a mark on me, which meant I might survive this. The camp had rules. If these counselors hurt me, Dean Purty would know, and they’d be in trouble.
But there were lots of things you could do to a person that wouldn’t leave a mark.
My gut twisted with terror.
The stars blurred as they sped me away from my cabin. My head was pinned tight to Lars’s chest, leaving only the sky and his profile visible. I tried to discern where they were taking me by watching the sky, but I wasn’t good at astrology. My only clue came as we approached the sound of the peeping frogs.
We were near the lake.
Alarm bells went off in my head as they shuffled to a stop. Were they going to—
“Get her in the boat,” Sarah said, letting go of my ankles as another set of hands came to take her place.
No, not the boat. Panic flaring, I renewed my thrashing, but this set of hands was even rougher than Sarah’s. Between the two of them, they easily carried me into the boat, setting me in the middle on the hard metal of the camp’s only motorized vehicle—the small fishing boat. I tried lurching up, but a strong hand shoved me back down hard and pinned me there.
“Careful,” Sarah hissed. “No marks.”
“Sorry,” Lars replied. His heavy weight rocked the boat as he settled onto the seat behind me. Sarah slid onto the seat in front, facing me. Her expression was menacing as we finally locked eyes.
I sat up, pulling the sock from my mouth. My head swung to the dock where Micah and Naveen stood. Micah sneered at me. Naveen watched as if indifferent, but he followed Sarah’s orders. If I tried to escape that way, they’d have me in a second. My gaze went to the water.
“If you jump in, we’ll just fish you out,” Sarah said, her tone mocking. “If you try to run, we can knock you down before you get two feet. You know what we are and what we can do.”
Slowly, I turned my head toward her and gave a single nod.
“Good. Then, you know there’s no point in trying to escape.”
“What do you want?” I managed.
Sarah tilted her head, letting a sly smile spread over her perfect face. “We’re just going to have a little chat out on the lake. Nice night for a boat ride, don’t you think?”
Instead of answering, I swiveled around, looking to the shore. If I screamed now, True couldn’t hear me but maybe—
Sarah’s words cut me off. “Levi and Dean Purty are on an errand. If you think he’s going to come and rescue you, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“You really thought of everything,” I said, my anger overtaking my fear.
“I did.” She preened a bit, running a hand through her long blonde hair before nodding to Lars. “Now, if you’re good, you’ll suffer less. If you’re bad…” Her eyes trailed toward the dark lake. “How long can you hold your breath?”
I swallowed hard. Drowning was one of my worst fears.
The sound of a motor churning to life and the lurch of the boat let me know it was too late. Like it or not, I was a prisoner. My fate was in Sarah’s hands. I’d known this might happen, and yet I was totally unprepared. I made a mental note, then and there, to figure out a way to defend myself if this ever happened again.
But first, I had to survive tonight.
The good news was that this didn’t seem to be my vision. There had been no water and no boat in the premonition of my death. The bad news was I was in a boat with two vampires, and I had no idea what they intended to do with me.
The fishing boat cut across the smooth, dark lake, carving it up like a knife. My body bounced with each wave, but my eyes never left Sarah. The wind tugged at her hair, and the moonlight made her skin look as white as porcelain. But her beauty was the cruel kind. I wondered how old she was.
I wondered how many humans she’d killed.
The engine cut hard, dropping us into a putter as we cruised into the middle of the lake. Far from shore now, a swim back would take me a long time. Too long.
“Now,” Sarah said, leaning closer to me, “we need to talk.”
“I have nothing to say to you, Sarah,” I shot back.
Her hand lashed out, gripping my chin with such