Shadows of Eternity

Chapter Thirty-Four

L eia paced the floor of her old bedroom, her irritation rising with every step. What right did her father have to interfere in her life? She was a grown woman, for goodness sakes, not a child. She didn’t need her father to make decisions for her.

She glanced at the big old oak tree outside her window. She had often used it to sneak out of the house when she was a teenager. Why not now? She eased the window open and slipped out. It was an easy climb to the ground. Once she was away from the house, she would call Rohan to come and get her.

She had just reached the edge of the side yard when Josiah materialized in front of her.

“Well, well, well,” he drawled as his hand closed firmly over her forearm. “I was wondering how to get you outside and here you are.”

“Let me go!” she shrieked.

“I don’t think so.”

Heart pounding with fear, Leia opened her mouth to scream. And the world went black.

Rohan muttered an oath as the link between himself and Leia was abruptly cut-off. He froze in mid-stride. Both his sire and a hunter had been on her trail. Either one could have knocked her unconscious. Or killed her. Those were the only two things that could keep him from contacting her.

For a moment, fear held him immobile. And then he followed the blood link that bound them together, until it, too, disappeared. What the hell? How was that even possible?

Rohan glanced at the large white house where she should have been, but she wasn’t inside. He was about to knock on the front door when Trent Frumusanu pulled into the driveway and stepped out of the car.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Rohan growled.

“Looking for Leia. I’ve been following her. I was at her house earlier and just missed the best chance I’ve had yet to take Josiah’s head. She drove away in a blue Subaru with a man I guessed is her father. I figured she’d be here.”

“She isn’t. Josiah’s got her.”

“The hell you say!”

“That’s not the worst of it. I can’t connect with her.” Rohan didn’t want to think about what that might mean. He tried to connect with Josiah but to no avail. The link between them had been closed.

Rohan glanced at the house as the front door opened and Brian Winchester stepped out on the verandah, a revolver in his hand.

“Get the hell off my property, Stillwater, or whoever you are. My daughter’s not marrying you.”

“Your daughter’s gone,” Rohan growled.

Winchester snorted. “She’s in her room.”

Rohan shook his head. “Not anymore.”

With a frown, Winchester went back into the house. He returned mere moments later, his brow furrowed. “Where did you take her?”

“I didn’t take her anywhere.” Damn, he was wasting time standing here, yet he was at a loss to know what to do next. He was helpless if he couldn’t connect with her. She could be scared, in pain, and he’d never know it. She had to be with Josiah, he thought. That was the only answer that made sense. It filled him with a cold sense of dread.

Winchester stared at the man standing beside Rohan. “Who the hell are you?”

Trent glanced at Rohan. “Should I tell him the truth?”

“Not if you want to see tomorrow.”

“I’m Trent Frumusanu. My wife is a friend of Leia’s.”

Winchester looked at Rohan again. “Dammit, where’s my daughter?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be here.”

Winchester’s eyes narrowed ominously as his finger curled around the trigger. “I’ll give you just three seconds to tell me where she is.”

Rohan sucked in a breath. The man wasn’t bluffing.

Just then, Cynthia pushed the screen door open, hitting her husband’s shoulder.

Inadvertently, Winchester squeezed the trigger.

Rohan reeled back as the slug slammed into his chest, just above his heart.

Trent swore.

Cynthia screamed.

Winchester’s face went white as he realized what he’d done, and whiter still when Rohan remained standing, apparently unhurt. “What the hell? Cynthia, get in the house!”

Looking like she was about to faint, she ducked inside and slammed the front door.

Rohan looked down at the dark, red stain spreading across his shirtfront and then, in a move too fast for either man to follow, he sprinted forward and snatched the pistol from Winchester’s hand.

Winchester stared at him. “What the … who the hell are you?”

Rohan shook his head. Leia’s father was either the bravest man he’d ever met, or a complete idiot. “You should have used silver bullets,” he drawled as he bent the barrel of the gun in half and dropped the weapon at Winchester’s feet.

Winchester blinked at him. “Who do you think I am, the Lone Ranger?” His eyes narrowed. “Vampire.” He hissed the word. “I should have known. When I was a rookie cop back in the day, L.A. was plagued by a serial killer. The press nicknamed him The Vampire Killer because he drained his victims of blood … ” He took a deep breath. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

“Don’t be any more of a fool that you already are,” Rohan muttered. “It was Josiah.”

“Who the hell is that?” Winchester asked.

“He’s an old, old vampire who happens to be my sire.”

Winchester frowned. “What in tarnation does that mean?”

“I’ll give you a lesson in vampire lore some other day,” Rohan said curtly. “We’re wasting time here.” Pulling off his shirt, he used it to wipe the blood from his chest before dropping it beside the pistol.

After a moment, he walked around to the side of the house. Winchester and Trent trailed behind him.

Lifting his head, Rohan scented the air. Leia had been here not long ago. And so had his sire. It was obvious that Josiah had taken Leia and transported the two of them out of the area, leaving no trace and no trail to follow. Dammit! If he couldn’t connect with her, if he couldn’t follow the blood link that bound them together, he might never see her again.

Damn and double damn, he had to find her before it was eternally too late. The thought of never seeing her again was unthinkable. He forced down the rage pulsing inside him. He needed to stay calm, to think clearly. He needed to find her, because without her, life wouldn’t be worth living.

“What now?” Winchester asked, his voice rock-steady.

The old man must have been one hell of a cop, Rohan mused. He winced as his injury began to heal, leaving no trace behind.

He heard Trent mutter, “I guess the stories about vampires healing rapidly are true.”

“So it seems,” Rohan said. “Winchester, go look after your wife.”

“My wife’s fine! What the devil are you going to do about finding my daughter, you damn, dirty bloodsucker?”

“Everything I can. Now go inside before I break your fool neck.”

Brian Winchester glared at him, but wisely turned around and made his way back toward the front of the house.

Rohan shook his head as he heard Winchester bolt the front door. As if a lock could keep him out, he thought, as he glanced at Frumusanu. “You wanna take a shot at me, too?”

“Not right now,” Trent replied with a wry grin.

“Smart man,” Rohan muttered.

“How are you going to find Leia?”

“I don’t know.” Dammit, in three hundred years, he’d never felt this helpless.

“I’d like to lend a hand.”

Rohan snorted. “As if I’d trust you.”

“I don’t trust you, either,” Trent retorted. “But maybe we could have a temporary truce?”

“I thought you were itching to take my head?”

“Yeah, well.” Frumusanu shrugged. “I’m not doing it for you. Leia is Janae’s best friend. I’d hate to see anything happen to her.”

Rohan lifted a skeptical brow “But?”

“Janae threatened to leave me if I don’t give up hunting.”

“Isn’t that supposed to be a secret?”

“I didn’t tell her I was hunting vampires, just collecting bounties on ordinary people. She thinks it’s wrong. Now, about that truce … ”

Rohan thought it over and then said, “What the hell, it’s a deal. At least until we find Leia.”

Trent nodded and held out his hand. “Truce.”

Rohan stared at the hunter’s hand, then shook it. “Truce.”

“So, where do we start?”

Rohan shook his head. “Beats the hell out of me. Just one thing—when we find Josiah, I’ll kill him. You can collect the reward.”