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“So, no. I don’t want you to get me out of here. What would be the point? So I can live in the shadows, hiding from the world like you? Like a bloodthirsty, cold-hearted vampire? No thanks.”
Stark stared for a long moment and then swallowed. “I-I am sorry, Masie. I did not know…what…Lazlo did to you.”
My eyes teared. “How could you think for one second that I enjoyed being with that animal?”
Stark’s eyes turned dark like I’d seen on the night of the final test. “I am sorry, Masie. Truly.”
“It’s too late for apologies, Stark. You won. You destroyed me. And now there’s nothin’ left to say other thanleave me alone. I don’t care about your dang civil war or your thirst for power. Ain’t my problem.”
He slowly stood, taking a second to right his tie and running his hand over his silky black hair. “You are mistaken. I have destroyed myself.” His eyes met mine. “It is unfortunate to learn so late in life that one can have a connection deeper than a mate. I never loved Anna more than I loved power. But for you, I would burn.”
He walked out the door and disappeared.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“Masie! Have you heard the news?” One of the inmates named Darla stood outside the bars of my open cell. I’d finally been moved to gen-pop over three weeks ago and was given a job mopping floors with Darla—a new low in life, but a highlight of my day. Now I shared a bunk with a very large woman named Chainsaw who was in prison for killing her boyfriend. With a chainsaw.
Birds of a feather nest together.I was a famous killer, too.
“No.” I looked up from my book.
“You have to come. You won’t believe it!”
“Can’t you see I’m busy expanding my mind?” I held up my old, worn-out Harlequin novel from the 1980s, complete with Fabio lookalike. Half the pages were missing, and the swoony parts had mystery stains. Honestly, though, I just didn’t care. Nothing in this place was clean or nice.
“Masie,” she said, all giddy, like she was about to burst open, “there’s some man on the TV, claiming to represent over two million vampires.”
Now she had my attention. “Sorry?”
“I know, right? Vampires! It’s on every channel. The White House issued a statement before he came on, warning people to stay calm.” She started jumping up and down. “They’re real! Vampires are real.”
I got up from my bunk and followed her to the rec room, which was packed. Everyone was silent, staring at the TV mounted in the corner. Even the guards were frozen in shock.
I blinked, spotting a tall man on the screen with silky black hair, who looked extremely familiar. The text read,Mr. Montgomery Stark, 500 yr. old vampire from Leiper’s Fork, TN.
Five hundred?I gasped and covered my mouth, listening carefully to the unfolding press conference.
“…it is true that my kind consumes human blood, but it is a myth that we must kill humans in the process. It is also a myth that we must drink nightly to survive. I, myself, have not had a drop in several months. With cooperation and patience, I am confident that we can learn to live in harmony with humans. Next question.” He pointed to a reporter in the enormous conference room. I had no clue where it was. Maybe DC?
“Mr. Stark,” asked a male reporter in a light blue shirt, “aren’t you afraid you’ll all be hunted now that you’ve revealed yourself? And if you are, will your kind retaliate?”
Stark was quick to reply, his tone firm, “Like any living being, we have a right to defend ourselves, but we have passed several new laws in anticipation of the Great Outing. Killing humans is strictly prohibited, though we are allowed to incapacitate anyone who threatens the life of a vampire.” He paused, staring right into the camera. “My late wife, Anna, believed that with time, once humans understood the benefits of coexistence, violence could be avoided.”
The reporter retorted, “But you’re physically stronger than us, right? You can turn into bats. You—”
Stark held out his hands to stop the man from speaking. “Because there is much mythology surrounding vampires, I will be releasing a comprehensive guide later today that discloses exactly what we can and cannot do.”
“Pfft!Oh, nowww he’s spilling the beans,” I snarled. Where was this dang guide when I’d needed it?
Stark continued, “I hope everyone will take special note of the healing section. While it is now prohibited for us to create more vampires under vampire law, except for extreme situations, it is perfectly legal to assist the terminally ill, the injured, and those suffering from chronic disease.”
Oh shit. Big pharma won’t be happy, I thought.
“You can cure cancer?” one of the female reporters asked.
Stark nodded. “Among other things. Which is why we hope, in time, people will come to see us for what we are: humans who have transformed and been given extraordinary gifts. And with that, I will close with one last item.” Again he looked into the camera. “There is a woman in prison for murder. Masie Kicklighter. But she is innocent. I framed her out of spite, because I was a fool, and fools do not deserve to be with a woman like her—smart, beautiful, and good. I hope the courts will immediately free her since, as you can all see, I am alive and well.”
He removed his tie, unbuttoned his white dress shirt, and slid it off, revealing a ripped set of abs and muscled arms covered in those vine tattoos.
