Page 62 of Vampires, Whiskey, and Southern Charm

The lord nodded, and two guards appeared.

“Wait! She’s lying. She’s a fraud,” Lazlo yelled as they dragged him off.

I let out a long breath.

“Are you all right?” Montgomery Stark came up to me.

“No.” And as grateful as I was for his help, I couldn’t ignore how I’d gotten here. If he’d just stayed away from me and out of my life, none of this would’ve happened. “I want Maybell freed.”

“Yes, of course.” Stark turned toward a group of vampires standing near us. “Find out where her sister is and ensure she is taken home.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Masie, it is time.” Lord Bleyer II came up to us. “You must execute the five.”

I suddenly noticed the vampires I’d chosen being wheeled up in a steel cage.

“You must light them on fire,” the lord added.

“Here? Is that even safe?”

“This room was constructed for such events.” He pointed toward the black ceiling.

So that was why this room smelled like a BBQ competition gone wrong.

I shook my head. “I’m not doing it.”

“But you must,” Stark pushed. “It is the only way to complete the final test. Otherwise, you will forfeit, and they will all go free.Lazlowill go free.”

I rubbed my forehead. I just wanted to be left alone and for Maybell to be released.

“You must do this, Masie.” Stark grabbed my wrist and gently squeezed.

“For you, right?” I threw back. “You need me to keep power.”

His mouth flapped with indignation. “No. Foryou. And if you do not trust me by now, you are a fool.”

“Then I guess I’m a fool.”

The swirls in his blue-and-green eyes stopped moving. Suddenly, his eyes turned dark. “Just light the fucking cage, Masie.” He turned and left.

The lord held out a can of accelerant.

“Do not do this,” Lazlo pleaded, gripping the bars of the cage. “You will regret it forever.”

Would I? Because this would prove I was Anna, and with that power, I could do whatever I wanted—including telling everyone to stay the hell away from me, my family, and Leiper’s Fork.

I took the can and squirted the contents on the vampires in the cage. Lazlo cussed at me, using every bad word in the book, including the c-word.

“I’m a person, Lazlo, and you treated me like an animal. So now I’m returning the favor.”

The lord handed me a match. I lit it, tossed it into the cage, and walked away.

As I heard the five vampires screaming for mercy, I instantly felt relieved. I could protect the people I loved now. Also, I finally knew how to kill vampires. I would definitely be stocking up on matches and lighter fluid.

But after a few seconds, a heavy blanket of guilt wrapped around my heart. I’d done nothing but betrayed myself these past few days. I’d willingly become a killer, a monster just like them, and to me, there was no greater sin than being untrue to oneself.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO