Page 74 of Shadows of Eternity

“So, what am I doing here? It doesn’t take two of us to dig a hole.”

“I’m not familiar with this town. Do you know of any place where we can bury her so she won’t be disturbed?”

Rohan stared at his sire, surprised by the barely suppressed emotion in his voice. “I thought you were bored with her. Sounds like you still care.”

Josiah glared at him. “She didn’t deserve to be dumped in a vacant lot like a dead cat.”

“There’s an old cemetery about thirty miles east of here. It hasn’t been used in decades, maybe longer. I don’t think any of the people buried there would mind a little company.”

Josiah wrapped the body in a blanket. Rohan took hold of his shoulder and transported them to the cemetery. From the look of it, no one had been there in years. The headstones were broken, the graves sunken or covered with weeds.

Rohan led the way to the oldest grave. With his preternatural strength it took only moments to uncover the casket which was, surprisingly, still intact. Taking a deep breath, he lifted the lid, and grimaced at the remains.

Almost reverently, Josiah lowered Magdalena’s body into the coffin.

Rohan closed the lid. “Did you know she wanted me to help her kill you?”

Josiah chuckled. “She was a feisty thing.”

“Is that why you destroyed her?”

“What the hell are you talking about? I didn’t do it. If I had, the body would never have been found.”

Rohan hadn’t yet refilled the grave. Now, he lifted the lid again, took a deep breath, and swore.

“What is it?” Josiah asked.

“I know who killed her.”

Leia was sitting up in bed when Rohan appeared in the room. She looked at him anxiously, a dozen questions in her eyes.

“We buried her in an old cemetery,” he said, removing his boots and socks, his shirt. “As you suspected, Trent killed her.”

Leia stared at him. She didn’t really know Magdalena yet she felt a wave of pity for the other woman. Josiah and Magdalena had been lovers. She wondered if Josiah would avenge her murder. “Is Trent in danger?”

“Probably. Josiah seemed upset by her death.” Which surprised the hell out of him, Rohan mused. He wouldn’t have credited his sire with any tender emotions. He shook his head as he stepped out of his jeans and slid into bed beside Leia. “There’s no way I’m getting into the middle of any war between Frumusanu and Josiah.”

“Think about Janae. She might get hurt. And what about her kids? They haven’t done anything wrong.”

Rohan cursed softly. Entanglements with humans were always complicated.

“At least warn him that Josiah might be coming after him.”

“Fine. What’s his number?” Rolling out of bed, Rohan pulled his phone from his pants’ pocket and punched in the numbers Leia gave him. The phone rang twice and then Trent picked up. “Who is this?”

“Rohan.”

There was a brief pause. “What the hell do you want?”

“You killed a woman tonight. Her ex-lover found the body. He’s not too happy about it. I’d advise you to take your wife and kids and get out of town for a while.”

“How do you know about him?”

“He’s my sire, and one of the oldest vampires I know. He’s pretty pissed off.”

Another pause, longer this time. “Thanks for the warning,” Trent said, and ended the call.

“It’s been a hell of a night,” Rohan muttered. Placing his phone on the bedside table, he slid back under the covers.

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