Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 99935 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99935 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
No skeleton sconces, no torches, no wax-covered chandeliers. No, there was nothing to see by except...
I squinted—taking one step, then another into the pitch-black hallway.
Small, marble-sized dim lights floated through the corridor like fireflies.
“Wow,” I whispered, drifting closer. “What is that? They’re floating in pairs like lovebugs.” I reached out. “So pretty—”
“Ow,” a dry voice said.
“Ahhh!” Shrieking, I snapped my hand back—lurching away. Not lovebugs, they’re eyes! I whipped around, seeing the dozens upon dozens of pairs of moving, shifting, staring lights with new clarity. Vampires!
A slippery voice tickled my ear. “Are you lost, little demon?”
It was everything in me not to scream when cool, bloodless, unseen fingers brushed my cheek.
“Shall we show you the way home?”
“N-no, thank you,” I squeaked. I was booking it for the entrance before I finished my sentence. “So sorry to bother you, please enjoy the rest of your evening!”
Laughter followed me out of the northwest wing and into the light.
I didn’t stop running until I was back in front of the demon mess hall. Everywhere else I’d been I had hit closed doors, locks, and chains, but the doors to the vampire wing were wide open. What did it mean that they had zero problem letting their potential prey walk right through the front door?
“Human.” Sabrina tightened around my middle. “You requested I be silent and give you time to think. Knowing what an arduous task that is for you—”
I was really starting not to like this reptile.
“—I heeded your request, but are you at any point going to explain why you’re doing all this pointless running around?”
“It’s not pointless.” I rested my back on the cushioned wall. “I need to know what I’m up against, and now I know that they only let werewolves into the werewolf wing. They don’t even open the doors to the fae wing, and as for the vampire wing...” I shivered. “I’m assuming vampires don’t sleep?”
“They do not.”
“Of course not,” I muttered, “so if I go bursting in there with my torch to look around, I’ll be seen by everyone.” I released a long breath. “He was right about this being the perfect place to hide her. There are just too many blocked-off places where most aren’t allowed to go. It’s not possible for me to move around this place unseen.”
“Good. You begin to understand the futility of your task.” Sabrina had the nerve to sound proud of me. “I assume this means you will now give up and surrender your soul unto my lord.”
“You assume incorrectly,” I snapped. “I can’t run around this place freely... but you can.” I winced. “Without the running—naturally.”
“Me? What are you talking about?”
“You can search this place for me, Sabrina. You can go to all the places I can’t go, and you can find my sister,” I said. “And because you leave scent trails—unlike myself—you can mark off every nook and cranny in this maze of a place without getting lost or re-treading the same ground. You are the one who can find Dora.”
She popped out from under my shirt to look me in the face. “You used this time to think of an idea that isn’t completely stupid. I would applaud you, but at this point, you have been seen and overheard talking to me numerous times and by many people. If your nestmate’s captor knows of you, then they most certainly know of me.”
I tipped my head. “I know. I realize that, but it’s all we got right now. I can’t get into half of this place, but you can. And that’s a start.”
It was impossible to read a single emotion on her face. “You must know that not even I will be of much help to you in the vampire’s territory. Snakes find their prey in the darkness through body heat. Vampires give off none.”
“Hmmm. That is a problem, but we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it,” I said. “The first thing to do is check out Tristan. Honestly, I... don’t think he’s deceiving me. I think he’s exactly what he appears to be. A friend.”
“A... friend?” Sabrina rose higher, leveling her eyes with mine. “What is this word? What does it mean?”
I laughed. “Are you kidding?”
She waited me out, staring until my smile dimmed.
“Wait, seriously? Are you really asking me what the word friend means?”
“Is it a human word?”
“Well— I— Yeah,” I burst out. “A friend is... a friend! They’re someone you like. Someone you trust. You spend time with them, confide in them, enjoy their company,” I rattled off to a face that showed zero understanding. “Come on, Sabrina. Do you really not have friends in hell?”
“If a friend,” she replied, “involves all of that silly, boring, ridiculous stuff you just said, then no. Such a pointless thing does not exist here.”
I gaped at her, truly stunned for the first time since I arrived in this nightmare. The denizens of hell lived like this every single day of their afterlife, and they didn’t even have friends to get through it. “What... about love?” I whispered. “Do demons have love at least? For their parents? For their children? For their romantic partners?”