Page 76 of The 13th Daughter
"You said it yourself, Cassie. You were never more than a means to an end." He smiled that beautiful smile I loved, but it twisted with a cruel curve. "It was so easy to fool you. Such a gullible girl. A few kisses, some sweet words and you fell right into my lap. I had no idea you'd be so easy."
I hit him as hard as I could. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and he wiped it away. "Still have a bit of a temper, don't you?" he laughed. "I always did like that about you."
Bit of a temper? I'd show him just how much of a temper I had. "Air..."
"Oh no you don't." He grinned and slapped a hand over my mouth. "No spells this time, Cassie. Do you think we're stupid enough to come here without the proverbial ace in the hole?"
Ace in the hole?
"Your parents," he explained. "Jonas collected them earlier. Either you come with us now, or they die. It's that simple."
My eyes widened in horror. They wouldn't hurt my parents. Mom and Dad were Coven members. But the Coven had killed Emily, I reminded myself, just to keep their precious little secret safe. Mr. Martin would murder my parents in an instant if he needed to.
"Are you going to behave, love?" Ethan asked.
I nodded. What else could I do? They had my parents.
"Good girl." His hand came away from my mouth and he tweaked my nose.
I hated him in that moment. The blind fury must have shown on my face because he smiled at me with the smile of a fox. Cagey and wicked. I wanted to hit him again.
Mr. Warren put a restraining hand on Ethan. "No boy, I won't let you do this."
Ethan's eyebrows shot up and he laughed. He shoved the old man. He fell, his head hitting the hallway table. When he didn't move, I cried out. He was so old. The fall might have broken bones if it hadn't killed him. He could have a head injury...
"Let's go," Ethan shoved me at Billy. "Don't touch the dress," he warned.
"Why?" Billy asked and latched onto my arm. Jeff grabbed the other. I looked up at him, my eyes full of hurt and betrayal. He stared back with cold, indifferent eyes and pushed me out the door.
"No one can touch it except Cassie," Kay told him as we walked. "It'll burn you."
"Why?" I demanded and twisted my head so I could look her in the eyes. "Why are you doing this, Kay? You're my best friend. No, you're more than that, you're like my sister. How can you do this to me?"
"Because you're the thirteenth daughter, CJ," she told me, her voice as cold as her father's. "You will do what you were born to do."
"How do you know it's not you?" I asked. Surely her father had told her about not knowing which of us it was.
"My father tested my blood on the ashes this morning. There was no reaction. That's how we know it's you."
"Did they tell you I have to die, Makayla?" I asked her softly. "Did they?"
Her steps faltered. "Die? No, CJ, you're wrong. We just need the blood of the thirteenth daughter to invoke the curse."
"No, I'm not wrong. I have to die. It's part of the payment for the assistance of the gods."
She stopped walking. "You have to be wrong, CJ. Dad would have told me. He tested my blood this morning. He wouldn't let them..."
"I don't just have to die, Kay," I interrupted her. "I have to burn just as our ancestors did. They're going to bleed me to invoke the curse and then burn me alive to serve as a beacon to our ancestors' spirits so they can find their way back. They're going to burn me alive, MJ. Please..."
"Shut up!" Billy snarled and twisted my arm.
"You knew?" Kay whispered. "You knew they were going to kill her?"
"Better her than you," he said.
"No, Billy, not better her than me. I didn't know they were going to kill her!"
"Makayla Joyce Martin," he bit the words out. "This is what we have worked for centuries to achieve. It is our duty to see justice done. You know that. We have to do what must be done."
