Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“I want to say it all happened so fast and make it seem like I couldn’t have seen it coming,” she starts. “But that wasn’t the case. I was shopping downtown and took some pictures with a couple of MayBells and then some guy came up and asked if I was Mabel Malus and I said yes, thinking he was a fan too. Then someone shot me with a tranquilizer dart, like the ones used on wild animals.” She shrugs again. “It took a moment for it to knock me out and in that time I probably should have run, but…I didn’t because I didn’t understand what was happening.”
“You can’t put any blame on yourself. No one knows how they’ll handle a scary situation until it happens.” I blink and see Devon lying on the ground in front of me. “Trust me, I know from experience.”
“Next thing I know, I’m half-awake in that fridge but too drugged to move. I didn’t even know vampires could be drugged.”
“I never thought about it either, though it makes sense you could but would recover fast, hence constantly pumping you full of sedatives.”
“I only got drunk a few times in my human years. Sometimes, I’d have a drink or two with the hunters when they returned. And a drink or two was all that it took to get my mind all willy-nilly. I remember bits and pieces of the conversation those hunters had.”
“Which hunters?” I ask.
“The ones who took me. Larissa. Your sister. And the two others.”
“She’s not my sister.”
“Not by blood,” she says. “I could smell the difference right away. But, you were raised with her and sometimes we can confuse those close to us for family.” She tips her head. “There’s that phrase, family isn’t always blood, and I get it. Being related doesn’t mean you’ll be treated right or even with kindness.” Her brows push together and she bites her lip, looking down at her tea cup. “But blood is everything for us. I guess…I guess it’s both. It’s a chosen family made with blood.” She puts the cup on the table. “I wasn’t related to the Malus family, but now their blood runs through my veins. And my children’s veins. But being alive and sharing blood isn’t the same as being undead and sharing blood.”
“It is a weird concept to think about,” I agree.
“I went off on a tangent. Sorry for that, doll.”
“I don’t mind. I like when you do because you’ve made a lot of sense the couple times you’ve gone off on one.”
“I did?” She smiles, wrinkling her nose. “I don’t always remember what I’ve said.”
“Good thing I remember.” I chuckle and lean back, picking at the cupcake. Now that I know what Mabel went through in her final hours as a human, I feel even more empathy for her. “Have you talked to Devon yet?”
“Only for a moment. He has healed. Xavier’s blood is powerful.”
“I’m sure it is.”
“You want to know how Devon is doing, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” I say, debating on telling her that Devon’s last request was to not be turned. She’d understand. I think? She didn’t want to be turned. Hell, she didn’t want to be alive anymore and now she’s stuck for all eternity unless she ends herself or she’s murdered.
“He came to me,” I start, unable to keep everything bottled up. “Outside that factory.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know the details.” I shake my head. “He told me he found out something about the Russos and was really freaked out by it. Like, thought we should skip town and then figure things out kinda scared.”
“Oh, jeepers. He was shot before he got a chance to tell you?”
“Mh-hm,” I say with a nod. “I’ll ask him when I see him. Is he…um…like how he used to be?”
“Yes. But also no.” Mabel’s eyes go to the fake window, face blanking as she zones out. “We’re kinda like spiders, you know.”
“Who?”
“Vampires. Spiders sink their fangs into their prey and liquify the insides so they can drink it. We also use our fangs and drink the insides. I don’t know how to weave a web but it would be neat, wouldn’t it? And all my babies could join.” She motions to her stuffed animals. Man, it has to be rough being inside her head. Though maybe being that aloof is peaceful.
I’ll never know.
“Did he talk to you or anything? I know he’s not dead, but it’s just weird that I watched his human life fade but he’s still here.”
“Zeke told me your best qualities shine when you wake up after being turned. Devon had a lot of good qualities. That’s why Xavier wanted him to pass them down.”
“Right.” I wrinkle my nose at the thought of being forced to carry a Malus baby into the world. We sit in silence as I finish the cupcake. “I’m exhausted,” I tell Mabel.