Rhiannon Frater - Pretty When She Destroys

Amaliya caught her eye and winked.

Samantha stuck out her tongue.

Bianca laughed and chatted with Baptiste about Louisiana, the state they were both born in. Baptiste, still angry with Rachoń for her betrayal, had surprised everyone by staying in Austin. It was uncertain if he would return to his home. Samantha hoped he stuck around. He was a part of them now and it was hard to imagine him not being with them.

Benchley and Alexia yanked the wishbone apart. Benchley ended up with the bigger piece which resulted in a tug of war. Aimee intervened, granting them both a wish, or so she claimed.

At Cassandra’s side, Galina just smiled and looked confused most of the time. Cian appeared uncomfortable whenever Galina looked at him, but Samantha supposed it was Cian’s fault in the end. She loved the bastard, but he had messed up more than one woman during his long life. It was obvious from how he interacted with Amaliya that he had learned his lesson and found his happiness, but he was going to have to deal with the fallout of his past.

Meanwhile, Samantha had a wedding to plan in the spring and a life to look forward to. Stealing a look at Jeff as he chatted with Cassandra, she felt utterly content. She finally had her happy ending.

Roberto appeared in the doorway carrying the Christmas cake Samantha had toiled over for hours. With his head held high, he strolled to the table and dropped the cake with a thunderous clap onto the surface. Frosting and bits of cake splattered everyone.

“Cake is served,” he intoned.

“Food fight!” Benchley hollered.

The following madness was nothing like the dignified gatherings of her family.

Samantha loved it.

“Oh, my gawd! You went the wrong way again!” Bianca exclaimed, waving her hands at Benchley.

“I know! I know! I got confused!” Benchley mashed the buttons on the controller and Bianca laughed with delight.

Curled up on the sofa next to Cian, Amaliya watched Benchley playing a video game while Bianca sat on the arm of his chair trying to give him directions. Amaliya was glad not to have to watch television. The cabal had been obsessed with watching all the news footage on the devastation in San Antonio. The media theories as to what had actually had happened were surprisingly tame considering that a Mayan temple had been discovered at the base of the massive sink hole that had destroyed the area. Amaliya suspected the authorities were trying to keep everyone calm. Rebuilding was going to be hell and the traffic in San Antonio was going to be heinous for years to come. The destruction of the major thoroughfare was going to affect the city for some time to come.

“Bench! No! Not that way!” Bianca howled with laughter.

Bianca looked far removed from the shell-shocked vampire that had woken up on the way home to Austin after The Summoner had been defeated. Amaliya had been a little disappointed with Bianca’s fading necromancy, but she was pleased that Cian was being such a gentle guide to the young woman.

Baptiste sprawled on the loveseat favoring his still healing arm and eating the popcorn Aimee was attempting to string for the Christmas tree. Cassandra sat on the floor with her arm slung over Aimee’s lap. Galina was in the kitchen with Alexia making cookies. Jeff sat in a chair sipping eggnog while Samantha sat on his lap and texted her parents on her phone.

Cian’s fingers gently stroked Amaliya’s leg. She was tempted to drag him back upstairs, but reminded herself it was a special occasion and she was a guest in Jeff’s house.

Happily, the vampires would soon be moving out to their new place. Cian had also purchased a house a few blocks away for Cassandra, Aimee and Galina. Amaliya couldn’t wait to be in their own place again so she could play her drums as loud as she damned well pleased and smoke without having Samantha giving her the evil eye.

Wrapping her arms around Cian, Amaliya nestled her lips against his cheek. He grinned at her and kissed the tip of her nose. The pride and love she saw in his eyes every time he looked at her made her glow with happiness. She had spent every night since the big battle showing him how much she loved him. He had returned the favor in spades.

Alexia wandered into the room with a plate of cookies, one firmly tucked between her teeth. Setting it down on the coffee table, she observed the mad scramble by the non-vampires to grab the tasty treats.

“So, now that we’ve saved the world, celebrated Christmas, and are looking forward to a non-apocalyptic 2013, what the hell are we going to do with ourselves?” she asked.

“I don’t know about y’all, but I’m going to do a little bit of traveling,” Amaliya answered.

“Oh? Where to?” Baptiste munched on his cookie, his maroon eyes watching her curiously.

“Yes, where to?” Cian twisted about to gaze at her.

“Houston and Dallas,” Samantha said looking up from her phone.

“Huh?” Benchley shoved a cookie in his mouth. “Why?”

Bianca handed him a napkin for his mouth, pointing to the crumbs.

“To kill some bitches,” Samantha answered for Amaliya.

With a wide grin, Amaliya said, “Right on, little bitch. You in?”

“Fuck yeah, bitch-face.” Samantha gave her two thumbs up.

“Who are we killing exactly?” Aimee lifted her eyes from the string of popcorn she was diligently working on between cookie bites.

“Courtney and Nicole,” Cassandra declared, nodding her head as she figured it out. “Those two bitches.”

“And all their asshole servants.” Amaliya crossed her legs and folded her arms over the swell of her breasts.

“Exactly why?” Cian tilted his head. “All the vampires abandoned us. Why them specifically?”

“Because I promised those bitches I’d come for them for betraying humanity. I’m going to keep my word,” Amaliya responded, flipping her hair back from her face and giving him a defiant look.

“I’m in,” Bianca volunteered, holding up her hand.

“I’ve got nothing else to do. I’m in.” Baptiste raised his good hand.

“I like a good fight.” Cassandra lifted hers high over her head.

“I go where the hot dhamphir goes.” Aimee added her vote, raising hers, too.

“C’mon, you guys. We just saved the world. Can’t we chill for a bit?” Benchley gave them all a surly look.

“We’ll go after the New Year.” Alexia raised two hands.

“Fine.” Benchley grudgingly raised his.

Jeff looked at Samantha for guidance. “So?”

“Well, duh. They were total asshats. We’re so in,” Samantha retorted, waving her arm over her head.

“The hot blonde and I are game,” Jeff said, lifting a hand.

Tilting his head, Cian gave Amaliya a slightly exasperated look. “So...are we taking over Texas now?”

“Sure.” Amaliya shrugged. “Why not?”

“Raise that hand, Cian!” Samantha urged. “Do it!”

With a chuckle, Cian raised his hand. “Okay. Fine. Let’s do it.” Leaning toward Amaliya, he whispered, “You have corrupted us all.”

“Oh, I’m just starting,” Amaliya promised him with a grin.

Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the As the World Dies trilogy (The First Days, Fighting to Survive, Siege,) and the author of three other books: the vampire novels Pretty When She Dies and The Tale of the Vampire Bride and the young-adult zombie novel The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters. Inspired to independently produce her work from the urging of her fans, she published The First Days in late 2008 and quickly gathered a cult following. She won the Dead Letter Award back-to-back for both The First Days and Fighting to Survive, the former of which the Harrisburg Book Examiner called ‘one of the best zombie books of the decade.’ Rhiannon is currently represented by Hannah Gordon of the Foundry + Literary Media agency. You may contact her by sending an email to rhiannonfrater@gmail.com.