The tension between all of us was almost suffocating. They were so many questions that we all were just agreeing to circle around—the most prominent being what had actually happened in the house between Byron and me.
I looked back at the house. Hard to think it was still only the afternoon, the sun’s rays dazzling as they reflected off the softly rippled surface of the bay. Birds sang cheerily. A white heron walked lazily along the edge of the water.
“No,” I said, turning away from the shadowed house, from the sunlit bay, gleaming in the daylight. “I don’t think he’s going to be a problem anymore.”
Chapter 40
I yawned, the tip of my pencil putting some finishing details on a small rose at the top corner of my notebook.
A clock ticked between the scratch of two dozen other pencils.
“All right, next question,” the teacher said, adjusting the long, jeweled necklace that she wore over her coral pink cardigan. “Who wants to tell me what the square root of 120 is to two decimal places?”
Night hung, dark, outside the classroom windows. Math League, again. But different, this time.
I raised my hand. “Ten point nine five,” I replied when she turned her gaze to me. Her eyebrows raised in surprise.
“Cassie. I’m pleased to see that your indifference has passed. Can we write that off as shyness?” She smiled and turned her back to the board to write down the next problem for us to work out.
A week had passed since the event at the house on the bay. And my life had sort of fallen back into a state of normalcy. Well, as normal as it could be, anyway. First major change: I actually enjoyed homework now. It was totally monotonous, but I relished doing anything that didn’t involve talking or thinking about vampires. Considering I’d been so sure I would never achieve or experience “normal” again, I threw myself into each and every moment of it.
With two aced quizzes already under my belt, and improving homework scores, all of my teachers commented on my sudden increase in studiousness. I had to admit, I kind of liked the flattery. I was proud of myself.
My relationship with my parents had changed drastically as well. No longer was there this underlying tension constantly working at us like fraying rope. Instead, Mom often looked at me with pity, or sympathy. Dad always looked angry, but I knew it wasn’t at me, because he would cross the room at random to kiss me on the top of my head.
I still hadn’t told them anything more, but nor had they really pressed. I think they assumed I would talk about it when I was ready, and they seemed content to wait.
Neither of them had mentioned Byron since leaving the mansion. I was grateful. They’d probably talked about it together, probably a lot, and I knew, and so did they, that something would have to be done about that situation eventually. Mom had brought up the idea of therapy. I’d been tepid at best. Confession may have been good for the soul, but talking about Byron … about Theo … about all that had happened?
I didn’t have the energy to bring it up yet, though.
For now, I was happy with just being on my best behavior.
Willingly, no less.
Mom had promised to pick me up tonight, and it hadn’t even crossed my mind to argue. I even joked that we should go get something at Panera together afterward. She had seemed delighted, and asked Dad if he wanted her to bring anything home for him.
I felt a prod in my back as the teacher took another question to the blackboard.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw Xandra, with her pencil hovering near the back of my chair.
“You still up for boba tea this weekend?” she whispered.
I grinned. “That sounds awesome. Yes, for sure.”
“Sweet.”
I glanced at the clock. Five minutes till it was over. My stomach growled, and the image of creamy macaroni and cheese danced through my mind for at least the tenth time this past hour. There was a movement at the window in the door—and I froze.
Iona. Fear pricked at the back of my mind. Her eyes met mine. Wordlessly, she slunk out of sight.
I raised my hand. “Miss Patterson?”
“Yes, Cassie?”
“My mom said she might be here early tonight. Is it okay if I split now?”
Miss Patterson checked her watch. “Sure, no problem. See you next Tuesday.”
I waved at Xandra, who gave me a quizzical look.
I faked a smile and shook my head. Everything was fine. If anything was going down, she knew I’d tell her—just like I’d told her all about my fated run-in with Byron when I saved my parents.
I caught up with Iona just inside the doors leading out to the parking lot. Headlights shone through; parents were already waiting. Today she wore a black leather jacket, black jeans, and a white band tee. Leaning against the wall, she brushed some of her silvery hair out of her sad eyes as I approached.
“Glad to see you’re all right,” she said, folding her arms across her slender body.
“It’s good to see you too,” I replied.
“Sorry I didn’t find a chance to meet up with you sooner. Things underground have been … difficult,” she said with a sideways glance at me. A pause, and she got right to it. “So … what happened at the mansion?”
“How did you know it was there?”
She shrugged. “It’s been his house for as long as I’ve known him. We …” Her eyes flashed, hints of anger, “… lived there with him. A long time ago.”
I rubbed the back of my head. “I kind of destroyed the dining room. That’s where I killed him.”
“Good,” she replied. “I always hated that room.” She looked at me more pointedly. “How did you do it?”
“I staked the asshole with the leg of one of the dining room chairs.” I felt a little smirk bleed through. Was it wrong that I relished his death? It was damned sure hard fought. Him or me, and I squeaked it.
“I’m impressed.” Iona’s eyebrows rose. “And also happy for you. You get to go back to your family.” She brushed some hair back, eyes lingering on the hard-scuffed floor. “Your world.” The sadness in her voice was palpable.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
She just shook it off, looking back up at me. “Draven is looking for you.” The simplicity of her words floored me.
“What?” I breathed, heart rate quickening. “Why?”
“Because of Theo, mostly,” Iona replied. “But Byron, too. Deaths at his party, in his territory … it’s quite the insult. Lucky for you, he’s looking in the vampire world right now, because that’s what believes that you are. He can’t imagine a human coming into our turf, his home, and doing what you did … much less twice.”
Leaning in closer—students were filing in now, passing us—she murmured, “Draven’s spies cast a wide net. My advice? Stay out of our world, Cassie. Take your victory … and just … stay in your world from now on.”
She turned and started to leave—but then turned, looked over her shoulder at me.
“Because if you don’t,” she said, “sooner or later, he will find you. And unlike Byron … poor, pitiful lonely Byron … you won’t be able to stop Draven.”
With a wave of her hand, she disappeared out of the doors and into the dark, the shadows of the night swallowing her.
Cassie Howell Will Return in
Someone Should Save Her
Liars and Vampires, Book 2
Coming May 2018!
Get it here!
Author’s Note
Thanks for reading! If you want to know immediately when future books become available, take sixty seconds and sign up for my NEW RELEASE EMAIL ALERTS by CLICKING HERE. I don’t sell your information and I only send out emails when I have a new book out. The reason you should sign up for this is because I don’t always set release dates, and even if you’re following me on Facebook (robertJcrane (Author)) or Twitter (@robertJcrane), it’s easy to miss my book announcements because … well, because social media is an imprecise thing.
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Cheers,
Robert J. Crane
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First off, many thanks to my co-author, who did a fabulous job bringing Cassie to life. Additional thanks to Nick for polishing things up, Bria Quinlan for helping to tighten up the first 10,000 words, as well as Sarah Barbour for adding her respective contribution to the editing process and Jo Evans for finishing up with proofreading. Any errors are probably still mine.
The cover was once more designed with exceeding skill by Karri Klawiter of artbykarri.com.
The formatting was provided by nickbowman-editing.com.
Once more, thanks to my parents, my in-laws, my kids and my wife, for helping me keep things together.
Other Works by Robert J. Crane
World of Sanctuary
Epic Fantasy
Defender: The Sanctuary Series, Volume One
Avenger: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Two
Champion: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Three
Crusader: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Four
Sanctuary Tales, Volume One - A Short Story Collection
Thy Father’s Shadow: The Sanctuary Series, Volume 4.5
Master: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Five
Fated in Darkness: The Sanctuary Series, Volume 5.5
Warlord: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Six
Heretic: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Seven
Legend: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Eight
Ghosts of Sanctuary: The Sanctuary Series, Volume Nine
Call of the Hero: The Sanctuary Series, Volune Ten* (Coming Late 2018!)
A Haven in Ash: Ashes of Luukessia, Volume One
A Respite From Storms: Ashes of Luukessia, Volume Two
A Home in the Hills: Ashes of Luukessia, Volume Three* (with Michael Winstone—Coming Mid to Late 2018!)
The Girl in the Box
and
Out of the Box
Contemporary Urban Fantasy
Alone: The Girl in the Box, Book 1
Untouched: The Girl in the Box, Book 2
Soulless: The Girl in the Box, Book 3
Family: The Girl in the Box, Book 4
Omega: The Girl in the Box, Book 5
Broken: The Girl in the Box, Book 6
Enemies: The Girl in the Box, Book 7
Legacy: The Girl in the Box, Book 8
Destiny: The Girl in the Box, Book 9
Power: The Girl in the Box, Book 10
Limitless: Out of the Box, Book 1
In the Wind: Out of the Box, Book 2
Ruthless: Out of the Box, Book 3
Grounded: Out of the Box, Book 4
Tormented: Out of the Box, Book 5
Vengeful: Out of the Box, Book 6
Sea Change: Out of the Box, Book 7
Painkiller: Out of the Box, Book 8
Masks: Out of the Box, Book 9
Prisoners: Out of the Box, Book 10
Unyielding: Out of the Box, Book 11
Hollow: Out of the Box, Book 12
Toxicity: Out of the Box, Book 13
Small Things: Out of the Box, Book 14
Hunters: Out of the Box, Book 15
Badder: Out of the Box, Book 16
Nemesis: Out of the Box, Book 17
Apex: Out of the Box, Book 18
Time: Out of the Box, Book 19
Driven: Out of the Box, Book 20* (Coming June 1, 2018!)
Remember: Out of the Box, Book 21* (Coming August 2018!)
Hero: Out of the Box, Book 22* (Coming October 2018!)
Walk Through Fire: Out of the Box, Book 23* (Coming December 2018!)
Southern Watch
Contemporary Urban Fantasy
Called: Southern Watch, Book 1
Depths: Southern Watch, Book 2
Corrupted: Southern Watch, Book 3
Unearthed: Southern Watch, Book 4
Legion: Southern Watch, Book 5
Starling: Southern Watch, Book 6
Forsaken: Southern Watch, Book 7* (Coming in 2018!)
Hallowed: Southern Watch, Book 8* (Coming Late 2018/Early 2019!)
The Shattered Dome Series
(with Nicholas J. Ambrose)
Sci-Fi
Voiceless: The Shattered Dome, Book 1
Unspeakable: The Shattered Dome, Book 2* (Coming 2018!)
The Mira Brand Adventures
Contemporary Urban Fantasy
The World Beneath: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 1
The Tide of Ages: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 2
The City of Lies: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 3
The King of the Skies: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 4
The Best of Us: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 5* (Coming in 2018!)
We Aimless Few: The Mira Brand Adventures, Book 6* (Coming in 2018!)
Liars and Vampires
(with Lauren Harper)
Contemporary Urban Fantasy
No One Will Believe You: Liars and Vampires, Book 1
Someone Should Save Her: Liars and Vampires, Book 2
You Can’t Go Home Again: Liars and Vampires, Book 3
In the Dark: Liars and Vampires, Book 4* (Coming in 2018!)
Her Lying Days Are Done: Liars and Vampires, Book 5* (Coming in 2018!)
Heir of the Dog: Liars and Vampires, Book 6* (Coming in 2018!)
* Forthcoming, Subject to Change
No One Will Believe You Page 22