Covenkeepers by Denise Gwen

Author:Denise Gwen [Gwen, Denise]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barone Literary Agency
Published: 2018-08-03T05:00:00+00:00

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An ominous silence.

With every force of her spirit, Maddie stood before Bartholomew, trembling yet defiant. Bartholomew steepled his fingers together again; judging from the admiring look on his face, he appeared to enjoy this quality in her, this measure of obstinacy. She’d use his admiration to her advantage, because the bitter fact remained: she was in a pickle.

She hazarded a sidelong glance out of the corner of her eye, and noticed the vampires lining the walls remained still, silent. None of that sibilant hissing she’d heard when she first walked into this trap. This secretly pleased her; she’d caught them by surprise when she vaporized the greedy fang-biter who’d tried to snack on Victoria. But she also knew it’d take only one word from Bartholomew, and all semblance of order would fly out the window on stealthy bat wings.

Speaking of windows . . . Maddie blinked. Something moved, something dark, just outside her bedroom window. She flinched.

Victoria pressed against her, trembling. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know,” Maddie whispered. “But I think I saw something.”

“You what?”

“Hush.”

Maddie’s senses shifted into high alert.

Am I seeing things that aren’t really there?

Her rational mind doubted it, but she knew in her heart she saw something darting past the back window, the one overlooking the woods.

Bartholomew stirred, glanced out the window, then gazed back at Maddie.

He senses it, too.

She inhaled deeply and forced herself to keep her expression neutral. She did not want to betray any more of her thoughts or feelings to this masterful vampire.

“If I agree to marry your master’s son,” she said slowly, measuring out the taste of her words, “will you release my family?”

Bartholomew glanced out the back window once more, then focused his steely gaze on Maddie’s features. “Yes, as to the women only.”

“But what of my father?”

“There are other concerns with your father.”

“You must release him. I demand it of you.”

“My dear,” Bartholomew sneered. “You are in no position to demand anything of me.”

True, true.

Another shadow darted past the window. No mistaking it this time. Maddie’s eyes did not play tricks on her; someone—or something—outside her bedroom window hovered to one side, but kept flying past the window periodically, obviously checking on the progress inside the room. And Maddie didn’t know if this person or thing was a friend or a foe. That made her even more nervous.

The other vampires, apparently sensing a change in the dynamic of the room, stirred. They looked at one another with uneasy expressions on their pallid, dead faces. One or two glanced out the window, baring their fangs as they did so.

A vampire with bits of dust still clinging to his hair—he’d been standing right next to the one Maddie vaporized—turned and gazed out the window. He whirled around and said, “Master, I see—”

He never finished his statement. In the next instant, the window shattered and shards of razor-sharp points of glass shot across the room. The vampires, startled from their half-awakened reveries, jumped and cowered as Bettina, crouched on her broomstick, and with Roby tucked behind her, shattered the windowpane and tore into the room.

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