Because everyone knew about his place in the woods, Abram had been forced to hide out in an abandoned farmhouse in the next town over. It wasn’t much, but it was off the beaten path, close enough for me to stop by every day, and there was a basement with enough space to lock him in when the sun went down.
People were still after him, and they were looking for both a man and a monster. We couldn’t be too careful. Still, it was only a temporary solution.
Things at home didn’t get any better, either. Lulu was despondent after the death of her brother. And though she didn’t come out and say it, I could tell she blamed me at least in part for what happened. She knew that I had sided with Abram, and since the town never was able to confirm whether Dalton had died before or after they had supposedly killed Abram, for all she knew, Abram was responsible for her brother’s death.
Dalton was a hero not only to her, but to the entire town. And though I was a victim in their eyes as well, I was also a facilitator. And they weren’t going to let me forget it.
Doors got closed in my face. Children sneered at me. It was like the entire place was filled with Esters. New Haven had finally realized how much I didn’t belong here, and I absolutely agreed.
A week after Dalton’s funeral, I left town. Lulu was still talking to me. God bless her, she was trying to move past things. But I could hardly look at her. It was me who had snuffed the life from her brother’s eyes. And whether he deserved it or not, that fact weighed on me heavily.
“You’re like my sister, you know?” she’d said before the taxi pulled up to get me. “Nothing’s ever going to change that.”
There were tears in her eyes when she hugged me goodbye. And there were tears in mine when the cab pulled away.
I met Abram two days later on the island of Grimold. It was a tiny dot of a place in the Mediterranean that I had never heard of, but the instant I stepped off the plane, I knew I had made a good choice.
When Abram had first told me we were leaving, I hadn’t wanted to go. Not with a third beast still known to be in New Haven. But Abram promised me he would hunt that one down before meeting me in Grimold, and he’d held true to his promise. In a way, it wasn’t someone I knew being a beast that really scared me, though. It was that there were so many, complete strangers, insignificant in the scheme of themes yet ingrained in my life in the worst possible way.
But now was not the time to linger on those thoughts. Abram was finally here with me. New Haven was safe from the beasts and Abram was safe from New Haven. He stood on the tarmac, dressed in white, all tanned and rested, his hands hanging freely at his sides. Seeing him was like coming home, and his easy smile made me feel as though everything would be okay.
“What do we do first?” I asked after he gave me the sweetest, longest kiss of my entire life.
“Whatever you want,” he said, running his hands down my back and resting them near my big beautiful butt. “We’ve got the rest of our lives. All we have to do is live it.”
On our third day in Grimold, Abram took me for a walk along the ocean. The mist of all that had happened dissipated there. It was no match for the sun, sand, and sea. It was no match for the man standing next to me or for the way I felt about him.
“Tell me again,” I demanded, smiling and leaning into him.
“Again?” he asked with a secretive smile.
“You owe me,” I said, kissing his bare arm.
“I love you,” he said, and he dropped a kiss on my hairline. “I love you,” he repeated, kissing me again. “I love you. I love you. I love you. A thousand times over, Charisse, I love you, and I always will.”
Satisfied by his proclamation, I let my cheek rest against his shoulder, my fingers entwined with his, breathing in the smell of salt and sun on his warm skin.
This was my life now. Unending happiness.
And then I heard her.
“This sounds familiar.”
Satina’s voice was about as welcome as a hangnail. I spun around to find her standing along the shore in a fringe bikini. The crystal clear waves lapped at her feet, and she had one of those ridiculous drinks with the little umbrellas.
Abram’s body tensed against mine. “What the hell are you doing here?” he asked, his voice dropping to a protective growl. “How did you find us?”
“Two questions with but one answer,” she said, her voice lilting. “I told you fate wasn’t done with your little Supplicant here. There’s more to your story.”
“No,” Abram said flatly. “We are done with this, Satina. Leave now.”
“I could,” she said. “And I will. But that won’t change anything. These things will happen whether I’m here or not. So I suggest you hear me out and prepare while you still have time.”
I stepped forward, half terrified and half resolved to hear what she had to say.
“What?” I asked, crossing my arms in a poor attempt to stop my hands from trembling. “Skip the riddles and cut to the chase.”
“I have the answer to the question you never asked,” she said, tilting her head. “You know—how you used magic. Supplicants can’t use magic, Charisse. They can only facilitate it. And yet your blood performed magic without a Conduit to conduct a spell. Don’t you find that strange?”
“Well, I guess you were just wrong then,” I said, rolling my eyes.
She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “Yes and no. I was wrong about you, but now I know why. You aren’t just a Supplicant, Charisse. You’re the bridge. You’re the fuel and the fire.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“You’re not just a Supplicant. You’re a Conduit, too.”
I stepped back. “No, I’m not.”
“You are,” she insisted. “And you’ll either be the key to fixing this mess or the key to destroying our world, so I suggest you take what I have to say seriously. The hunt for you will not end here. Mystics all over the world have been prophesying about you, and it won’t be long before every Conduit on this planet knows who you are and what you are. And they will come for you.”
I shook my head, trying to will away everything she had said, but there was no unhearing her words. “Fine. Let’s say you’re right,” I said. “Then what happens now?”
“What always happens, Charisse. The next.”
“Enough,” Abram barked. “You promised me you would give us—”
“I already gave you time!” she shouted, a storm taking over her features. “I gave you as long as I could. There is no more time, Abram.”
Abram clenched his jaw, and he stepped past me, right up to Satina. His body was hulking compared to the body she had borrowed. “I said we’re done, Satina.”
“Uh-uh.” She didn’t even flinch. “Sorry, lover boy, but your romance will have to wait. What is will turn into what needs to be.”
“Great, more riddles,” I mumbled.
Just then, a mass fell to the shore, landing with a thud and bursting in warm red ribbons.
No. Not ribbons. Blood.
It splattered against my legs and the skirt of my sun dress. And that mass…it was a man. A very dead man, with two simple words carved into his forehead.
She sleeps.
I covered my mouth, holding back a horrified gasp, and lifted my gaze to Satina. “What does it mean?”
“It means,” Satina said, waving her drink to the side, “that you two have work to do.”
The End
Sleeping with the Beast, Book 2 in the Conduit Series, is available now!
About the Authors
Conner Kressley is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA. He is an avid reader and all around lover of storytelling. His book "The Breaker's Code" is the first in the epic "Fixed Points" series that pits free will against fate and true love against good intentions and bad situations. You can learn more about Conner and his books below.
Visit His Website: http://connerkressleybooks.weebly.com/
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/> NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL bestselling author Rebecca Hamilton lives in Georgia with her husband and four kids, all of whom inspire her writing. Somewhere in between using magic to disappear booboos and sorcery to heal emotional wounds, she takes to her fictional worlds to see what perilous situations her characters will find themselves in next. Represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA, Rebecca has been published internationally, in three languages.
Visit Her Website: http://www.rebeccahamilton.com/
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