Page 41 of High Noon

“Then I’ll see you soon?” she said to Enoch.

“I’ll be there waiting when you’re finished,” he promised. Something passed between them that looked a lot like longing swirled with sadness.

I hated seeing Eve sad. So did Maru. He spoke up. “You should hurry and change so that your shoulder heals. We’ll see you in a few minutes, Enoch.” He inclined his head to Hotah and escorted Eve down the trail toward Falling Branch.

I didn’t miss the scathing look Enoch shot his way. If Maru wasn’t careful, he would step on the toes of a venomous Nephilim.

* * *

Eve

Asa gave us the grand tour of the trading post and future town of Falling Branch. We were in Wyoming territory, but only barely. We’d literally just walked out of South Dakota, land that was promised to the indigenous tribes, and if Hotah and Kohana hadn’t been with us, we might have been hunted and killed.

An uneasy peace treaty was in place, but it was only a scrap of paper, according to our wistful guide. It wouldn’t last long under the current conditions, Asa argued. And the discovery of gold in these parts changed everything.

From my limited knowledge of American history, Asa was right. Peace didn’t last long, though I wasn’t sure how much I should tell him about what was to become of the Native Americans. I decided to tell Enoch later, in case he could warn them and help them fight back, or at the very least survive what was coming.

"Wow," I breathed, taking in the saloon after Maru pushed through the swinging doors. "What happened here?"

Tables were flipped onto their tops and chair legs were lodged in the wooden wall paneling. Broken glass littered the floor, which wasn't a good thing considering that Titus, Maru, and I walked barefooted.

Asa gave us a smug smirk. "You should have learned by now that footwear is important in any age."

Titus, in some ridiculous display of testosterone, scooped me up and walked right over the shards of glittering glass. It must have hurt like hell, but by the time he made it to the staircase across the room, his suit had already begun to heal his feet.

"I staked the vamp," he boasted, ticking his head toward the gray stiff leaned against the wall.

I marveled, "The vampire did all this? What did you do to make him mad?"

"Nah, he didn't do all of this. I mean, he did some of it, but most of it came courtesy of our friend Terah. I guess you could say she was so happy to see me, she couldn't contain herself."

"Not funny, Titus."

Terah was a psycho during the Revolution, so I supposed it was safe to say she hadn't changed much in the past ninety-one years. I only had one vial of holy water left, but still had two stakes. I would defend myself again if she came at me. She couldn’t say I didn’t warn her.

Titus gently sat me down on the bottom step. "Is this where Abram landed?" I asked Asa.

He ticked his head toward the second floor. "Crashed through the ceiling and landed in a bed."

"Of course that jerk landed in a bed," I grumbled.

Maru took the path Titus carved through the debris, hissing with every cut and slice of his tender feet. I'd often teased him about his baby-soft tootsies but couldn't bring myself to make fun of him. The man jumped off a roof and split his atoms apart to come find me almost three hundred years in the past.

“Well, we don’t have to worry about him anymore. He’s probably being fed grapes by some of Victor’s minions at this very moment,” Titus quipped.

The thought of Abram making it back before us made my stomach turn sour, because there was no way he was being treated like a king if he had. I instinctively knew he was being tortured. Even though I hated Abram for all he’d done, not only to me, but since turning, I couldn’t stomach anyone else being subjected to the callous whims of Victor and Kael.

“Hey, you okay?” Titus asked.

I clutched the clone’s tech suit closer to my chest, parts of it still damp with his blood. “Yeah,” I lied, starting up the steps.

Maru caught up with me at the top.

“What are you doing?”

“Helping you,” he answered, like it was a no-brainer.

“I can dress myself.”

He glanced at my shoulder. “Then I’ll stand outside the door in case you need help. And if you do, please ask. I would never disrespect you, Eve.”

“I know,” I offered, my voice trembling.

For the first time since he landed, the joy I’d felt upon seeing him was replaced by fear. I was upset that he’d come for me. Throughout our time together he’d wanted nothing more than to guide me, keep me safe, and push me to be the best. Now, his life was in jeopardy because of it. I wished he hadn’t let worry for me consume his thoughts and never poked his nose into places it didn’t belong. And I really hoped he survived and made it home, although even that prospect was dim. He was wanted for treason, and Victor would never admit that he’d been mistaken. If Maru went home, they would arrest and then execute him.

I couldn’t live with that.

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