Page 24 of The Haunting
“Yes, I guessed. He needs to kill and feast on them to regenerate,” I replied.
“We’ll stop him,” my sweet wife agreed.
I nodded. This was my task, and I wouldn’t fail. I hated him with a passion beyond belief. He deserved to die a horrible death, and I would ensure that this plan of his would be unsuccessful. Angrily, I cursed the fool who’d brought his broken, tortured soul back to our world. Right now, I hope they are rotting in hell where I’d sent them.
When I discovered the plan to bring him back, I’d tracked down those responsible with the aim of stopping them. We’d arrived here last night and, tragically, I’d been too late, and his soul had fled as I killed them. One of them had planned to sacrifice themselves so he could live again. Stupid cultish idiots. They’d no idea what they’d been dealing with until it was too late. Death had been too easy for them. Their deaths at my handshad caused our enemy to become desperate, hence the innocents who’d been drawn here.
“Jacques, everything will be okay,” Eden murmured as she came closer.
I smiled at her. My beautiful wife had changed so much from the beaten, timid woman she used to be. Eden laughed frequently, loved hard, and played harder. Her confidence had grown in leaps and bounds, and she’d fulfilled the promise she’d once shown but had been dampened until now.
“I know my love. D’vid should be present, but I couldn’t tell him. How could I say that he’d returned when I knew it would devastate him?”
“Say his name; not saying it gives him power,” Eden said.
That was the one thing I wouldn’t allow. Power over us. He’d had it once and abused it, and we’d become Vam’pirs because of it. A trusted friend had betrayed us because of this one man.
Claudias: the instrument behind the creation of Vam’pirs. D’vid’s brother and someone who deserved to die more than anyone.
Claudias wouldn’t be allowed to live again. Not ever.
Sabine
Daniel paced back and forth, every so often trying the shutters that had locked us in. They wouldn’t budge. We were all afraid and chatting quietly. My husband was frustrated, but it was worse because Oakwood Manor was being stifled as well. We could sense our home, but the link was so weak we couldn’t draw on her strength. Something was acting as a damper between us.
“Where do we go when we leave? The roads are probably still blocked,” Kate asked, and Inglorious sent her a warm smile.
“Babe, we can get as far away as possible and then sleep in the cars,” he replied.
“Together?” I inquired, and Daniel’s head shot up.
“Darling?”
“Do we stay together in our cars or go our separate ways? The latter would possibly be a huge mistake,” I said.
“Agreed. Whatever is happening here is dangerous.” James nodded, wincing as he shifted his leg and knocked his foot.
Kate snorted, and I looked over at her.
“It’s a haunting, James, you can say it. You won’t lose your man card,” she teased, and James frowned.
“Babe, I don’t believe in ghosts,” James replied.
“There’s more than spirits out there.” I spoke without thinking, and everyone turned to me. A blush hit my cheeks.
“Oh?” Phoe asked, her gaze sharpening on me. “Out in the world or here specifically?”
I guessed what she was asking. Did I know more about what was happening here than I let on? My mouth opened to speak and then shut again. What did I say? Usually, I was able to think quickly, but this whole scenario had thrown me off balance.
“Sabine watches paranormal shows,” Daniel said, coming to my rescue. “She loves that one with Callie Dixon, Ghost Seekers Inc. Have you seen it? They tackle some real threats on there.”
“Oh, I’m well aware of who Callie Dixon is,” Phoe said, swapping a glance with Clio.
Clio smirked in response. “Yeah, we know who she is.”
“Are you going to elaborate or stand there smugly?” Emmaline asked.
Thank you, Emmaline! She just drew the unwelcome attention away from me.
