Page 33 of Bite of Passage
Val’s face recoiled.“He’s a vampire.Not a man.You don’t…Nevertempt a bloodsucker like that.They don’t have morals.They’re narcissistic sociopaths who toy with humans.They take their pleasure from you.Then they kill you.”
“Not Skarde.”Cautiously, Gemma asked, “You believe they exist?As in vampires are real?Do they exist here?”
“Of course they’re real.They’re a vicious, self-serving species.Dangerous.They use their beautiful exterior to lure humans in for death.”
Not Skarde.She crossed her arms.She was fully prepared to defend him, maintaining the fundamental belief that he was a good person deep down.Sure, he did vicious stuff, but he wouldn’t randomly attack.Hehadresisted her.“Maybe you should watch the next scene with Skarde’s brother.”
Val resumed the episode and watched the entire fight scene with a shocked, almost horrified expression straight through to the fade to black.She stumbled backward and sat hard in the rickety metal chair she kept in the back of the store.“I’ve seen him.”
“Him who?”Her gaze ping-ponged between the screen and Val.
Val covered her mouth and hung her head.“Cade.”
“Did I miss seeing him in an earlier episode?Or are we talking about your dreams when you see things?”
“Dreams.But I didn’t know who he was or that he was a…vampire.”She rolled her head back and forth.“No, no, no.He can’t be a vampire.This is so bad.”
“What exactly happened in your dreams?We’re talking about the visions you have that usually come true?”The thrum of her pulse pounding in her ears overshadowed all other noise.Don’t let it be something bad about Skarde.Cade dying… Okay.She didn’t know him, and he didn’t seem particularly nice.
Val’s face blanked, which meant whatever she’d seen she wouldn’t divulge.“His imprisoned witch was talking about you.”
“Sounds like it.”
“That means you might get…turned.”Val swallowed hard and glanced at the dark screen.“Please, don’t watch any more.Let me keep the disc.If you go back there, you’re going to become one of them.”
ChapterFifteen
“Isthatwhat you saw in your dream?”Gemma asked Val.“Me turning into a vampire?”
Val shook her head.“I saw Cade imprisoned.That’s it.In the episode the crazy witch eye was sayingyouwill be the one who gets turned, and then something about causing your maker to become all-powerful.I don’t want a vampire walking around who’s immune to the ways we use to kill them.”
“Are you part of a vampire hunter group?”Gemma asked suspiciously.Val seemed pretty confident about her vampire-killing knowledge.
The witch’s cheeks flushed.“I might do more than dance in the woods on the weekend.Forget I said that.”She waved a dismissive hand.
Like hell she’d forget her best friend might be a vampire hunter.
“That witch was talking about you.”She grabbed Gemma’s wrist.“It’s not truth yet.You can prevent it from becoming reality.Don’t go back.”
Could she really not watch the next episode?Could she…give up Skarde?
No.She couldn’t and she wouldn’t.But Val didn’t have to know that.
“Maybe you’re right.”Gemma eyed the disc now sitting next to the laptop, calculating ways to get it back.She lifted it, stared at it, and put it back down.“You think it’ll all disappear like a bad memory if I forget about it?”
Val nibbled on her lip.“I think it’s worth a try.”
“You said it had to be powerful magic to suck me into his world.”She had to go back.She needed to be sure Skarde was okay.
Val glanced quickly at the disc and looked away.She clutched the pink crystal on a chain around her neck.
Without removing her eye on the disc and to distract Val she said, “I put the salt around my apartment.Do you have anything else you recommend I do or burn to get rid of the bad vibes Dylan brought in?”
Val stalked over to a cabinet and pulled out a sage smudge stick.
The moment Val had her back turned, she covertly swapped Skarde’s disc for the one Val had ejected out of her external disc player earlier.Guilt swamped her, but she’d die if she didn’t see the final episode tonight.
“Take this.Sage your place.”
