Page 20 of Slayer

I cleared my throat, suddenly very aware of how small I felt. Bending down, I picked up the tin of wafers, tried to shove as many back inside as I could, and handed it to the woman.

She took it.

“Thanks for this,” I said and also went to hand her the stake, but she didn’t take it. “I’ve got to get home. It’s been a long night, and I’m not quite sure I’m in reality.” I laughed nervously.

The woman’s mouth turned into a frown. “Oh, honey, I can’t imagine what you’ve been through, but this is very real, and if you don’t come with us right now, you won’t survive the night.”

The certainty in her voice chilled me. It was the same thing Asher had said.

Goose bumps rushed up my arms, and I took a step backward. “To your other world? I’m not doing that. I’m not…leaving. I have…Rae and Linda. I have Linda, and she’ll worry.” My voice cracked as I struggled to come up with anyone who would miss me if I disappeared.

Tired Linda would miss me.

The woman stepped closer to me. “Stella. Your last name isn’t Adams. It’s Sinclair. I think you’re Molly Sinclair’s daughter.” She shook her head as if that wasn’t possible.

The world narrowed to a single word.

Daughter.

The runes.

My birth story.

Every strange gap in my past rose at once, lining up in a way that made my chest ache. I was so hungry for answers I’d do anything at this point.

Something beeped on Professor Silex’s waist, and he nodded. “Portal is ready. We have thirty seconds.”

The woman before me looked frantic, and I knew then that if I didn’t go with her, she’d force me. But I did. I walked right over to her because at the mention of a mother, I was putty in her hands.

“Who is Molly Sinclair? What happened?” I couldn’t help the whimper in my throat.

She reached under my arm and dragged me toward SkyRide car number six. Asher and Professor Silex were running alongside us, shoes pounding against the pavement.

Suddenly the glass car began to glow a blue color, and Professor Silex yanked the handle open just as I heard a hiss behind me.

I sucked in a breath, spinning as the beautiful woman next to me pulled a stake from somewhere in the sleeve of her shirt and threw it hard.

It flew through the air and sought purchase in the chest of a vamp with glowing red eyes.

He froze mid-step, mouth open as he stared down at the stake protruding from his heart.

It was a perfect shot.

Whoa. Badass.

“Stella!” Asher yelled, and then I was yanked backward into the blue light.

The glass door to the SkyRide car slammed shut, and the blue hue grew brighter to the point where I had to close my eyes. The sensation was disorienting, like being pulled apart and stitched back together all at once.

“Umm, what’s going—” The words had barely left my mouth when I felt a tug at my navel so hard that I blacked out.

CHAPTER

FIVE

“Molly’s kid? Molly didn’t have a child as far as we know.” A strange female voice pulled me from unconsciousness.

The sound came through layers of fog.