Page 176 of Wanted

A shudder courses through me and the gargoyles’s talons cut into my skin as I begin to slip.

I look down below me, at my dangling legs and the tops of the trees that seem miles away, and my dead heart jumps into my throat.

Both gargoyles tighten their grip, stopping me from slipping out of their grasp.

And, dammit, I’m grateful.

Because even if the fall doesn’t kill me, I’m pretty sure it will be the worst thing I’ve ever experienced.

My bones will shatter. All of them. My skull, no doubt, will crack open like an egg and my brain will spill out.

Will they be able to put my brain back in? Can drinking blood fix something like that?

With no jaw or throat, how would I even drink it?

With all the morbid thoughts running through my head, I don’t notice more gargoyles joining the two carrying me until they’re right beside us. Forming a protective formation.

If my body was still capable of it, I’d probably pee myself in fear.

Gargoyles. It just had to be gargoyles.

And there’s no way I can fight off all of them.

Peeking down again, I see houses beginning to appear between the trees as if they’re popping up from the ground. I spot a couple of pools and consider forcing the gargoyles to drop me into one.

But even if I could time it right, the water is probably too shallow to help me survive. I need these nightmares to carry me over a pond, lake, or river.

Unfortunately, no water appears. Only more signs of civilization. The roofs of the houses begin to squeeze closer together and the yards become smaller and smaller.

When I look up and off into the distance, I see tall buildings. Indicting we’re getting closer to a city.

I have no idea what city it is. It could be Timbuktu, for all I know.

I’m becoming so hysterical I’m tempted to laugh.

I know nothing! Absolutely nothing!

After spending half of my mortal life trapped beneath a church, I’m the dumbest vampire to ever exist!

As we fly over the city, we start to swoop lower, and my stomach flips. Occasionally, I spot the occasional human. Their heartbeats thumping behind their ribs.

But the streets are mostly empty.

The gargoyles make no sound as we swoop lower and lower, sweeping around buildings like the arc of a boomerang, and heading towards a structure that looks too much like my old church.

Nestled within a square of sleek, modern skyscrapers, and standing tall and proud, an old cathedral with stained glass windows beckons with a menacing aura.

“No!” I scream in horror.

I thought the gargoyles were my worst nightmare.

But stepping into a church again terrifies me even more.

Closer to the ground now, I start to fight the two monsters carrying me in my panic. I no longer care if I crack open like Humpty Dumpty. I refuse to ever enter such a horrible, despicable place again.

Kicking my legs and swinging my body from side to side, I jerk on my arms, not worrying about the stone talons slicing my flesh. Especially since I can’t feel it.

I actually manage to free myself, slipping from their grasp, and fall toward the ground.

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