AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Freya swayed beside me. Her skin was nearly as pale as the undead creatures who leered at us, but she grimaced like she always did when she searched for an impossible solution. I floundered for one too. I couldn’t accept death now, not with Cadence waiting outside for me.
I shifted nervously, and metal pinched my back.
The torch.
The vampires were only a few feet away. They were clearly stretching out our deaths for their own enjoyment, which meant they were confident we had no escape route. They might have been right, but I did work better as an underdog. Still, the moment they noticed the torch, it would be ripped out of my hands.
I nudged Freya, and she glared at me for breaking her concentration. I quickly glanced at my back and prayed she’d understand my silent message. She hesitated. I looked around at the encroaching vampires, dipped my chin toward her, then glanced behind me again.
“Wait!” Freya yelled.
Perfect.
She grabbed all the vampires’ attention. Slowly, I reached for the matches in my jacket-pocket.
“I’m the heir to the coven of Hecate,” she said.
I wrapped my hands around the matches.
“You want power?” Freya demanded. “I can offer it to you.”
I kept one hand in my pocket and slowly moved the other up.
“Can you, little witch?” the Master questioned. “You don’t even know the power we hold.”
One of the vampires finally glanced at me, and I scratched the back of my head. She smiled at the nervous gesture and licked her fangs. I gulped, and my fear enticed her more. She twirled a strand of greasy brown hair around her finger and stepped closer.
“Claire!” the Master snapped. “Contain yourself.”
Claire stopped in her tracks and averted her eyes. The smallest ounce of relief warmed my chest.
“We both know my coven could decimate the dark witches with one spell,” Freya said.
The Master cackled.
“You think I risked unleashing the Bloodblade because of some promises made by those zealots?” The Master sneered. “That’s the problem with you witches—you’ve underestimated us for centuries—you’ve thought us hungry fools. That’s what your mother thought. We proved her wrong, and we’ll prove you wrong too.”
Freya shook with rage, and the vampires drew closer to her.
I didn’t allow myself even a breath to doubt my plan.
I drew the torch from behind my shirt and struck the match. I connected the lit match to the torch in the next second and waved it in front of Freya. With one last cry of anger, she sent a gust of wind into the flames, sending them in an arc before us.
Six vampires caught fire and fell to the ground. The fire spread from the inside of their bodies to the outside. Flames burned through their eyes and their opened, screaming mouths. Their skin blackened into unrecognizable husks. In mere seconds, they were ash.
Freya raced for the stairs, and I followed her with the lit torch still in my hand. Though she stumbled here and there, her feet did not fail her.
“Get them!” the Master roared.
With one hand, I waved the torch wildly behind us. After seeing their friends burned to the ground, the vampires hissed, but kept their distance. I used my other hand to keep my balance. We practically flew up the steep stairs—now was not the time to be clumsy.
When we reached the top of the stairs, one of the vampires was bold enough to swipe for my torch. His ice-cold skin grazed mine, but instead of panicking, like he’d undoubtedly hoped I would, I tilted the torch and set him ablaze. One thing horses had taught me was to keep my effing calm. The vamp’s friends jerked away from the scene.
“Here,” Freya said.
I followed her, and we reached the hidden door.
The closed hidden door.
