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She wasn’t going to stay here with the weird wolves and the crazy maybe-dead man and the handsome uncle. She had enough problems.

  At least it wasn’t raining this time. The sun was shining down on her. Maybe Roy was just an apparition, a figment of her tormented imagination. Pursued by everything she was attempting to leave behind in the past. But now catching up to her.

  Bryn pushed off against the grass and dirt with both hands and got up. She ran again, despite the sting on the bottom of her foot. Shoes were always recommended when running for your life. At least this time she wasn’t wearing white hospital scrubs. Or screaming like the escaped mental patient she was.

  There weren’t many things on her five-year plan these days. She’d thrown that away and attempted to make a new one. But it was hard when everything on the list revolved around just staying alive. There was nothing normal like once-in-a-lifetime vacations or retirement-fund goals.

  Staying alive was the only thing she wanted now.

  Her legs burned. The terrain climbed and didn’t let up. Could she run to the top of the world? Maybe she should stay there, where she’d be able to see someone coming.

  Her lungs screamed.

  She wouldn’t be able to keep up this punishing pace forever.

  Someone yelled. The faint sound echoed through the forest surrounding the bed and breakfast. Another figment of her psyche. Help, but just out of reach. Failing to show up in time to actually help her.

  This was nothing but a sick game. And she was really tired of games.

  Bryn grabbed a tree and pulled herself to a stop. Bark bit into the skin of her palm. Real. She faced the nightmare headed toward her. Not real.

  She was sick of this. Sick of being the crazy one who saw things that weren’t real, who hurt herself because she gave in to those sick fantasies of being chased. Not real.

  It was time to face her nightmares.

  Roy’s face twisted with malice. Her nightmare sent to kill her for good. If Bryn was going to be free of this, then she was going to have to quit running. She needed to take control of her life. Fight the demons chasing her.

  Roy barreled toward her. Bryn ducked her head and ran at him. She twisted at the last second and allowed her shoulder to slam into his chest. He grabbed her. The force of the collision made them spin in the air. Their descent was a mass of hands and limbs. He had her arm. Then her shirt. Then his leg wrapped around hers.

  Bryn’s back hit the ground. Roy landed on her, and all the air expelled from her lungs. He roared, teeth bared like a wild animal intent on tearing apart the enemy.

  She punched his face. Her knuckles sliced open on his teeth.

  He dipped his head and bit her shoulder.

  Bryn screamed. She shoved at him. Kicked him. Pushed against him with her hands and tried to dislodge the grip of his jaw. Pain blinked like fireworks as all her mental energy was sucked into the sensation of what he was doing to her. Was this how she would die? Pinned down by a dead man. Torn apart. Disregarded by the world. Forgotten by the people who should have cared about her. Misplaced, and rejected.

  Tears rolled down her face and she cried out.

  “Bryn!” Amelia’s voice carried to her.

  Then she saw the sword.

  Bryn screamed. He was going to kill her.

  Part of her didn’t fault him. With her gone from the world, things could go back to normal. The pain would stop. Amelia could move on. Daire could go back to wherever he’d come from. This would be nothing but a bizarre—and bad—memory for them.

  Instead, he grasped Roy’s hair and tugged at the grip on her neck. Bryn screamed as the bite tore flesh away, but still Roy didn’t let go.

  “You’re hurting her,” Amelia wailed.

  Daire said, “I have to get him off.”

  Bryn felt her consciousness slide down into black. Daire pulled at Roy again. Pain rolled through her, and she blinked against the spots in her vision. She fought to stay alert, aware enough to know that while she might want this to be over, she didn’t want to die.

  Tears rolled from her eyes down into her hair. The ground dug into her back. Her legs and arms. Memories she wanted to keep locked away swam to the surface and she cried out, fighting off the descent into things she couldn’t afford to get lost in. Not now.

  Daire’s black gaze didn’t meet hers. Bryn’s mind wouldn’t settle. She couldn’t focus on one thing. Her eyes refused to process what was happening to her.

  She blinked. The trees, the hair by her cheek. The people standing over her.

  The old man.

  The pain.

  Slipping away.

  “He’s killing her!”

  Bryn’s heart hurt at the torment in Amelia’s voice. She didn’t want the girl to feel so much when she wasn’t worth the anguish. She tried to suck in a breath. The weight of Roy on top of her prevented the inhale.

  The edges of her vision darkened further.

  Roy’s head was pulled away from her. She cried out as his teeth finally separated from her skin. Amelia screamed.

  Bryn saw the sword descend.

  She heard the thud when Roy’s head hit the ground.

  And then everything went black.

  Chapter 12

  Daire lifted the Centurion’s sword and slipped it back into the sheath sewn into the liner of his leather jacket. The leather-wrapped hilt disappeared inside his collar.

  “You keep a sword back there?”

  He glanced at Amelia, still flanked by two wolves he didn’t know how to get rid of. How could this day have possibly gotten any worse? It was bad enough to find Amelia missing. Then the stalker boyfriend had been here. Now the stalker boyfriend had turned into the walking dead, and the guest who’d escaped from a psychiatric facility had been bitten. Daire shook his head. This was his enemy’s doing. It had to be.

  A Johansen was here. She’d been targeted.

  Amelia said, “Well, why do you have to hide it?”

  He sighed. “Why do you think? It’s a short sword. I needed to keep it concealed, and it’s not so big. Remy figured out a way it can be hidden there with a little give so it isn’t obvious.”

  “It should be obvious anyway, even with how bulky that jacket is across your shoulders,” she pointed out. “And isn’t it easier to carry a gun?”

  “I have one of those as well. And can we not talk about the sword?”

  She folded her arms. “Seems to me like there’s a lot we haven’t talked about. Maybe we should have a little chat.”

  “Let’s get Bryn back to the house. She needs patching up.”

  “She needs a doctor. She’s bleeding everywhere.”

  Good thing Daire had one of those on speed dial. Something told him Bryn wouldn’t appreciate being checked into a hospital. At least not without a fake ID and a cover story.

  He moved to pick her up.

  The earth beneath Roy’s body shifted. It did the same under his head, two feet away from the rest of him. Daire grabbed Bryn and took a few steps back. The wolves moved to stand around the body. The alpha sniffed.

  A root emerged from the dirt. Twisted its way between blades of grass to curl toward its target.

  The animals jumped back. The alpha returned to paw at the shifting foliage. He jumped back again and whined.

  “What on earth—” Amelia didn’t get to finish her question. The ground rumbled. Roy’s body sank beneath the grass and dirt. “What was that?”

  “Let’s go.” He used the momentum of his stride moving toward her, with Bryn in his arms, to force her to move or risk getting pushed over.

  “Is she alive?” Amelia glanced back, anxiety written across her face.

  Daire nodded.

  “Why did he bite her? There has to be a reason why he just…turned.”

  He was still wondering why the old man had sent Roy after Bryn. Although, it almost seemed like he’d only focused on her after he saw her. He hadn’t been expecting her to be there.

  “Why are the wolves act
ing like…”

  “Like dogs?” Daire asked.

  “I don’t understand any of this. Roy was nice. Then he was kind of stalkerish.”

  “He got infected.”

  “By what?”

  “It’s like a parasite in the brain or a disease that alters the way they think.”

  “They?”

  “Roy. Anyone else who gets infected.”

  Did Bryn have it? There hadn’t been any signs as yet, but it was too early to tell. Whatever had been in Roy’s blood—or his saliva—was surely in hers. Daire was going to have to watch for symptoms and deal with the problem as it came up.

  The same way he’d been doing for years now. One day at a time. One thing at a time. Trying to keep the world as safe as possible. Keep the books hidden. Keep Amelia safe.

  Had it all been for nothing? It’d certainly felt like a losing battle today. And why this day out of all the others? There was nothing special about today, but the confluence of events couldn’t be ignored. Nor the fact that Roy had disappeared into the ground. Daire didn’t know if there was a possibility Roy might show up again. If he would go after Amelia…or Bryn.

  Daire looked down at the woman in his arms. She didn’t look like anything special, and yet he’d found himself battling to protect her. He’d raced after Roy to defend her.

  Daire couldn’t help wondering if she would’ve rather died. He’d seen it in her eyes. The extinguishing of that spark. She’d let it happen. She’d allowed her life force to dim. Maybe he hadn’t done her a favor in saving her.

  But whether he had, or not, he needed answers. The old man knew of her. He had to. Otherwise, Roy would never have reacted like that.

  What did she know of his enemy?

  “Don’t think I’m going to forget the fact you owe me a whole lot of answers for what just happened.”

  Daire almost smiled at Amelia’s statement, and how similar it was to his own thoughts. “I’ll be the first to explain what’s going on as soon as I manage to piece it together.”

  “You knew what was up with the wolves,” Amelia said. “You figured it out.”

  Daire laid Bryn on the couch. The wound in her neck was deep, and it was nasty. As though a giant chunk had been hacked out of her shoulder. He winced. He couldn’t even stitch it back together.

  “You should never have let them taste your blood. That was dangerous.”

  Amelia stared at him. “You said we should move on. That we should leave the past behind and live now. But how can I do that when I don’t have all the rules?”

  Daire said nothing. It was probably time to tell her.

  Amelia glanced down at Bryn. “Does she need blood?”

  She had lost a lot, but they didn’t know her type. Without a hospital, this would be dicey. Would she even survive a trip to the closest one?

  His niece frowned. “You should call Remy.”

  Daire tugged at the ragged edges of Bryn’s shirt. He ripped down far enough he could see the whole wound but nothing she wouldn’t want him to look at. Those white line scars that crisscrossed her arm covered her torso as well. One stretched across her neck.

  Amelia gasped. “What happened to her?”

  “I don’t know.” She’d been sliced and diced. Whatever it was had been horrendous. She certainly hadn’t needed, on top of everything else, to get bitten by a man he thought he’d killed.

  His heart softened toward her. Daire fought against the urge.

  The moment he started caring about a person as fragile as Bryn was when he’d know he had finally succumbed to what he’d been fighting for.....all this time. Nothing could be served by feeling sorry for any of them. Not when everyone he knew, those he cared about and those he didn’t, would die. Some sooner than others. The how didn’t matter. It never did.

  Daire would have to live through it. He’d have to keep going. Keep moving. Live. Despite his best efforts to change things, there was still nothing he could do about it.

  Just as it had been for centuries.

  “It’s Amelia.”

  He glanced over to see that his niece had her cell phone to her ear. She lifted her eyebrows. “Because we need help, Remy. Bryn got bitten in the neck, and it’s bad. Like, bad. We don’t know what to do.”

  “I know what to do,” Daire said. “I just don’t have what I need.”

  She lowered the phone from her mouth. “Well, I don’t. So excuse me for freaking out.”

  He wanted to hug her or reassure her somehow, but there was no time. “I have to get this cleaned up. She’s losing blood.”

  He heard Remy yell but couldn’t make out what she said.

  Amelia frowned. “What if Daire is a universal donor?”

  “I’m not.”

  He went back to cleaning the wound. To have stayed conscious for as long as she had, this Bryn woman must be strong. Or at least very stubborn. Like someone else he knew. “Amelia, hang up the phone.”

  “I’ll call you later.”

  He glanced at her.

  “What? Sometimes there’s no one to talk to around here, and I need help with my Calculus homework.”

  “Tell me about Roy.” He didn’t want to get in the middle of Amelia and Remy. If they were communicating, then Remy would make sure it was secure. It was an odd pairing, but also maybe not so much. Maybe they both needed a friend to talk to.

  “What about Roy?”

  Daire ripped open a package of fresh gauze. “Did the two of you have sex?”

  She sucked in a breath, choked and coughed. “Excuse me?”

  “Answer the question.”

  “Fine. Yes, okay? Satisfied?” She stared at him, as though trying to figure out why he’d ask these questions. “What’s going on?” Her voice was small, far too much like the little girl he’d known. “Why did you ask that about me and Roy?”

  Daire taped the gauze down, fighting the urge to rage. Bryn was far too pale. When she awoke, she would be weak. It was probably good that she was still sleeping.

  Amelia said, “I need you to talk to me.”

  He almost smiled, remembering times he’d practically had to force her to talk to him.

  “I need to know what that was. Why Roy was crazy, why you have a sword in your jacket. And why he was sucked into the ground.”

  Daire scooped the packaging and bloody gauze into his hands. He dropped it into the trash under the sink, pulled off the gloves as well, and then washed his hands. Amelia stood in the kitchen with him. He turned and leaned his hips against the counter.

  “Why was Roy trying to hurt Bryn?”

  It was probably better to start with what he didn’t know. “Maybe we can ask her when she wakes up.”

  Daire didn’t want to tell Amelia about the psychiatric center. Not if he didn’t have to. He didn’t think Bryn was dangerous, at least not in the sense she might hurt Amelia. But there was danger here.

  Tears filled Amelia’s eyes. “What’s wrong with me?”

  Daire walked over and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m dying?”

  “No.” He pulled back and looked in her face. “What? You aren’t dying. But there is a…situation.”

  “This is about what happened to Nanny. Isn’t it?”

  Daire had never wanted to have this conversation, but it had played out so many times over the years. “Long ago…there was a woman. Anna was her name. And I loved her.”

  Amelia stepped back. A blank expression dropped over her face. It was one he recognized, and the sight of it cut through him.

  “An enemy of mine. A powerful enemy. He knows…I don’t know if it’s magic. Even with everything I’ve seen, I’m still not sure I believe in magic.”

  She stood silent. Waiting.

  “He infects people. Curses them. Corrupts them.” He swallowed. “Like he did with Anna. Whatever it is, if you and Roy…”

  “Had sex.”

  “You would’ve passed it to him.”

  Amelia glan
ced at the window. Her breath came slow and steady. Daire waited.

  “Why did he act like that if it wasn’t about me?”

  “He was sent back here by my enemy, who played on his twisted affections for you.”

  She said, “Why would you keep me around if I’m a liability?”

  That was what she was going to ask? “Ame—”

  “I want to know. I have this curse or whatever in me. You have no ties. You could have just thrown me away and gone on with your life. Why keep me around? Unless you’re trying to protect everyone else.” She swallowed. “From me.”

  His heart burned in his chest. “When I found out Anna had a child…”

  “My mother?”

  Daire nodded. “Adelyn was the first. She and I…we had a child. Anna inherited the curse, as all the others before her had. Then she disappeared during the pregnancy, so I wouldn’t find her. After you were born, she came to me.” He sighed, remembering the resolute set of her mouth. “She knew I would never hurt a child. She knew I would always protect you.”

  “And the wolves?” she asked. “I didn’t even really think about it. They were there…and I was hurt. It seemed natural for them to offer comfort.”

  “Some of the most tempting, natural things in the world are also the most dangerous.”

  “Roy is dead now.”

  Daire nodded.

  “I don’t understand any of this. Though maybe it explains a few things.”

  “Just know it isn’t your fault. You didn’t ask for this. Neither did your mother, your grandmother. Her grandmother.” She didn’t need to know how far back that went. And Daire didn’t want to think about Adelyn.

  “Are you a vampire?”

  Daire coughed. “A what?”

  “You’re old. There’s a problem with my blood. I’ve read tons of teenage vampire novels.” Amelia shrugged.

  “I’m not a vampire.”

  “But you are super old.”

  Daire couldn’t believe they were actually having this conversation. He stepped back and leaned against the counter. “I age, just really slowly. I think I can be killed. Just not in the same way as other people.”

  “You should have Remy run some tests.”

  Daire frowned. “You aren’t freaking out. I at least figured there would be screaming.”