"That's why you're here."
"Yeah. Mine and Annie’s families are the only ones left of the original crew that worked on the Vincent. My family has been diligent in coming every year to make the sacrifice, but I was going to hand the torch off to Annie this year. You'll have to forgive her outburst. She's just scared."
"I don't understand."
Moth tossed his head back in frustration. "He was going to sacrifice you, you—" He snapped his mouth shut. "But then you fucked it up."
"Did you know about this?" I asked Moth.
“Not the full details, but to an extent,” Tristan answered for him. “Yes, I realize now that I should have planned better. I should have told everyone exactly what was at stake. And probably shouldn’t have picked a hot girl as our sacrifice.”
“But why does it have to be a virgin? Your grandfather obviously wasn’t.”
“My grandfather wasn’t the one Mr. Vincent murdered.My great-grandfather’s fiancé was in the bed, not him. She was a virgin.”
My breath left my lungs. How horrible! She had no idea.
"So what's going to happen then? If the hotel doesn't get what it wants?" I shivered and looked around. Tristan stood and leaned over the table.
"Who knows? It's not really my problem anymore, is it?"
"Well, it's not mine either." I stood as well. "My family isn't tied to the hotel. We'll just leave."
"You can try. The Vincent isn't going to let you though." Moth snickered.
"Why not?"
"Because it's already taken over your boyfriend. Or brother. Whatever."
I looked at Priest, who was staring straight ahead, his eyes glossed over again.
"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously.
"We mean," Tristan said. "That Priest isn't in there anymore. He's been possessed. And whatever spirit has him isn't letting him go. It's not going to let you go either. Face it, sweetie, you're as good as dead."
Rule 56 - Priest
Move fast. Don’t bother with clean up.
Iwas losing time. The longer I stayed here, the stronger the spirit possessing me became. I wasn't sure how I got where I was, and I was only coming in and out of consciousness for small pieces of time.
"What do you want?" Annie's voice pulled me from the darkness. I looked around and found myself in a library. Annie was behind a desk with a dozen books opened. "You can get the fuck out. I'm trying to fix everything you screwed up."
I didn't understand what she meant, but I couldn't walk away.
"You know, your line should have been the first. I'd always hated Gwendolyn." The loudest spirit spoke through me. He had almost taken over me completely.
Annie's face paled. "That’s not your voice. How do you know that name?"
I clicked my tongue. "Annie, Annie, Annie. Do you think I can't recognize the bloodline? You look like her. The hair, the eyes, the attitude. For a cook, your great-grandmother's meals were shit."
"Who are you?" Her eyes widened with fear as I stepped toward the desk.
"What are you going to do now that your precious little virgin's been taken? You know we won't accept anything but pure blood."
"I know that." She stumbled back, hitting the wall. "I'm working on it. I might try to go down the hill. We can find someone in the town below."
"You think we’re going to just let you leave?" I laughed.
