Immorati

Immorati By

MK Mancos

Triskelion Publishing

Prologue Pine Haven, New Jersey

He could smell her. The scent carried on the wind, taunting him to join the chase. Leaves crackled underfoot as he moved deeper into the woods in pursuit. He stopped near a pine tree and lifted his nose into the air. Ah, by the Origins she was close. Night blanketed the area, giving her ample coverage to hide. Now and then small fingers of moonlight would brave the dark to illuminate the forest. Even without his heightened nocturnal vision, he would have known the path she took. Her essence hung to every leaf, every branch, and every blade of grass. Thundering heartbeats rammed against his chest wall. Clawed hindquarters dug into the ground. Arousal had him deep in its grip. If he continued on he’d scare her, and that was not what he wished for this first mating with her. There had been too many risks taken, too much time spent in courtship, to ruin it all by hurting her. A lilt of perfumed skin caressed his senses. It was a soft fragrance, like forest flowers and cedar, underscored with the unmistakable tang of female arousal. Talons gripped the tree in an effort to check his emotions. He couldn’t reach for her in his current state, so he growled. “Nanine.” Something brushed against the bell sleeve of his robe. Moonlight cut a path through the trees as she stepped from behind him. “My love.” She whispered the words and launched herself into his arms. He relied on his hyper-reflexes to catch her. Muscled arms tightened around her small human-like body. Even with his hindquarters bent, he towered over her. He lifted her higher on his chest. Soft breasts pressed against his hard pectorals. Warm breath caressed his neck. Slim arms tightened around him, and her hands began to stroke the hair at his nape. “I didn’t think I would be able to get away. The Elders are watching me. I think they know.” He slid down the tree, taking her with him and placing her on his lap. “We have to be careful. If either of our people should find out... ” Slender fingers covered his mouth. “I know. Let’s not waste our time thinking of what will happen if we’re discovered.” He kissed her fingertips then moved her hand away from his mouth. They had so little time before she had to return to the compound, he didn’t wish to waste it. Who knew when she would be able to sneak off again to meet him? “I’ve waited so long for you.” He lowered his head to capture her mouth. Ah, she tasted sweet. Like life and passion, so unlike the women of his kind. Soft moans swelled from her throat, and vibrated along his tongue. The gossamer silk of his robes could not hide his full arousal from her when she leaned closer into his body to return his kiss. Alarmed, she pulled back. “Hedric?” “I won’t hurt you, my love. I’ll be very gentle.” “I’ve never... ” He gave a tender smile she couldn’t see with her more human-like vision in the nighttime forest. It made it all the sweeter to know she hadn’t even taken a lover of her own kind. Long blonde hair cascaded over her shoulder and covered the line of her breast. Gently, he curled a

claw around the silky strands and brushed them out of his way. Erect nipples pressed against the fabric of her shirt. He flicked one with his claw and watched her shiver in desire. “Ah, Nanine, you want me.” “Into my eternity.” A lump formed in his throat. He knew enough of Immorati lore to know when one spoke of their eternity it was akin to the lifebonds of his own people. But his people were not made by the Origins to have an eternity. “If I only could.” He kissed her then and tasted the tears that fell from her beautiful eyes. Slowly, as if she would break, he tried to undress her, but it was impossible to negotiate with his clawed hands. Nanine smiled at him and began the work herself. “Next time I’ll wear a robe like yours.” He laughed despite his miserable state. “That would be appreciated.” Pale skin glowed luminescent, and he took his time in appreciating every inch of it— the long legs, slim arms, and curvaceous hips. He teased and laved her breasts before moving down her body. When he reached her sex he took his time learning her scent and taste as she kept up a steady litany of his name, and thrashed in ecstasy beneath him. When he could stand his torture no longer, he rolled her to her stomach and lifted her hips off the ground to mount her. Sharp teeth bit into her neck and shoulder, careful not to break the skin, before moving up to whisper in her ear, “I love you, Nanine.” Then, he thrust into her. Pained cries filled the large hand clamped over her mouth. Her breathing sawed in and out, and she whimpered. He waited until she adjusted to his size. Meanwhile, the exquisite warmth surrounding him was fast becoming too much to bear. He would not be able to lie still inside her forever. “Are you all right?” After a few more moments, she nodded. Slowly, he began to move. Small, movements of his hips, more of a grind than an actual thrust. Nanine sighed into his palm. A slight tremor shook her, moving down the length of her spine. He could feel it travel through her, and when it reached where they were joined, he became lost to the unbearable pleasure of her. Their lovemaking turned wild, animalistic. The points of his claws indented the skin of her rounded hips and blood ran down onto his fingers. Still, he couldn’t control the wild movement of his body and the need to complete the mating with his female. Ah, by the Origins, his female. “Hedric!” Nanine screamed as her body clamped his member with vice-like tension. She began to spasm around him. A cry of triumph tore from his throat. His own release jetted into her body, filling her with the seed of her mortal enemy.

Chapter One Near the Pine Barrens of New Jersey Immorati Compound

Aidan sat at the banquet table looking up at the dais where the Elders stoically presided over a feast that should have been a joyous occasion. The number of Immorati had been severely diminished in the last few years. The ongoing attacks by a plague of Corpesetti had taken its toll on those living at the compound. The Corpesetti were the natural enemies of the Immorati, and the only thing besides the abdication ritual that could kill a member of the immortal race. Aidan’s mother had fallen to a Corpesetti not two years ago. Her death still had the power to bring him acute pain. His brother, Seth, sat to his right, and his best friend and conclave guardian, Cletus, to his left. They were both engaged in conversations with women sitting close to them. No doubt they would both have company in their beds tonight. Aidan, however, would spend another lonely night gathering reports, trying to determine why the trail of his mother’s killer had gone cold. Then there was Nanine. Where had she gone? No one had seen her all day. It wasn’t like her to miss a feast. But she’d been secretive lately. He hoped she hadn’t gotten herself into trouble. His young, female cousin was known to go into the city every now and then, but she generally left word, and would have never gone off near a feast day. Movement from the dais pulled his attention away from the troublesome thoughts. His father, Jainus, stood and tapped the side of his wine glass with his knife. Conversations stopped and attention focused forward. Jainus cleared his throat. “On this day, the Feast of Ancar Schavar, the first immortal, we need to reflect upon those lives taken from their eternity prematurely. It is only through proper preparation and the ritual of abdication that we Immorati walk to the gates of the great house and live an afterlife in the bosom of our ancestors. “My own sweet Giselle was taken from me these two years past, and everyday I wonder if she has found a path to our ancestors. With that in mind, I have discussed with the other Elders, and we agree, the time has come for me to follow my heart and abdicate.” Shock reverberated through the room. Aidan considered his father’s face. He was too young to abdicate. He had only lived four-hundred-years. Jainus held his hands up to quiet the surprised murmurings that filled the hall. Aidan glanced at his brother who had gone pale with the announcement.

“The Elders and I have also discussed my vacancy, and we have unanimously decided that Aidan should take my place on the counsel.” No! He was only two-hundred-fifty years old, too young to be an Elder. How could he be an Elder? He hadn’t even selected his mate yet. “The ritual will take place on the next full moon.” Janius lifted his wine glass. “To eternity.” The diners raised their glasses and repeated. “To eternity.” Seth leaned over and grabbed Aidan’s sleeve. “You have to talk him out of it. He can’t possibly mean to go through with it.” Aidan studied their father. For an immortal he looked old and worn out, and he missed his mate so. “Perhaps he does, Seth. He misses mother.” “We all do, but we’re not all about to chuck our eternities and take the path to the ancestors!” “It’s his decision. Not ours.” Cletus looked around Aidan to Seth. “Leave it, Seth.” Seth immediately shut his mouth and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Cletus raised a brow at him. His broad ebony face was a mask of contempt as he looked at the younger man. The guardian loved Seth like a brother, but the younger man had too much passion and took risks that were foolish in the given climate. It was Cletus’ job as guardian to protect the Immorati and Seth’s headstrong and poorly thought out excursions often invited mishap. Eliah, a perimeter guard, came swooping into the banquet hall. His gaze searched the room until it rested on Aidan. He hurried over and kneeled down in front of him. “We have reports coming in that there was a woman attacked in the woods near Pine Haven. Her physical description fits Nanine.” Eliah spoke in a low voice. Aidan rose and shot a look to Cletus before answering. “Is she all right?” “No, sir. She’s dead. The body was taken to the morgue for autopsy.” Anger and fear chilled his blood. His fist tightened in rage. Another of their number lost before she could mate and reproduce. Another of their number denied the chance to walk the path to the heavenly estates of the ancestors. “Come, Cletus. Let’s go to Pine Haven and bring her home.”

Chapter Two Pine Haven, New Jersey Edie Campbell slid down into the warm, sudsy water up to her neck. Her back rested against the inflatable pillow stuck by suction cups to the tub. She closed her eyes in bliss. It had been a long time since she’d been able to unwind in so indulgent a manner. But tonight she deserved it. Today had been a very long day. Sometimes Edie wished she had gone into a more physical occupation, like landscaping or roofing. Working as a cultural anthropologist who specialized in myth and folklore could be both stimulating and exciting, but the long hours spent pouring over texts and chasing down the origins of obscure tales could be mentally exhausting. Currently, she was working on a book of familial myths, or stories passed on from one generation to the next. Her own family had a rich history of lore that came down her maternal line. Often, the near fairytale proportions of her family mythos served as the fare for her and her sister, Liza’s, childhood bedtime stories. Edie marveled at the amount of embellishment that stuck like decorations to the stories, and had little success in uncovering the stories’ origins. The stories told of a race of immortals that lived near the Pine Barrens on a compound away from the prying eyes of the world. The very idea immortals would choose to live in New Jersey was suspect enough, but according to grandma Keirnan, they still lived in the area. Edie had lived in Pine Haven most of her life and had never heard anything of immortals except from her own family. She suspected the tale had been fabricated from a long dead ancestor to explain the family’s miraculous longevity. It was nothing on her mother’s side to live well over one hundred. Edie let her eyes slide shut and tried to turn off thoughts of her project and speculations about people who never had to fear aging or natural death. She smiled groggily. Longevity did have side benefits. At thirty-five, she still had the firm body and tight skin of an eighteen- year-old. A phone rang and Edie woke, not knowing how long she’d slept in the tub. The water had long since grown cold. Goose bumps broke out on her skin as she leaned over and picked up the cordless phone. “Edie, sweetheart, I need you to come down to the morgue.” “Karl?” She was barely able to recognize his voice for a subtle inflection of agitation that wasn’t normally there. Karl Urich, local police chief and heartthrob, had tried for years to get Edie to make their friendship into something more permanent. She’d known him too long to take a very pleasurable relationship deeper, but that didn’t stop them from being very good friends and occasional lovers.

“Yeah. I’m sorry to bother you. I know you wanted to spend a nice quiet evening relaxing, but we have something here I want you to see.” “At the morgue? What is it?” “I haven’t a clue, and neither does Tyler. We were hoping you could shed some light on it.” Edie pressed the phone between her cheek and shoulder while she hurried to dry off. “Why did you call me?” “You’re an anthropologist. I thought maybe something in your field background would be helpful.” “I’ll try, but you caught me while I was in the tub. Give me a chance to dress and I’ll be right there.” A beat of silence filled the phone. “How long will you be?” “Give me about fifteen.” They rang off, leaving Edie feeling uneasy. When Karl passed up an opportunity to make a lustful comment when she gave him an opening was cause for alarm. Something extraordinary must have been found especially if Tyler, Pine Haven’s medical examiner, couldn’t identify it. And if Tyler had it in the morgue, whatever it was, it was dead. She made it there in under fifteen minutes. Karl met her and opened her car door for her. Instead of his uniform, he wore jeans and a plain t-shirt. His short blond hair looked finger-combed and the slight stubble of beard could be seen on his square jaw. Deep brown eyes locked with hers and then he shook his head. “I’ve never seen anything like this.” He draped his arm around her shoulder as they walked into the morgue’s examination room. Tyler Fitzjohn glanced up from her work and did the same headshake as Karl. “Hi, Edie. Thanks for coming down. Grab a gown, gloves, and mask and join me over here.” Tyler had also lived in Pine Haven most of her life, but had grown up and went to school with Edie’s mother and father. She was not only a friend, but an honorary aunt of sorts. Edie put on a paper gown to cover her clothes and allowed Karl to tie up the back for her. Then she donned a pair of surgical gloves, hooked a mask over her ears, then stepped around the sinks and into the examination room proper. The corpse lay on a stainless steel table, a big hulking specimen both fascinating and frightening. Edie swept her gaze downward from its head. It wasn’t just big. It was massive. She moved under the bright florescent lights to get a better look at the creature. “Where was it found?” “In the woods, outside town. A couple of teenagers found it while hiking.” Karl put on a gown and stood across from her. Tyler moved back to give Edie room to examine the thing. It was a humanoid— she was sure. The facial features were too human-like to be anything else, and yet they appeared alien. Fascinated, she began to inspect him. The head was large, and proudly shaped. Pale, waxy skin was stretched taut over high prominent cheekbones. The mandible was square and powerful. Edie gave a passing thought as to how much pressure such a jaw could exert when it latched on to prey. And looking down at the creature, she had the strange sensation that it was definitely a predator of some sort. The lips were full and beautifully shaped, as if molded to perfection by the loving hands of a sculptor. She leaned forward and placed her fingers on the mouth. Pulling back the upper lip, she was treated to the most horrific canines this side of the food chain.

The nose was elongated, but still most definitely human in nature. The brow was broad and high, as well as the forehead. Both those features suggested a well-developed frontal lobe and possibility of higher intelligence. Gloved fingers spread the eyelids back and black eyes stared sightlessly back at her. They were odd, without sclera or iris. Long thick black hair hung down to broad shoulders, but there appeared no evidence of facial hair. The chest was deep and broad with over-developed pectorals. In the center, where the heart should be, was a gapping wound. “What violence.” Edie inspected the jagged claw-like serrations on the edge of the wound. Her fingers trailed downward to his flat, yet muscled abdomen, and farther. Karl coughed behind her. She turned to peer at him over her shoulder for a moment. “You wanted me to look at him.” He put up his hands and backed off. Her hands slid down to his genitalia— there could be no doubt this specimen was most definitely male. The long, thick penis sat nestled in a patch of dense black hair and encased in a thick, spongy foreskin. She pulled the foreskin back, exposing the glans penis. A pearly, viscous fluid was caught on the tip and inside the protective cover. “Is that what I think it is?” Karl frowned. “It’s exactly what you think it is. Tyler, get a sample of this. I’ll be interested to see how the DNA stacks up against human.” “You and me both.” Tyler quickly placed the semen sample into a container to have it run at the state crime lab. “I wonder if the creature mated prior to the killing?” Edie felt a shift of tension in the room with the question. “What?” “I’ll check the other victim.” Tyler moved to another table and uncovered a second body Edie hadn’t noticed before. “There are two of these things here?” Karl shook his head. “No, the other victim is a young woman.” Edie felt her throat constrict. She didn’t even wish to contemplate the ramifications of what that meant. Tyler worked on the second body for several moments before she lifted her head. “There is a positive presence of semen. And quite a bit of blood. I’ll have to check for vaginal trauma.” Edie turned back and looked at the creature on the slab. What exactly had happened in the woods? Did he rape the poor young woman and then kill her? If so, what killed him? A cold sweat broke out on her forehead and between her shoulder blades. “Sweetheart, are you all right?” “I think I need to sit down.” No sooner had she said that then Karl had a stool brought over for her. He placed it near the wall, but she shook her head. “Bring it here. I want to finish examining this thing.” Tyler marked the samples with a pen. “I do have a call in to a zoologist, Edie, if you want to go home.” “Go home? Are you kidding? I’m not going to let a little light-headedness stop me from examining the

find of the century, no matter how disturbing the facts seem to be.” She returned her gaze to the creature. His long muscular arms ended in disproportionately large hands, tipped with six-inch pointed claws. Edie picked up the hand nearest her and studied the claws. Dried blood decorated the point of each claw. Odd, if he had been the one to kill the girl, there would have been blood all over his hands and arms, not just the very tips of the nails. The legs were most amazing. Like the rest of the body, they were long and well muscled. Powerful thighs and calves proposed an excellent runner, or jumper, and tapered down to long canine-like feet with talonesque toenails, complete with a dewclaw. The configuration suggested the creature could move on all fours for speed. “I haven’t a clue what this thing could possibly be.” Edie looked up and stared at Tyler before shifting her attention to Karl. “I’m sorry, but if I didn’t know better, I’d say someone or something killed the Jersey Devil.”

Chapter Three Karl folded his arms over his chest and raised a brow at Edie. “What?” “Don’t even joke around like that.” He rubbed his hand down his face and over his mouth. “It’s going to be hard enough keeping this thing under wraps once those teens start talking. I practically had to threaten them with overnight accommodations in the town lockup to keep them quiet. I don’t want this turning into a media circus.” Edie bit her lower lip in thought. “Well, there are many variations on the tale and very few of them are consistent. The marshes and wetlands here are filled with tales of their sighting. There are legends that go all the way back to the Native American tribes that lived in New Jersey, and sightings from the Revolutionary War. The truth of the matter is the stories are urban legend. No one’s actually verified a sighting, so how do we know what it looks like if it actually exists. And when you dig into the tales, none of them are one hundred percent consistent in descriptions.” She pointed to the creature on the table. “This is as good an example as any.” Her nose started to itch, and she bent her face into the crease of her elbow and swiped at it. There was just something about having examination gloves on that always made her nose itch, especially after handling something she wouldn’t touch without the latex barrier. Her eyes traveled along the length of the creature again. Or man. What was it? Did it have cognitive thoughts? Was it sentient? Did it know love, or only the drive to mate? Edie turned to study the young woman on the other gurney. She stood and walked over to examine the other body. The young woman couldn’t have been over twenty, and was so perfectly beautiful even in death that Edie could do nothing more than stare at her. Long pale blonde hair framed a heart-shaped face. Her brows were slightly darker than her hair and arched over wide eyes. Not a feature on her face had even a hint of imperfection. How could something so ethereal die? An identical injury as the creature split her chest, creating a cavernous hole between two of the most naturally beautiful breasts ever created. The same claw marks shredded the side of the wound. Whatever killed ‘it’ had killed her. Did he die by the hand of someone who witnessed her killing, or as a revenge for the murder? Or did he die protecting her? A slow ache began in her sacrum and rose. “Has anyone reported her missing?” “No,” Karl gave her a stern look and rocked on the balls of his feet. “And the items found near the scene didn’t have any identification with them.”

“She’ll be missed by someone.” “We’ve got a description of her out to the media.” Edie looked at him across the room. His shoulders were bunched up under his gown and she could tell he was wound tight. If she was disturbed by the events that brought these two corpses into the morgue, knowing such a crime happened in his jurisdiction had to weigh heavy on him. “But that’s all? You didn’t give the degree of injury did you?” He shook his head. “There was no need for that. But like I said, it’s only a matter of time before the story gets out. If she has family, I’d like them to find out from me, or Tyler, not some reporter bent on sensationalizing the story.” Edie’s admiration for him grew. “You’re a good man, Karl.” For the first time that night a faint trace of a smile curled his mouth and his dark eyes caressed her. His cell phone rang, echoing off the stainless steel surfaces of the morgue. The conversation was short and to the point. He nodded to Edie and Tyler. “I have to go. Two men just showed up at the station to identify the woman.” “That was quick,” Tyler said as she moved to the exam table and started to cover the creature with a sheet. “Help me cover him, Edie, and then move her into another room. I don’t want family to speculate about what’s under the sheet and he’s too big to stuff in a drawer.” Edie hurried to comply. It was good thinking on Tyler’s part. Even covered with a sheet, anyone could tell whatever lay under there was too large to be human. They didn’t need questions from curious family members. Especially when they didn’t even know what species it was. *** An ink-black night stared back at Aidan from the square window in the police chief ’s office. He looked passed his reflection to the man who pulled up in a squad car outside and got out. The man looked to be around thirty-five and in relatively good physical condition for a human. He also looked like he hated this aspect of the job. His mouth was set in a hard line and his jaw clenched. He came into the office and held out his hand to Aidan. “I’m Chief Urich, thank you for coming in so soon. We haven’t had the description out that long.” Aidan took the mortal’s hand in a firm grip and pumped it up and down a few times, gauging the mettle of the man before him by the quality of the grasp. “Aidan LaMont.” He turned and indicated the guardian with a sweep of his hand. “This is Cletus Feucheux.” The police chief greeted Cletus in the same manner and turned towards the door. “How are you related to the woman?” “I’m her cousin.” Aidan followed Cletus out into the hall and the police chief closed the door behind them. Chief Urich stopped and gave Aidan a speculative glance. “No closer relations than you?” Aidan shook his head. “None. She was my responsibility.” Tears threatened to unman him. His throat tightened around the emotion. He’d failed his mother and Nanine by not protecting them against the Corpesetti. Some hunter he was! And his father wanted him to be an Elder. Ancestors weeping! He would not, however, show emotions to the humans. Placing a mask of haughty indifference on his face, he turned again to the man before him. “I am the spokesman for the family.”

“I see.” They climbed into their separate vehicles. Aidan sat in the passenger’s side of a sleek black Mercedes sedan and looked out at the night. Cletus turned the key and pulled out of the parking lot to follow the police chief to the morgue. “Chief Urich plays his hands close to the vest. There is a power there. Very animal.” “I felt it, too.” The fewer dealings they had with the police chief the better they’d be. He seemed the type to dig his equine nose into matters until he understood or uncovered them— whichever suited his purposes. “We’ll identify Nanine and be done with him.” “Agreed. The less said to him, the better.” They pulled into the morgue parking and noticed three vehicles: one in the space marked Medical Examiner, one beside that, and the other in a visitor’s spot. At least they would not have a large audience for the identification. It would be better that way. The less people saw of the marks left when a Corpesetti made a kill the fewer questions the curious populace would ask. Chief Urich stood by the door, holding it open for them. Silently, he ushered them into a small annex room where a gurney sat parked with a sheet-draped body. The M.E., a handsome woman most likely in her early fifties, stood sentry by the body. She held her hand out to introduce herself to them. Aidan took in the greeting, only partially listening and nodded in the appropriate place, but his attention remained fixed on the sheet. Behind him, Cletus leaned in a little to give support if needed. It all seemed surreal. The M.E. pulled the sheet down to reveal Nanine’s still face. Beautiful, even in death, she lay in the cold of the morgue as if sleeping. The sweet remains of some dream made the sides of her mouth curl at the corners. “That’s her.” He heard himself say, but didn’t remember uttering the words, nor giving his brain the command to do so. The stench of the Corpesetti clung to her skin like a rotting cloak. Anger surged through his bloodstream. It should be he lying on the gurney, taken prematurely to the ancestors for failing to protect the people in his conclave. As if needing to verify the death, he jerked the sheet back to verify the empty hollow where her gentle heart once beat so pure. The M.E. gasped but the police chief stood as stoic as an oak. Aidan clenched his jaw and turned to the police chief while dropping the sheet back on the body. He and Cletus had much work to do before they could return home. “Where was the body found?” “In the woods.” Chief Urich stood with his arms braced across his chest. His tawny brow was raised as if in challenge. “The woods are large. Where in the woods?” “Doesn’t matter. It’s a crime scene.” An unsettled feeling wound its way into Aidan’s belly and traveled up. His heart began to pound. Too close. The faint smell of Corpesetti flesh filled the room. It wasn’t the stink from a kill, but the stink when one was in close proximity to a full grown male. He turned to Cletus. With a silent understanding they moved to the door.

“Wait!” The M.E. yelled. “You have to give us a name.” “Her name is Nanine Shea, and we’ll return for her.” They hurried out the door and onto the trail of the Corpesetti that pricked the hair on the back of Aidan’s neck and charged his senses. The hunter in him woke.

*** Edie sat in the office for a few more moments trying to bring her breathing and heart rate back to normal range. If she let her body take the lead, she’d have hyperventilated when the two men entered the annex. Something about the one pulled at her, made her yearn to follow him from the morgue to see where he fled. It was a compulsion that started low in her gut and churned upward toward her heart. His dark hair looked a little on the long side, but remained impeccably groomed. Deep blood-colored highlights glinted in the glare of the overhead lights. Amber eyes glowed in anger as he looked at the body of his loved one. When he tore the sheet from her body and looked without emotion to the gapping wound, Edie thought she’d turn blue from holding her breath. He’d demanded to see the crime scene. Holy cow! The man definitely had revenge on his mind. Even though his mouth had been set in a grim line, his eyes had flashed with fury before he could hide it from the others. Edie had seen it as she sat in the darkened office watching the scene unfold. How would it feel to have someone love you so much they felt compelled to seek revenge if you ever came to harm? Edie had never been the object of such devotion. Oh, Karl probably would be angry because his profession demanded a certain amount of outrage when an innocent came to harm, but she doubted he’d feel it justification to go outside the law to avenge her. The door opened and Karl stuck his head inside. “You all right in here?” She looked up at him. Guilt washed through her for letting her flights of fantasy get away from her. “Ah, yeah. Sure.” “Tyler’s going to start examining the girl a little more closely now. She wanted to know if you wanted to stay and watch.” “Not really. I think she can handle this one herself.” Edie stood and started to pull the paper gown off. “If she would call me when the zoologist arrives, I’d appreciate being in on that.” “Should be tomorrow morning.” “Fine.” She started through the office door and watched Tyler and her assistant turn the body over. Marks in the girl’s buttocks caught Edie’s attention and she walked back over to the gurney. “My God.” Tyler looked up at Edie. “What?” “These marks on her. The creature must have made them while he... ” she couldn’t finish the sentence. It looked as if he had gouged her flesh to keep her in place while he mounted her from behind. Bile rose to the back of her throat and burned. “I’ll measure the marks and his claws for confirmation, but I suspect you’re right given the presence of semen in her.” Karl put his arm around Edie’s shoulder and lowered his mouth to her ear. “Are you all right to drive yourself home?”

“I’m fine. Don’t think I’ll sleep tonight, but I’m fine.” Not sleeping would be an understatement. How could she sleep when every time she closed her eyes her imagination would build the last few terrifying moments of the poor girl’s life? She’d be lucky if she ever slept again. No myth or folktale would ever come close to the gruesome reality splayed as proof on the cold metal slab of the morgue’s exam table. “I’ll come over later and check on you if you want?” “Walk me to my car?” She turned from his embrace and pulled on his hand. He followed with little encouragement needed. They had just reached the door when the two men who identified the body came from around the back of the building, and the brooding one descended on Karl like an avenging angel. “Where is it?” He demanded. Dark hair ruffled in the breeze and his odd eyes glowed. The tails of his long black trench coat flapped like raven’s wings behind him. Karl took his hand from Edie’s and stepped in front of her. “Where is what?” “The thing that took Nanine’s life.” “ ‘Thing.’ It was a man. Or a tiger. We did have some captive tigers get loose near here a while back.” Karl lied without missing a beat. “A tiger cannot rip a heart out and leave the rest of the body intact.” The large African-American man with him put his hand on the angry man’s biceps and tried to pull him away. “This isn’t the way, Aidan.” He said in a deep, calm voice. Aidan shook the hands off him. “Why are you protecting it?” “I’m not protecting anything.” “Lies!” His eyes swung to Edie as she poked her head out from behind Karl. His amber gaze held hers and a little electric shock startled her. She gasped. A trembling hand reached out to her. “Come with me. You’re in danger if you stay here.” “Aidan, please.” The other man begged. “You must come away, now.” “She’s... ” “I know, but you must come away. Let the chief protect her.” The large man finally turned the reluctant Aidan away and started for their car. He looked back over his shoulder in apology. From inside the car, the man named Aidan turned and stared at Edie. Her skin tingled as if he had caressed her. It was barely a sensation along her senses but it was there. The car started and slowly pulled away. Strong arms pulled her into a tight embrace. “You’re trembling. I’m sorry. I thought he’d left.” “I’m all right.” She shrugged out of Karl’s arms, uncomfortable to be there after the odd current that had passed between her and Aidan. “I feel sorry for him. He’s grieving and doesn’t know what to do. That’s all. ” He pulled away and looked into her upturned face. “You aren’t afraid of him then?” Edie hunched her shoulder as they started for her truck. “Not really. He wasn’t even interested in me until I tried to see what was happening. If I had come out by myself he probably wouldn’t have noticed me at all. You were his focus.” “Yeah, thanks for that.” He took her keys from her and unlocked her door. “When are you going to get your remote fixed? I hate like hell to think of you walking across a parking lot at night and not being able to open your car door before you get to it.”

“It’s just not high on my list of priorities right now.” “See, you need me to take care of you.” He bent his head and brushed his lips against hers, then took the kiss deeper. Instead of seeing Karl’s chocolate brown eyes, before her own closed, her mind fixed on a pair of haunting amber ones. When he ended the kiss, he looked down into her face. “Let me come over tonight, sweetheart.” Thumbs stroked along her jaw line in gentle persuasion. She shook her head. “I won’t be very good company. I’m going to be up for a while making notes on what I saw tonight. I want to write it down while it’s still fresh in my mind.” He let out a long sigh. “All right. Promise me you’ll call me if you need anything.” “I promise.” Because her rejection made him look so forlorn, she leaned over and gave him a lingering kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Chapter Four Aidan sat in his father’s room surrounded in rich appointments. Quiet filled the chamber after his sudden announcement a few moments before. Jainus held a glass of wine in his hand and looked into the lapping flames of the fireplace. His brow furrowed in thought. “Are you sure?” “Positive. Cletus felt it, too. The police chief denied it of course. At first I thought the Corpesetti was outside the building looking in, but when we left it was nowhere to be found. There weren’t even any tracks. Though finding them in town on pavement would prove difficult.” “A Corpesetti in town? I can hardly credit such a thing.” “If the police chief only knew how transparent his lie was to me, he’d have been embarrassed.” “Yes, a man or a tiger able to kill an Immorati. But he didn’t know the nature of our Nanine.” Aidan fell into silence. No, Chief Urich didn’t know the nature of Nanine, nor did he know the nature of the woman who stood behind him, sheltered from the angry exchange. Her face swam before his eyes, and he let himself sink into the memory of her. Under the dim parking lot lighting, he couldn’t tell her hair or eye color, but thought she would prove very fair. Her skin was creamy and unblemished. A perfect, lush mouth begged to be kissed. How would she taste? How would it feel to lay claim to her body? “Did you hear me?” Jainus tapped Aidan’s knee with a long finger. Aidan shook his head, scattering the erotic vision of her from his mind. “No, I’m sorry.” “I said I want you to return to Pine Haven in the morning. See what else you can find out, but don’t make a nuisance of yourself with the police chief. I don’t want to have to bail you out of a human jail.” Yes, the police chief. Heat filled Aidan’s cheeks. He’d promised Cletus he would keep quiet and not react, but knowing a Corpesetti was so close and free to attack again made him lose all sense. But there were positives to returning to Pine Haven. Maybe he could find the woman again and convince her to return to the compound with him where she would at least be within fortified walls. His heart sank. Fortified walls and perimeter guards could only do so much. Immorati who ventured far from the secured borders fell victim to their own folly. His mother and Nanine included. Aidan bid his father good night and returned to the security room where Eliah sat watching video monitors. “Any trace?”

“Not a one. The Corpesetti wasn’t within the perimeter, or the first border.” The first border stood fifteen feet high and was composed of a smooth stone that would make claw holds impossible for a Corpesetti. The second perimeter included electric fencing and razor wire. “It doesn’t make sense. Why was she in Pine Haven, alone in the woods?” “Maybe she wasn’t alone.” Eliah hit a button and a digital recording began to roll across one of the many viewing screens. The screen filled with a black and white image of Nanine as she approached the first security gate and suspiciously looked over her right shoulder towards the camera. Members of the conclave were allowed to come and go as they pleased, why would Nanine look as if she were sneaking out? To meet a secret lover that she knew the Elders would not approve? Aidan clapped a thankful hand on Eliah’s shoulder then turned and headed back to the wing where most of the bedchambers were located. Perhaps she had left some clue as to why she felt the need to sneak around. Her room was located halfway down the west hall. She had begged and pleaded to have it after Kaleena abdicated. Her reason: sunsets. She loved to sit in the large bay windows and watch the sun falling over the expanse of forest and wetlands abutting the compound. Aidan touched a shaking hand to the fine grain wooden door and stroked. Oh, Nanine. All your suns have set. How could you have been so foolish? The knob didn’t turn in his hand. She had locked her door. Trust was a major tenet between the Immorati. Locks were meant to bar against the outside world, not that of her own kind. If Nanine had locked her door against invasion by one of her kind she had to be involved in something that would bring shame to her among the conclave. He took his cell phone from its holder and spoke into the radio portion. “Cletus, I need the key to Nanine’s suite. Do you know where it is?” A sleep-thickened voice answered. “Not off hand, but I’ll find it.” “Tell me where you think it could be and I’ll start looking.” Cletus gave him a couple locations and told him he’d check a few others before meeting him back at the room. After nearly an hour of searching, Cletus finally came back on the radio, saying he’d been successful in the search. Once again in front of Nanine’s door, Aidan placed the key in the lock and nothing happened. “Are you sure this is the right key?” Cletus raised a black brow in umbrage. “Of course it is. Give it here.” Aidan stood aside and watched Cletus try the key. A few unsuccessful tries and he turned back to Aidan. “It appears she’s changed the lock.” “Who would do that for her and not tell the Elders?” Cletus shrugged his wide shoulders. “I’m beginning to believe our Nanine was more resourceful than given credit. Perhaps she changed it herself.” Aidan liked that possibility even less. He studied the door for a moment. Since the hinges were on the inside, taking the door down by removing them would be impossible. “Come on, help me break it down.” They both put shoulders into it and all their body weight. The door didn’t give on the first or second

try, but the lock ripped from the frame on the third. The noise in the hallway brought some annoyed individuals out of their rooms to investigate the commotion. “Aidan! What in all the eternity are you doing?” Elder Yasamin stood in her doorway with her hands on her slim hips. Her long hair was plaited down her back in a thick braid. An old-fashioned nightcap sat upon her imperial head. “Breaking into Nanine’s room.” She pulled her robe tighter around her thin frame and crossed the hall to them. “But why would you do that?” Obviously his father hadn’t told the others what happened in Pine Haven. Though given the fact Yasamin was the conclave surgeon such information would have upset her. Her long life had been spent healing others, and the loss of any of their conclave hit her hard. It wouldn’t have been wholly unexpected given the recent climate. Perhaps Jainus knew Nanine had been hurtling toward destruction and thought to shelter the rest of the Elders from the problem. Who knew? Cletus put a gentle hand on the Elder’s shoulder and steered her back towards her room. “Ah my dearest, Yasamin, you know how impulsive the young are?” She allowed Cletus to guide her as she looked back over her shoulder at Aidan. “Damn poor way for a potential Elder to conduct himself.” “True. Very true.” As Cletus saw to the Elder, Aidan moved into Nanine’s room to look through her personal belongings. The room was decorated in the manor of a medieval castle bedchamber. Dark wood and wine colored velvet drapes made the room dim in the light from the hallway. Paintings in the Pre-Raphaelite style hung from the walls and expensive tapestries reinforced the outside walls with warmth. The bed was a huge four-poster affair set high upon a raised dais, with thick drapes that matched those on the windows. An antique coffer and writing desk were the only other furnishings in the room. In such Spartan surroundings there weren’t many places she could hide evidence of her wrongdoings. He moved to the writing desk first and tried the drawers. The only one that opened readily was where she kept her paper and pens. All the others were locked tight. He took out a sheet of the fine paper and held it up to the light. A slight impression of letters could be seen marring the otherwise pristine surface. He needed a pencil to run across the page to discover the contents of this last letter. He shook his head. Nanine had lived in private like a princess trapped in a tower waiting for her prince to rescue her. Was she so unhappy with her people she had to seek solace outside the protections of the conclave? Had that unhappiness ultimately cost her eternity? The ghost of the letter taunted him. Why would she pen the note in these days of e-mail and instant messaging? Surely any lover she met on her trips to New York would have access to such things? It wasn’t as if the conclave lived in a technological black hole. On the contrary, the compound was a shining example of all the finest the Technology Age had to offer. He rambled through the drawer but found no pencils, only very expensive pen nibs and black ink. She even wrote in the manner of another age. Since he couldn’t get the other drawers open and there were no pencils to be had, he took the piece of paper and left the room. He’d have to return later with a screwdriver to force the other drawers open. Cletus was coming out of Yasamin’s room as Aidan started down the hallway. “Find anything?”

“Maybe.” He held up the paper for inspection. “Love letter?” “Could be. The rest of the desk is locked. I’ll have to break that open in the morning before we return to Pine Haven.” “Are you going to try and convince her to return here with you?” Cletus asked as they moved down the hallway and back to the security offices. He didn’t have to clarify whom the ‘her’ he referred to, she had been the topic of conversation for most of the ride back to the compound. “I don’t know. I know she’s one of us, but she wasn’t raised here. Could she be from another conclave?” “Doubtful. She most likely would have come to us for protection.” “Not if she were running away like Nanine. Suppose she felt stifled by our own laws and sought to live outside a compound?” Aidan pushed open the door. Eliah had left for the night and was replaced by Shelton, a young Immorati that looked more like a Navy SEAL than an immortal being. He looked up from the screens before him and nodded in greeting. Aidan was often surprised the man didn’t salute when anyone of rank entered the room. “Give me a pencil.” He sat down at the vacant seat next to Shelton. A bright yellow number two slid along the desk in front of the console, Shelton never took his eyes from the screen. The cameras had been switched to the night vision lenses at dark, and the screens glowed an odd greenish color. Aidan looked up and caught a glimmer of shining eyes reflected against the grasses. “A Corpesetti?” “He’s been sitting there for about fifteen minutes now. He hasn’t made a move to breach the gate. It’ s like he’s waiting for something.” Aidan’s gaze flicked over the other screens, but only that one that held anything of interest. All the others showed nothing but the landscape. “I’ve alerted the perimeter guards.” Aidan nodded and looked down then rubbed the lead gently over the paper and watched the letters come to life as if by some arcane magic. Romantic phrases and intentions filled the page. It was a letter to a lover all right. One she planned to meet in secret. One she couldn’t wait to consummate the affair with. However, it was the second page of the letter, so the addressee’s name did not appear. Cletus leaned over and scanned the letter. “We know why, now we need to find out whom.” “I wonder if she ever made it to her assignation. Did the Corpesetti await her outside as this one is now?” Aidan pointed to the creature lying in the grass like a hungry lion waiting for a hapless gazelle to wander by. “She was killed near Pine Haven.” Shelton shifted in his seat and typed in some commands at his console to pull up a different view of the outer perimeter. “She was found near Pine Haven. A distinct, but important, difference.” Cletus took the letter from Aidan and studied it. True. Nanine could have met her lover here and been killed and moved anywhere. A thought struck him then. “Shelton, did Eliah leave the recording of Nanine he found earlier?”

“Yes, he thought you might be back to look at it again.” Shelton typed in more commands on his computer and the recording began to play on a separate monitor. Aidan turned to Cletus. “Now why would she leave the compound on foot? Was she meeting someone in the woods, or did she walk to the road where her lover waited in a car for her? Did they drive to Pine Haven?” “Chances are if they drove to Pine Haven they would have been in a hotel or the man’s home.” “Who said it was a man?” Shelton called up the cameras from atop the mansion’s roof. “It could have been a woman.” Aidan blanched at overlooking so much of the obvious. Shelton was right, at this point they didn’t know if Nanine’s lover was male or female. The one fact they did know was the lover didn’t kill her. Only a Corpesetti would know how to kill an Immorati.

Chapter Five Beeps and honks woke Edie from what had been a restless sleep. Sunshine cut a path through the room and landed directly on her closed lids. She pulled a pillow from the other side of the bed and hugged it to her face. Noise from street traffic continued to filter in, penetrating the barrier of goose down. Had an unscheduled parade started on Main Street and passed her apartment window? She rolled off the bed and planted her feet on the cool hardwood floor. Light autumn air blew in as she opened the balcony doors and stepped out. “Holy... ” the sentence died out in disbelief. News van after news van rolled down the street in the direction of the morgue. Poor Karl. This was just the kind of exposure he didn’t want. Poor Tyler. How were she and the zoologist supposed to get any work done under the watchful eye of the curious media? Edie hurried back inside, took a quick shower, swiped a toothbrush across her teeth, and pulled on jeans and a fleece hoodie before heading out the door. She found Karl sitting in a back corner booth at the local diner. He was alone with coffee and a newspaper in front of him. Oddly enough he looked relaxed and in control. “I thought you’d be in the midst of fending off the news hounds.” She slid into the seat across from him. He looked up over his paper and smiled. “Hello, sweetheart. Have you had breakfast yet?” “How can you be so calm? The town is under siege.” “Because they don’t recognize me yet, and as long as they can’t find me, I’m safe.” “I never took you for a coward.” She took in his casual clothes in lieu of uniform. “What about poor Tyler? Don’t you think she needs your support?” “She’s in the morgue. I told her if any reporters are bold enough to go inside then she can call and have them arrested for trespassing on county property.” “Has the zoologist arrived yet?” “Had a family emergency, he’ll be here later today.” He set the paper aside. “I figure, let the boys talk to the media. Tyler and I will just keep saying that nothing was found and brought in but the remains of a young woman. Cause of death is still under investigation.” He took her hand and rubbed her fingers. “Who do you think people are going to believe, a couple of teenagers or the police chief and medical examiner?” “So you already talked to the media?”

He gave a lopsided smile. “Had you going, didn’t I?” She pulled her hand back from him. “You’re impossible.” “No, I’m quite possible if you’d only take a chance on us.” Edie shook her head as she did every time he brought up the topic of making their relationship into something more. He opened his mouth to say something but his phone rang. He listened for only a few seconds. “I’ll be right there.” He scooted out of the seat and looked down at her. “We’ll talk about this later.” “Karl... ” before she got any more out than his name, he bent and kissed her a quick buss on her still open mouth. “Mmmm, minty fresh.” The waitress came over and cleared away Karl’s cup. “You want something, honey?” “No, ‘Vette.” She started to get up when she noticed the men from the night before enter the diner. “On second thought, maybe I will.” She got up and slid into the seat Karl had vacated, so she could watch them as they sat down. They huddled over a table in deep conversation. The African-American man had his back to Edie so she couldn’t tell what he was saying, but she could read the other’s lips fairly well. He was speculating about the dead girl’s lover, and angry about not being able to break into something that morning. Suddenly, he looked up and caught her watching him. That same strange electric pull fissured through the air between them. Quickly, she looked down into her steaming coffee and pretended to work on putting the correct amounts of cream and sugar into the cup. Heartbeats kicked her ribs and sternum in a painful staccato. Blood rose behind her eyes. She felt without looking up the amber-eyed Aidan approached her table. When she could stand it no longer she moved her gaze to him, and was surprised to see he hadn’t moved from his seat. How could he be so far away and feel so close? Heat moved from her chest to her neck. Lord have mercy, his gaze was potent. She opened the paper Karl left behind. The front page headline stopped her breath: Girl Murdered in Pine Haven Woods. Well at least that part of the story was straightforward, but why would the media have descended on the town like vultures in search of carrion? She skimmed the article hoping to not find the sensationalism of the other victim’s questionable origins. The further she read the more she understood why. They described the beast in macabre detail. Stupid kids. Why would they risk Karl’s wrath and tell the media what they found? Then again, how could they not? They were probably scared witless after finding the woman’s body— her heart ripped from her chest, laying in close proximity to a beast with the exact same wound. There had to be some sort of emotional trauma, and what better way to deal with something than to talk about it. Conversations swirled around her. It seemed everyone in the diner had an opinion about the creature. Most agreed that after all these years the Jersey Devil had finally shown himself. Edie looked up, wondering if Aidan had heard any of the conversations, or if he speculated about the influx of news crews in the area. The table where he sat was now vacant. ***

“He lied to us last night,” Aidan said as he stalked across the parking lot toward the car. “Something killed a Corpesetti as well as Nanine.” Cletus hit the remote door locks. “We don’t yet know how the Corpesetti died. You need to reserve judgment.” Cletus took in a sweeping view of the news vans and people milling about Main Street. “But I would think it obvious why he lied to us.” Aidan let out a slow breath and counted to ten. Cletus was right. How would Aidan ever be able to function as an Elder if he let his passions sweep his better sense to the wayside? An Elder should see all sides of a situation before acting on it. Damn, but it was hard when the threat of the Corpesetti closed in on the conclave more and more everyday. “I wish we’d had time to break into Nanine’s desk this morning. We’d probably have more answers.” “Your father was rather insistent on us returning to town as soon as possible.” “Probably because he wanted us to get lost in the crowds.” Aidan got in the car and fastened his seatbelt. “Let’s go to the morgue. Perhaps the M.E. will be more forthcoming with information than the police chief.” Cletus nodded. Reporters and film crews, waiting for someone of authority to speak on the matter of the Jersey Devil, had overrun the parking lot that had been deserted the night before. As they drove by, the police chief pulled up in a cruiser and got out, shooing the reporters away. Cletus drove around to the other side of the building and parked away from the commotion. It appeared Chief Urich decided the time had come to clear the town of all the unwanted visitors. Aidan and Cletus walked slowly around to the front of the building. While the chief cleared the parking lot, they snuck inside and moved quietly down the halls following the signs for the examination room. Dr. Fitzjohn bent over a large corpse, talking into a headset as she worked. She looked up at their intrusion and switched off the tape recorder. “Can I help you?” She tried to cover the corpse with a sheet. Aidan walked closer to the table and pulled the sheet out of her hands. The Corpesetti had a large hole in the middle of his chest, just as Nanine had. Whatever killed her had also killed this beast. But who could have? A human would never have the strength to kill such a thing, not in this manner. “Was he brought in with Nanine?” The M.E. nodded. “Were they found together?” She cleared her throat gently. “I’m afraid so.” It made no sense. Why would a Corpesetti kill his own kind? And there was no doubt it was the deathstrike of a Corpesetti. Such an action went against every doctrine of their Origin. He thanked her and left the morgue. They were getting back into the car when he caught a stink in the air. A Corpesetti was close. Cletus stopped and looked over the car at Aidan. “What do you want to do?” “Follow it. Perhaps it will take us back to the scene.” “Is that relevant now? We know the Corpesetti is dead.” “Do we know that’s the same one? The wounds were definitely made by one of their kind. I want to know why one Corpesetti would turn on another.” Cletus stood halfway in the car. “Are we following on foot?”

“We need access to the woods.” He turned around and studied the landscape. Nothing but buildings decorated their immediate vicinity. “How is a Corpesetti to hide in broad daylight in the middle of a busy town?” “We’ll drive then. Get in.” They headed off into the opposite direction that they entered the town. The stretch of road from the compound to Pine Haven had not given rise to any feelings the crime had been committed there. They would have felt the violence, or smelled the stench of death on the leaves. Aidan couldn’t say the same for the eastern roads. Winding blacktop rolled through the forest away from the east end of Pine Haven. Miles of untamed wilderness stretched out between the lolling country road and the civilized invasion of the Garden State Parkway. The murderous Corpesetti could be hiding anywhere within the confines of the forest. Wherever the murderer hid, Aidan believed it the same one that stalked the outside of the compound the night before. Cletus pulled the car over at a small parking lot reserved for those wishing to use the bike paths. Leaves had begun to turn gold and red with the coming of fall. Brisk air swirled around them as they removed from the car. Aidan pulled his coat collar closer to his face. Questions continued to swirl around his mind. Nanine had played a dangerous game and lost. As they walked deeper into the woods, he and Cletus separated to cover more ground. However, they didn’t have any tracks to follow, and were basically working from instinct. They had chased so many Corpesetti over the years that the act came as easily as breathing —it was the catch that persistently eluded them as of late. A shift in the wind brought a new scent to Aidan’s nostrils. He breathed deeply. She was here.

*** After the men had left the diner, Edie got into her truck and drove the streets of Pine Haven looking for the sleek black Mercedes. She didn’t understand the compulsion to follow him, or to discover why they’d left the morgue so quickly the night before, but she went with her gut and searched for them anyway. News vans and police cruisers filled the morgue parking lot to overflow. Karl stood with his arms up, hands outstretched, addressing the crowd. It looked as if he were attempting to get the crowd to disperse, but she didn’t want to pull into the lot and see what was happening—until she spotted the Mercedes parked on the other side of the building. She pulled into the far end of the lot and parked. A slow study of the crowd didn’t reveal Aidan and his friend had stopped to listen to Karl, so they had to have gone directly into the morgue. She started toward the entrance when the side door opened and Aidan walked out. He and his friend stood at their car talking for a while before getting in and heading through town. Damn. She didn’t want to miss them, but then she didn’t want them to know she was following them. She could, however, follow them to their destination then when they arrived she would just drive past and double back a few minutes later. As far as a plan went, it wasn’t much, but it was all she had.

The Mercedes wound around Main Street and out of town, heading east. There was nothing much out this way except woods and marshland. Where could they possibly be going? In less than ten minutes she had her answer as they pulled into the parking for a bike path. Now why would they stop there? They didn’t have bikes, and they weren’t exactly dressed for a hike through the woods. She drove past the lot and kept going until she came to a side street where she could turn around and double back. By the time she made it back they were already out of the car and gone. Into the woods. She followed the trail, but saw no sign of them. After seeing the Jersey Devil up close and personal, she had to be crazy to walk through the woods alone and unprotected, but damn if she hadn’t gotten an acute case of the curious. She walked deeper into the tree line and stopped suddenly. Someone, or something, followed her.

Chapter Six Aidan moved behind a tree and allowed the young woman to pass him. She moved so close to his hiding place he could feel the gentle brush of her sleeve against his arm. Oh, but she was sweet. Seeing her in the daylight he could appreciate the golden light of her hair, and the light green of her eyes. She turned her head suddenly, looking directly at him, but she didn’t see him, he’d blended too well into the foliage. Quiet as he could, Aidan followed in her tracks. She shouldn’t be allowed to walk the forest alone. How could Chief Urich have such disregard for her safety? He followed her for a few moments, watching her as she looked for something that eluded her. Finally, he could stand the torment no longer and moved in closer. She came around a tree and started to slip deeper into the woods, when Aidan leaned forward, taking in a deep breath of her clean gentle scent. His eyes slid closed momentarily before he whispered. “What are you looking for?” She jumped and would have screamed, but Aidan reacted quickly and clamped a hand over her mouth. Bright green eyes stared at him over the top of his hand. Recognizing him, she relaxed. Aidan removed his hand from her mouth, confident she wouldn’t scream and alert any nearby Corpesetti to their location. “That depends on what you’re looking for.” She held a hand to her heart. Heat rushed through his blood at her inadvertent innuendo. He let his eyes skim down her body. The small part of her blood untainted by human DNA called to him, begged him to take her for his mate. Aidan moved close enough to breathe the same air as her. This close she smelled vaguely of coffee with a hint of mint. “I’m looking for what killed my cousin.” Long mink colored lashes slid shut, hiding the lovely eyes from him. “I’m so sorry for your loss.” A gentle touch on his arm made him stiffen in reaction. Her eyes opened again. “I’m even sorrier for the media intrusion into your family’s sorrow. Chief Urich tried to keep it quiet.” Aidan wanted to shrug and show it didn’t matter to the Immorati, no one would be able to get close enough to the compound to intrude on their mourning, but he remained silent on that front. “And what is your part in all of this?” “Expert opinion.” He let a brow rise in query. Silence descended on them right before Cletus stepped into their space,

cutting off the question even as it formed in Aidan’s mind. “You need to remove her from this place.” Aidan understood and took her hand in his and began walking toward the road. The last thing he wanted was for her to see a Corpesetti in full hunt. He and Cletus may be able to bring him down, but the woman would be a liability. A crash through the brush followed by an unmistakable stench, and Aidan pushed the girl to the ground, throwing his big body on top of her in protection. He felt the air whoosh from her lungs and her breathing stop. Damn, he might have hurt her. The Corpesetti lunged over their heads. Long, hooked rear claws scraped across Aidan’s back, shredding his coat. A high-pitched sing whistled through the air, and the Corpesetti let out a pained yowl. Cletus had struck him, but didn’t bring him down. The Corpesetti ran into the woods, making for his lair and cover. Crisp leaves and fallen twigs crunched underfoot as Cletus took off in pursuit. Two deep, ragged breaths huffed from the woman. Beneath him, Aidan could feel her trembling. With the danger moving away from them, he let her up and helped put her to rights. Dirt and grass stained the knees of her jeans. Leaves stuck to her fleece jacket like demented polka dots. Wide eyes looked at him in fear. “Y... you know what that thing is, don’t you?” Her voice croaked. Aidan wouldn’t lie to her. He nodded. “How? How do you know what it is?” Slowly, he unfolded himself from the ground then held his hand out to her. “Come on, I’ll see you home and we can talk.” Blood streaked the path, marking the beast’s exit. Broken branches littered the ground in its wake. The woman looked to him then followed his gaze back into the woods. “What about your friend?” “We’ll meet him at the car. It’s best if we leave the immediate area.” They began to walk toward the path. Aidan draped his arm around her shoulder in comfort and protection. Fine tremors continued to move through her. Every so often she would look up at him, but wouldn’t dare to open her mouth to ask the questions he could feel burning inside her. Cool air whistled through the rents in his coat. He’d have to replace it. The Mercedes sat in the parking lot next to her Grand Cherokee. Aidan remembered seeing the truck in the morgue parking the night before, and had only to guess it was hers. She put her keys in the lock and turned. “Do you want to sit in my car to wait for your friend?” He nodded and moved to the passenger side as she hit the power lock control on the inside door panel. Movements felt mechanical. He didn’t quite know what to say to her, or how exactly to explain how he knew the Corpesetti. Perhaps he could only tell her a small truth and let it suffice. The less the locals knew of the impending war the better. He climbed up into the truck and closed the door, facing forward to watch the path for any signs of Cletus emerging from the woods. Mortality warred with life force around the woman. Energy could be seen moving off her to mingle with the world around her. Her human eyes may not be able to detect such a delicate aura, but Aidan’s could, especially backlit by the sun as she was now. She turned to him, resting her arm against her leg. “You knew last night what killed your cousin. I

could see the look on your face when you pulled the sheet back.” “You were there?” It upset him that she should be exposed to such a bloody and horrific scene. “I could have left after examining the creature, but I knew the police chief was bringing you back. I don’t know why I stayed.” “Morbid curiosity?” She didn’t answer him, or even rise to the bait. Aidan lifted a hand to run a crooked finger down the smooth curve of her cheek. Desire sizzled and popped over the center console between them. Touching her tenderly was a bad idea. He clamped off the emotions and moved back against the seat. The flash of a long burnt umber coat announced Cletus’ departure from the woods. He stepped into the parking lot and came to the passenger side of the large SUV. Aidan opened the door and stepped out of the truck to shield the woman from anything Cletus might say, though he knew his best friend to be discreet when it came to discussing their kind around outsiders. “Is he dead?” Cletus had returned his gun to the holster. “I only wounded him. There’s definitely a path of blood leading back toward the entrance of their lair.” He let his deep brown eyes move to where the young woman sat in the driver’s seat. “How is she?” “Shaken up. We need to get her home.” “Should she be driving?” Cletus raised a brow and lowered his voice. “The immortal part of her blood isn’t strong enough to save her from a car accident.” “I’ll offer to drive.” Aidan laughed uneasily. “We don’t even know one another’s names.” “Then I suggest you introduce yourself and attempt to get the keys from her.” They walked around the front of the vehicle, Cletus making for the Mercedes, Aidan to the driver’s door of the Jeep. He opened the door and rested his hand on the frame. “Would you be opposed to allowing me to drive you home?” She frowned slightly, but slid from the seat and walked around the back of the vehicle. When she was seated in the passenger side with her belt secured, she looked at him. “Did he kill it?” “No.” “Will it be back?” “Not up this way.” Even as Aidan said it, he knew he couldn’t guarantee such a thing to her. She had been in the woods walking, leaving her scent on the foliage. A Corpesetti could easily smell the Immorati in her blood. A lone woman would be too tempting a kill for the injured beast. He pulled out of the parking lot and headed back toward town. “Where do we go when we get to Main Street?” “I live in a big white Victorian on the right.” She turned her face away from him and stared out the window, pulling the sides of her jacket closer to her. She looked pale, frozen. Aidan scanned the controls and flipped on the heat. “Is that better?” She gave him a sideways smile. “By the time the car warms up, we’ll be there.” They drove for a few moments in awkward silence. Aidan didn’t quite know how to bring up the fact

they hadn’t introduced themselves without sounding forced, or making the situation any more awkward than it already was. But the simple truth of the matter was that he had just saved her life, he should at least know her name. Little houses dotted the street as it wound closer to downtown Pine Haven. Aidan glanced at her again. She had that same ethereal quality that Nanine had possessed. It was some distant, untouchable element that separated them from other women, set them apart and made them all the more memorable for it. The spaces between dwellings shortened, and the road opened into a tree-lined boulevard. A large white Victorian sat on a corner, rising up above the other buildings like an architectural guardian lording over the less impressive residences surrounding it. A small garden lined the front and side. French doors opened onto a balcony on the second floor. In a window on the first floor, a red and white ‘For Rent’ sign advertised a vacancy. “It’s right there.” She pointed. “You can pull around to the side, there’s a small parking lot.” Aidan did as instructed and brought the truck to a stop. He turned to her again, and attempted to smile as gentle as possible. “I’ve driven your car. I know where you live. Would it be too much if I asked for your name?” “Oh.” She said as if the thought had just occurred to her. Her hand came away from protecting her cold body in offering. “Edie Campbell.” He took her soft hand in his, noting the delicacy of her fingers, and gave it a shake. “Aidan LaMont.” It was odd how something as simple and formal as a handshake could make him feel as if his entire life had just opened up before him. And that was saying something for a man who had lived nearly two-hundred and fifty years. For her part, Edie gave him a questioning look then withdrew her hand. “Would you and your friend care to come in for some tea?” She asked opening the car door and hopping down to the pavement. He couldn’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon, especially if it meant he could spend time getting to know her better and perhaps learn something of her background. He slid from behind the steering wheel and motioned to Cletus. They met her at the front door, and he handed her keys back to her to let them inside. After he introduced Cletus to her, and they exchanged handshakes, the three of them entered the house and walked up the stairs to the top apartment. It was a sunny place, filled with natural wood surfaces and unfussy white walls. It was a soft and feminine space that felt alien to Aidan. Edie excused herself and went into the kitchen to put water on for tea. “Make yourselves comfortable.” Cletus picked up a magazine off the table and started thumbing through the pages. It was a scholarly periodical with a picture of Mayan ruins on the cover. “She’s terrified.” “She should be.” Aidan looked over his shoulder to be sure she was out of earshot. “If she had been walking in the woods by herself... ” “He’ll know her scent.” Cletus didn’t look up from the magazine. “What should we do? We can’t take her to the compound.” “Do you know her relationship to the police chief yet?”

Aidan stared at Cletus for a moment. “And when did we have time to discuss such a thing? Before the Corpesetti ripped holes in my jacket, or after I finally got her name?” Edie walked into the room carrying a tray and cups. She set it down on the coffee table before taking a seat next to Cletus. Almost immediately she folded over and put her head in shaking hands. “Seeing something like that close up and dead is impressive enough, but... ” “They’re called Corpesetti and my family has fought their scourge for generations.” Sympathy warred with anger in Aidan. How could an ancestor of hers have been of the blood and not told stories of such things? How could she be so ill prepared to face one? “I’ve lived around here my entire life and I’ve never seen one before. Now I’ve seen two in as many days.” She released her head and looked up at him. Misery shimmered from behind a veil of unshed tears. “They’re very secretive.” “I can’t believe the Jersey Devil is real.” Aidan gave her a slight shrug as if the names were unimportant. “That’s only what folktales call them, but how often are legends and fact one in the same?” She snorted and rose to pace the room. “Here I thought when I said that to Karl last night it was a morbid joke.” Aidan rose from his chair and crossed the room to grab her arm. “The Corpesetti are no joke. They’ re very real and very deadly.” “I know. I saw the wounds.” Quiet filled the room, punctuated by the occasional roll of traffic from the street below. “And what is your part in all of this? Why were you at the morgue?” “I’m an anthropologist. Karl thought I could help identify the beast... the Corpesetti. They didn’t want to wait overnight for the zoologist.” The police chief was a foolhardy man if he got her mixed up in this war for no better reason than that. In her profession, questions and curiosity were inherent qualities. Edie shrugged off his arm and moved to the window. She stared out and slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “Why your family, Aidan?” It was said almost too quiet to hear. “They want something we have.” “So give it to them and be done with it.” “It’s not that simple.” Aidan looked to Cletus for help. The large man just raised a black brow as if challenging Aidan to come up with an answer. Edie turned her head and pinned them both with a sharp glare. “How many of your family members have died over the years to this Corpesetti?” Pain burned behind his eyes as he stared at her. “Too many.” “And yet you don’t give in to it. I don’t know whether I should admire your resolve, or admonish your stupidity.” He tried like hell to sidestep the pit that opened up inside him at her words. If she only knew the truth about his kind, she would understand that what the Corpesetti wanted from the Immorati could never be given away. It wasn’t theirs to give. A quick movement of his head had Cletus on his feet and heading to the door. The visit was over. They were too close to revealing things that should never be told to an outsider. And for as much as he’d

like to pretend she belonged among the conclave, she was not of their world. She was ‘the other.’ “I’m glad you weren’t hurt today, Edie.” His voice was soft as he opened the door. “So am I.”

Chapter Seven

As Edie watched the door close she wanted to slap her hand to her mouth for the things she’d said. Her Ph.D. did her little good in the face of that monster in the woods. She let her heart talk instead of her head, and drove Aidan and Cletus from her apartment when she had the opportunity to learn intricate details of the Corpesetti. Some anthropologist she was. Here she was on the inside loop of discovering a new species and she blows it sky high because she doesn’t agree with the actions of a man who’s family had been killed over the generations by the beasts. Unbelievable. Or was he yanking her chain? No, surely he wasn’t. Why would he? There was no malice or motivation behind his words. No hint that he was playing some elaborate joke. She shook her head and walked to the couch, throwing herself into the seat and picking up the teapot to pour a cup. Aidan’s pain at his cousin’s passing had been real, even if he had tried to conceal it from Karl and Tyler at the morgue. That had been convincing, but the part of Aidan’s story that didn’t ring true was if his family had been killed off by the Corpesetti over the years, why were there no bodies discovered as his cousin’s had been? Surely injuries such as hers would have brought suspicion to Aidan’s family. Or had most of their family members died in a secret war that had only now spilled out into the community at large? What did they do with the bodies, bury them in their backyard? The phone rang, jarring her thoughts. “Hey, Edie, the zoologist is here if you want to come back to the morgue.” It was Tyler. “Yeah, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” She locked up the apartment and headed back out into the daytime traffic down Pine Haven’s one and only main drag. Questions continued to plague her as she passed the diner, the tire store, and turned right at the light to go to the morgue. Did the Corpesetti plan their attacks strategically? Were they even capable of such thought? Or had the war begun when Aidan’s family unknowingly built on the Corpesetti habitat? She beat the steering wheel with an open palm. Stupid, stupid woman. How could she have let such an opportunity pass her by? If she never saw Aidan again, all the answers to those questions would be lost. By the time she pulled into the morgue parking she was frustrated beyond belief. She got out and slammed the truck door. Well, at least she had his name, if nothing else she could try to track him down.

He couldn’t live too far from Pine Haven. That was it— she’d find him and set up an interview to learn all she could about the Corpesetti. After giving him plenty of time to grieve for his cousin first, of course. Feeling better about her screw up, Edie hurried into the building and headed back to the examination room. The zoologist stood over the body of the Corpesetti dressed in gown and gloves. He was a tall, lanky, stork of a man, who looked up through thick glasses and smiled at her. Tyler came over to her. “Edie, this is Dr. Richard Lambert. Dr. Lambert, Dr. Edie Campbell.” He nodded his head in greeting. “I’d shake your hand, but I don’t think you’d want to touch what’s on my hands right now. And please, call me Steve.” She angled her head with curiosity. “Middle name.” Edie nodded down to the corpse. “What do you think?” “I think he’s amazing.” Awe spilled from his words and he blinked at Edie from behind his glasses. “That he is.” She watched as he took samples of hair and skin. She imagined he had already taken all the photographs he wanted. “A new species. I can’t believe it. Right here in New Jersey.” “Yeah, imagine. And here I thought everyone was moving to Pennsylvania.” He looked up at her and frowned, a quizzical look coming into his eyes. She shook her head. “Never mind. I didn’t sleep well last night after seeing this thing, and I’m a little overtired.” “I can see where he’d inspire nightmares.” It wasn’t only the nightmares, but her mind kept going back to the strange feelings evoked by Aidan’s appearance that had kept her tossing and turning throughout the long night. Steve stepped back from the Corpesetti and sighed. “A new species.” “Not new, only heretofore unknown. He’s obviously evolved in some capacity.” “But how could he have survived this long in the most populated state per square mile, and not be known to us?” “He isn’t unknown.” Edie moved in closer, watching Steve as he worked. “Just the stuff of legends. He’s had many sightings, but never caught. Until now.” Steve raised a brow and scratched his nose on the sleeve of his gown, then pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. “So you really believe this guy is the Jersey Devil?” Edie crossed her arms over her breasts. “Why not? He’s been sighted in these parts for generations, and he’s something not of our experience. What else could he be? Just because it happened to be regular citizens that spotted him and not scientists studying him in a lab somewhere doesn’t make the sightings any less valid. It’s my experience that most myths and legends do start out with a kernel of truth to them. The people reporting the sightings believed they saw something.” He shook his head. “Well, he can’t be called that. He’ll have to go through the proper classification system.” Edie grunted. The thing already had a name. He was a Corpesetti, but she’d be damned if she

would give up the name to him. Something deep inside her opened like a great gapping wound. Aidan ached with the loss of his loved ones. She couldn’t give him up, or the knowledge he had of the Corpesetti. Not to an outsider. The thought made her want to laugh. She, to Aidan, was an outsider. Yet, he had taken her partially into his world. Her stupidity came crashing back. If she ever saw him again, she would apologize profusely for her apparent disregard for his pain. He didn’t deserve her judgmental attitude. And judging others in culture and action was something an anthropologist learned to divorce themselves from very early on. She knew better. She damn well knew better. “I’ve heard the stories, Dr. Campbell. Isn’t the Jersey Devil supposed to be a winged creature with hooves?” Steve stepped back and started to pull off his gear. She made a gesture with her hand. “Perhaps the people saw the play of shadow though the trees, or branches swaying in the wind. Or it could be as simple as witnesses seeing what they thought they were supposed to see. Footprints in the snow could have been from any number of sources. Though the legends of origin say the creature had wings and flew up into the night after his birth, the unwanted, unloved thirteenth child of Mrs. Leeds. She cursed him, and wished him born as a devil, and the devil took her at her word.” “What do you think?” “I think, considering legends never mention Mr. Leeds, she should have been a little more careful if she didn’t like children.” Steve laughed then took a step toward her. “Can I buy you lunch?” Her stomach took the opportunity to voice its opinion. She hadn’t eaten since the night before, and her only sustenance had been caffeine and adrenaline. “I’d like that.” She smiled, and realized she would.

***

In mid-afternoon the diner had few patrons, but that didn’t stop the ones sitting near Edie and Dr. Steve from bending their ears to listen to the conversation going on between the two scientists. “The reason I don’t believe this creature could be the Jersey Devil is definitely in the feet. The descriptions given just don’t fit our boy.” Dr. Steve dipped a French fry into ketchup and let it dangle between his fingers. Most descriptions of the Jersey Devil included cloven-hoofed feet—as any devil would have. Edie shook her head. “I know what you mean. That part bothers me as well, but what else could it be? We have to assume that it’s lived in the woods here for a while. It learned to survive and adapt to the climate. This is the only thing outside the ordinary to be found here. So, regardless of the variables in the descriptions, I have to think he’s it.” He went on as if she hadn’t spoken. “And the wings. Where are the wings if this thing’s the real McCoy?” She gave him what she’d she believed: most of the sightings had been reported as the product of region-wide hysteria, the witnesses most likely unreliable. However, now they had a specimen to study down to the minutia of its DNA, and even if it proved not to be the Jersey Devil, it was still one hell of a

find. He smiled at that and pushed his glasses back up on his nose. “I went to Puerto Rico a few years back to study El Chupacabras and to West Virginia to look for the Mothman. I wasn’t lucky enough to be a witness in either place, so it’s kind of ironic I find something even more mysterious practically in my own backyard.” “You gotta love those cryptids.” Edie picked up her burger to take a bite. “They’re as elusive as a winning lottery ticket.” “Ah, but when they decide to show their faces... ” He left the thought hanging and broke into easy laughter. They were quiet for a while then he said, “Size variations. What’s your take on that? Most reports claimed the Jersey Devil is only three to four feet in height. Our specimen is at least seven.” Edie pointed at him and chuckled. “You’ve come to know in the hour and a half of our acquaintance that I’m not short on opinions. I give most people at least a three hour head start.” She leaned forward warming up to her topic. “I think the answer is simple. Children. Whatever he is, he most likely isn’t an anomalous creature. He is too well evolved for that, so I’m assuming that if there is an adult, there had to be children, who probably weren’t as well versed in hiding from humans.” Dr. Steve nodded as he chewed. “That was my thoughts, or it could be an entirely different species we have yet to find.” “Or that.” As Edie took another bite and chewed she thought about the more disturbing aspects of the case. Yes, it was exciting to discover a species never before studied at close range, but how had it survived? She didn’t know how much Dr. Steve had been told about the creature, or if he knew about the woman found with the creature, but she couldn’t imagine he’d gotten all the way to Pine Haven and not heard of the find on one radio station or another. Though she didn’t know how much Karl wanted the outside world to know about the happenings of the night before, she felt Dr. Steve needed all the information he could get while conducting his investigation. That didn’t mean she had to come right out and spill the beans. Edie swallowed and leaned her forearms on the table, lowering her voice. “How much do you know about the discovery last night?” Dr. Steve took her hint and moved forward in his seat. “I know about the woman found with him, if that’s what you mean?” She nodded. “What do you think? I find it very odd that she died in the same manner as the Cor... creature.” Damn, she’d almost slipped and called it by its name. “I’ve been thinking about that. Territory. Hunting. I’m almost afraid to think of the other implications. But one thing’s for sure, I agree with you that the creature in the morgue isn’t the only one of its kind out there.” Instead of confirming his suspicions and admitting she’d seen one alive and very pissed off in the woods, she nodded in agreement. “I think you’re right. And I think it’s only a matter of time before he makes himself known again.” Both of them pushed their plates away. Fear and worry could sure put a damper on the appetite.

Chapter Eight Aidan looked for his father all over the compound and finally found him in the vault. Mausoleum would be a more accurate description of the space, since it contained the remains of all the dead ancestors. But to the Immorati the lost loved ones represented the treasures of the past, so they were kept in the vault. Jainus stood with his hand against the placard that marked his beloved’s final resting place. He looked up at the sound of Aidan’s footsteps. “We may have a bigger problem than first thought.” “What do you mean?” Jainus brushed his fingertips along the carving in a gesture of farewell and turned to walk toward the door. Aidan followed obediently behind him. “Cletus managed to injure a Corpesetti in the woods today. It may or may not be the one who killed Nanine.” “What else?” “There is a full grown male Corpesetti in the morgue as well.” Jainus stopped and turned to him. “What is the official word?” “The news vans have invaded Pine Haven, but to the police chief ‘s credit, he keeps denying the rumors. I’m afraid the entire area has been plunged into Jersey Devil fever.” Jainus gave a sage nod of his head. “Those old rumors definitely have their place.” Unbidden, an image of Edie and how she looked after seeing a live Corpesetti in the woods came to mind. Aidan’s heart tripped in his chest at thoughts of Edie. “Is there something more you’re not telling me?” They had reached the salon. Several members of the conclave were sitting and enjoying the crisp fall evening in front of the fire. Jainus walked to a quiet corner where they wouldn’t be overheard and sat in a wing chair. Aidan pulled the footrest up and sat facing his father. The Elder sat resolute, waiting for Aidan to speak. The words wanted to stick in his throat. His father had so little time left before the abdication ritual. He wanted to spend time with him, but if Aidan were to be worthy of standing as an Elder then he needed to take responsibility for the recent wave of attacks and discover the reason behind them. “The dead Corpesetti was killed by his own kind. The police didn’t bring him down. I went back to the morgue this morning and saw the wounds myself. There’s no mistaking it.” Jainus leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. “One Corpesetti turning on another?” “I want to discover the reason, and I want to know why and how Nanine came to be in the middle of it.”

“What are you saying?” Aidan took a deep breath then let it out slowly to calm his shaky nerves. “I need to move to Pine Haven until the Corpesetti is caught and neutralized.” “Why? You’re much safer staying here if there is a rogue Corpesetti about.” Aidan turned his head to look at the others sitting in the salon. None were close enough to hear, and if they did, it may be to their advantage. The more they knew about the situation the better they could protect themselves if they ventured beyond the compound gates. “I will be more effective in discovering the reason if I move to Pine Haven for a while.” “But Aidan, I only have a few short weeks left before the abdication. I wished to spend my remaining days in the company of both my sons.” Guilt moved through Aidan. The feeling was mutual. He wanted to spend time in his father’s company, learning all he could about being an Elder, and soaking up his father’s wisdom. But what he wanted and what he had to do were at cross purposes. To ensure the conclave lived in peace and protection he had to find a way to end the war between the Corpesetti and Immorati, and to rebuild the conclave. “Father, if I’m to take my place as an Elder, I need to be certain our people are protected. I couldn’t save mother. I couldn’t save Nanine. Please let me do this.” Emotions swirled in the depths of Jainus’ eyes. Finally, he leaned forward and placed his hand on Aidan’s shoulder. “You have my blessing. But be careful. I don’t want to take my place in the vault, knowing my son is waiting there as well as my mate.” *** Aidan found Cletus in his room packing his bags. Expensive designer clothes were spread across the bed like a fashionista’s fantasy. “You secured the apartment?” Aidan asked. “The landlady said we could move in first thing in the morning.” “The ancestors must be smiling on us.” Cletus carefully placed a pair of trousers in the suitcase. “Forget the ancestors for a moment. Have you thought about what three Immorati in one location outside the walls of the compound will do to the Corpesetti frenzy? I’m afraid we’ll be calling down retribution on Edie. She isn’t prepared for this.” “Nor equipped to protect herself.” Aidan pushed some of the clothes to the side and sat on the bed. “You don’t believe the police chief can protect her?” Aidan chose not to rise to the bait. His feelings for Edie were not open for discussion, or something he wished to explore out loud. Just the thought of her left him feeling exposed. Raw. “The police chief appears a very capable man to me. I’m sure he’d have no problem protecting the entire town. However, I’m more interested in bringing down the Corpesetti that has turned on his own.” Cletus snorted and jerked his head. “You keep telling yourself that.” He chose to ignore that comment as well. “The material point is that three Immorati in one place

will allow a scourge of Corpesetti to rally in Pine Haven and keep them away from the compound. I have never heard of them openly attacking mortals. Locals may see them and be frightened, but they won’t be injured.” “Don’t you think that if they become bold enough to start walking around Pine Haven, the citizens are going to open fire on them? Doing so en masse will turn the Corpesetti to declaring war on the mortals.” Aidan shook his head. “Historically more people owned firearms back when the first sightings of the Jersey Devil were reported. The Corpesetti are used to being shot at by mortals. They never indulged in vicious retaliation before.” “No, but a Corpesetti has never turned on its own before.” “All the more reason to move to Pine Haven and uncover the reason why one would do so now.” “And to get closer to Edie Campbell?” Cletus gave Aidan a teasing smile. Aidan gave a reluctant one of his own and stood to return to his room and begin his own packing. He left without answering the charge, letting the question hang in the air between them. Let Cletus keep guessing.

Chapter Nine Stuffed beyond propriety, Edie pulled up into the parking lot of her building. Dr. Steve had proven to be an interesting dinner companion. He admitted to being fascinated with the study of cryptozoology, but feared he wouldn’t make as decent a living studying mythological and extinct creatures as he would those of the known variety. In the end, he had known more about the Jersey Devil legends than he had first let on, explaining that his first priority was to science and then to mythology. She walked up the stairs and noticed the bright red and white sign no longer hung in the window. Good, Mrs. Bowers finally rented the bottom apartment. Edie hated knowing she was alone in the big house at night. Another reason for her staying awake the night before. It was worse than when she and Liza used to tell scary stories to each other when they were children. They would creep each other out so bad they couldn’t sleep. Only this time the monsters were real, and there was no Liza to cling to in her fear. That was part of the reason she became a cultural anthropologist. If the stories had origins, or reasons, then the fear would have an explanation, and not seem quite so scary after all. Most tales were morality lessons, or rights of passage tales meant to scare youngsters into proper behavior. Even “Little Red Riding Hood” illustrated the choices between taking in hand adult responsibilities, or remaining the child. Mrs. Bowers, Edie’s landlady, exited the bottom apartment and locked it behind her. She was a squat, silver-haired woman in a nice pants suit and orthopedic shoes. Mrs. Bowers may have been the landlady, but her son maintained the units for her. “Oh, Edie. I finally rented this damn apartment.” Edie smiled. Mrs. Bowers was also irascible, crude, and very outspoken. But Edie adored her. “I see. When do the new tenets move in?” “First thing in the morning. They were eager to move in. Said they have pressing business in the area.” “Well, I’m glad whatever reason they have to move in, that they are. I have to admit, I’ll feel better having someone else in the house at night.” Mrs. Bower raised a silver brow at her. “What? The police chief ain’t enough for you anymore?” Edie could feel the heat flood her cheeks. “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but the police chief and I are only good friends.” “Yeah, and I’m a seventy year old virgin.” Mrs. Bowers gave her a skeptical look, and bid her goodnight before heading down the front steps to her car. Edie walked up the wide staircase to her apartment. The sun was beginning to set earlier as the

year moved deeper into fall, and the feeling of aloneness swamped her. She should have asked Mrs. Bowers up for tea. Normally, being alone didn’t bother her, but tonight a malevolence in the air penetrated every cell of her body. It was a feeling she couldn’t shake since her scare earlier in the day. Unsettled by the recent events, Edie drew a hot bath. Perhaps if she relaxed with a book in bubbles up to her neck she’d find some peace. Yeah, like that was going to happen with the Corpesetti loose out in the woods, preying on the innocent. Over the din of the running water she could hear a weird scratching noise coming from outside. She turned off the water and pitched her head to the side to listen again. Nothing. She turned the water back on. Imagination was a wonderful thing, except when one was alone in an old Victorian at night. Edie rolled her eyes. It was probably a little rodent that had gotten into the attic to build a winter nest. She would tell Mrs. Bowers about it in the morning and maybe her son could set some humane traps and get little guy out of the house. Comforted by her own explanation for the sound, she went into the living room to find some reading material for the tub. The latest issues of several professional magazines sat on the coffee table. A bookcase across the room held reference and research books, and a bag from the local used bookstore held a king’s ransom in romance novels. A guilty pleasure she indulged in as often as possible. She dismissed the professional and research materials and headed straight for the bag of treasure. The bag crinkled as she rambled through it. Some of the titles were new to her, others were some she had read years ago and had finally found again. She picked one up and grinned in delight. Oh, this one had some really good love scenes in it. She put that one to the side and dug back into the bag. A scratch, louder this time, sounded from the side of the house. Edie straightened and walked into the bedroom. The sun had set completely now and only the light from the living room shone into the dark recesses of the room. The blinds remained open from earlier in the day, and Edie hurried to cross the room and closed them. Peeking out before, she didn’t see anything in the yard, but could feel eyes on her. She quickly checked the lock on the balcony doors. She shook off the feeling of being watched, and returned to the bathroom to turn off the water before she had a flood. Fragrant bubbles and water called her like a siren. She hurried and undressed, dipping her toe in first to check the temperature. Nice and hot, just the way she liked it. Whump! Edie’s heart somersaulted in her chest. Whump! Scratch. “Oh God.” She drew in a large breath and grabbed her robe from the back of the bathroom door. Whump! Each sound sent an unhealthy vibration through the house. More scratching sounds accompanied each slap against the wooden structure. Hair lifted on her neck and arms. A low growl emanated from somewhere beyond the safety of her apartment. That was no squirrel. Had the monster from the woods come for her? Had it caught her scent today and now intended for her to suffer the same fate as Aidan’s cousin?

She hurried to the phone and dialed Karl’s private number. “Yeah.” He sounded slightly annoyed. “Karl. Edie. I need you to come over right now. Something’s trying to break into my apartment.” There was a half beat of silence then, “I’ll be right there. Stay inside and lock your doors and windows.” “Bring your gun.” She started to hang up then thought better. “Oh, and be careful.” She didn’t know what else to do but wait for the cavalry to arrive. However, she could shut the bedroom door, not that the wooden frame would be any match from whatever was out there. Still, another barrier between her and whatever was out there would be good. Better still, she could lock herself in the bathroom. There were no windows in there. After shutting the bedroom door, she hurried into the bathroom with portable phone in hand. She flipped down the toilet seat and sat, her bubble bath forgotten. A terrible crash sounded, then something that made Edie think the entire outside wall was being dismantled. “Please, let Karl get here soon.” A weapon. She should have thought to get a weapon. Damn, she was smarter than that. She looked around the bathroom for anything she could use to inflict injury. She’d seen enough Jackie Chan movies to know anything could become a weapon. The toilet plunger? No, it may give her reach but wouldn’t inflict bodily harm on something like a Corpesetti. Hairspray? She hardly ever used the stuff. Was there an old can somewhere around? She stood and turned to look through the shelves over the toilet. An old can sat behind essential oils and bath salts. It was an expensive can of salon-formulated hair spray that Liza had left with her before moving to Italy. It would have to do. All she’d need would be one good spray in the eyes to gain freedom. She sprayed a cloud into the air to test her range, and immediately started to cough. No wonder she never wore the stuff. It could kill on fumes alone. The banging had not subsided since she sought refuge in the bathroom. Whatever was out there had only become more frustrated. A loud woofing came from the bedroom. Oh, Christ it had gained access to the balcony? She turned the phone over and hit redial. Karl picked up on the first ring. “I’m almost there, sweetheart” “I think it’s on the balcony.” An echo of sirens came from the other end of the phone and grew louder outside her apartment. A long, angry shout pierced the night and the house shook again. “What the fuck?” Karl shouted at the same time a squeal of tires stopped outside. “What’s going on?” Her knuckles went white as they gripped the phone. “Schiver, Deats, follow that thing.” She could hear him talking into the radio to his patrolmen. “Edie, I’m going to check around the house and see if everything is clear then I’ll be up there, all right?” “Yes.” She put her hand over her heart to help steady the frantic beat. “Do you think it’s gone?” “I think the lights and sirens might have scared it. Let me check it out.”

“Be careful.” She said the words more for her own peace of mind than because she didn’t think he would be. Karl had proven time and again over the years that he was a very capable man. For a few moments all she heard was breathing and mumbling into the phone. Then finally his voice. “I’m at the front, come on down and open the door.” She scrambled from the bathroom, ran through the apartment, down the stairs to the front door. Karl stood with his gun in hand, looking through the beveled glass door at her. The lock came undone with a quick turn and Edie pushed the door open for him, standing back to allow him to enter. “You didn’t catch it?” Karl’s mouth was pulled down at the corners in a grim expression. “No, it took off when we pulled up.” He secured the door behind him. Edie led the way upstairs and into the apartment. Suddenly, she was so bone tired she wanted to drop on the floor. The past twenty-four hours had been nothing but an adrenaline-slicked rocket ride. Unfortunately, the rocket had a way of crash landing in between rides. Karl moved through the rooms, leading with his gun. Edie stayed in the living room, out of his way. It took him less than five minutes to check the place. Then he walked back to the living room and holstered his gun. Chocolate brown eyes moved over her, assessing, she supposed, for injury. “You all right, sweetheart?” Edie only nodded and wrapped her arms around her waist. “Come here.” Karl opened his arms for her. He didn’t have to offer twice. Warmth from his body spread through her. His hands moved over her back with comfort and familiarity. But even in the warmth and security she found in Karl’s arms, Aidan’s face came into focus behind her closed lids. He murmured in her hair. “You’re trembling.” Afraid to admit the depth of her fear of the Corpesetti, she nodded, resting her head against his chest. Nor would she admit to Karl she’d been in the woods earlier with Aidan and Cletus when one leaped over their heads. Lips grazed the side of her face, her neck. Karl’s breathing began to change, speed up. Large hands pressed her closer to him. Gently, she pushed away and looked up into his eyes. “Thank you for coming over so quickly. I didn ’t know if it would be able to get in or not.” His expression turned grim. “He made a good attempt at it.” “Someone’s moving in downstairs tomorrow. I hope they won’t be in danger living on the ground floor.” She stepped from his arms and sat on the couch. Karl followed and plopped down next to her, his thigh brushing hers. “I’m more interested in why the damn thing chose to come here of all places.” The rocket crashed again. But this time it was because Karl knew her too well to believe the attack unprovoked or random. She’d just have to bluff her way through the rest of the conversation, or at least sidetrack him. Not that that particular strategy would work for long. Edie put her face in her hands so he couldn’t see her guilty eyes, and shrugged.

“Edie?” “I have no idea.” The words were muffled. His hand lazily rubbed her back. “Don’t hide things from me. I can’t protect you if you shut me out.” She raised her head and looked at him. “I’m not shutting you out. There just isn’t anything to tell. I don’t know why that thing came here.” He tried to stare her down with his intimidating look. Tension coiled in the air around them. She could tell by his expression he didn’t believe a word she said. A steady drip from the bathtub faucet made a plunking sound. It was the only thing to penetrate the quiet that followed her lie. Finally, Karl looked away and leaned against the cushions. “Deats said he saw you having dinner with some man earlier tonight.” “Yeah, Dr. Lambert. He’s the zoologist that Tyler called in.” “Oh.” The simple one-word answer made Edie cringe. It was fraught with a tone she couldn’t mistake, telling her more of his feelings than the simple word ever could. If he were that jealous over what could be considered a professional dinner than he wouldn’t at all care for the thoughts the sexy Aidan put into her head, or how she nearly went up in flames just to be in the same room with him. Still she couldn’t stand to see Karl hurting. He was too good a man for that. “It was no big deal. He invited me out and we talked about different legends. He’s got an interest in cryptozoology so this case fascinates him. Nothing more, nothing less.” “You just don’t get it, do you?” “Get what?” She got it all right, what she didn’t get was the exasperated tone of his. He gave a mirthless laugh. “That’s one of the things I love about you. You have no idea how goddamn beautiful you are. How most men would give their soul for a chance with you.” “Please, I don’t want to be the cause of anyone parting from their soul.” She stood and started pacing, uncomfortable with the turn in conversation. She’d much rather talk about the Corpesetti than this. She played with the tie of her robe and suddenly felt too naked to stay as she was. It seemed much too intimate, even if she and Karl had been lovers. “I’m going to get some clothes on.” Edie left him sitting in the living room. She closed the bedroom door behind her and leaned against it. What was she going to do? Karl would never stop his fruitless pursuit of her, and she had no intention of marrying him. What was wrong with her? Most women would give their soul for a chance with him. He was handsome, sweet, romantic, and an excellent lover. So why did she yearn for something more? How could he not have turned her into putty? She hurried and stepped into a pair of velvet jogging pants and long-sleeved t-shirt. It would be comfortable without being provocative. Karl didn’t need any encouragement to get worked up tonight. Running to her rescue seemed to have done the trick. The best course of action would be to just lay it on the line and tell him once and for all that they could never be more than friends. Unfortunately, it was too late to call back all the nights they spent in each other’s arms. However, that didn’t mean it had to happen again. She definitely wouldn’t make love to him tonight. When she came out of the bedroom, Karl had gone into the kitchen. The teakettle whistled and he poured water into the pot for her. Damn, she really was crazy. How could she not be totally in love with a man who dropped everything to come over and possibly face death against a monster, and then after

the danger passed, make her a cup of tea? She was obviously out of her mind. Edie walked to him and placed her hand on his back. He looked down at her and shrugged. “I figured you could use one.” “You figured right.” She reached into one of the overhead cabinets and pulled out a tin of lemon cookies. “Come on, let’s go and watch something stupid on television and eat cookies until we can’t walk.” He laughed. “You’re ability to rebound after a traumatic ordeal is amazing.” She stopped and turned to him. “I feel better having you here.” The laugh died and turned to something else. Apology pooled in the depths of his eyes. “Look, Edie, I’m sorry if what I said upset you. But it’s true. You never have seen yourself the way others do.” “No, Karl. I’ve never seen myself the way you do. And I’ve never understood why a man as wonderful as you are would keep coming back to me.” He lifted a muscular shoulder. “Tenacity. It’s part of my job.” “I don’t want to hurt you.” “Marry me and you won’t.” “We’ve been over this before.” “Yeah, and we’ll keep going over it until I get the answer I want.” His smile was weak, but his eyes were full of love. “Is this the way you work over a suspect?” “By proposing? Not usually, but if it gets a confession, I may try it in the future.” Edie laughed and moved to the living room. Karl carried the tea tray into the room and placed it on the coffee table. He’d been around her so often he even knew her routine. Honestly, she should reconsider his proposal. If she married him she wouldn’t have far to go to train him. A mental kick to her mercenary thoughts stopped that idea train at the station. She’d just told him she didn’t want to hurt him and she was thinking of something that could in time hurt them both. Karl’s phone rang. His eyes moved to Edie as he listened to the caller. “All right.” He hung up without giving anything away. He shook his head at her. “I’m sorry. They lost it in the woods.” She couldn’t say she was surprised. Not with the way the Corpesetti moved. “Deats said the phones haven’t stopped ringing. People all over town are reporting sighting the thing.” Visions of 1909 unfolded in her mind. For a week in January of that year, sightings of the Jersey Devil came from as far away as New York State and Philadelphia. Some of the legends stated the Devil arose every hundred years to cause havoc in the Pine Barrens. She briefly glanced at the calendar. The Corpesetti were right on schedule.

Chapter Ten Bumps and thuds came from downstairs. The soft rumble of male voices brought Edie out of her light sleep. Karl had left a few hours before. She had let him sleep in the bed with her, but only because the couch wasn’t big enough to fit his long body. He held her, but they hadn’t made love. In the back of her mind she thought perhaps he’d started to get the message during their talk somewhere in the long hours before morning. She sat up on the bed and pushed the covers aside. Work would take her mind off the problem of Karl and the Corpesetti at large. She still had much research to do before she actually tried to put the book into a cohesive whole. A university in North Jersey wanted her for a lecture series. Maybe she would contact them and accept their offer. She did teach a few classes at a local community college as an adjunct professor, but hadn’t taken on any for the fall semester. Teaching was not her first love anyhow. Research and writing books under grants and fellowships proved more interesting than the rote work of a college professor. She thought about the possibilities of taking on the lecture as she hurried through a shower and dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a black hoodie. She was just tying the lace of her black shoes when there was a knock on her apartment door. The peephole revealed Aidan standing with his hands in his pockets and an angry expression on his face. Edie hurried and opened the door for him. “Hey.” She stood back and let him in. He shook his head and didn’t cross the threshold. His gaze roamed over her, burning in intensity then landed on her feet. He gave an approving nod then grabbed her hand. “Come with me.” “Where to?” “I want to show you something.” He hurried her down the stairs and out the front of the house where a small, unmarked moving van had been backed into the parking space. Men were busy carrying furniture into the bottom apartment. She smiled at them and they nodded, but she didn’t take time to say hello as Aidan pulled her to the side of the house where Cletus stood looking up. Gouge marks scoured the side of the house. Vinyl siding was torn off, revealing the boards beneath. The shrubs were trampled and broken. “Oh.” She blew out a long breath and looked at the damage.

“What happened here? That wasn’t on the house yesterday.” Edie frowned at him. “What are you accusing me of?” “Not of doing this, I can assure you.” His odd amber gaze seemed to look through her. She swallowed at the power in his eyes, and at her own reaction to him. There was just something about him that made her want to gobble him up whole. He stood quietly, waiting for her to explain. “A Corpesetti tried to get in last night. I called the police chief, and he and his men chased it away.” A meaningful glance passed between Aidan and Cletus though Edie couldn’t read it. One of the moving men came around the side of the house. “Aidan, you want us to stay and help you two unpack?” “No. Is the van emptied?” The man nodded, his eyes strayed to the damaged wall. “Are you sure you don’t want us to stay for a while?” “I’m sure, Eliah. We’ll be fine.” The man’s gaze swung to Edie and stopped. He darted a questioning look Aidan’s way. Aidan moved to him and they disappeared around the side of the house. Edie watched them while the exchange replayed in her head, wondering about the strange vibe that began to permeate the air. Then the ramifications of the man’s words struck her. “Are you two the new tenets?” Cletus brushed his hand against the claw marks. “That we are, Edie.” While the thought of having two such capable males downstairs from her was comforting, it also made her feel quite foolish. Why didn’t she notice Aidan and Cletus were a couple? Geez, what an idiot she was. Here she’d been thinking of Aidan’s heat and sexy eyes and dreaming of him every time Karl touched her, and Aidan had been no more available to her than if he’d been straight and married. But why didn’t she sense it? She was usually pretty good at figuring out if a guy swung the other way. Aidan had slid right under her radar. Not that she could blame him, Cletus was a damn good looking man in his own right, but she never would have pegged either of them as gay. Fastidious, yes. Gay, no. And what about that strange attraction she felt when she was around him? Was that only on her part? “Is something wrong?” Cletus watched her with a quizzical expression. Edie shook her head to clear the haze. She hadn’t realized she’d been staring at him. “No, nothing. I guess I should call Mrs. Bowers and have her insurance agent come out here and take a look at this. She ’ll need to get it fixed before winter comes.” Cletus escorted her around to the front of the house and to the steps. Eliah and the other man turned to look at Edie again. Although they didn’t say anything, though they looked worried Cletus took her by the arm. “Come into the house. You can tell us all about what happened while Aidan and I unpack.” The moving van engine roared to life and the men jumped into the cab, slamming the doors. She heard Aidan talking, “Do not tell my father of this. He’ll insist we return home.” Edie couldn’t hear their answer as she entered the foyer, and Aidan hurried in behind her and shut the door. When they were inside their apartment, Aidan closed the door and held out a hand indicating the sofa for her to sit down.

“Tell us what happened.” He threw his coat on the back of a chair and sat down next to her. The deep amber of his dress shirt only accented his incredible eyes. A little thrill started in her spine and spread quickly through her body, lighting a brush fire as it moved. She sighed. Why did all the good ones have to be gay? This was definitely her punishment for refusing Karl’s proposal again. She spent the next few moments filling them in on the events of the night before, but for some reason she held back telling them about Karl staying the night. Not that either of them would have been scandalized or shocked, or even care. But somehow she didn’t want to go there. “I don’t like it.” Cletus leaned against the wall and had his powerful arms folded over his body. Tension hung heavy around his broad shoulders. “From the marks on the house the Corpesetti was damned determined to get to you.” “And I was damned determined he wouldn’t. The police station isn’t that far from here. Karl came as soon as I called.” Cletus raised a brow at Aidan. “And a good thing, too.” Involuntarily her hand went to her heart. Yes, a good thing. She didn’t want to end up like Aidan’s cousin. “I did have some warning. I could hear it outside making noise and growling.” Edie gave an uncomfortable laugh. “At first I only heard scratching, so I thought maybe a squirrel had gotten into the attic.” Aidan held out his hand and took hers. His hand was warm and firm, and sent a tingle through her skin as he smoothed his thumb over the back of her hand. The palm was calloused, as if he spent a lot of time doing manual labor, though she couldn’t imagine it. His nails were short and manicured. Touching him she could vividly imagine what they’d feel like on her heated skin. “Edie, listen to me well.” His voice broke into her silent reverie. “The Corpesetti knows your scent. It will continue to hunt you until it catches you. Even if it means breaking into the house.” “Did you come here to stop it?” “We’re going to try.” All right, so maybe they weren’t lovers after all. She’d have to wait and see how things unfolded. Then another thought struck her and her blood chilled. “If the Corpesetti has my scent, he has both of yours, too.” “For a very long time.” Aidan’s voice suggested a long struggle and weariness. “I don’t like the idea of you two being on the bottom floor. If the Corpesetti thought nothing of trying to scale an outside wall to get to me, he’ll be quick about breaking the window to get in to you.” “Perhaps, but he’ll also know we’ll be waiting for him. With us he’ll use a bit more caution.” The anthropologist in her took over. She turned more fully to Aidan and searched his face for any hint of knowledge, as if she could gain his experience with the Corpesetti through osmosis. “What are they like? Are they pack animals like wolves, or do they live singular existences?” An odd look came to Aidan’s face. His gaze shifted down to their hands. A slight frown creased his forehead. “I can’t tell you anything about them.” “Is that because you don’t know anything, or you don’t want to?” He shook his head then lifted his face to her once again. “You must concentrate on the danger.” “Any hunter will tell you that knowing your prey and how they act, how they evade capture makes

the job easier. That theory works in reverse as well. You can’t tell me one day that your family has been battling the Corpesetti for years and expect me to believe you know nothing about them.” “I never said that. I just want you to stay focused on what’s important.” Edie never liked being treated like a child. It was a situation she often found herself in while growing up. Liza would lord the three-year age difference over her as often as possible. Even when they were both grown and in college, Edie still felt as if she were running to catch up with her older, more vibrant sister. It was bad enough her parents continued to treat her as a child, even after obtaining her Ph.D. She didn’t care for that particular treatment at all coming from Aidan. She stood and walked to the door. “And I’ll find out about them if I have to track them myself.” Aidan turned to watch her, but it was Cletus who spoke. “Edie, please. Don’t go back into the woods alone.” For an answer she walked out the door and headed to her truck. *** “You need to tell her.” Cletus headed for the bedroom to hang his expensive wardrobe in the closet. Aidan put his head in his hands and scrubbed his face. He knew he needed to tell her. He needed to tell her everything right down to the fact her blood pulsed with Immorati DNA. Perhaps he should have confided in his father in order to discover if any of their number had left the conclave and settled nearby. What was he thinking? Cletus wasn’t just a guardian, he was also an archivist. “Cletus? Do the archives tell of any of our members leaving the conclave and staying in the area?” “There was one, about a hundred years ago, now. A woman. Edith DuBois. I have no idea if she stayed in the area after she left or not.” “I remember her. She doesn’t have any family left at the compound does she?” “Not that I know of. I’ll give Pandori a call and see if she will comb the archives for any family connections. I’m not going back to the compound to research and leave you here alone with Edie and a rogue Corpesetti.” “Are you kidding? Dealing with Edie will no doubt be as bad as dealing with a rogue Corpesetti. She ’s very headstrong.” Aidan stood in the doorway and watched Cletus put his things away. He didn’t want to begin unpacking. He’d rather go after Edie and find out where she had gone. “That she is, but with the knowledge of what is at stake she’ll understand and take more caution.” “Why didn’t you intercede and tell her?” Cletus gave him a crooked smile. “Who am I to undermine the decisions of a future Elder?” “Who indeed?” Aidan noticed the black leather case lying on the bed and walked to it. The latches opened with a quick flick of his finger. Within the confines of specially molded holders was a wide array of weaponry used for centuries to kill the Corpesetti. There were the older models, and then the newer ones designed by conclave members who specialized in weapons design. The arsenal stared up at Aidan as if beckoning him to feel the power. Metal glinted in the afternoon sun that streamed through the window. He picked up the hand cannon and studied it. The wide barrel was made to accommodate an oversized dart that would open metal fletching on impact. A direct hit to the chest or abdomen of a

Corpesetti would ensure death within the hour. Minutes if a major blood vessel were hit. The only drawback to such a weapon was that it had only single shot capabilities and had to be reloaded after each round was fired. So the shooter had to be dead accurate the first time. Aidan hefted the gun into the air. “I hope our friend returns tonight.” “It would make the job easier.” Cletus opened a garment bag and flicked a glance to Aidan. “Are you going after Edie then?” “I should. I don’t trust this Corpesetti. So far he’s done nothing as expected. I’m afraid he’ll be bold enough to attack in daylight.” He didn’t consider the incident in the woods the day before an attack. The Corpesetti and Immorati had simply been in the same place at the same time. As a matter of fact, Aidan would bet they had come across the Corpesetti while it was on the route home. By the ancestors, if that woman went into the woods hunting for the Corpesetti she wouldn’t have to worry about being killed by one, he’d do it himself! He picked up the holster from the case and slid it over his shoulder. The cannon locked into place. He picked up the car keys and his overcoat from the back of the couch. “I’m going to check a few places for her. If I don’t find her, I’ll come back and wait here. I still have to make arrangements to have Nanine taken to the compound tomorrow.” As Cletus walked out of the bedroom he looked at him. “You still haven’t done that?” “No. I’ve been a little preoccupied with finding the murderous creature that killed her.” “You go find Edie. I’ll make the calls.” *** Edie sat in the local diner and looked around. The lunch crowd should have started to filter in, but so far the patrons were few and far between. Did they think they were all in danger from the threat of the Corpesetti? Perhaps they were. Who knew what angered the monsters enough for them to claim blood debt? If that was what it was. She stared into her cup. Aidan knew, but he wasn’t willing to tell her anything. He was too interested in her protection to give her any reasons behind why the Corpesetti did what it did. “Can I give you a top off?” The waitress had a steaming pot poised above Edie’s cup. “No.” She took another look around the near empty diner. “Where is everyone today?” “Special meeting of the town council. They’re thinking of calling off this year’s fall festival because of the murder.” She drove her pen into the mounds of over-dyed over-sprayed hair and scratched her scalp. “People are too freaked out over the murder and what those two boys found to take a chance.” Edie raised a brow at her. “So people actually believe she was killed by the Jersey Devil, that he’s made his return?” The waitress hitched her hip to the side and rested the pot there. “Edie, you’ve lived around here your entire life, you know the Devil is big business in these parts.” “Not if they cancel the fall festival.” Edie stood and walked to the front of the diner with her check in hand. Karl entered the diner as she reached the counter. He ordered a coffee to go and turned to her, leaning his back against the counter as he did.

“Where you off to?” “Council meeting it looks like, if it hasn’t started already.” Karl looked at his watch. “About five minutes or so. Knowing the council they won’t start on time anyhow.” “Are you going?” “Just stopped by to get some coffee on my way.” She paid her bill and started for the door. His eyes bore into her back. She could feel them. Turning back around she said, “I’ll see you there.” He merely gave her a nod. The man was definitely not happy with her this morning. She couldn’t help the way she felt, and lying to him about her feelings wouldn’t do either of them a service. Nor would she ever lament any of the times she spent with him. Though if she had it to do over again, maybe she would have made him agree to a no-strings-attached affair or friendship, but not a sort of amalgamation of the two. She pulled into the parking lot for the council hall. The hall also doubled as the community recreation center. The building held many fond memories for Edie, like her eighth grade spring dance when she had shared her first real kiss with Kenny Lotz. Then there was the Halloween Spook Fest when Edie was in high school. Mark Espanoza had offered his undying love for her that night, but it lasted only as long as it took for them to go away to separate colleges. She smiled at the memory and shook her head. Young love was often fickle and never boring. But as she looked at the building, squat and square in faded cream-colored brick, she couldn’t help but think of the specter of the Corpesetti hanging over the town like a promise from the devil himself. If the town council just understood that the Corpesetti meant them no harm. But there was no way for them to know that. What if Aidan’s cousin and the dead Corpesetti were attacked because of what happened in the woods? What if harming innocent humans went against everything they believed and so the rape of Aidan’s cousin had been a punishable offense in their eyes? The attacking Corpesetti only meant to protect the pack. Edie twisted her mind around that as she got out of the car and walked to the entrance. If her supposition were correct then why did the Corpesetti feel compelled to kill Aidan’s cousin as well? Did her death have to do with the blood feud between Aidan’s family and the Corpesetti, or was she a bystander caught in the crossfire between two warring members of the pack? Did they even think in such a manner? Since Edie came in late there were no seats so she stood in the back of the room watching the proceedings. Karl brushed against her as he entered and headed toward the front of the meeting hall. He had to be upset. He didn’t even give her a backward glance. Mayor Brisbane sat in the center of a long table with the council members on either side of him. He sat all puffed up and self-important with his white mop of hair and cheaply made suit. Edie was surprised he’d even been inclined to wear a suit today. The man looked like there hadn’t been a day in the last fifty years that he hadn’t had a stiff drink — several stiff drinks in fact. The rest of the town council wasn’t much better, which made the proceedings all the more laughable. If the Corpesetti posed a real threat to the town, the town council was not the body politic to meet the threat and deal with it. Pine Haven was a small town so the council had only five members, including the mayor. Edie thought it ironic that the small town seemed to be a haven for stereotypes and clichés with regards to their local government. Only Karl rose above the absurdity to make the town a nice quiet community. It seemed he was the only person who could keep the council from doing something to put them all in peril. They should feel lucky everyday he worked in Pine Haven.

Her eyes shifted to the town attorney. He sat the table with the council though he had no voting power. Edie always thought he sat with them just to look important. The man was about as corrupt as they came and made no bones about having what he called ‘important connections’ across the state. Brisbane was already expounding on the threat to the citizens and why it was a prudent idea to cancel the festival when his gaze darted to the side and caught a look from Karl. “Karl, why don’t you tell us about the monster you and your boys chased through town last night?” To his credit, Karl shrugged a muscular shoulder. “Edie thought someone was breaking into her apartment so we went to investigate.” “But tell us what you saw when you got there.” “Nothing. The intruder had already fled, probably when he heard the sirens. Someone damaged the side of Mrs. Bowers’ house, but other than that everything was all right. The intruder was unable to gain entry.” Brisbane looked up and spied Edie in the back of the hall. “What did you see, Edie?” Karl shot her a look from the other side of the room. He should know he didn’t have to worry about her saying anything. Besides she honestly hadn’t seen a thing. “Nothing, I only heard a banging coming from outside and it sounded like someone was trying to get in. It frightened me, so I called Karl to come check it out.” “What about the monster in the morgue?” Keri Finster, the head of the local business association, piped up. Karl straightened up from the wall. “Who are you going to believe, your police chief or the media? There is no monster in the morgue.” Brisbane raised his double chin. The rolls quivered. “So, I could go there and not find one?” “Tyler might have something to say about you disrupting her work. I’d check with her before I went there and started rummaging through bodies. Not to mention any of the families that have loved ones there might not appreciate you doing so.” Edie watched Karl’s confidence in the situation. He was trying desperately to ward off a search, but he didn’t seem at all worried about such a thing happening. The Corpesetti from the morgue must have been taken back to the university research facility with the zoologist. Tingles spread up Edie’s right arm, and body heat suffused her side. She didn’t have to turn her head to know who stood next to her. “How did you find me?” Edie lowered her voice so only Aidan could hear. “Drove the main street until I saw your truck,” Aidan whispered back. His warm breath brushed against her cheek and ear. Her eyes slid closed. “Good thing it isn’t a very large town.” He only grunted. “Your boyfriend looks upset.” “Boyfriend?” Edie looked at him, trying to put a questioningly innocent look on her face. Their lips were barely a breath apart. He nodded toward Karl. “The police chief.” “He’s in a bad mood, but he’s not my boyfriend.” He moved in closer— if that were possible— and Edie thought she was going to go up in flames.

“Then let me stay with you tonight.” “What!” Her head snapped back in surprise. People near them turned around and shushed her. She pulled him out the door and into the hallway, but not before her glance locked with Karl’s across the room. “What are you talking about?” “You need someone to stay with you. I’m volunteering.” Edie stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. Her guts churned. “You’ll be downstairs from me. If I need you, I can yell for you. It’s not like you won’t know what’s happening before I do.” “If anything happens to you... ” “What?” “I’ll feel responsible for being unable to bring this Corpesetti to heel.” Tortured amber eyes entreated her to understand. She stepped forward and placed a hand on his arm. The muscles in his forearm tensed under her fingers. “Look, I’m sorry I walked out angry and made you think I’d go after them myself. I hope you know I wouldn’t. I may be stubborn, but I’m far from foolish.” He touched her face, brushing the hair back from her temple. “Glad to hear that.” Edie could swear he leaned forward a little as if contemplating kissing her. His gaze slid to her mouth. Her heart kicked against her ribs like it wanted to burst free. Not a good visual knowing what the Corpesetti was capable of. Besides, what about Cletus? She stepped back. “I’ll tell you what. You and Cletus come up to my place tonight and I’ll cook you dinner to welcome you to the building, and you can tell me what you’ve been holding back about the Corpesetti.” Aidan looked as if the very thought invited disaster. His brow creased and his nostrils flared slightly. Then he surprised her by capitulating. “All right. What time?” “Six?” “Six it is.” People started to file out of the council room and stared at Edie and Aidan as they passed by. Karl walked out with the mayor and slapped him good-naturedly on the back before approaching Edie. He gave Aidan a suspicious look then turned back to her. “What was the decision?” She asked. “We’re going to have the festival.” “Good. I’d hate to see the business owners lose all that money.” He nodded. Aidan touched her arm. “I’ll see you back at the house.” Embarrassment flamed her face. Aidan did that on purpose just to let Karl know of his close proximity to Edie. Karl followed Aidan with his eyes. “What the... ” He took off down the hall after Aidan, picking up his pace as he moved. Surprised

people moved out of his way and hugged the walls to give him space. “Karl?” Edie followed him, wanting to see what it was that set off the police chief in pursuit. She stood at the door as Karl followed Aidan to the black Mercedes. She had to move forward to hear what was being said. Suddenly, he turned Aidan around and reached beneath the long trench coat and pulled out a sizeable firearm. When Karl grabbed for his handcuffs, Edie intervened. “What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?” “Stay out of this, Edie.” “No.” People began to gather to watch the unfolding action. Edie moved closer so she could talk in a stage whisper. “Have you forgotten what happened to his cousin?” “That’s no excuse for breaking the law.” The cuff locked in place. Aidan turned to Edie. “Get Cletus, have him contact my father.” She nodded, turning an angry glare to Karl. “I will and we’ll meet you at the station.”

Chapter Eleven Aidan sat in an interrogation room looking bored and wondering exactly how legal was it to interrogate someone without having been formally charged with anything? The only law he’d broken so far was carrying a concealed firearm without a permit, but he hadn’t committed any others. Knowing the police chief, he’d arrest Aidan for murder when the Corpesetti was finally brought down. No, that was unfair and stemmed from jealousy. But so did the police chief ’s reaction. Chief Urich leaned over the table. Muscular arms tensed as he pressed his palms flat against the top. “Now, where did you get the gun?” Aidan leaned back in the chair casually. “My family manufactures them.” “Your family?” Aidan merely nodded. “For what?” “Hunting.” There was a slight dilation of the Chief Urich’s pupils, but otherwise the information appeared to have no impact on the man. “If you’re thinking of going after what killed your cousin, I’ll only tell you once to let me handle it. I don’t need a bunch of half-cocked citizens running around playing big-game hunter.” “I assure you I am fully cocked, Chief.” Aidan watched as the comment made a direct hit to the man’ s pride. They were definitely both thinking of Edie, but to preserve the peace Aidan softened the retort. “You seem to be working under the misconception that the creature that killed Nanine has been neutralized. It hasn’t.” “I won’t have you putting Edie in danger.”

“She’s already in danger.” “She told you about her apartment?” Aidan shook his head and leaned forward. “She didn’t have to. I saw the marks for myself.” Something akin to grief passed over the Chief’s rugged features. He gave a curt nod. A knock on the door prevented further conversation. At the Chief’s command it opened and an officer stuck her head inside. “Edie’s here with another man. They want to see you.” “Jesus.” He swore under his breath. “Put them in my office, I’ll be right in.” He turned threatening eyes to Aidan. “I’ll leave you here on your word you’ll still be here when I get back.” “Of course.” Aidan made himself comfortable. He didn’t dislike the police chief. On the contrary, he understood where his animosity stemmed from. If the shoe were on the other foot, Aidan would act the exact way. For a man like Chief Urich, seeing another man trying to protect a woman he had clearly staked a claim for would stick like burs in his gullet. But it was a state the police chief needed to get used to because Aidan had every intension of taking Edie as his mate – if he could find a way to do so. *** Edie sat next to Cletus in Karl’s office. He’d taken the silent approach to the news. His face showed no emotion to indicate what he would do to help Aidan. There was a quiet confidence about the man that intimated he was in complete control. The door opened behind them and Edie turned around to watch Karl walk in. He glanced at her for a millisecond before shifting away. His square jaw clenched tightly, and his nostrils flared. Oh, he was angry. “What can I do for you two?” Edie came straight to the point. “You can start by letting Aidan go.” “Are you that well acquainted that you can call him by his first name?” “Yes.” She looked over at the man sitting next to her. “He and Cletus rented the apartment downstairs from me.” Karl pulled his chair out and sat down, resting his arms on the desktop. “Is that right?” “Yes.” “Then where were they last night when that thing was trying to break in?” Cletus answered. “We moved in this morning. We were terribly distressed to see the damage to the building, and were relieved to find Edie uninjured.” Karl frowned. “And how do you know Edie so well after only meeting her once in the parking lot of the morgue? As I remember it, no names were exchanged.” Oh, God. Edie could feel the heat rush to her face. She was obviously not as savvy in subterfuge as she thought. Now she would have to tell Karl the entire story, something she had wanted to avoid.

“It was my fault.” “What was your fault?” “I followed Aidan and Cletus into the woods yesterday morning. I didn’t know they were tracking one of those creatures. One came out of the trees straight at me. Aidan pushed me to the ground and Cletus took off after it.” “Good God!” Karl pushed to his feet and came back around the desk. “Why didn’t you say anything? I specifically asked you last night and you lied to me.” “I’m sorry. I knew you’d lecture me about going into the woods alone, especially after the murder.” “But Edie, one of those things came after you last night and you still didn’t tell me. Are my lectures that bad?” She couldn’t look him in the face. “I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me.” He blew out a long breath. Silence swallowed the room for a few beats. “I’ll let Mr. LaMont go. I take it that impressive firearm he was toting was to bring down one of those creatures, and if his family manufactures them I suppose he has an endless supply.” He turned his attention to Cletus. “I do want a copy in my office of the manufacture’s permit.” “I can have one faxed immediately.” Cletus pulled out his cell phone and punched a number on speed dial. He talked in a low voice and promised whoever was on the other end that he would have Aidan call as soon as possible. After relaying the fax number provided by Karl, he hung up. “And what about the concealed weapon charge?” Edie asked. “We’ll call it a misunderstanding. This time. If it happens again, I won’t be so lenient.” “Thank you, Karl.” “Could you excuse us for a moment?” Karl looked to Cletus. When he left, Karl squatted down on the floor in front of Edie and placed his hand on her face. “You should have said something. Just thinking about you out in the woods with one of those things scares the hell out of me.” “It was scary. I couldn’t even drive back to my apartment. Aidan drove my truck and Cletus had to follow us in the car. I think that’s when they saw the ‘For Rent’ sign on the building.” “You must have been out of sorts to let someone drive your truck.” Edie shook at the memory. She had been terrified. Then another thought struck her. “I don’t think you have to worry about them.” “The monsters?” “No, Aidan and Cletus. I think they’re gay.” He stared at Edie like she’d suddenly sprouted geraniums on her head. “Those two aren’t gay.” “How would you know?” “Edie, Aidan LaMont wants you so bad even I can smell the pheromones.” “Don’t be ridiculous.” Though she said it, the sentence didn’t have much punch. Her heart started pounding so hard and fast at the concept of Aidan wanting her that she could barely concentrate. “Well, I’ll be damned.” He moved away from her, pushed to his feet and leaned back against the desk with his arms folded over his chest. “You want him, too.” “Karl... ”

“No. It’s all right, Edie. You don’t have to lie to me, or soften the blow. You’ve been doing that for a few months now. I haven’t wanted to hear you. I just love you so much... ” Edie came to her feet as well. “Don’t. Don’t say anything more. I love you, too. I’m just not in love with you. I’ve never wanted to hurt you, or break your heart. You’re much too good a man for that. I hate myself for not being able to love you the way you deserve—the way you say you love me. And I’m much too big a coward to live without your friendship. You’re like family to me... ” Tears filled her eyes and spilled when she blinked. Her nose started to run. “I already lost Liza. I can’t lose you, too.” “Sweetheart, you’ll never lose me. I wouldn’t let that happen. And you haven’t lost Liza either, she only moved away to be with the man she loves.” Karl gently, pulled Edie into his arms for a long comforting hug. *** With the word given by the mayor and town council, preparations were under way for the annual fall festival. Edie met with the rest of the decoration committee at Prescott Park. Kiosks were being erected to hold venders that would come to sell their wares or to display works of art. The park composed approximately a two-block area of cleared land, bordered by the encroaching forest on three of its sides. The fourth side opened to the large parking lot and out to the access road. Edie sat on a picnic table at the back of the park weaving silk garlands of fall flowers and leaves into colorful decorations to adorn the kiosks. As she worked, her mind wandered to the events earlier in the day. It had certainly been a full morning for her— following an equally full night. It was a wonder she had even managed to get through most of the day. Then after she finished helping with the decorations she’d have to go to the store and pick up something to make for dinner. Dry branches crackled and broke behind her. Edie turned to look into the trees. Nothing but foliage stared back at her. “Get a grip, Edie. Now you’re hearing things in a park full of people.” Another branch cracked and leaves rustled. A whiffle of sound came from behind her. Whatever it was, it had come very close. A smell like wet dog invaded her nostrils. Then a deep baritone voice sighed. “So beautiful, the Immorati.” A deep baritone voice with an odd accent came from behind her. Edie turned again and saw a flash of long black fabric as someone slipped behind a tree. She started to get up. “No, don’t come near. Let me admire you from afar.” Her breath hitched. Perhaps it hadn’t been a Corpesetti trying to break into her house last night, but a garden variety stalker. “Who are you?” “That’s not important.” “What do you want with me?” Laughter, musty as an old grave, swept over her and made her shudder. “The woman had a lover.” “What woman?” “The Immorati woman.”

Like that explained anything. “I don’t know what you mean.” The laughter slithered over her skin again. She didn’t dare turn her back and return to braiding the garlands. How could she possibly work under such conditions? “You do, and you don’t.” “That’s very cryptic of you. Could you be more specific?” “And give my secret away?” Edie sighed and tried to step closer, to at least get a look at the person she talked to. Again she was told to stay put. “An Immorati lover.” The voice tasted the words. “The thought has merit. If we can’t possess what we want through taking, perhaps we can breed the trait into our offspring.” A police cruiser drove by the park and caught Edie’s periphery vision. “The chief.” It was a gentle warning, though she couldn’t understand why she would want to warn a stalker of the police. “He doesn’t concern me.” The leaves rustled underfoot again and a swish of black could be seen behind a triad of trees. Edie marveled at how close the voice sounded, and yet the man’s hiding place was at least fifty feet away from her. “What does concern you?” “You do. Would you be willing to be my lover, my little Immorati beauty?” She an Immorati? The word niggled at the back of her brain. “I generally don’t select my lovers sight unseen. Why won’t you show your face?” “For reasons you can’t yet know. But I tease you. Just keep in mind, my beauty, all stories have several sides, and each side has its truth.” A voice called out from behind her, as Mrs. Bowers cut across the park in purposeful strides. “Edie?” Another flash of what she now thought of as a long black cape, and the man disappeared back into the deeper recesses of the woods. “Wait! Come back.” She turned from trying to get a glimpse of the stranger. Mrs. Bowers had a dismayed look on her face. “My dear, I’m so sorry about what happened last night. I’ve been meaning to have an alarm installed and I just haven’t.” Alarms would not have stopped the Corpesetti from attacking, but Edie deigned not to mention that. She sat back down at the table and picked up the abandon garland, determined to not appear bothered by the stranger’s words. “You need some help?” Edie forced a smile and handed Mrs. Bowers some of the garlands. They sat working in companionable silence for a few minutes. Mrs. Bowers kept stealing surreptitious glances at Edie, as she wound some green silk vines together. “I saw the chief this morning.” “So did I.” “Now you know I’ve never butted into any of your affairs, but I feel I have to speak up.” Wrinkled fingers worked the garland in expert efficiency.

Edie glanced over at her landlady. Something was definitely eating at her. “I’ve known Karl since he was no bigger than a minute. His mother used to drop him off at my house of a morning before going to work. Practically raised the boy.” Edie knew all that, but smiled at the pride she heard in the retelling. “You did a fine job, Mrs. Bowers.” Mrs. Bowers nodded her gray head in appreciation. “I love you, too, like you were my own. What I hate to see is you taking that fine man’s heart and twisting it around like it was nothing to you. It’s just not right, Edie. Your grandma would be ashamed.” Guilt hit Edie like a bulls-eye and made it hard to breathe. “I don’t mean to. I love him, just not the way he wants me to.” “You told him as much?” “Yes. Even he admits to not wanting to hear it.” A long heartfelt sigh came from Mrs. Bowers. “Well, I guess you can’t help who you fall in love with —or don’t fall in love with for that matter. Guess you can’t do nothing more if he doesn’t want to hear it.” “No, ma’am.” She put down the finished garland and picked up another one. “Funny, but even though I don’t want to marry him, I can’t imagine my life without him either.” “You’re a good girl, Edie Keirnan Campbell. You’ll figure out what to do.” With that they lapsed into silence and worked until the sun started to set behind the line of trees.

Chapter Twelve Having little food in the house was not conducive to inviting guests over for a meal, especially when one of those guests had a recent brush with the long arm of the law. What had Aidan been thinking, carrying that gun around like that? No wonder Karl had spotted it when Aidan turned his back to walk down the hall. It was huge! Then again, the Corpesetti were not small creatures. It probably took something like a paramilitary defense system to bring one of those suckers down. Edie shook her head and slammed the truck door. Her life had gotten stranger and stranger by the day, and it had been less than three full days since the first Corpesetti attack. Then some strange man hiding in the woods asks her to be his lover. And to top off the fine day, Mrs. Bowers confronts her about Karl. Well, if she got nothing else out of the day, tonight after she wined and dined both Aidan and Cletus they would be spilling their guts about what they knew— she’d be sure of that. It would be very bad form for them if they didn’t after she intervened on Aidan’s behalf. She pushed a cart across the parking lot and into the store. The wheels made a clackity sound along the asphalt. One wheel lifted off the ground completely and vibrated back and forth in useless abandon. Her heart skidded and skipped a few beats as Karl’s words came flooding back to her. Aidan wanted her. Could it be true? What if they moved to her building to protect her? She would definitely have to ask the question later. Aidan had, after all, offered to stay the night with her. She told herself to calm down, that he didn’t mean it that way. He probably only wanted to protect her in case the Corpesetti decided on a return visit. She placed items haphazardly in the cart, not really paying attention to what she selected. Hell, she didn’t even know what they liked. They might be Vegans for all she knew. That would be just her luck.

Inspecting the cart, she decided to grab a package of tofu. That way the bases would be covered and she wouldn’t look like such a bad hostess. But then, they looked like two of the most expensive men she had ever seen. High maintenance. What if they only liked gourmet meals? Geez, she hadn’t thought this through. Or was she making more of it than need be? Probably the latter. She pushed the buggy down the next aisle and started trying to pay more attention to what she selected. Immorati. That’s what the man in the woods talked about. Why did that sound familiar? Was that the name that Grandma Keirnan called the immortals? Or was it just the sound of the word that evoked such imagery? She snarled and pushed the cart to the bakery section. A good bread with whatever she ended up throwing together would be a nice touch. She stood over the fresh baked loaves trying to decide on a French or Italian when someone brushed by her. She jumped and put her hand to her heart. “Oh, Edie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” It was Maura Manning, a teacher at Pine Haven Elementary School, and a neighbor of sorts in that she lived in the apartment over the hardware store adjacent to the Victorian. “No. It’s fine. I’m just a little tired. I get sort of paranoid if I don’t get enough sleep.” At least that much was true, but she was more jumpy over the Corpesetti than a lack of sleep at the moment. Maura smiled and turned red. She had always been shy, except when faced with a room full of seven-year olds. Bright blue eyes slid away from Edie’s. “Was that your new boyfriend with you at the council meeting this morning?” Edie almost swallowed her tongue. “Um, neighbor. He’s moved into the vacant apartment downstairs from me.” “The chief didn’t seem to like him much... ” Her naturally platinum hair was pulled back into clips and revealed ears that were in danger of combustion. “It was all a misunderstanding. His cousin was the woman killed in the woods. It’s very difficult for him right now.” Maura’s mouth formed a silent ‘o’ of understanding. “Poor man.” Edie looked down into her cart. “He’ll be even more pitiful later tonight. I’m cooking dinner for him and his friend.” “He’s handsome. You two would make a nice couple.” A small thrill filled Edie’s soul, right before she wondered what game Maura was playing. She had never been a gossip, or one to dig for information, so why do so now? Edie smiled and excused herself with a “We’ll see” and finished her shopping, lost in the same muddled thoughts that had plagued her since entering the store. Now, however, she had Maura’s odd behavior to mull over too. The shopping went along a similar fashion throughout the store and on into the parking lot. Distracted by the events of the day and visions of possible meal combinations dancing in her head, Edie didn’t at first pick up on the strange feeling that caressed the back of her neck. The same whiffling sound caught her ear. It sounded like an animal sniffing, trying to catch the essence of a scent. Hair rose and tingled at the base of her scalp. She turned slightly, enough to look over her shoulder. Nothing there. She put the last of the bags in the back of the truck and started around for her door.

Looking over her shoulder again, she caught the sudden gleam of eyes in the darkness by the edge of the store. Something big watched her every move. Their gazes locked, and Edie felt her body go rigid. Out of the darkness came a snarl. She knew that sound, had heard it last night. A muscular body leaned out of the darkened corner by the end of the grocery store. Breath fled. The creature charged her, coming on full speed. Mortality flashed in the depths of cold obsidian eyes. “Oh shit.” Her keys fumbled in her suddenly numb fingers. “Oh, God. Oh, God.” The key finally found the lock and sunk in. Shaky hands twisted it – the wrong way. The Corpesetti stood on his hindquarters not six feet from her, and roared to the heavens. Long sharp fangs flashed like pearl daggers under the parking lot lights. Edie turned the key again and jumped into the truck just as the animal reached out to her. She slammed the door and engaged the power locks. The entire truck shook as the Corpesetti hit it full force on the driver’s side. Edie screamed. Her throat burned. Long claws scoured the roof trying to peel back the metal like a tin can. The truck continued to rock as the Corpesetti tried to get at her. Without warning, a large fist came through the driver’s side window, showering her with glass. She reached through and pulled its long hair, slamming its head against the metal doorframe. The creature yowled in anger then jumped back from the attack. Quickly, she started the truck and put the vehicle into gear. She gunned the gas and left the parking lot to the squeal of tires and smell of rubber. The Corpesetti followed her for a few blocks, until the wail of sirens made it veer into the woods and away from the town proper. Edie hit the parking lot for her apartment so fast the truck bounced over the curb and landed sideways in a spot. She bent over the steering wheel and gulped in quick breaths. Damn, that had been way too close. Blood dripped down the front of her blouse from various cuts on her neck and chest. A cut on her cheek stung. She surveyed the damage, convinced all were surface wounds. A loud yell filled the night, and Edie looked up through the windshield, afraid the Corpesetti had returned, and was surprised to see Aidan running down the front stairs. *** Aidan knew he should have insisted he accompany her to the store. But, no, the woman was too independent to rely on help for something as mundane as grocery shopping. Now the evidence from the Corpesetti’s most recent attack marred the side of her truck and bathed her in blood. His heart pounded in his throat as he opened her door and reached in for her. She came to him without hesitation. Her arms tightened around his neck. Tremors moved up and down her body and

radiated out to her limbs. “Come on, love, let’s get you inside and cleaned up.” “It tried to get into the car. It was waiting for me... ” “That’s how they hunt.” He could feel her swallow and she buried her face in his neck. He’d wanted her in his arms since he’ d first laid eyes on her, but this was not the manner in which he wanted her to come to him. She brushed her bloodied cheek against his. Her warm breath stirred his hair. Painful lust raced through his body and made his body ache for her. He breathed against her skin. “Edie.” She moved her face and their mouths slid together. That was the only invitation he needed. A low moan filled his throat as he took her mouth. Nothing had ever tasted quite as sweet. Hunger for more of her gnawed at his mind. Of their own volition his hands slid down her back, molding her body to his as he slanted his mouth in the opposite direction to kiss her more deeply. Breath escaped her and filled him when he gently sent his tongue inside to explore. Her hands slid down his neck and pressed against his chest. “Cletus.” She pulled away and looked up at Aidan in confusion. Aidan looked up to see Cletus standing on the porch with a peculiar look on his face. “Could you bring the groceries in? I’m going to take Edie upstairs and settle her down.” His best friend nodded and shoved his hands down into his front pockets before coming slowly down the stairs. Aidan would discover the cause of Cletus’ odd behavior after he saw to Edie. He’d almost lost her. After several attempts, where she just stood there as if not knowing what to do next, Aidan finally managed to herd Edie up the stairs and into her apartment. He took her into the bathroom and set her on the closed toilet lid. “Do you have a first aid kit?” She shook her head. “No, just some peroxide, some anti-bacterial salve and bandages.” “Good enough.” He looked around the tiny bathroom for a moment, opening doors and cabinets. He found the supplies, but no washcloths. “Where do you keep the bath linens? I want to wash your cuts first.” She looked up at him, her eyes huge. “I can do it. They aren’t as bad as they look.” He gave a grunt. “You have glass in your hair.” A bloody hand reached up and shook the heavy blonde mass out. Pieces of glass fell to the floor. “I’m a mess.” Her voice sounded as if she dangled on the edge of losing whatever composure she had managed to maintain. Aidan leaned over and started the water in the tub. When he had the temperature adjusted he turned the shower on. “Take a shower and get cleaned up. Cletus and I can handle making dinner tonight. You just relax.” He was about to shut the door when she looked up at him. She hadn’t budged from the toilet seat.

“Aidan?” “Yes.” “Why does it want to kill me? Why is it coming after me?” “Because it thinks you have something it wants.” “What?” “Time.” She cocked her head like she didn’t understand then her eyes widened a little. Aidan closed the door before she could ask any more questions.

Chapter Thirteen Cletus proved adept in the kitchen. He made a chicken stir-fry and served it out of her best dishes. The small dining table had been set and her best wine glasses placed. The only thing the scene lacked was an elaborate centerpiece, but even that had been taken care of by the simple addition of a houseplant on the table. Edie smiled and took a seat at the table while Cletus poured her a glass of wine. He definitely believed in doing even a simple meal up in style. He handed the glass to her. “Better?” “I don’t know. I think I’m over my head in this.” She looked around and didn’t see Aidan anywhere. “Where’s Aidan?” “Talking to his father.” “Is his father upset about what happened today?” Cletus sat and regarded her with eyes such a deep shade of brown the irises were almost indistinguishable from the pupils. “You could say that. His father doesn’t have much time left and it pains him that his last few weeks would be so tumultuous.” The man not only dressed to the nines, but he talked as if he got paid by the syllable, and yet Edie found something very comfortable and steady in his character. It was plain by his actions that he was very near and dear to Aidan’s family. Pain at the mention of Aidan’s father’s impending death etched lines around Cletus’s broad mouth. “Looks like it’s hard on you as well.” “I’ve known Aidan since he was a boy. I can’t imagine how Jainus’s death will affect him. The elder LaMont is a pillar of strength and wisdom. With experience, Aidan will be very like him.” The door opened and Aidan came in from the landing before Edie could ask about the illness that would soon claim the elder LaMont. “Father says hello.”

Edie could sense his weariness even from where she sat. He pulled a chair out and sat across from her. Playing host, Cletus poured him a glass of wine as well. They had ensconced themselves in her life and home in such a short time, and Edie couldn’t be more thankful. For some reason she felt poised on the edge of a journey, one in which Karl would not be able to lead. These men before her were the only ones she could follow, the only ones who would understand where she was headed and what she’d find once she arrived. “Since Cletus was nice enough to make such a gorgeous meal, and find my good china, though it was so far back in the cabinet he probably had to lead an expedition to find it, I’ll serve.” Edie stood and dished their plates up for them. A heaviness permeated the room and she very much wanted it to leave for the remainder of the meal. But one look at Aidan’s face told her it wouldn’t. The day’s events clung to the air like the stink of rancid meat. Better to confront the white elephant then let to it make a place at the table with them. “Nice to see the Corpesetti are at least punctual.” “What?” Both men said in unison and looked at her. “Punctual. You know, on time.” She set the bowl of fried rice back on the table and lifted her fork. “Legends of the Jersey Devil say that he comes back every one hundred years. In 1909 there were a flurry of sightings, it’s now 2006. I’d say that’s pretty close.” Aidan made a grunt and started into his food. “The legends aren’t true then?” “We’ve certainly never received a hundred year respite from the beasts.” Edie thought about that for a moment. “So what had them so stirred up in 1909 that there were sightings from as far north as New York State, and as far west as Philly?” Aidan and Cletus exchanged looks, and Edie got nervous. She picked up her napkin and dabbed her mouth before setting it on the table beside her plate. “Now look, you promised today at the community center that you’d tell me what the hell is going on, you can’t renege now that we’re having a cozy dinner. Besides, I got your ass out of a sling with Karl. You owe me.” Aidan moved his food around on his plate with his fork. “You’re right, but you have to understand just thinking of you so close to a Corpesetti today, unprotected, is ripping my guts out. I should have been with you.” He threw his fork back into his plate and stood. Cletus watched Aidan, but offered nothing to the conversation. Edie looked to him for help, but he regarded Aidan with a closed expression. Given her and Aidan’s passionate embrace on the porch earlier, Edie had no choice but to believe her earlier assumption of them being gay was incorrect. The man across from her didn’t act at all jealous, only concerned over the recent attack. Edie rubbed her upper arms. A sudden chill went straight to her bones. “Aidan, I appreciate you want to protect me, but it’s not your job. I won’t let the threat of the Corpesetti make me a prisoner. What I find ironic is the fact you think hiding information is going to help me, when all it does is make me more vulnerable.” “You are vulnerable.” “Then tell me how to protect myself.” He stood looking out the living room window at the street. Finally, he turned his attention to her. “I want you to come home with me.” “Downstairs?”

“No, the compound where my family lives.” “Aidan.” Cletus’s tone had a sting to it that Edie hadn’t heard him use before. Aidan held his hand up for quiet. Cletus shut up. “Please Edie, you’ll be behind fortified walls and a state of the art security system. There’s no way a Corpesetti could get to you there.” “No way? Then how did one get to your cousin?” Anger moved over Aidan’s face. His jaw tightened. “She left the compound to meet a lover.” Edie could feel the blood drain from her face. Her fork clattered to her plate. Oh, God in heaven! That damn Corpesetti had taken her and used her and she died after it. The beautiful Nanine had been away from the compound to meet a lover, and instead she had been raped and killed by the Jersey Devil. “What?” Aidan came back to the table and stood over her. Edie shook her head. If Aidan were to find out, it would not be from her. Some things were just better left unknown. “Tell me.” “Nothing.” She picked up her glass and took a sip of wine. “It’s hard to imagine how she must have felt leaving home thinking she was going to meet her lover and instead she met something so much different.” The tension around his mouth lifted slightly, but his eyes remained suspicious. “I’ve reviewed the security films and see no evidence that a Corpesetti lay in wait for her. But I’m afraid that may be exactly what happened.” A question burned the back of Edie’s throat. It bubbled up and tickled her lips. She knew she should hold it back, but couldn’t. “Aidan, what did you mean by the Corpesetti wanting ‘time’?” “They believe that they can increase their longevity by eating the hearts of their victims.” Black spots moved across her field of vision. Suddenly her chair was pulled back and a strong hand on the back of her neck shoved her head between her knees. “Take deep breaths, love.” Aidan’s warm breath caressed her ear. He moved her hair from her eyes, brushing it back with a gentle hand. Edie didn’t want to increase anyone’s life by giving up such an essential organ. A kidney was one thing, but only if it were a family member who needed a transplant. But her heart? Did Aidan say the Corpesetti believed this? That would mean an ability to think and reason, and to create a belief system no matter how far flung. Edie raised her head and looked at Aidan. “Are you telling me the Corpesetti have a culture?” “Of a fashion.” The thought made her hungry to learn more about them, but there were still questions she needed answered first. The Immorati, the compound, the Jersey Devil, it was all too much for her. She took a breath and cleared her throat. Rational thought had to kick in sometime, didn’t it? “Then if they believe that they will live longer by consuming human hearts, why up until now have they only attacked your family?” “Proximity.” The answer was quick and decisive.

“In all the literature I’ve read, not once has it ever mentioned that anyone was ever killed by the Jersey Devil. The first one I’ve noted is your cousin.” “We’ve taken care of our own. Nanine was the first of our kind to be killed within the jurisdiction of a township. Before the murders occurred close to the compound, and we were able to retrieve the bodies.” “Let me get this straight; it’s coming after me because I was in the woods when Cletus shot it, and yet it hasn’t attacked anyone else in town. Only me? The story is making less and less sense the further involved I become.” Aidan pulled out his chair and looked down at his forgotten food. “Come stay at the compound with me and it will all make sense.” Edie blew out a long breath and looked to both he and Cletus. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want to be anyone’s prisoner, even for the sake of safety.” Cletus finally spoke up. “There is freedom at the compound. We don’t keep anyone prisoner. We come and go as we please, but we do live behind fortified walls.” And live well, Edie thought but didn’t say it The doorbell rang downstairs, and Cletus got up to answer it leaving her and Aidan alone. “I want you to reconsider my offer. Either return to the compound with me, or let me stay with you tonight.” “Aidan... ” He held his hand up to stop her protest. “Even though there is nothing I would like more than to make love to you, I’m offering this for your protection alone.” Edie swallowed. When the man decided to go directly to a point, he didn’t miss a beat. “Instead, why don’t you tell me if the word Immorati means anything to you?” There was a slight dilation of his pupils but nothing more to give him away. He would tell her nothing of what he knew. It was all empty promises. Footsteps sounded on the landing outside her door. As they neared the apartment Edie watched as Aidan regarded the people coming in with unconcealed disdain. When she turned in her chair, she was not surprised to see Karl walking through the door like a man on a mission. “And you were going to call me to tell me about the attack at the store when exactly?” “Please don’t start in on me, I really can’t take it right now.” His jaw clenched. His hands rested on his lean hips. He looked away then back at her again. “Your truck looks like it’s been in a demolition derby.” “I know. I’ll take it over to the body shop tomorrow.” Something about the weary way she said the sentence made Karl relax a little. He took his hands from his hips and came to her. Dark eyes slid down to the visible cuts on her chest. “Jesus, Edie.” He crouched by her chair. “Happened when the window shattered.” She leaned against the back of the chair. Her dinner sat cold on her plate. It seemed none of them had an appetite after Cletus had taken the trouble to prepare what looked like a delicious meal. “I want you to come stay with me until this thing’s caught.” Edie looked over his head to where Aidan stood with his brow cocked. “Seems to be a popular

theme tonight,” she mumbled. “What’s that?” She shook her head and put her hands on top of his where they rested against his bent knees. “Nothing. I’m fine. I’m actually thinking about going to stay with my grandma for a day or two.” A complete and utter lie. Edie hadn’t thought once about going to visit her grandmother, but now that she said it out loud it made perfect sense. She hadn’t worked on her book in days, and perhaps her grandmother could shed some light on the attacks. The old woman had lived in the area for nearly ninety years. If anyone knew about first hand Jersey Devil lore and the Immorati, it would be her. Karl placed one of his hands on top of hers. “I think that’s a real good idea, sweetheart.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek before he stood. “Did you want to stay and have some dinner? I can warm it up for you.” His gaze shot to Aidan. “No, I have to meet with the mayor again to assure him the town is safe.” She shrugged. “Maybe it will be once I go to grandma’s.” *** Cletus left shortly after Karl. Edie began the onerous task of cleaning the kitchen. It had to be among one of the worst chores in the world, outside of scrubbing the toilet. Flatware clinked against the china as she scrapped the plates into the garbage. Aidan came into the room unfastening the buttons at the cuffs of his sleeves and rolling them up. “Do you need help?” Edie considered him for a moment. “I don’t know. Have you ever washed dishes before?” A low masculine chuckle came from deep in his throat. “Do I give the impression I can’t?” “I just can’t imagine you doing anything as mundane as housework.” She brought the plates over to the sink and started running water. She picked up the soap and poured a liberal amount over the dishes. “Oh, no. We are very self-sufficient at the compound. Of course, we have an institutional-sized dish washer. But I know how to load it. We all take turns.” Edie picked up the sponge and stuffed it into a glass. The fact he referred to his home as a compound with enough people living in residence to need an institutional-sized appliance didn’t set well with her. “I suppose it’s already too late to ask this, since I’m already in this up to my eyeballs, but you aren’t a member of some alternative religion, are you?” “Asked like a true anthropologist. You mean do I belong to a cult that owns a secret hideout in the woods? A sort of latter day Branch Davidians?” Edie could feel her face go up in flames. “Well, it is drummed into us to observe, but not judge.” “The answer is no. It’s nothing more than a very well-fortified home. It just so happens that there are several families who live there. Think of it as a private, gated community.” He opened several drawers until he found the drying cloths. Then he picked up the glass she’d just rinsed and began to dry for her. “I must live pretty simple to you.” “There’s no shame in living within your means. As a matter of fact, more people should take your example.” She watched him open and close cabinets, looking for where the glasses went. “They go above the

stove.” They worked in silence for a few moments. Edie let her eyes drink him in. He looked so out of place in her tiny kitchen. Even Karl seemed to fit better in her surroundings than Aidan did. But then Karl had never once worn a shirt that probably cost more than her rent. And though Karl had no problem in exuding his masculine presence in a room, Aidan had an energy that seemed to take up a greater space than his own body mass, until it filled the entire area and overwhelmed all who stood in its wake. Edie felt Aidan’s gaze fall on her more than once. His arm brushed against hers as they worked at the sink. The pile of dishes got smaller—not that there were many, Edie didn’t use many on her own—and the time fast approached to either say goodnight or let him stay. Cowardice was never in Edie’s personal vocabulary, but procrastination definitely was, and she definitely wanted to put off having to make that decision. “Would you like some tea, or coffee? We can go into the living room and talk.” Did her voice suddenly sound high and slightly strained? If the floor opened and swallowed her whole it would be too good for her. It wasn’t like her at all to be so nervous around a man. “That would be nice.” He put the towel over a rack and leaned back against the counter. His eyes skimmed up and down her body a few times. It wasn’t a lecherous or lustful look, just a considering one. “What?” Edie put the water on to boil then scooped some loose tea into the top of the pot. “Are you very close to your family? You mentioned your grandmother.” He stopped and smiled, his hand raised to stave off a protest. “And no, I’m not asking you that so my family can make off with you and no one will come looking for you.” She smiled in spite of his prying and lack of subtly. “No, you wouldn’t get away with it anyhow.” He lifted a brow and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes, the chief. He’s very protective of you.” “Friends are when they care about one another.” “But not your family?” She laughed and pointed at him. “Don’t read anything into that. I love my family they just don’t live very near here.” The kettle whistled and Edie poured the water into the pot. Fragrant steam billowed up into the air and curled around her face. She took a deep breath in. “Do you have any siblings?” “A sister. Liza. She moved to Italy last year with her boyfriend.” Edie caught the slight movement as if the words had startled him. “What’s wrong, you don’t like Italy?” “No, I love it. Where did she move to?” “Near Tuscany.” She placed the teapot and milk and sugar along with two cups on the tea tray and started for the living room. “Liza’s a model and lived in New York for a few years. She met Rafe and they fell in love and she moved away.” “Do you ever hear from her?” He followed close on her heels. “E-mails mostly. Every once in a while we’re online at the same time and can have a video conference, but those are few and far between.” She sat down on the couch and set the tea tray down. “Liza and I aren’t very much alike. She’s dainty and feminine and very much into how she looks. I’m bookish and practical.”

Aidan took a seat next to her and gave her a crooked smile. “But you are definitely feminine. Very feminine.” Edie’s stomach did a weird flip-flop. The silky t-shirt she wore suddenly felt too tight across her breasts. She knew without venturing a look down that her nipples were probably already hard from the tone of his voice alone. “I am what I am.” She ran a subconscious hand down the small cuts on her chest. “I’m glad you are.” He moved closer to her and pulled her hand away from her chest to replace it with his lips. “You are like no other.” The words touched her skin in a gentle caress. “I thought you said you were here to protect me?” “I am.” His mouth moved higher to place a kiss along the skin behind her ear. Edie turned her head to give him better access. “But just because I’m here to watch over you doesn’t mean I’m going to deny myself the pleasure of kissing you.” “Hmmm, well, don’t let me get in between you and your pleasure.” A low growl emanated from his chest and vibrated under Edie’s hands where they rested. He was hard and warm and electric. His mouth found hers and pressed with a deliberate tenderness, opening her lips with his tongue. He tasted amazing. No man had ever tasted so good. It was an elusive flavor like exotic spices and promises of forever. She wanted to eat him alive. He pulled away slightly and looked at her with a hungry gaze. “I promise I’ll be good. I don’t know how long the promise will last, but I do promise.” “I’ll try to hold you to it.” She indicated the forgotten teapot. “Shall I pour?” “It’s a poor substitute, but go ahead.” He leaned back into the cushions. She handed him a cup and then picked hers up and blew across the top of it, before taking a cautious sip. “So, tell me about your family.” “You haven’t finished telling me about yours.” “There’s really not much more to tell. Both my parents are still living, and are still married after thirty-seven years together. They live near Wildwood, not too far from my grandmother. My father’s family is from Ireland, though he was born here. My mother’s family has been in this area for generations. It’s all pretty boring really.” Aidan said nothing for a moment and then nodded. “My mother died two years ago. My father is still alive, though his time is limited. I have a brother—younger—his name is Seth, and he’s even less settled in his life than I am.” Edie cocked her head to the side. “You think you’re unsettled? I would have thought you the most grounded and centered person around.” “Really?” He seemed to find her assessment amusing. “I guess we never see ourselves the way others do.” Shades of her conversation with Karl from the night before appeared in her mind like an apparition. He had accused her of the same thing. “No, you’re probably right.” “How long are you going to stay with your grandmother?” Edie set her cup back on the table. “Haven’t decided yet. A few days at least.”

“Would you find it hard to believe it if I said I’ll miss you?” She couldn’t find the words to tell him how much she did believe him because she felt the same way. Was it even possible to miss someone you’d just met a day or so before? Instead, Edie leaned into his chest, rested her head on him and closed her eyes.

Chapter Fourteen Edith Keirnan lived in a little gingerbread-type house on the outskirts of Wildwood. She moved from Pine Haven to be nearer to Edie’s parents who moved out of town several years before. And, for eighty-nine years of age, the formidable Edith got around quite well. As a matter of fact, there were fifty-year olds that didn’t look as good or have half the energy of Edie’s grandmother. Edie pulled up into the driveway and climbed out of the rental car. The bright red sports car wasn’t something Edie would have bought for herself, but it was fun to drive for a change of pace. Thinking of her truck at the auto body shop, she wanted to cry. That truck had been through a lot with her. They’d been inseparable since Edie’s first year of grad school. And with the exception of the remote locks, the truck had remained in mint condition. But the raging Corpesetti had made short work of that, and now it sat at the auto body shop like a discarded broken toy. The capper of the situation was the sucker was paid off. And oh, how she hated car payments. God, she’d been terrified looking up and seeing the speed with which the Corpesetti crossed the parking lot. The memory shattered into fragments as her grandma opened the front door and looked out at her. “Edie, is that you, dearest?” She opened the car door and climbed out of the car. “It is, grandma.” A stately woman in a deep green pantsuit came down the stairs to greet Edie. Blonde hair had slowly turned to gray over the years and now fell to slim shoulders in a silver cascade. As she neared, her still handsome face pulled into a worried frown. “Is something wrong, love?” Boy was there ever. “Much.” She gave her grandma a kiss on the cheek and pulled her bag out of the car. “I hope you don’t mind if I stay for a day or two. You didn’t have plans to go to A.C. or anything, did you?” “Not this weekend.” Edith smiled and patted her hair. “I do have trip to Vegas planned for mid-November.”

Edie’s grandma was hell at the poker tables. She smiled and walked into the little house, immediately feeling the warmth and love. Grandma had her arm around Edie’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “I heard there were some problems in Pine Haven. Reports of the Jersey Devil being sighted.” Edie looked at grandma and couldn’t hide the frown fast enough. “It’s more than a sighting, I’m afraid. The thing is rampaging.” Grandma ushered Edie into the kitchen and set on a kettle for tea. Edie took a place at the table and proceeded to open the cookie jar to help herself. With her back to Edie, Grandma spoke. “You haven’t seen one up close have you?” Edie nearly choked on her cookie. “As a matter of fact I have. Several times in fact. One seems to be following me around.” Grandma turned and studied Edie very closely then her eyes traveled down to the cuts. “Is that why you’re here?” “One of the reasons.” She raised her eyes. “I’m doing research for a book on familial myths and I wanted to speak with you about what you know about the Jersey Devil, and those immortals you used to talk about.” “The Immorati,” Grandma whispered and took a place across from Edie. She sat with her hands folded, not meeting Edie’s eyes. The name fell off the older woman’s lips laced with regret. “You said they live near the Pine Barrens.” “On a compound, away from the threat of the deadly Corpesetti.” Blood surged through Edie’s veins, and throbbed in her temples. Compounds. Corpesetti. God in heaven. Did that mean Aidan and Cletus were Immorati? No, that idea was too outlandish to believe. The entire idea of the Immorati being real was impossible. And as for the Corpesetti, it was merely a heretofore unknown species. The stories were only illustrations of what Edie’s thesis tried to prove: family myths and legends could form the basis to explain certain genealogical characteristics. Maybe Aidan’s family enjoyed longevity, as did Edie’s maternal side. Edie tried to calm herself. “So the Corpesetti and Immorati are at war with one another?” “They are, and have been for centuries.” “I remember some of the stories you used to tell Liza and me, but you made them sound like fairytales. I’m having a hard time believing they’re real.” “And they are fairytales, for the most part, or to humans at any rate. But darling, the Corpesetti are jealous and vengeful creatures.” “And they want to steal time from the Immorati? Believing that by eating their hearts they will become immortal as well?” Grandma nodded. The teakettle whistled and she rose to pour the boiling water in the pot. “Well the legends say that when the Origin of Creation formed the world, it made two brothers; one, named Ancar, would travel the world for eternity and never die, the other, Jeboo, would live a mortal span. Jealous that his life should be cut short, Jeboo, tried to kill Ancar, only to witness time and again his resurrection. Finally, Jeboo tried to kill Ancar in the only way he knew of that would ensure no resurrection would occur; he ripped his heart out and ate it.” Edie swallowed. “And that’s why the Corpesetti rip out the hearts of their victims?” Grandma Keirnan’s face was pained as she placed the teapot on the table. “But that wasn’t the last of Ancar. The Origins of Creation were outraged that Jeboo would be filled with such ugliness and

hatred, that they once again brought life to Ancar, and this time they passed sentence on Jeboo. His once beautiful form was changed to mirror the ugliness inside his heart. He was shunned from life and love, and only to mix with his own kind, that they may forever know nothing but pain.” “Could the curse ever be broken? Could the sentence ever be revoked?” “The Corpesetti came to believe that if they killed all the Immorati and consumed their hearts that they would revert back to their human form.” “And you don’t believe that?” But Edie felt certain her grandma believed all the tales. “No. I believe that love is the only thing powerful enough to lift the curse. But then, I’ve always been a hopeless romantic.” She gave Edie a rueful smile and began to pour tea. *** Nanine’s remains were being loaded into the back of the hearse. Aidan wondered more than once where Eliah had found the rental, but didn’t want to ask, nor did he bother to ask why the man was dressed in a suit and tie. He never wore a suit and tie. It did, however, give credence to the idea that Eliah came from a funeral home. “We’ve had another attack and I’m not going to stand idly by and watch my citizens be eaten by some monster,” Mayor Brisbane trotted on thick legs around the side of the building. He led with his generous gut. Breath sawed in and out as he tried to catch his wind after reaching the hearse. The chief pulled the mayor away and spoke so low Aidan wasn’t able to overhear. “You lied your way out of it yesterday, but I won’t allow it today.” Brisbane tore his arm from the chief ’s grasp and descended on the casket. Before Aidan could stop him, Brisbane had the lid opened and the crisp fall sun gave an unearthly glow to Nanine’s fair skin. Anger surged through Aidan at the outrage, and burned like acid in his chest. His hand gripped vice-like around the mayor’s wrist. “I want a full apology from your office to be given publicly to my family for this outrage.” Brisbane tried to squiggle out of Aidan’s grasp. The mayor’s mouth flapped like a fish on dry dock. The chief disentangled them and smiled sarcastically at the mayor. “And you’ll get one, too. Won’t he Brisbane?” “Yes. Yes, of course. My apologies to your family. I thought... I thought... ” Aidan knew what the man thought. He thought he’d try to throw his weight around and try to appear the power in town. But the power had just shifted dramatically. Aidan shook his head. “How did you ever get elected?” The mayor sensed the lost future vote and tried to back peddle. “Don’t let this unfortunate situation change your vote in the next election.” Aidan stopped and pointed at Chief Urich. “In the next election, my money is on him.” Eliah finished loading Nanine’s body into the hearse and closed the back door. Aidan and Cletus would follow in the Mercedes. As a soon-to-be Elder, Aidan would officiate the memorial ceremony and ritual that would hopefully send Nanine to sleep with the ancestors. The Immorati couldn’t be sure the ritual would work on anyone that had not undergone the abdication ritual, but then how were they sure

those who agreed to abdication had crossed over? Aidan shook his head in silent rebuke of his faithless thoughts. It was not up to him to question the Origins of Creation. The hearse pulled away from the morgue and eased onto the street. Aidan watched it until it moved out of his view. Loss wound around his heart and gave a painful squeeze. Thank the ancestors Edie left town to visit her grandmother. He didn’t want to think of her in this hotbed of Corpesetti activity until there was resolution – or at least until she saw sense and came to stay at the compound. What would his father say if he even knew Aidan had extended the invitation? Certainly all Jainus would have to do would be to look at Edie and he’d see exactly what Aidan and Cletus themselves had seen. But how could Aidan bring Edie into the fold after how many generations of having her blood polluted by mortals? There had to be some way. It was anathema for an Immorati to take a mortal bride. Which was most likely what one of Edie’s ancestors must have done after having left the safety and refuge of the compound. She did admit that her mother’s side had been in the area for generations. A strong hand on his back pulled Aidan out of his silent contemplations. Cletus nodded toward the car. “We need to leave.” Dark eyes flickered to the police chief where he stood on the walkway looking at them. “If Edie returns before we do, he’ll look after her.” Cold moved through Aidan’s veins at the thought. “No.” He swallowed although his throat had suddenly gone tight. “No more. If Edie needs protection it will be from me, and the Immorati. I will no longer entrust my mate to mortals.” “Your mate?” Cletus opened the car door. “I knew you were infatuated with the girl, but declaring her your mate goes beyond propriety.” Aidan shot a look over the car’s roof. “I thought you liked her?” “I do. I like her very much. I never would want to see her come to harm, but my feelings of protection for her do not extend to thinking her an ideal mate for you. If you are forgetting there is that small matter of her mortality to contend with.” “I know. But even if I were to take a full Immorati mate, what would be the guarantee that she and I would live out our eternity together? My parents sure didn’t enjoy that luxury, nor did yours.” “The only place my parents enjoyed any type of luxury was within the confines of the compound.” Cletus’s words had a bitter edge. The man remembered too well the days of slavery when he and his parents were forced to play the part in public. Aidan moved uncomfortably in his seat as a thought struck him. “I never make you feel as if you’re playing those same roles when we’re in public do you?” Silence filled the car, and Aidan could see Cletus frown behind his sunglasses. The frown suddenly cleared as if Cletus finally understood the meaning of Aidan’s question. “No. Thank the Origins that those days are gone. It was never easy back then to have to live one way outside the compound, and another way behind the walls. But no matter what I’ve had to endure in the past it was to fulfill my function within the conclave as a guardian. That’s an honor beyond anything a mortal could ever give me. Besides those who made my branch’s lives a misery outside the conclave are nothing but memories now.” He took his eyes off the road for a second to look at Aidan. “But immortality is not the only difference the Immorati and mortals have.” No, Aidan didn’t suspect it was. For one thing, there was no such thing as racial prejudices within the sanctity of a conclave. Only when the members from Cletus’s branch ventured forth into the mortal world did they encounter such problems. However, that didn’t mean the Immorati weren’t without prejudices themselves. How else would one explain the hatred of the Corpesetti, or the contempt they had for

mortals? They turned down a back road that led to a long hidden drive and the private road that would take them to the compound. “You’re really contemplating making Edie your mate?” The taste of her mouth came rushing back to him. The feel of her body pressed close to him, and the carnal hunger of her touch had threatened to overcome him as he stood locked to her in passion. Never had a woman made him feel so much, so intense before. And to sleep with his arms around her, he’d been nearly out of his head with want. She had fallen asleep with him on her couch, safe and close to the beat of his heart. “If I can find a way, I will.” “And if you can’t?” Cletus spared him a glance before turning back to the road. “Then I’ll enjoy her for as long as she’ll have me.” “Do you hear yourself, Aidan?” Concern creased Cletus’s forehead. “It may not happen for a while, but there will come a day when Edie will grow old and die. You’ll have to sit by and watch helplessly as lines steal her beauty and her bones become brittle with age, while you stay forever youthful. And when she dies, it will shatter your heart.” Aidan didn’t need to be reminded of that reality, but something in Cletus’s tone intrigued. “You have some experience in this quarter?” He nodded. “Long before Pandori came to America to be my wife, I fell in love with a young mortal woman. Estella was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. For fifty years she and I met in secret. I watched age stake its claim on her, while I could do nothing to stop its advance. Then one day I went to her home. She sat in the chair by the window watching for my arrival. Only I had arrived too late. Death and gotten there before me.” Surprise and pain moved through Aidan. In all the years of their close friendship, Cletus had never once confided this story to him. And briefly Aidan wondered if Pandori knew any part of this remarkable tale. He said the expected words, though they seemed so inadequate. “I’m sorry, Cletus.” “It’s long in the past, but not forgotten. You may have longer with Edie than I did with Estella, considering Edie’s Immorati blood, but you’ll not have forever.” No matter how doomed his love for Edie, or how many warnings bestowed on him by Cletus, Aidan knew that even a small window of time with Edie in his life would be far sweeter than an eternity without her. Having tasted her lips and feeling the flow of passion between them, he could never let her go. Only death could part them, and he’d do everything in his power to ensure that never happened.

Chapter Fifteen Candles lit the vault. Shadows danced along the walls, highlighting the sculpted names and dates of the deceased Immorati. More than half the ancestors had come to rest here after fatal run-ins with the Corpesetti. Aidan stood at the front of the room facing the conclave. Behind him, Nanine’s shrouded body lay on a marble bier waiting to be lifted into the sepulcher. The cement plate with engraved marble cover would seal her body in for her eternity. Solemn faces peered at him from the rows of folding chairs. The conclave had done this so often of late that he felt permanent pews should replace the folding chairs. He shook his head at the morose thought and took a deep breath to begin. “Youth, beauty, and vitality, these qualities Nanine possessed in no small measure. She lived only a hundred years, but in that short span of time she lived enough for a thousand Immorati. “We should all take note of her example and live all our days to the fullest as lasting tribute to her memory. Nanine left here that day to meet a lover, and found instead the path to the ancestors. “May she find them waiting to welcome her with open arms.” Aidan turned from his audience and looked at his cousin’s form. Too young. It just wasn’t right. Seth, Cletus, Eliah, and Shelton stood and came to the front to assist Aidan in lifting Nanine into the crypt. Fresh herbs and flowers were placed around her to ease her spirit’s path to the unearthly estate. Stifled sobs punctuated the quiet. It was never easy when one saw a member so young placed prematurely into the vault. As Nanine’s body slid into the black cavity, Seth looked over at Aidan, a serious expression on his face. It wasn’t until much later in the evening that Seth sought out Aidan as he sat with Pandori and Cletus combing the archives for some mention of a possible ancestor of Edie’s that could link her to their conclave. Or at least tell him more about the mysterious Edith DuBois. He took a seat next to Aidan and leaned in to look at the book in front his elder brother. “What are you looking for?” “Answers.” Aidan turned another page. “For why Nanine died?”

“No. I know why she died – the hate and jealousy of the Corpesetti.” He skimmed a list of names. He knew most of them and still others had faded from memory over the generations. Seth placed his hand on top of the book to prevent Aidan from turning to another page. “Then what is so important in the archives? Don’t shut me out, Aidan. You’ve been acting secretive since you returned from Pine Haven, and the last person who went secretive on us ended up dead.” Aidan took a deep breath and looked at his brother. Unlike Aidan, Seth had light blue eyes, the same shade as their late beloved mother. “All right, but I have to swear you to secrecy on this. Do not tell father even under threat of torture.” Seth gave a lame smile at that. Jainus had never once raised his hand to anyone, especially his sons. “I swear to keep the secret even under threat of torture.” Aidan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Cletus and I met another Immorati living in Pine Haven.” “What?” Seth looked over at Cletus for confirmation. “It’s true. She’s not a full blood Immorati. A few generations removed I would guess.” Seth regarded the books spread out on the table. “And you think you’ll find proof of her ancestry here in the archives? What if she came from another conclave?” “Definite possibility,” Pandori lifted one exhausted volume and placed it back on the shelf before getting another one. “I can’t wait until the new archival software is shipped from Italy. It will make a search on this scale much more efficient.” Cletus nodded in agreement. “So, why don’t you just ask her what conclave she descends from?” Seth acted as if he’d found the answer. If the truth were that easy, Aidan would have been able to form a plan of action instead of spending his time searching for only the ancestor’s new what. “Because she doesn’t know she descended from Immorati, let alone that we exist.” Cletus turned another page. “Um, Cletus, that’s not quite true,” Aidan folded his arms over the book in front of him. He had some explaining to do and hated like hell he’d kept something this important from Cletus. “What do you mean?” Dark eyes narrowed at the possibility of being left out of the loop. “Last night, Edie asked me to tell her if the word ‘Immorati’ meant anything to me.” “When was this? And more importantly, why didn’t you tell me?” Cletus glared at him then stood up to pace around the table. “If she knew enough to say the name specifically that means someone is feeding her information about us. Her grandmother maybe.” “She did seem awful anxious to go to grandma’s rather than return here with us.” Seth looked at first one of them, then the other. “You were going to bring an outsider here?” “Extenuating circumstances.” Aidan gave the absentminded answer. “How’s that?” Cletus, as the guardian, gave Seth a penetrating look meant to impress upon him the importance of his words. “Because she’s being stalked and terrorized by a Corpesetti.” Confusion clouded Seth’s expression. “But if she only has some Immorati blood, why would the Corpesetti bother with her? She’d hardly be able to grant him something she doesn’t posses.” “We haven’t figured that out completely yet either. We believe it’s because she is more vulnerable

than either Aidan or I. She happened to be in the woods with us when we encountered a Corpesetti. I took a shot and missed and now he’s seeking revenge on the weakest member of our party. Or he’s trying to draw us in using her as bait. Who knows? To a Corpesetti maybe even a small amount of immortal blood is enough.” “This story is getting better by the minute. No wonder you didn’t want father to know,” Seth chided. “So, how exactly did she get involved in all of this?” “A Corpesetti was killed along with Nanine. Edie is a local anthropologist and they called her in to help identify the ‘creature’.” Seth raised a brow. “No wonder I’ve been hearing a lot of static about the Jersey Devil on the radio.” He sat back in his chair. “So, why don’t you just tell father this woman is being stalked and bring her here anyhow? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind, given the circumstances.” “I did make the offer to her, but she refused.” Aidan turned to look at his brother and gave a small lift of his shoulder. “She claims to not want to be anyone’s prisoner.” “And did you tell her that she wouldn’t be?” Pandori skimmed the Table of Contents for the book she laid out in front of her. “Of course I did. But Edie is stubborn and self-righteous, and any other number of exasperating qualities.” Aidan curled his hand into a fist in frustration. “Hmm. Sounds like someone else I know,” Seth teased. “What does she look like? Is she pretty?” “Pretty doesn’t even begin to cover it.” Aidan stood and pushed his chair to the table. “I need some fresh air.” When Seth started to stand, a quick motion from Cletus stalled his movements. “Leave him be for now. You’ve badgered him enough for a day.” Aidan walked through the quiet halls of the compound and out the side door into the garden. Bright fall flowers bloomed in vibrant hues of yellow, orange and red. The maple trees had turned bright with color and began to shed their leaves in preparation of winter. He moved over the tiled walkway and sat on a stone bench, leaning his back against a tree trunk. Thoughts swirled though his mind in a never-ending kaleidoscope of images, most of them containing Edie Campbell. How could someone in such a short time have become so important to him? He had lived for nearly two-hundred and fifty years and never before had someone entered his life and threatened to upset the very order of things. He’d thought his heart would stop when he saw the damage to her truck. Thank the ancestors her cuts were only superficial and the Corpesetti hadn’t gotten closer to her. But from the looks of it, he’d gotten close enough. Cool wind blew across his face and ruffled his hair. Earthy smells teased his nostrils and he took in a deep breath. That’s the way the world should smell: of earth and life, and all things natural. It was the way things had smelled back before cars, and power plants, and pollution. It was an honest smell that made him long for days past. But then again, the past did not have Edie Campbell. He’d known it the first time he’d seen her, as she moved away from the police chief’s protection. The current that passed between them was like a lightning strike. A direct hit. At least she admitted nothing but friendly ties between her and the police chief. However, the police

chief didn’t act as if that were the case. But perhaps it would be best if Aidan forgot about her and left her to a mortal lover. With only half Immorati blood she would never be able to follow him into the bosom of the ancestors. Cletus’s warning came back to him tenfold. The thought of living long after Edie was not a future he wanted to contemplate. All the lonely years would stretch out before him with no one ever touching his heart in quite the same way. He knew that with a certainty deeper than his bone marrow. He felt sure that had been the case between Cletus and Estella. Though not demonstrative by nature, he noted only a common respect and affection between Cletus and Pandori, not a passionate love. For Aidan there had to be a deep passion felt for any woman he took for a mate. Another gentle breeze fluttered by and Aidan caught a familiar scent: Edie. He stood and turned his head in the direction of the breeze and began to walk toward the compound’s inner boundary. Could she, by some miracle, have found the complex and came to him? He turned his face into the wind and took a deep breath of her. *** Edie rolled over on her grandmother’s couch. A scent carried in through the open window. It was a heady fragrance: dark, spicy, and male. “Aidan.” She lifted her face to the breeze. The tingle of a light caress moved down her body, lingering slightly on the curve of her breast. Warm lips pressed against hers. The smell of his skin enveloped her. Sweet murmurings brushed against the shell of her ear, the curve of her neck, and the hollow between her breasts. Her hand fluttered down to touch the back of his head, and felt only the soft nap of her sweater. “Aidan?” She woke alone, his scent lingering to her clothes. She brushed a shaky hand over her eyes and turned away from the window. Grandma stood in the kitchen doorway looking at her with a quizzical expression. Edie met her eyes with a sleepy smile. “I must have been dreaming.” The remains of which lingered in her mind and heart. The phone rang. “Must have been some kind of dream.” Grandma picked up the phone. Edie sat up and looked out the window and onto the perfectly manicured lawn. Every lawn up and down the street looked as if it had been express delivered by the local garden club. A rogue weed wouldn’t dare make an appearance in this neighborhood. If she had to live in a town bigger than Pine Haven, it would definitely be this one. She sighed and watched as one of the neighbors came out on their porch with a watering can in hand and started watering the plants and flowers adorning the area. She turned her head and rested it on her hand along the back of the couch, feeling a gentle lethargy over from the dream. She wished she could go back to sleep and pick up where she’d left off, but her good dreams never seemed to work that way for her. A picture of her late grandfather sat on the étagère among pictures of her parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and she and her sister. Something odd about the display niggled at the back of Edie’s mind. It wasn’t something she had ever thought of before, and the family pictures were mementos she’d seen her entire life.

Edie cast a glance at her grandma walking around the kitchen as she talked to someone on the phone. The shelf contained no pictures of her grandma. Not even pictures with her husband, or children, or grandchildren. She stood and walked over and picked up the formal portrait of her grandfather as a young man. He had to be no more than twenty when the picture was taken back in the early 1930’s. “She looks exactly like she did the day I married her.” Edie remembered how grandfather would talk about his beloved wife. “The most beautiful woman I ever saw. Took my breath away. I knew in an instant she was the only woman I wanted as my bride.” Shivers of recognition moved down Edie’s spine. In all the family photos, the only one to noticeably age was her grandfather and those who married into the family. Children and grandchildren grew healthy and strong, but once they reached adulthood something happened, something inexplicable – the aging process seemed to halt completely. She shot a suspicious glance at her grandma. No, surely Edie was losing her mind. The stories her grandma told her were just that, stories. Nothing more, nothing less. The stress of the last few days had finally gotten to her. Edie could easily believe the existence of the Corpesetti because she had seen one, touched one, saw with her own eyes the fact the beasts died as did all things. Eventually. Grandma came out of the kitchen with a cordless phone in hand and thrust it at Edie. “Here, talk to your father. Let him know you’re all right. Poor man’s worried sick over you.” Edie took the phone, her mind still reeling with the suppositions. “Hi, Daddy.” “Sweetheart, why didn’t you call us and let us know you’d be at your grandmother’s? We were worried sick when we tried to call and you didn’t answer. Your mother is inconsolable with all she’s heard of going on in Pine Haven.” Connor Campbell didn’t slow for a breath as he spoke to his younger daughter in a worried and somewhat accusatory tone. “I only slipped away for a few days. I didn’t think I’d need to send you my itinerary. Why didn’t you just call my cell phone if you were so worried?” “I have been. It kept saying you were unavailable. I’ll be damned if I’m going to talk to your voice mail when it’s you I want to speak to.” Edie hurried across the room to her purse and found her phone in the bottom. It was turned off. “I’m sorry. I must have turned it off and forgot I did.” “Fat lot of good those high tech gadgets do if you don’t even turn ‘em on so people can get a hold of you when they need to.” “I said I was sorry.” She flopped back down on the couch. She hated being treated like a four-year old instead of a grown woman with a Ph.D. “Baby girl, we’re just so worried about you. You live so far away and all alone, anything could happen to you.” And nearly did, she thought but didn’t say that to her already excited parent. Instead she settled for, “I don’t live that far away.” “Far enough.” “Do you ever call Liza and harass her? If you think Pine Haven’s far, I’m sure Italy seems like another planet to you.” Edie’s father got very quiet. It wasn’t a good thing when he got quiet. “Don’t take that tone with me. Liza is a different story. She didn’t move to Italy alone, she’s with Rafe.” Oh, like he made all the difference in the world. He was a vainglorious peacock who probably spent

more time in front of the mirror than Liza did, if that were possible. She bit down on her tongue to keep from saying such to her father. He wouldn’t take it kindly if she made disparaging comments about Liza. He didn’t like it when they didn’t get along. He may be gruff at times, but he liked to live under the illusion that his little family unit never had cross words. “Look, you can tell mother I’m fine. She can stop worrying. Not only has Karl been dogging my every step lately, but two guys rented the downstairs apartment. I’m very well protected these days.” “I’m glad someone is seeing to your welfare.” “Oh, besides my incompetent self, you mean?” Edie stood and moved into the kitchen where her grandma had beaten a hasty retreat. “Here, I’m going to let you talk to grandma again. I’m done with this conversation.” “Edie, don’t you... ” She couldn’t hear the rest of what her father said as she thrust the phone to her grandmother. “You deal with him. I’m going to drive up to the Wa-Wa.” Why did her parents insist on treating her as if she had the intellect of a dust bunny? Liza had always been their golden child, and for the most part Edie didn’t care. Let her sister have the family limelight and enjoy it. Edie herself had never felt the deep seeded need for attention Liza seemed to crave. Edie had always felt comfortable in her own skin, and confident in her attitudes and thoughts. She had never been ashamed of expressing her feelings and opinions. Never had she backed down from a challenge when there was something she could learn from it. So, why did her entire family think her incapable of caring for herself? Had she ever once done something unexpected or outrageous that would make them think she made poor decisions where her welfare was concerned. Looking back, she couldn’t think of one. She had faced a full-grown Corpesetti at close range. True, there was the shattered remains of her driver’s side door separating the two of them, but no one needed to know that detail. Her mind twisted and turned around the possibilities. Perhaps her parents’ concern was just due to the fact she lived alone in a town under siege by Corpesetti. But maybe it was something more. *** The album sat in a steamer trunk, old and forgotten. The pages had turned yellow decades before and now the stench of mold had left a lasting impression on the mementoes. Edie had waited until her grandma left to visit a friend before she climbed to the attic in search of evidence to prove what she’d had fast begun to believe was a truth. That she and her family were members of an immortal race. She hoped the evidence might just as easily disprove the existence of the Immorati and her possible connection to them. She opened the thick leather cover and stared at pictures from another era. The people were posed in formal settings. Back then, having one’s picture taken was serious business and none of the subjects smiled or looked happy in any other way. She recognized no one from the big family photo album stashed in her grandma’s credenza downstairs. All were perfect strangers to her. On the next page she found a picture of her grandma looking the same as she did now. The only differences were the clothes and the look of experience in the eyes. All other things remained the same. Edie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Maybe when she opened them she’d find the differences missed before.

She opened first one eye and then the other. No. Damn. No change. How could Edie—her entire family—be so blind? How could they not see, and ask questions about her grandma’s unnatural longevity and incredible gene pool? Even weekly botox injections and regular trips to the plastic surgeon couldn’t keep a person looking so youthful. And yet, grandma had gray hair and some lines on her face. Not deep, but they were there. Laugh lines, grandma called them. She pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. A super-sized headache started to build behind her eyes. The answers came the same way as how she’d explained the disparity between the appearances of the Corpesetti with that of the Jersey Devil descriptions to Dr. Steve: people see what they want to see. Her family had wanted to see grandma aging gracefully, so they did. They had wanted to imagine her as a woman possessed of very good genes and a freakish kind of longevity, but not as an immortal being. Because, face it, who’d really believe immortals lived outside of science fiction or fantasy stories? No one sane. She turned the page again and found a wedding picture of her grandma with her first husband, Gianni Lorelli. It was a shock to see the picture, though Edie had known for years her grandma had been married before, and then widowed at a young age. However, she’d never seen any photos of the man Edith barely spoke of so many years after his death. A sadness pooled under her heart. She wondered if her grandma ever thought of Gianni, or if his memory faded into some obscure recess like the yellowed pages of the album tucked away in the steamer trunk. She ran her fingertip over the image. He’d been so young when he died. Murdered, she’d heard, but didn’t know if the one responsible had ever been found. The page opposite the wedding photograph was of a beautiful sprawling manor home, surrounded by tall pines. There was no notation on the page to tell where the photo had been taken or who lived there. Perhaps it had been Gianni’s home in Italy. There was a certain old world charm and sturdiness about the place. Footsteps on the stairs had Edie scrambling to hide the photo album back in the trunk where it belonged. “Edie, are you up here?” “Yeah.” There was no use in keeping silent. She’d already been busted. Her grandma made the last step and stood with her hands on her lean hips, frowning. “What are you doing up here?” Edie didn’t know how to answer. She’d never lied to her grandma before, and didn’t plan to start now, though she could skirt the issue. “You have a lot of cool things up here. I just thought I’d look around.” The half-truth didn’t seem to work. Her grandma knew Edie too well and gave her a skeptical look. Her bright green eyes narrowed. “It’s junk. I’m just too busy enjoying my golden years to worry about hauling it out of here.” Edie’s attention immediately fell to the steamer trunk. “Not all of it.” Her grandma came forward and when she got close enough to Edie she put an arm around her shoulder and steered her back to the stairs. “I’ll tell you what, when you’ve finished researching and writing that book of yours, you come down here and go through it all. I’m leaving it all to you anyhow. You might as well decide what you want now.”

A painful lurch twisted Edie’s heart. She couldn’t even think of her grandma dying. Ever. She loved her so much. But she could take heart in the knowledge that Edith wouldn’t be planning what to do with her possessions when she died if she were an immortal. She put her arm around her grandma’s waist and smiled. “Just give me the familial myths and I’ll be happy with that.”

Chapter Sixteen Edie arrived at the park with the crowds. It was the first day of the Fall Festival and she had promised to help with the concessions. It was something she’d done since age sixteen and had only missed the years she attended college. The trip to her grandma’s had only managed to create more questions. But it answered others. Edie now believed that the Corpesetti had a real culture and were not the animalistic predators she at first thought. She greeted the other volunteers and placed a roll of meal tickets near the counter for easy access. The idea was to sell the tickets at a separate booth so the food venders wouldn’t need to handle money and food. She shoved her hands into her pockets and felt paper crinkle under her fingers. It had been left on her porch this morning, and addressed to her. At first she’d thought it was from Aidan, but he hadn’t returned to Pine Haven after his cousin’s memorial service. And it wasn’t from Karl, she knew his handwriting. She pulled it out and opened it to study the broad handsome scroll. Whoever it was had asked to meet her at the festival tonight. It was probably the same man who had watched her help with the decorations. The thought he’d found her house scared her, but the note peaked her curiosity. The author hadn’t inferred anything sinister and only requested a chance to speak with her for a few moments about the Jersey Devil. In that respect the note was really odd. The entire town was talking about the Jersey Devil. Anyone could have just walked up to her and started a conversation about it. They didn’t have to feel a need to make a special appointment to do it. She worked most of the day without incident, or even catching a sight of anyone who looked suspicious, or as if they were looking to speak with her in private. The sun had started to lower behind the tree line before something interesting happened, but it wasn’t in the form she’d anticipated. Karl approached the concession and leaned on the counter. “I thought you’d be gone longer.” “I made a promise to help out. You know me. I can’t go back on a promise.” She shoved the note back in her pocket after looking at it again for about the thousandth time that afternoon, and then turned

to help a customer. He nodded. “How was the trip to your grandma’s?” Edie handed change back to the customer. “She babied me and then my parents called and made me feel like I’m not to be trusted caring for myself.” He made a face like he had a gas pain. “Sorry, I should have called and warned you.” “They called you looking for me?” “Wouldn’t be the first time.” He held up a hand to stop her when she opened her mouth. “And before you say anything, no, I didn’t mention that you’d been the target of two separate attacks.” Edie rubbed the scabs on her chest. “It doesn’t matter, my father acted like he already knew.” “Probably did. Your parents are pretty astute where you’re concerned.” “Yeah, why is that I wonder? They never gave Liza a hard time about being alone—and she lived in the city by herself— but me, they treat like I haven’t got enough sense to get in out of the rain.” A sad smile pulled the corner of Karl’s mouth up. “I remember a time you weren’t so quick to get out of the rain.” She should definitely be shot for stupidity. Edie remembered the time Karl spoke of. It was after they had first become lovers and the two of them had gotten caught in a sudden downpour in the woods. They were wet, and tired, and so charged with sexual excitement they ended up making love in the woods as the rain dripped down on them from the canopy of trees. She smiled back at him, her heart clenching at his pain. “That was a lovely day.” He straightened from the counter as another customer approached. Edie finished the transaction and looked expectantly at Karl. She didn’t want to tell him to leave, but he was beginning to make her feel guiltier than usual. Sometimes, though, she got the feeling that Karl really loved someone else and she was the alternative. His single-minded pursuit of her had been a relatively recent development within the last six months. He tipped his hat at an elderly couple then directed his gaze back to Edie. “Your man paid me a sideways compliment yesterday morning.” “My man?” He squinted at her as if he thought she was putting him on. “Mr. LaMont.” “What did he do?” “Said I’d make a better mayor then Brisbane – to Brisbane’s face.” He gave a low chuckle and shook his head in disbelief. “Really? How did this come about?” Intrigued, Edie took up leaning on the counter where Karl had abandoned it. Karl proceeded to regale her with a tale of pomposity run amok. Brisbane definitely needed to get a grip on his ego and image of self-importance. “Good, I hope you do run. It would serve the little turd right for acting like that.” Edie straightened and crossed her arms. “Now that I think about it, I wonder why you didn’t consider it before.” “Come on, Edie, I’m not a politician.” She laughed. “You ran for class president.” “Yeah, but that was high school. I know law enforcement. I was trained in it. I don’t know politics.” He rubbed a hand across his lower jaw in consideration.

“Well you have a while to consider. The election isn’t for another two years.” Dropping the subject with a subtle hint that he should consider it would go further with him than begging. A portly figure waddled across her field of vision and she ducked her head toward it. “There goes our illustrious mayor now.” Karl turned and gave a rueful smile. “Wonder what old Brisbane would do if I decided to run against him?” “Probably have a coronary.” Karl looked sympathetic. “I would hate to think I’d be the cause of putting the guy in the hospital, but it would be fun to see his expression if I took LaMont’s suggestion seriously.” Edie pursed her lips and directed her attention to the patron holding money out to her. “You think I should.” It was a statement, not a question. “I never said that,” Edie denied. He gave half-grunt half-chuckle. “You didn’t have to. Your expression says it all. I know you Edie Campbell. You’re trying really hard not to say what you’re thinking.” “Thank you and enjoy the festival.” She was talking to the patron who Karl had all but ignored in the midst of their conversation. She turned her attention back to him. “All right, you want my opinion?” “Yeah, I do.” She smiled broadly. “I think you’d make an excellent mayor. Everyone already trusts you and knows you to be a man of character and integrity. I know the office doesn’t pay much, but you could still work in law enforcement, couldn’t you?” He laughed. “Oh, sweetheart, I don’t think that would work out. I’m too much of a control freak to work in my own department as a patrolman, especially after being the head honcho for so long. And the duties of police chief and mayor would be too prohibitive to take on together.” “So, become a private investigator. You could take on only the cases you wanted and you could work around your schedule with the mayor’s office.” She shook her head at the money Josephine Murphy, a little old lady that had to be at least eighty if she was a day, held out to her. “I can’t take your money Mrs. Murphy.” She ripped off a handful of tickets and handed them to her. “Here, your meals are on me today.” The old woman beamed. “You’re a sweet girl, Edie.” She cocked her gray head toward Karl. “Is my hearing finally going or did I hear you say you’re going to run for mayor against that idiot Brisbane?” Karl blushed at the old woman’s words. “I’m thinking about it.” “I wish you would. Don’t know how he got elected in the first place.” She put a finger, bent from arthritis, in the air pointing upwards. “I swear he only wears loafers because he’s too big an idiot to tie his own shoes.” Edie let out a shocked guffaw. “It’s true. You mark my words. Next time you see him, look at his feet. Loafers, I tell you.” She clutched the tickets in her withered hand and walked away. Edie was still laughing at the outrageous statement. “She’s priceless, that one. God love her.” Karl raised a brow. “I think I could count on the senior vote.” “If Mrs. Murphy has anything to say about it you will.” “Would you vote for me?” His tone had gone soft and tentative.

“I should be offended you felt you had to ask that question. I would do even better than vote for you. I’d hire myself as your campaign manager. I’ll even rope Aidan and Cletus into helping, since it was Aidan’s idea in the first place.” His radio squawked then and he leaned over to talk into the mouthpiece clasped to the shoulder of his uniform. “Urich.” “There’s a ten-ten, abandoned, on Pitch Rd. I think you should take a look at it.” “Copy that.” He turned to her. “I’ll see you later.” She called after him, “Careful.” She really didn’t have to remind him to be, he always was. Edie turned back to the business at hand and tried to keep her thoughts from flitting between Karl and Aidan. Dear, sweet Karl. He was such a good steady man any woman would be lucky to have him, but not Edie. No, she had to be a complete moron and go for the man who made adrenaline pump like fire through her veins, and had more mysteries than a Chinese puzzle box. *** Karl arrived on scene to find patrolman Deats standing beside a late model sports car that looked like a thousand others on the road. The driver’s door stood wide open, the engine running. The left front quarter panel had sustained severe damage, the airbags deployed. Blood smeared the front of the car. One bloody handprint stood in stark relief on the hood. “Do we know who the car belongs to yet?” Karl took in the scene with a quick, yet thorough glance. Deats scratched at his moustache and shook his head. “That’s the damnedest thing about it all. The plates are new, but they aren’t registered, or rather they’re coming up as not found.” Karl frowned and walked to the side of the car to peer inside. “Computer glitch?” “Possibly. I’ll try to run them again.” They needed to locate the driver and find out if there were injuries sustained in the accident. Was the bloody handprint made by the driver, a passenger, or a pedestrian they hit? “Were there any witnesses?” Karl noted a suitcase in the back of the car and a bundled stack of letters on the passenger seat. Someone running from problems, or a broken relationship perhaps? “No. Nothing reported. Carver was coming back from his mother’s house when he noticed the car just like this.” Deats came around to the driver’s side. “He and Palmer are in the woods looking for the driver.” Karl knew accident victims were sometimes known to walk away from the scene if they were disoriented. Another scenario would be a Good Samaritan happened by and took the injured driver to the hospital, but usually a call would be made to nine-one-one to report the accident and alert paramedics. That didn’t appear to be the case here. A quick look at the passenger door showed the locks were still engaged on that side. Chances are there was only one person in the car. Karl backed out and straightened. He needed some gloves so he could go through the glove compartment and pick through the bundled letters looking for answers. “Take some pictures of the scene... ” His radio crackled to life cutting off the rest of his words. “Ten-fifty for a ten ninety-three.” It was Carver’s voice requesting Tyler’s presence to attend a dead body.

“Carver, what’s your twenty?” “Approximately one-half mile south west of accident site.” “Copy.” He turned to start into the woods. “Stay with the car. Go through the glove box and have those letters and that suitcase taken to the station when you’ve finished with the pictures.” Confident his orders would be carried out without waiting for a response from Deats, he headed into the woods toward the site where the body had been found. Chances are the body would be the driver who had succumbed to injuries. It was possible the driver didn’t realize how extensive the injuries were when he or she began walking, and went down while trying to go for help. But why not follow the road into town? It took him longer than he thought to find Carver and Palmer. Dense growth and a riot of colors hid his men from his search, plus the sun had started to set. The farther he walked the closer he came to the swamps. And he damn sure didn’t want to be walking in the swamps at night looking for his men and a body. When he found them, Carver was talking to dispatch and Palmer was taking pictures of the scene with his camera phone. It was a technological feature Karl strongly recommended all members of his department have on their phones because it came in handy on the job. And right now he was glad for making the suggestion a mandate. He stood above the body with his hands resting on his hips. It lay on its side. A crimson river of blood pooled beneath the chest and painted the fallen leaves. Long tapered fingers curled around the handle of a familiar looking firearm. Gorge rose in Karl’s throat. He knew that profile and dark hair. The expensive cut of a long black coat swirled around the body like a burial shroud. He muttered. “Christ on a crutch.” “You know the victim?” Palmer snapped off a picture while standing at the victim’s feet. “He was Edie’s new man.” Acknowledging the truth of the words didn’t hurt as much as knowing he’ d have to be the one to tell her Aidan LaMont had been felled in the woods by the very creature that killed his cousin. Both Palmer and Carver studied Karl before giving their attention to the body on the ground with the large gapping wound where the heart should be. He was sure the speculative look in their eyes was due to the fact Edie had a new man, and not that they suspected him of inflicting such bodily injury to a rival. However, the idea they make think that still made him sick. While the men worked the scene, Karl walked around the perimeter looking for clues. Where was the man’s sidekick? Wasn’t he usually tied to him like an extra appendage? And the car, it wasn’t the black Mercedes. Did he have more than one car? Or did the Mercedes belong to Cletus Feucheux? What did LaMont hit to cause the damage to the car, and deploy the airbags? Did the Jersey Devil make a late afternoon appearance and LaMont hit it with his car then stopped and followed the beast into the woods? It had to be. Shiny metal glinted in the last rays of sun as it fell through the canopy of trees and struck an object embedded about head high in a tree. He moved closer to get a better look at it and gasped at the site. A thick, but short dart had landed in the tree instead of its intended victim. A direct hit in one of the Devil’s major organs would have meant instant death. From the height of the hit, it appeared LaMont had aimed for the head. It had obviously missed its mark and gave the creature an opportunity to attack, leaving LaMont without defense. “Poor arrogant bastard.” He swallowed down his bile. No one deserved to die in such a manner. But

the thought that had him feeling the sickest was the possibility that Edie would blame him for not being able to protect her lover.

*** The hour wore on with the crowds not staying away due to the threat of the Jersey Devil. If anything it seemed a possible sighting had actually increased the crowds from last year, as Edie hardly recognized any of the faces she saw. As the crowds swelled and the night began to hang over the park, Edie and the other volunteers took turns taking breaks and walking around the festival. She grabbed a hotdog with the works and sat at the picnic table where she had put the garlands together a few days before. It would be a perfect contact point to meet her mystery man. The sunset fell through the multi-colored leaves and dappled the ground in faded golden light. A sky painted in oranges and purples so unreal it looked fabricated by the geniuses at ILM served as backdrop to the scene. A gentle breeze blew through the trees and rustled leaves that had already fallen to the ground. Autumn was Edie’s favorite time of year, and she often lamented that it didn’t last longer. In a different time and place, Edie felt sure she must have danced a balefire at a harvest dance. A twig behind her snapped and she turned to look over her shoulder. A tall black shadow stood out from the trunks of trees. A long black cape and hood covered the person from head to toe. A tingle of anticipation rose in her spine and fluttered across her abdomen, and called her to follow the person deeper into the woods. She stood and brushed the crumbs off her hands. The shadow ducked behind a tree. “Wait!” Edie whispered harshly. “If you want to talk to me you have to come out here.” The answer came in the breaking of sticks under heavy feet, moving away from her. She stood to follow the sounds moving through the brush, and the trail of broken branches that laced the woods like tenacious spider webs. The idea she was about to become a horror movie cliché briefly moved through her mind as adrenaline pumped into her veins. She came to a small clearing and let her breath saw in and out from trying to hurry to catch up with whoever moved in front of her. Night began to close in fast around her, the sun sinking closer to horizon. “You found my note?” She recognized the deep voice behind her. She turned. “Why didn’t you join the festival? I thought you’d meet me there. My safety’s in question here.” A low growling laugh vibrated through the trees and raised the hair on her arms. She gave them a vigorous rub. “Well, why not?” “You are safer with me here, than I would ever be in your world. The mortals hate my kind, almost as much as the Immorati.” Breath caught in the back of her throat. It took her a moment to calm her pounding heart. So the Corpesetti had language skills and were capable of higher thought. Even though Aidan had almost

admitted as much, Edie still found it remarkable that an intelligent being such as a Corpesetti had hid so well, and for so long from the world without demanding their rights and place in society. But then, they would not have exactly fit in with polite society. “You aren’t the same Corpesetti who has been attacking me, are you?” The realization came to her at the same moment the words tumbled from her trembling lips. If so, she was one dead anthropologist. The Corpesetti came out from his hiding place and pushed the hood back from his face. He was an impressive specimen. Edie couldn’t look away. There was a horrific beauty about him. It was almost like looking into the face of a lion, or panther. Not that he looked at all feline, but the feeling of seeing so much power and knowing that at any moment her life could come to an end at his whim made her stand in awe, even as he moved close enough to reach out a hand to her. A long clawed finger moved down the fall of her hair. “My kind does not understand how to break the curse. They wouldn’t listen to my brother, and they killed him for his actions.” “Who killed him?” Edie managed to talk even though the big creature wound her hair around his hand. She was afraid to move, afraid to break the spell lest he not finish his story. Afraid if she resisted he’d pull her hair and capture her completely. “The council. He found a way to break the curse and they would rather live in their hatred and jealousy than listen to reason.” Black eyes stared down at her in the limited light. “The pain of my brother ’s death has only made me more determined to see the curse lifted.” “How can you do that? Won’t you be next on your kind’s hit list?” The Corpesetti moved closer to her. “Possibly. But I will do everything in my power to keep Titus and the others from destroying our race.” He cocked his large head to one side and regarded her closely. “You know nothing of your nature, do you?” A shiver of denial moved through her. “I know we are born, we live, and we die. All of us, sooner or later.” “Not the Immorati.” His voice turned harsh, cold. “It’s not their fault they were born into immortality. As it’s not your fault you are as mortal as I.” The Corpesetti laughed. Long white fangs flashed in the dying light. “If that is what you believe.” “Why did your brother see the way to break the curse when the rest of your people don’t, or can’t?” “Hedric was a poet in the strictest sense of the word. He was a romantic and loved where he shouldn ’t, the unobtainable. A prize beyond imagining.” Suddenly the Corpesetti raised his head and sniffed the air. Panic and urgency pooled in the depths of obsidian eyes. “Hurry, you must leave this place. Go back to your festival. Go back to your mortals.” “What is it?” Edie tried to see into the deep woods, but her eyes were too limited by the encroaching darkness to see anything. “Just leave, please.” He started off in the opposite direction, away from Edie. “Wait, what’s your name?” She wondered what could have spooked a creature as big and powerful as a Corpesetti – unless it was another one that wasn’t as friendly to outsiders as he. He yelled over his shoulder as the woods swallowed him from sight. “Lemar.” “Who is Titus?” Too late, he had already gone. She hurried back to the festival, her mind filled with thoughts of Lemar and his people. How could

they survive in the most heavily populated state in the country and have a culture complete with language and rules, and beliefs and be so apart from civilization? When she exited the woods the nighttime festival was in full swing. A band warmed up their instruments on the bandstand on the east side of the park. Fathers carried overtired children in their arms, while moms pushed carriages filled with trinkets purchased at the many craft venders. On her way back to the concession, Edie was waylaid by a hand on her arm. “Where were you?” Aidan’s handsome face was awash in worry. “Taking a walk.” She placed her hand on his cheek. He pressed his face into her palm and closed his eyes. “I was worried about you. How did the memorial service go?” He moved her hand around to his mouth and placed a kiss on her fingers as his heated gaze bore into hers. “It was difficult, but we got through.” “Where’s Cletus?” “Taking a look around.” He was evasive as he put his arm around her and directed her toward the bandstand. “Aidan, I have to go back to the concession. I’ve been gone longer than I should have.” She started to move in the opposite direction. Before she could get very far he pulled her close, buried his face in her hair, and took in a deep breath. “How is it possible?” “What?” “You have the stink of a Corpesetti on you.” Now she moved away from him and took his hand as they started walking toward the concession. “I think your people may be wrong about the Corpesetti, at least some of them.” Aidan pulled on her arm to stop her in her tracks. “What do you mean by that? How could you possible come to such a conclusion about something you know absolutely nothing about?” “I know enough to realize that not every species has a hive mentality. There are such things as individuals, even among your hated Corpesetti.” Edie didn’t raise her voice or allow condemnation to enter as she spoke. “What would you do if you found out that a Corpesetti discovered a way to lift the curse placed on them by the Origins?” He stared at her for a moment, his amber gaze turning dark in concentration. Then he shook his head. “What kind of foolishness has your grandmother filled your head with?” Offended, but no less cautious with the uncertain mood Aidan was in, Edie decided not to tell him she’d not gotten that bit of information from her grandmother, but from a grown male Corpesetti. “It’s not foolishness though, is it? And I’m not as stupid as I look.” She jerked her arm from his grasp and started to walk away from him. “Edie, please. Who is your grandmother? It’s important that I know.” Blood froze in her veins making her heart grow cold heart, chilling her to her spot. Aidan had to know her grandma, or at least know of her. Edie didn’t know if she had the strength to discover her own immortal origins. Denial was a lovely state to visit, and she had often considered relocating there. Now would be a good time to do so. For a few days, she had actually been able to pretend the evidence of the existence of immortals hadn’t been staring her in the face, but she sure as hell could go kicking and screaming to that realization. Living immortals flew in the face of every scientific doctrine she knew—and yet, she believed in the Corpesetti with everything inside her, and whole heartedly embraced their fantastical use of language and culture.

Anger tore through her. How dare Aidan demand to know anything about her family when she didn’t even understand or what to believe it herself. “Why is it important? Are you suddenly going to tell me I’m not good enough for you? That my lineage is not esteemed enough to consort with a LaMont?” Aidan narrowed the gap between them. His hands tightly gripped her upper arms. “I would never say that.” She had barely a second’s warning before his mouth came down on hers. The kiss started out rough and demanding, but as her mouth opened to him, he gentled and became excruciatingly tender. The grip on her arms loosened and his hands traveled up to cup her face. Thumbs brushed her cheeks as Aidan turned his head to kiss her more deeply. Lost in the sensation of having his mouth claim hers, Edie didn’t hear the wail of the sirens until the bright lights strobbed her closed eyelids. She opened her eyes and pulled away from Aidan as two police cruisers and an ambulance turned right at the park and headed toward the morgue. A body found out by Pitch Road? Oh, God. Had another victim fell to the angered Corpesetti following Lemar? The person who abandoned the car Karl had gone to see about, or had Lemar met his afterlife? “Edie, what’s wrong?” Aidan’s voice brought her back from the wailing of the emergency vehicles. “Nothing. It’s nothing. I have to go back.” She pulled away from him again and started walking toward the concession. “Tell me, please. I want to help you if I can.” He caught up to her in a few long-legged strides. “Trust in me.” She turned to him. “You haven’t given me enough of the truth to fully trust you. You won’t even answer my questions to my satisfaction, then you demand answers from me. If you want me to trust you, start by telling me what I want to know. Everything I want to know.” The pain her words caused moved across his face. He didn’t try and hide it. “Tonight.” Edie blew out an aggrieved sigh. “I’ve heard that one before.” “I mean it.” He slid his hand into hers again. It was almost as if he were afraid to lose direct contact with her. That by touch alone he could get the answers he wanted from her. “Now, please tell me your grandmother’s name.” Frustrated, Edie let a sharp bite of annoyance into her tone. “Edith Keirnan.” “What was her maiden name? Do you know that?” “Jesus, Aidan.” She started to walk away, but he stayed her. Finally, she relented and gave him the information. “Her maiden name was DuBois, but she went by Lorelli when she met my grandpa. She was a young widow when they met.” His eyes grew round and his fingers clenched hers. “Gianni Lorelli?” Edie felt her world tip up on its axis again. Across the park the band struck up a song, and the wind carried the notes up into the heavens. “Yes. He was an Italian immigrant. My grandmother was only sixteen when they married, and was only eighteen when she was widowed.” “Thank you.” He kissed her again. Edie could feel tension coiled in him, as he leaned his body into hers. When he pulled away he smiled down into her face. “You go back to your concession. I have to find Cletus before he buys homely knickknacks for the apartment.” Edie snorted. “I don’t think you have to worry about that with Cletus. I don’t think he’d be caught

dead buying something at a craft fair.” “You got that right,” and he kissed her again and walked her the rest of the way to the concession.

Chapter Seventeen Aidan finally found Cletus in the back of the park near the picnic area bordering the woods. As he approached, Cletus turned to glance over his shoulder. “There was a Corpesetti here all right. Two of them, as a matter of fact.” “I found Edie. She’s back at the ticket counter.” They walked back into the circle of light afforded by the lanterns strung up around the park. “Was she all right?” “In fine fighting form.” Aidan would address that with her later. “She was hiding something from me. Apparently she was on a break, but I’m not buying that’s the entire story. She smelled of a Corpesetti.” Cletus stared at him, expressionless. “Did she ask you how you knew she was here and no longer at her grandmother’s house?” “No, thank the ancestors.” Aidan couldn’t stop the triumphant smile that spread across his face. She’ d never speak to him if she knew he’d tracked her like he had the Corpesetti. “I do have names for you, but you won’t need to comb the archives for these because I remember the story now.” When Aidan held back, Cletus rolled his hand in a circular motion, gesturing for Aidan to tell him. “Well?” “Her grandmother is Edith DuBois.” Cletus whistled. “So we were right. That explains quite a bit about your Edie not knowing she’s of the blood.” “It explains everything.” Aidan couldn’t help the little thrill that traveled up his spine at the identity of Edie’s grandmother. Edith DuBois had turned her back on her Immorati blood when her husband was killed in a Corpesetti attack in the early 1930s. She declared herself done with living in fear and solitude, and denounced the ongoing war between the species that had caused so much bloodshed over the centuries. Aidan couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen the strong resemblance between Edie and her grandmother before. But it was there, in the color of her eyes, the long cascade of fair hair, and the stubborn tilt of her chin. Gianni had been an Italian immigrant— however, he had immigrated from the Italian conclave in order to marry Edith.

“She is closer in blood to us than she appears. The Immorati in her is not as diluted as we thought.” Cletus put his hands in his trouser pockets, his long coat pushed back on the sides. “No.” And the fact still didn’t help Aidan one iota. If she was half Immorati or only had a drop of their blood, it wouldn’t matter to the New Jersey conclave. The mandate against marrying mortals was clearly defined in the codex. In order to have any kind of future with Edie, Aidan would have to denounce his place as an Elder and turn his back on the conclave. Could he do that? He told Cletus he would find a way to be with Edie, but could he really? “I will be with her,” he said aloud. “I have no doubt about that, Aidan.” They started toward the ticket counter. “Have you eaten yet?” “No. I wanted to find Edie and it slipped my mind. Have you?” Cletus shook his head and stood in front of a stand selling Italian hot dogs and sausages with the works. “Not exactly my usual cuisine, but I can adapt.” They headed to the ticket counter, this time as customers. As Aidan studied Edie from the distance, the pull he felt low in his gut whenever she was near burned its way down to his groin. If he didn’t take her for his mate soon, he was liable to go insane with wanting her. She threw her head back and laughed at something a customer said to her. The throaty sound reached his ears and did splendid things to his insides. He shoved his hands deeper into his jacket pockets and balled his fists. He wanted to reach for her, hold on, and never let go of her. He’d promised once again to reveal all his secrets. Guilt washed through him. He’d promised that before and she’d called him on it. If he reneged this time she would never believe another word he told her. Maybe he should insist they both travel to see Edith Keirnan. That would definitely be an interesting visit. Edie caught sight of them and waited for them to approach. “Hello, Cletus. Enjoying the festival?” “Yes. I find it immensely entertaining.” The polite lie rolled off the cultured man’s tongue. “You haven’t bought any knickknacks have you?” Edie’s eyes sparkled at the joke. Cletus made a choked sound. “No. Not yet.” Aidan elbowed him. “She’s teasing you.” He nodded. “Though I find you the most charming of individuals, I have to question your humor.” She laughed again, the sound lovely and carefree. “Oh, Cletus, I think you’re wonderful, too.” Cletus pulled out his wallet and handed Edie some money. “We need to purchase meal tickets.” It may not have been apparent, but Aidan knew Cletus was touched by Edie’s open friendliness to him. “You do?” The idea appeared to surprise her. “Well, all right. The restaurant association thanks you for your patronage.” She took Cletus’s money and handed him the tickets, but directed her next comments to Aidan. “Let me know what he finds in this setup that’s good enough to tempt his palate.” Suddenly, it wasn’t enough to be standing next to her separated by a wooden stand. He wanted her in his arms, or for her to tell her friends she was done for the evening and spend the rest of the night with him. He reached across the counter and took her hand. “When are you allowed to leave?” “The venders close up at nine. We stop selling tickets at around eight-thirty.” “I’ll be back to pick you up at eight-thirty.”

“All right, but I drove my rental car. She’s a cute little sports car. If you’re a good boy I may take you for a ride in it after we leave.” He let all the sexual cravings he had for her surface and shimmer in the air between them. “And if I’m a bad boy?” “I might just never bring you back.” He laughed and held up his hands. She had won that round, but he’d definitely see how far he could push her before she made good on her threat. For once they were together, he knew she would never want to bring him back. *** Edie came straight home from the festival and showered. She smelled of smoke and grease and all the other scents associated with the fair grounds. Plus Aidan had already commented that she had the smell of a Corpesetti on her. He must have a very sensitive sniffer because she couldn’t smell it except for when Lemar was directly beside her. It wasn’t really unpleasant. It just smelled of animal and forest. Though Aidan’s people probably associated it with the unspeakable horrors committed against generations of his family, so for them it was offensive. She put on a light blue lace camisole and matching hoodie over it. Standing in that and her undies she couldn’t decide what to put on the bottom when the doorbell rang. Of course it did. The doorbell always rang when you least wanted it to. Edie grabbed a pair of men’s jeans so faded they were nearly white and put them on. They hadn’t ever belonged to any man. She had bought them because she liked the way they fit. She stepped into the jeans and headed for the door, still buttoning up the front. Aidan stood there in dark jeans and a dark sweater, holding a bottle of wine clenched in his hand. He looked back through the peephole at her. Quickly, she unchained the door. “I thought you were going to wait until I called you?” “I couldn’t wait. The idea of you in the shower overcame any sense of honor I have.” He smiled as his eyes raked her up and down. “I like your underclothes by the way.” Edie looked down at her clothes and noticed in her haste she hadn’t zipped up the hoodie. Her breasts were easily visible through the thin material of the camisole. Embarrassment bloomed across her cheeks a moment before her nipples tightened in response to his heated appraisal. He took a step closer to her, then another, forcing her back into the apartment. He turned and shut the door and locked it. Air caught in her lungs and she couldn’t expel it. He’d made his intent clear. And Edie only hoped they would spend some time talking beforehand. He placed the wine bottle on the coffee table and continued toward her. His hands slid around her hips and brought her up against him. The hardness of his erection brushed against her lower abdomen. “Aidan.” She breathed his name into him as his mouth came down on hers. His hands slid up from her hips to graze the sides of her breasts. She moaned. His tongue moved against hers with velvety softness. The kiss was slow, languid, as if Aidan intended to spend the rest of the night standing in her living room tasting her into madness. A thumb eased around the side of her breast and rubbed against her hard nipple. Tingles tightened it even further and made her breast feel heavy and full. Right before Edie begged him to take her into his hot mouth, he pulled away and moved her to the couch.

He tucked her up against his side and placed his arm around her, but made no other move to touch her. Frustration roared through her. He couldn’t just turn her on so completely and then cool off in the next instant, could he? “You asked for answers to your questions and I’ve been evasive. I don’t apologize for trying to protect you, but I do apologize for going back on my word.” He stood up then and wondered into her kitchen. “Where are your wine glasses?” “Cabinet over the stove. Corkscrew is in the wide drawer next to the stove.” She could hear the stemware clinking together and the dull clank of utensils as he searched for the corkscrew. When they sat on the sofa and he started with his speech, Edie thought he’d get through it without interruption, but now it seemed as if he needed fortification. Give him time and he’d spill his guts – eventually. He came back into the room and set to opening the wine and pouring them both a glass. She took hers and sipped. It was drier than she liked, but it did have a pleasant flavor. When Aidan settled himself back on the couch and took a couple of sips he gave her a long look under lowered lashes. “I know your grandmother. I’ve known her for years, though I can’t remember the last time I saw her. You favor her a great deal.” “Thank you, I consider that a very high compliment.” Edie’s stomach began to roil. He knew her grandmother. She’d suspected as much, but she didn’t think she could bear to hear what he was going to say next. Picking up her wine, she noticed her hand shook. The glass went back on the table without her taking another sip. “You asked me earlier what I would do if I found out the Corpesetti discovered a way to break the curse, and the answer is: I don’t believe they even care to. Or that there was ever a curse to begin with.” This bit of knowledge surprised Edie even more than anything else. So, he knew of the curse and disregarded it. “I don’t think the important thing is your belief in it, but if the Corpesetti do. And from what I’ve seen,” she brushed her fingertips against the cuts on her chest, “you’d have a hard time convincing me they don’t believe it.” Aidan put his hand against the cuts and soothed them with a gentle touch. Heat and flame burned her where he caressed. Her eyes closed of their own volition. A hint of movement was her only warning that he came nearer. Lips skimmed the cuts, and his breath warmed her chest. “You don’t know how enraged I was to see you hurt.” He moved his mouth up her neck and spoke into her ear. “I should have been there.” The thought of him being so close to a Corpesetti curled around her heart and squeezed painfully. “I’ m glad you weren’t. I don’t know what I’d do if I saw you hurt.” Aidan stopped his pursuit of her neck and moved to look into her eyes. “You’d run like hell because whatever felled me would be after you.” Panic reared its ugly head. Just the thought of Aidan lying injured or dead at the clawed hands of a Corpesetti was enough to make her lurch forward and wrap her arms around his neck. “Promise me you won’t go hunting the Corpesetti anymore.” “Shhh.” He soothed her, as he buried his face in her hair. “Nothing is going to happen to me. I’ve been fighting the Corpesetti all my life and I know how to do so with a degree of safety. Plus I have an arsenal of weapons at my disposal, in case you’ve forgotten.” He kissed her neck again. His tongue played along the pulse beat. Forgotten? How could she remember anything when he was doing such wonderful things to her?

Slowly, he eased her back on the cushions, coming down on top of her. Edie opened her legs, cradling most of his weight against the flat plane of her pelvis. Hot amber eyes gazed into hers. He moved his hips a fraction and Edie wished for all the world they were naked and he could slide into her heated sheath. She throbbed with heat and need all over her body. As he started to lower his mouth to hers the outer doorbell rang. Edie tried to ignore it in hopes Cletus would answer it. Aidan apparently had the same notion. He slid his fingers under the strap of her camisole and lowered it to expose the swell of her breast. “You’re so beautiful.” He spoke into the cleft between her breasts. A knock on her door stopped his amorous pursuit. He lifted slowly off her and sat in the corner of the couch. Edie stood and put her clothes to rights then reached for the doorknob. Karl stood there with his hat in his hands. A grave expression pulled the corners of his mouth down. “Edie, I don’t know how to say this... ” he stopped short when he saw Aidan. His expression changed to one of surprise. “What? What’s happened?” Edie asked pulling him into the room. “I thought... ” he began and then stopped again. “Do you have a brother?” Color drained from Aidan’s face as he stood. “Yes. Seth.” “I think you’d better come with me.” “What’s happened to my brother?” Karl set his jaw and looked down at his shoes before meeting Aidan’s eyes. “I’m sorry. A car was found abandon on Pitch Road earlier today. Your brother’s apparently. There were letters addressed to your cousin Nanine in the front seat.” Edie put her hand on Aidan’s back. “But you only found the car, right?” Edie hoped that was all that was found. But they wouldn’t have sent for the ambulance if there hadn’t been someone found. Karl shook his head in sympathy. Cletus entered the apartment then and fixed his ebony stare on Aidan. “We found a body, and I thought it was Mr. LaMont. He looked so much like you.” It was said in an apologetic way, but Edie felt Aidan’s muscles tense under her hand. Aidan stood for a moment in silence, then spoke. “No, my brother has blue eyes.” “Mr. LaMont, I do apologize for this, but I’m going to have to ask you to come to the morgue and identify the body.” Edie didn’t know what to do. Only a few days before the same scenario had brought Aidan into her life. Now, he had to go through the agonizing process all over again but this time with his brother. “Could you give him some time?” Edie implored Karl with her eyes. Aidan moved forward. “I don’t need time. Let’s get this over with. I’m sure it’s all a misunderstanding.” His pain-filled eyes fixed on Cletus. “He could have loaned the car to someone, and is probably safe at the compound.” Edie didn’t want to break that small germ of hope he clung to, but if Karl had seen the body and came over to tell her of Aidan’s demise in person, there could be no doubt the victim bore a very striking resemblance to Aidan. “Do you want me to go with you?” Aidan looked at her for a moment, confused, as if trying to place her face in his memory. After a moment he shook his head.

With her heart in her throat, Edie watched the three of them leave her apartment. Karl mouthed his apologies as he closed the door.

Chapter Eighteen Gorge rose to the back of Aidan’s throat and tears burned his eyes. How could Seth be dead? He’d said goodbye to him only this morning. “I should have let him come back with us,” he told Cletus as they traveled back down the dark roads to the compound. “Blaming yourself is unproductive.” Cletus took a corner a little faster than necessary. It may be unproductive, but it was no less fitting. Aidan should have seen the bent of Seth’s thoughts when he protested being kept out of the loop regarding Nanine’s murder. What did Aidan expect? Seth had obviously taken it upon himself to finish raiding Nanine’s desk where Cletus and Aidan had left off the search. Pain and loss threatened to choke him. The worst part of being an immortal was knowing such pain could last indefinitely unless one took the path to the ancestors and abdicated. He’d wasted so much precious time with Seth. Time they would never have again. How was he to face his father with the news? Jainus specifically said he didn’t want to go into his afterlife knowing he rested next to his son. By the ancestors! After Jainus’ abdication Aidan would be the only LaMont left at the compound. The car’s headlights cut through the darkened woods and illuminated their trek down the long hidden drive to the compound. Aidan’s arm rested on the doorframe. He opened and closed his fist as if priming it for a blood draw. His jaw worked back and forth to the rhythm, teeth grinding in agony. Edie wanted to come with him and help him through his pain. Involuntarily his fist tightened and held. They would have made love this night if tragedy hadn’t called him away. The scent of her desire for him had settled like a mantle around her body. He brushed a hand across his mouth. He could still taste her passion on his lips and feel the slide of her soft tongue against his own. With Seth dead, he would have to give up his dream of making Edie his mate. More so than before, he would be required to take a woman of the conclave. He needed full-blooded Immorati children to carry on the line. The unshed tears burned and he raised his hands tightly against his eyes. Edie was as good as lost to him. He would need to claim a mate soon to ensure his family name carried on, and he would have to give up the only woman who ever touched his heart. A bitter laugh ripped from his throat. For the past two-hundred years he had looked for a woman to

make him feel with his heart and not just his sex. One look at Edie Campbell and the search had come to an end. He didn’t care if it ripped his heart out like the clawed hands of a Corpesetti, he would make Edie his lover before taking his Immorati wife. Only a miracle granted by the Origins would see them together. The security gates opened and Cletus maneuvered the car to the circular drive and into the enclosed parking at the rear of the compound. Jainus stood at the door to the compound proper, watching them as they moved to the door. “I’m so glad you moved to Pine Haven.” He was being droll. “You’ve spent more time here than that apartment you insisted on renting. What’s the matter, Aidan?” When Aidan reached his father, he put his hand on Jainus’s shoulder and steered him back into the manor. “We need to talk.” “You wouldn’t have returned tonight if something dreadful hadn’t happened. Out with it, boy.” A frightened parent had replaced the benevolent Elder. They remained silent as Aidan directed them to Jainus’s chamber and helped his father into a chair. Cletus moved a hassock over for Aidan to sit on and then began to pour Scotch from the decanter on the sideboard. Aidan leaned over and took his father’s hand, clasping it between both of his own. “Before I tell you my news I want you to know I take full responsibility for what happened tonight... ” Jainus took his hand back and glared at Aidan. “Do not coddle me. I’m abdicating, not infirm.” Cletus handed Jainus a glass of Scotch, and the Elder nodded. Aidan took a deep breath and plunged on. “Seth is dead. He attempted to follow me to Pine Haven. There was damage to his car. The police chief believes Seth must have hit a Corpesetti and followed it into the woods to finish it off. It’s all immaterial now.” Horror and denial warred for supremacy on Jainus’s face. The glass of Scotch slid from his hands and spilled on the carpet. Finally an anguished cry escaped him and he bent over double, burying his head in his hands. “My boy. My boy.” Aidan sat dumb and mute. When Giselle LaMont fell to the Corpesetti, Jainus had secluded himself in his chambers and had not emerged for nearly a week. No one had seen him openly mourn for his mate, and Aidan had always marveled at his father’s ability to hide his pain. Now, watching his father brought low by the death of his child, Aidan’s admiration doubled. It must have taken a great deal of fortitude to continue in the face of such overwhelming loss. Aidan took his father into his arms and held him as the Elder cried. Finally Jainus pushed his first born away and placed shaking hands on Aidan’s face. “Listen to me, and listen closely. You are not to feel responsible for your brother’s death. Seth knew to take precautions and they failed, or he simply ignored them. That was his decision, and not yours. He may have been an impulsive, headstrong man – but he was a man, not a child.” When Aidan started to protest, his father gave him a stern look. “No, Aidan. I will hear no more of your recriminations. I love you, and I will not have you carry guilt around with you for something beyond your control.” How could his father absolve him so easily? Jainus squeezed Aidan’s shoulder. “I will abdicate as scheduled and join my wife and child.” Aidan swallowed around the lump in his throat. He never thought his father would do anything different. Jainus had never once gone back on his word. To do so at this juncture would make him lose

face before the entire conclave, and he knew his father well enough to know Jainus would never abide that. “Words cannot describe the pride I have in you, Aidan. You have grown into a man, a son, any man would be proud to call his own. I loved your brother. He was a good man, but I would have never considered him for the position of Elder. Remember that when the guilt you feel begins to creep into your thoughts.” Jainus stood and moved slowly to the sleeping chamber. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I would like to be alone.” Aidan and Cletus left the room and headed down the hall. Cletus spoke as they came out of the common room. “Would you like to return to Pine Haven tonight, or wait until the morning?” “It will be so late when we arrive there.” Aidan tried to be the voice of practicality when all he wanted to do was head back to the garage and climb into the car and drive at speeds fast enough to leave a sonic boom in their wake. “I don’t think Edie will mind how late you arrive.” Cletus pulled the car keys out of his pants pocket and started for the garage. Heat pooled deep in Aidan’s groin at the observation. Ancestors help him. His brother was dead and he couldn’t stop his mind and body from craving the succor being deep inside Edie would give him. “Let’s go then.” *** Edie heard the slam of car doors and movement of feet on the porch. She slid off the couch and opened the door. Aidan stood at the bottom of the stairs looking up at her. Cletus moved by Aidan and nodded up at her as he went into their apartment. Without a word Aidan climbed up, not taking his eyes from her. When he stood in front of her, he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. He felt so warm and alive she couldn’t help but sigh. All her thoughts since he and Cletus left with Karl had been centered on him meeting the same fate as his brother and cousin. Morbid visions of him lying on a slab in the morgue with a cavernous hole in the middle of his chest kept materializing every time she closed her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Aidan” She pulled away and led him into her apartment. He practically threw himself to her couch. “Stupid, stupid man. He knew better than to hunt a Corpesetti alone—even an injured one.” Edie took Aidan’s hands and chafed some heat into them. “He was hunting Corpesetti at this time of night?” “We hunt them whenever we can get a track on them. But not alone, never alone. It’s one of the first things a hunter learns when they’re selected.” He turned his head to her. Amber eyes blazed at her. Not in anger, but something infinitely hotter. “My father said I’m not to blame, but I’m afraid I can’t be as sure of my innocence as he.” He gave a slight shake of his head as if the notion were as impossible to believe as interstellar travel.

“I think your father must be pretty wise.” She gave his hand a squeeze and stood. “Can I make you some tea or something?” “Or something.” He stood and came to her then, taking her hand in his and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “Let me make love to you.” “Aidan.” She began to protest, but let the words fall away unfinished. The look in his eyes said he needed it on a visceral level. The human psyche often reached for something tangible to ground itself in the material world when things incomprehensible happened— something like the death of a beloved sibling. While she wanted nothing more than to feel Aidan moving inside her, she didn’t want him to wake with regrets in the morning. For herself, she could live with the fact she’d only be a balm to his soul, though it hurt to think of what may very well be the best sex of her life diminished to a band-aid effect. His finger traced the curve of her cheek. “I need this.” She took comfort in the fact that his intent tonight before learning of his brother’s death had been to make love to her. Edie kissed his hand and pulled him along into the bedroom.

Chapter Nineteen Once in Edie’s bedroom, Aidan looked around at the tasteful, yet feminine, décor. Her special scent floated around his head and speared through his consciousness. Damn him for a fool, but he really was about to get in way over his head, and he couldn’t care less. Thoughts of leaving her behind after a hot affair and not being able to offer her more than that tasted bitter and raw. Edie deserved so much more—she deserved a man who could give her everything. She stood at the blinds adjusting them until he thought they’d fall off the wall. Nervous tension moved off her and he could see it shimmer around her aura, causing tiny distortions here and there. Amused by her apparent distress, Aidan wondered if her anxiety was caused by knowing they were about to cross an irrevocable line, or because of the circumstances surrounding them. He closed the space between them and took her hands from the blind cords. “Do you not want to do this?” He might as well give her a way out if she wished. “I do want to. God, you don’t know how bad I want to. I’m just worried about the timing.” Though he could see her point, he risked sounding callous if he told her denying their sexual attraction would not bring Seth back. A memory surfaced and made him smile. “What?” Edie asked and sat down on the bed. Aidan sat next to her. “I told Seth about you after Nanine’s service. He asked if you were pretty.” Edie smiled shyly at him. Odd, but he had never thought of the righteous Edie Campbell as being shy. “What did you say?” “I told him pretty didn’t begin to cover it.” He moved closer, his lips a breath away from her skin. “You have no idea the effect you have on me.” She gave a grunt of a laugh. “Oh, I think I do.” She turned her body into him and her hand rested on his thigh, close to his erection. His breath caught. It took very little for her to make him hard. She had only to look at him in that dreamy way of hers and his blood began to heat. Much like she looked at him now. Perhaps it was wrong to want her as much as he did knowing that he’d have to give her up for the sake of the conclave. Damn his sense of honor. He could, however, keep her until he found a mate that would make him a decent wife. But any wife would be a poor substitute, for she would never be Edie. No woman could even come close to her. Keeping her for a lover after his life-mating would be out of

the question as well, since the Immorati did not condone adultery. Gentle fingers brushed the hair from his brow, and soft eyes watched his face. “You are undoubtedly the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.” A trip hammer beat inside his chest and pounded against his ribs. “Lay back, love.” Without giving her a chance to countermand his soft order, he gently lowered her back. The blasted hoodie that had been in his way earlier was now zipped up the front like fleece armor. “First we need to get you out of this. It’s much too warm for indoors.” The soft sing of the zipper sounded loud in the quiet bedroom. Pale golden skin glowed in the lamplight. He peeled the sides of the hoodie back to reveal the powder blue camisole she wore earlier. Hard nipples pressed against the barely-there fabric. He had to taste them, tease them with his tongue. Suckle them until she cried out in pleasure. Edie’s breasts moved up and down to the rhythm of her quickened breathing. Aidan bent forward and placed a gentle kiss on her mouth. “Relax, love. I won’t hurt you, I promise.” She smiled at him. It was a lopsided, sexy curve of her mouth at one corner. “I’m not afraid of you.” “No, I don’t suspect you are afraid of much, are you.” She squirmed beneath him, wriggling her tight body closer to him. “I used to be afraid of the dark.” Aidan smiled down into her face. “Did you grow out of it?” “No, I became an anthropologist to understand the folklore behind the monster in the closet.” He smiled. That was so typically Edie. “Understanding through education?” “Something like that.” Her hands ran up his arms and moved around the expanse of his shoulders. “I think you need to take your sweater off. It’s much too warm for indoors.” “Fair is fair. I helped you off with yours, you need to relieve me of mine.” Warm hands ran down the front of his chest and gripped the bottom of his sweater. Slowly, Edie brought the tail up and over his head. He removed his arms from the sleeves and threw the sweater to the floor. “Do you always treat your cashmere that way?” Both her brows rose in surprise. “Shh, not so loud. Cletus might hear you and come bolting up here to save it from such a fate.” Edie gave a sad smile at his feigned levity and shook her head as her fingers splayed in his chest hair. “I’m sure he could hear it hit the floor. A sort of couture radar.” He would have made a comment, but at that moment her fingernails grazed across his nipples and sent a jolt of pleasure through his body. He could do nothing but moan in response. Well, two could play at that game. He flattened his hand on her belly before gathering the camisole in his fist and pulling up on it. Full pale breasts bounced out from under the fabric. Sweet pink nipples pointed proudly skyward, begging to be laved and sucked. And who was Aidan to refuse the demands of such lovely treats? He leaned forward and took first one then the other into his mouth. Edie’s back bowed off the bed, her arms draped around his neck holding him in place. The camisole kept falling into his face so he ripped it off over her head and threw it on top of his abandon sweater. The smell of her skin, the taste of her bare flesh sent Aidan into a mindless spiral of desire. His manhood throbbed painfully against the confines of his underwear and slacks. He tried to ignore the

sweet agony. There was still so much he wanted to do to Edie before he took his pleasure in the sweet sheath of her body. With one hand he supported her back as she arched closer to his mouth, the other moved in a questing caress down her abdomen and to the top button of her jeans. Slowly he worked the buttons from the holes until the waist lay open. As he continued to work her nipples with his mouth, he moved his hand into the front of her jeans and under the lace barrier of her panties. Edie rocked her hips forward against his hand, and wet feminine folds greeted him. “Aidan,” she mewed. “Yes.” Yes, indeed. He’d never felt a woman more ready to receive a man in his life. She wasn’t just wet, she was drenched. Dearest ancestors he wanted to taste it, had to taste it. He pulled his mouth away from her nipple. The soft suction made a popping sound when it left his mouth. He stood at the end of the bed and pulled both her jeans and panties off in one movement. Edie gasped. She lay there on the bed staring up at him as if she were even now on the verge of orgasm. He grabbed her ankles, bringing her bottom to the end of the bed then pushed her thighs apart. Dammit, she wouldn’t come until he had his mouth right there where he could drink from her body. He looked down at her exposed femininity and felt the blood pulse behind his eyes. Pink like her nipples and plump as her mouth, he’d never seen a more inviting sight in his life. Nor had any woman’s natural scent caused him to slip farther over the ledge and lose all control. He wanted this first time with her to last, to be tender and loving. It would not be. He couldn’t be. There was no calling back his control now. He bent forward and touched his tongue to all her wet pinkness, starting at the back and sliding his tongue forward through her folds. A long moan tore from her throat. Sweet honey flowed over his tongue. He lapped it up like a starving man. Never in his life had he tasted anything so good. He wanted to drown in her essence. “Aidan.” Her voice became a ragged whisper. She was so close. He needed to put them both out of their torment and give her the release she so desperately wanted. With both thumbs spreading the soft folds open, he moved straight to her sensitive bud, and took it between his teeth. Captured there, he began to flick his tongue over it in quick strikes. Her body bowed upward and unintelligible words fell from her mouth. Every so often she called for God or Jesus. Tremors moved through her and her hands rested on the back of his head. Fingers twisted in his hair. She cried out his name. Her body convulsed under him, her hands tightened on his head. He abandoned her bud and moved to take her flowing juice into his mouth, and drink her inside him. When he had it all he moved back, placing one last lingering kiss on her womanhood before straightening. Large eyes stared at him from a flushed face. Quickly, he disposed of his pants and underwear. Leaving her at the end of the bed, he joined them in one swift movement. Restraint slipped from his grasp as he pumped into her hard and fast. Edie clawed at his back, her hands moving restlessly over him. Looking into her eyes, he could see she was right there with him. ***

Skin hard as steel and hot as sin filled her in a quick movement. Her back arched off the bed in response. God, he felt good inside her. He was thick and long and touched all the way to her womb without even trying. His hands lifted her legs and held them out high and wide from him as he drove into her repeatedly. Each trust caused the sweet spot deep inside her to throb, and a small squeak to issue from her throat. Hot amber eyes with heavy lids bore into hers. She couldn’t look away from the passion in them. His nostrils flared and his lips pulled back from his teeth. She could tell he fought for control. With each thrust she lifted her pelvis higher to meet him. Now she added an extra squeeze of her inner muscles. Aidan growled as she urged him on. “Don’t hold back. Come. Just let it go.” “But you feel so fucking good, Edie. I’ve never felt anything like you.” The words were wheezed out through clenched teeth. For an articulate man he certainly moved to common speech in the throes of passion. Edie smiled. “Your smile, love. By the ancestors your smile makes me crazy.” He slammed into her a few more times, his hands running down the insides of her thighs and pulling her open. The coarse friction as his pubic hair brushed against her already sensitive clit sent shivers moving through her, and her blood boiled into the red zone. The orgasm hit her without warning, and she went blind. Hot liquid pulsed into her body as she heard Aidan utter an oath a moment before he collapsed on top of her. They lay that way for a long while. Slowly her vision cleared and she wrapped leaden-arms around him. He nuzzled her neck with his nose then rolled off her. They both lay on their backs staring at the ceiling. “I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.” She was still trying to catch her breath. “I could use a nap myself.” He rolled over and tucked her into his side “I have a long day tomorrow.” “Are you having Seth’s service then?” Aidan dropped a kiss to her neck then moved to her shoulder. “No.” He offered no more than that and Edie was afraid to ask. If he planned to go traipsing through the woods looking for his brother’s killer she didn’t want to know about it. “I have to go, Edie.” His voice was quiet. She misunderstood and rolled over to give him an angry look. “Is that it? You screw a girl silly and then you leave her just like that?” He gathered her close to him and spoke into her hair. “No, not now. In the morning.” “Are you afraid I’m going to keep you here as my sexual prisoner?” She pulled up on her elbows and stared down at him. “Believe me, I’m not a Fatal Attraction kind of woman. If you want to come and go as you please that’s your call. I don’t hold strings on anyone, unless they want me to.” “Glad to hear it. That’s still not what I meant.” He reached out and ran a hand down her face then moved it to the slope of her breast. Her damn body betrayed her by heating up and her nipple tightened on impact. A knowing smile lifted the corner of his mouth. He leaned in and circled his tongue around her betraying breast. When he sat back, he spoke solemnly. “I mean I have to go and look for Seth’s killer.” Edie and fell back on the bed. “Somehow I knew you were going to say that, and I have decided I don’t want to hear it now or ever. You do what you feel you have to, but I’m going to ignore the danger

you’re putting yourself in.” “I promise you, I’ll return to you tomorrow night and make love to you until you feel there has never been another lover in your life. I’m sorry if you felt cheated this time, but I wanted you so bad... ” She swung a leg over him and levered herself onto his hips. She moved back and forth provocatively against his groin. “Who said I felt cheated. Tell you what, why don’t you let me make love to you this time.” He grew hard again under the soft entrapment of her slick heat. His eyes grew dark with desire and she pressed her point home by sliding up and down the growing length of him. “Are you sure you don’t want to keep me as a sexual prisoner. If you do, I’m prepared to volunteer.” Edie smiled in triumph, and took him inside her. “I thought you were tired.” He bowed his hips to grind into her a little deeper. “Second wind.” She made a circle with her hips and watched his eyes glaze over. His hands gripped her hips tightly. His thumbs massaged her pelvic bones in a loving caress. His eyelids drifted shut. His mouth opened and he moaned. Edie clamped her muscles around him. “You like that?” “Oh, my love, you don’t even know how much.” He moved suddenly, taking his hands off her and pushing up to take her mouth. The kiss was long and deep and hot, in every way as erotic as the movement of him deep inside her. When he pulled back to nip at her lips he said, “I’ve wanted inside you ever since I saw you in the parking lot that night.” Edie was in touch with that emotion. But even if the words spoke more of sex than romance, she knew what he meant and felt no offense at his admission. Hadn’t she wanted the same thing from him? And if this wasn’t the beginning of the great love of her life like she hoped it was, she would take whatever he offered and be glad of the time they would have together. For though he hadn’t confirmed her suspicions of his heritage yet, his species was being systematically hunted and killed. It was only a matter of time before he—or she for that matter—ended up in the morgue. Tears leaked from her closed eyes and ran down her face. She continued to move with Aidan, feeling him all the way to her soul as he thrust up into her. She turned her face away from him so he couldn’t taste her tears on his lips. He grabbed her hair and pulled her head back, exposing her throat to his mouth. Lips and teeth burned a path along her skin. She moved her legs to wrap around his waist and sit firmly on his lap so she could get as close as possible to him. Her hands moved over his body. There was no way in heaven she could touch him everywhere at once like she wanted. Firm muscles did not give way as she moved her hands over him. Aidan was every fantasy she’d ever had all rolled into one sexy package. A slight sheen of sweat began to bead on his hot skin. Edie opened her mouth on his shoulder and tasted him. “Edie.” Her whispered name was hot on her neck. She lifted her face and looked into his eyes. Forever lingered in the space between them, and she knew in that moment she’d face an entire army of Corpesetti if it meant she could keep him even a fraction of that time.

*** Sunlight filled the room and cut a path across Edie’s eyelids. She groaned in protest and covered her face with a pillow. Something was wrong. A head should have been on the pillow next to her. She shouldn’t have been able to grab it so easily from its customary spot beside her. Rising up on an elbow, she glanced around the room. All evidence of Aidan’s presence had been removed. “Well, I’ll be damned.” Even Karl was known to leave a lone sock behind on occasion. Or at the very least a note. Miffed by Aidan’s stealth abandonment, she climbed from bed and threw a robe on her slightly sore body. Well, there was nothing for it, she would just take her shower, get dressed, and go to the festival. If Aidan wanted to see her, he knew where to find her. She stopped her recriminations. What was wrong with her? The man lost his brother to a Corpesetti only last night. If he left her bed with nothing more than vengeance for the attacker on his mind, that was his right. She hurried through her shower and headed into the kitchen to put water on for tea, and stopped dead in her tracks. A vase full of roses in every fall color imaginable stood on her table. “Oh, my.” She put her hand to her mouth and came forward. She must have slept like the dead in order for him to come and go with her never have heard a sound. Where did he find a florist open at this time of morning anyhow? A card sat at the vase’s base. It wasn’t the normal kind that came with a floral arrangement, but rather a standard greeting card. Eager hands ripped into the envelope and pulled the it out. It was expensive personal stationary complete with watermark, not a greeting card at all. The words were scrolled across the page in a precise masculine hand. It read: Edie, I hadn’t the heart to wake you this morning. You looked so beautiful sleeping next to me. I will meet you later at the festival. All my love, Aidan. Well, that was quite wonderful of him. Remorse for her earlier thoughts filled her. Aidan had been nothing but accommodating since she met him, why would she think he would leave her bed and think nothing else about the greatest sex in the entire history of sex. He left to track the Corpesetti that killed his brother. She put the note to her lips, pressed a kiss to it, and whispered, “God, keep him safe and return him to me.”

Chapter Twenty The scent had gone cold a half-hour before. Now all Aidan and Cletus had to go on were the elongated tracks left in the soft earth by the Corpesetti. However, the disturbing part was the multiple tracks they followed. It appeared one tracked another through the woods. Perhaps the one that killed the Corpesetti found with Nanine was tracking another one. Or there had been two chasing Seth the night before. Occasionally they hunted in pairs, but only when their prey was a group of Immorati. It had happened in the past. It had happened the day Gianni Lorelli died. A group of hunters had gone out to bring down a female who had attacked and killed a couple of Immorati children. Gianni’s group had tracked her and when they reached her lair, they walked into a trap. The hunters had never found the female, but had found a pair of full grown males lying in wait. The Corpesetti had attacked with lightning speed and killed all the hunters, including Gianni. No one who had been hunted and tracked by the supposed Jersey Devil could ever doubt their intelligence. They were so much more than animals, so much more than mere beasts. They were cunning and stealthy as they traversed the Pine Barrens searching for their Immorati prey. Aidan stopped and sniffed the air. A scent caught his nose. Finally, their persistence had paid off. He bent and ran his hand through the earth, lifting a clump to his nose. The stink of Corpesetti filth still clung to the dirt. One hadn’t passed this way too long before. “This way.” He and Cletus and moved through the bramble, hand cannon held high and ready. They moved silently through the underbrush, tracking the footprints back toward town. A quarter mile out, the sounds of screams rent the air, and the roar of a Corpesetti pushed Aidan to run towards the sound like the demons were after him. Time had just run out. *** The morning passed by very slowly and faded into afternoon with all the speed of a racing snail. Edie kept her eyes peeled to the parking lot, and watched every car that sped by on the main drag. Aidan had yet to put in an appearance and she’d been worrying for quite some time. She tore off a handful of tickets and handed them to a big man, who doled them out to his equally big family. Mr. Campo was nice and had lived in Pine Haven for about five years. He had the local coffee house franchise. Usually, Edie would stop and talk to him for longer than she did today, but her restless

worrying had her acting a little less than cordial. Across the park, Edie watched Karl talk with Maura Manning. A smile stole across Edie’s face as Maura tried desperately to look as if she weren’t flirting with the handsome police chief. Now the conversation in the bakery section of the Pack and Go made sense. The woman hadn’t been fishing to find out dirt about Aidan, she’d been trolling to see if Karl was available. She leaned over the counter and watched them talk. Karl looked rather interested himself. Whenever Maura would look away, Karl would give her a dreamy sort of appraisal as if he were looking at a goddess. Edie had never noticed him doing that before. Only with her, but now that she could see the possibilities she could also see the blossoming relationship was something she could really get behind. He and Maura had probably known each other as long as he and Edie had, and maybe better. Karl and Maura’s older brother, Tommy, had been best friends in high school. However, Maura was six years younger than Edie, Karl and Tommy were. Edie leaned more heavily on the counter, transfixed by the unfolding scene. Karl and Maura. Oh, they would definitely make a lovely couple, if Maura would ever learn to look at Karl and not blush. Other than that Maura was perfect for him. Resolved to put some matchmaking skills to work, Edie turned her attention back to the customers when something big, mean and vicious charged from the woods, sending festival goers screaming and dodging to get out of its way. Edie looked up as the Corpesetti bore down on her. Fear rooted her to her spot. Black eyes caught her in a hypnotic stare. Vaguely she could hear Karl shout her name, but it sounded as if it came from somewhere in a vacuum. Then the creature leapt the counter, crashing the wood plank like a dollhouse. Fire scalded her shoulder as the long claws dug into her, holding her still to bring her in close for the deathstrike. Fangs bit into her neck, tearing at her throat. The world tipped upside down as something large and angry came from the opposite direction and hit them both, knocking Edie to the ground and out of her attacker’s grasp. Snarls and growls reached her, but she hadn’t the strength to move, and only barely registered the pool of blood where she lay. Shots rang out above her, and the snarls turned to an angry roar. Then someone was looking down on her. Sunlight haloed the person’s head and she couldn’t see the face. “Edie, sweetheart, stay with me. An ambulance is on the way.” “Karl?” “I’m here, sweetheart. I’m here.” Hands applied pressure to her wound and she felt herself going under. “Oh, no you don’t. I’m not letting you go.” Another voice spoke. “Edie.” A hand moved through her hair. Aidan. “We can’t wait for an ambulance.” He was talking to Karl. “We sure as shit can’t move her.” “She’ll bleed to death before the ambulance gets here.” A brief and passionate argument ensued which she couldn’t follow. Then Edie felt herself being lifted up and heard unintelligible murmurings as she was carried across the park. She wondered if an angel had swooped down to carry her to heaven. She tried to hold on to her rescuer, but her arms dangled limply toward the ground and refused to cooperate. But the scent. That musky male scent clung to his clothes. Aidan had her in his arms.

Each time a foot hit the ground, her injured arm and neck jarred painfully. An involuntary whimper fell from her lips. She knew she wasn’t dead because dead people couldn’t hurt so damn bad. “I’m sorry, Edie. I’m so sorry. I should have been there with you... ” “Just get her in the car, Aidan.” Cletus’ voice sounded curt. Oh, God they weren’t putting her in the Mercedes to bleed all over that plush upholstery. The sound of the car door slamming preceded the blackness that attacked her from all sides.

Chapter Twenty-one Aidan leaned over the bed and brushed Edie’s hair from her forehead. She looked pale as the grave, but instead of being cool, her skin burned from the infection of the Corpesetti toxin that attacked her mortal blood. What blood she had left. Elder Yasamin hung another unit and took Edie’s vital signs. Aidan watched her with his heart beating hard in his throat. Over the last day and a half she had received blood, fresh frozen plasma, platelets, and fluids all in an attempt to stave off the death that threatened so tenaciously. “She’s too warm, Yasamin.” Aidan wet a cloth in cool water and placed it on Edie’s forehead. “It will break when she converts.” He spared a glance to the Elder. “The sample I ran earlier on her showed almost no mortal blood at all.” By the Origins! A convert. That news did nothing to relieve Aidan. He had mistakenly thought her blood, though a quarter Immorati, would be too diluted to cause conversion. Edie stirred on the bed, and Aidan leaned over and whispered soothing words to her. When she settled again, he returned his attention to Yasamin. The Elder pulled over a chair and sat on the other side of the bed from Aidan. “I haven’t seen this in many, many years, but it has been known to happen.” “Yes, but the Immorati blood in most converts is much closer to full than the quarter-strength Edie has.” History showed when a Corpesetti bit a half-Immorati, the toxin that entered the body caused the immortal part of the DNA to increase the production of Immorati blood cells. Raging fevers was the body fighting not only the toxin of the venom, but also the destruction of mortal blood. “Like I said it isn’t usual, but it has been known to happen.” She paused and gave him a level stare. “Aidan, she is becoming of the blood. Not in half measure, but turning into a full Immorati.” Incredulous, he studied Edie. Was it possible? Was this the miracle he’d prayed to the ancestors for? But ancestors help him he didn’t want to be with her at the risk of her life. And if she survived the fevers, she had the Elders to face. He had unwittingly pulled her from one peril into another. “And if the conversion pushes her temperature higher?” “Convulsions. Brain damage.” Yasamin paused. “You need to call her grandmother.” Yes, he did. The sooner she arrived at the compound the better it would be. If Edie died while in their care, how would he ever explain such a thing to her family? Not to mention Aidan had no idea if Edie’s parents even knew of Edith Keirnan’s immortal origins.

He picked up Edie’s cell phone from the bedside table and scrolled through the phonebook entries. She was too organized not to have her grandmother’s number entered and easily accessible at the touch of a button. He found it just under her parents’ and before her sister, Liza’s. He hit the dial button as Yasamin left him in private. The phone rang and rang, but the answering machine came on and he left his name and number, not knowing if a call from the conclave would be welcomed or not. Aidan disconnected and laid his head on Edie’s bed. A gentle hand on his shoulder woke him later. The room was lit with a dimmed bedside lamp, and he turned to look over his shoulder “Edith?” “Aidan.” Her mouth turned down at the corners as her eyes strayed to her granddaughter. “How is she?” “Yasamin is optimistic. She’s converting.” “Good God.” She bent over and kissed Edie’s forehead. “My poor darling. I feared something like this would happen when I first heard of the Corpesetti attacks in Pine Haven.” “Why didn’t you tell her? She had a right to know the seriousness of the danger to her.” Edith eased the hair back from her face with a graceful gesture. “When I left here I vowed never to return. I put the conclave and all it stood for out of my life. I married a human, and raised two fine children. We lived in safety and comfort and I never wanted for the compound.” She reached out and took Edie’s hand in hers. “It was my way of keeping my family safe. We may be immortal, Aidan, but I never wanted again to go through the pain of losing a loved one the way I lost Gianni.” Aidan watched as Edith took a chair to sit by her granddaughter’s bedside. “Does the rest of your family know?” “They discovered the truth over the years. Liza, Edie’s sister, is engaged to a distant cousin of Gianni ’s and moved to live in the Italian conclave. They do not have the same restriction on inter-marriage as our blessed conclave does.” She lifted Edie’s hand and pressed it to her lips. “Edie has always been my favorite. She’s so much like me and so easy and uncomplicated. No one ever had to guess her feelings because she always kept them displayed for all the world to see.” Tears rolled down her face and splashed on her hand. “I love her so much. What will I do if she dies?” He choked up wondering what he do if Edie died “It’s been two days and she’s held on. She’s strong.” Edith looked at him thoughtfully. “You love her, don’t you?” Aidan nodded. “When she’s well, I’m taking her for my mate.” “And what does Jainus say about this?” “He’s abdicating at the full moon. I’m taking his place as Elder.” He hoped that would give him more pull with the council than he had now. Her expression changed as if something deeply troubled her. But as quickly as the look came, it vanished and he was left to wonder if they were thinking the same thing. *** Edie could hear voices above and beside her. They faded in and out as she surfaced from the delirium. Every once in a while she could hear something distant, the scrape of a chair leg across a floor, the cry of a small child, or the clink of silverware against china. The sounds would become muddled in

her mind, lost in hearing that had become overrun with the sound of her own breathing and heartbeat. And the pain. God, she hurt. Death would be a welcome respite, but those who hovered over her bed seemed determined to prolong her misery. The longer she tried to hold on to the sounds the harder the quagmire of fever pulled her back under. She succumbed to the pull and slept, surfacing again, she didn’t know how long after. The first thing she saw when opening her eyes was man in the chair beside her. Her heart tugged. He looked awful. Dark stubble lined his jaw, hair hung in lank locks on his head. His shirt looked as if it hadn ’t been changed in days. Love swelled in her. She croaked out his name from a throat dry from fever and disuse. “Aidan.” He gave a start of surprise, coming awake in an instant. “Edie?” He brushed his hair from his eyes and came forward. “Don’t talk yet. Let me get you some water.” He leaned over the bedside table and poured her a glass of water, then helped her drink. The exercise exhausted her and she fell back on the bedding her eyes closing even as her mind stayed awake. The soft brush of his lips over her cheeks and eyelids soothed her. Breath fanned warmly over her face. The sensations stirred her to wakefulness. A slow smile spread across his face, showing straight white teeth. “Good morning.” “Morning. I slept all through the night?” “Several in fact. It’s Wednesday morning.” She stared at him dumbfounded. Time had definitely passed while she slept, but she didn’t think it had been that long. She turned her head to take in her surroundings and her shoulder pulled. “Ahh” She winced and sucked in a breath. “Don’t move around too much, you’ve been injured.” Flashes of memory moved through her mind like the gory frames of a horror movie. An enraged Corpesetti crashing through the festival, grabbing her by the shoulder, then another one coming to her rescue. Lemar. Shots ringing out, then blackness. Sweat broke out on her forehead, followed by gooseflesh. “Lemar?” “Who? I don’t know that name? Do you need me to call someone for you?” Aidan reached to the bedside table and picked up a phone. She shook her head. “No, the Corpesetti that saved me. Was he hurt?” Aidan stilled. Amber eyes studied her face without blinking. He appeared to be at war with her words. “Don’t you know, or don’t you want to tell me?” She tried once again to move. A quick hand to her uninjured shoulder stayed her. “The Corpesetti that attacked you is dead. The other was injured and fled. I don’t know what became of him.” She sagged back into the mattress at those words. Maybe Lemar made it back to his own people and was cared for. He’d saved her life by attacking the nameless Corpesetti that turned the joyful fall festival into a mortal bloodbath. She’d like to think he didn’t die for his efforts. “Were there any others injured?” “No. And the police arrived with rifles shortly after the attack so the Corpesetti didn’t venture back.”

“Good. I would hate for anyone else to have been hurt.” Aidan studied her for a moment. His lips opened as if he were about to say something but thought better of it. Edie let her eyes fall closed again, half to keep from having to look at Aidan, half from the wavering exhaustion that seemed to come back at will. When she woke again Aidan had stretched out on the bed on her left side. He was turned facing her with his arm draped over her waist. She turned her head to see if he slept, but he watched her intently. She smiled. “I thought you were sleeping.” “I did for a bit.” He moved the hand from her waist to stroke her face. Dirty hair hung back from her temple. She felt revolting. “How can you touch me, much less lay by me? I must smell horrible.” His nostrils flared slightly. “You smell like you’re alive.” She laughed, but stopped when her shoulder throbbed again. “Because nothing dead could possibly smell as ripe as I do?” He frowned. “Do you want to freshen up? I don’t think you’re strong enough to stand for a shower, but I could help you in the tub.” Aidan was truly a tender and lovely man. He stood from the bed and started for the door. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” His absence gave her a chance to look around the room. Upon waking the first time she thought she had been taken to a private hospital somewhere, but now that the door stood open and light from the hallway filtered in she could see it was a bedroom. Where had she been taken if not to a hospital? Aidan couldn’t have possibly cared for her at home. Though she hadn’t been awake since shortly after the attack, she knew her injury had to be severe. She’ d clearly heard Karl’s voice say so. Determined to make some sense of the situation, she pushed up on her left arm and sat up. Black spots filled her vision and threatened to pull her back under. She gave herself a minute to compose before pushing upright. The door opened and a tall elegant woman with the look of India about her stepped into the room. Her large almond-shaped eyes were full of sympathy. Her long dark fingers circled Edie’s wrist and covered her pulse point. “Aidan told me you woke. How are you feeling, my dear?” “Sore.” Pleasure rushed through Edie as her grandmother entered the room. “Grandma?” Edith Keirnan hurried to her granddaughter and kissed her on both cheeks, before stepping back with tears in her eyes. “You look so much better than the last time I saw you.” Edie thought the statement odd, but was so glad to see her grandma that she let the comment slide. Her eyes shifted to the right as the other woman began to lift the bandage on Edie’s shoulder. “It’s healing nicely. You should be good as new in a few days. These things take little time to heal under the circumstances.” Edie frowned at her. “Under what circumstances? That the Jersey Devil tried to kill me?” A meaningful looked passed between the two elder women. Edie’s grandma sat on the edge of the bed and took Edie’s hand in hers. “This is Yasamin. She’s the surgeon here, and has been caring for you since the attack.”

Edie nodded her head at Dr. Yasamin. “All right, but where exactly is here? This doesn’t look like the hospital I’m familiar with.” “It’s not.” Her grandmother squeezed Edie’s hand for emphasis. “Aidan brought you here to the compound instead of to the hospital.” The compound. So, it was true. Every last speculation Edie had about her grandmother was true. They were part of the Immorati’s secret conclave. But how far removed? It would have to be near for Aidan to know Edith Keirnan. And that made Edie some part Immorati, which would also explain the Corpesetti’s thirst to kill her. “Why didn’t you tell me about all this when I visited you? I’m not a stupid woman, grandma.” “No. I know you aren’t. But you’re always willing to believe that the stories I told were just that. You never believed they could be true.” She picked up Edie’s hand and ran her thumb over the back of it. “You always questioned with a need to uncover the ‘why’, but forgot to examine the ‘what if’.” Chagrinned, Edie lie back against the pillows and took her hand back from her grandma in order to make a weary swipe at her face. The old woman had the right of it. Instead of looking for the absolute truth, Edie always tried to dig into the root of the story. Motivations and moral lessons meant more to her than any actual kernel of hidden truth. But who would have thought those stories she loved so well in childhood were really historical family facts? “I realized why it is you don’t have any photographs of yourself on display with the family, and why grandpa always said you still looked like the woman he married. I always thought it was because he loved you so much... ” Her grandma squeezed her hand. “Oh, I’m sure that was part of it. Your grandfather was the most excellent man I’ve ever known. I loved him from the first moment we met, but I knew we’d have only a short time together, and I would see him grow old before my eyes while I stayed relatively young.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “Do you know I started dying my hair silver to keep up the lies to my neighbors? They’re convinced my frequent trips to Vegas are to get microsurgery to keep my face looking young.” “Grandma... ” Edie started to tell her grandmother she wasn’t after a confession but her grandma shushed her. “I should have told you when you visited me, but I thought for sure you’d stay out of the Corpesetti’s reach, especially after having faced one at such close range.” Edie squeezed her grandma’s hand. “It’s all right. I probably wouldn’t have done anything differently, except maybe stayed away from the festival on Sunday.” Her grandma raised Edie’s hand to her mouth and kissed it. “So, exactly how old are you? You weren’t really eighteen when you meant grandpa, were you?” “No, more like three-hundred and eighteen. I’d lost Gianni not too soon before that. We Immorati love long, and we love with all our hearts. It takes us a while to settle down, but once we do it’s for an eternity.” “I saw your wedding pictures in an old album in your attic. He was very handsome.” Her grandma smiled and tears filled her eyes. “He was. Most people are lucky to find love once in their lives. Me, I was loved by two wonderful men. I’ve been so blessed. Gianni and I were not lucky enough to have children. And I wanted them, God, how I longed for them. So I left here, determined to marry and have a family that would not ever feel the threat of the Corpesetti.” Edie frowned and turned her head to the side. “And yet you told Liza and me stories of the Immorati.

If you wanted to leave it all behind, why tell us?” “I wanted to give you something of your heritage, even if you only believed in it as a fairytale.” Aidan came into the room then and gave her a smile. “Your bath is ready.” Edie started to pull the covers off her and noticed she had nothing on. She took the blanket and tried to wrap it around her waist with her left hand. Aidan moved passed her grandmother to help. When she started to scoot off the bed he swung her up into his arms. “Aidan, you don’t have to carry me.” The protest came out in a near squeak. His body heat eased its way through the blanket and enveloped her in comforting warmth. “Oh, but I do.” He eased open the bathroom door with his foot. Candles lit the room. Reflections of light flickered in the depths of the tub water. Tub was a misnomer; the thing looked more like a pool. No wonder Aidan insisted on helping her, she was likely to drown herself if she couldn’t support her weight in the water. He sat her down on a bench beside the tub and began stripping off his clothes. “What are you doing?” “Getting undressed. I can’t help you unless I’m in the tub with you, and it would be foolish to do so fully clothed.” He had a light in his eyes that suggested he would greatly enjoy his practicality. Edie held the sheet a little closer to her body. Uncertainty flowed through her. She had to know all of the truth to move forward. To sit in the bathroom and allow Aidan to be so intimate with her, as to help her bathe, was not something she wanted to do without first clearing the air. Aidan bent over to push his pants down his tanned legs. “Did you have a service for Seth yet?” She watched his expression carefully. He stepped out of his pants, and came toward her in his underwear. When he stood in front of her, her attention centered on the hard plane of abs directly at eye level. Slowly, she reached out and touch him. His hand cradled hers as she moved it over his abdomen. Sable hair cut a path down the center of his stomach, widening into a smooth cloud over his pecs. Her eyes followed the trail up until the pull of his eyes begged her to look directly at him. “We had the service yesterday.” “How’s your father doing?” He still held her hand against his body, and lifted the other one to her cheek. “He’s taken to his room mostly.” “I’m sorry. No parent should have to bury a child.” Tipping her face up, he kissed her gently. “Thank you.” He moved his hands to grip her shoulders then slowly moved them down to pull the sheet away. She held it tight to her body. “Wait, Aidan.” “What? Sweetheart, you don’t have to be embarrassed. I’ve seen your body before. You’re beautiful. There’s no need to feel shy.” “I’m not. I want you to talk to me about something very important.” Weakness stole over her, but she fought it back. “All right.” He squatted down in front of her, resting his arms on his thighs. “What do you want to know?” “You knew my grandmother when she lived here, didn’t you?”

His eyes held hers, as if studying her for reaction. “Yes. She told you then?” “Yes.” She paused for a moment. “Why didn’t you just admit it when I mentioned the Immorati? It would have been so much easier.” “I wanted to protect you, and I hadn’t spoken to your grandmother in almost a hundred years. I didn ’t know why she kept the secret from you, and I would not come between the two of you.” “What happens now? I can’t pretend I don’t know about your compound. Or that I want to know everything about this culture.” She let out an uneasy laugh. “My culture.” A smile formed in the corner of his mouth, lifting his lips into a sexy sly grin. “I’ll teach you all you want to know about life at the compound.” He pushed up to his feet. “But first let’s get you washed and back to bed.” Edie stood with Aidan’s help and allowed him to take the sheet away. He backed away then and took his underwear off. “Let me get in first and I’ll stand on the stairs and help you over so you don’t slip.” He walked up the three stairs and then down the other side into the tub. Once in, he turned and held out his hand for her. Edie took it and let him guide her up the steps then over the slippery surface into the tub. Warm water lapped at her calves, then thighs and belly as she moved deeper into the tub. Aidan moved her to the stone seat and supported her around the waist as she sat. A sigh escaped passed her parted lips as water soothed the pain away. “The bandage is getting wet” Her eyes started to close. “Yasamin will redress it when you’re back in bed. A little water in the wound won’t hurt it.” He stood on his knees in front of her and picked up a fluffy expensive looking cloth and designer soap then began to wash her. She let her eyes close and simply floated on sensation. Aidan had magical hands. Tenderly, he ran the cloth over her arms, then the uninjured side of her neck. “Turn around, love.” His voice was low, nearly a whisper. Edie turned to the side as he moved in behind her. Fingertips grazed her shoulder to move her hair and expose her skin to his loving ministrations. The cloth glided along the tops of her shoulders, first with soap then with water. The squish of soap filled the quiet of the room as Aidan lathered up the cloth again. His arms came around her and ran across the top of her breasts. Wet male skin pressed against her back. His steel-like erection nudged her lower back. Lips grazed the side of her neck. “Let me wash your hair for you.” A small pail set next to the tub side. Aidan filled it with water. “Hold your breath.” He let the water fall over her head, wetting her hair. She helped him gather her hair together, careful to use only her left hand. He gently swatted her help away. “Let me, Edie.” “You’ll spoil me.” “And I’m glad to do so.” The shampoo bottle made a loud burp and the smell of spices filled her head. It smelled like Aidan. “So that’s why you always smell so good. I thought it was your cologne.” “It’s both. One of the conclaves makes all the soap, shampoo and cologne for us. I don’t like to use opposing scents so I have her make all mine the same.” He worked the shampoo into a rich lather as he explained.

Edie fell into the abyss with the feel of his fingers massaging her scalp. “I’m ready to rinse your hair.” She jarred awake again. Water sluiced down her head, taking with it a foamy rapids. Being clean had never felt so good. Aidan seemed rather practiced at bathing a woman. “You’ve done this much?” He moved her hair around to expose the soapy areas. “Me? No.” The second pail of water rained down on her. “You can stand up now.” She did, though she didn’t know how long her legs would hold out. They began to shake, especially when he began to wash her intimately. The movement of the soapy cloth against her felt so good she almost felt embarrassed by how much. “I could have done that.” He raised shining amber eyes to her. “Oh, no. You aren’t going to do a thing for yourself until you heal.” She shifted slightly and let her thighs part a bit more. His fingers brushed against her clit and stilled when she sighed. He leaned his forehead against her for a moment before standing. “I should get you back to bed.” Frustration roared to life in her, but Edie decided not to argue. If he didn’t get her back to bed soon her legs would give out completely. They moved to the stairs and he urged her up ahead of him while he took the rear to keep her from falling back into the water. Thick towels waited on another bench for them, and Aidan took great care in drying her body and patting her hair. He removed the saturated bandage and threw it into the trash. Finally, he wrapped the towel around her body and carried her back to the bedroom. Someone—her grandmother most likely—changed the bed linens while they were in the bathroom. The room smelled fresh and clean, instead of stale like a sick room. Aidan laid her down then climbed into bed beside her. “Now, take a nap. You look worn out.” The idea sounded like heaven, but she still wanted answers, “You promised to tell me about the Immorati.” “I know, but sleep first.” He placed kisses along her jaw and encircled her in his arms. “You’ve done too much already.” She was quiet for a moment. “Aidan?” “Yes?” His voice sounded as groggy as she felt. “I think I’m in love with you.” She didn’t expect to say that, but now that it was out in the open it felt right. His arms tightened a fraction and breath fanned her face. “Good because I am in love with you.” Pine Haven Karl hung up the phone and scrubbed his face. He’d called every trauma center from Morristown to Philadelphia and found no record of Edie as a patient. Had she died? Even attempts to contact her grandmother and parents had garnered nothing but unreturned messages. She seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth. Worry and anger pushed him to his feet. He never should have given Aidan LaMont the responsibility of caring for Edie when she was injured. He should have insisted—at gunpoint if necessary—that they wait for the ambulance. He would have never given

her over if he thought for one moment LaMont wouldn’t take her to the hospital. He should have called the ambulance, restored order to the crowd, and chased the damn Jersey Devil that fled and killed the bastard himself. Now Edie was missing, the public scared, and another one of those godforsaken beasts was on the loose. The other two issues he could live with for the time being, but Edie’s disappearance had him by the throat and threatened to drive him insane. What could have happened to her? It had been days since the attack at the festival. Citizens were up in arms demanding an explanation from his office and he’d only been able to give them the death of the Devil that attacked Edie. The other one—that avenging dark angel who saved her—was still at large. There were also those who whispered that Edie had been chosen as the beast’s demonic bride and he’d come to the festival to claim her. How else could they explain why no one else was attacked and the Jersey Devil headed straight for her? The office walls closed in on him. He had to get out and look for her or he’d go crazy. But he’d done everything he could to try and find Edie; he’d come up with bupkus. Even LaMont’s license plate number had come up not found in the database. How was that even possible? And they’d never cleared up the same glitch in his brother’s case. He’d even been too late to the morgue to see if LaMont came to claim his brother’s body. Tyler told him the family’s lawyer and the funeral home had picked it up. Karl supposed Aidan in mourning and hadn’t wanted to venture into town to perform the task personally, or he was too busy hiding Edie’s body. “Stop that.” He admonished himself. He was getting as bad as the gossip mongers fabricating stories from thin air. He had no reason to believe LaMont had done anything with Edie other than get her help. He hadn’t heard anything because she was in intensive care and her family was simply too busy seeing to her needs to return his calls. That’s all it was, they just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. But if that was the case, what hospital had she been taken to? Did LaMont give them an alias to keep her name and injury out of the media? Would he have even thought that far ahead in the mad rush to the hospital? Karl leaned against his desk and stared out the office window. For now, he’d have to pray it was so. His radio beeped. “Urich.” “Chief, we have reports of something big moving through the woods baring southwest from town.” Karl picked up his hat and headed out the door. “I’m on my way.” He didn’t know what his deputy meant by ‘something big’ but he sure as hell hoped it had sharp teeth, long hair, and wore a black robe.

Chapter Twenty-two Morning came to the compound and blinding fall sunshine cut through a crack in the drapes and landed across Edie’s face. She wondered why she always seemed to wake up the same way. Could there be a rainy day where she didn’t get woken by a celestial alarm clock? She rubbed her hand across her eyes. The pillow beside her still had the outline of Aidan’s head, but he wasn’t in the bed with her. That seemed to be a pattern with him. Damned early riser. She sat up and tested her shoulder. It felt more normal than it had the night before. Perhaps something could be said for having a drop or two of Immorati blood, if such injuries healed so fast. Across the room a large mirror hung on the wall over a sizable vanity. Curiosity had her up and moving to stand in front of it. Yasamin had come in sometime during the night and redressed the wound, but now Edie peeled back the edges of the tape to expose the injury. Several long claw marks scoured her shoulder and cut across her neck. Black sutures, which had to number in the hundreds, closed the wounds. She peeled the rest of the bandage off and stood looking at herself. Tears welled in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Behind her the bedroom door opened and Aidan entered carrying a tray. “You’re awake.” He set the tray down on the bedside table and came up behind her. His eyes stared at the reflection of her injury. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. In time the scar will fade and you won’t even be able to see it.” He cupped his hands over the balls of her shoulders. “It’s a shock, Aidan, but that’s not why I’m crying.” “Then why?” Their eyes met in the mirror. “Because he was so close to killing me, and he didn’t. I’m just so damn thankful I’m still alive.” She turned into the circle of his arms and buried her face in his neck. “I just keep seeing Nanine as she lay in the morgue that night, and I can’t help but be grateful I’m not there right now.” Aidan’s hold on her tightened. His hands moved up and down her back. After a few passes he pulled away slightly. “I’ll see about getting you some clothes today. I don’t want the other unmated males to get any ideas about you.” She gave him a half-hearted smile. Something had changed in Aidan while she was in the worst of her illness. His mood had lightened—but not truthfully. Though there was a lingering sadness due to all the tragedy endured at the hands of the Corpesetti, there was also a forced underlying lightness Edie couldn’t understand. It was as if he sheltered her from some horrible truth. “What?” “Nothing. I just thought perhaps maybe you’d want to take advantage of the fact I’m naked as a nymph at the moment.” “While I think that idea is the best I’ve heard in decades, I have to decline. You’ve been much too

sick for me to risk your health in such a manner.” He moved his hand to her face and cupped her cheek, skimming his thumb along her bottom lip. “We’ll have all the time in the world once we’re mated.” “Oh, will we, now?” she raised a brow and started crowding him toward the bed. “And that would be because... ?” He stopped suddenly, and looked down at her. “They didn’t tell you?” “Tell me what?” She grabbed his arms. “Aidan, you’re scaring me. Tell me what?” His eyes softened. “We’ll have all the time in the world because you are no longer mortal. You’ve converted. You’re Immorati blood saved your life and fought not only the Corpesetti infection, but your mortal blood.” A slight ringing in her ears threw her equilibrium into a tailspin. A strong arm around her waist caught her before she fell and Aidan lowered her to the bed. “I am so sorry, my love. I thought your grandmother told you everything. I thought that was why you were eager to learn all about the Immorati ways. I asked you and you said they had told you.” “No. No one told me that. Only that my grandmother is Immorati. I thought that’s what you meant.” Aidan sat next to her. He started to put his arm around her, but she pulled away. “Did you save my life knowing if I survived I’d live forever?” He studied her face. “No, my only thought was saving you. I didn’t even know such a thing possible in a quarter-Immorati until Yasamin told me of your conversion. You were so sick, so fevered. I worried your fever would grow too high and I’d lose you.” Edie closed her eyes. He had wanted to save her life because he loved her, not to make her into some Immorati Bride of Frankenstein. She may not have known him long, but she didn’t sense any malice on his part. But the decision, how could they have made the decision without knowing her wishes? “You didn’t even consult me. What if I don’t want to live forever?” He huffed. “A moment ago you were happy just to be alive and now you throw it all back in my face because the life you’ll live is longer than you once thought. You were too ill to choose, so I chose for you. I had no idea you’d convert, but I wanted you with me, alive, for as long as your mortal blood dictated.” He was right and Edie knew it. “I’m not throwing my life back in your face.” She lay back closed her eyes to him. “What happens to me now? I told you I didn’t want to live in a prison, and I meant it.” He tensed for a moment but then his touch felt light as it moved up her bare hip and over her waist. “Not even if it means living here with me as my wife. Not even thinking of the beautiful children we’ll bring into the world. Not even knowing of all the nights we’ll spend making love.” Edie arched her back as her breast filled his hand. He rubbed his thumb back and forth over her nipple as it tightened into a peak. Loving Aidan for eternity didn’t sound like such a bad proposition. Not when the memory of his lovemaking had the power to bring her to the edge. She opened one eye and looked at him. “Marriage? Children?” “Yes. And I’ll even agree to find another secured residence if you don’t want to live at the compound proper.” “You sure know all the right things to say.” He lifted her breast and lowered his mouth to take it inside the warm recesses. His tongue felt soft as it slid over her nipple. He moved up and looked into her eyes. “I have to. I’m fighting for our future

here.” Edie held his face in her hands. “I thought there was something special about you the first time I saw you. I just didn’t realize I was looking at my own future.” “Does that mean you’ll agree to go through the mating ritual with me?” “If you agree to explain it to me in great detail. And I want a regular marriage ceremony as well—in Pine Haven, so all my friends can come.” Happiness rimmed his irises in gold. “I believe that can be arranged.” Edie draped her uninjured arm around his neck. “Hmm, then it seems to me we should start making those children you want. I mean, why worry about my health now. If a Corpesetti attack didn’t kill me, I doubt very seriously if a little hot sex will.” His eyes went molten. “You’ve found my weakness. I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to say no to you.” Carefully she helped him remove his shirt. Only having full range of motion in one arm hindered the act, but Aidan didn’t seem to mind as he smiled a sly grin as if disrobing slowly for her gave him an erotic thrill. It sure held her attention. The shirt got hung up on Aidan’s hands as he tried to push the sleeves over them before unbuttoning the cuffs. With his naked chest exposed, and his arms sufficiently imprisoned, Edie took advantage of the situation and leaned forward opening her mouth on his flat nipple and returned the favor of his earlier ministrations. “Oh, love.” He stopped fighting with his shirt and held still. Gently, she nipped at the hard little pebble in the center. His arms came around and held her head in place. The shirt bunched up around his elbows, pulled tight as he began to caress her hair. “Lay back.” She issued the command against his wet skin. He all but fell back in his haste to comply. Edie rose up over him and started to unfasten his belt. She turned her eyes to him, and found him smiling an appreciative grin. “I hope you’re contemplating doing what I think you are.” His voice was rough and deep in his desire. Edie pursed her lips at him. “I really want to find out if you taste good all over, or just in certain spots.” “I will never stand between you and the pursuit of your research. Taste away, my love.” She pulled his zipper down with a deliberateness that did nothing but increase her own anticipation. The swell of his erection bulged out of the opening, the head cresting over the top of his briefs. Edie raised a brow at him before leaning over him and nipping lightly at the dome. His body bowed up in reaction. It made her feel powerful. As if she were the only woman in the world who could make him react so. She slid her hand under the waistband, pulling his briefs down, and slowly moved over the length of his shaft, until she came to the tight sack underneath. Her hand began a slow massage as she bent over him to take him into her mouth. “By the ancestors!” Edie tried not to laugh at his enthusiastic response to her lovemaking, but for a man who stayed so in control out of bed, he sure cut loose between the sheets.

She turned her head slightly to look up at him, and found him watching her. “I’ve never seen anything more sensual in all my life.” His voice was a ragged whisper. That was a high compliment considering how long he’d been alive, and how many women over the centuries he’d undoubtedly made love to. A twinge of an unfamiliar emotion brought her head up and away from her work. The thought pricked a jealous streak she never realized she had. So many women, so many time periods. How coarse and unrefined modern women must seem to him. “What’s wrong?” He started to sit up, but Edie pushed him back against the bed. She shook her head. “I was just wondering how many women you’ve been with over the years. The numbers must be staggering.” Aidan blinked in silence for a moment before throwing his head back and laughing. After a few minutes he sat forward and gathered her in his arms. “Oh, Edie, do you not realize, if any of them would have meant anything to me they’d have been my mate. You are the only one I ever thought to stand with before the conclave and declare as my other half. We Immorati believe infidelity a grave crime against the conclave, so we make very certain the people we pledge our hearts to are worthy of the gift.” Tender hands caressed her as he spoke. A man who truly believed infidelity to be a moral injustice was definitely a man she could see herself spending an eternity with. “You know.” He tipped her face up so she would have to look at him. “I have no illusions that you haven’t had lovers over the years. And believe me, there is no enjoyment in knowing you’ve given and received pleasure with them. It tears my guts out just thinking about it. But your past is your past, and I am your present and future. They no longer have any bearing on our relationship, just as my past lovers have none.” Contrite, Edie opened her mouth to him as his lips descended to capture hers in a kiss so loving and tender it brought tears to her eyes. The words may have been a bit melodramatic, but he acted sincere in everything he said. He laid her back against the mattress, one hand on her head, the other skimmed up her side. A moan slid from her mouth as her breast filled his palm. “You’re so damned soft.” He trailed his fingers down her body and skimmed them through the curls on her mound. His index finger slid through her slick heat. “And so damn wet.” She let her thighs fall open to him. “So pretty, pink, and sweet, too.” He smiled and stood up to remove the rest of his clothes. Edie stayed the way she laid, her body open and waiting for him. His gaze never wavered from her offering. A sweet pearl of liquid fire burned through her body and planted itself firmly between her legs. Her clit throbbed, wanting desperately to be touched. She obliged it as Aidan watched in heated silence. “That’s so beautiful, my love.” His hand skimmed down his body and gripped his thick erection as he watched her. She nearly came undone watching him pleasure himself as she did the same. Knowing that what she did excited him made it all the more pleasurable for her. He came to her and kneeled on the bed between her spread thighs. Slowly, so torturously slow Edie thought she’d die from it, Aidan moved into her. When she tried to remove her hand from herself, he stopped her. “No, keep touching yourself while I make love to you. I want to feel your hand brush against me as you pleasure yourself.” He thrust into her hard then. “You’re the most erotic woman I’ve ever known.”

Edie was beyond speech. The force of his love, the slid of his hot shaft inside her, made all the words fly from her head. She bit her lower lip and fought to hold the impending orgasm at bay. Nothing had ever felt so good to her. Only Aidan’s mouth on her had been a very close second. The memory of his tongue and lips on her sensitive flesh the first time they made love slammed through her and rippled down below. Her back arched involuntarily, and the shout she’d been trying to hold in, fell unchecked. Suddenly, Aidan was gone from inside her. He moved down her body so fast she was still shuddering in release as his mouth took possession of her. His tongue flicked her quick and hard, sending her over another cliff she didn’t even realize she stood on. He moved again, this time moving her up on the bed as he slammed inside her. He grabbed her leg behind her knee and held it up around his waist. The powerful thrusts sent her back arching in ecstasy. Her breasts bounced in time to the movements. She didn’t think she could take anymore. Her shoulder burned like a bonfire, but it held no sway over the incredible sensations she felt building over every inch of her body. Every sensation coalesced into a tiny pinpoint deep inside her then exploded. She heard a disembodied voice shout Aidan’s name. Liquid, hot as lava, bathed her inside and Aidan convulsed. Her name tore from him as if it were being ripped from his very soul. He buried his face in her neck. Hot breath pelted against her already over-heated skin. She let her hand caress the back of his head, weaving into the thick strands of his hair. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” He turned his face to look at her. This close up he looked kind of blurry to her, but no less sexy. “Honestly, I’ve never felt better.” Nor had she ever felt so loved, or satisfied. “We’ll rest for a while then I’m going to my father and tell him I’ve selected my mate.” He leaned over her and brushed her hair from her face. “We can be married before he abdicates at the next full moon.” Edie frowned. “Abdicates? Is he a king or something?” Pain put brackets around his mouth. His lips flattened. “No, it’s not just a position of authority he’ll be giving up. He means to end his life.” “What? Like an assisted suicide?” Alarm made the hair rise on her arms. Gooseflesh broke out all over her skin. “You’re cold.” He moved to pull a blanket over them. When he had her tucked into his warmth and settled with her head on his chest, his hand moving over her arm in a slow caress, he continued. “An abdication is the preferred method for an Immorati to die and ascend to the estate of our ancestors. It is believed that those killed by the Corpesetti may not dwell in the heavenly estate. My father means to abdicate and find my mother.” “And Seth?” “Yes, and now Seth.” “How does it happen, this abdication?” The anthropologist in her reared up to take note of such practices that happened here inside the United States of America, but were so foreign to her experience they seemed not just of the ‘other,’ but otherworldly. “By removing the heart. It’s the only way to kill an Immorati.” Edie swallowed. She wrapped her arms around Aidan’s waist, and held him tight. She and Toto

were definitely not in Kansas anymore, and her only escape would not be with the aid of ruby slippers. *** Later in the day, Edie sat outside in a beautiful garden on the side of the enclosed property. The sun felt surprisingly warm, as if an Indian summer were upon them. The light shawl she had around her shoulders was too warm and she let it drape down to her elbows. The chill in her heart after hearing the account of an abdication ritual remained, though she tried to push it to the back of her mind. She had centuries to worry about when and if she would decide to take such a drastic step. Right now she had more happy things to think about. Looking around the garden, she decided living in the compound might not be all that bad. She could definitely get used to the decadence of the place. The Immorati lived well. When one lives forever it probably made sense to buy quality products that would last. Still, there was a certain frugality to their existence despite the opulence. Aidan went back inside after showing her the gardens. He wanted to speak with his father about their mating ritual. The way Aidan talked it would be before the full moon. He wanted to marry before his father’s abdication. That was only two weeks away. Somehow Edie had always thought she’d have a long courtship and engagement, not the quick blast off it seemed Aidan wanted. She turned her cell phone over in her hand and flipped it open. Missed calls. Of course she had missed calls. She’d been out of it for days. A stab of regret hit her square in the chest. Most of the calls were from Karl. Bless his heart, he probably had no idea where she was or what had happened to her after she’d been carried bleeding from the park. Her thumb hit the dial feature and his phone started to ring. “Urich.” He sounded surly and cross. “Karl, it’s Edie.” She tried to sound light and not as if her heart would break for him. The gulf between them had never seemed so large. “I’m sorry I didn’t return... ” “Where the hell are you? I’ve called every hospital within a hundred mile radius. I’ve been worried sick.” “I know, I’m sorry. I guess no one thought to call you. I’m in a small private hospital.” The lie fell easily from her lips. She couldn’t tell him the truth though. He probably wouldn’t believe her anyways. There was a beat of silence, then. “You sound good.” Another beat of silence filled the phone, then, “Thank God. Thank God. I thought you were dead.” “It was touch and go for a day or two. I got a lot of blood products and they sewed me up. I’ll be fine.” Better to downplay the extent of her injuries rather than make him think she really had been on the brink of death. “Where exactly are you? I want to come see you.” She balked at this. Even if she did know where the compound was located enough to give directions, she’d never give away their secret. “I don’t exactly know how to get here to give directions. I’ll be home in a few days. We could have lunch then.” He laughed. “Here I thought I’d watched some animal murder you in front of me, and now you call to make a lunch date. Christ, that’s so you, Edie.” She could hear him choke up on the other end. There was a sound that resembled a sob, then he covered the phone.

“Karl?” A few seconds passed before he came back on the line. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m just so fucking relieved.” She didn’t know what to say to that, so she continued on. “I’ll call you when I get home?” “Yes. Please do.” They rang off and Edie stared into the distance wondering if conversations inside the compound were any smoother than the one outside. *** “You cannot take her for a mate, Aidan, you know it’s forbidden.” Jainus stood near the window, his attention directed at something in the garden. It didn’t take a member of Mensa to figure out what, or who, it was. “But she’s of the blood now.” “Only because her blood is tainted with the Corpesetti toxin. She’s anathema. An abomination. You know the laws.” Red sheets of anger filled Aidan’s vision. He slammed his hand down on the desk. “How can you look at her and say that!” “The codex states...” “Damn the codex! Laws are made to be changed. Why would you deny me this knowing how little we are in number now? The conclave cannot afford to be choosey over how an Immorati came into being. Only that she is one.” “There is nothing I can do, Aidan. My hands are tied on this. The Elders will meet to decide her fate. But I fear the punishment is already on the books. She is a convert.” “I’ll find a way to do this. I promise you that. I will have Edie as my wife.” Jainus turned away from the window and looked at his son. His eyes were weary. He didn’t answer. Aidan turned and left the room, heading straight for Cletus and the archives. Cletus would know if there were any precedence that would save Edie’s life, or see to her banishment instead of forced abdication as the law dictated as punishment for her supposed crime. Crime? Did his father actually use that word? How could Jainus be so blind? Edie was beautiful and sweet. She would make the perfect mate for an Elder. An Elder. Yasamin. He needed her on his side before they pleaded Edie’s case. First, he’d talk to Cletus then go to Yasamin and enlist her aid. Cletus sat in the middle of an archival mountain sorting through ledgers dating back from the foundation of the New Jersey conclave. Pandori sat at a computer terminal near her husband with an open ledger inputting information into a program. Cletus dragged his attention from the book to Aidan at the intrusion. “How is Edie?” Because every waking moment had been spent at Edie’s side, Aidan hadn’t spared much time for his best friend. “Sitting in the garden at the moment.” Aidan walked up to the table and slid his hands into his trouser pockets. “What do you know about the punishment of a convert? Has the conclave ever voted for banishment over forced abdication?”

A tension-filled look passed between Cletus and Pandori. She stood and gathered her books. “Excuse me.” Dread spun wild in Aidan’s heart. “I take it the answer is no.” “I am so sorry, Aidan. I should have warned you before now.” Cletus indicated the vacant chair. “Have a seat.” “Don’t demure just tell me what our chances are.” Cletus shook his head. Perhaps Aidan had misunderstood his father’s intent. No, he couldn’t believe after his father watched so many loved one’s die, that he would force Aidan’s lover to abdicate her new-found immortality. “I cannot believe my father would do such a thing.” “Don’t despair yet. The Elders have to meet and vote on the punishment. They could vote to banish her. That seems a more likely course since she grew up not knowing life within the conclave or even of her immortal origins. Sending her back into society seems a better alternative.” The expression on Jainus’s face had indicated otherwise. “I don’t think my father is going to vote leniency.” A gorge rose in the back of his throat. “I need to speak with Yasamin. Why would she fight so hard to save Edie’s life if she knew the likelihood of a forced abdication?” “Because Yasamin has never agreed with the rule to force abdication of a convert. She’s a healer, and will always enact to save a life rather than extinguish one. You may be able to persuade her to plead your and Edie’s case with the Elders.” “I’m counting on that, but I shouldn’t have to.” Aidan shoved to his feet again. “I almost lost her already. I’ll be damned before I’ll sit by and let the Elders demand her life.” “Yes, well.” Cletus rubbed his chin in thought. “I think you’ve underestimated Edie’s response. Do you honestly think she would go quietly into that goodnight? She’ll scale the perimeter fence like a Navy SEAL and make for Pine Haven and her friend Chief Urich.” He chuckled. “I don’t even think the Elders would risk what would happen when he returns with the entire Pine Haven police force. He’d probably call in the FBI just for good measure, and because he already knows we manufacture firearms here.” Said like that, Aidan felt like an idiot for worrying. “You’re probably right. Father will most likely vote for banishment. But, Cletus, if he thinks I won’t follow her, he’s wrong.” “You’d decline the Eldership?” “I thought I could be unselfish about it.” He let out an uneasy laugh. “I had even convinced myself before the attack that she and I could be lovers for a while and I could put her aside and marry a full blood.” “Not the case?” “Far from it.” Aidan tapped the table a few times with a knuckle. “Let me find Yasamin before the Elders convene and all is lost.” Yasamin was not even half as encouraging as Cletus, but she promised to fight for Edie’s life. “I never did understand that rule.” She closed the latest James Patterson book she was reading and laid it beside her in the big chair. She sat in a small private parlor she preferred over the main salon. “And I don ’t see how Jainus will make it stick with the state of the conclave as of late. We lost two of our unmated members in less than a week. Such a loss is going to have repercussions.” “Any decision will have repercussions.” Yasamin nodded in agreement. “I will speak on your behalf. I worked hard to save her life, and I won’t let my work be for naught.”

“When are you to meet?” “Tonight. After the dinner hour.” Aidan nodded. If they were meeting, he would be in the meeting chamber at the appointed hour. As a future Elder he had every right to be there, didn’t he? He excused himself and walked through the compound. When he walked through the salon, he spotted Elder Truman. Their eyes met for only a brief moment before the man turned away. Aidan pushed out the French doors and caught sight of Edie standing in the sunshine, her cell phone held to her ear. She turned to him and her smile lit her entire face. Happiness radiated from her like the sun’s corona. She spoke into her phone. “No, we haven’t set a date yet.” Love tried to choke him. The poor woman had no clue that her life balanced on the edge of a very sharp blade. It would not come to that, he wouldn’t allow it. If Edie’s grandmother could leave the conclave and live a happy and productive life away from the walls of the compound, so could they. And yet, even as the thought formed in his brain, his heart ached at the possibility of letting the entire conclave down when he left. He’d never run away from his responsibility to his people. It had always been easy to determine the correct path, but now his responsibilities were at war with one another. He could not fulfill his obligation to the conclave in light of a decision that would take the life of the woman he loved. And he could not remain true to Edie by staying with the conclave if they voted for abdication. “I’ll call you when we get back to Pine Haven. You and Dad can drive up, or we can go down there and have dinner together.” She was talking to her mother. Air stopped moving freely through his nose and mouth. His lungs felt closed off. Didn’t all little girls dream of planning their perfect wedding? And didn’t their mothers share in that perfect dream? Suddenly, Edie spotted him and mouthed, “What’s wrong?” He shook his head and took a seat on the bench beside her and watched her while she finished her call. He suspected she cut it short on his account, and was glad for that. They needed to talk and he didn ’t want any interruptions. She folded the phone and held it in her hands. White knuckles spoke volumes on her state of mind. She sank to the seat beside him and met his eyes with her chin thrust out. Brave. Hard. Unflappable. “You’ve changed your mind, right?” “Never.” He took her white-knuckled hand in his and smoothed over the soft skin and blue veins— veins that now carried full Immorati blood. Unfair, he wanted to shout. Unfair and unjust. The Elders didn’t even know Edie, they only knew she was born the grandchild of a full blood and converted from the bite of a Corpesetti. They didn’t know how she fearlessly followed him into the woods to see what he and Cletus were up to. They didn’t know how she stubbornly refused to live at the compound for fear of losing her independence. Or how she dug for the truth when all she came across were brick walls. “Then what is it? Your father doesn’t want you to marry me, does he?” She moved a piece of hair behind her ear. “Is it because my grandma left the conclave?” He shook his head. “If she had stayed, you wouldn’t be here and I wouldn’t be in love with you.” The corner of Edie’s mouth moved into a small smile. “So, what is it?” He took a long breath, more to think of what to say than to let out his pent up frustration. “After dinner the Elders are meeting to decide your fate.”

“My fate?” Her words were both incredulous and skeptical. “My fate is my concern and not a matter for the Elders to decide. They have no say in my life.” “Edie, it’s not that simple.” “It is.” She stood up. “I guess you’d better take me back to Pine Haven.” “What?” “If you think I’m staying where I’m unwanted, you’re mistaken.” She started to walk back into the manor. He caught up with her as she turned down the wrong hallway and headed toward the kitchen. “Edie, not like this. Stand with me and fight for your rights.” “My rights? Against a bunch of throwbacks in time that don’t even know me, but are willing to judge me when they have never even met me?” Her eyes flashed a dangerous heat. “I wouldn’t lower myself.” She jerked her arm from his hand. “Please stay. See what they decide.” He followed her a few more steps. “I’m taking my place as an Elder in a few weeks. I have a responsibility to the conclave, especially during such uncertain times.” She bit her bottom lip and gave a brief nod of her head. Tears filled her eyes and she turned from him. “You should have made all this clear before you proposed.” Aidan couldn’t stand it a moment longer. He cradled her face in his hands and brought her mouth to his. The kiss was soft and tender, or at least he tried. Control splintered to the winds when Edie pressed herself against him and let out a pained sob. He held her tighter, slanting his mouth over hers. He forced her lips apart and felt her tongue brush against his. He pulled away from her and rested his forehead against hers. “Remember, my only thought was to save you. To build a life with you.” “What do they want to do with me?” He couldn’t tell her they wanted her dead. Couldn’t tell her she was anathema. He would find a way. He had too. “It doesn’t matter what they decide. Stand with me and fight. Promise me you won’t give up on us.” “Aidan.” Her warm breath tickled his lips as she spoke against his mouth. “Stay with me. Let them see your strength and resolve. The Immorati need women like you in the conclave if we’re to survive this new wave of attacks by the Corpesetti.” “I’ll stay, but only until after they vote. Just the fact they have to vote on me makes me uncomfortable, and I could never live anywhere that I feel uncomfortable, even for the sake of the man I love.” It was a small concession at least. Long enough to convince the Elders they were making a mistake, but short enough to get her to safety if he had to. He took her hand and turned her back in the correct direction. They entered his room and she sat her on the bed while he put together a small travel case. If she wanted to leave, he’d at least go back and spend a few days with her, while he decided what he wanted to do. He hadn’t unpacked from when Cletus had returned to the apartment and threw some of their belongings into the suitcases during the worst of Edie’s illness. A sheaf of papers crinkled in between layers of clothes. He pulled it out and held it up. Copies of Nanine’s letters from her lover, Hedric, that Chief Urich had given him when Aidan identified Seth’s body. Edie looked at the letters. “What are those?” He suspected his frown of concentration must have been deep, for her face

mirrored his. “Copies of the letters found in Seth’s car.” He handed them to her. “They’re from Nanine’s lover.” She glanced over the flowery prose and erotic language. A sad smile tugged the corner of her mouth, until horror filled her eyes and she looked up at him. “Hedric was her lover?” “Apparently. Do you know him?” Nervous energy twisted his gut. If he could only talk to her lover, perhaps he could piece together the last moments of Nanine’s life and find out how she came to be attacked by a Corpesetti. “Oh God, Aidan. This is what Lemar meant.” “Lemar? You’ve mentioned him before. Who is he?” “The Corpesetti that saved me. His name is Lemar.” Had his mind finally snapped from all the stress as of late? How could Edie possibly know the name of a Corpesetti? “How do you know that?” “He told me his name. He also told me his brother found a way to break the curse of the Corpesetti. He was discovered and killed for his actions. Lemar described his brother as a gentle creature, the heart of a poet, a lover, not a killer.” She shifted her glance back down to the papers in her hands. “His brother’s name was Hedric. The Corpesetti killed with Nanine was her lover.” Aidan sat down before his knees buckled. “That’s a lie. Nanine would never take a Corpesetti for a lover.” She reached out her hand to him. He grabbed it hard— something— anything to hold on to and keep his mind from reeling. “I’m so sorry, Aidan, but the evidence speaks to the contrary.” “What evidence? A sheaf of papers and a Corpesetti lie.” He spat the words out, hoping to spit out the foul taste in his mouth along with them. “I didn’t want to tell you this before because I thought the truth more horrible than the reality.” “What truth could be more horrible than my cousin taking a Corpesetti lover?” “Being raped by one before she was killed.” She said this gently. Aidan swallowed. The lump in his throat made it difficult. He stood and walked around the room a few times. He couldn’t look at Edie, couldn’t bear to see the pity in her eyes. Questions formed in his mind, but his tongue felt too thick to say the words. Into the tense quiet, Edie began again. “While examining the Corpesetti at the morgue, I discovered he had recently mated. Tyler examined Nanine and found the presence of semen and some blood. We all assumed he had taken her by force.” She picked up the papers and held them up, ruffling them slightly for emphasis. “I think it’s safe to assume she went to the woods to meet him. He didn’t rape her, he made love to her.” The impression of the letter he and Cletus found in Nanine’s room did indeed support the idea that she was to meet her lover. But the Corpesetti Lemar had lied, had somehow found out the name of Nanine’s lover and meant to hurt her loved ones with the lie. He looked at Edie sitting on his bed, looking up at him, the bandage on her neck and shoulder proof that Lemar had at least meant to save an Immorati life. He frowned. “You met Lemar in the woods the night Seth was killed, didn’t you? You had the stink of him on your clothes.” “I talked to him that night, yes. There was a note left for me on the outside door that morning. He wanted to meet with me and tell me about what the others did to his brother. He believes his brother was right. He thinks to break the curse the same way.”

“With you for a lover?” The thought disgusted him. How could Edie have befriended the enemy? More alarming still was the slight blush that burned her cheeks. “Ancestors weeping! Did he touch you? Did you let him defile you? Is that why he saved your life, because you’re his lover?” She stood and vibrated with righteous indignation. It shimmered and stirred the air around her. “How dare you? First the sanctimonious Elders want to meet to decide my fate, then you accuse me of meeting a Corpesetti in the woods for wild sex. You know, all of you can just ride to hell on that high horse you seem to love so well.” She started around him and for the door. He reached out and grabbed her arm. “You promised not to leave.” “Hey, all bets are off when you start accusing me of things I haven’t done. And even if I had, would you blame me? He gave me more answers in two short conversations than you gave me in a week.” Her words stung him like a backhand to the cheek. “So, you’ll whore yourself out for information? Is that it? You only became my lover so I could supply you answers for some book on Jersey Devil mythology you want to write?” She sucked in a breath and slapped him. “Go fuck yourself.” Aidan rubbed his jaw and watched her storm out of the room and down the hall. Nicely done. He admonished himself. He knew Edie hadn’t taken a Corpesetti lover, but she had befriended one, and had worried about him on first waking from her injury. Then again, he had saved her life. If it hadn’t been for Lemar’s intervention, the Corpesetti would have killed Edie in front of the horrified festival crowd. Perhaps even eaten her heart while Aidan looked on, helpless to get to her in time. The thought galvanized him into action and his feet moved of their own accord. He caught up with her as she exited the main doors and headed across the great lawn straight for the front gate. “Edie, come back here.” She turned to look over her shoulder. Her skin was even paler than usual. The activity had gotten to her. The emotional admission of the night in the morgue, the fight, their explosive lovemaking earlier in the day, it was all too much so soon after coming close to losing her life. “Please, love, you’re not well.” His words had no effect on her. She kept walking away from him. “I’ m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I know you didn’t take him for a lover. I was just lashing out.” Finally, she turned and pointed her finger at him. “Never again, Aidan. I will not be emotionally abused because you want to blame someone for something your cousin did.” “I know. It was wrong of me.” He caught up with her. “Come back into the house and let’s talk civilly.” Green eyes narrowed at him. She was still upset but she nodded, right before she wobbled and collapsed into his arms. He carried her back into the manor and to his room and laid her on the bed. Long lashes fluttered and she looked up at him. “I love you, Edie. I am so sorry I directed my anger at you. You were only doing what the M. E. asked you, you didn’t even know what the information meant at the time.” “I wanted to protect you. I knew it would hurt you if you found out Nanine had been raped, but I never thought for a moment the Corpesetti could be her lover.” He bent down and brushed his mouth across hers. “I wonder if that’s what my grandma talked about. She said she believed the only way to break the curse was through love. It makes sense. Hate and jealousy brought the curse upon the Corpesetti.

Unconditional love could be the only thing to break it.” That brought a smile to his face. “Unconditional love, huh?”

Chapter Twenty-three The Elders sat at a long oval table. Their chairs were arranged at equal distance from one another so as not to seem as if any had more power over the others. Decisions were joint ventures and no vote weighed more than another. However, that didn’t mean some of the Elders didn’t have more influence over the council. Elder Jainus sat on a side flanked by Elders Truman and Francis. Across the table, Yasamin gazed at Jainus with angry dark eyes. They had known one another for almost four hundred years and not once had she looked at him as if she wished his abdication would be within the next few moments. But now she did. Aidan stood behind Jainus’s back watching the proceedings and listening to the argument that waged back and forth. Edie stood beside him, on the opposite side stood her grandmother, holding her hand. “The law is clear. She must abdicate. There is no other action for one such as she.” Elder Rasmus’ dark gaze flicked over Edie in unrestrained hostility. Yasamin turned her sharp features to Rasmus. If she had been able to spit venom, she probably would have. “Such as she? Do you hear yourself, as if you are the measure of a heart’s purity? Edie had no want to become an Immorati, she became one out of circumstance. Is she to die because you are so afraid of the Corpesetti?” “Would you trust her not to rip our hearts from our chests while we sleep because the taint in her blood bade her to do so?” Rasmus shot back. Edie drew in a sharp breath. Aidan could feel her lurch forward to say something in her defense, but he held her back. He had stood still for a half-hour listening to the Elders assassinate Edie’s character and finally had heard enough. “Edie would never do such a thing.” “Were you spoken to?” Elder Truman turned to stare at them as if their very presence caused a stink in the air. Aidan raised a brow at him. “It will be mighty hard to make decisions with only six members on the council, won’t it?” That got the Elders attention as they all turned to him. Jainus was staring at his only son. “What do you mean by that, Aidan?” “You want to kill my mate. You won’t even let me speak on her behalf, or let her defend herself, and you expect me to stand by and watch her forced into abdication and then happily take my place on the council. I feel a deep responsibility to this conclave, but not when it lives off assumptions that have no basis in fact.” He squeezed Edie’s hand in his. “Tell me, in the history of our conclave, or any of the others, has any convert ever given reason to believe they would act as a Corpesetti acts?”

The Elders all looked to one another. Murmurs and mumblings rose. Finally Elder Francis turned to him. “That is not a point to take under consideration since all converts have abdicated.” “How exactly did this law come about then? If you arbitrarily forced abdication because of a fear that had no foundation in fact, aren’t you then guilty of murdering possibly productive members of the conclave? Doesn’t that make you as guilty of decimating our numbers as the Corpesetti?” Aidan couldn’t believe the words pouring out of him. If they expected him to blindly follow ridiculous laws if he became an Elder, they were very much mistaken. Jainus’ expression changed from one of stern resolve to understanding. Sorrow marred the features and he opened his mouth to say something when the parameter alarms sounded. Aidan’s phone chirped. “Aidan, we have a full breach of the outside parameter by an army of Corpesetti.” His eyes fell on the Elders and their squabbling about Edie. The real threat had just breached the first defense. “I’ll be right there.” He took Edie’s hand and hurried her along the corridor to the security room. Eliah sat monitoring the screens as Corpesetti poured through the first parameter. “I sent the guards to the weapons room. Snipers are on the roof to pick them off as they come through the inner parameter.” “There are still too many of them for us. They have to be at least a hundred strong. Even counting all the women and children we only number eighty.” Aidan sat at a console and called up the computer program that controlled the electricity for the compound. “Is the charge set in the fence?” “We’ve had it running since the night we saw the Corpesetti camped out behind the fence.” “Good.” He stood again and took Edie’s hand. “Come, I want to get you a weapon. I won’t trust the Corpesetti to stay within the outer parameter. They mean to attack the compound.” “Are they trying to get to me again?” She hurried after him, her legs nearly running to keep up with his strides. “They’ve come for all of us, I’m afraid. They mean to wipe us out this time.” They turned right at the corridor and into the weapons room. Men and women stood at cabinets, unlocking the stores and breaking out the armaments that had been waiting for this inevitable day. “I’ve never fired a gun before.” Edie took one from a cabinet. “I’m half afraid of the things.” “If your life’s in danger, you’ll shoot readily enough.” He held an automatic handgun in front of her eyes. “This is the safety. You need to release it before you can shoot. To change clips, push this button and it will drop out of the bottom, like so.” He hit the button and the magazine slid out into his hand. “To change, just shove another one back into the slot, like this. Here.” He handed her the gun and five more clips. “When you change a clip, drop the old one where you are. To aim, use the laser site. It works like a mouse, just point and click. Your shot will land where the bead is.” Alarms continued to scream overhead elevating the panic in the compound. Edie’s own panic was no less profound. “I find it ironic that as close as you and the chief are, he’d let you walk around not knowing how to shoot a gun.” Aidan pulled a hand cannon from the cabinet and slid a dart-filled bandoleer over his head. “He wanted to, but I declined the offer.” She shoved the full clips into her pockets. People moved about gathering weapons and vying for the best vantage point should the inner defenses fail. An onslaught of Corpesetti could wipe out their conclave for good. Surreal as it was, the Immorati were about to enter into a war for their lives. Cletus and Pandori ran into the room and joined Aidan and Edie at the cabinet. Cletus stopped as he

looked at the gun in Edie’s hand. “Interesting, they’ll meet to vote on your abdication, but they have no qualms about letting you help defend the manor.” Edie turned the gun over in her hand, studying it from every angle. “The meeting was interrupted. I don’t think they’ll notice me in the melee. Besides, you, Aidan, Yasamin, and my grandma are here. I would never stand by and let anything happen to you, even if your Elders feel differently about me. Besides, do you honestly think I’d stick around and let them cut my heart out? Yeah, right.” Aidan watched as Cletus stroked a big hand down Edie’s hair. “You need not worry about the Elders, they will see reason.” “Or the Corpesetti could kill us all and make this conversation moot.” Edie’s rejoinder turned a few heads, and had Aidan staring at her. Negativity was not like Edie. Even in the face of danger. He’d seen her face a Corpesetti before, scared and nervous, yes. Negative, no. Gunfire sounded overhead, as Aidan’s phone chirped again. “We have inner perimeter breech. I repeat, inner perimeter breech.” “Damn!” He swore and hefted the hand cannon in the ready position as he ran out of the armory. “How did they get passed the fencing?” “Perhaps their claws are non-conductive.” Cletus hurried behind Aidan and Edie. “Is that even possible?” He came up short near the hallway heading toward the bedrooms. “Go to my room and lock the door, Edie.” She shook her head and squeezed his hand. “I’m staying with you.” “Love, I don’t want to fight with you on this.” She pushed passed him and out into the main salon, the gun up in front of her like a seasoned pro. “Then don’t.” Cletus and Pandori ran in the opposite direction so the sparse Immorati forces could cover more territory. Screams rent the air, unidentifiable as Corpesetti or Immorati, coming from the direction of the garden. Aidan yelled into his phone. “Shelton, make sure the children are in the safe room.” “Copy that.” Beyond the French doors, visions of graphic horror played out in the garden. Earlier that day it had been a place of tranquility, now it was the scene of carnage. Corpesetti attacked with an astounding speed and ferocity. Fully armed Immorati fell like toy soldiers under the swift strike of one powerful Corpesetti arm. One injured Immorati lay on the ground, gun at the ready. Wounded, but still fighting, a Corpesetti leapt to hover over his prey. Muscles rippled as he gathered strength by pulling his arm back. A hand cannon rocketed a shot from the far side of the garden. The Corpesetti’s head exploded, showering gore over the windows. It was like nothing Edie had ever seen. She tried to blink the sight away, but when she opened her eyes it still lay before her. The injured man was now on his feet fending off more of his attackers as shots rained down from the rooftop. “We have to help him.” Edie started for the door.

“No. He has cover. Come on, let’s... ” before Aidan could finish his sentence the window shattered in on the hinges. Broken glass and splintered wood flew at them. Edie ducked and put her arm over her face for cover. Aidan grabbed her by the belt loop and shoved her behind him as a Corpesetti came at them. He raised his arm and fired a shot, striking the lunging beast in its heart. Aidan drew another dart from his bandoleer and started to reload. A sound from behind them had Edie turning around to see, and swallowed back her fear. Two Corpesetti had come up behind them from the front of the house. A growl came from the shattered remains of the French doors. They were surrounded. “Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.” She lifted the gun and aimed at the one coming through the doors. Aidan yelled, “Just point and click.” She did, but nothing happened. “The safety, Edie. You have to take off the safety.” He got another shot off and started to reload again. Her hands shook as she released the safety and fired again. Her arm jerked back from the force and the shot went wild. Two more Corpesetti came through the door. Her injured arm was useless to steady the recoil of the gun, but she didn’t have a choice but to use it. She held the gun in her right hand and steadied with her left. Point and click. A quick secession of two shots rang out. One dropped the Corpesetti nearest to her; the second shot only pissed the other Corpesetti off. Aidan yelled and Edie turned her head to see deadly nails rake across his chest and upper arm. This time she didn’t think, she only reacted. Bam. Bam. The shots rang out dropping Aidan’s attacker as he rolled out from under the body as it fell to the floor. Blood ran down Aidan’s arm and rents in his shirt showed his chest did not fare much better. Two long gouges cut across his left pec, saturating shirt and chest hair with blood. Edie started to him when he raised the hand cannon and shot over her head. Something hot and sticky bathed her from behind. She closed her eyes for a moment, not wanting to contemplate the implications of what body fluid ran down her back, baptizing her in gore. Two more Corpesetti remained and Edie made quick work of them, as Aidan reloaded and they hurried from the room. Children’s screams filled the hall, followed by gunfire. “They’ve found the children.” “It sounds like they’re covered by Corpesetti.” Edie moved toward the sound of the shots. “We need to help them.” “Not that way. We’ll run straight into their fire. We need to come up behind them. Come on, we’ll take the way through the kitchen.” Aidan took the lead and moved as if he were a hardened commando. The Immorati may have the advantage in knowing the lay of the land, but the Corpesetti would hunt down every nook and cranny of the compound until not one Immorati in residence remained alive. They moved with stealth through the kitchen, turned right at the back hallway and doubled back along the twisting corridors until they came to a short corridor with a steel door with a large wheel and combination lock on the front. “What’s that?” Edie whispered as they came around the corner.

“The vault. It’s where we keep our dead.” “You’ve put the children in with dead people?” She was shocked. “No wonder they’re scared. That’ s like making them sleep in a graveyard after telling them ghost stories.” “It’s the most secure room in the residence.” “Not anymore.” A lone Corpesetti stood, pulling on the door handle, trying to gain entrance to the room where both dead ancestors and living progeny sat nestled in supposed safety. The creature slid in pools of blood from his fallen comrades and the heartless bodies of those Immorati who were assigned to protect the children and died in their efforts. Aidan lifted the hand cannon and steadied it on the cross of his forearm. He fired and hit the Corpesetti in between the shoulder blades. The dart entered at such force and speed the tip pushed out the front. The creature gave one bellowed scream of rage and fell. “I need guards at the vault. Tate and Josiah are down.” Eliah’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “I’ll send some, but we are taking some losses.” “Where are Cletus and Pandori?” “On my way.” It was Cletus. He and Pandori entered the hall at a run and stopped abruptly when they saw the bodies of their fallen brethren. “Damn.” Edie had never heard Cletus say so few words and be more eloquent. Damn was right. Two more Immorati lost to Corpesetti hate. “You two guard the vault, I’m going topside to assess the damage from there and see how the snipers are doing.” Aidan pulled Edie to a back stairwell and to the roof where snipers shot Corpesetti as they tried to make a break for the house. Noises from the south side of the property crashed through the woods coming closer to the compound. Were they to be taken on all sides, making defense against the army impossible? Eliah said they already had losses. Even the loss of one Immorati life at this time would have a dramatic impact on the New Jersey conclave. A fresh wave of Corpesetti crashed through the gate and Edie screamed. Help had just arrived. “Lemar!” The leader of the Corpesetti band halted in mid-stride. He looked up at her and his face pulled into a gruesome grin. Pointed white fangs dripped beneath his upper lip. A sniper took aim and Edie hit his arm out of the way. “Don’t shoot him, he’s come to help.” Aidan watched in awe as the new band of Corpesetti attacked their brethren in a battle as bloody as ever seen in any low-budget slasher flick. He raised the two-way to his mouth and pressed the button. “Eliah, are you seeing this?” “Catching and recording. I’ve never seen anything like it. The Elders aren’t going to believe this.” The Corpesetti had finally turned on one another in a full-scale war, played out on the sacred land occupied for over three centuries by their mortal enemies. When it was over, dead Corpesetti and Immorati littered the ground; although, thanks to Lemar and his followers, the Immorati casualties were less than they could have been. For that, Edie was grateful.

*** Edie scrambled down from the roof and met Lemar at the gate as he and his followers prepared to drag their dead back to their lair. He stood to full height when he saw her and pushed up the bloody sleeves of his robe. “Thank you so much, I don’t know how they’ll ever repay you.” She looked up into his face and smiled, tears pool in her eyes. “Or how I will. You saved my life, you know?” Fangs sparkled as he smiled. “I did what I could. I knew I had to stop the killing somehow.” Obsidian eyes traveled over the carnage before them. “When I discovered Titus and the others were moving against the compound, I had to bring my men and come. It has to end now. We’ll never break the curse if the killing continues.” The crunch of broken glass under foot had Edie turning around. Jainus stood with some of the other Elders listening intently to her exchange with Lemar. Now they would definitely find her guilty of some supposed crime and force her to abdicate. Tough shit, if they wanted her dead they’d have to strap her down and perform the deed against her will, and then what would that say about their community? But first they’d have to catch her. Jainus came forward and held out his hand in offering to Lemar. “I never thought I’d see the day when Corpesetti turned against one another. You have our undying gratitude for saving our conclave. What can we do to repay you?” Lemar’s ghostly laugh was filled with remorse. “Undying gratitude, I believe you made a joke.” Jainus looked startled. He coughed. “Yes, I suppose I did.” Lemar surveyed the area again and watched his followers haul bodies to the gate. Some of them were the attackers. “I purpose a truce. No more fighting amongst our species. The legends say we were brothers once, let us have it so again.” “So many years. So many prejudices. I’m afraid that will be difficult to manage.” “But not impossible.” Lemar finally shook Jainus’s hand. The large clawed fingers curled around the Elder’s smaller grip. Even with all the fire power in the compound there would be no way the Immorati could have stood against such powerful, natural weapons. The fence stood sheered and parted like curtains around the compound, proof of the Corpesetti might. Jainus turned to Edie. “Your friendship to the Corpesetti has saved many Immorati lives this day. There will be no forced abdication, no banishment. This home is yours for as long as you care to stay with us. As for marrying my son, I couldn’t think of a more fitting bride for him.” She blew out a long breath. Perhaps Lemar and his followers would have come to the Immorati’s aid regardless of her acquaintance with him. They would never know, and Edie for one, would never tell. Aidan walked out the shattered French doors. The two-way held to his ear. He gave short, terse directions as to the disposition of the dead Immorati. He stopped mid-stride and direction as he spotted Lemar. His eyes flicked to Edie and his father in question before coming slowly forward. “We’ve had word the police are on the way through the woods. Leave the bodies of your enemies here; we’ll need them to prove an attack. Your men you can take to give your death rites. Can you make it to shelter before they arrive?” Lemar cocked his head to the side. “We can, but I fear our days of hiding are coming to an end.” “What will you do?” Edie let her hand rest on the sleeve of his robe. “Bide our time, let the dust settle, and the memories of the festival attack fade, and then perhaps see to negotiating a peace with the mortals.”

Jainus’s frowned. “That could be a harder sell than the Immorati.” “If history is any indication, you may be correct.” He bowed formally and turned to assist his men in claiming the dead before the police could make the compound. Adrenaline surged once again through Edie’s blood, but not for flight or fight. This time it was with the simple act of standing on the edge of history, witnessing the peace between Corpesetti and Immorati, knowing that perhaps one day soon both species would be known to the common world. Lemar and his followers had barely disappeared into the woods when sirens wailed and flashing lights broke through the barrier of trees. Now came the hard part—squaring their world with the one outside.

Chapter Twenty-four Blue and red lights flashed off the outside walls of the manor, filling the yard with urgency. In the encroaching darkness, it was hard to see the carnage displayed in horrific detail on the once immaculate lawn. Blood turned to black pools in the shadows. But no matter how long the fingers of night grew across the grounds, it could not hide the thick slaughterhouse stench that clung to the air. Edie watched with a sinking heart as Karl got out of his cruiser and surveyed the violence. He stepped through one of the rents in the fence, shaking his head at one of his officers. He turned his head and spoke into the radio clipped to his collar. His handsome face wore an incredulous mask as he walked among the eviscerated bodies of Corpesetti and Immorati. However, Karl would only see evidence that the Jersey Devil had finally made a successful attack on a home. He would never learn the truth of the wars that had raged between the two species for centuries. He continued to look around at the scene as his small police force clicked off pictures and documented the case. Finally, he looked up and saw her. He froze. Edie put her hand to her stomach to calm the nervous fluttering. In all the years she’d known Karl, he ’d never looked at her quite that way. Relief had given way to surprise and a little anger. “Edie?” He strode forward, careful not to disturb the area. “What in the hell are you doing here?” How could she look at her best friend—a person she’d known her entire life—and tell him she was an immortal? That by some accident of genetics she’d survived the bite from the Jersey Devil? She swallowed. Hands gripped her shoulders from behind, giving her strength. Karl’s gaze slid from hers to the person standing behind her. “She’s where she belongs.” Aidan’s grip tightened as if he were afraid she’d flee back to her former lover’s arms. He didn’t need to worry. She’d made her commitment to him. She put her hand up and slipped her fingers through Aidan’s. “Let me talk to him.” He released her and she moved out of Aidan’s hold. Karl met her halfway. They stood there staring at each other. Edie didn’t know what to say first, and had a feeling that Karl labored under the same problem. His dark eyes drank her in, looking at her as if he didn’t know her anymore, or had never known her before. All around them the busy drone of the police continued to work the scene. She couldn’t have this conversation in the presence of such violent deaths. Not three feet away lay the body of a woman she remembered speaking to at dinner. The large gapping wound in the woman’s chest a testimony of her valiant fight to save the conclave.

Edie lifted her hand to Karl. “Let’s go inside and talk.” Pain crossed his face, but he took her hand and let her lead him into the manor. Broken furniture and shattered glass littered the floor. Blood splattered the walls like a gruesome faux finish. Edie tried to stick to a path through the house that didn’t show so much gore. As it was the police would crawl over every inch of the manor, trying to determine what happened to cause the Jersey Devil to attack en masse. Even now the Elders were busy giving statements that hid the truth as much as possible from the outside world. No one would tell of Lemar’s involvement or how his followers had come to their rescue. As far as the Pine Haven officials would know, the Jersey Devil had just become an extinct species. Edie led Karl to the tiny parlor off the main salon. There had been very little damage done to this room and she could shut the door leaving them in private. She brushed some debris off the winged chair and sat. “I don’t know where to begin.” Karl checked the coffee table in front of her then lowered his tall frame to sit facing her. “How did you end up here? Obviously, LaMont brought you here, but why didn’t he take you home after you were discharged from the hospital? Why did he bring you here knowing you’d be in danger?” Too many questions fired all at once. She held up her hand. “First of all, he brought me here. Not to a hospital. There is a very capable surgeon living here who cared for me. She saved my life. Secondly, Aidan didn’t know there would ever be an attack of such magnitude. He would have never brought me here otherwise.” “Well, I guess that’s that.” Edie’s stomach hurt. Her heart ached. She’d told Karl for months she wouldn’t marry him, but she never imagined having to tell him she would be marrying a man she just met. It would be best just to get it out in the open. “Aidan’s asked me to marry him and I’ve accepted. I’ll be moving here permanently.” He shook his head and stood, making a slow circuit around the room. “I should have seen this one coming. The way you look at him told me everything I needed to know.” Edie cocked her head to the side. “Sort of the way you look at Maura Manning?” He turned and looked at her, color rising in his cheeks. “We’re not discussing Maura.” “Kind of touchy about her, aren’t you?” Edie waved her hands in the air, negating her own words. “We’ve gotten way off topic here.” She came to her feet and crossed the room to him. “You are one of the most important people in my life. You always will be. Don’t think because I’m marrying Aidan that I’ll stop being your friend. I won’t. I could never do that.” He put his arms around her and held her to his chest. “I hope like hell you know what you’re doing. I ’ll wish you luck and happiness because I won’t do anything less. But, sweetheart, if he doesn’t treat you right, or makes you unhappy in any way, I’m going to hurt him bad.” Edie laughed. “If he treats me bad, I’ll hurt him myself.” She pulled away from him and looked up into his face. “Aidan is a wonderful man. I hope one day you can get to know him and see that.” “May take some time get there. I don’t see me calling him up and asking him to go fishing anytime soon.” She smiled, knowing that for Karl it would take him time to get to know Aidan, and it would probably end up being her that initiated the relationship. One thing was for sure, though, she wanted her

best friend and husband to know and trust each other. If the past two weeks had taught her anything, it was that the future could hold the fantastic and unexpected. It paid to be prepared, especially living among a species she barely knew or understood. “You will come to the wedding, won’t you?” “That you don’t even have to ask.” Maybe she could even gently persuade him to bring Maura. His next question cut into her musings. “How many of those things do you think are still out there?” She shook her head. “I guarantee this won’t ever happen again.” “You can? That’s pretty impressive. How can you possibly control wild animals?” No matter old friendship or threat of torture, she wouldn’t give Lemar’s secret away. It wasn’t hers to tell. If and when he decided to make overtures to the world, that would have to come from him and his people, not the Immorati. Edie spread her arms wide. “I’m not saying we can control them. Either the ones left will avoid this area because of the danger or there aren’t any left to worry about. Whatever the case, I’m not going to live in fear over what may or may not happen. Aidan’s family will refortify the gates and make it even harder for them to get in.” “And when they decide to attack the town instead?” “They won’t. The attacks that occurred in Pine Haven were all directed towards me for invading the territory of a specific male who was killed at the festival. There haven’t been any more incidents in town since then. Am I right?” Karl stared at her for a few moments then gave a reluctant nod. Then he leaned down and gave her a brotherly kiss on the forehead. “Take care of yourself. And call me whenever you want. I’ll always be there for you.” She knew that without him telling her, but it was still nice to hear. Her arms came around his waist and she held him for a few moments. His radio crackled to life and duty called. It was for the best. They’d already said all they could.

Epilogue Candles lit the interior chamber, bouncing off the stone walls and reflecting off the multifaceted crystal chandeliers that held them. Burning incense released a comforting scent into the air. Janius lay on the stone slab, his hands folded over his abdomen, the robe he wore open at the chest. Edie gripped Aidan’s hand. Every few minutes she reminded herself the abdication ritual was a time-honored tradition in the Immorati culture. As an anthropologist she couldn’t afford to condemn or condone any behavior contrary to her own mores and values, but this time it was difficult.

She swallowed around the lump in her throat. Her mouth was dry. Jainus appeared so peaceful on the altar. A slight smile curled his lips. Soon, very soon, he would begin the journey to find his mate and son in the afterlife. She prayed to every god and goddess she’d ever studied that they waited for him on the other side of the veil. Elder Rasmus stepped forward, prayers to the first immortal fell from his lips as he lifted the blade to cut through skin and bone to remove the heart. Aidan’s hand tightened in hers. She turned to gaze at the face of the man she promised to love through the centuries. A white line appeared around his mouth, but his eyes remained dry. He had been through this ritual before, but never when one so close to him chose to end their immortality to walk in the halls of the ancestors. She wanted to speak, to say something of comfort to him, but those words would have to wait. The ritual called for complete and utter silence from the attendees. Only the Immorati officiating the ritual spoke, and then only the prayers meant to send the dying one on their way. There was no grimace of pain, no movement whatsoever from Jainus as the blade cut true and Rasmus spread the ribs to reach the heart. Edie knew the reason for Jainus’s complacency, but she didn’ t think there were enough drugs on the planet to keep her still under such conditions. Even with the anesthesia Rasmus had administered to Jainus before beginning the ritual, it seemed difficult to imagine such a fate, and yet, if she were to ever shake the immortal coil it would be in this room, under these conditions. Blood ran in rivulets down Jainus’s sides and into the basin surrounding the altar. The ceremony proceeded in surgical precision, accentuated by the continued prayers of Elder Rasmus, until finally he gently lifted the heart from the chest cavity and placed it in a pewter box, lined with silk and herbs. Aidan and Cletus stood and moved to the altar, working in silence to wrap the body in a silken sheet. More members of the conclave stood to help raise the body into the tomb, where he would rest between his beloved wife and son. Sadness threatened to overwhelm Edie. She had barely gotten to know Jainus in the two weeks since the Corpesetti attack on the compound. She understood his reasons, but mourned the loss for Aidan, and that of their yet conceived children. They would never know their Immorati grandfather, or uncle, or grandmother. But as she looked around at the faces of the conclave, she knew that would matter little in the fabric of their lives. For all around her sat an extended family beyond her wildest imaginings. All around her sat history, and myth, and folklore melded together into an astonishing race from the deepest spheres of her dreams.