Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 130924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 655(@200wpm)___ 524(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 655(@200wpm)___ 524(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
“Kat,” I say gently. “You said something the other day when you told us what Famke said about your mother. You used the word siphoning.”
It’s a delicate subject because I believe Famke used it with regards to her father, so I don’t want to say anymore if it’s going to make Kat uncomfortable.
Kat’s sitting on the bed and leaning against the wall, an open book on her lap that’s slowly sliding off. Her eyes have been closed for most of the last hour. It’s getting late.
“Yes,” she says, sitting up straighter. “She said ‘she takes what you’re made of and uses it for herself until there’s nothing left of you. She siphons your soul.’ And somehow that’s linked to her never seeming to age.”
Brom grunts at that, and Kat looks down beside her where he’s sprawled, face down on the pillow. “It’s true,” he says, lifting his head slightly. “The more I look back, the more that Sarah has always looked exactly the same. When I was young I always thought she looked tired, but it was more than that.”
I tap my fingers on the desk rapidly, urging my exhausted mind to be more useful.
“She’s not a vampire,” I say. “Female vampires all turn at age twenty-one and stay that way for life, and none of them look tired. So she must have some sort of immortality? But no, that doesn’t make sense. From what Ms. Wiltern said, and what Leona said herself, immortality seemed something they were striving for. A part of the bargain. Goruun wouldn’t give them that before he was given what they promised him.”
“She’s stealing other people’s magic,” Kat says. “She took my father’s, and she wanted to take mine. I don’t think she’s immortal, but I think she’s able to extend her life from the magic she takes. Maybe the Sisters are the same way.”
“The Sisters are absolutely the same,” Brom mumbles.
“How does one…siphon?” I ponder.
Kat shrugs, expression strained. “My father seemed to die of a heart attack. If she physically did anything to him, I couldn’t see it.”
I know it’s hard for her to talk about it, so I try to change the subject off her father. “Have you ever felt strange around your mother?”
She lets out a caustic laugh. “Only all the time.”
“You’ve never felt her try and take your magic before?”
“I’ve never shown her my magic…” she trails off, deep in thought. “Only once. The day she helped me move in. I was so exhausted after that, but I had every reason to be.”
“Hmmm,” I mutter. I wonder if it’s like the opposite of bestowal. Or what I taught in class the day that Lotte died. Like energy augmentation but different. Energy conversion?
“Kat, can you hand me that book?” I ask.
She picks up the one on her lap, and I lean over, taking it from her, and sit back in my seat, flipping through the pages, trying to find a section on energy.
Meanwhile, Brom adjusts himself on the bed, lifting his arm and hooking it over Kat’s thigh and slowly starts gathering up the hem of her dress.
I watch this from my seat at the desk, wanting to call out to him to stop distracting us like this, but I don’t say anything. I just watch as he’s gathered up enough fabric, and then slides his hand up her inner thigh.
Kat’s gaze drops to where his hand has disappeared, his head still face down in the pillow. She swallows hard and shifts her hips just a little, opening her legs to him.
Fuck.
Now I don’t want to watch anymore. Now I want to take part. I just don’t know what part to fuck, Kat’s mouth or Brom’s ass.
I reach down over my crotch, my erection stiff and throbbing needlessly and—
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
“Jesus,” I swear under my breath. “Vivienne Henry, you have immaculate timing.”
Brom immediately removes his hand and sits up, eyes wide with fear. Kat presses her hand to her chest. “That’s her?” she whispers.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Right outside the damn door.
I get up and grab the candlestick.
“You two stay here,” I say, heading toward the door.
“And let you go out there alone?” Kat says, getting to her feet alongside Brom.
“I don’t want to put you in any danger,” I tell her.
“Your ex-wife tried to drown me in the bathtub,” she points out. “I think I can manage.”
I nod, feeling a little guilty over that, then I open the door to the hall.
“Wait,” Brom whispers, and he runs over to the desk, coming back with the key brandished in his hand, the one that had been left behind with the dead snake. “We might need this.”
“Good thinking,” I tell him.
I poke my head out and look.
There’s the trail of blood as usual, going past my door and then the sight of Vivienne’s feet being dragged around the corner.
“Oh my goodness,” Kat gasps, her head below mine. “That’s really…that’s a ghost.”