I stopped rummaging and arched an eyebrow. “You kissed Daggett?”
“Another time, Cora!”
I frantically nodded and returned to my search. “Right, right.”
“What are you even looking for?”
I paused and smiled. “This.” It was a red gasoline container, and I picked it up and felt the weight of it being completely full. “We’re gonna light his ass on fire,” I told her.
There was genuine relief in her eyes. I don’t think I’d ever made Priscilla look that way before, and it filled me with even more confidence. This was going to work.
I pushed past Priscilla and to the door, and when I opened it, the rush of the cold, winter air hit my face. I heard Priscilla behind me say, “What about this?” I turned around to see her staring down at a large object on a wooden table.
As soon as I approached and realized what it was, adrenaline pumped through my veins. “Yes,” I said with wide eyes. “We’re taking this with us.”
“It’s gonna be heavy as shit. It’ll slow us down.”
“It’ll be worth it,” I told her. “Just one thing, though. I’m using it.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
MELANIE
I socked Master in the face, and as my arm stretched in front of him, he clutched it with both hands and bit into my flesh as hard as he could. Blood squirted from me like a busted hose, and I wrenched my arm away from his clasp and fell back a step. The wound would heal, but the stinging was overpowering. I was seeing stars.
Dana broke the head off a statue of an angel and clubbed it against the back of Master. He barely flinched, and spun around to face her before backhanding her. The strike was precise and hard, and she crashed into the statue she had taken the head from. Max grabbed Master from behind, attempting to pin back his arms, but all Master had to do was widen his wingspan and Max’s grip slipped. Master threw back his head right into Max’s nose, and I heard the crunch of it splitting. Daggett then began launching broken fragments of wood from the chapel seats at him, and Master batted them away like they were flies. He stalked toward Daggett, rapidly closing the space between them and forcing Daggett into a corner. Master gave a demented grin, and then chomped down on Daggett’s neck as he squealed in agony.
I dashed toward them in hopes of ending his suffering, but as I got there, Master quit chewing on him and forced his eyes onto Daggett. “Fight her,” he instructed. Daggett practically went brain-dead and instantly came after me, throwing right hand after right hand at my face. I dodged each attempt.
“Daggett, come out of this!” I pleaded as I backed away. I didn’t want to hurt him.
Master stood behind, observing.
“Max!” I wailed. Daggett pounced at me and we both tumbled to the floor. I could take him, but I didn’t trust myself not to kill him. So I laid there and let him sock me in the face. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt like hell.
Max grabbed Daggett by the shoulders and dragged him off of me. Immediately, Daggett tried to strike him, but Max was able to fend off those attempts. Max ducked, swerved, and then pulled Daggett’s face down onto his knee. The collision stunned and disoriented Daggett, and Max took that moment to bash his head into a wall and knock him out.
With no warning, Master’s hand twisted around my throat, grasping so tightly my airway closed. My feet were lifted off the floor as I choked out a cry. “See what you’ve done,” he hissed a mere inch from my face. “Your selfishness has led to your friends’ demise.”
I struggled to breathe as I stared back at Master. “You’re...gonna...fucking...die.”
He snickered at my threat, and pulled me close to him. “Shall I devour your heart in front of everyone? Or would it be better for you to perish alone?”
Max charged at Master with his entire body, and they both went flying. I fell back to my feet and coughed profusely, trying to accept the sudden gust of air running down my throat. The two scuffled on the floor with Max ending up on top. Max laid into Master, punching him over and over, each time his hits growing faster and harder. Max’s eyes were taken over by a hue of yellow, and his teeth lengthened and sharpened, no longer fitting his mouth. He was channeling the beast inside of him while staying human. It was crazy.
I found one of the knives on the floor and quickly grabbed it, running up to the two as they fought and then pierced Master’s wing with the blade. I used my enhanced vampire strength to drive the knife all the way through him and the floor. He panicked and attempted to fly, but he was pinned in place. Master struggled for a moment and when he couldn’t bring the blade out of the floor, he flew anyway, and the blade tore a long, zigzagged hole horizontally through his left wing.
His left wing completely gave out, and every time he tried to take flight, he wobbled and crashed to the floor. We grounded the fucker.
Max joined me at my side at the same moment as Dana. The three of us stood together, facing a bleeding, injured Master. He tormented me, terrified me, made me feel helpless and small. But in this moment, it was him that was all those things. And I wasn’t alone. Not anymore.
The chapel doors beside Master suddenly kicked open. Cora and Priscilla stood in the doorway, with Priscilla holding a large
