Page 83 of The Tracker's Rage
The man dropped to all fours, sputtering and spitting. Bernadetta took a couple of steps back, her head cocked to one side as she regarded him with curiosity.
He slowly rose to his feet and glanced around, chest heaving, hatred burning in his gaze.
“You’ll pay for this.” He reached for Bernadetta, wrapping his hands around her neck.
She didn’t even flinch. Danika made as if to pull the man back, but the Dark Donna waved her back. In the next instant, the man began trembling all over. He tried to hold onto the vamp, but he fell to the floor and flopped like a fish out of water. He clawed at his throat, screaming and arching his back to the breaking point. A blue light shone under his skin, descending from his throat to the rest of his body and also climbing to the top of his head.
“Fascinating,” Bernadetta observed as the man continued to thrash, crying out in agony.
I wanted to turn away, to close my eyes so I wouldn’t have to see his suffering, so I wouldn’t have to witness what would happen to me next, but I was transfixed.
Suddenly, the man went utterly still, his cries turning into soft moans. At last, he went silent. Was he dead?
Maybe something had gone wrong, or I should say... something had gone terribly right? Because I would rather die than become the Dark Donna’s mind slave.
Bernadetta exchanged a glance with Stephen. It seemed she also thought something had gone wrong. She opened her mouth to say something when the man twitched and sat up straight with a jolt.
The Dark Donna made an approving sound in the back of her throat. “Stand,” she ordered.
The man rose to his feet and faced her, looking like a soldier ready for his next command.
“Act like a monkey,” she ordered.
The man placed one hand on top of his head and the other on his butt and started scratching both places simultaneously while he walked around with bent knees saying, “Ooh, ooh, ooh, ah, ah.”
Bernadetta laughed and her vampires laughed with her, looking delighted.
“This is easier than compulsion,” she said. “Totally effortless.”
“Ooh, ooh, ooh, ah, ah.” The man seemed to be getting carried away and started bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet and beating his chest.
“Enough,” the vamp said.
He stopped, straightened his back, and waited for his next command.
“Stand aside and wait.”
The man retreated, bowing his head respectfully and standing with his hands behind his back.
Bernadetta turned to Stephen. “She’s next.”
I dug my heels in. “No, please don’t let her do that to me.”
This couldn’t be happening. Stephen pushed me forward.
“No!” I cried out. “Please. I’ll be on your side, Stephen.” I would say anything to stop them from feeding me that poison.
“You had your chance,” Stephen said. “If you had simply considered it, I would have given you the opportunity to prove yourself.”
Danika grabbed my arms and forced me to my knees. She took a handful of my hair and pulled my head back. Bernadetta dipped the dagger into the vessel once more and approached me. Her expression told me how pleased she felt to find me kneeling in front of her, ready to become her slave.
Digging in her claws, Danika grabbed my face and squeezed. I clenched my teeth together with all my might, but her fingers painfully dug into the hollows of my cheeks, slowly prying my mouth open.
Bernadetta placed the dagger over my mouth. A drop of blood slid to the tip and hung there for a split second. Then it fell, ready to seal my fate and give my life over to the evil vamp.
