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She had allowed herself to be humiliated out of society To be condemned by her parents and thrown out of their lives

Had she been older and wiser, she would never have given them such power over her Nor would she have wasted soas no more than a mistaken trust in another

She would prove to herself that she had changed That she was nooman who could face bravely whatever life chose to throw at her

And so she had forced her reluctant feet to carry her back into the cramped vestibule

That hen she had suddenly been struck with a dangerous plan

She could not hope to th, but she couldIf only she could wrench free the shutters, then she would have the perfect weapon to battle a creature of the dark

With a last jerk, the heavy shutter flung open Jocelyn ignored her throbbing hands and glanced out the broken panes of the narro Although darkness still shrouded the nearby woods, there was an undeniable glow of dawn upon the horizon

From the stairs she could hear the uned, and her heart clenched in fear

"Oh, Lucien, hold on," shethe sun to rise

For what see as she desperately watched for the first rays of sunlight to filter over the trees And then, at long last, a bright gloashed over her and tu about, Jocelyndown to stones Then, just as swiftly, she pulled the shutter closed, careful to ensure that it appeared firmly nailed in place

Only then did she turn toward the stairs and call out in a loud voice, "Amadeus I have the Medallion It is yours if you still desire it"

There was a thick pause before she heard Lucien moan in disn the decided quaver in her voice "I will not allow you to be har me the Medallion," A breath, her nerves so raw that she could barely think straight "You must first assure me that Lucien is able to leave without harm"

"Of course" The oily voice of the traitorif the evil ht she would accept his word For heaven’s sake, he had kidnapped, tortured, and murdered without compunction Why would he not lie?

"Not until Lucien is here beside h the air before the va command of his co, and then Jocelyn could see Lucienhis way up the stairs, closely followed by Aht at the bronze countenance that was cut and battered alnition His lean body had fared no better, and his coat was tattered to reveal several wounds that were bleeding in an alar cruelly at her horrified expression, Amadeus held out his skeleton hand "Now The Medallion"

Jocelyn licked her suddenly dry lips, her heart painfully trapped in her throat If her plot failed, then Lucien would be killed and she would once again be at the mercy of this horrid hts aside

She would not fail

Straightening her shoulders, she aze with a stubborn determination

"Not until you have allowed Lucien to pass"

Amadeus snarled at her bravado "I will endure no tricks"

"No tricks" Slowly she reached up to remove the Medallion froasped

She ignored his outburst as her gaze remained on the wary va pause before Amadeus reached out to push Lucien toward her "Go to her"

She forced herself to reered forward, his hand covering a gaping wound that spilled blood over his fingers

"Jocelyn," he gasped weakly, his eyes glazed with agony, "do not do this"

"I iveforith an icy fury "I will have the Medallion"

Jocelyn gave a nod of her head "Very well Take it"

Sending up a desperate prayer, she tossed the Medallion toward the spot she had h the di upon the dust At the saloating laugh, the va toward his prize

"Too late, Lucien Your foolish slut has already given the Medallion of her free will It is nowto his knees, Aloith a golden light<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>