“But why with me? Why do you hate me so much?”
“You know exactly why.”
“No, before Owen died. You always acted like you couldn’t stand me, and I never understood why. What did I ever do?”
Slowly, she turned in my direction. “You existed,” she answered. “You stumbled into town with your torn nylons, your ridiculous sense of humor, and your overall dorky, mess of an existence. Yet, my brother and Max fell all over you. Like you were something special. I had to work overtime to get people to look at me with even an ounce of respect. I said the right things, dressed in the right way, went to church, tried to be a good girlfriend and sister. Where did it get me? Here. Damned for all eternity.”
“You’re not going to hell.”
Her shoulders bounced as she let out a scoff. “What could you possibly know about where we go when we die?”
“Not much,” I admitted. “But if there is a God, I don’t think he would be cruel enough to condemn you when you’ve already been punished.”
Her eyes trailed back to the stained glass windows. “Maybe it’s what I deserve for helping Owen cover up what he did to our parents with that fire. There’s only so much you can get away with before you have to pay.”
“You were protecting him. It’s what any good sister would do.”
Molly looked back at me. “Don’t try to get on my good side. I’m not like Owen, I won’t fall for your fake nice girl act.”
“Nothing about Owen and me was fake. I may not have known him for very long, but I cared about him and I never wanted anything bad to happen. If I knew then what I know now, I would have helped him. I guess we both have our regrets.”
“But you’re still alive, and so is your boyfriend. You can rectify it all. It’s too late for me.” There was a deadness to her voice that sent a shiver through my body. Everything she said she meant, and she had eerily accepted it.
I was used as ransom, as a way for them to get access to Melanie, but it was at this moment that I knew, no matter the outcome, Molly was going to kill me. She couldn’t see past her resentment for me.
The chapel doors opened again, but this time it was Veronica, and she was escorting The Master into the room. The atmosphere around us seemed to get darker the further he strolled in. I half expected the flowers in the vases to wilt and die when he passed them.
“Wonderful news,” he announced. “Melanie has agreed to graciously turn herself over in exchange for you.”
Oh, no. I didn’t want to be here, but I didn’t want her throwing the towel in either. I prayed that Max had concocted a plan that she was in on, and that Melanie wasn’t really crazy enough to hand herself over.
Master tilted his head at me and said, “Does this displease you? Surely a part of you feels some sense of relief. Now, you get to live.” He knelt in front of me, his hands clasped together. “The possibilities of wrinkles, gray hair, and little mutts running about can finally come to fruition.”
My heart skipped a beat. Either he could read minds and knew I had been thinking about this minutes prior, or he was a good guesser. Though, I suppose these were assumptions anyone could make about me. The fact that he called my future children mutts with disdain in his voice gave me the impression he wasn’t too fond of werewolves. Good. I hoped he was afraid of them as well.
I swallowed the lump in my throat that I didn’t even know was there and asked, “When?” I needed to prepare for whatever was about to occur. I also selfishly wanted to know how long I’d have to be here.
“Tonight,” he coldly answered.
A sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach grew. Tonight? That didn’t give them enough time to conjure up a plan to kill these guys. It hit me hard and fast that things probably weren’t going to end well for us.
No. I reminded myself that if we could survive Lunar City, then we could survive this. We had to. I couldn’t entertain the idea of anything but victory.
“You almost look sad to leave,” he observed. “Are we really that exceptional as hosts?”
I lightly scoffed and responded, “And everyone says my jokes are lame.”
The corner of his top lip curled ever so slightly into an almost smile. “This generation’s humor continues to let me down, but it’s good to see true sarcasm hasn’t died.”
I think I was supposed to be flattered that he thought my response was cute, and that it didn’t send him into a violent rage. I wasn’t flattered, I was annoyed. Everything about him made my skin crawl, and I wanted him out of my face immediately.
He rose back to his feet as I said, “You don’t have to kill her, you know. If they found a way for her to walk in the sunlight, then there’s most likely a way you could too. No one would have to get hurt.”
“I’ve been around a very long time, dear.” I hated that he called me dear. That was Grandma’s thing. “I have explored every option as deeply and intensely as one can. Never in my life have I jumped into a plan without knowing it is the absolute best
