Don't Touch My Men - Helen Scott Page 0,30

demanded.

A deeper flush stained her cheeks, and I wanted to groan. Had my sister seriously developed a crush on an ancient piece of shit vampire? And now she wanted me to feed the fucker? What the hell was the world coming to?

14

Mae

I stood still, staring at the woods that my grandfather had disappeared into. He’d said people were on their way and promised to be back soon. Then before I could react, he ran off. I was left with the strangest feeling that I might have just let some strange kind of evil back into the world. He was the first dhampir? I was part vampire? I didn’t know what any of it meant, but I knew I was feeling uneasy.

“No matter how much you try to avoid this, your fate is sealed.”

I looked back and saw the banshee woman watching me, her expression angry. Straightening my shoulders, I tried to sound confident. “You should see how many assholes have thought that about me over the years.”

Her eyes flashed with rage. “The Horseman wants you.”

Something about the way she said it made me want to turn and run, but I nodded and followed her back through the headstones. The afternoon was fading to evening around us, but still, the sunlight should illuminate the massive graveyard and the eerie building in a relaxing glow. Instead, morning or night, this place seemed dark and dangerous.

We moved through the gravestones as a strange screaming came from the little building near the woods. My memories flashed back to the cages of creatures, to the cells of different supernaturals, and I wondered what would become of them. If they bowed to the Horsman, would he let them go free? Or did they have no choice now?

The banshee woman led me up the steps into the house. Candles in sconces on the walls lit the dark space, but it was almost worse that way. Scarlet patches of peeling wallpaper hinted at the blood spilled in this place, and the scribbling rants of the insane covered whole walls. I felt uneasy as we made our way back into the massive dining hall. On a dais, the Headless Horseman sat on a chair in the same throne as before. Only now there was a smaller throne next to his.

“Bloody Mary,” he whispered, and the sound seemed to echo through my mind. “Come and join me for the fun.”

The way he said fun made my stomach turn. But I curled my hands into fists, ignoring the glowing blue cuffs that still encircled my wrists. The banshee took her place on the other side of the Horseman’s throne, and I reluctantly sat in the chair beside him.

“Doesn’t that feel right?” he asked.

“Nothing about this feels right,” I told him.

I sensed anger brewing within him. “It’s time our reign together truly begins, Mary.”

He gestured to the zombie-like guards at the door, and they disappeared outside. My gaze moved to the Horseman and the banshee. With the cuffs, I was unable to tap into my usual magic, but that certainly didn’t make me helpless. Maybe without the guards here, this was my chance to escape. If I could hurt him, would it sever the cuffs that bound my magic?

I was contemplating how best to do it when the guards came back in. They were leading three men between them, and my heart lurched. I had no idea what the men were, but they were short and old. Their hands were bound behind their backs, and they had been beaten. Badly. Their faces were swollen. They were bleeding, and none of them were walking steadily.

The guards shoved them down onto the stone floor. Suddenly, the banshee began to wail, and I was surprised by it, because wail wasn’t quite the right word. It was more like a song that was filled with so much sadness that tears sprung to my eyes. When she finally finished, my chest felt heavy, like I’d just read a beautiful poem. Never had I expected something like that from the terrible woman.

The Headless Horseman smiled at her. “So their fate is sealed?”

Her expression was unreadable as she shook her head, then leaned in and whispered something in his ear. I saw him stiffen, but I couldn’t make out her words. When she moved back to her place, her gaze darted to me, then away.

I was not liking this. Not at all.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked the kneeling men, venom in his voice.

The man in the