Page 78 of The 13th Daughter
"Ah, Matthew, I see you got her here with no problems." Mr. Martin stepped forward, a smile of pleasure on his face. "Good, good."
"Where are my parents?" I demanded. So Ethan was Matthew.
"Roger is tied up nice and tight. We couldn't have him interfering tonight any more than we could the night of Emily's...accident. He's there by that log. See, perfectly safe and your mother is standing right next to Joanne," he waved to his left.
Sure enough my mother stood just a few feet away. I could see her clearly in the firelight. Her eyes glowed with excitement. Another stab of pain struck me. My mother? She was in on it? How much more could I take?
"Yes, your mother is very proud to have given birth to the thirteenth bearer of life," Mr. Martin smiled at her from across the fire. She smiled back. It was the same smile she used to give my dad. Nausea almost doubled me over as the truth of it struck. She and Mr. Martin had hooked up. Why hadn't I realized it sooner? They were so chummy at Meg's induction. How had I missed so many details? I wasn't even surprised. It's not like she cared about her family. She was willing to let them kill me and had probably known what they were going to do to Emily. Anger gave me courage. I knew something they didn't.
"How does this make you any better than those who betrayed us? You'd betray one of your own just as our people were betrayed?"
"This is different," Mr. Martin told me. "We knew going into it what the price would be and we agreed. All of us. No one has been betrayed."
"I didn't agree to it!" I shouted. "Hell no, I didn't agree to any of this!"
"Had you not been so stubborn about joining, you'd have been taught the same as everyone else, CJ. You'd consider it your duty and a great honor."
"Honor? You're planning on burning me alive!"
"The souls of our ancestors need a beacon to find their path back to us in the here and now. The last memory their souls will have will be of being burned alive. You will be their guide, CJ." He walked over to an old urn and began pouring the ashes it contained into a circle around the pyre and fire. "These ashes were brought with us to New Salem. They are the remains of our fallen brethren. Your blood will give them a corporeal shape and a way to seek their vengeance."
I laughed. It was either laugh or cry and I couldn't afford to lose it.
"You think this is funny?" Mr. Martin paused.
"Hilarious, laugh your ass off funny," I grinned.
"Why?"
"Because I found my Book."
"Your book?" he frowned.
"The Book that was stolen. It's mine. There was a spell cast upon it so that only the next true Coven leader would be able to learn all its secrets. It showed me what it didn't show anyone else. You're screwed. Nothing you do will work. You can spill my blood, even burn me at the stake, and it still won't work. My death will not invoke your curse. You don't know what Sara Bishop did with her dying words. I do."
Rage flooded his face. Ohh, must have struck a nerve. "What did she do?" he snarled.
"I'll never tell you."
"Oh, yes, you will little girl."
There was a loud explosion and fog enveloped us, then a velvety blackness coated the night. I couldn't see.
Hands grabbed mine.
"Run."
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I stumbled.Strong hands pulled me up and we barreled through the inky blackness. It was like trying to walk through a wall of jello-wet and thick. It had some kind of spell. I just didn't know how long it would last. My sides started to burn and my lungs struggled to take in air when we broke free of the mire. It seemed like we'd been running forever, but it was only about ten minutes or so. I recognized where we were. Just north of the clearing. They had to be right behind us.
"Dammit!" Jeff growled. "It was supposed to last longer than that. We have to leave, CJ, now."
"Give me...a second. I need to...catch...my breath."
He growled and glared at my shoes. "Take those heels off. You'll run faster."
"Not a chance. I run faster in heels than you can in your track shoes."
