Vanquished by Nancy Holder, Debbie Viguié Read Free Book Online Page A

the old planks, her heart skipping a beat, as she wondered if she had come to the wrong place. A simple brass handle hung where there’d once been a silver door knocker in the shape of the crescent moon.
    She squared her shoulders and forced herself to knock anyway. Regardless of who lived there, she was still badly in need of food and water. She prayed that the occupants would be willing to help.
    An ultraviolet porch light clicked on. The light wasn’t something she could see, but Skye could feel it. The bulb was a relic from the first years after the Cursed Ones went public. People had rushed to buy them, thinking that the UV would harm vampires as the sun would.
    They hadn’t worked. No one was really sure what the sun’s light did. But the more superstitious had hung on to their lights, swearing that the UV kept vampires at bay.
    The door opened just a crack, and a blue eye stared outat her. Skye tried to smile, hoping that it would somehow compensate for being streaked with blood.
    The door slammed shut.
    “Please, I need your—,” Skye began.
    The chain clinked and the door swung open. Skye’s twenty-four-year-old cousin Summer anxiously regarded her. Skye moved to throw her arms around her, but Summer tensed and took a step back.
    “What are you doing here?” she demanded.
    “Blessed be,” Skye said, struggling to hide her disappointment at the lack of traditional witchly greeting—of any greeting, for that matter.
    “You can’t come in,” her cousin said, stubbornly setting her jaw.
    Skye blinked, fighting to hold back tears. “You can see that I’m hurt.”
    “From fighting,” Summer said. “Am I right?”
    Skye looked into her eyes and saw anger there, and fear.
    “Escaping,” Skye said. “But it wasn’t because of—”
    “We don’t take sides in the conflict, and we don’t recognize those who do.”
    “Then you’re lying when you say you’re not taking sides,” Skye snapped. “Please, just some water—”
    Summer slammed the door in her face. Miserable, and worried that she wouldn’t be able to make it much farther before she collapsed, Skye took a deep breath and stepped off the porch. She stared into the forest and hopedthat her parents would be more understanding, or at least forgiving.
    She began to walk. She’d gone only about fifty feet when a sudden sound behind her caused her to turn. Standing there was Summer’s husband, Nigel. He held out a glass of water and a brown sack.
    “Thank you,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. She took the glass of water and drank it down, wishing there were more of it. She handed it back, and Nigel gave her the bag. She opened it and saw a few slices of bread and a chunk of Stilton cheese.
    “Thank you,” she said again, realizing that he hadn’t said a word.
    He nodded and turned to go.
    “Wait!”
    He turned to look at Skye.
    “Why are you helping me?” she asked.
    “It would be doing you harm not to help you. But there’ll be the devil to pay if she finds out,” he murmured, then walked away.
    Skye’s legs trembled. She devoured the food. She was still dehydrated, but she felt a little better after she had finished eating. She folded the bag and slid it into her boot. Witches respected the earth in all ways.
    The whole world’s gone to hell. My cousin has disowned me, I could die at any moment, and I’m worried about littering, she thought, smiling slightly. Some things never change.
    Two hours later, as Skye stood staring at her family’s cottage, she realized that some things had changed too much. The cottage had once been a simple structure, one large room that they all shared. She could remember many a night choosing her spot on the floor and rolling out her sleeping bag.
    Now several new additions completely obscured the original building. Enormous and rambling, it no longer seemed to spring out of the earth, but rather to ride upon its back. The new construction was glass and metal. There was nothing natural or