“Do you need a hand?” James offered.
“No, no. I’m fine.”
Serenity fished her keys out of her purse with one hand, supporting her daughter on her knee with the other. She gripped the keys between her teeth as she shifted Elizabeth’s weight, and dropped them into her palm.
She was grateful for her apartment’s ground floor position. The location offered a small yard coming off the kitchen and also meant she didn’t have to struggle with stairs.
Stepping in the front door, she smiled at James still sitting behind the wheel, watching her get safely inside. Serenity gave him a half-wave with her spare hand. He lifted his in return and then pulled the car out into the road.
Serenity shut the door behind her. She dropped her bag on the floor and, her heart sinking, realized she’d left her folder of paperwork in James’s car. He wouldn’t notice in the dark and she’d shoved the folder down by her feet. The thought of the work she needed to complete before her next lesson flicked across her mind. She would have to get hold of James and pick up the folder.
With Elizabeth still in her arms, she carried her daughter to her bedroom. Serenity had done her best to make the small room as girly as possible—a flower fairies bedspread covered the bed and a pink rug softened the floor. An assortment of stuffed animals and dolls were piled down one end of the bed. Serenity didn’t have much spare cash, but whatever she had was spent on her daughter.
Carefully, she laid the child down on the bed. Elizabeth gave a small moan and tried to roll to her side, but Serenity pulled off her daughter’s sweater and got her nightdress on over her head before she got the chance. Next Serenity tugged off Elizabeth’s shoes and leggings, and pulled the bedspread up over the child’s body, tucking it around her shoulders.
She reached down and smoothed Elizabeth’s hair away from her face. In her sleep, her daughter reached out, searching for her security blanket. Serenity found the comforter on the floor and handed it to her child. Elizabeth tucked the material close to her face and settled into a deep sleep.
Serenity stood, watching her daughter. This was her favorite moment of the day, being able to watch her sleeping child. Elizabeth was her miracle baby—the child she never thought she’d have—and she was thankful every day for Elizabeth being in her life.
How did something so perfect come from me, she wondered?
In her sleep, Elizabeth’s small rose-bud lips parted and her impossibly long eyelashes rested on her pink cheek. With her smooth, clear skin, she was beautiful.
Serenity wished the secret she kept from her daughter didn’t mar the happiness the child brought. The secret hung over her every minute of every day. Though Elizabeth didn’t look like her father, Serenity saw him in her constantly.
Serenity sighed and bent down, kissing Elizabeth’s soft cheek.
“Goodnight sweetheart,” she whispered.
Though barely ten o’clock, Serenity was exhausted. Being a single parent was hard, and she also worked and studied. Sometimes the day seemed never ending. Now she only wanted to crawl into bed, sink her head into her pillow and close her eyes.
Serenity went to her front door and flicked the dead-lock. She repeated the motion with the door leading onto her small backyard. Yawning, she made her way to her own bedroom and pulled off her clothes, throwing them on the occasional chair in the corner. She needed to go to the bathroom, wash her face and brush her teeth, but her bed drew her.
I’ll just lie down for a minute, she thought.
The sheets were smooth, her pillow cool against her cheek.
Her thoughts drifted to her experience at the café. After so many years, to sense Sebastian’s presence so strongly was crazy. He was part of her now and she couldn’t find a way to drive him from her mind. The memory of the nights they spent together haunted her. How his touch left her faint, his fingers tracing their way down her stomach, leaving her breathless in anticipation. Serenity remembered his cool fingers slipping inside her, the dramatic contrast of hot against cold. She thought of his hard body pressed against her own. Back then, she wanted to be consumed by him, to somehow find a way to meld their bodies together.
No one would ever make her feel like that again.
Serenity bit down on the memory, clamping her thighs together, trying to stem the fire racing up between them. Her eyes burned with hot tears. How could his absence still hurt after so long? Why hadn’t the pain dulled?
She wiped her damp face against her pillow. It was stupid to be so caught up in someone. Serenity was angry at herself for her weakness, for not being able to stop her emotions. She had everything she’d ever wanted; independence, and the child she had always longed for. Yet she couldn’t escape the emptiness inside, the feeling of something missing.
Serenity wasn’t stupid; she knew what that something—or someone—was. But she’d long since given up hope of him coming back.
Sighing, she hugged her pillow closer, like a teenage girl mooning over her first love. She needed to get up and wash her face.
I’ll get up in a moment. Maybe I’ll just rest my eyes first…
A high-pitched scream wrenched Serenity from sleep.
In an instant, Serenity leapt out of bed, her feet pounding on the hall rug as she ran toward Elizabeth’s room, her heart thumping.
Elizabeth was crouched on her bed, her knees up to her chest, her small arms wrapped around her knees.
“Honey?” Serenity rushed to her daughter’s bedside and pulled her into her arms. Elizabeth trembled. “Hey, honey,” she said again, her mouth pressed against the top of the child’s head. “What’s the matter? What’s wrong?”
Elizabeth cried into her arms and said something Serenity didn’t understand.
“What?” she asked, trying to pull Elizabeth away to catch her daughter’s words, but Elizabeth clutched to Serenity, her thin body shaking.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she said, gently rocking Elizabeth back and forth. “Did you have a bad dream?” She’d never heard her daughter scream like that.
“Men in my room,” the little girl managed.
“There was a man in your room?” Serenity said, relief washing through her. Elizabeth had been dreaming.
Elizabeth sobbed again. “Two men. I saw two men.”
Serenity frowned, suddenly worried about the security of their little home. Might someone have broken in? Two kids trying to rob the place? She was certain she’d locked both doors before going to bed, but being so tired, mistakes were easily made.
Serenity’s ears pricked for any sounds she might have missed. Their apartment only consisted of a few rooms. The kitchen also served as their living room and the only other room, other than the bedrooms, was the bathroom.
Again, the distinctive memory of someone watching her crossed her mind and she shivered.
“Wait here, honey.”
She crept out of Elizabeth’s room and made her way to the kitchen, her feet padding silently. Pausing outside of the door, her ears strained but no sounds came from inside. With her heart in her throat, she peered around the corner.
The room was empty.
Serenity breathed a sigh of relief. Even so, she checked the bathroom to be sure. The bathroom was tiny, windowless and also empty. No one could have made it out without her seeing.
Elizabeth had been dreaming.
Serenity went back to her daughter’s room. Elizabeth had snuggled back under her blanket, but was still awake.
Serenity sat on the edge of the bed. “You had a bad dream,” she said. “It’s nothing to worry about.”
“It wasn’t a dream, Mommy.” Her voice was thick with sleep and Serenity knew oblivion would claim her again soon. “I saw two men. One of them wanted to hurt you and the other one tried to stop him.”
“Shush, no one is trying to hurt me,” she said, but the words chilled her. Not so much time had passed since she’d lived under Jackson’s tyrannical rule and the memories of the beatings she’d suffered at his hands were f
resh in her mind. Her back still troubled her from the number of times he’d hit her.
Serenity bent down and kissed her daughter on the forehead. Elizabeth was already asleep.
She made her way back to her bedroom and slid into the warmth of her bed. Elizabeth’s words echoed around her head;
Trying to hurt you.
Elizabeth had always been hugely perceptive around other people. Serenity didn’t think her daughter had experienced some sort of prophetic dream—though her experiences four years ago had certainly opened her mind to those sorts of things. But the bad dream combined with the intense feeling of Sebastian being near left her spooked.
Had he come back to find her?
She had to stop thinking in such a way; she was only torturing herself. The same thought had passed through her mind hundreds of times over the past four years; this time was no different.
To learn about the murders, Sebastian only needed to pick up the local paper. The story was plastered all over the front page. As soon as he read the words, ‘Angeles National Forest’, his heart sank.
Sebastian walked at human pace, enjoying being alone in the night. An animal moved somewhere close by, twigs cracking beneath foot. The wind rustled leaves above his head. A bat swooped down, emitting a high-pitched squeak. The forest smelled different. Though the end of summer, the ground still emitted a damp, earthy smell, such a contrast to the dry heat of Turkey
How strange to be back in these forests again. He’d not set foot here since the night he returned to reclaim Serenity’s necklace—the same night he’d almost lost her for good.
Though seeing Serenity with another man bruised his soul, he was relieved to find her safe, happy and settled. He told himself he’d made the ultimate sacrifice of love, to give up someone he so desperately wanted—her happiness at the sake of his own. Even so, knowing she’d found love with someone else, hurt.
Sebastian picked his way through the forest, moving with grace. He knew by instinct which direction to head in. He had no idea what he expected to find when he reached Jackson’s un-marked grave. The body hadn’t been there when he last visited the site but, should Madeleine have done something to him, Jackson may have needed to return to the place he’d been originally laid to rest.
Of course, the whole thing might be a fantasy of his own making. The murders might have been committed by a human, high on some kind of illegal drugs, or even a vampire driven crazy by his immortal life. The chances of the monster being Jackson were slight enough to be laughable. Yet he couldn’t shake the thought which rode on his back like an evil monkey.
Finally, Sebastian reached his destination. Slightly sunken ground marked out where the make-shift grave had been. Over the years, nature had started to reclaim the area, the grass encroaching on the fresh soil, a sapling sprouting up from the ground, yet the earth appeared new compared to the rest of the area.
Sebastian knelt beside the empty grave and ran his fingers through the soil.
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over him, such a strong connection to Serenity by being at this place. He felt as though he’d been transported back four years and only a matter of hours had passed since he last held her in his arms and tasted her mouth.
His heart clenched with pain. The memory took his breath away and he clamped his teeth together, every muscle in his body tightening as though dealing with a physical pain.
He was no closer to learning anything about who had committed the murders. The person—or thing—responsible hadn’t been here or disturbed this area.
Sebastian needed to get back. He needed to find shelter before day broke and it made sense to go back to his house in the hills. The house was the safest place for him, though the property was locked up and an agent held the keys. He’d not thought to organize for the place to be opened and at this hour he couldn’t arrange something with the agent. Even so, he wasn’t worried. Scaling the tall wall surrounding the grounds wouldn’t prove a problem and he’d find a way to get inside the house.
Dried twigs cracked beneath his feet as he started the long walk back. He didn’t tire physically but his soul was weary.
Had he come on a fool’s mission?
Sebastian sighed and pulled his woolen overcoat tighter around his body. The cold didn’t affect him either, but he struggled to forget the small habits of humanity.
Four hours remained until dawn; plenty of time to get back, especially if he picked up his speed.
How long he would stay at the house, he didn’t know. Part of him thought he should head straight back to Turkey, bury himself beneath the ground again.
Was that what the rest of eternity held for him, hiding away? Perhaps once Serenity’s time on this earth passed, then he could rejoin ‘normal’ society, but until then he would always be haunting her. He’d seen how she sensed his eyes upon her, how anxious she seemed and how she made the policeman leave. He was nothing but a bad dream to her—something she must have wanted to forget—and he would do her no good by being near her again.
He didn’t want to go back to the house; the place never felt like home to him.
Had anywhere?
Perhaps for those few hours he spent in Serenity’s arms, returning to a place with the knowledge she was waiting for him. Was that what home felt like?
Ahead of him the night sky lightened, though Sebastian knew the change was caused by the millions of fluorescent lights that lit the city rather than the sun. The low thrum of traffic filtered through to his ears. In the far distance, a siren wailed through the night like a banshee, drowning out the more favorable sounds of nature.
Sebastian stopped suddenly, his nostrils flaring. Like a tidal wave, the scent of blood rushed over him, knocking him back like a physical force. For a moment, the smell of blood acted like sensory deprivation, blocking all other thoughts from his mind. It was the scent of blood, but not only that, blood strengthened by fear, anguish and torture.
Blood had been spilled—a lot of it—and not that of an animal.
Sebastian started to run.
His feet barely touched the ground as he ran, momentum carrying him forward. He followed the trail of blood on the night, the air rushing past his ears.
The scent of blood drew him out of the forest, back toward the city.
Abruptly, he drew to a halt.
Right on the edge of the forest the mound of a body lay beneath a tree, as though they’d stopped for a rest and fallen asleep.
As he drew closer, he recognized the body as that of a young woman.
Congealed blood thickened the woman’s long, wavy hair, plastering strands to the side of what was left of her face. One large, dark eye stared up at him, blank and lifeless. The other side of her face and throat had been torn away, exposing the flesh beneath. The remaining eye socket was dark with blood. Blood soaked the ground beneath her.
Another vampire hadn’t done this. A vampire would never spill precious blood on the ground in such a way—blood was their life-force, their religion. A vampire had too much respect for blood.
From the wounds, he suspected an animal was responsible for attacking this poor woman but in his heart he knew different.
It wasn’t the ferocity of the attack that struck fear through Sebastian’s heart. Even with all the gore, the woman was the spitting-image of Serenity.
The similarity was uncanny.
Sebastian’s fears had stemmed from a rumor, but all rumors started somewhere. All fables, legends and myths came from something. However stretched the story, some element of truth was found in their beginnings.
He knew an animal hadn’t done this, the wounds were too methodical, nothing apart from the throat and face had been touched. No bite or scratch marks blemished the woman’s arms or hands where she would have tried to ward an attacking animal away.
Sebastian feared his worst nightmare had come true.
Chapter Four
Another girl had been killed.
Serenity spread the newspaper
out on the breakfast bar in front of her, staring at the front page as she absently chewed on a piece of toast.
The young woman, Bethany Phillips, had been found just before dawn by a man walking his dog. She’d only been twenty-seven. A picture of the girl beamed at Serenity from the front page, smiling at whoever had been behind the camera.
She looks like me…
Serenity didn’t know where the thought came from, but it sent a shiver down her spine. She quickly folded the paper back over, hiding the girl’s face from view.
“Mommy? What’s wrong?”
Serenity twisted around on her seat to find Elizabeth standing in the kitchen doorway. Her dark hair was tousled from sleep and an imprint of her blanket marked one cheek.
“Nothing, sweetheart. Nothing for you to worry about.”
A wave of fierce, protective love washed over her. How awful for the murdered girl’s parents; to have loved and nurtured her all those years, only for some lunatic to take everything away in a moment. She couldn’t imagine how she would cope should something ever happen to Elizabeth.
Serenity pushed the thoughts away and forced a bright smile for the sake of her daughter.
“What do you want for breakfast? Juice? Cereal?”
“Mmm, yes, please!” Elizabeth said, clambering up on the stool beside her.
Serenity stood and started to prepare Elizabeth’s usual breakfast of Cheerios. She splashed milk on top of the dry cereal and filled a plastic cup with orange juice. Serenity placed them both in front of Elizabeth and the little girl picked up a spoon and tucked in with enthusiasm.
“Come on you,” she said when Elizabeth started picking Cheerios out of her bowl and lining them up on the counter. “If you’re all finished, we need to get you ready for preschool.”
Elizabeth picked up a large spoonful of cereal and shoved it in her mouth. She reached across the counter and touched the folded newspaper with her free hand.
“That man hurt someone else, didn’t he, Mommy?” she said, her mouth still full.
Serenity’s blood ran cold. “What do you mean? What man?”
The Serenity Series: Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 25