This skin on my arms prickled and my senses heightened. I wasn’t alone any more. I opened my eyes, thinking Laeddin had returned. “Hey, sorr—”
It wasn’t Laeddin and there wasn’t just one person either. There were seven. The same seven Maleficent had turned into Akuma last night.
“Cameron?” I sat up, scooting close to him, hoping I could reason with him. I was strong. I had my vampire abilities once again. And if I had to tear his head from his body to free him from whatever Maleficent had done to him, I would, but I didn’t want to.
His dark eyes gleamed. “All alone?”
“How perfect,” Gemi said.
“She was right,” Another of the boys said.
“The Mistress will see you now,” Cameron added.
“Please, Cam. Don’t do this. Please.”
Laeddin was trying to find a way to fix him, to get rid of the evil demon part of them and keep what was left… if there was anything. I hoped there was.
“Take her,” Gemi screamed.
The seven Akuma came at me at once.
I fought, kicking at Gemi, sending her flying backward so she smashed against the dresser. A guy and girl grabbed my feet, pulling me toward them. I grabbed the guy by the hair and twisted off his head. His body fell back. I tossed his head. It caught in the netting and rolled on the bed. His surprised features frozen in place, until he disintegrated.
The girl screamed as though she were in pain. She grabbed hold of one of my arms. With my other I yanked her long ponytail and wound it around her neck, choking her. Then used my feet to push her body away. Her head came off with a pop.
I threw the head over the edge of the bed.
Someone ripped the netting and used it to bind my arms. I growled, rolling onto my back so that I could tear off its head with my legs.
But it was Cameron. “Cam,” I whispered. “Please.”
That few seconds I was distracted was all they needed to bind my hands and feet. They were stronger than normal humans. And the five of them held me fast.
Whatever magic they used infiltrated my system. It felt vaguely familiar and I realized Maleficent had used some of the magic connected to my wings to create these monsters.
I choked on a sob, slashing at the netting over my head with my fangs. I tore a hole in it, but the five Akuma wouldn’t be deterred. “Laeddin,” I shouted, trying to think of a wish. One that wouldn’t have consequences. One where I could get out of this mess and not hurt anyone else. It was so damn frustrating.
By the time I had a wish formulated I was no longer in Laeddin’s room. I was somewhere else altogether.
It was dark and hot and smelled of brimstone.
Had they taken me to hell?
“Not hell, Jasmine.” It was Maleficent. “Welcome to my home. It isn’t much, but after your mother nearly killed me, this was where I was sent. What do you think?”
I shuddered. “I wish—”
Invisible hands stronger than steel clamped over my mouth and held my tongue. “No. No. No wishing for you, pretend vampire. Laeddin will come, but it must be of his own choice and not because you wished him here.”
I glared. There was still another way. I could wish with my mind. Maybe? Couldn’t I?” It wouldn’t hurt to try. I closed my eyes. I wish…
But my mind inexplicably softened, like butter melting in the hot sun. I couldn’t remember what I’d been about to wish for. I opened my eyes.
Maleficent stood in front of me her dark eyes gleaming with evil mischief. Her lips red as blood. Her skin white as snow.
“No thinking for you either.” She was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her for too long.
Maleficent stepped back and I noticed what she was wearing. It was made of velvet. The collar was high in the back and low in the front, exposing an immense amount of cleavage. The bodice was black and laced down to her waist. The sleeves were long as was the skirt. It was black and violet. Her black hair had been piled high on her head.
And my wings? My beautiful black wings cascaded down her back like inky waterfalls.
Tears stung my eyes. “Why are you doing this?” My head lolled to one side and I took in the room.
There wasn’t much to it.
Large.
Black.
But it sparkled like diamonds.
What really caught my attention were the hundreds of Akuma packed inside. There were humans, elves, trolls, fairies, unicorns, and so many more.
“What do you intend to do with them all?” The words slurred out of my mouth.
“Whatever I want,” she said slyly. “Why don’t you sleep, false vampire?” She opened her mouth and blew. Yellow smoke drifted into my face. I tried to hold my breath, but it still went up my nose and penetrated my mouth. I felt it in my pores too. It smelled like sulfur and vanilla, not a good combination. “When you wake, you’ll be all mine.”
Chapter 15
I woke to the sounds of hooting and hollering and stomping feet and whistling. It was like a stadium full of spectators at a football game. I kept my eyes closed, trying to figure out what was happening without giving away the fact that I was aware.
“Laeddin, so nice of you to come.”
My heart raced and my mouth went dry. Laeddin was here. Maleficent said he would come and he had.
“Release Jasmine now, Maleficent,” Laeddin said.
“Of course, genie. I will. Just as soon as you give me what I want.”
“And what is that?”
“Your power, of course,” Maleficent said matter-of-factly.
The room went wild again.
“Why would you want it? You have more power than I already. I can feel it.” Laeddin whispered.
“Awwww, did you hear that?” Maleficent glanced around the room.
The Akuma clapped and cheered. “While that may be true, I don’t have enough. With your powers I’ll be unstoppable.”
Laeddin had incredible power. I knew that. And so much more. As quickly as it’d come, the fuzziness in my brain cleared up. My mind sharpened and I was myself once more. I would’ve sighed in relief, but it was too soon. I needed to figure out a way to save Laeddin and get us out of there.
“Fine,” Laeddin said.
The cheers in the room became louder than ever.
“He accepts,” Maleficent said. The ovations grew.
I chanced a peek in the direction of the talking. Laeddin had no emotion on his face. He was being led to an altar made of sparkling black stone by two Akuma.
I watched as several more Akuma forced him onto his back on the altar where black ropes appeared and bound his arms, legs, and head.
“He’s ready,” an Akuma said. It hurt to realize it was Cameron. He’d been right to stay away from me, but it hadn’t done him any good. Even after all I sacrificed to save him, he’d still become a demon.
Maleficent stood beside Laeddin. “I first realized you hid in that cave in Sharra around the same time Jasmine was born. It didn’t take long to recognize the opportunity that had been laid in my path. Having the two of you together was fate. My destiny. At that moment I knew you would die and give me your power. And that you would do so willingly, in order to save her.” Maleficent glanced over. Our eyes locked. Hers were filled with surprise. Mine I’m sure were full of fear.
I quickly closed my eyes. Too late.
“It seems Jasmine has wakened. Just in time. Bring her over.”
Cameron and Gemi pushed the iron prison that looked like a lion’s cage over next to Laeddin. Maleficent smiled. It almost looked genuine.
“You will witness what it means to sacrifice for the one you love. Then I’ll make you an Akuma and you’ll be my daughter, like you should’ve been. Together we will rule the world. What do you think?”
I opened my eyes, pretending my brain was still mush and forced myself to have an empty expression. One totally opposite of the way I was feeling.
“Oh, silly me. You can’t think.” She laughed. The A
kuma joined in. Then her features became deadly serious. “Let’s begin.” A silver dagger with red markings appeared in Maleficent’s hand. She focused her attention on Laeddin, raising the dagger high above her head.
As she began to speak words in the language I didn’t understand the dagger started to glow red, vibrating and shaking almost like it wanted to be free of her grasp.
Maleficent’s words grew louder.
The red radiance on the blade got bigger so that it consumed her hands and arms up to her elbows.
I glanced at Laeddin. He was focused on my face, his features still empty of emotion.
The cheering and clapping of the Akuma found a rhythm, like a bass drum keeping time to a beat only they could hear. The room shook. Black sparkles rained down from the ceiling.
The end was coming. The very air crackled with its imminence.
I wanted to give Laeddin some comfort, tell him everything was going to be okay, but I couldn’t because it would’ve been a lie.
Maleficent’s words rose over the roaring crowd. Her entire body was surrounded by the red light.
“Jasmine.” Laeddin said my name so quietly I was surprised I heard it. But I did, like he’d spoken it in my ear.
I gave him my full attention. Tears leaked onto my cheeks. I knew they would be red again, but I didn’t care.
“I love you,” he said. The words penetrated through the noise and deep into my soul.
A sob ripped from my throat. He wasn’t saying the words out of fear or because he was sad. He meant them. I could see it. Feel it in my heart and soul.
“Laeddin.”
He smiled. It was small, secret. Meant just for me. “It’s okay. Everything will be fine.”
I smiled back, appreciating the lies he spoke. Wishing we could’ve had more time together.
And an idea came into my mind.
There was an easy solution.
Make a wish, my mind whispered.
It was supposed to be saved and used for capturing an Akuma. That was what Peter, Zoe, Troy, Ariel, Laeddin and I had planned. But the plan wouldn’t matter if Maleficent killed Laeddin.
Oh my gosh.
The idea of no longer having him in my life struck deep.
It was as though I was being asked to give up my wings for him again. A new opportunity. If I had the chance to do it again, would I make a different decision? Would I give up Laeddin and keep my wings?
The answer was a resounding no. I would make the same choice over and over.
Tonight I would save him.
I didn’t have time to debate what I should wish for. Nor did I have the option to ask Laeddin for help on wording my wish. The knife in Maleficent’s hands was on its descent. If I didn’t act now, it would be too late.
“I wish Maleficent would use the dagger on herself instead of Laeddin.” I spoke the words clearly.
Laeddin blinked, startled.
Immediately the knife changed course. It no longer headed downward, but went straight into Maleficent’s chest.
The room went silent, the roaring crowd silenced.
The sound, like a blade forced into a honeydew melon, rang through the room.
Maleficent gasped, shock permeating her features. “What—” She swallowed, looking down at the blade. It was buried deep in her chest. Her eyes filled with pain. “—have you done?”
The bands on Laeddin’s wrists, ankles and neck loosened. He jumped off the altar.
The red light glimmering around Maleficent got bigger. I didn’t know what I’d done exactly and I didn’t want to find out.
I held out my hands, waiting for Laeddin to take them.
He clutched them tightly.
And we were no longer in Maleficent’s peculiar room.
We were home.
End of book Two.
Afterword
Thank you for reading the second book in the second season of Blood and Snow. In Vampire Lies we met Jasmine. She’s comparable to the Original Vampires in that she has wings, but she doesn’t like being different. In Vampire Secrets we get to experience her life as a normal teenager.
Over the course of this season Jasmine will discover that being different is a quality that’s admirable and those unique attributes may just save the lives of those she loves.
I hope you enjoyed Vampire Secrets. If so, please go back and leave a review. I would really appreciate it.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
RaShelle Workman
Vampire Nights
Book 3, Blood and Snow Season Two
Jasmine is an Original Vampire born of the seven magics. In all her fifteen years she’s had one desire, an ultimate wish.
And a gorgeous genie named Laeddin granted it.
She should be living her happily ever after, right? Wrong.
Her wish created grave consequences and only she can repair them. But every time she tries, the problems get worse.
Like the darkness overtaking the human realm as well as the others. Jasmine knows it’s the evil sorceress Maleficent. She’s seen her wicked plan to rule.
Jasmine must go after a crown created by the fairies thousands of years ago. It’s believed the artifact will give the bearer immeasurable power, but it’s been broken into five pieces.
The first is thought to be in Connecticut...
The Beastly Series
A Beauty So Beastly
“For your vanity, your cruelty, and your cold unfeeling heart, a curse I leave upon you . . .”
What happens if the beauty is also the beast?
The stunning Beatrice Cavanaugh is considered American royalty. She has everything except the ability to love. Cursed on her eighteenth birthday, she becomes more beastly than ever, having a newfound craving for raw meat, and an undeniable yearning for the night. Bitterness is her only companion.
After accusing a maid of stealing, a disgustingly kind and exquisitely handsome guy named Adam shows up asking Beatrice to drop the charges against his mother.
Infuriated by his goodness, Beatrice vows to break him. Destroy him. Make him hurt the way she hurts. So she agrees. On one condition: Adam must take his mother’s place as a servant in the mansion.
Because Beatrice won’t stop until he’s more beastly than she is.
A Beauty So Beastly
Coming December 21st, 2014 is a brand new story.
Across the Ages
Ghosts are real. So is time travel.
Eighteen-year-old Lucy Channing discovers this reality after her dead grandmother gives her a beautiful locket. As soon as her fingers brush the cold copper, Lucy is swept out of the nineteenth century and into the twenty-first.
The first person she encounters is none other than twenty-year-old William Godwin. He’s uber-rich, arrogant, exciting, and oh so handsome.
William agrees to help the strange girl find her way home. Or into the nearest mental institution.
But what the two uncover reveals more than ghosts and time travel. Lucy and William discover a love greater than time itself.
A love so strong it reaches... Across the Ages.
About the Author
RaShelle Workman is the author of the popular Blood and Snow series. She loves to reinvent fairy tales teens and adults can sink their teeth into. Her stories include kissing, vampires, werewolves, witches, aliens, and more kissing. Sleeping Roses, Exiled, Beguiled, and Dovetailed have foreign rights contracts with a Turkish publisher. RaShelle is also one of the co-founders of Indie Recon LIVE.
Her books include:
Sleeping Roses
Across the Ages
Exiled
Beguiled
Dovetailed
Blood and Snow (1-12)
The Cindy Chronicles
Vampire Lies (Blood and Snow Season 2, #1)
A Beauty so Beastly (the Beastly series, #1)
Vampire Secrets (Blood and Snow Season 2, #2)
Short stories:
Cindy Witch
The Hunter's Tale
Gabriel
After the Kiss
Zaren's Travels
Visit www.rashelleworkman.com to join RaShelle's EXCLUSIVE mailing list and be entered to win a signed paperback copy of Blood and Snow volumes 1-4 (Special Edition). And be sure to like her Facebook page for all the latest news: https://www.facebook.com/rashelleworkman.
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Vampire Secrets: Book 2 (Blood and Snow Season Two) Page 13
