Free Obsessed (Book #12 in the Vampire Journals) by Morgan Rice Page A

and
color, its speed, its vulnerabilities—and she pounced, tearing through the
forest after it. The creature was deer-like but similar in size to a dog, and
Scarlet couldn’t help but think of Ruth, her husky back home. It made her feel
sick to think that she could possess these murderous instincts, and that she
had no control over them.
    Scarlet tore
across the undergrowth, shoving branches out of her way as she ran. The
deer-like creature had a better grasp on the terrain and it dodged and weaved
expertly. It hopped elegantly over a stream. Scarlet went plunging in after it,
splashing gracelessly in the freezing water.
    But despite its
upper hand, the deer was no match for a starving vampire. Scarlet reached her
prey and leapt on it. She sank her fangs into its neck.
    Its blood was
delicious, filling her veins with power and strength. She sat on her knees,
devouring the creature, sucking on its blood.
    As soon as it
was drained she sat back and took a deep breath. She turned her gaze up to the
stars twinkling through the canopy and a silver tear streaked down her cheek.
    She wiped the
blood from her lips and looked down at the limp creature.
    “I’m sorry,” she
whispered.
    But as she
stood, she felt a surge of strength wash through her. As much as it disgusted
her to kill, she knew she needed it to survive. She was just going to have to
accept that this was her new reality.
    She turned on
the spot, realizing that in the chase she’d lost her orientation. The trees
were so thick here she couldn’t even see properly through the tops. The tower
was nowhere to be seen.
    Scarlet’s heart
began to race as she realized she was lost.
    “No, no, no,”
she muttered under her breath.
    Her throat was
constricting with panic. How could she be so stupid? To have gotten lost when
she was just a stone’s throw from a possible cure for Sage. If he died now, it
would all be her fault.
    She turned on
the spot, looking wildly around her, trying to decipher the path she had taken
to get here. But the trees were too thick, the branches too many, and there was
no way of knowing which way she had come or which way she needed to go. In her
panic, she couldn’t help but think of Sage lying there, cold and in pain, his
breath shallow. If he died alone she would never forgive herself.
    She couldn’t
help but let the tears fall.
    Then suddenly
something changed. The gloom around her seemed to lift. She cleared the blurry
tears from her eyes with the back of her hand and realized that her locket was
glowing once again. The light coming from the hinges banished the shadows
around her.
    “Of course,” she
said aloud, “my tears open the locket.”
    She clicked open
the two halves. Instead of showing her the image of the tower this time, a thin
thread of light came out, floating through the air like seaweed tendrils under
water. Scarlet realized immediately that the light was guiding her.
    She ran,
following the strange threadlike glow through the thickets. Branches snagged
her, tore at her clothes, but she ignored them. Her mind was entirely focused
on reaching her destination.
    She heard the
sound of breaking waves in the distance and realized she must be close. Then
all at once she had burst from the forest, leaving behind the shadows and
replacing the pungent aroma of trees with the sharp, salty smell of the ocean.
    She found
herself at the bottom of a row of steep steps that led up to the tower.
    She staggered
back, her breath stolen from her lungs by the sight of it. The building was so
tall she couldn’t see the top. The bricks were laid haphazardly and the steps
were eroded, bowing in the middle from generations of feet walking up them.
Scarlet wasn’t sure how the ancient tower was still standing. Like the Leaning
Tower of Pisa, it seemed to lilt to one side, lurching toward the ocean.
    Scarlet saw that
the tendril of light from her locket was winding its way up the staircase. It
wanted her to go inside. She swallowed hard,