Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Gemma landed on the floor. Her body no longer pulsated with arousal, instead breaking into tremors and a cold sweat. She hugged herself. One minute she’d been in the middle of a hot make out session and the next she was hauling ass for the mirror.
If he had bitten her, he would’ve shredded her neck. And she’d either be dead or a mindless slave.
A quick glance behind her found the show had faded to black as the episode ended. No more Skarde.
His teeth had scraped her skin. Had he broken the skin?
Had he taken a sip? Terrified of turning into a mindless slave, she scrambled for the bathroom.
An examination of her neck in front of the mirror found no bite marks.
Her skin was red where his mouth had been.
She palmed the crystal he’d given her to reassure herself it happened.
Her hands shook, her legs caving until she sat on the floor with her back to the vanity.
Skarde Blackmann had almost bitten her. Almost killed her.
He’d resisted.
Who would believe she went through her television into a TV show? Twice? Or that Dylan had tried to murder her but was then killed by a vampire? That was crazy-ville on steroids.
Val.
With a scramble, she retrieved her phone off the end table. Val didn’t answer. But moments later Val sent a text: Meet me at the shop at one. Bring the DVD.
Her heart jolted. Finally, she could hash out the past few days with someone who might believe her.
She bagged up all remnants of Dylan in her apartment and toted the trash bag to the dumpster.
When she returned, she poured the black witches salt from Val’s shop into a few small containers, like the directions on the bottle indicated, and placed them around her apartment.
Hopefully, it would draw out any negative energy from Dylan.
If there was an investigation into his disappearance, she hoped she wouldn’t give herself away as being involved in his murder.
Who would’ve mourned her if Dylan had killed her?
How long would it have been before anyone even thought to look for her?
Val might have tried to find her after a few days.
But who’d miss her other than Val? A few people from work might show up for her funeral.
None of her various foster parents had kept up with her or cared once the government money stopped.
She’d almost died last night. Life was short, no matter how long you lived.
Even for Skarde, things would eventually end.
It made her wonder about what she was doing with the time she had.
Her job gave her something to do and a way to make money, but it didn’t make her happy.
She wanted something meaningful in her life, something permanent that made her feel alive.
Something like… Skarde’s endless blue-gray eyes flashed in her mind. She’d skipped right into insanity to even think he’d offer her more than a single night of great sex. Maybe she ought to take that one night.
Time to watch the episode again and see if it showed where Skarde had gone when he left her in his room.
The camera showed her in profile. Someone who knew her might be suspicious, but they’d probably think it an actress who looked like her.
No one who knew her would see it. With each episode she became more suspicious the disc was something magical, something cooked up by Val to… to what? Push her into Skarde’s world?
She perked up to pay attention to Skarde’s altercation with the other vampire.
Skarde had an unfriendly vampire brother that was unsympathetic to the point of being chilling.
Once the scene ended, she rewound to replay it.
The fight demonstrated how vicious both of them could be, and yet they each showed restraint.
Cade’s imprisoned witch had chanted: The human from another realm chooses her maker who will become a stake breaker.
A shiver went through her. Skarde said she belonged in his world more than she knew.
A woman from another realm.
That was her.