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CHAPTER 10
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Rashida guided me through the thrall's quarters, explaining to me where everything was as if I was going to take up permanent residency. I was still in shock that I was abandoned there, but then again, why did I expect anything more from Hezekiah?
Why did I expect anything more from a vampire, at that?
Rashida walked me through the changing room—a small area filled with vanities, lockers and naked women. The thralls stared me down like I didn't belong there or like I was some sort of parasite that was treading my way through. Rashida had to hold my hand and pull me through since my body was nearly immobile. Her words barely registered in my head; my eyes flickered left and rig
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Hezekiah stepped around slowly, examining my room with steps that were mute against the old flooring. His eyes narrowed and studied my books, the closet, the TV and everything else. The judgmental state of his gaze made me self-conscious. "You're inside," I tell him. "Now, what is it that you want?" Hezekiah reaches deep into his pocket and pulls out my pendant—the deep blue gris-gris Mama gifted me the day I arrived, blessed by Legba's veve stamped on the front. Against my better judgment, I smiled. "My pendant," I sighed out in relief. "You kept it?" "Actually, I lost it at first. When the Coterie came to the Jubilee, the Elders were the first ones out. Not only did I get separated from you, but I got separated from your little
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** I had locked myself in the guest bedroom with the black box as my only form of company that night. No one came to me; I was left alone, which heightened my suspicions about the truth I had brought to them. I sat on the floor, still dressed in white and covered in dirt and dried sweat. The ball gown lied on the bed, staring back at me. I thought about trying it on; I didn't need to know how it fit, since Jeffrey assured me that the dress was correct to my measurements. But I wanted to see myself in this dress. Is this how Russell Van Doren remembered me one hundred and fifty years in the past—wearing this gown when it was common attire at the time? I expected Hezekiah to knock on the window and let himself in the room, trying to explain himself and his actions; his reasoning f
