Prologue
Mom’s hands were tight on her arm as she dragged Mabel towards the back door. “Mabel, run!” Mom shouted at her, pushing her out of the back door, her voice shrill and her eyes wide with fear as she looked behind her.
“Mom!” Mabel sobbed, not understanding. Her arm hurt where her mom had gripped her. What was going on?
“Run!” her mom said again, as her dad’s scream ripped through the air.
Mabel couldn’t move, even though she knew she should. She was rooted to the spot, trembling all over, whimpering, “Mom!”
A dark shadow suddenly pulled her mom inside, and another moved towards her, solidifying into a man’s shape, dark skin blending into the night so that all she could see was the white of the eyes and his gleaming teeth. He crouched down so he was level with her, still smiling. She was frozen where she stood, choking on her own breath, her heart beating hard enough to hurt her chest. She couldn’t even make a sound, petrified by the sudden appearance of the creature.
“What have we here?” His voice was husky, the teeth sharp and blood dripping down his chin.
Mabel’s mom screamed from inside the house, but the vampire in front of her was blocking her view.
“Mom!” she cried, her voice breaking free finally as she tried to run around him, but his arm shot out to catch her. “Stay there, all right? Be a good girl, now.”
“What are you doing, Chike?” A woman walked up to them. She was tall, and her clothes were spattered with blood. She was dark too, though not as much as the vampire in front of her. “Playing with food?”
“Go back inside, Memphis,” There was a spark of irritation in Chike’s voice.
“Listen to the boss,” a voice with strange accent spoke, the tone faintly mocking. “Are you planning to eat her, Chike?” The vampire that appeared had pale skin, golden hair and amber eyes, blood on his lips. “If not, mind if I have her? Hadrian and Briony were a bit too greedy, I’m afraid.” He licked his lips, removing the blood.
Chike looked at him, smiling faintly. “Sure, Frederick. Never let it be said that I did nothing for you.”
Chike disappeared and Mabel found herself looking into bright amber eyes, bleeding into gold and a smile as sharp as his teeth.
“Mabel, is it not?” He crouched down. “You’re a bit too small to be a proper meal, but I suppose you’ll grow.” He caught her hand. “Let’s go, shall we? There’s not enough of you to go around, and I don’t feel like sharing.”
Mabel wanted to cry, to shout for her mom and dad, but she could only whimper as the vampire rose and picked her up as if she was a sack of meat and threw her over his shoulder. She looked at her house and could see her mom lying on the kitchen floor, her hand outstretched, and her clothes all bloody, gashes on her arm and face.
Mabel screamed.
From Life Remains which is getting released on 16th September. If you’re interested in ARC reading the book, please send me a message in my author page.
You can pre-order your copies here.
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