Page 42 of Destined for Shadows
Chapter 12
Bartol
He paced his living room, waiting for Tormod to arrive. Lucas had stopped by first thing in the morning to see Bartol. The nephilim had been in a rush to get to the nerou compound, but he’d had some information to impart first. They’d verified the address for Griff’s parents and needed someone to go to the house and speak with them. Melena had already driven by the place last night and didn’t sense any vampires in the area, but the couple could still know something about their son or at least have a semi-recent picture of him. Lucas claimed he and his brother’s schedules were too busy at the moment to handle it.
Bartol doubted their excuse, but he only hesitated a moment before agreeing. He wanted to meet the man who’d created the monster harassing Cori. And since it could prove a useful training tool, they’d decided Tormod would come along as well after the nerou finished his morning exercises. That had been almost four hours ago.
Bartol was surprised by how much he itched to leave his home, especially so he could meet a human he didn’t know. For the past few months, he’d wanted nothing more than to live a solitary existence far from people. Nothing had interested him beyond basic necessities until now.
But the idea of Cori being in danger set off a strange primal instinct to protect her in every way he could. Even before his stint in Purgatory, he could not remember a time when he felt this way about any woman. What was it about her that made him care? He couldn’t possibly have any feelings for her since they fought more than they got along. Bartol had even managed to avoid kissing her again despite her best efforts to coerce him. Having said that, he did appreciate the soft woman underneath the hard exterior, and he hated to see fear in her eyes. Those brief flashes he’d caught of her feeling vulnerable were enough to wrench his gut.
Griff had done that to her, and because of that, the man needed to be stopped by any means necessary. Only after he was gone could Bartol go back to living his secluded life and get away from Cori’s constant flirting. What did that woman see in him anyway?
Tormod flashed into the living room.
“Are you ready?” Bartol asked.
The nerou nodded. He’d donned a pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt for their day’s activities, and he’d left his shaggy hair unkempt. Tormod had a way of making himself seem small and insignificant despite the fact he stood over six feet tall and had a muscular build. The young man was already powerful, but one day he’d grow strong enough that few—if any—would be able to stop him.
“Lucas showed me a map of where we’re supposed to go,” Tormod informed him.
Likely the same one he’d shown Bartol. “Good. Then you can flash there without my help.”
The nerou grinned. “This is going to be fun.”
“As long as you follow the rules.” Bartol glared at him until he stopped smiling and ducked his head.
“Lucas told me,” Tormod said, voice somber this time. “I’m not supposed to do anything without your permission.”
“Exactly.”
After giving him a few more instructions, Bartol flashed away. The house where Martin—Griff’s father—lived wasn’t too far and only took a moment to reach. Bartol made himself invisible to humans so that no one would note his arrival, certain Tormod would do the same. It was always best to observe a place unobtrusively first before approaching it.
Martin Landry lived in a small one-story home. It had gray siding that had rotted away in several sections, a roof with black trash bags stapled down in a couple of spots, and a one-car garage with a large dent in the door. Random junk also filled the yard, including rusted metal springs, flat tires stacked on top of each other, and a barbecue grill lying on its side. Tall grass grew around the debris as if it was doing its best to hide the mess. Lucas had mentioned the place was a dump, but this was worse than Bartol could have imagined.
A beat-up red truck was parked in front of the garage. Mud caked the sides and the front fender hung crooked, but all the tires were inflated and the windshield wasn’t too filthy, so it probably still ran. One thing was for certain, the man who lived here clearly didn’t care about appearances or cleanliness. How had Cori married into such a family?
All of this ran through Bartol’s mind during the first few seconds of his arrival before Tormod appeared next to him. The nerou’s eyes rounded on the home. It was in a neighborhood, but the houses along this particular street sat on lots of land that were at least half an acre in size or larger. Most were spaced far apart with trees and brush dividing them, which gave a certain semblance of privacy for the residents.
“Does someone actually live there?” Tormod asked, drawing his brows together. Because he was part sensor, he could pick up on supernaturals within a short distance, but he could not detect humans unless they were very close and emitting strong emotions.
“It appears so.”
The nerou shook his head. “I suppose there are all kinds of humans in the world.”
“It would be boring if there weren’t.” At least, that was how Bartol used to think when he still enjoyed socializing and traveling.
“True,” Tormod agreed.
Since the nerou didn’t mention sensing a vampire anywhere nearby, Bartol assumed Griff wasn’t inside. Martin, a human man in his sixties, would hardly present a challenge to two immortals. The wife probably wouldn’t be a problem at all.
Bartol made his body visible again and waited for Tormod to do the same. “Let’s go.”
They approached the house, moving in confident strides. Bartol’s gaze caught on a small window where the curtain had been pulled back. Someone was already aware of their presence, but he didn’t think the person was a man. Despite the darkened interior, he thought he caught the pale face of a woman staring at them.
“She’s scared,” Tormod whispered.
Bartol hurried up the front steps. “But is she scared of us?”
