Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 64030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
“You used my love of your brother against me. Just like you’re usin’ my sister Maybell now.” I spit in his face. “Just like you used her to make me marry you and keep me from fightin’ you off on our weddin’ night.”
The crowd of vampires muttered in shock.
“Is this your final choice, Masie?” the lord asked.
I had no idea if I’d chosen correctly according to Anna’s list, but I knew Lazlo had wronged me in this life. “Yes.”
The lord nodded, and two guards appeared.
“Wait! She’s lying. She’s a fraud,” Lazlo yelled as they dragged him off.
I let out a long breath.
“Are you all right?” Montgomery Stark came up to me.
“No.” And as grateful as I was for his help, I couldn’t ignore how I’d gotten here. If he’d just stayed away from me and out of my life, none of this would’ve happened. “I want Maybell freed.”
“Yes, of course.” Stark turned toward a group of vampires standing near us. “Find out where her sister is and ensure she is taken home.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“Masie, it is time.” Lord Bleyer II came up to us. “You must execute the five.”
I suddenly noticed the vampires I’d chosen being wheeled up in a steel cage.
“You must light them on fire,” the lord added.
“Here? Is that even safe?”
“This room was constructed for such events.” He pointed toward the black ceiling.
So that was why this room smelled like a BBQ competition gone wrong.
I shook my head. “I’m not doing it.”
“But you must,” Stark pushed. “It is the only way to complete the final test. Otherwise, you will forfeit, and they will all go free. Lazlo will go free.”
I rubbed my forehead. I just wanted to be left alone and for Maybell to be released.
“You must do this, Masie.” Stark grabbed my wrist and gently squeezed.
“For you, right?” I threw back. “You need me to keep power.”
His mouth flapped with indignation. “No. For you. And if you do not trust me by now, you are a fool.”
“Then I guess I’m a fool.”
The swirls in his blue-and-green eyes stopped moving. Suddenly, his eyes turned dark. “Just light the fucking cage, Masie.” He turned and left.
The lord held out a can of accelerant.
“Do not do this,” Lazlo pleaded, gripping the bars of the cage. “You will regret it forever.”
Would I? Because this would prove I was Anna, and with that power, I could do whatever I wanted—including telling everyone to stay the hell away from me, my family, and Leiper’s Fork.
I took the can and squirted the contents on the vampires in the cage. Lazlo cussed at me, using every bad word in the book, including the c-word.
“I’m a person, Lazlo, and you treated me like an animal. So now I’m returning the favor.”
The lord handed me a match. I lit it, tossed it into the cage, and walked away.
As I heard the five vampires screaming for mercy, I instantly felt relieved. I could protect the people I loved now. Also, I finally knew how to kill vampires. I would definitely be stocking up on matches and lighter fluid.
But after a few seconds, a heavy blanket of guilt wrapped around my heart. I’d done nothing but betrayed myself these past few days. I’d willingly become a killer, a monster just like them, and to me, there was no greater sin than being untrue to oneself.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Masie! Oh my God!” Maybell yelled and ran to me from across the dimly lit parking lot just outside the office building.
Her long black hair, just like mine, was a matted mess, and her dark brown eyes were framed by bloodshot whites. She’d been crying.
We hugged tightly, as if holding on for dear life. Then panic set in. What had they done to her? After my experience, I assumed the worst.
I let her go. “Are you okay?” I brushed back her hair, inspecting her neck for bite marks.
She pushed my hands away. “I’m fine. You okay?”
No. I wasn’t. But that was a problem for another day, so I did what Masie Kicklighter had always done; I buried my pain and smiled. “I’ll be perfect after we get the hell outta here.”
Lord Bleyer II came up in a hurry, looking at his watch. That was when I noticed the rest of the vampires had already zipped away. It was just the three of us.
“Mrs. Stark, I am afraid there isn’t time for one of us to run you home, but you may take my service car.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Where exactly are we?”
“Devil’s Swamp, Mississippi.”
“And I am not surprised.” I couldn’t pick the place out on a map, but the name fit. “I’ll need a credit card or gas money.”
“Of course.” He handed me a wad of Benjamins from his white jacket pocket. There had to be a few thousand dollars there.
“That should do it.” It was way more than we needed, but I wasn’t about to give some back. Not after this night. I was going to need some serious comfort food.