Valentine’s Day.”
“These bracelets are portable,” Kate said. “The night mare won’t limit its attacks to bedrooms, waiting for victims to fall asleep. It’s strong enough to go wherever it wants, whenever it wants.” She stared at me intently. “We’ve been waiting for the bounty hunters to appear, Eryn. Perhaps this is how it begins. My sources confirmed interest from a variety of mercenaries. Challenging your support system, threatening your friends—they might do this to wear you down.”
Ugh. I’d tried not to think too much about Logan’s little information leak. That he’d discovered the Hunter Council had put a price on my head, warning me that paranorm bounty hunters just might descend on Redgrave.
Alec straightened. “We’ve got Eryn’s back. Anything that comes after her has to go through us first.”
Kate’s eyes softened. “Exactly. And that’s why all of us must be vigilant.” She gave me an encouraging smile. “I know you’ve been in a holding pattern, Eryn, wanting to make sure you protect your parents if they are still alive and in hiding, and yet you’re torn because Logan won’t wait forever.” She reached out, resting her hand softly on my shoulder.
I stiffened slightly at her touch.
“At some point you’re going to have to seek out your father’s work, dig into your past, and I know that’s a scary prospect for you. But I think your hand is about to be forced.” Kate stepped back and glanced to Alec.
I followed her eyes to find his hard stare on me.
“Whatever is holding you back, you’re going to have to face it.”
I bit my lip, tamping down a surge of alarm. The only thing holding me back was a little thing called death. Wade had shown me exactly what would happen if and when I decided to track my parents down. The bloodshed. If I did initiate Wade’s plan to take down his father, people I cared about, people in this room, would die.
Alec had already confirmed my role in his death. Kate didn’t know what she was asking.
Bounty hunters I could deal with. We had little intel to go by, though a nearby coven had reported several run-ins with creatures practicing the dark arts. Paranorm bounty hunters, they’d discovered, sent to track me down.
The Hunter Council wanted me dead.
Whatever the demons-for-hire wanted, you could bet it had to do with a payment of human souls and my head on a spike. Night mares, bounty hunters—they were easier to face than…
I released a shuddering sigh.
My face must have paled, because Alec’s eyes filled with concern. Did it make me a bad person that I wanted to cross the room and kiss him? Even though I knew my lips on his would be his death?
He glowered at Kate as if she’d taken a swipe at me. In a way, she had. She’d burst the nothing’s come at me so far, maybe they’ve moved on to other prey bubble that I’d been floating around in since our showdown with Logan.
Kate took my hand in hers and dropped a lightweight object into my palm. She folded my fingers into a fist and wrapped her hand around mine. She murmured a few words, another spell, and heat radiated around the object trapped in our enclosed hands. She released her grip and moved away. I opened my palm to find a bracelet made of black thread and a series of dried rust-colored beads.
“The keys to this protection spell are slivers of iron from the coffin nail that have pierced through the beads,” Kate explained as she fastened an identical bracelet around Brit’s wrist and then repeated the action on Matt and Alec. “Iron never rests. It works on, no matter if you’re awake or dreaming.”
Her spell had held. I’d slept like a baby. For once my personal nightmares hadn’t plagued me. But sleeping didn’t really seem to be the issue.
The night mare had touched me. Threatened me when I was awake.
I ran a finger over the dried beads. Though they’d gotten me through the night, I was doubtful they’d be effective for long. We needed a surefire way to find out
“These bracelets are portable,” Kate said. “The night mare won’t limit its attacks to bedrooms, waiting for victims to fall asleep. It’s strong enough to go wherever it wants, whenever it wants.” She stared at me intently. “We’ve been waiting for the bounty hunters to appear, Eryn. Perhaps this is how it begins. My sources confirmed interest from a variety of mercenaries. Challenging your support system, threatening your friends—they might do this to wear you down.”
Ugh. I’d tried not to think too much about Logan’s little information leak. That he’d discovered the Hunter Council had put a price on my head, warning me that paranorm bounty hunters just might descend on Redgrave.
Alec straightened. “We’ve got Eryn’s back. Anything that comes after her has to go through us first.”
Kate’s eyes softened. “Exactly. And that’s why all of us must be vigilant.” She gave me an encouraging smile. “I know you’ve been in a holding pattern, Eryn, wanting to make sure you protect your parents if they are still alive and in hiding, and yet you’re torn because Logan won’t wait forever.” She reached out, resting her hand softly on my shoulder.
I stiffened slightly at her touch.
“At some point you’re going to have to seek out your father’s work, dig into your past, and I know that’s a scary prospect for you. But I think your hand is about to be forced.” Kate stepped back and glanced to Alec.
I followed her eyes to find his hard stare on me.
“Whatever is holding you back, you’re going to have to face it.”
I bit my lip, tamping down a surge of alarm. The only thing holding me back was a little thing called death. Wade had shown me exactly what would happen if and when I decided to track my parents down. The bloodshed. If I did initiate Wade’s plan to take down his father, people I cared about, people in this room, would die.
Alec had already confirmed my role in his death. Kate didn’t know what she was asking.
Bounty hunters I could deal with. We had little intel to go by, though a nearby coven had reported several run-ins with creatures practicing the dark arts. Paranorm bounty hunters, they’d discovered, sent to track me down.
The Hunter Council wanted me dead.
Whatever the demons-for-hire wanted, you could bet it had to do with a payment of human souls and my head on a spike. Night mares, bounty hunters—they were easier to face than…
I released a shuddering sigh.
My face must have paled, because Alec’s eyes filled with concern. Did it make me a bad person that I wanted to cross the room and kiss him? Even though I knew my lips on his would be his death?
He glowered at Kate as if she’d taken a swipe at me. In a way, she had. She’d burst the nothing’s come at me so far, maybe they’ve moved on to other prey bubble that I’d been floating around in since our showdown with Logan.
Kate took my hand in hers and dropped a lightweight object into my palm. She folded my fingers into a fist and wrapped her hand around mine. She murmured a few words, another spell, and heat radiated around the object trapped in our enclosed hands. She released her grip and moved away. I opened my palm to find a bracelet made of black thread and a series of dried rust-colored beads.
“The keys to this protection spell are slivers of iron from the coffin nail that have pierced through the beads,” Kate explained as she fastened an identical bracelet around Brit’s wrist and then repeated the action on Matt and Alec. “Iron never rests. It works on, no matter if you’re awake or dreaming.”
Her spell had held. I’d slept like a baby. For once my personal nightmares hadn’t plagued me. But sleeping didn’t really seem to be the issue.
The night mare had touched me. Threatened me when I was awake.
I ran a finger over the dried beads. Though they’d gotten me through the night, I was doubtful they’d be effective for long. We needed a surefire way to find out
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Bad-Boy Storyteller
