Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 112849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“That’s wild,” I say absently.
“Come along outside,” he says, guiding me toward the door until I’m outside on the patio, the sunshine bright in my eyes. Both Solon and Lenore have slipped sunglasses on their face.
I sit down across from them, trying to hide my galloping heart from them but of course they can hear it.
“I’ll get the drinks.” Valtu goes back inside the house and I’m alone with them.
“So, Valtu tells me that you’re an organist, for the pipe organ,” Solon says, giving me a charming smile. “Did you grow up around churches? It’s an interesting choice for an instrument in today’s world. Of course, when I grew up it was quite common.”
“Not really,” I manage to say, keeping my eyes glued to him because I’m too nervous to look at Lenore. “My parents weren’t a big fan of organized religion. I just watched a lot of horror movies over and over again as a kid. The soundtracks kind of got stuck in my brain. All that organ. I wanted to create those sounds, too.”
Valtu comes back out with drinks and I suddenly get up, my chair clattering loudly on the patio tiles as it gets pushed back. “I need to get the charcuterie board, excuse me.” I head into the house, trying to take deep breaths as I lean against the counter.
Okay think. Think, Dahlia, think.
Maybe call Livia? Tell her what’s up. Maybe she’ll have a suggestion on what the fuck I’m supposed to do, because short of just leaving and never turning back, I don’t know what my options are.
Maybe she doesn’t even know, I tell myself. Maybe you’re jumping to conclusions.
Suddenly I hear the patio doors shut and feel a rush of cold at my back and my heart sinks like a stone.
She’s here.
“Dahlia, right?” Lenore asks in a tight voice. “That is your name, right?”
I take in a deep shaking breath and turn around.
I’m on one side of the island and she’s on the other. Outside Solon and Valtu are laughing about something and gesturing wildly with their hands, not paying any attention to us.
“That’s my name,” I squeak.
“Does he know?”
Gulp.
“What my name is?”
Her eyes turn ice-cold, pinning me in place. I try to move but I can’t.
“Does he know who you really are?” she says, her voice growing deeper. “Does he know that you’re wearing a glamor, in disguise? Does he know you’re a witch, a vampire slayer? Does he know that, Dahlia?”
I open my mouth to speak but she’s quick as a wink. In one fluid blur she jumps right over the counter, clearing it and then slams me back against the refrigerator, her forearm against my neck. Jesus, she’s strong and I can’t fucking breathe.
“Tell me what you’re doing here. You’re here to kill him, aren’t you? You’re a slayer, you kill vampires, that’s what you do. What happened, that you lasted this long, got him to fall in love with you, and you still haven’t killed him yet?”
He’s not in love with me, I try to say but can’t.
“What is your end game? I know that slayers are sent on their missions from the guild. Why did they send you here? What has Valtu done?”
I cough and she lets up just a little.
“I’m not just a witch,” I manage to say, my throat bobbing against her arm as I talk. “I am reincarnated.”
Her head jerks. “What?”
“I’m Mina. I’m Lucy. I remember now. I was with him in his past.”
She frowns. “You’re the one? You’re the one he lost twice?” Then a hardness comes back over her eyes. “Fucking liar!” she practically spits in my face.
“I’m not lying! Please. Look at me. You know I’m not lying.”
“You are,” she sneers. “You were playing a role. Why did the guild send you to kill Valtu?”
“I don’t know. You don’t ask. You know how it works. You do what they tell you.”
“Oh, I know,” she says hatefully. “My parents left the guild and they’ve had a mark on their back ever since. Did you know that you were a puppet? A pawn in their game? Did you know that they pick slayers who are oh-so good at masking, pretending to be someone else, and then they kill their parents so that they’re easily brainwashed, driven by blind vengeance?”
I blink, trying to push her arm off me but to no avail. “No. Vampires killed my parents.”
She lets out a caustic laugh. “That’s what they wanted you to believe. That’s what happened to my mother, to my father. The guild said their parents were killed by vampires so that they would be in their service for the rest of their lives. Did you have a mentor show up at the right time too, take you in, fuel your rage?”
No. This isn’t true. It can’t be true. This whole life can’t be a lie.