"Don't ever say my daughter's name again." Mrs. Vanderbilt is pressing the stake into my chest, sending a ripple of hot pain pulsing through my body.
"Ma'am, please," I beg. "Please. Let me explain."
But she's not listening to me anymore. Instead, she's holding a hand out to the woman I'm assuming is Jamie's sister. They exchange something I can't see, and Mrs. Vanderbilt is pulling the cork out of a small bottle with her teeth. She splashes the water against my face like she's trying to exorcise a demon. I blink the water from my eyes. She throws the bottle to the side, leaving drops of lukewarm water dripping down my cheeks.
"May Source Intelligence have mercy for the atrocities you've committed," she says, wrapping both hands around the stake. Her face is so close, I can see the wrinkles around her lips as she says, "May Goddess grant you the ability to right your wrongs in another life."
I turn my face away, close my eyes tight and wait for the pain, wait for the darkness to take over, hoping to God this doesn't hurt John as badly as it's about to hurt me. I hope he knows I forgive him for turning me, hope Aurora knows I never blamed her for keeping secrets from me.
My mind races to Jamie. The missed calls. Our first kiss. The way she put her body between me and Liam when he cut himself. The beach. Jumping from the dock to keep her safe. To protect her. I'd do anything to protect her, even when I barely knew her and now it'll be my downfall.
Mrs. Vanderbilt takes a deep breath, readying herself to dig the stake through my sternum but when her forearm rests against my collarbone, her eyes go distant, her expression drained as if the anger is being sucked from her body through a funnel. Blood goes icy in my veins and when I force my eyes open, I'm at the beach with Jamie again.
I take a slow step to get a better view around the group of bystanders and find Jamie and Kelsey in the middle along with... Me? A clone of me? Am I dead? Did Mrs. Vanderbilt stake me, and this is the afterlife? Maybe this is the universe's cruel way of teaching me a lesson, showing me where I could have changed my fate. If I'd just let Jamie jump from the pier after her bag. How different things would be now.
I look down at my own hands, try to snap my fingers but there's no sound. I look back to the scene playing out in front of me as I push through the crowd. Everything is the same as I remember it. Kelsey grabs Jamie's arm. The initial fight. The lost bag. The way Jamie stares over the edge of the pier, tears streaming down her cheeks. My clone pushes Kelsey, pulls Jamie away from the edge but Jamie's taking her sweatshirt off, muttering something about her best friend and even though I know what's going to happen, I can't help but hold my breath as my clone jumps from the pier.
There's a collective gasp and everyone rushes forward to see if the past version of myself is going to survive. Then... I see her. Mrs. Vanderbilt.
She's standing back with me, a single tear stuck in her eyelashes, her jaw clenched, lipstick smudged. She catches me watching her and charges me.
"What are you doing to me?" she screams but nobody turns. I'm the only one who can hear her. "What are you doing in my head?" She tries to grab the collar of my shirt, but her hands slide through my body like I'm a ghost. "Get out of my head!"
"Mrs. Vanderbilt, I'm not—"
Before I can finish my sentence, we're sucked back to reality. I'm restrained to the chair in the dim lighting of Jamie's vampire slaying dungeon and Mrs. Vanderbilt is thrown backwards. Glass shatters as her body hits the display case on the other side of the room. I don't have time to think about what just happened. This is my chance. My only chance at survival.
I pull hard against the restraints around my wrists, but they're latched tight and my hands are shaking, my body heavy. I try to shake the feeling, but it doesn't matter. If I could lie my head back, I'd fall asleep. Am I dying? Did Mrs. Vanderbilt stake me, and this is my descent to the unknown?
Mrs. Vanderbilt is lying on the floor, halfway propped against a shelf, her eyes ablaze with anger, her chest heaving with slow breaths. A trickle of blood runs down her forehead.
My throat restricts. My mouth pools with saliva. My head goes foggy, the first sign that the monster in my veins is trying to take control. I try to shake it away but it's no use. Her blood is too strong in this enclosed dungeon. No windows, no doors besides the one in front of me, and nowhere for the scent to disperse.
Jamie's sister runs to her mother's side and crouches. "What did you do?" She's yelling over her shoulder at me.
"I... I didn't do anything." At least, I don't know what I did. Maybe some kind of last resort defense mechanism built into vampires? I don't have time to think about it. Not now. Now, I have to focus on getting out of here.
"Mom, look at me." Jamie's sister's attention is back on Mrs. Vanderbilt. She's moving a finger back and forth, telling her to follow it with her eyes but Mrs. Vanderbilt is more concerned with something else. The television behind me. I know why even though I can't see the screen.
Heavy footsteps pound above us, followed by a lighter gate. I'd recognize the sound of John's work boots against hardwood floors anywhere.
"Gwendolyn!" John's voice booms through the house.
"Girlie, where are you?" Sophie says, slightly calmer.
Jamie's sister looks over her shoulder at me. "You brought backup?"
I'm shaking my head, pulling on the restraints around my wrists. "You need to let me out," I order, my eyes fixed on Mrs. Vanderbilt's wound.
Jamie's sister shakes her head. "You must think I'm the dumbest hunter alive."
"Listen to me." I try to keep my words clear. "If you don't let me out, the two vampires who just walked in will kill you and your mother. You need to trust me." I pause, my mouth searching for the right words to convince her. "Jamie trusts me. You can too."
The woman pushes to her feet, her eyes narrowed at me. She's taller than Jamie, leaner and angrier but she shares her emerald green eyes and the freckles that run across her cheeks.
"My sister...is actually the dumbest hunter I've ever met." She rolls her eyes and walks back to the only entrance in the room, slamming the door shut and sliding a heavy deadbolt in place.
I let out a slow breath through my teeth. This is impossible. Trying to convince hunters not to kill a vampire and hoping the vampires upstairs have enough restraint to spare the bloody human. All while an unbearable sleepiness flows through my body. I dare a glance at Mrs. Vanderbilt who looks equally worn from whatever hallucination we shared. She's staring back at me without lifting her head.
"Mrs. Vanderbilt..." I don't finish the sentence. There's nothing left to say that might change her mind.
"Hold on, Gwen!" John shouts from outside the door. "We're on our way!" The door shakes on its hinges. Luckily, it's daylight but John is strong when he's mortal too.
"John, don't come in here!" I shout back.
Another thud.
"He can't hear you," Jamie's sister says. "Sound proof for when we want to have some extra fun with the leeches." There's an evil glint in her eyes as she dangles a stake between her fingers.
I open my mouth to respond but decide against it, a snarl forming on my lips. This is Jamie's family. They're doing what they've been doing for ages. Monster hunting. Nothing I can say will change their minds about us. They've probably lost dozens of family members to blood suckers.
Another thud and this time the door splinters around the hinges.
"John, please!" I try again, hoping my voice travels through the cracks in the wood. "Don't come in here!" Even if he can hear me, I'm not sure he'll listen. He can feel my fear, my adrenaline. He knows Mrs. Vanderbilt was about to execute me. I don't think anything would stop my surrogate dad from saving my life. Even if it means murdering my girlfriend's mother.
The door makes a splintering sound under John's boot.
"Let her go." The words come from Mrs. Vanderbilt, strong and clear, but Jamie's sister just looks at her like she's crazy. "Don't make me repeat myself." She pushes to her feet and motions to me. "Let her go."
Another thud on the door. My eyes flick between the mangled door and Mrs. Vanderbilt. Please, hurry, I want to beg, but instead I clench my fists and lean forward, ready to spring from the chair as soon as these restraints are off.
"Are you stupid, mom?" Jamie's sister asks but she's undoing the restraints around my ankles anyway.
Mrs. Vanderbilt is standing over me now, watching me with skeptical eyes.
"She saved Jamie's life," she explains and swallows hard. The vision. "Consider this our 'thanks'," she tells me. "And don't let me find you around my daughter again. Ever. I won't be so kind next time. Do you understand?" She stares at me, her icy eyes blank.
I nod.
"Will you be able to control yourself?" she asks, pointing at the wound on her head.
I gulp, dare a glance at the blood, and nod, too scared to open my mouth to speak.
She nods once and pulls the last restraint around my wrist loose before walking to the corner of the room but it's too late. As I pull my wrist free John smashes through the only barrier keeping him from the woman who tried to murder me.