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CHAPTER 22
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Marked CHAPTER 23
I stood outside my building and looked up apprehensively. It was sunset now, and the light didn’t bother me as much. In fact, as night approached, I felt stronger with each passing hour.I bounded up the five-story walkup with lightning speed, surprising myself. I took the steps three at a time, and my legs weren’t even tired. I couldn’t fathom what was happening to my body. Whatever it was, I loved it.My good mood dimmed as I approached the apartment door. My heart began to pound, as I wondered if my mom would be home. How would she react?But as I reached for the doorknob, I was surprised to see that the door was already open, slightly ajar. My foreboding increased. Why would it be open?I walked tentatively into the apartment, the wood creaking beneath my feet. I slowly stepped through the foyer and into the living room.As I entered I turned my head—and suddenly raised my hands to my mouth in shock. A horrible wave of nausea hit me. I turned and vomited.It was my mom. Lying
Marked CHAPTER 24
The three wheeled and stared at the cops.They then, slowly, walked towards them, completely unafraid.“I said FREEZE!”The leader kept walking, and the cop fired. The noise was deafening.But, amazingly, the leader didn’t even stop. He smiled even wider, simply reached out his hand, and caught the bullet in midair. I was shocked to see that he stopped it in mid-air, in his palm. He then held up his hand, slowly made a fist and crushed it. He opened his hand, and the dust slowly poured out onto the floor.The cops, too, stared back in shock, mouths open.The leader grinned even wider, reached out and grabbed the cop’s shotgun. He yanked it from him, wound up and struck the cop across the face. The cop went flying backwards, knocking over several of his men.I had seen enough.Without hesitating, I turned, opened the window and climbed through. I jumped onto the fire escape and raced down the rickety, rusted steps.I ran for all I was worth, twisting and turning. The old fire e
Marked CHAPTER 25
Where the hell was I?I woke to complete blackness. I felt a cold, metal pain on my wrists and ankles, and my limbs were sore. I realized I was chained. Standing. My arms were outstretched, by my sides, and I tried to move them, but they didn’t budge. Neither did my feet. I heard a rattle as I tried, and felt the cold, hard metal dig harder into my wrists and ankles.I opened my eyes wider, heart pounding, trying to get a feel for where I was. It was cold. I was still dressed, but barefoot, and I could feel cold stone beneath my feet. I also felt stone along my back. I was up against a wall. Chained to a wall.I looked hard about the room and tried to make something out. But the blackness was absolute. I was cold. And thirsty. I swallowed, and my throat was dry.I tugged for all I was worth, but even with my newfound strength, the chains did not budge. I was completely stuck.I tried with all my power to change back into a wolf.But nothing happened.I had no idea how it worked.
Marked CHAPTER 26
“Forgive these harsh accommodations,” the man said, running his hand along the thick metal chain that held me to the wall. “We’d be more than happy to let you go,” he said, “if only you would answer a few questions.”I looked back, unsure what to say.“I will begin. My name is Kyle. I am Deputy Leader of the Blacktide Coven,” he paused. “Your turn.”“I don’t know what you want from me,” I answered.“To start with, your coven. Who do you belong to? Or shall I say…your pack? Which is it?”I wracked my brain, trying to figure out if I had lost my mind. Was I imagining all of this? I thought I must be stuck in some sort of sick dream. But I felt the very real cold steel on my wrists and ankles, and knew I was not. I had no idea what to tell this man. What was he talking about? Coven? As in…vampire?Pack? As in werewolf?“I don’t belong to anyone,” I said.He stared for a long while, then slowly shook his head. “As you wish. We have dealt with rogues before. It’s always the same
Marked CHAPTER 27
When they opened the oak door, I could not believe my eyes. The room was enormous. Shaped in a huge circle, it was lined with hundred-foot-tall stone columns, ornately decorated. It was well lit, torches placed every 5 feet, all throughout the room. It looked like the Pantheon. It looked ancient.As I was led in, the next thing I noticed was the noise. It was a huge crowd. I looked around and saw hundreds, if not thousands, of men and women dressed in black, moving quickly all about the room. There was a strangeness to how they moved: it was so fast, so random, so…inhuman. I heard a swooshing noise, and looked up. Dozens of these people leapt, or flew, through the room, going from floor to ceiling, from ceiling to balcony, from column to ledge. That was the whooshing noise I had heard. It was as if I had entered a cave full of bats.I took it all in and was completely, utterly, shocked. Vampires did exist. Was I one of them?Or was I a werewolf?Or was I somehow…both?They led
Marked CHAPTER 28
The water covered my entire body, making it hard to breathe, or open my eyes. After about ten seconds, though, after my entire hair and body and clothes were completely drenched, I blinked my eyes. I braced myself for the pain.But it didn’t come.I blinked, then looked up at the cauldron, wondering if it were completely empty. It was. I looked back down at myself, and saw I was drenched. But I was completely fine. Not an ounce of pain.The leader, suddenly realizing, stood in his chair, jaw dropping. He was clearly shocked. Kyle, too, turned and looked, his mouth open. The entire assembly, hundreds of vampires, all stood, and a gasp spread through the room.I could see that this was not the reaction they had been expecting. They were all dumbfounded.Somehow, their water had not affected me. Maybe I wasn’t a vampire after all?I saw my chance.While they all stood there, too shocked to react, something happened.My strength came roaring back.I felt my body stretching again,
Marked CHAPTER 29
Before I could react, he grabbed my arm and led me away. He tugged at me, making me run faster than I ever had, faster than I knew I could, and within seconds we were down one hall, then another, then another, twisting and turning every which way. The only thing we had to see by were occasional torches. I never could have made it out of there on my own.“What’s going on?” I tried to ask as we ran, out of breath. “Where are we –”“This way!” he yelled, yanking me suddenly in another direction.Behind us, I heard a crashing, followed by the sound of a mob, bearing down on us.We reached a circular staircase, made of stone, winding its way up along a wall. He ran full speed toward the steps, yanking me with him, and before I knew it we were racing up the steps, twisting in circles, taking them three at a time. We were ascending quickly.As we reached the top, it seemed to end in a complete wall. A stone ceiling was above us, and I could see no other way out. It was a dead end. Where
Marked CHAPTER 30
I landed on my back in the water, and looked up to see him pouncing again, right for my throat. I rolled out of the way just in time, springing back on my feet. He was fast, but so was I.He fell flat on his face. He got up and spun around and squared off in a rage. He clawed his right hand right for my face. I dodged it, and his hand barely missed me, the wind of it passing right by my cheek. His hand hit the wall with such force that it lodged into the stone.I was mad now. I felt the red-hot rage pulse in my veins. I walked over to the stuck vampire and wound back my leg and planted a strong kick right in his gut. He keeled over.I then grabbed him from behind and threw him right into the wall, face first. His head hit the stone hard. I was proud of myself, figuring I had finished him off.But I was shocked by a sudden pain in my face, and found myself backhanded once again. This vampire had recovered quickly—much more quickly than I had thought possible. Before I knew it, he wa
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