Corin & Angelique (After the Fall of Night) by Sherri Claytor Page B
Authors: Sherri Claytor
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moon dominating the sky was magnetic, the force of its pull further enriching him. Along with the revitalization from the blood he’d just ingested, it built his adrenaline beyond measure, stimulating the wildness stirring within him. He would have loved to change to animal form and run freely through the woods, but he had pressing matters to attend to…a town to protect.
He headed for his Harley parked just outside the pasture fence-line running along a thick span of woods. Despite the fact that the boundary of woods cloaked the long running pasture in most areas, he hunched down as he moved across the field in the direction of his bike, just in case anyone should happen to be around.
He generally had nothing to worry about, but it was a bright night, which prompted a little extra precaution on his part. Over the years, he’d come to learn the importance of keeping an eye out for the occasional hunter or landowner.
Reaching the fence, he crossed the barbed wire and retrieved his motorcycle. With the fine weather, he enjoyed the open ride. Now sated, he was eager to get into town and do a little investigating. He wanted to make some inquiries, find out if any new residents might have moved in or around Hixton over the last few weeks. If he was dealing with a pup—a nightwalker of less than a hundred years—he knew the immortal might settle for just about any place offering protection from the daylight hours. On the other hand, he was more inclined to believe that the newcomer was an experienced nightwalker, maybe even an ancient—a nightwalker who’d been walking the earth for more than five hundred years. Corin was ancient, and like him, many of the older nightwalkers were wealthy. Having built their fortunes over many generations, they preferred elite estates with plenty of acreage capable of providing them the privacy and concealment they would require to keep their “condition” secret. These elders were the most powerful of his kind, making ruling out the new arrival an ancient his foremost concern.
Von Vadim Estate was the only fine estate existing in the area, but there were alternatives—farms and ranches that might suffice as an acceptable second choice. First thing first, though. He had to start by conferring with a real estate agent. He just hoped he’d find someone working late in one of the offices. For a nightwalker, trying to conduct business after nightfall could be a real hassle. When everyone else was winding down, his kind was just waking for the night.
* * * *
All the while, up above the ever-dimming pastureland, the new arrival inconspicuously circled in the form of a black raven. When Corin left, he dove down, shape-shifting into his human form the moment he touched the ground.
A Turk, walking the earth for nearly three hundred years, he was a force to be feared. Taking several steps, his ankle-length suede coat brushed his pants as he moved in a serpentine manner. His frame was long and lean, his black, shoulder-length hair blowing loose around his face. He cocked his head and sniffed the air. “You are immortal.” He rubbed one of ten amber buttons adorning his coat between his fingers. Each prized piece contained a trapped insect or arachnid that he could move with his touch.
He’d seen Corin shape-shift from owl to human form while watching the girl at the creek, ran with him as a wolf in the woods, and now, he’d witnessed him feeding from the beasts of the field. Yes, Corin von Vadim was indeed a nightwalker.
CHAPTER FIVE
One Last Time
“I need to get another door card for room 244. I’ve locked myself out.” Jordon Black had no guilt whatsoever over deceiving the front desk man at Black River Falls Inn. “I checked in earlier, I’m sure you remember.”
Jordon had checked into the inn, but he’d been assigned room 131, not room 244, hoping the clerk didn’t recall that fact.
“Thank you. I’ll be more careful this time.”
He headed for his Harley parked just outside the pasture fence-line running along a thick span of woods. Despite the fact that the boundary of woods cloaked the long running pasture in most areas, he hunched down as he moved across the field in the direction of his bike, just in case anyone should happen to be around.
He generally had nothing to worry about, but it was a bright night, which prompted a little extra precaution on his part. Over the years, he’d come to learn the importance of keeping an eye out for the occasional hunter or landowner.
Reaching the fence, he crossed the barbed wire and retrieved his motorcycle. With the fine weather, he enjoyed the open ride. Now sated, he was eager to get into town and do a little investigating. He wanted to make some inquiries, find out if any new residents might have moved in or around Hixton over the last few weeks. If he was dealing with a pup—a nightwalker of less than a hundred years—he knew the immortal might settle for just about any place offering protection from the daylight hours. On the other hand, he was more inclined to believe that the newcomer was an experienced nightwalker, maybe even an ancient—a nightwalker who’d been walking the earth for more than five hundred years. Corin was ancient, and like him, many of the older nightwalkers were wealthy. Having built their fortunes over many generations, they preferred elite estates with plenty of acreage capable of providing them the privacy and concealment they would require to keep their “condition” secret. These elders were the most powerful of his kind, making ruling out the new arrival an ancient his foremost concern.
Von Vadim Estate was the only fine estate existing in the area, but there were alternatives—farms and ranches that might suffice as an acceptable second choice. First thing first, though. He had to start by conferring with a real estate agent. He just hoped he’d find someone working late in one of the offices. For a nightwalker, trying to conduct business after nightfall could be a real hassle. When everyone else was winding down, his kind was just waking for the night.
* * * *
All the while, up above the ever-dimming pastureland, the new arrival inconspicuously circled in the form of a black raven. When Corin left, he dove down, shape-shifting into his human form the moment he touched the ground.
A Turk, walking the earth for nearly three hundred years, he was a force to be feared. Taking several steps, his ankle-length suede coat brushed his pants as he moved in a serpentine manner. His frame was long and lean, his black, shoulder-length hair blowing loose around his face. He cocked his head and sniffed the air. “You are immortal.” He rubbed one of ten amber buttons adorning his coat between his fingers. Each prized piece contained a trapped insect or arachnid that he could move with his touch.
He’d seen Corin shape-shift from owl to human form while watching the girl at the creek, ran with him as a wolf in the woods, and now, he’d witnessed him feeding from the beasts of the field. Yes, Corin von Vadim was indeed a nightwalker.
CHAPTER FIVE
One Last Time
“I need to get another door card for room 244. I’ve locked myself out.” Jordon Black had no guilt whatsoever over deceiving the front desk man at Black River Falls Inn. “I checked in earlier, I’m sure you remember.”
Jordon had checked into the inn, but he’d been assigned room 131, not room 244, hoping the clerk didn’t recall that fact.
“Thank you. I’ll be more careful this time.”
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