Page 20 of Forever Frenzy
Colonists had gathered in the commotion and now they stood, staring at the three of us. As Seth and I helped Porschia stand, I could feel the power beneath her skin, aching to be set loose.
I nudged Seth. “Make them forget.”
“All of them?” he asked incredulously.
“Yes, all of them. But wait until we leave first.”
I pulled Porschia away from her neighbors, Mercedes among them. She covered her mouth wordlessly while Roman held their children’s hands behind her. I shook my head. “I’ll take care of her,” I told Mercedes.
“How’d this even happen?” she screeched.
“Better explained later,” Porschia said, but as soon as Mercedes saw Porschia’s fangs, a full-blown meltdown started.
“Porschia?”
She looked at me, her eyes feral and wild.
“We have to leave now.”
“Okay.”
I expected a fight, not complacency, but Porschia was hollow. Numb. Her mind hadn’t yet caught up with the gravity of what had taken place in such a short expanse of time. When our hands met, palm to palm, a pulse of energy flared between us and we disappeared to The Sand.
I bound her there.
For her good.
So that everyone on earth was protected from her.
She and I would remain the last vampires. We would stay in this place, separate from the world and Underworld. A haven for the two of us.
Making an entire crowd of people believe that what they’d seen with their own eyes didn’t really happen was harder than I’d imagined. It was only common sense that the fountain had overturned so easily. That must have been the sound they’d heard. It finally succumbed to the ravages of time, and when concrete hits stone, the impact is big. Did they really feel it? Nah. Maybe they thought they did, but something as simple as a fountain falling over wouldn’t cause an earthquake.
The stones beneath it were damaged, shoved a few feet into the earth, but that must have been because of all the rain they received this fall. The earth was too soft. Maybe that was why it fell in the first place, come to think of it.
Mercedes was the hardest one to fool. I wasn’t super-close with her, but she loved Mom. Luckily, Grandpa hadn’t come. He was having trouble walking without help, so he stayed home most days. Today, thankfully, was no exception.
Roman looked at me with dark, guarded eyes. Part of him knew I was lying. I wasn’t sure how, but the sharpness of his glare said he was aware of something, even if he couldn’t quite put his finger on what.
Once I walked away from town, across the bridge and into the woods, I could finally breathe again. That was, until I remembered Dad.
Then I cried; sobbing all the way back to The Sand. I opened the doorway, the darkness of the night meeting the late evening light. “Mom?” I choked as I ran to her. “I’m so sorry.”
“For what?”
“I’m sorry you had to turn.”
I held her tight.
“Didn’t you know?” she asked.
“Know what?” I wiped my tears away.
“I’m a great huntress.”
She was. Scary as hell, too.
She squeezed my hand. “Tage is going to take care of your Dad.”
