Total pages in book: 207
Estimated words: 196971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 985(@200wpm)___ 788(@250wpm)___ 657(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 196971 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 985(@200wpm)___ 788(@250wpm)___ 657(@300wpm)
She prayed to God, asking Him to use her line to deliver justice.
And God said yes.
A day would come when one of her descendants would be His weapon, destined to deliver justice and put an end to the Red Witch.
ALEXANDRU AND ZARI
Zari was in grave danger. His instincts told him so, and he had learned to trust it over the centuries. He searched for Katarina and found her dining with the enforcers. They were the only patrons in the restaurant, and the entire resort felt empty with all professors and students on their way back to the school.
“May I speak with you?” He wasn’t quite able to keep his voice from being harsh with worry.
“Yes, of course, my lord.” Katarina excused herself as she stood up. As they walked away from the table, she asked, “What is it?”
“How did your talk with Zari go?” He knew he wasn’t supposed to ask about it, but Alexandru thought it might give him a clue about where his pet was now. He had tried contacting her through their bond but while he could feel her presence, it was all he was able to glean.
She had effectively blocked him out, and she had never done that before.
Katarina appeared confused. “My...talk? But I haven’t seen her since we were all together.”
Alexandru whitened.
Zari? Answer me, Zari.
But there was no answer.
Stiff with tension, he thanked Katarina for her help and spun around wordlessly. He called to his men in his mind. Be ready to leave.
“Alexandru, wait!” Katarina caught after him. “What’s happening?”
“Zari’s gone,” he said curtly without pausing in his stride. “I have a feeling she’s gone back hunting on her own so I’m going to the hospital, where she had her first vision.”
She paled. “On her own? Why wouldn’t she tell you? Or any of the others?”
“She might have told others. I’ve let Sir Richard know about what’s happening and he’ll let me know if he’s find out something.” His jaw clenched. “But if she’s lied to me then she must have seen me in her visions.”
Katarina was able to read between the lines. “And she saw you, like she saw me, didn’t she?”
He didn’t have to answer.
Goddamn you, pet. I’m going to kill you for this.
Chapter Ten
ZARI
The burning heat woke me up. The visions had tired me out, the senselessness of the killings making me unconscious. I screamed when I found myself surrounded with fire. It was everywhere, my nightmare come to life.
I looked around and saw that the Red Witch was gone, probably so she could watch LSL burn to the cinders. And while the school had all kinds of spells protecting it, I knew it might not be enough.
The Red Witch was strong, and she had unfinished business there. The one destined to kill her was studying in LSL and she wouldn’t stop until every student in the school died.
Knowing I had little time left, I turned towards the shadows, where I knew she lurked, watching silently as she always did.
“Elsa.”
The ghost appeared before me, her disfigured face becoming more ghastly as she gave me an inquiring smile.
I forced myself up, which was doubly hard with my hands and feet bound. She watched me struggle, not offering to help. I wasn’t sure she even knew how to speak. None of the case studies ever recorded her speaking, but most of the studies reported that she did understand when people talked to her.
“Elsa.”
She looked at me again.
“I need you to come inside of me, like you did before, with the boy. You remember him? His name was Jeremy?”
The single eye she had lit up.
“Help me. Come inside of me.” With her inside of me, I would be free from the pain. It was the only way I’d have the courage to go through the fire and save myself.
I closed my eyes.
Something cold blew.
She was inside of me.
Elsa and I walked through the fire. She didn’t feel it because she was immune to pain, not because she was a ghost but years of parental abuse had made her so. My body was wracked with coughs as we finally made it to the stairs, only to find the door locked.
No!
Tears from smoke stung my eyes.
It couldn’t end like this.
With Elsa’s help, I slammed my shoulder into the door, again and again, hoping it would give way.
ALEXANDRU AND ZARI
Fire. It rose in the night, swaying and roaring like a hungry beast.
Alexandru broke into a run, using his speed as a vampire hunter, no longer caring if humans might see him. The others followed him, Katarina just behind him a few steps. They found the entire hospital in flames, and Alexandru realized that if this was happening then her other vision might happen, too.
Everyone, go inform the enforcers about what is happening. Accompany them back to the LSL and tell them to prepare for an attack. Someone will try to burn the school down.