most powerful.
She frowned and gave a small shake of her head. “Small bits and pieces. It’s very fragmented. Something is wrong with her.”
It was my turn to glare at the nightwalker. There was nothing wrong with me, but I swallowed back that declaration. “I was in a car accident several years ago,” I admitted through clenched teeth.
She smiled at me, little more than a baring of her teeth at me, but I think she might have been amused. “Brain damage?”
I nodded stiffly to more snickers. Yeah, it sounded bad. I sounded broken and slow of thought, but I wasn’t. Fine. Let them think that I was slow. Let them underestimate me. I’d use it to my advantage later and get the hell out of here. After all this bullshit, I didn’t want to see another nightwalker or vampire as long as I lived. And that included Stefan.
But there was something in Mira’s expression, something thoughtful. I had this feeling that she wasn’t going to underestimate me. There was something shrewd in the woman’s eyes. Despite all this talk of pets, I didn’t get the impression that she de-valued humans like the rest of her kind. If I was lucky, I might find a way around Carla, but I wasn’t going to find a sneaky way around Mira.
“What do you remember?” the man standing behind Mira asked. As he spoke, I noticed that his hand slipped down and took Mira’s, his thumb rubbing across the top of her hand in a gentle caress.
Closing my eyes for a moment, I clung to the sight of the man holding the nightwalker’s hand. It was a sweet, tender image that helped to push back the cold fear and growing frustration. This man had not been cruel to me. I would temper my words for him.
“It was late. After eight, I think, and I was lying on the couch, reading a book. One more chapter and then I was going to get ready for bed,” I started slowly, keeping my eyes closed and trusting that Stefan or Mira would keep me safe for that short time.
I left out the mention that I hadn’t been expecting Stefan that evening like I usually did. He’d already told me that he wasn’t coming over. Besides, these assholes didn’t need to know all my habits.
“There was a knock at the door. I remember thinking that it was strange because I wasn’t expecting anyone.”
“Did you think it was Stefan?” Mira asked and my eyes snapped open.
“No. He doesn’t knock.” At my words, Mira smiled like she’d expected that answer. Had she managed to pull some thought from my battered brain? God, I hoped she had. It could save my life, even if I wasn’t a fan of having someone rummage around in my thoughts. “Anyway, I opened the door and...”
“And then what? Who was there?” Carla snapped, her voice lashing out at me from across the room.
I flinched at the harsh sound, taking an unconscious step back toward the dais as if I actually expected them to protect me. “I don’t remember. The next thing I remember is someone pounding on my door. It was the cops and I was covered in blood.”
“You killed her! You just don’t want to remember,” Carla shouted.
“No!”
“You said yourself, you’re damaged. You’re a monster. Something in your bad brain snapped and you killed her!”
“No!” I screamed, my voice cracking as her words scraped over an old fear. I had spent too many nights lying awake with that very fear dancing through my mind. There had been so much damage and I’d spent years rebuilding myself so that I closely resembled the person I had been before, but there were holes in my mind. Those voids haunted me and I didn’t want this woman’s death to fall into one of those voids. I wanted to remember.
“This is a waste of time,” muttered the nightwalker seated closest to Stefan. “We’re talking about a pet. Carla, will you be appeased with the life of this woman?”
“Yes, Mistress Elizabeth,” she said, bowing deeply to the dark-haired nightwalker. “Then, Stefan, allow her to kill your pet to even the score.
She frowned and gave a small shake of her head. “Small bits and pieces. It’s very fragmented. Something is wrong with her.”
It was my turn to glare at the nightwalker. There was nothing wrong with me, but I swallowed back that declaration. “I was in a car accident several years ago,” I admitted through clenched teeth.
She smiled at me, little more than a baring of her teeth at me, but I think she might have been amused. “Brain damage?”
I nodded stiffly to more snickers. Yeah, it sounded bad. I sounded broken and slow of thought, but I wasn’t. Fine. Let them think that I was slow. Let them underestimate me. I’d use it to my advantage later and get the hell out of here. After all this bullshit, I didn’t want to see another nightwalker or vampire as long as I lived. And that included Stefan.
But there was something in Mira’s expression, something thoughtful. I had this feeling that she wasn’t going to underestimate me. There was something shrewd in the woman’s eyes. Despite all this talk of pets, I didn’t get the impression that she de-valued humans like the rest of her kind. If I was lucky, I might find a way around Carla, but I wasn’t going to find a sneaky way around Mira.
“What do you remember?” the man standing behind Mira asked. As he spoke, I noticed that his hand slipped down and took Mira’s, his thumb rubbing across the top of her hand in a gentle caress.
Closing my eyes for a moment, I clung to the sight of the man holding the nightwalker’s hand. It was a sweet, tender image that helped to push back the cold fear and growing frustration. This man had not been cruel to me. I would temper my words for him.
“It was late. After eight, I think, and I was lying on the couch, reading a book. One more chapter and then I was going to get ready for bed,” I started slowly, keeping my eyes closed and trusting that Stefan or Mira would keep me safe for that short time.
I left out the mention that I hadn’t been expecting Stefan that evening like I usually did. He’d already told me that he wasn’t coming over. Besides, these assholes didn’t need to know all my habits.
“There was a knock at the door. I remember thinking that it was strange because I wasn’t expecting anyone.”
“Did you think it was Stefan?” Mira asked and my eyes snapped open.
“No. He doesn’t knock.” At my words, Mira smiled like she’d expected that answer. Had she managed to pull some thought from my battered brain? God, I hoped she had. It could save my life, even if I wasn’t a fan of having someone rummage around in my thoughts. “Anyway, I opened the door and...”
“And then what? Who was there?” Carla snapped, her voice lashing out at me from across the room.
I flinched at the harsh sound, taking an unconscious step back toward the dais as if I actually expected them to protect me. “I don’t remember. The next thing I remember is someone pounding on my door. It was the cops and I was covered in blood.”
“You killed her! You just don’t want to remember,” Carla shouted.
“No!”
“You said yourself, you’re damaged. You’re a monster. Something in your bad brain snapped and you killed her!”
“No!” I screamed, my voice cracking as her words scraped over an old fear. I had spent too many nights lying awake with that very fear dancing through my mind. There had been so much damage and I’d spent years rebuilding myself so that I closely resembled the person I had been before, but there were holes in my mind. Those voids haunted me and I didn’t want this woman’s death to fall into one of those voids. I wanted to remember.
“This is a waste of time,” muttered the nightwalker seated closest to Stefan. “We’re talking about a pet. Carla, will you be appeased with the life of this woman?”
“Yes, Mistress Elizabeth,” she said, bowing deeply to the dark-haired nightwalker. “Then, Stefan, allow her to kill your pet to even the score.
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