Free The Vampire's Curse by Mandy Rosko Page A

but she'd already emptied out the bigger ones and broke them up for recycling.
    Jackie didn't need to tell her this; Evey found the pile of flattened boxes, sighed and shook her head. "Unbelievable."
    The crash of a front window had them both spinning. The ferals were inside, all they had to do was come into the back room and they were found.
    "Come on!" Evey grabbed Jackie again and all but threw her under the back counter.
    It wasn't a good hiding place. Anyone could come in and see her without needing to bend over. "What are you doing?"
    "Shh!" Evey turned the lock on the knob just as the door violently began pounding. They had only seconds left before the ferals clawed their way in and ripped them up.
    Evey grabbed several of the flattened boxes and handed them to Jackie before pushing her into the corner.
    Jackie knew what she was going to do. She was going to fight, and all those ferals would tear her to shreds.
    "Hold these over yourself and don't make any noise. No matter what happens."
    Jackie grabbed her arm, the pounding at the door louder and the hinges screamed for mercy. "We could run out the back door. We could get away."
    "There's still some out there. Stay there." Evey shoved the boxes at her and Jackie held them in place with her knees tucked as closely to her chest as she could put them. If anyone were to look at where she hid, it would appear as old boxes leaning against the wall under the counter. She took the garlic spray out of her pocket and held it close. Aside from the boxes, it was the only thing she had to defend herself with.
    She couldn't see so she listened. The door crashed and the high pitched shrieks of the hungry ferals pierced her ears. They were breaking the door apart, piece by piece but had yet to get in.
    She heard Evey pick up the phone before slamming down the receiver. It didn't work.
    Jackie couldn't stand not knowing what Evey did so she lowered the flat boxes she held just enough to peek.
    Evey stood in front of the door, chest heaving and fists clenched as she watched the ferals tear it apart to get inside.
    She braced herself and marched to the door. "You all want us so bad? Here!"
    "No!" Jackie screamed when Evey thrust her entire arm through the broken hole of the door for the ferals to get at, but a flash of light so blinding had her lifting the boxes to shield herself with again.
    The catty shrieks of the ferals and heavy thumps of bodies dropping followed before the light faded and disappeared entirely.
    Jackie blinked away the giant bright dot in her eyes and lowered the boxes. She gasped at the sight that met her and threw them off. She crawled out from under the counter to where Evey had fallen over, her back to Jackie and curled in a fetal position.
    Jackie gently took her shoulder and rolled her over. Tears streamed down Evey's cheeks as she clutched her charred, skeletal arm to her chest. It smoked, crumbling black dust that was once skin through Evey’s fingers. Jackie nearly gagged at the smell of burnt flesh.
    "A solar charm?" She asked instead.
    Evey nodded and, like a soldier, forced a smile. "I haven't used one of those since before I was bitten, and it wasn’t a good idea then either." Her voice was hoarse.
    She blinked her red eyes and released her blackened arm to wriggle her good fingers in front of her face. “It was so bright. I cannot believe I’m not blind after that.”
    Jackie laughed, tears streaming down her own cheeks as she pulled off her sweater and wrapped the thick grey material over Evey's lifeless arm, leaving herself in her purple bra.
    Jackie couldn't believe Evey did that for her. For them. She put her arm through the hole in the door, using the door as a shield for the rest of her body and cast the most dangerous charm known to a vampire, and the most difficult charm known to a witch.
    "Hopefully you'll never have to use it again," she said, pulling Evey up and leaning her against the wall. "It'll take months for that to