162
They always said #empathy was something you should have. It made you a better person. Nettie didn’t feel like one, she wanted it to end. Every feeling in the city was pulled to her along an unseen thread until it pierced her soul. Pain. Love. Despair. Need. Joy.
163
Heaven was a #ruse and she found out the hard way. A lifetime dedicated to goodness and helping others and she still ended up in the same pit as every other soul, waiting to be reborn.
164
A clock chimed #midnight and she felt the magic leave her body. It lurched away as if pulled by an unseen force and she sank to her knees, distraught.
“I need it back!” She pleaded. “It wasn’t enough time.
“The deal is done.” They replied. “Do you wish to renegotiate?”
165
The #bolt through the door completed the circuit and she stood back, confident that no demon would be able to cross the threshold. The door rattled as they tried it and she wondered if the rest of her house would still be standing by the end of this demonic storm.
166
“A nice #vintage.” Cutler nodded as he sipped, tasting it as if it were a fine wine, with a smacking of lips and a roll around the mouth.
“It’s blood for fuck sake.” David rolled his eyes. “Just drink the bastard dry so we can move on, will you?”
167
She kept a #totem in her pocket. A reminder of what she had lost and a warning to never freely give so much of herself to another. On the day she lost it, Catharine came into her life. Was it coincidence or an omen? She wasn’t sure, but she was determined to find out.
168
A thick #fog had settled over the town. Seeping beneath cars and twisting around streetlights, it chilled everything it touched. People would say it felt as though their life force was being pulled from them. And they’d be right.
Lisa Stapleton 