Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 64030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
“You…told them I’m not Anna?” I folded my arms over my chest.
He nodded. “And it was wrong to ask you to pretend to be her in order to keep power.”
“You did all this just to make things right between us?” I found it hard to believe.
“I did it because I realized there is no darkness inside you. There is only good. It is why your sadness never overtook you or defeated you. It is why I fell in love with you, and how you were able to defy Lazlo after having his blood.”
I’d never even considered that. The night Lazlo died, he’d ordered me not to kill him. I had no problem doing it anyway.
Stark continued, “I want to turn over a new leaf and be strong, like you, Masie Kicklighter. Only a weak man gains power through lies, fear, and manipulation. I can do better.”
Wow. Just…wow. “I’m proud of you, Stark. All grown up.” I smiled.
“Amusing,” he said and then cracked a smile. “And now, I must finish packing up my estate. The Vampire Coexistence Party does not plan on making life easy for the old regime.”
“Where are you going?” I suddenly didn’t want him to leave.
He shrugged. “I do not wish to cause you any more trouble, Masie. You deserve to live without reminders of the past and what I did to you. But do not worry for me; I have other homes.”
Of course he did. “So you’re leaving? For me? And never coming back?”
“Yes. I think it is best. For you.”
It probably was. Lord knew my life hadn’t been right since Stark came into it. It all started when he dumped Fiona to pursue me.
“Regardless,” he added, “you may want to take a few days to truly think about representing the VCP. It is an honor for a human to be given such power. You’ll be able to shape the future of this world.”
I wiggled my lips side to side. “I’ll think about it, but I kinda have my heart set on just managin’ the Flaming Rooster. Uncle Jimmie needs help with the place.”
Stark lowered his head. “I wish you all the luck in the world, Masie Kicklighter.” He turned to leave.
“Stark!”
“Yes, Masie?”
“Thank you. You really are a good man.”
“No. I am not. But perhaps someday, I will be a good vampire.” He bowed and then disappeared.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
One year later
“Two Flaming Rooster-itas and a Vampire Slinger, Daddy,” I said.
“Coming right up, sweetheart.” My dad went to work with superhuman efficiency as usual. It almost felt normal to me now, seeing him here at the bar. Joe had moved over to the distillery and worked nine-to-five hours so he could spend more time with his girlfriend. Good for him.
I was now managing the Flaming Rooster full-time, but still had to fill in and wait tables when we were shorthanded like tonight.
I placed my tray on the bar and started grabbing garnishes for my drinks: plastic vampire teeth, lollipops in the shape of Barney, and a marshmallow soaked in Bacardi 151 to be lit on fire tableside. It was our most popular drink here at the Flaming Rooster, located in Leiper’s Fork, now known as the “Vampire Smithsonian” town.
Humans from all over the world came to stay at our five-star golf resort, to mix and mingle with the undead who once rubbed elbows with the likes of Shakespeare, Michelangelo, or Caesar. Some came to visit our vampire health spa, one of two thousand locations around the world. If you were sick, all a person had to do was donate a pint of blood in order to enjoy the incredible healing properties. For an extra fee, you could make a week of it, drinking champagne, getting full-body massages, and a full medical workup to ensure you were cured after drinking vampire blood. And there was vampire night golf, of course.
It was a new world, more divided than ever between the people who would never trust vampires and the people who embraced them as another one of God’s incredible creations.
As for the vampires, some were loud and proud advocates of their belief in coexistence, but the vast majority, some one and a half million vampires, chose to remain in the shadows. I figured over time, they might join the half million who live openly. God knew they had time on their sides to get comfortable with this.
I ultimately turned down the nomination for president but took on an advisory role, but only because Charlie asked, and I wanted him to succeed.
Honestly, there was no one more suited to the position. He was human but had worked for vampires for years and understood their rules, history, and customs better than anyone. He knew what was at stake (no pun intended) for humankind if the laws weren’t set up correctly.
First things first, though.
His administration was focused on helping change the public’s perception of vampires and to ensure lawbreakers on both sides were made an example of. It was a tumultuous time in history where things could go south quickly if one side felt under attack.