Today, I’m sharing another excerpt from Vampires’ Daughter, my new serial on Kindle Vella. In this scene, Heather has snuck out of her house with her friends, Lalita and Simon, for an extra birthday celebration. Where is she going? Read on to find out!
Taxi Ride
I couldn’t believe I was actually sitting in the back of a cab at night, squished between Simon and Lalita. My bare thigh was pressed against Simon’s leg, heating up my entire body. My heart was already pounding from the thrill of the night and we had only just escaped.
“Are there seatbelts?” I asked, looking around the inside of the cab. It felt so much smaller than the luxury cars our parents owned. There was a grate separating us from the cab driver in the front, and a bright TV screen glared in front of us, showing ads for local entertainment while a meter counted up our fare.
Lalita rolled her eyes. “No seatbelts in a taxi,” she said. “Try not to squirm so much. I don’t have much room here.”
I squeezed my arms in close to my body and tried to make myself as small as possible. Between Simon’s growing muscles and Lalita’s mature curves, I felt pretty cramped too, but I didn’t dare complain. I couldn’t do anything that would make Lalita regret bringing me or she might never take me out again.
The taxi cab followed Lalita’s directions to a downtown street that didn’t seem to have much on it besides a closed psychic shop and an all-night laundromat. “Are you sure this is the right address, miss?” the driver asked, turning around to stare at us.
“This is it,” Lalita snapped. She reached forward and slipped a few bills between the grates. “Thanks for the ride,” she said, already pulling open the door.
As Lalita and Simon climbed out on either side, I felt the pressure finally releasing. I scrambled to follow after them. When I was halfway out, Simon gave me his hand and helped me the rest of the way.
I looked around the empty street as the cab drove away. My nerves were tingling again at the thought of being out here in the middle of nowhere, completely on our own. “Where are we?” I said, echoing the cab driver’s question. “I don’t see any clubs around here.”
“The best clubs are the secret ones,” Lalita said knowingly. She pointed to the dark alley behind the psychic shop. “C’mon, the entrance is hidden back here.”
I looked at Simon for reassurance. Going into a dark alley sounded like the worst idea. Did he really think it was safe?
He grinned at me. “You’re going to love it.”
I followed behind the others as they walked down the alley. These high heels looked cute at home, but now I regretted the way they made me take such small, careful steps. Not the right shoes to be wearing if a mugger jumped out of the shadows and I suddenly had to run for my life.
Lalita strolled up to the back door behind the psychic shop and knocked in a simple pattern: three times, pause, then three more.
The door swung open to reveal a hulking ogre, dressed all in black with combat boots. “What’s the password?” he grunted between huge, sharp teeth.
