Monsters Like Us (Book 1 in The Huntress Series)

Chapter Fifteen (Part Three)

In that moment, everything felt as it should be. She stepped over him, Hemlock House calling her to return, and strode across the garden with a purpose. The hem of her wedding dress was soaked in mud, the veil tossed aside and clinging to the rosebushes like a glorious spiderweb. The crown on her head shone bright in the moonlight, and rage tore through her like a vengeful beast. She threw open the door to the house, ripping it right off the hinges and reducing it to splinters. It was like a bomb going off. Esperanza had never felt so powerful. She wasn't even walking anymore. Floating.

Floating on power.

Power in her blood.

Blood on her mind.

Disappointingly the house was empty, or rather seemingly empty. Until Lavinia stepped into view. She stood at the head of the stairs, tapping her long nails on the marble railing. "That foolish boy," she said. "He's turned you into one of us, hasn't he? And I was so certain he would drown you at the lake like he did the others."

Esperanza smiled, waving her blade as if to say hello. Lavinia's expression changed when she saw the blade. "I had my suspicions you might be a huntress. Well, you're the perfect weapon now, aren't you?" She tilted her head to the side. "Have you killed my idiot son?"

"Not yet."

"And do you plan on killing me?"

Esperanza assumed a fighting stance. "Naturally."

Lavinia fixed her hair, unbothered. "Girls!"

Esperanza saw Cordelia before she dropped down from the ceiling. Everything happened in slow motion. The veil ripping away, the hooked teeth aiming for her head. But Esperanza caught her by her throat, catching her in mid-air. Cordelia choked, surprised. "Mother?"

"Kill her!"

"I'm trying. She's so—" Esperanza hurled her at the staircase, the bottom steps exploding into a cloud of marble dust. When it settled, Cordelia laid strewn over the rubble like a boxer thrown against the ropes.

Esperanza laughed, beckoning her to try again. "Come and get me." Cordelia rose like a phantom and the two clashed, Esperanza with her blade and Cordelia with her teeth and claws. It didn't take long before she gave her a much-needed nail trim, and a slice across her sticky face. Cordelia stumbled, shocked, reaching up to touch her oozing cheek. Esperanza whirled around, delivering a powerful kick to the center of her chest, smashing her into the family portrait above the stairs. It split down the middle.

"Get up, stupid girl!" Lavinia barked. "She's coming this way!" But just as Cordelia managed to push to her feet, part of the ceiling broke off and crushed her like a swatter flattening a fly. Lavinia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Wonderful. Do you know how much repairs cost in this room?"

Mottie appeared before Esperanza as she stalked up the stairs. She looked adorable in her black dress with the white lace collar, the matching shoes, and knee-high socks. She batted the lashes that framed her doe-like blue eyes. "You wouldn't hurt me, would you?" Mottie wondered in her most innocent sounding voice. "I'm just a little girl."

Esperanza held her by the collar. "You're no little girl." Then she easily tossed her out the window, the glass shattering into pieces. "So," she said, turning her attention back to Lavinia, "Where were we?"

All the air left Esperanza at once. She felt as though she'd been tackled by a linebacker, crashing through the stair railing and leaving a crater sized hole in the center of the marble floor. On top of her was a snarling beast, black as night, like an overgrown panther. Esperanza held it by the throat, but it snapped at her fiercely, nearly tearing off her nose. White foam bubbled up between its sharp teeth, dripping down onto her neck and chest. She reached for her blade, driving it into the creature's side until it whimpered and rolled off her. Slowly the creature transformed into Mottie, her tiny body twisting in pain. As she lay on the ground, blood pooled around her, and she called for Claw.