Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
The carriage house comes into view not long after. It rises out of the trees like something out of a nightmare: dark wood, weathered stone, windows like empty eyes staring back at us. The closer we get, the worse the feeling becomes.
We stop right outside the door so the vampires can listen. We all go still, holding our breath as we wait a moment.
But there’s nothing. No heartbeats, no movement…nothing alive.
Not waiting, I lift my hand and push my magic outward, throwing the front door open with a sharp crack that echoes into the silence beyond. We pause again. Nothing happens. Everything is quiet and still yet again.
Xavier steps inside first, and I follow immediately, unwilling to let him out of my sight.The most eerie feeling of déjà vu washes over me, and it’s like I’m back at Camp Dogwood and the warehouse at the same time. It’s not just that things are set up similarly; there’s a sigil drawn on the floor in blood and this time, there are three black candles, burned down to stumps. But it’s the sense that something just happened, and I walked in right after it.
Someone definitely set up for a ritual…and Vivian is nowhere to be seen.
“We’re too late.”
Xavier moves forward, crossing the room in a blur. He kneels, picking something up from the floor. It’s a vial, one used for collecting blood. He holds it up. It’s empty. My stomach drops, knowing what it is before he says anything.
“This is your blood,” he says.
My lips part, but no words come out. But I don’t have to say it. We all know. Vivian is trying to break the sigil—and free Vaelric herself.
Chapter
Thirty-Three
In the dim light, I can see the question on Leo and Antonio’s face. Right. They don’t know the full truth of everything Vivian and Marco did. Maybe that’s why it’s so hard for them to accept what’s happened.
“How would they have vials of your blood?” Leo asks, pulling out his phone to use as a flashlight.
“For years, Vivian and Marco allowed the Order to drug me and run experiments on me in my sleep,” I answer. The files flash before my eyes when I blink. “They took my blood and I thought they used it, but…but…They were saving it. This was the plan the whole time.”
“Did it work?” Devon asks. “Is the demon free?”
“I don’t know.” I join Leo, inspecting the sigil drawn on the ground.
“It could explain the dead guys outside,” Antonio offers.
“The deal was specific,” Xavier begins. “Wren finds and destroys the sigil. If anyone could use Blackwood blood, the demon wouldn’t have sought her out. And if it was broken by anyone but Wren, the deal would be off and her soul…” He can’t finish his sentence.
“How would we know if your soul was gone?” Theo asks. “Would you drop dead? Are we going with the theory that having a soul means you’re not evil? What if I don’t believe in soul and heaven or hell?”
Mabel tilts her head slightly, eyes flicking over Theo like she’s already five steps ahead of him. “Lucky for you, belief isn’t a prerequisite for reality,” she says coolly. “Gravity works just fine whether you ‘believe’ in it or not. Souls fall into the same category. The indicator isn’t if Wren starts acting evil, if she stops choosing not to be.”
“Makes sense,” I say, feeling the same bit of shock that I think everyone else is. Every once in a while, Mabel can really surprise me.
“What does that say for us, then?” Theo goes on, eyes narrowing ever so slightly.
“It says you still make the same choices you did when you were alive, but know you have far less consequence,” Mabel goes on. “Which is your reality.”
“We can have this moral debate later,” Xavier says. “The demon made it clear enough what owning Wren’s soul will do. This blood hasn’t been dried for long. Vivian was here recently. She can’t have gotten far.”
“Are you sure this is your blood?” Leo asks, close to breaking. He’s questioned things for so long but now that he’s getting irrefutable evidence, he’s having a hard time processing.
“It’s hers,” Xavier tells him. “And look, her name is on the vial.”
“They’re really trying to do it,” Antonio says. “They want more than just a cracked door, like you said.” His eyes go to me. “They want to bring the demon to earth. Why?”
“Probably thinking they’ll get power. If Val can talk to me, maybe he’s talking to them, too. The prison was designed to only be opened and closed with Blackwood blood, but we all know there are workarounds for everything.”
Leo’s hand falls slowly to his side and the light from his phone goes with it. “So why not try to get as many people as possible on board?”
“Does that mean the demon knows Vivian has the key?” Mabel asks.