat any?"

"No. Do humans?" He points at the ground. "Does that grass look appetizing to you?"

I ignore his question figuring that he's just making fun of me. "Then what do you eat?"

"Do you believe I bit you this morning for my own amusement?" He glances back at me with a smirk, and I shudder. I twist my neck trying to get a glimpse of the bite mark, but it's to no avail. That puts a sharp end to our conversation, killing my initial enthusiasm.

The sun is setting, and we're heading straight for an oak forest.

"It's almost dark. Aren't we going to set up camp?" I ask. I'm also thirsty, and the water skin in the bag on my back has been taunting me for the last hour.

"No," he says.

"We can't go through the forest at night. The scarlet wolves will make a meal of us."

"Right." He doesn't slow down.

"I'm serious. I've lived here my whole life. They're not like normal wolves. They're vicious. You can't scare them off, and standing your ground doesn't help."

We pass through the tree line, and I pull against him, angling myself against the rope to make as much resistance as possible. "You're going to get us killed!"

He wraps the rope around his hand and gives it a hard tug. I'm jerked off my feet and land on my side.

I let out a groan from the impact. He keeps pulling, dragging me deeper into the forest.