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Back The Fell of Dark Save as PDF
Chapters (46)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. CAST OF CHARACTERS
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. LITTLE WHITE PICKET FENCES
  44. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  45. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  46. Newsletter Sign-up

She was my tutor and my secret guardian, the older sister I never had and a stranger I was only just getting to know. If the Brotherhood can’t find a way to prevent the Ascension, what will they decide? What would Daphne have had to do if she were still alive when the time came?

What if the only way to stop him is for you to die?

I cry as quietly as possible so I won’t wake Adriana, and it’s a long time before I fall asleep.

22

Adriana promises that her grandmother is an early riser and rarely has anywhere to be on Sundays, so in the morning, we head out as soon as the sun is high enough that we’re sure the streets will be clear of vampires. It’s only a partial comfort for me, of course. The single direct attempt on my life throughout all of this was made by a human—and the person who saved me from it is dead.

The walk is quiet but tense, my nerves stretched to the breaking point, and when we get to Ximena’s house, climbing the steps to knock on the door, I’m almost hoping no one will answer. For all I know, sorcery is how this whole thing got started. Jude says I wasn’t “chosen” as the vessel—that it’s just my shitty luck—but what if he’s wrong? An arcane ritual … the Rising of the Dark Star. What if a bunch of X-Men witches stuffed this being into me in the first place? There are plenty of reasons why humans would consort with an entity promising true immortality.

But why me? According to Daphne, some ancient prophecy describes my “planetary influences” and “specific traits,” and yet no one has told me which ones; no one even seems to care. If a bunch of witches really singled me out and squeezed me full of the Corrupter like some kind of hideous Halloween dumpling, I want to know why.

Footsteps sound inside, the knob turns, and Ximena Rosales appears before us, her eyes registering surprise for only a moment before they settle into resignation. With a weary nod, she steps aside. “I was wondering when this moment would come.”

“So I take it ESP isn’t one of your big, scary sorcery powers?” I can’t help the sharpness with which the words roll off my tongue. Before now, I would never have dreamed of speaking to Ximena like this—but I’d never felt betrayed by her, either.