since he stood silently.
Spencer moved in front of Zoe. “Back off, Todd. If Aiden doesn’t care, then it is not up to you to speak for him.”
Zoe smiled again. Spencer chose to defend her wishes. Maybe whatever Leah heard Spencer saying was just lip service. She owned Spencer like the others.
“Cut his neck and take his blood.”
Spencer remained stoic. He definitely heard her speak. But he wasn’t moving. Zoe started to get angry.
“I told you to cut him and take his blood. Now.” Zoe got angrier because Spencer’s lack of action drove her to sound like a petulant child.
“Even your boy doesn’t want to do it.” Todd pointed out Spencer’s hesitation.
“I told you to back off, Todd. I don’t need your help.” Spencer pointed a knife at Todd.
“Spencer, put the knife away and think how crazy this is.” Leah threw in her two cents from behind them. Zoe reeled to glare upon Leah.
“You certainly have become quite the mouthy little bitch, haven’t you?”
Leah’s attention moved away from Spencer. She stepped closer to Zoe. The move was enough to force Zoe’s hand before Leah interfered any more.
“Are you volunteering your neck for us? I’d be glad to have Spencer substitute you for Aiden.” Zoe watched Leah swallow hard.
She turned back to Todd who had inched closer. “What’s the matter, Todd? You have no backup this time, huh? Ryan knows what’s more important. And it doesn’t look like your little boy-toy has the energy to keep up anymore.” Zoe gestured at Jordyn who remained quiet. Ryan blinked and looked at his hands.
Todd took in his options as he peered behind himself. He must have figured he was on his own because he paused to figure out what to do next. Zoe chuckled. Todd had no next move. She was in full control of these proceedings. Now she had to get Spencer to comply. Or else she would do it herself. Zoe reasoned, if Spencer forced her to cut Aiden, she would start with Spencer’s neck first.
Aiden stood up. Zoe wanted to shove him back down to the ground. Before she could get her hands up, Aiden spoke in a calming tone. “Guys, stop fighting. We all wanted to do something fun. Something crazy because we were bored. Now, when we are ready to do something truly different, we fight to remain the same.” He looked around the yard. “This is going to be fun. And I want to do this. I want to be a part of you guys. We’ve been friends for so long. We can’t end with bickering and fighting. Let’s have fun. I’m sure Zoe and Spencer aren’t going to hurt me. I trust them.”
The faces around them were stunned. Zoe was impressed. Not only was Aiden dumber than cement, he was braver than a soldier running headlong into battle. He really believed this shit and was willing to put the group first. Zoe almost had a notion to reprieve Aiden and use one of the others instead. Almost.
But his submission would make it the path of least resistance, which is exactly what Zoe needed right now. Time was wasting and she wanted to conjure the demons to fill her up.
“Hold on.”
Zoe reacted to the new voice. Jordyn moved forward, her robe slipping open to reveal her bare tummy and so much cleavage, even Zoe wanted to take Jordyn.
“Well, look who showed up.” Zoe taunted Jordyn. The little princess had waited in the shadows only to swoop in at the last second. Not on Zoe’s watch.
“I think we can get around this dilemma we have. We need a sacrifice, of course. And Aiden has offered himself up willingly. Numerous times.”
Zoe glared at Jordyn. “Get to the point, Jordyn. We want to move things along.” Her impatience slipped through in her words and tenor.
Jordyn smiled. “I believe I can offer a viable solution. A sacrifice which is greater than blood. Why is it greater than blood? I’ll show you. Blood can be replaced. Regenerated. What I propose, can only be given up once. It can never be given back.” Jordyn motioned for everyone to follow her inside the house. She slid the patio door open and entered the kitchen.
Ryan followed first. Todd waited for Aiden and Leah to make their way. Then he went inside. Spencer and Zoe remained in place. Zoe was dumbfounded that Jordyn had stolen the show. It was Spencer’s fault for not doing as she asked him to. She shot Spencer an evil look but it