“Monique,” Kenneth rasped, his entrails beginning to move, slithering like serpents back inside. Nausea flared and I fought back the urge to vomit. He crawled along the floor to her, his gaping wound spilling blood. Monique was still curled up, shaking all over, her entire body coated in red. Tears poured down her cheeks, her nose looked flat, and her eyes were black and almost swollen shut.
“I’ve got you, I’ve got you,” he murmured, pulling her into his arms. She didn’t fight him off; she sagged against his chest and cried.
Michael rose shakily to his feet, his sleeves shredded and bloody, gouged wounds in his arms dripping blood. They were healing but slowly, far slower than usual. He blinked through dust-coated eyes, collected the witch’s knife off the floor, and tucked it in his pocket.
The witch Karson held by the neck clawed at his hand uselessly, her eyes bulging, her face turning red, then blue. He was slowly dragging the life from her lungs.
From above someone cried, “Stop. Stop!”
Through my watery vision, I could barely make out Georgie and Josh standing at the top of the stairs. Georgie’s hands were over her mouth, her eyes resting on Eric. She began to run down the stairs, Josh following her.
I whipped my head back to another sharp shriek as the blonde-haired witch yanked the blade from the other witch’s arm. It was a mistake unless she was a healer. Blood rushed out over her pale skin like the devil’s bride escaping her wedding.
The blonde turned back and held the knife in a trembling hand, her eyes darting around the room. She must have decided she had no hope against us now, and she threw it off to the side.
The witch Karson held by the throat was almost dead. Her eyes rolled back in her head.
“Karson, stop,” I rasped.
“As much as I’d like to see her suffer,” Michael stumbled to him and clutched at his arm, “she can’t speak with your hands around her neck.”
With a grunt of frustration, Karson released her and took a step back.
The witch clutched at her neck, red fingerprints staining where his hand had been. She hunched over, chest heaving, wheezing and spluttering.
Josh rushed to Monique, then hovered over her and Kenneth. “Are you … what can I do?” he asked, tears in his eyes.
Michael staggered. Josh whipped a chair out for him. Michael sagged down, sweat coating his brow. The effects of the poison were still in his system, but he seemed alright, at least. He wasn’t going to die. Unlike Eric.
Georgie rushed to him and rolled him over, her nursing skills kicking in. Her eyes widened at the sight of his darkened skin. She pressed her finger to his neck, checking his vital signs.
“He’s dead,” Rodney said, his voice snagging in grief.
Georgie used her sleeve to wipe the foam dribbling from the corner of his mouth and began heart compressions.
“He’s dead,” Rodney repeated.
“Hearts can be restarted.”
Georgie pressed on Eric’s chest in a fast, rhythmical beat, but when she went to blow into his mouth, Rodney moved in a flash, grabbed her arms, and hauled her back. “He’s dead!” he shouted.
“He’s a vampire, he can be saved!” she shouted back, struggling to break free, but he dragged her away, her feet sliding across the wooden floor as she struggled.
His jaw clenched. “He’s dead, and if you touch that poison you might be too.”
Georgie whipped her head to look at him, then moved her gaze to the doorway to the entertainment room, where the girls stood at the edge staring in, no fear in their eyes, nothing but a flicker perhaps of confusion.
Rodney let her go. Georgie stepped away, moving instead to the witch whose arm was fast bleeding out. She reeled back as Georgie approached.
“I’m not going to hurt you, I’m a nurse, let me help you,” Georgie said softly. The witch blinked up through her dark hair like a frightened mouse. “Josh, get bandages,” Georgie said without looking at him.
Josh looked at Karson for permission. He said nothing, so Josh whirled up the stairs and came back moments later with a medical kit, and Georgie began wrapping her bleeding arm.
“Where is he?” The witch Karson had choked straightened up, her eyes glittering with a mixture of fury and fear. “You son of a bitch, what did you do to him?”
“I do a lot to a lot of people, sweetheart,” Karson responded smugly. “As I’ve already told you, you’re going to have to be more specific.”
“Where’s Leon?” she spat.
