Gypsy Truths (All The Pretty Monsters #6)- Kristy Cunning Page 0,138

sizzling continues, and the silver doesn’t stop spreading.

“You keep drenching him in blood. I’m going to see if I can find something in the books on this, or maybe I should call Leiza,” Shera rambles, sounding panicked. “She knows more about Van Helsing silver and curses than any of us.”

She rushes out, leaving me with the panicking, clumsy Isiah in her absence.

Isiah quickly goes to grab more blood, making a racket upstairs, as he shouts orders.

The steel door slams, sealing off a lot of the chatter, and the bolt clangs into place, as though someone has just locked themselves in with me. There’s a heavy banging that follows, along with some of Isiah’s muffled shouts.

I barely manage to turn my neck enough to find Talbot Lane strolling toward me, leisurely moving down the stairs, as he twirls a pocket-watch.

My fangs bare, but he doesn’t back away or show fear, as he continues to approach, taking the last step.

The banging continues with more frenzy above, as my betas start ramming the nearly impenetrable door.

It’s been locked from the inside, which means the codes won’t work on the outside. If a fucking incubus kills me during a battle this thick, while I’m downed by some random curse, I’ll never hear the end of it.

“It seems I have a problem I can’t solve all on my own.” He pauses and stares down at me with an arched eyebrow. “Which is why I’m here to help, even though I don’t particularly like you. This is going to hurt like hell. Try not to bite me,” he says as he crouches before me and places a hand on my shoulder.

I almost attempt to lunge for his throat, just for making no sense and being entirely too suspicious, but I end up hissing in pain. My nails stab and break the concrete beneath me, as my blood begins to boil inside my veins so hot that it’s damn near unbearable.

“What the fuck?” I manage to say between clenched teeth.

“I’m reversing the curse. Pandora is crafty, but she’s no match for me, because my magic is far from dried up. She lived on many borrowed years before she found a way to secure immortality and everlasting youth,” he says as though that’s somehow an answer.

“You’re a blood witch?” I say through a sneer.

He gives me a dead look. “I was born a blood witch. My mother convinced me to become a monster. I chose the monster that suited me best. Honestly, it’s not a choice I regret. I’ve seen the world spin in forty thousand directions, and watched the world evolve/devolve at a magnificent rate.”

He steps back, as the burning continues. Vance makes a pained sound, and I watch with rapt attention, as the pain in my veins intensifies.

“Looks like it’s working. I used you as a conduit to link to the others. You share a bond so strong that not even war, despair, greed, violence, and utter destruction has kept you apart.”

Idun’s smile starts to slip, as she stares at the silver that’s slowly receding from Vance’s body. She takes a step back, as a chilling expression creases her features.

“Who the fuck are you?” I ask Talbot, while my dizzy vision spots the young triplets in the corner.

The three of them look on with matching dark expressions on their faces. Talbot follows my gaze to them, and as one, they dart a look to him, as a sinister grin curves their lips.

“I’m someone who can combat Pandora. Utilize me instead of plotting my demise, and you may just have a chance to survive this night,” he answers.

He clears his throat as though it’s a nervous habit, and he takes a few steps away from the triplets.

“Silly vampire. The incubus has been playing pretend,” the triplets state in perfect unison.

“What do you want?” I ask Talbot, just waiting for the opportunity to remove his head.

He cuts his eyes toward me. “The same thing you all want. I want the wars to finally end. I have no idea what’s about to happen, or how many will die, but I do know one thing.”

“What’s that, pretend incubus?” the triplets ask.

He slants his gaze in their direction.

“January Violet Carmine can’t see ghosts,” he says with zero hesitation.

That niggling thought from earlier hits me, and Shera’s words once again echo through my head.

The sheer volume of ghosts in this town…

Violet only sees some of them…

It lines up with the confusing direction my head was already headed toward, but what are they