Page 4 of Marked Resistance

“Dad,” I scolded. “You can’t use Sarah as bait like that while you scale the roof. What if there were more vampires out there than one? You have to be smarter.”

“You can take the girl out of the Warriors, but you can’t take the warrior out of the girl,” Sarah sassed.

“Zee,” Dad sighed as he walked past me and into the kitchen. The smell of vegetables hung in the air like a warm blanket. “It’s me and your sister here, and I’m getting up there in age. If there’s more than one vampire, there’s not much we’ll be able to do either way.”

“You can live,” I declared and stomped my right foot. “You can run…hide…use your surroundings to your advantage. Do something other than try to face a superior foe head-on with her as a potential sacrifice. The goal is for youbothto live.”

“Like you?” Sarah asked and set my backpack down in the corner of the room.

My cheeks burned.

“Listen,” Dad’s voice both comforted and disciplined me.

He always reminded me of a clever fox, with his hooded eyes and thick, straight, white hair. “I would never sacrifice my daughter…either of my daughters…to save my own skin. I would look death right in the eye and smile to keep you both safe.”

“I know,” I answered with my eyes on the floor. I felt lower than the ant I watched crawl across the floor.

The clatter of a pot hitting the table followed by two chairs pulling out filled the silence between us.

“Come eat, Zee,” he directed.

I blew out a breath and walked to the small wooden table in the dining area. Dad and Sarah both were seated and looked at me, with shimmering eyes. I knew he would never sacrifice Sarah. He’d die without hesitation if it meant the survival of his girls. Yet, they were both only human and no amount of booby traps set with animal blood would stop a determined vampire horde from feasting on them.

“It’s good to have you home, Zee,” Dad said with a smile.

I relaxed and took my place at the table, across from Sarah with Dad at the head.

Sarah scooped out a large amount of vegetable stew from the pot, and the scars on her hands made me drop my eyes and stare at my own. She placed it in a large ceramic bowl and handed it to me. “How much time do you have?”

“A little over thirty hours,” I said in a flat, monotone voice.

Dad whistled. “That’s not a lot of time.”

“It’s enough,” Sarah chirped.

“Enough for what?” I asked.

“For you to go live,” she answered.

I tilted my head and looked at my sister.

“You’ve been looking out for us. You taught us how to set vampire-specific traps to dwindle the numbers of any horde or to at least slow them down. You taught me how to fight— “

“Not well enough,” I interjected and put a spoonful of soup in my mouth.

“Still,” she continued, swirling her own soup in her bowl with her spoon. “You’ve risked a lot coming here tonight. We know you have, otherwise, you wouldn’t be here.”

“Your sister’s right,” Dad said. “What happened, Zee?”

I chewed the warm vegetables in my mouth, grateful to have something to put in my stomach after my trip from Kepjess. It wasn’t blood, but it was something. I had a few rations in my bag I’d saved to keep my strength up. I’d drain them later.

“Well, either way,” Sarah continued. “You need something.”

I swallowed and leaned back in my chair.

“And what do you think that is, oh wise one?” I asked with a mocking tone.

“To live,” she answered and swirled her soup.

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