Although Maggie accompanied her, Lauren could tell that the other woman wasn’t pleased about going to the library. She didn’t seem easy with Lauren’s research, either. But she sat there at a neighboring computer and uncomplainingly looked up various dates or pieces of information at Lauren’s request.
Lauren found the process frustratingly slow. It seemed that every reference led her to another reference, and another, then finally to a dead end.
“Hey…I think I found one of Mark’s ancestors,” she said at last, skimming a newspaper article that had been written before the Civil War. “’Randolph Davidson and son supply regular cavalry.’” She looked at Maggie with excitement, then went on. “Davidson was the owner of Innisfarm, and he financed a militia group. He was apparently quite wealthy…look! His son’s name was Mark!”
“You know families, they’re always reusing names,” Maggie said.
Lauren kept scrolling through the now-defunct local paper. So much of what she read was so sad. Lists of the dead and pleas for information on missing sons. Then the man called “Beast” Butler came to New Orleans in 1862, and the city remained under Northern control from that point on.
She was about to give up on finding any more information on Mark’s ancestors when she was startled to come upon a social page dating from 1870. The city was still struggling; the war had ended, but not the loss and the bitterness. Even so, engagements and weddings were still being listed. She read aloud. “‘Mark Davidson arrives in town with future bride.’ His bride-to-be was named Katya Bresniskaya, from Russia. The wedding was planned for the bride’s homeland.”
She turned and stared at Maggie. “How ridiculous! This is more or less the story Mark told me about
Maggie stared back at her, then sighed. “There’s more.”
She reached over and scrolled down the screen.
“’Tragedy strikes again. Noble house falls to madness,’” Lauren read aloud. She looked over at Maggie, who wasn’t even looking at the screen as she began to tell the story.
“Father and son, and all the family who were still alive after the war, traveled to Kiev. On the day of the wedding, Randolph Davidson shot his daughter-in-law in the back with a silver-tipped wooden arrow. Katya’s family’s revenge was instantaneous. The wedding turned into a boodbath. Davidson was killed first. It was assumed his son was killed, as well, although his body wasn’t returned for burial, as the father’s was. It was a terrible day when Davidson was buried. He was put to rest on family land, and while the service was going on, the house burned to the ground. The land still lies vacant.”
Lauren shook her head, staring wide-eyed at Maggie. “I don’t understand. Is Mark suffering from some kind of delusion? Does he think he’s this Mark Davidson? And if the father killed Katya why does he claim Stephan did it?”
“I think you should talk to Mark,” Maggie said. “But he doesn’t just think he’s that Mark Davidson, he
“I’m not so sure I should be talking to anyone here,” Lauren said and glanced quickly away, then back at Maggie. “I’m sorry.”
“I can tell you one more thing, because I’ve known creatures like Stephan before. If you don’t end this now, you will live in fear all your life. Either that, or you can just accept the life he wants for you.” Maggie shook her head. “I wish the others were here. Lucian would be especially helpful.”
“Lucian,” Lauren said, frowning. “Jonas talked about Lucian. About coming to see Lucian so he could work here…find a home here.”
Maggie went on as if she hadn’t heard Lauren, as if her thoughts were elsewhere.” It would be great to have Brent here, too.” She turned to Lauren then and said, sounding quite sane, “Brent is a werewolf.”
Lauren blinked. They were all crazy, including this woman.
“Mechanically enhanced,” Maggie added. “The war, you know.”
“The Civil War?”
“No, no. World War II.”
Lauren stared at Maggie. “If I’m following what you’re telling me…No, it’s just insane. That would mean that Mark was a Confederate soldier in the Civil War. And that he survived the battles and Reconstruction, and in eighteen-seventy he married a girl named Katya who he’d met in New Orleans, a girl from Russia. But…his father, not Stephan, went mad and killed her, and somehow Mark is over a century old.”
Maggie looked uncomfortable. “You really need to talk to him.”
“Were you alive during the Civil War?” Lauren demanded.
Maggie lowered her head, wincing.
“You’re telling me that you were.”
“Please, Lauren, talk to Mark.”
Lauren suddenly felt as if she had to escape. Sitting in the library, surrounded students and retirees busy at the computers, patronssearching for books, and mothers with their children, she felt as if she alone had entered a world of insanity. Vampires were bad enough, but all this…
The dream that had haunted her now seemed far too real. Had Stephan somehow entered her mind? She wouldn’t have come here, to the library, if it hadn’t been for the dream.
Could it be possible? Had Mark been chasing Stephan for over a hundred years? Since just after the Civil War?
No, it was impossible.
But what if it