Bound to You

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” A sing-song female voice said as Johnny had managed to get the chair within a foot of the wall. He looked up to see a woman dressed in sleek black leather, her long, medium brown hair hanging straight, reaching her midback. Her eyes were a light grey-color, her lips tinted crimson red.

He narrowed his exhausted eyes at her before letting out an exasperated sigh. “You expect me to just sit here quietly waiting for you to kill me? There’s a fat chance.” He told her. The woman rolled her eyes and pulled a switchblade knife out of her pocket and sashayed over to him, moving her hips back and forth in what Johnny assumed was supposed to be a sexy manner. She leaned over in front of him, her face only inches away from his as she held up the knife to his face, tracing it along the side of his face gingerly. She scratched him only a little bit, touching the blade to her tongue, tasting his blood. He saw her eyes darken at the taste, and growled in disgust.

She was a human. A human who was toying with him, no less.

“I was promised the gift of being a vampire if I killed you.” She told him, now sitting on his lap, straddling him. “And really, there’s nothing you could do nothing about it. It’s easy to kill one of you, isn’t it? You’re just as susceptible to death as humans.”

“You don’t want this.” He told her. “Trust me. It’s not as fun as you’d imagine.”

“Oh? Eternal life, all your senses heightened…Sounds pretty fun to me.” She whispered into his ear before leaning back and looking at him again, studying his eyes. “But you…You’re different.”

“Oh? And how’s that?” He asked her, still trying to get his hands loose discreetly from the ropes. If he could get free from the binds, he would have a one-up on the woman. He could easily overpower her; after all, he was the vampire and she was the human. Even with the knife, he was more powerful.

“You’re one of the most powerful vampires in the United States.” She whispered, looking at him directly as she said it. There was greed in the woman’s eyes, and that was when Johnny formulated his plan.

He waited for her to continue, deciding not to say anything to her. She did continue a few minutes later, the same greed in her eyes. “And you know…We could be beneficial to each other, if you do what I want.”

“And what is it you want?” He asked her.

“Oh, I think you know that by now, Johnny.” She said. “But, since you’re playing dumb, I’ll go along with it. I want exactly what you have. I want your power.”

“That sort of thing doesn’t come for free.” Johnny told her, making it seem like he was playing right into her hands. It was evident that she was willing to do whatever she had to do to get her hands on the sort of power Avenged Sevenfold had within the vampire society. She was so hungry for it, nothing would stand in her way…In her mind’s eye, that is.

“I’m willing to make a trade, Johnny. Would you like to hear what it is?”

“Go on.” He told her.

She smiled at him, pushing one of her hands through his hair. She looked over at the door, now open a little bit from when she’d made her entrance, and saw a tall, heavyset man standing in the doorway.

“Toyin’ around with the hostage might piss Sean off, Amara.”

She flashed a smile at him and waved her hand. “I’m just having a little fun for now. It can’t hurt anything, can it? Wasn’t Sean going to kill him either way? Might as well have a little amusement with him before that happens.”

The man grinned but shook his head before walking away, closing the door. The woman, who Johnny now knew was named Amara, turned back to him, the same smile on her face.

“There’s approximately now four hours until midnight. As you’re aware, at midnight if your friends haven’t done what Sean wants them to, you’ll be killed. Well…Actually, his plan is to kill you either way. Sean wasn’t very happy when you guys took that little slut.”

Johnny knew she was talking about Eliza, but said nothing again. Amara continued for him, not needing him to say anything to encourage her.

“But I can stop that, Johnny. I can get you out of here. Alive and well, of course. There is just one thing I ask in return for your safe release.”

“How do you plan on getting me out? The only exit is that door, and I’m sure there’s layer upon layer of guards standing outside waiting for something to happen.” Johnny spoke, making a legitimate argument.

“You think I haven’t made arrangements for this to happen? When I heard they’d taken you hostage, I decided to see if I could make it worthwhile to myself as well. After all, you are one of the five leaders of Bat Country.”

“So what’s your requirement?” Johnny asked.

She leaned in to his ear, lowering her voice to a husky drawl. “Turn me into a vampire and make me the sixth leader.” She told him. “And think carefully before you make your decision: if you screw me over, I won’t just make sure you die, but I’ll make sure Sean gets what he wants.”