Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
CHARLOTTE
Iopened my eyes to a room bathed in silver moonlight.
Beck’s arm was a warm weight across my waist. His breathing was deep and even against my neck. Safe. I was safe.
Then a presence licked at the edges of my mind.
My heart skipped a beat.
Come to me, Charlotte. It’s time to come home.
Dr. Henry.
No. I tried to push the voice away. Tried to force him out of my head. I wouldn’t let him control me again. I couldn’t leave Beck.
Come to me.
The command wrapped around my thoughts, the alien presence like a snake moving swiftly through tall grass. Only the grass was my mind, and the snake had already woven dozens of paths. It knew exactly where to go.
Now, Charlotte. I tire of waiting.
My muscles moved without permission. I sat up, dislodging Beck’s arm.
“Charlotte?” he rumbled, his voice thick with sleep.
Cool air kissed my bare skin as I swung my legs over the edge of the mattress.
Beck reached for me. I stood, evading his grasp. I needed to go. The master had called.
No. No, that wasn’t right. I shook my head, trying to clear it. Beck. I loved Beck. I—
Ignore these distractions. Come to me immediately.
Yes. Of course. Obedience was everything. It was the only thing. My clothes were scattered over the floor. I scooped my sweater from the ground and pulled it over my head.
Somewhere in my mind, alarm bells shrieked. This was wrong. This was—
“Charlotte!” Beck appeared in front of me, his face the color of the bedsheets behind him.
Ignore the bear.
Swinging away, I grabbed my panties and stepped into them.
Someone was speaking. The bear. His voice was a low rumble, his tone concerned and urgent, but the words slid past me like a stream flowing around a rock.
He wasn’t important. Just an uneducated animal who’d distracted me from my purpose.
The snake in my mind flicked its tongue. He’s nothing to us.
Yes. That was right. The master was everything. The master had guided me, shaped me, made me who I was.
You owe me everything.
I owed him everything.
I walked to the door.
The bear stepped in front of me, blocking my path. His silver eyes were wide, his face etched with worry.
“Charlotte, stop.”
I stepped around him. The master had called, and I needed to get to him.
Hands gripped my shoulders. “Charlotte, please. You’re not yourself. Henry is in your head.”
He’s less than nothing. An insect beneath your shoe.
I twisted free and reached for the doorknob. The hands came back, stronger this time, trying to turn me. The bear babbled something about vampires and bonds and fighting, but his voice was just noise.
Annoyance flickered through me. He was in my way.
Hurry.
Rage exploded in my mind like fireworks in a black sky. Turning, I shoved him.
He stumbled backward, surprise flashing across his face. The master was waiting.
Swinging back to the door, I yanked it open and stepped into the hallway. Moonlight streamed over me as I walked to the stairs.
Footsteps pounded at my back. “Charlotte, stop!”
I rushed down the stairs, my bare feet silent on the wood.
The bear caught up to me in the foyer. He moved in front of the door and spread his arms wide.
“I can’t let you go to him,” he said, a vein throbbing in his throat.
Come to me.
“Please, Charlotte. I love you. Fight this.”
Love. The word tumbled in my head. A spark flared, its glow warming my mind.
The snake rushed up and down well-worn paths, its tongue stabbing at the air.
He doesn’t love you. He wants to control you. He’ll use you to rebuild his species and then he’ll cast you aside. He’ll leave you alone, just like everyone else. I’m the only one who never left. I’m the only one who truly cares for you.
Yes. Of course. The master loved me. He’d always loved me.
“Charlotte…” the bear gasped, his eyes as silver as the moon in the window next to the door.
Come to me.
I grabbed the bear’s shoulder and flung him aside. He crashed against the wall, and I opened the door and rushed onto the porch.
The bear followed. “Charlotte, please listen to me!”
I ran down the steps. Snow crunched under my bare feet but the cold didn’t matter. Evergreens were spiky silhouettes against an inky sky speckled with stars. The moon was a warm, round disk.
Hurry.
Yes. I had to hurry. I couldn’t keep the master waiting.
Footsteps crunched behind me. A hand caught my arm and spun me around.
“I’m sorry,” the bear said. A length of rope dangled from his fist. “I’m so sorry, but I won’t let him—”
The fireworks exploded again, the burst of light brighter than before.
BOOM.
I drew my fist back and swung.
BOOM.
The bear’s head snapped to the side. He flew through the air and hit the ground, snow spraying in all directions.
Good girl. Hurry.
The bear sprawled on his back, his bare chest dotted with snow. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
A distant scream echoed in my mind. But the sound was so far away…
Come to me, Charlotte.
I turned back to the forest and ran. Snow flew from under my bare feet. Branches whipped at my face and arms, but I barely felt them. The master’s voice guided me, a compass needle pointing true.
Good girl. Keep coming. Almost there.
Yes. Almost there.
An anguished roar rose behind me, the primal sound lifting the hair on my nape. But it didn’t matter.
Nothing mattered except getting to the master.
I sprinted deeper into the trees.