“I’ll find you,” he whispered hoarsely. “I swear it!”
Chapter 27
In the morning, Winona stood on the sidewalk in front of her house, unable to believe what she was seeing. Susandale looked like a scene from a disaster movie. The smell of smoke hung in the air even though the fires had burned down to embers. A brisk wind stirred the ashes, sending them spinning into the air like tiny fireflies. The only houses left standing belonged to women who had married or lived with the vampires.
The coven had abducted all the people who didn’t have ties to the coven, although she had no idea where they had taken them. All she knew was what Olivia had told her earlier. Jarick had told Bowman he had decided it was too dangerous to keep the prisoners in Susandale and they were relocating. Where that might be, Olivia had no idea. All she knew was that Jarick had found a new place and those who wanted to join them there would be notified of the location at a later date.
Winona shook her head. She didn’t want anything else to do with vampires. She’d had enough. But they had taken the man she loved. And she wasn’t leaving town until she had him back.
Late that afternoon, the women met in Winona’s café. It was the only business still standing. Winona counted heads. Of the women who had once lived in town, only a handful had remained after the vampires left, like Olivia and Merle White, who were married to members of the coven. Winona stayed because she had nowhere else to go. She suspected Deanne had stayed for the same reason. She wasn’t sure why Margie Lusk and Amy Rogers were still in town. Paulina Samuels and Caryn Moody were forced to remain due to a vampiric compulsion, a hold that could only be broken by the deaths of the vampires they were bound to.
“How do we know they’re coming back?” Merle asked.
“And what if they don’t?” Paulina asked. “Liam said he’d come back for me, but what if he doesn’t? How can I live without him?”
Winona felt sorry for the girl. Paulina was young, no more than eighteen or nineteen. She was blood-bound to Liam, although she didn’t know it. Sadly, the vampire’s hold on her was so strong, she wouldn’t have believed it even if someone told her the truth.
“I don’t even know why we’re meeting,” Deanna said. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve decided to leave town as soon as I get packed.”
Margie and Amy nodded in agreement.
“The sooner the better,” Margie said. “Living with vampires sure isn’t as romantic as the movies make it out to be.”
“I don’t blame you for leaving,” Olivia said. In a way, she was jealous of their freedom, but she couldn’t leave Jason. She was bound to him by a love that was stronger and deeper than any compulsion a vampire could conjure.
“I’m staying, too,” Winona said firmly. Because if Carl managed to get away, this was the only place he knew to look for her.
Sara woke to a darkness so thick she could almost taste it. When she tried to stand, a chain around her wrist prevented her from doing so. Fear spiked through her as she settled back down on the floor. She sensed others stirring nearby. Who were they? And where was she?
Afraid to call attention to herself, she remained silent, eyes and ears straining for some hint of where she was.
“Sara?”
“Carl! Is that you?”
“Yeah. Are you all right?”
“Hardly.”
He laughed, a harsh dry sound devoid of humor.
“Where do you think we are?”
“Beats the hell out of me. But if I get out of here, it’s gonna make a helluva story.” He paused a moment. “Is anybody else here?”
“I think they rounded up everyone in the town.”
Sara recognized the voice of Robert Clary, the man who had assumed the Sheriff’s job.
“What are they going to do with us?” This from Dr. Amata.
As others asked questions, Sara realized Robert Clary was wrong. The vampires hadn’t kidnapped everyone in town, only those who had no ties to the coven. It sent a chill down her spine. It didn’t take much imagination to figure out that the futures of those being held in this place weren’t exactly bright.
She knew she wasn’t the only one who had come to that same conclusion when Mary Robbins whispered, “Oh, my poor babies!” and burst into tears.
Her husband tried to comfort her, but she continued to sob uncontrollably.
Everyone else fell silent.
Sara told herself to stay calm, not to panic, not to give into despair. As soon as the sun went down, Travis would find her. But what if the sun was already down? What if no one ever found any of them?
She tried to hold onto a positive attitude, to cling to a shred of hope, but sitting in the thick darkness while listening to a mother’s heartbreaking sobs made trying to cling to hope like trying to capture a moonbeam.
It just couldn’t be done.
Ronan, when are you coming home? I miss you.
Shannah’s voice whispered in his mind, pulling him from the dark sleep. I miss you, too, love. I intended to come home days ago but things have changed. Bowman’s coven has made off with all the humans in town except for those who have ties to the vampires.
He felt her horror as she realized what that meant. Sara’s gone?
Yes. And Travis is frantic with worry.
Of course he is. Should I come there?
I’d rather you didn’t. I’ve decided to go after Jarick.
The silence that followed spoke volumes.
I have to
