Read Online Broom with a View by Gayla Twist, Ted Naifeh - Free Book Online Page A

gore. Ash settled on the ground, mixing with the blood to make a copper -colored muck. Small rivulets of red trickled along the crevices of the stonework as if following miniature viaducts. Violet backed away from one small stream of blood, only to find her way barred by another. She had been steadily making her way further from the heart of the battle, but a third stream of gore inched her towards it again. She knew she should fly, or at least draw her wand to defend herself, but the horrors she saw all around left her mind feeling muddled and dull.
    An incineration spell obviously meant for one of the undead zoomed by her head so closely that she could feel a few strands of her hair start to burn. Slapping at her Gibson girl up-sweep, Violet’s feet found motion on their own , and she turned to run, no matter what the consequences.
    Her burst of speed only lasted a few brief steps as she ran straight into the arms of a large gentleman clad in a suit of the deepest purple brocade. Knowing immediately that her blind flight had meant her undoing, she looked up at his face to see the eyes of a Vampire made bright by the proximity of so much blood.
    Violet gasped and tried to pull away , but there was no escaping his iron grasp. The Vampire looked down at her; the smile playing across his lips belied the crazed look in his eyes. Violet thought for a brief moment that maybe she was mistaken and this undead being meant to do her no harm. That was until his smile cracked open wider, and his lips peeled back revealing a set of jagged teeth that were already coated with a layer of red. The creature had recently been feeding and obviously meant to make Violet his next delicacy.
    “I should have listened to Vera,” the girl thought and was then instantly annoyed that on the precipice of death, her aunt’s future admonishments filled her brain. Her head began to swim , and she felt the blessing that she would lose consciousness before the Vampire had a chance to feast on her blood. The last thing she remembered before the dark closed in was the figure of Sebastian charging towards her.
    “Curious,” she thought muzzily. “What’s he doing here?”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 6: The World Always Changes When You Least Expect It
     
    Violet regained consciousness by emitting a small shriek, her hands flying into the air to deflect the plunge of the vampire’s fangs but her eyes staying firmly shut. She had no wish to see death as it descended upon her.
    But after a few moments of waiting, she realized that no assailant pursued her from any quarter. She did feel a firm arm around her waist, supporting her, but it felt strong and comforting rather than murderous and hungry. Summoning up her courage, she cracked open an eye.
    She was still outside but sitting in a smaller square on a narrow ledge in the shade of a building. All was tranquil and calm, with not a trace of the violence that had sent her into her swoon. Cautiously turning her head a little, she realized the arm that supported her belong ed to Sebastian Du Monde, who was gazing at her with a look of earnest concern on his handsome face. “Are you all right?” he asked in a low voice just above a whisper.
    “Yes, quite,” she said, righting herself and gently extricating her waist from his grasp. “You?” she queried, quite certain Sebastian had probably encountered some difficulty in freeing her from the other Vampire’s clutches. The young man’s collar was open, and the sleeve of his jacket was torn at the shoulder seam, but beyond that he did not appear in a damaged condition.
    In response to her timid query, Sebastian did nothing more than give a small nod of his head.
    Looking around the quiet square with some bewilderment, Violet wondered, “What happened? I remember the fighting and then...” she shuddered with the memory of the Vampire clutching her. “There was that