Page 31 of Slayer Mom
“Did you bring the contract?”
I picked it up off the ground and then hesitated because the table was still covered in dirty dishes. I stacked several and pushed them to the side, then put the documents on the tablecloth, careful not to smear any sauce on them. “I read some of it, but I’ve been so busy…”
“The male is your master, your slayer trainer, correct?”
I blinked at him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You aren’t a great liar. You’ll have to practice. He isn’t going to become a zombie because he has a resistance to zombies due to the serum that he stole fromme.” He flashed his fangs at me, and I cringed away from him.
“Could you not do that?”
“Do you want me to not call you as well? You are afraid of everything.”
“You weren’t there with the zombies all chanting, ‘we are here for you,’ I mean, anyone would be jumpy after that. And I’m worried about Gloria and her boyfriend.”
“You should be. I’d have already killed them, except that would please the zombie queen, and I hate pleasing her.”
“Whose rank is higher, queen or master?”
He flashed those fangs again. “Mine, as long as you are in my power. If you were in hers, I suppose you would reconsider. Except that I don’t allow her to steal any of mine.”
“I’m not yours. I didn’t sign the contract.”
“But you did drink my serum.” He gave me that creepy Cheshire grin again. “Believe me, Lucy Darnell, you are mine.”
I scowled at him. “No, I’m not. First of all, I’m married and if anything, I belong to my husband. Second of all, I’m a citizen of the United States of America. I’m free to choose. That serum of yours won’t last forever. Eventually, I’ll be free of your blood too.”
He cocked his head and studied me for a long moment. “Very well, Lucy the Free. What do you choose? Will you work for me to eradicate the zombies that have marked you and made your life so very unpleasant, threatening your precious home and husband, or will you leave this hotel and your friends, never to see any of us again?”
His black onyx eyes glittered. I started sorting the dishes, because I hadn’t done a very good job.
“How long will the mark last?”
“Longer than you’ll live without my protection. You met sweet Agrippa and dearest Duke. They would both love draining you of the blood that carries my power. You should stop pretending that you want to do anything else. You can’t until the zombies are wiped out of this country. It should only take a century or two.”
“I’m human. I’m not going to live for hundreds of years. I want to be with my husband now.”
“Then be with him. You are too weak to be constantly executing zombies, which is why it will take such a long time. I don’t imagine that you’ll spent more than a regular eight-hour work-day slaughtering zombies, then you can go home to your precious love. I’m assuming you love him. You wear his scent like a blanket. I can tell you where he is without moving, the scent and trail between the two of you is so strong.”
I clenched my hands between my knees. “Was that a threat?”
He flashed his fangs at me. “I am being patient with you because you are a weak human who needs care, or you’ll shatter. I am far too adept at shattering minds, hearts, and souls. This is the world that you live in now. You are marked. It isn’t going to disappear, not until you die or turn.”
“Turn?”
“Become other than human. You are closest to turning zombie or vampire, the zombie because of the mark, and the vampire because of my blood, which you stole and drank of your own free will.” His eyes glittered terrifyingly.
I put my hand on my stomach while it gurgled attractively. “Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten all that steak.”
“You are securely caught. To survive, you must adapt. For others to survive, you must sacrifice.”
I closed my eyes and put my head down on the contract, my pulse pounding in my ears. “I liked being a normal housewife.”
“I highly doubt that you were ever a normal anything. You are weird.”
I raised my head and scowled at him. “Look who’s calling other people weird.”
“I am aware of my own peculiarities. So should you be of yours. Most people couldn’t adapt so easily to slaying or have put in your meticulous efforts which kept the zombies from tracking you to your house. I’ve never met anyone who was marked and wasn’t turned for as long as you have been, all because you are so precise and dedicated.”
