Shadow Lake Vampire Society - Wendi Wilson Page 0,53

force I winced and tried to pull away. But escape was impossible.

“You are nothing,” she spat. “A bag of bones and blood and muscle. I could kill you in an instant.” Her hand shot from my face to my neck and began squeezing. My air dried up as I gagged and tried to pry her fingers away with my own useless hands.

“You. Are. Nothing. Do you understand?” Her teeth flashed as her canines elongated into fangs, and her eyes began to glow.

“Sarah,” Lars said. “No marks.”

Suddenly, the pressure on my neck was gone. I collapsed, sucking in several ragged breaths.

Sarah leaned back in her seat, watching me. “Pathetic. And to think Levi fancies you. Ridiculous. Who would want to make out with a cow? A pig? Disgusting.”

Lars chuckled darkly.

The boat rocked as Sarah leaned toward me. Pain radiated from my scalp as she took a handful of hair and yanked my head up. “Look at me.”

I dragged my eyes to her face, willing the fear and revulsion from my expression. I wanted her to see only hatred in my eyes.

“You think you can waltz in here and do what you want, take one of our own and have some sort of relationship with him? Wrong. We are the apex predators here. Your father learned that the hard way, didn’t he?”

The blood in my veins turned to ice at her words. “What did you say?”

Sarah smiled cruelly. “He was poking his nose around, too, so he was taken care of. Sloppy, but necessary.” She pulled my hair harder. “Like father, like daughter I guess.”

I ignored the pain. “Who killed my father?” I demanded, my voice gritty with emotion.

Sarah’s lips curved up. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Unfortunately, you never will. Once I wipe your memory, you’ll barely remember your own name. And after your ‘near drowning accident’, they’ll definitely send you home.” She glanced behind me. “Lars, hold her still.”

This was it. They were going to compel me to forget just as they had done to Johnny. They’d make me forget everything I knew, including the information I’d just learned about my father. They’d make me forget Levi. They’d continue to prey on the poor, unsuspecting children of the campground and there’d be no one to stop them.

I could not let that happen.

The boat rocked as Lars reached for me. Once I was in his grasp I was done for, so I had to act fast.

Without thinking, I leapt up and launched myself into the water.

Cold wetness enveloped me as the waves sucked me under. Shocked at what I’d done, I began to swim blindly away, kicking and digging with all my might.

I heard a muffled splash and felt the water churn. Lars would be after me in an instant. I swam even harder.

Suddenly, a dark shape loomed ahead of me. I lurched back, blinking against the watery gloom. It wasn’t Lars, but someone or something else.

Heart pounding, I switched course, but it was too late. Icy fingers tangled around my arms and yanked me into the murky depths.

Chapter Nineteen

Panic tried to coerce me into opening my mouth and breathing deep, but I managed to resist the urge as I fought against the arm that felt like an iron band around my waist. I couldn’t see anything as I was dragged through the dark water, but I’d at least determined it was a person, not some mythical underwater creature taking me to its nest for dinner—with me as the main course.

Or is it? I thought as whoever it was swam with impossible speed, especially considering they were dragging a kicking, fighting teenager.

My body went limp as the realization hit—this was no sea creature, nor was it a human. It had to be a vampire.

Suddenly, we switched direction, heading straight up. As my head broke the surface, I sucked in a deep breath of glorious air, then another and another until the burning in my lungs eased.

“Try to keep it quiet,” a voice said behind me as the grip on my waist relaxed.

I jerked away and spun, treading water as my eyes widened on Sasha Ali, the water safety and CPR instructor.

“Sasha?” I sputtered, spitting out some lake water that splashed into my mouth.

“It’s okay,” she said, keeping her voice low. “I got you away from Sarah and Lars, and they won’t search for us now that they know someone is helping you. They obviously wanted this little kidnapping to remain a secret.”

“They were going to wipe my memory,” I sputtered between