sons.
Sadey was close to her legs, pressing her against the wall, but crouching as though she was going to attack. Hold on!
Asmund let off a single laugh, and his platinum blond brows raised in surprise. He laughed louder and harder and then looked at his sons as if they were nothing. “There is no replacing Geir, Torunn . You stole his heart away from me. It was fate that you would be re-born so I could torture you again, as you have tortured me all this time. He was mine! I built a coven to help me hunt you, nothing more. They are a means to an end. They are not Geir.”
His sons didn’t even react, as if he’d given them this lesson before. As if he’d explained in the beginning they were nothing to him. Or perhaps he was controlling their minds, too, like he was controlling the Winterset Coven in the woods somewhere.
Torunn was here now, translucent, but as real as Dawn and Sadey, and she was pointing to Dawn’s chest. No, to her necklace.
The necklace. The burn. As her terrified glance bounced from Sadey’s massive form to the necklace, she recognized the cat. She’d thought the spots on it were nothing more than imperfections, but they were intentional. It was a snow leopard. You’ll know what to do with it when the time comes.
Garret’s story of the wolves cracked through her head like lightning. So vivid in her mind was the vision of him lying on the ground, bleeding from the bites of the wolves, begging Asmund to kill him before he Changed. The wolf and the vampire had battled for his body. She needed weapons. That’s what Torunn was saying. She needed claws and teeth and a way to stay alive until Garret and the coven could get to them.
Asmund approached, his steps deliberate, and as he leapt up and disappeared into a plume of black smog, Dawn grabbed Sadey by the scruff of the neck and jammed her arm in front of the cat’s face. “Give her to me.”
Sadey froze, her pupils constricting. There was a moment of hesitation as her delicate pink nostrils flared before she sank her teeth deep into Dawn’s forearm.
“No!” Asmund bellowed with the deep voice of a demon.
Unforgiving hands ripped her backward, dragging her skin through Sadey’s long, curved canines, tearing her arm in tracks, but already she could feel it growing inside of her. She could feel power pulsing, shredding her insides. As Dawn was catapulted backward and slammed onto the ground, she could hear Sadey’s snarling as she leapt onto Asmund’s back.
Hurry, hurry, animal. I need you!
Asmund grabbed Sadey’s neck and tossed her against the wall like she weighed nothing. The wood splintered all around her, but she got up and charged again. Asmund wrapped his hand around Dawn’s throat and squeezed off her air. He lifted his other hand toward Sadey and murmured, “Stop.”
Sadey’s body froze and she hit the ground hard. She skidded through the dirt and landed a few feet away from Asmund. Her gold eyes were wide and locked in horror on Dawn, and her chest rose and fell in short bursts. Her pupils got bigger and bigger until there was no gold color left and Sadey stared vacantly. Asmund was in her mind now. Sadey was gone, and Dawn was left all alone.
Dawn was choking, scrabbling against his clawed fingers with growing strength, but Asmund was still stronger. He opened his jaws wide, exposing his razor sharp teeth.
“No, no, no,” she choked out, kicking and writhing as hard as she could. She didn’t want to be a vampire. Not like this. She had to keep him from draining her.
When tears of pain and desperation leaked out of her eyes, Asmund smiled an evil expression. “Good Torunn . Now call out his name, just like you did all those centuries ago.”
Asmund was blasted sideways as though hit by a train. He rocketed through a support beam and into a wall right where Torunn had stood. And she was there, standing over him, rage written into every ghostly facet of her pale face.
Dawn rolled over and gasped for breath,
Sadey was close to her legs, pressing her against the wall, but crouching as though she was going to attack. Hold on!
Asmund let off a single laugh, and his platinum blond brows raised in surprise. He laughed louder and harder and then looked at his sons as if they were nothing. “There is no replacing Geir, Torunn . You stole his heart away from me. It was fate that you would be re-born so I could torture you again, as you have tortured me all this time. He was mine! I built a coven to help me hunt you, nothing more. They are a means to an end. They are not Geir.”
His sons didn’t even react, as if he’d given them this lesson before. As if he’d explained in the beginning they were nothing to him. Or perhaps he was controlling their minds, too, like he was controlling the Winterset Coven in the woods somewhere.
Torunn was here now, translucent, but as real as Dawn and Sadey, and she was pointing to Dawn’s chest. No, to her necklace.
The necklace. The burn. As her terrified glance bounced from Sadey’s massive form to the necklace, she recognized the cat. She’d thought the spots on it were nothing more than imperfections, but they were intentional. It was a snow leopard. You’ll know what to do with it when the time comes.
Garret’s story of the wolves cracked through her head like lightning. So vivid in her mind was the vision of him lying on the ground, bleeding from the bites of the wolves, begging Asmund to kill him before he Changed. The wolf and the vampire had battled for his body. She needed weapons. That’s what Torunn was saying. She needed claws and teeth and a way to stay alive until Garret and the coven could get to them.
Asmund approached, his steps deliberate, and as he leapt up and disappeared into a plume of black smog, Dawn grabbed Sadey by the scruff of the neck and jammed her arm in front of the cat’s face. “Give her to me.”
Sadey froze, her pupils constricting. There was a moment of hesitation as her delicate pink nostrils flared before she sank her teeth deep into Dawn’s forearm.
“No!” Asmund bellowed with the deep voice of a demon.
Unforgiving hands ripped her backward, dragging her skin through Sadey’s long, curved canines, tearing her arm in tracks, but already she could feel it growing inside of her. She could feel power pulsing, shredding her insides. As Dawn was catapulted backward and slammed onto the ground, she could hear Sadey’s snarling as she leapt onto Asmund’s back.
Hurry, hurry, animal. I need you!
Asmund grabbed Sadey’s neck and tossed her against the wall like she weighed nothing. The wood splintered all around her, but she got up and charged again. Asmund wrapped his hand around Dawn’s throat and squeezed off her air. He lifted his other hand toward Sadey and murmured, “Stop.”
Sadey’s body froze and she hit the ground hard. She skidded through the dirt and landed a few feet away from Asmund. Her gold eyes were wide and locked in horror on Dawn, and her chest rose and fell in short bursts. Her pupils got bigger and bigger until there was no gold color left and Sadey stared vacantly. Asmund was in her mind now. Sadey was gone, and Dawn was left all alone.
Dawn was choking, scrabbling against his clawed fingers with growing strength, but Asmund was still stronger. He opened his jaws wide, exposing his razor sharp teeth.
“No, no, no,” she choked out, kicking and writhing as hard as she could. She didn’t want to be a vampire. Not like this. She had to keep him from draining her.
When tears of pain and desperation leaked out of her eyes, Asmund smiled an evil expression. “Good Torunn . Now call out his name, just like you did all those centuries ago.”
Asmund was blasted sideways as though hit by a train. He rocketed through a support beam and into a wall right where Torunn had stood. And she was there, standing over him, rage written into every ghostly facet of her pale face.
Dawn rolled over and gasped for breath,
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