Dissension

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Not a word was exchanged between Mira and her handlers as they exited the arena and headed down through the lower levels toward the prison. Only the sound of their bootsteps on the smooth concrete broke the silence. Not that Mira had anything to say to the pair of humans who ushered her back and forth from the arena to her cell, but it would be nice if occasionally she was treated as something more than an unwanted creature whose usefulness had ended the moment she dealt her final blow in the arena.

The silence ended as they passed through a set of thick metal doors. The light beyond dimmed, but the echoes of agony through the corridors became intensely vivid. Deep within the underground, where no sunlight could reach, was where the vampires were kept. Dark and dank, scented with the foul odor of unwashed bodies, blood, and mold, this was the place Mira called home, the only place she’d known for the last thirty years. She was lucky to have lived that long. Countless other vampires had come and gone before her, and many more had been slain at the point of her own teeth. The gladiator’s life was all she knew now. Occasionally there were vague remembrances of what life had been like before her capture, but almost her entire vampire existence had been down in these dirty cells.

Fed only with the blood of other unwanted vermin, the humans had practically starved Mira and her kind to the point of savagery. It not only served to keep her kind more eager to fight in the arena, but also reinforced the image of their savagery in the human population’s mind.

Rounding one dark corridor and heading down another equally gloomy one, the trio traveled further into the murky underbelly of the arena. Mournful howls and agonizing screams grated on Mira’s nerves as they passed by the Hall of Punishment. Vampires who failed in battle but had not been killed were made to suffer unthinkable tortures at the hands of their human owners. Mira had unfortunately seen the inside of that hall on more than one occasion. If vampires could scar, she’d be unrecognizably disfigured from her time within those walls. Her punishments, rather than for failure in battle, had been ordered as attempts to break her spirit. No one, neither her handlers nor her Owner, had any affection for Mira. Free-spirited, uncooperative, and cocky as she was, Mira had not broken. Not once. No matter what vile punishments they’d thrown at her. As long as she was imprisoned in Iron Gate, she had one thought and one thought only... freedom. She’d have it someday, no matter how long it took. But though she loathed the arena and the life she had to lead, she knew that staying alive was the only way to get that freedom she so desired. And to do that, she had to remain a winner in the arena. It was the only reason she was still alive, despite her many attempts at escape and even more episodes of bad behavior. She knew as long as she kept winning, and earning her Owner lots of prize money, she’d be safe from final death.

They passed through a large corridor of prison cells before finally reaching Mira’s, a small six-by-eight-foot cage of silver-coated steel bars with an automatically locking doorway. Her door, marked number 8254-A, was locked via an electronic keypad. Mira casually glanced over, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, as they entered the ten-digit access code on the keypad. 753951...

The butt of a UV torch connected with the back of her head. A lightning fast jolt of pain had Mira hissing through gritted teeth.

“Eyes forward, slave,” the female handler ordered.

Instinct more than anger drove Mira to turn on her handler. The fresh throbbing in her head mixed with frantic energy from her recent feed. Mira snarled, fangs bared, ready to strike, and advanced on the female handler.

Gone was the stony expression on the human woman’s face. Fear widened her eyes. Realization. Complete understanding of what a vampire is capable of, especially a formidable arena gladiator who’d just fed...

“Stand down, vampire.” The human woman tried to put authority into her voice, but her fear was clear, and Mira wasn’t in the mood to take orders.

With little effort, Mira snapped apart the silver shackles and grabbed hold of her handler’s neck. Ready to squeeze the human woman like a bug, Mira tightened her grip, choking off the handler’s air supply as she forced her backwards onto the silver-coated cell bars.

Alarms sounded all around her. The other handler turned on his UV light and shined it in Mira’s face. She closed her eyes against the sting but refused to let go. Fangs still bared, she bit blindly at her handler, enjoying the terrified screams, savoring the delicious tremors running through the human’s weak body.

An army of heavy-footed steps flooded the corridor. More handlers were arriving. Mira had shaken up the hornets’ nest this time. The taste of the handler’s fresh blood would not be worth the punishment they’d deliver if she killed the human. Just as she was ready to release her prey, the entire cell block flooded with light. In a fraction of a second, Mira’s skin felt as if it had gone up in flames. She, however, was not the only one to suffer. Other vampires peacefully lounging in their cells began to howl in pain as the dreadful light filled every inch of space.

Her whole body on fire, Mira released her prey and balled herself up, trying to hide in the small shadows created by those standing around her.

Something hard connected with Mira’s head. She blacked out for the briefest of moments, which was all the humans needed to shove her into her cell and slam the door shut. Once secured, the lights went out and an eerie silence replaced the previous chaos.

“Try that again, you f*****g leech, and we’ll see you staked out in the morning sun,” the male handler spat at her. He held tight to his compatriot, inspecting her Kevlar suit for any signs of damage.

Skin crispy, flaking off of her body, there wasn’t an inch of Mira that didn’t hurt; yet still she managed to laugh. “Come in here and say that, big man.”

The male handler, having finished his once-over of his partner, turned his UV torch on Mira in response.

Already at the limits of what she could feel, Mira continued to laugh through the burning blast of light.

“She’s f*****g crazy,” the female handler yelled over Mira’s cackling laughter.

The male handler nodded stiffly and clicked off his torch. “What do you expect, she’s a leech.”

“Yeah, because humans are so sane,” Mira retorted. Though she tried to sound cocky, she couldn’t hide the edge of pain in her voice. There was not an inch of her body that was not raw and angry at that moment.

“Don’t let her taunt you. File an incident report on that crazy leech, and she’ll get what’s coming to her.” The voices trailed off.

Mira stared up at the ceiling. The coolness of the concrete floor was a small comfort to her searing skin. Her wounds were already beginning to heal, thanks to the blood she’d been able to drink in battle, but Mira knew that was the last she’d taste for a while. No doubt the handlers would report her to her Owner, and she’d be given some archaic punishment for her crimes. Even in their heyday, vampires had never been as cruel as the humans now were to them. Some deserved death, sure, but the rest just wanted to live their eternity in comfort and peace.

“Good job, Mira,” George, a male vampire in the adjacent cell groaned. “Did we all need to suffer for your midnight snack?”

Mira huffed in frustration, at war with herself over what she’d just done. Part of her felt guilty for what the other vampires had endured because of her actions, but another part was not going to stand by idly while the humans attacked her for no reason. “You’re just jealous because you don’t have the balls to try it yourself.”

“I’m not that stupid.” George’s dark bald head appeared at the bars. Though he sounded angry, none of it showed in his concerned expression. “This is a maximum security facility. There are cameras, monitors, sensors. Face it, honey, we’re stuck in here until the day we die.”

“Well, as I recall, you were the one doing the f*****g last night. You were gone more than five hours.” Her muscles protested every movement, but Mira slowly rolled over on to her stomach and gingerly pushed herself up to her knees. She was healing, but not quickly enough for her liking. “Is it true? Did you get a new Patron?”

“I know how to play the game.” A cocky smile replaced the look of concern. George flashed her his perfectly white, perfectly sharp teeth. Tall, well-built, dark skinned-for a vampire – and that beautiful bald head human women seemed to just adore. That man knew his strengths; he was a handsome devil who flaunted it every chance he got, and it worked wonders. He hadn’t been in the arena for well over a month, too busy with his ever-growing list of admirers. “Yep. Got myself a hot vein and a little free time. Which is more than most of us can hope for.”

“Well, have fun being a human’s play toy,” she grumbled. Jealousy burned in Mira’s gut. She may not have been a traditional beauty, but she was the best fighter in the place, and she’d never attracted a Patron. Fresh blood. Small comforts. The ability to leave your cell, even if it was only to service your Patron. Those were luxuries she’d never been afforded. George was a pretty face, he wasn’t even that great a fighter, and somehow he had managed to get Patrons lining up around the building for a few moments of his service.

“Oh, I will. Beats the punishment you’re about to endure.”

Mira lifted her head just enough to see a pair of expensive heels walking down the way toward her cell. She knew the familiar clip-clop of her Owner’s stilettos. Damn. She’d hoped it would be a little while longer before her Owner had gotten wind of Mira’s disobedience.

Speaking of traditional beauties... her Owner, a former runway model and a pretty little princess in her own right, seethed with anger as she approached the cell. Mira didn’t need to look up to know the deep hazel eyes of Olivia Preston were staring down at her through impossibly long and thick eyelashes. Her perfectly pink lip would be curled upward in a dangerous sneer. Olivia was the worst kind of Owner Mira could have landed: beautiful, spoiled, and self-important. “Stand up, slave. Show your master some respect!”

Respect. The woman didn’t know the meaning of the word. Olivia Preston was well known for treating everyone — vampire and human alike — as if they were her things. Try as she might, Mira could hardly hold back her contempt for the pampered little princess. “The fact that I haven’t attempted to rip your throat out is a show of respect all its own.”

Unaffected by Mira’s threat, Olivia continued to stare down the imprisoned vampire. “If you weren’t such a damn good fighter, I’d have you put down like the dog you are.”

“I should be so lucky.”

Olivia wouldn’t follow through with that threat; Mira knew that, though she could do many worse things. She wouldn’t kill her prize fighter. The money Mira earned her for all the battles she’d won had paid for every piece of expensive clothing she wore, all the way down to her gaudy, gem-encrusted heels.

“I had come here to congratulate you on your win today...”

Mira waited in silence, refusing to look up at her Owner, who was impatiently tapping her heels on the concrete ground. She knew there was nothing at the end of that sentence that she really wanted to hear.

Olivia’s foot came to rest. “...Instead, I get a report you attacked your handler.”

“She threw the first punch.” Mira laughed. “Too bad she couldn’t back it up.” She shouldn’t have said it, but couldn’t hold her tongue.

“This was meant to be your reward.”

Mira had to look up this time to see just what her Owner was holding.

Clutched in her pale pink claws, was a small vial with red liquid inside.

Instinctively, Mira began to salivate. Blood. As much as she enjoyed disrespecting her Owner, this might not have been the best time to do it.

Recognition flashed in Olivia’s hazel eyes. “Yes. Now I have your attention, don’t I?

She dropped the small vial to the ground, where it shattered.

The sweet scent of that crimson liquid wafted up to Mira’s nose. Such a terrible waste. It almost brought a tear to her eyes. If she hadn’t already fed today, she’d probably have licked it off the floor, shards of glass and all. Other vampires in the area had caught wind of the smell too, and they whined and begged for a small taste.

Olivia sneered at Mira. “You need an attitude adjustment. You want to smart off and be disrespectful to me... you’ll pay for it.”

Here it comes: the punishment. There was nothing for her to say; she’d already said enough to piss off her Owner.

“Forty-eight hours in the lightbox. No blood after. Perhaps that will teach you a little respect.” She turned on her heel and stormed away.

“Respect. Ha! I haven’t learned it yet. And you haven’t earned it,” Mira shouted back to her Owner. She was already in for the worst punishment possible – might as well get in a final jab while she could.

“Damn, girl.” George whistled. “Humans do love a tan, but you’re going to be one crispy thing after forty-eight hours.”

Mira had no reply. He spoke the truth. The lightbox was truly the worst kind of punishment a vampire could be given. Intermittent flashes of light just long enough to burn but not long enough to kill. It was with methods like this that the humans had enslaved her kind. One weakness was all they needed to exploit. Humans grossly outnumbered vampires, and with this one weakness, they had brought the vampire nation to its knees.