the ground.
“I need to go,” he said, spinning from the room in a blur.
“Sebastian, wait—” she called.
But he was already gone.
Damn it! Why did he keep disappearing? I s he keeping something from me , she wondered. Why else would he keep running out on her? This whole thing was draining, emotionally and physically. She just wanted to go to bed and start again fresh the next day. Perhaps on a good night’s sleep she’d be able to see things more clearly.
Not wanting to be anywhere near humans, still all too aware of his previous night’s experience, Sebastian headed into the forest. Part of him wondered if he’d run into the zomb ie-like creature he’d created, if he’d find the headless body stumbling between the trees, fingers dirt-encrusted from digging itself out of i ts unmarked grave. Or perhaps the man would have located his own head and be carrying it under his arm like a football.
Sebastian shook the macabre image from his head.
Worries drummed on his shoulders like skeleton’s fingers—threatening and disturbing. Even though he’d fed less than twenty-four hours ago, his limbs seemed to carry a weight he couldn’t see.
His toes caught on a thick root and he stumbled before regaining his balance.
Sebastian frowned, his lips pressed tight together. Fresh spurts of unease raced through him at his clumsiness.
His movements weren’t as lithe and agile as usual. Normally, his body seemed to sense the position of obstacles and knew where to place his feet or twist or leap. But now, he found himself consciously thinking about where he needed to step.
Sebastian replayed his attempt to catch the falling glass over and over again. Had something gotten in his way?
No, he’d simply moved too slowly to catch the object. But why? He’d never experienced any redu ction in his vampire’s strength before. Even when injured, he recovered fast.
A shudder ran through his body. Something was wrong.
Chapter Six
Serenity woke with the certain knowledge movement in the house had roused her. She froze, motionless in bed , her ears straining . Was it Sebastian? Elizabeth? She knew she’d wake if she heard Elizabeth, tho ugh somehow her subconscious always managed to filter out sounds Sebastian made if he moved around the house while she slept. But Elizabeth would most likely come into the bedroom if she couldn’t sleep , and she had her own bathroom. She didn’t need to be creeping around the house.
The sound came again—the slow creak of floorboards and the low thump of footsteps along the corridor.
Slowly , the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck prickled and rose to attention, as though fingers ghosted their way along the length of her arms up to her back and shoulders.
She sat up, the sheets falling around her body, he r breath caught in her lungs . Sebastian wasn’t lying in bed beside her, but that didn’t surprise her . This was Sebastian’s waking time and she couldn’t expect him to hang around simply because she slept.
No further noises came.
It must have been Sebastian she’d heard, she decided. But then why did her skin crawl? Why did her heart beat so fast? Every fiber of her being told her someone was in the house , someone who was not supposed to be there.
Sebastian? She sent out the call with her heart, hoping he’d hear her. But she got no sense of him in the house or anywhere close for that matter .
She needed to deal with this herself.
Shit. What should she do? While part of her wanted to stay in bed and hide beneath the sheets, the mother in her drove her to protect her child. If there was something else in the house , she certainly didn’t intend on leaving Elizabeth to fend for herself.
Something , she realized she’d thought. Something, not someone.
She didn’t like the way her mind was working. She felt the same way she had in the kitchen when she’d been certain she hadn’t been alone—the way her skin had crawled up over her shoulders,
“I need to go,” he said, spinning from the room in a blur.
“Sebastian, wait—” she called.
But he was already gone.
Damn it! Why did he keep disappearing? I s he keeping something from me , she wondered. Why else would he keep running out on her? This whole thing was draining, emotionally and physically. She just wanted to go to bed and start again fresh the next day. Perhaps on a good night’s sleep she’d be able to see things more clearly.
Not wanting to be anywhere near humans, still all too aware of his previous night’s experience, Sebastian headed into the forest. Part of him wondered if he’d run into the zomb ie-like creature he’d created, if he’d find the headless body stumbling between the trees, fingers dirt-encrusted from digging itself out of i ts unmarked grave. Or perhaps the man would have located his own head and be carrying it under his arm like a football.
Sebastian shook the macabre image from his head.
Worries drummed on his shoulders like skeleton’s fingers—threatening and disturbing. Even though he’d fed less than twenty-four hours ago, his limbs seemed to carry a weight he couldn’t see.
His toes caught on a thick root and he stumbled before regaining his balance.
Sebastian frowned, his lips pressed tight together. Fresh spurts of unease raced through him at his clumsiness.
His movements weren’t as lithe and agile as usual. Normally, his body seemed to sense the position of obstacles and knew where to place his feet or twist or leap. But now, he found himself consciously thinking about where he needed to step.
Sebastian replayed his attempt to catch the falling glass over and over again. Had something gotten in his way?
No, he’d simply moved too slowly to catch the object. But why? He’d never experienced any redu ction in his vampire’s strength before. Even when injured, he recovered fast.
A shudder ran through his body. Something was wrong.
Chapter Six
Serenity woke with the certain knowledge movement in the house had roused her. She froze, motionless in bed , her ears straining . Was it Sebastian? Elizabeth? She knew she’d wake if she heard Elizabeth, tho ugh somehow her subconscious always managed to filter out sounds Sebastian made if he moved around the house while she slept. But Elizabeth would most likely come into the bedroom if she couldn’t sleep , and she had her own bathroom. She didn’t need to be creeping around the house.
The sound came again—the slow creak of floorboards and the low thump of footsteps along the corridor.
Slowly , the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck prickled and rose to attention, as though fingers ghosted their way along the length of her arms up to her back and shoulders.
She sat up, the sheets falling around her body, he r breath caught in her lungs . Sebastian wasn’t lying in bed beside her, but that didn’t surprise her . This was Sebastian’s waking time and she couldn’t expect him to hang around simply because she slept.
No further noises came.
It must have been Sebastian she’d heard, she decided. But then why did her skin crawl? Why did her heart beat so fast? Every fiber of her being told her someone was in the house , someone who was not supposed to be there.
Sebastian? She sent out the call with her heart, hoping he’d hear her. But she got no sense of him in the house or anywhere close for that matter .
She needed to deal with this herself.
Shit. What should she do? While part of her wanted to stay in bed and hide beneath the sheets, the mother in her drove her to protect her child. If there was something else in the house , she certainly didn’t intend on leaving Elizabeth to fend for herself.
Something , she realized she’d thought. Something, not someone.
She didn’t like the way her mind was working. She felt the same way she had in the kitchen when she’d been certain she hadn’t been alone—the way her skin had crawled up over her shoulders,
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