Page 17 of When Bones Whisper
“Whydothey want to punish you?”
His eyes darkened, but he did not answer.
“Keep your secrets,” she said. “I do not care. All I want is for you to believe me about the curse. If you kill me, you will be damning yourself.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“I have no way to prove it to you, but are you willing to take the chance that I’m lying and be wrong?”
He straightened his posture and shoved his hand into his pockets, glaring down at her. “No. I’m not. Tell me everything and sparenodetail.”
She mulled over her next words carefully and reined back the bite in her tongue. “I spoke with the spirit of one of my ancestors.”
“What was her name?”
“I do not know, but she said she is the one who cursed you.” His jaw clenched, so she hurried on and tried not to trip over her words. “The spirits of my family are trapped in that graveyard with her, and you are the one that anchors the curse preventing them from moving on in death.”
A flicker of tension creased his lips. “How is that possible?”
“I do not know, but my ancestor told me that a woman called Gertrude cursed the Lysanmore bloodline centuries ago.”
His eyes flashed, lips twitching to the side. The expression was so fast that she questioned what she’d even seen. “Gertrude Avery, I assume.”
“Yes, and her descendants to this day continue to siphon the energy of the spirits in my bloodline, so they can grow in power, but holding so much energy in one place requires an anchor andGertrude made you that anchor. You’re immortal, invincible, and unbreakable. Perfect for ensuring a curse doesn’t break. So, if you become human again, then my family will also be free.”
“The Avery family will lose their source of power,” he finished, rubbing his fingers over his chin.
“Yes. That’s why they want me dead, because they know I’m the last one who can perform the ritual that can undo your curse.”
Ignoring the rest of the information, his brows knitted together when he responded, “Fear not. I am going to murder them all before they can try.”
Her nose scrunched at the thought of so much bloodshed. “Not the children I hope,” she stated.
“No,” he said, and her shoulders relaxed. “I don’t hurt kids, but the rest will die. They will never stop hunting me, even after I am mortal.”
“Why? They would have already lost. What would be the point?”
“We have a history. A blood one,” he said in a controlled tone, but she could sense the untamed power behind his eyes, ready to snap at any moment. “So, you would perform the ritual willingly then?”
“Yes,” she lied. “So, you believe me?”
“I want to, but you have every reason to lie to me.”
“I don’t know how else to prove it to you. I can take you to the graveyard and see if I can commune with my ancestors again.”
“That will not work. Vampires cannot see the dead.”
“That must be nice,” she quipped.
“It is one of the few perks of my curse. It would be a nuisance to be relentlessly haunted by my victims.”
Her stomach churned, and she tried not to look disgusted, but her expression told stories.Victims. She felt ashamed for feeling anything when she looked at him, even though it was just physical attraction, which cannot be helped. Nonetheless, his nature should have made him all the less appealing. So why didn’t it?
He was a murderer.
So was she.
The harsh truth niggled in her core, like a maggot trying to eat its way free.
