Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 112849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
I know that voice is only saying that so I won’t think too much about it, so I won’t worry. Because honestly, I can’t worry. I can’t afford to. All my energy has to go into my magic for tomorrow morning and for every day after that until my blade has tasted blood. One slip-up and I’m fucked. Vampires are too good at reading people and they can smell a witch from a mile away. If my mask were to slip for a moment, he would end me.
The one they call Dracula.
The one I must get close to.
The one I have been sent here to kill.
I didn’t end up going back to sleep. I stayed up until I saw dawn lick the horizon, painting the lagoon in shades of pewter and pink. I decided to go headfirst into the spell, thinking my energy might wane as the morning went on. It took an hour of standing in front of the mirror, whispering my intentions while I lit bunches of dried lavender from back home as well as copal resin, hoping it wouldn’t set off any smoke detectors.
The problem with doing a glamor spell, which is essentially putting a mask or shield over you so that others can’t see your true intentions, is that you don’t know if it works until you actually put it to the test and meet other people. Thank god my contact here from the guild, Livia, is going to meet me for an espresso on the way to school so at least I’ll know if it’s in place before I put myself in direct danger.
At that thought, I feel a little thrill run through me. I smile at my reflection, taking comfort in it. I had feared that perhaps I lost my competitive drive, the fun part of the game. The thrill of the hunt. The desire to deliver justice, to exact revenge. It’s what has been drilled in me since I was thirteen, to kill the enemy, to do a good job, and take pride in it.
During the last two years though, trying to live that elusive normal life, I started to think perhaps I had been brainwashed all this time. I felt that side of me drain like an open wound and that scared me, because to lose my slayer instincts meant facing the fact there was something seriously wrong with me, the fact that I enjoyed killing vampires so much, even though it’s what I have been trained to do.
I keep smiling to my reflection, then bare my teeth, checking to see that they look clean and white. I decide to add a little more eyeliner to my face. He might not recognize me as a witch, but if I’m to get closer to him I need to up my beauty game. I’m sure most students at the conservatory aren’t wearing a full face of makeup to class, but I have to stand out in some way.
I add some blush to my cheeks, ever so pale, and wish my foundation could have covered up my freckles. The eyeliner is a dark bronze that brings out the green in my eyes and I run my fingers through my hair, separating the loose curls. I’ll never be a sexy bombshell, I’ll always have this look about me that belongs in old paintings and statues—a chin too strong, a Roman nose—but I know I have what it takes to bring a man to his knees if I must. If Dracula is anything like his counterparts, he’ll pick up on the fact that I’m easy prey and he’ll be the one compelling me, not the other way around.
Satisfied with my appearance, I take in a deep breath and grab my backpack, slinging it over my shoulder. With my Birks, wide-leg jeans, and blousy green top, I think I look the part of being a student.
I head out of my tiny apartment, locking it behind me, and head down the narrow winding staircase and out of the building, the soles of my sandals echoing on the tile. The guild found this place for me, in the Cannaregio district, the north section of the city. The building is a little run down and very basic, but it fits the profile of what a music student would be able to afford in this city.
I bring out the map in my phone and plot course for the coffee house that I’m meeting Livia at. I’m the type that doesn’t like directions and usually just uses instinct to find my way, but Venice is a strange beast. I’ve been here for two days and I’ve gotten lost every time I’ve gone for a walk. Alleyways and streets converge and circle, leading to dead ends of buildings and canals. Even when you swear you’ve been down a street before, it ends up being another street and you’re in the opposite direction you hoped to go in. There’s a vibe here, an energy that is dark and light and mercurial.