“I have to call for help,” I said. I don’t even know if she heard me. She didn’t look, she didn’t answer, she just kept crying.
Using my hands as leverage, legs made of stone, I heaved myself up and made my way toward Bob’s desk. The floor moved under my feet. From outside, the roar of a car engine was getting closer. The lion closing back in.
Exhaustion swallowed me. I couldn’t fight anymore, I had nothing left. I gripped the desk, my hands slick with sweat, it near slipped out of my grip. My legs trembled violently and wanted to release beneath my weight.
The car screeched to a halt outside.
I closed my eyes for a moment. Perhaps this was always the way it was meant to end. I couldn’t summon enough of anything to give a fuck though. I turned back around, my ass rested against the desk, my chest rising and falling. I felt like my body was carved of concrete. I looked at Georgie, she was in a state ofshock. She looked so small and vulnerable. I felt a lump rise to my throat.
I whispered, “I’m sorry.”
I waited for Sarah to come.
A shape exploded into the room, a dark blur. My heart pulsed into my skull. Not Sarah, though—Karson. He was so pale he was almost gray. His chest rose and fell rapidly. His eyes locked with mine. They were wild, angry, beast-like, and full of panic. Relief shrouded his face.
“You’re bleeding,” he rasped. He focused in on my bloody, ripped top. “Are you badly hurt?”
I couldn’t speak. I wanted to cry. I wanted to hug him. I wanted to shout at him. I couldn’t find the strength to do any of it. I just stared.
“Amelia?” he grated.
Georgie stirred to some kind of life, staring up at him, pale and shaking violently.
Am I badly hurt? I shook my head. I managed to say weakly, “I’m fine.”
He surveyed the room, in a flash he moved to the window, scanning the horizon.
“Sarah’s gone . . . help Georgie,” I said. The room was graying and seemed to be filled with floating dots. My chest felt tight. The air seemed extraordinarily thin.
Karson’s brow flickered, I thought for a moment he’d come to me. Instead, he moved over to her. She shrieked and shrank back, dragging herself on her ass along the floor. Curling into a ball, clutching her hands around her knees, knuckles white. She stared up at him, her eyes wider than dinner plates.
“Be calm, Georgie,” he said, “I will not hurt you.” She relaxed instantly and drew in a deep breath. He stepped forward, bent down, and put his hands either side of her head.
“No, Karson,” I appealed, “if Sarah is still alive, Georgie will need to know.” The floor was jelly. I took a few shaking steps towards him. He stood upright and frowned.
Ethan entered through the broken window. His face was uncharacteristically pale, his lips were parted and his breathing quick. A flare of what looked like guilt stormed across his eyes.
“She’s gone,” he said gravely.
Georgie clambered to her feet. Her eyes darted between us all. “What the fuck are you all—vampires, witches?” Her initial fear had switched to anger. “Her teeth, eyes . . . what—a gigantic fucking wolf, that’s not even fucking possible! You . . . you drink her blood.” She stabbed a shaky finger at Karson. Her legs began to tremble, and as quick as the anger had flashed, shock set back in.
Ethan grabbed the chair for her as her legs gave way. She plonked herself heavily down. Hollow-eyed, lost for words, she looked up at me warily, and with suspicion. I could hardly blame her. It was a lot to process.
Heavy footsteps pounded through the house. BJ and Dahlia came running into the room.
BJ stopped abruptly and darted his eyes from me to Georgie. She made a whining sound in the back of her throat.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded. He glanced back at Georgie, she had her head bowed, staring at her knees and she was rocking back and forth. He lowered himself down beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
“It’s okay, Georgie,” he said softly, tears in his eyes.
Georgie leaned into his chest and began to sob and mumble incoherently about witches, vampires, devils, and wolves.
“Monique?” I directed the comment to Ethan.
“Michael went to find her.”
