A Shade of Vampire 10: A Spell of Time by Bella Forrest Read Free Book Online Page A

they had to do to get by and avoid trouble. I might as well be dying in the company of strangers.
    I walked over to the other side of the cage and stared out again at the brightening sky. A cold breeze caught my hair, bringing along with it the scent of freshly blooming flowers.
    I tried to calm my mind, stop thinking about what these hunters were about to put us through.
    Soon enough, the sound of the small chopper returning roared over the mountaintop. A crowd of humans bundled out of the helicopter. More than a dozen of them. Men and women, young and old. They approached the men sharpening their tools and stared into the cage at us. Hatred burned in their eyes.
    Anthony stepped forward with a young woman and an elderly man. “Meet Stacy, my wife, and Raymond, my father-in-law. Do you remember kidnapping Tobias? My brother-in-law? No, I didn’t think so.”
    Another hunter stepped forward, his lip trembling as he held the hand of a teenage boy. “What about Justin, my son? Why don’t you explain to Sean where his brother is?”
    More hunters stepped forward, one by one, introducing themselves. I looked down at the floor of the cage, no longer willing to look into their eyes.
    “You see, vampires.” Anthony broke through the crowd again. “There are many more like us. What you see here is just a small sample of lives you’ve affected.”
    Now that the Hawks were no longer on earth to manipulate the hunters’ cause, the agenda of these humans was simple. Vengeance. And none of us vampires could blame them. Hell, I’d join their cause if I weren’t a bloodsucker myself.
    “Our organization is small now. But we are rebuilding fast. Gathering funds. Investing in weapons, surveillance systems, aircraft, training new recruits. Many are still afraid. That’s why occasions like this are important. Occasions where we demonstrate that, behind bars, you’re nothing more than animals. Animals that can be tamed… perhaps. We shall see how much desperation can tame you.”
    He paused, his cold eyes surveying the cage. They stopped on Frieda, who lay curled up in a corner, still nursing her bloody stumps.
    “We’ll start with the weakest first, shall we? Put her out of her misery.”
    There were murmurs of approval from the crowds behind them.
    Frieda squealed, backing further into her corner against the bars of the cage. Two hunters circled the cage with stakes, poking them into her back to force her to the center of the floor. Five men aimed guns at us as Anthony approached the entrance of the cage.
    “One movement from any of you, and my men will take you down.” His eyes were fixed on Frieda. “Come here, girl. Come on.” He beckoned her over as one would a dog.
    Her eyes sparked with fury at his humiliation. But she was helpless. We were all helpless. One movement, and the bullets would be lodged in our bodies, burning us from the inside out. Anthony entered the cage, gripping Frieda by her arm and holding a gun against her temple. He dragged her out even as she screamed. A woman fastened the door behind him as he stepped out into the clearing. He dropped her to the grass, in clear view of all of us.
    “Make sure you all watch this,” Anthony said, addressing the crowd of hunters. “Spread out if you have to.”
    He gripped a machete and brought it slamming down against her right arm. Steel sliced flesh. Blood spurted everywhere, soaking the grass. Frieda’s screams could have brought hearing to the deaf.
    She writhed around on the grass so violently, four men had to bend over her to keep her still. As she tried to lash out at them with her remaining claws and bite them with her fangs, one man lodged a metal ball into her mouth, choking her, tying it around her head like a muzzle. The other men raised stakes to the air and brought them down, digging straight through her shoulders and pinning her down against the soil.
    The crowd’s eyes flickered with anticipation. Hungry for blood. Hungry for death.
    Anthony