Page 152 of Once Upon a Fable

“Don’t move,” I seethed.

I was the gatekeeper to his hoard of slaves and there was no fuckingwayI would let him lay another finger on them.

My head tipped down, my eyes locking onto my hands.

Blade or gun.

Both weapons waited to be used.

The blade would be more satisfying, but the gun would be more efficient.

I wanted out of this place.

I wanted my family free.

Raising the gun, I smiled icily. “Your disgusting club and membership have been revoked, you sick son of a bitch.”

A cold laugh echoed over my shoulder.

Jareth.

I would recognize his barely restrained violence anywhere.

And then, I squeezed the trigger.

Not just once.

Not just twice.

I emptied the entire fucking clip, bullet after bullet, filling our diabolical master with lead.

I ended the entire establishment.

I turned to my family.

I relished in our hard-won freedom.

But then, the world turned hazy, blurs spinning into colors, colors morphing into a new reality.

The library solidified around me.

One night traded for another.

No more blood. No more death.

Just a woman with blond hair, hazel eyes, and a rope wrapped tight around my wrists.

Horror came from nowhere.

Thick, black,unbearablehorror.

It’d all been a dream.

A dream where I’d liberated us only to wake and find I hadn’t.

No!

Christ, no.