Page 23 of Sound
Frustrated, I look around but see nothing that I can use. If I played the guitar, I could use the pick at least.If you played the guitar you wouldn’t have been up to your neck in shit either.Ignoring my inner pessimist, my eyes lock on the square box of eyeshadows. Feet slapping on the floor, I snatch the compact and flick it open. I almost cry in relief when the card paper resembling a business card with instructions on how to mix the colors of the powdered shadows slides to the side.
Holding it like a holy grail, I return to the door and drop on my knees. With trembling hands, I slide the cardboard between the door and the frame, slowly guiding it down. Not wanting to rip it in two when resistance greets me, I take hold of the handle and brace on it to wiggle the door open. The pressure yanks the handle down and the door swings open, sending me on my ass gaping at the hallway, the card still stuck in my cramped fingers.
I guess due to all of Seraphina’s gloating, she forgot to lock the door.
I want to scream and cry from happiness, but all I can do is force myself to slow my breathing so I don’t pass out from panting. Scrambling to my feet, I hurry to the open door and stick my head out to check if the bitch is near, if she’s standing here waiting for me to step out so she can kill me. An empty hallway meets my eyes.
“I can do this.” Whispering under my breath, I take my first step outside the room.
Goosebumps cover my arms, but I push through the unease gnawing at my stomach. I lied to Étienne when I told him I’d wait, but only because I knew he would’ve let Alto die just to stay with me. Seeing a cat turn into a human and nearly die in my hands the same day makes me want to find out what I am so I can get out of here. If I find it before the vampire comes back, even better.
Vampire.
My head is spinning with everything I learned in a matter of hours. Vampires, witches, familiars … Sliding my feet on the floor so I don’t make a sound, I push those thought away. I’ll think about it when I get the hell out of here. Reaching a junction where the hallway splits in two directions, I turn left instead of right. Right is where I go to perform on the nights Seraphina invites people to this place. I’m not going to think about that either.
Creeping down the unfamiliar hallway, I can’t help but stick my head inside a couple of the doors in hopes that I’ll find Viola or Harmony. Only empty rooms with white sheets covering the furniture meet my gaze. Wiping my sweaty palms on my yucky pants, I move forward. A headache develops at the back of my eyes from the tension in my neck and shoulders. Still, I keep moving because I’m determined to find something. A voice floats in the air from up ahead, but it’s too muffled for me to hear the words. My heart kicks up like a bull against my ribs and I shuffle forward faster to follow the sound.
“… not that difficult really. The girls are too scared to be able to think, let alone try and escape.” Seraphina’s voice is coming from a slightly cracked door to my right. “Of course I know what I’m doing!” she snaps just as I reach the door and peek through the crack with one eye.
I didn’t hear anyone else because the bitch is talking on the phone. The room looks like an office, with one side of the desk visible to me and Seraphina stretched out on a leather chair. Her dress is bunched high on her thighs while she wiggles her toes, one ankle crossed over the other on top of the desk. Through the crack, my eyes land on shelves and shelves of thick books lining the wall.
“And how will they know that they’re demigod descendants may I ask? The girls are as clueless as they are plain. There’s nothing remarkable about them.”
Seraphina’s face reddens in anger from whatever she hears on the other side of the line. My ears are buzzing like the high-pitched horn of a passing train. Say what now? Demigod? What does that even mean? Like a child of Jesus or something? I’m not particularly religious, and neither are Viola and Harmony. If I’m one of his descendants, he will probably hit me with a bolt or something as soon as I step foot outside.
“You’ve heard, have you?” Seraphina sneers, straightening in her chair as her face twists in an ugly grimace that snaps me out of imagining being hit by Jesus with lightning. “Maybe you’d like to come see Melody in person, my love?” Her knuckles turn white where she grips the phone. “You haven’t had time to come see me in months, but a useless girl will bring you running. I should’ve known. I will see you in a few days.”
My heart sucker punches me in the roof of my mouth when I hear my name. Seraphina is not working alone. If whoever she’s talking to says they want to meet me, I have a feeling I’ll end up exactly like Alto, at least if the jealousy on her face is any indication. Gagging at the thought of some slimy bastard coming to see me, I almost swallow my tongue when Seraphina jumps off the chair and cocks her arm over her head. Plastering my back on the wall, I bite my lips so hard I taste blood to stop myself from screaming when the phone she throws smashes against the door. The impact swings the door open a little more than before.
“Yes!” Seraphina snarls, sounding deranged. “Come and see the girl Phillipe. That way I can kill you both and feast on your lives.” Laughing hysterically, the chair squeaks as she swings the leather seat in a fast circle when I poke my head to the side. “A vampire and a Muse at once. That should keep me perky and young for a few centuries.”
She keeps talking to herself while cackling like a lunatic. I use that time to bolt as quietly as I can through the hallway, my brain completely numb with shock. My whole body is shaking, my stomach sloshing and threatening to empty itself any second. Through a daze, I follow the hallway back to the room, white noise filling my head.Who would’ve thought that someone as pleasant and pretty as Seraphina could be so evil and crazy, I think as I cross over the open door of my room. Closing it, I lean my back on it, allowing the wood to hold my weight. Now that I’m here, my knees give out and I slide down, dropping hard on my ass and jarring my teeth. With the light streaming through the windows, the bitch almost looked angelic before her face twisted in an angry mask. Thank god Étienne is a vampire. That means he can move fast, right? He should be back any minute. I don’t want to be alone all day.
Day.
“Oh my God.” Pressing my hands over my mouth so I don’t scream, tears stream down my face.
Étienne is a vampire. And I sent him to take Alto to his brother in the middle of the day.
19
Étienne
“What the fuck!” Lucien roars, bringing Moël running down the stairs when I shoulder my way inside the library. I can feel the skin peeling off the back of my hand hitting the polished boards with a wet, sickening sound.
“What happened to you Étienne?” The even, soft tone of Moël’s voice is worse than Lucien’s roar.
I must look like death worn over.
“Guéris le chat." Staggering to the desk, I place the creature on it while gently keeping contact with it. We are both barely hanging on right now, my brothers better do what I asked and heal it.
I was sticking to the shadows, using darkened alleys as much as I could. Lucky for me it’s still early in the morning—not even seven-thirty yet. Had it been later I’m sure my brothers would’ve found the ashes of my corpse about halfway to the house.
“Were you attacked?” Moël persists, both of them ignoring the creature.
“No, I walked the daylight of my own will, brother.” The horror on their faces is very telling. I want to wave at the creature but only manage a twitch of my wrist. “Now can we heal the cat?”
“I should heal you first.” Lucien takes a step toward me but my glare stops him.
