Page 13 of Rebel Fae
Ronnie and Becca gasped, and Baeleath turned his pink eyes on me, jet black eyebrows rising toward his horns in surprise. Regina growled, kicking harder.
“Do you mean it?” Baeleath asked.
“Yes. Do it.”
“But… there might be consequences.” He lowered his gaze thoughtfully as he seemed to consider what could happen if he did what I was suggesting.
“How much longer can you hold her like that?” I asked.
He considered for another moment, then met my gaze. “For a while longer, but… my arm.” He glanced toward the wounds, then at the puddle of blood that had formed on the ground.
“I think she’ll be fine.”
Baeleath’s head cocked to one side.
“She’s already dead,” I reminded him.
Becca nodded repeatedly. “Yes, I think Tally’s right.”
“You think?” Ronnie asked in a near sob. “Shouldn’t we be sure before we kill someone? I’m here because…” He shook his head. “Well,notbecause I killed someone. I don’t want to stay here for life or go somewhere worse.”
Regina slashed at Baeleath once more, making another gash. I had no idea how he was still holding onto her. The pain must be unbearable, but it barely seemed to faze him. Just then Regina’s feet dipped closer to the ground. Baeleathwasweakening.
I was about to urge him to do as I’d said when he lifted his other hand and snapped Regina’s neck as if it were nothing but a hollow twig.
There was a sickening crack that echoed through the trees, and she slumped, boneless in his grip. He let the vampire go, and she collapsed to the ground in a heap.
Baeleath winced slightly as he lowered his arm. He took a few steps back and sat on a large boulder, staring fixedly at Regina’s motionless body.
“I’ve never killed anyone before,” he said. “I’m like you, little one.” He glanced at Ronnie who was holding Becca’s hand tightly in his. He was so petrified he didn’t realize Baeleath was talking to him.
“I’ve never seen a dead body,” Ronnie breathed. “It’s not like on TV.”
I stared at Regina too, hoping my instincts were right. If not, I’d just sentenced her to death. Could I live with that? It was one thing to act in self-defense and quite another to kill in cold blood.
Steps sounded behind me. I whirled, ready for another fight. But it was Vaughn in his human form, though wearing his uniform this time. Thankfully.
“What the hell happened here?” He demanded when he noticed Regina lying on the ground.
“She was trying to eat us, and Baeleath saved us,” Becca explained, her voice high and loud. She was so pale I could count each freckle on her cheeks.
“Is she… dead?” Vaughn asked, looking like someone who was expecting his world to come crumbling at the wrong answer.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. Not any more than she was. Where is Antonio?”
“Yeah, where is he?” Becca echoed, glancing around.
“He’s… indisposed at the moment. Don’t worry about him.” Vaughn approached Regina, his steps measured and tentative. He scanned her body, paying close attention to her face. “Damn vampires. You can never tell if they’re truly dead.”
He poked her side with his boot. She went on looking like a fallen statue. Vaughn squatted to take a closer look, then jumped back up, retreating several steps, when Regina’s eyes sprang open, and she shot to a sitting position, gasping for air and clawing at her neck.
“Shit!” Vaughn exclaimed, though I could tell he was relieved to find she was still alive, or more accuratelyundead. “This is too much,” he screamed towards the trees, losing it. “What the hell kind of twisted game is this?”
“I think he’s gone crazy,” Becca said, looking as scared of Vaughn as she had been of Regina just a moment ago.
Keeping a wary eye on the vampire, I rushed to Vaughn’s side. “You need to calm down. You’re scaring the children more than they already are.”
He clenched his jaw and whirled to face us. “Ronnie, you can do magic. Clean up all this blood and heal the wounds. You can do that right?”
