Page 55 of After Darkness Falls

"Thousands of years ago, the territory was shielded by one of the most powerful witches this world has ever known," Cat said. "The wards make the entire place invisible to all of those who haven't been invited, regular or sups alike, and that's in order to keep that guy locked tight. The seven families moved onto Night Hill, and it was declared that one of them would live here and stand guard every year. It's the one thing the seven have ever agreed on: that Eirikr needs to stay locked up. He was insane. Killed every vampire who wasn't part of his family. All of the other families were in hiding because of him. And he wanted to murder Ariadne, too."

Chloe blinked in surprise. The story made no sense.

"He wants to murder a goddess?"

"It's technically possible. Gods are immortal, not eternal. Cut their head, stop their heart, and they're gone, just like you or me. But it generally takes a god to kill a god. The thing is, Eirikr was almost as powerful as the gods themselves. There were rumors saying that, as we’re made of her blood, if she died, we'd all die with her. So, we decided it was safer to keep him locked up and throw away the key."

Suddenly, Chloe felt a wind around her hair, although the car was still locked up. She remembered the trail on Coscnoc, beyond the black tape. The darkening, twisted path calling to her.

"That man," she said, her throat dry. "That vampire…he's on the east hill, right?"

"Yeah, in a cave, protected by so many spells your head will spin just going anywhere near it. He's been there for a long time. Don't worry about him."

"Hey, there's a resting area right ahead. You wanna stretch your legs?" Mikar asked.

"Sure thing."

That was the end of the conversation. Next, they talked music, and then movies, followed by the difficulties of beheading someone with a thick neck. Cat seemed to warm up to the others in light of their common interests—particularly the beheading.

But Chloe's mind remained on the hill. The trail.

And the creature within.

26

A Portrait

They arrived in London in the middle of the night and headed to an overpriced parking garage.

They'd stopped several times, but after close to ten hours on the road with bad traffic, Chloe's every limb was stiff and uncomfortable. She stretched next to the car while the others grabbed their bags.

"So, who are you?"

Chloe looked up to find Cat standing right next to her, arms folded on her chest, eyes fixed on her.

"He doesn't talk to me or acknowledge my existence for three months, then the Leviathan tells me to follow your ass to London. And you're a regular," she added, making air quotes around the last word with her fingers. "I don't buy it."

Chloe shrugged. "Trust me, I'd love to be a cool creature—or a vampire princess like you. But I'm just…me."

"You don't feel like a regular," Cat stated.

Chloe had heard that enough times. "Thanks, I guess? But I am. The queen of NOLA's coven tested my blood. It's normal."

"What did she test?" Cat questioned.

Chloe tilted her head. "I don't know? That it was normal, or something. She thinks I probably had some witch ancestry because my blood responds to her magic a little, but that's about it."

Cat wasn't the only one paying attention. Both Mikar and Jack had walked closer. Chloe bit her lip, self-conscious.

"But," she said, "other than that, I'm normal."

Chloe could tell that Cat was skeptical. She tried not to find it irritating, and failed. Didn't the vamp princess think that Chloe would have liked to be one of them?

"Hey, Cheetah, is that your bag?"

Bash pulled her backpack out of the boot. Chloe smiled as she took it from him, knowing he'd just given her a way out of the conversation.

"Thanks."

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