Maisie
Fire exploded through my veins.
It wasn't just the pain. It was the wrongness of it. Like death itself had been poured into my bloodstream and was now eating me alive from inside.
My back arched off the ground as the burning spread. Down my neck, across my chest, into my arms and legs. My blood felt like it was boiling.
Froth gathered at the corners of my mouth. I couldn't stop twitching. Couldn't stop shaking. Couldn't stop convulsing.
Tessa watched me with a pleased little smile as she pulled the empty syringe from my neck.
She checked her watch, then brightened.
"Looks like we're in luck, mutt. It's almost midnight." She tilted her head. "You're about to become a legend. Cinderella, perhaps? The one who disappears when the clock strikes twelve?"
My face kept twitching. My legs jerked and spasmed against the ground like they no longer belonged to me. I was choking on my own breath.
Anything was better than this. Death was better than this pain.
