Page 15 of After Darkness Falls

She was a little shaky.

"Yeah, I… He grabbed me. He just grabbed me, right here, from the back, and tried to gag me. There was someone—something—who pushed him away. I don't…"

"Do you know this man?"

She got a good look at the would-be kidnapper. She saw hundreds, if not thousands of people every day in this line of work, but she was certain she'd never seen him. He was the kind of man people remembered. Incredibly tall, muscular, and very handsome.

"No, I…"

"Victor, contact the Wolf's people. Tell them I need a track. Quincy, call everyone. I want all hands on deck. Your phone."

Charles didn't formulate any of his orders like a question. Quincy handed him his mobile phone without protest.

"Call with updates. Come on," he said to her now. "I'll take you home."

They walked in silence, Charles still holding her, half-carrying her. It took a while for her to regain her senses.

"What the hell? What did he want with me?"

"We'll find out."

Charles's lips were thin.

7

Seven Names

After a month, they still hadn’t found out. They didn’t know why that guy, or the others who’d attacked her since, had been after her. That they were hired hands was obvious. But who was pulling the strings? None of her father’s victims came from a family powerful or rich enough to have dozens of bounty hunters under their thumbs. It made no sense at all.

And now, she told herself, it didn’t matter. She was going to be grateful for the opportunities her misfortune had brought and look to the future. She was at the Institute. Her acceptance wasn’t conditional; even if—when—Charles dealt with her attackers, she’d still be an Institute student. It was a blessing.

And she had nothing to lose anyway.

"Common room." Blair gestured to the cozy open space in front of them, stating the obvious. The room contained warm sofas, dark wooden coffee tables, thick carpets over the marble, a large TV screen, and two open fireplaces.

A small group was watching a movie she recognized.

"People!" Blair yelled over the surround sound. "Meet Chloe."

Some waved their hands, others turned and smiled, and two or three, engrossed by the movie or working on their laptop, ignored her entirely.

They walked to the end of the common room, and Blair pointed to a curved staircase carved behind one fireplace. "Up to the bedrooms, down to the study and the gym." There was one door in front of them and a second farther along the wall, closer to the windows. Gesturing to the first, Blair said, "This leads to the back garden and out to the forest. Don't go alone, ever." She led them through the second door and into a large beige and blue kitchen.

"The kitchen is filled with the basics, purchased as part of the meal package, but if you see anything labeled in the fridge or cupboards, it means it belongs to someone. It's not worth getting your paws on it, regardless of how delicious it sounds. Trust me when I say that they'll find out you took it. Locator spells are taught freshman year."

As she spoke, Blair filled a screaming kettle and put it on the hob before opening cupboards and drawers until she'd assembled all the necessities for making a decadent hot chocolate, mini marshmallows and all.

Chloe moaned as she wrapped her frozen fingers around the mug.

Blair said, "So, the hill. It's called Night Hill, and its history goes back two thousand years. Are you taking Paranormal Intro?"

"Definitely," Chloe replied. She'd just started realizing how ignorant she was about this world.

"Good. It should help overall, but you won't hear the deets about this area in that class. It’s only covered in Advanced Immortal History. Basically, over two thousand years ago, a higher being went crazy and started murdering everything in its path. That wasn't unusual in that period, because many immortals were killed or banished from this world."

Chloe nodded like she had totally known that. She definitely hadn't. Shit, where was her notepad?

Blair carried on. "But that one’s antics were particularly gruesome. We're talking dismembered bodies and blood—a lot of blood."

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