Chapter 4
You Creatures
Igave up trying to sleep at three a.m. I blinked, bleary-eyed, as I pressed the button and steaming coffee slid into my mug.
A feeling of anxiety—a hot, squirming sensation—churned in my stomach.
Coffee and watching the sunrise might settle the sense of unease that had pestered me all night.
Since the witch had died. Since he left me alone, staring at the empty side of the bed I’d craved to fill with his presence.
I glanced at the window, the kitchen light turning the pane into a mirror.
My reflection looked ghostly and small against the broad expanse of the room.
That’s when I saw it—a blur of movement behind me.
A fast-moving shadow, streaking crimson.
My heart jumped and I swung back, only to find empty space.
It must have been a trick of my imagination.
I collected my coffee and wandered into the dimly lit foyer.
Movement in my peripheral vision snagged my attention.
The witch’s headless body lay sprawled on the floor.
The movement I saw was the blood spewing from her severed neck.
It surged, red and glistening, like a tide across the room.
I was so shocked, my feet froze to the spot.
My mind grappled for an explanation. They had moved her, and yet she was there.
I was staring at her … Fear and horror crawled through my veins.
My breath felt tight in my chest as my whole body began to tremble.
Coffee spilled from my mug and burned my hand, jerking me out of my stupor.
I hissed and blinked. The woman was gone.
The floor was shiny, spotless, as if her death never occurred.
But a terrible chill shuddered over my shoulders, as if her presence lingered in the walls of the house, whispering I’m still here, whispering look what you’ve done, whispering there will be vengeance to pay.
Oh God. I shook the thoughts away. It was just a dream, not real, or maybe it was my mind replaying the memory. I had enough problems without making up a fictional ghost. Dragging in a rasped breath, I padded across the room.
Georgie’s voice coming from the dining room startled me. I stopped abruptly.
“I’m sorry I can’t be there to support you, babe, I really wanted to come.” There was a pause, and I assumed she was talking on the phone to her boyfriend, Jeff.
“I miss you.” Her voice warbled. “I miss you so much.”
Another pause.
“Yeah, I love you too. Sorry I rang so late. Talk soon, okay?” She sighed heavily. “Love you.” Those two words sounded lost and lonely, as if she spoke to an empty line.
I waited for a long moment so she wouldn’t know I’d heard her conversation before I entered the room.
Georgie was at the table, her shoulders slumped, her hair pulled into a messy bun, and she was staring at the phone as if she willed Jeff to still be on the other end.
She clutched a half-drunk cup of coffee in her hand.
It was unlike her to be awake at this hour. Maybe she hadn’t been to bed yet?
Darkness slithered through the full-length glass doors. The sheer drapes were wide open. I tried not to think a vampire was probably out there staring at us right now.
“Can’t sleep either?” I asked softly.
She twitched her head up as if I startled her. Her eyes were bloodshot and rimmed red, and her skin was flat and haggard. “Not really.”
I set my steaming mug on the table and sat down beside her. I tried not to notice how, as I did, her knuckles tightened on her cup. “Did you have a nightmare?” I asked gently.
She huffed out a laugh, and the stale scent of alcohol stung my nose. “My life right now is one big nightmare.” She lifted the cup to her lips, milky coffee slopping from the bottom and dripping onto the table. Once, she would have wiped it up; she ignored it.
“I know it’s … been challenging, but hopefully it’ll all be over soon.”
She glared at me, a blaze in her eyes. “Did you know Karson killed a witch in the foyer?”
Her words slapped to a place I knew should be horrified. I was. I truly was. I winced. “Yes.”
Her features sharpened. “In the foyer, Amy, of this house!”
“I …” I paused, scrambling to collect the right words. There were no right words to explain murder, but I tried anyway. “I know, it was unavoidable.”
“Have they found Sarah yet?” she asked, her breathing quickening, her voice picking up in pitch. “Do they even have any idea where she is?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. She knows where to hide, I guess. It’s not easy to find someone like her.”
Her cup went back to the table with a clang. “So, how long am I stuck here for with you … you creatures?”
Creatures.
Hurt struck my chest like a blade. It was unlike Georgie to be so angry, so … cruel. I understood she was scared. Hell, I was scared, and at least I had the skills to protect myself. Georgie was a nurse. She wanted to help people, not hurt them.
“I miss home too, Georgie,” I said softly. “Karson has eyes and ears all over the world. It won’t be long before someone finds her.”
She drew a thick breath and stared glumly at the window. “Then what,” she muttered, “he’s going to just kill her too?”
Ethan had begged Karson not to kill Sarah. He said he and Bob could talk her down. That he could find a way to fix all this without killing her. Karson, to my utter surprise, had agreed because of his love for Ethan and respect for Bob and Marg.
“No, she’ll be locked up.” In a prison. Not your standard prison though, an inescapable vampire prison. I hadn’t asked for the details.
“You might never find her. I miss home, I miss Jodie and BJ.” A tear slipped from her eyes, and she wiped it roughly away with her sleeve. “I miss Jeff and Tom and the girls at work.”
My heart flickered at the sound of his name. Tom. As much as it pained me, sometimes I would be reminded of something we did together or something he said, and I would find myself caught in a happy memory. And when the memory faded, I was left reeling once again by his betrayal.
Despite the intense love I felt for Karson, I couldn’t help still holding love for Tom.
I guess when you loved someone, even when it was all over, even when they broke your fucking heart, the special moments you shared settled someplace deeper than the hurt.
Maybe it was just easier to drink from the sweet moments, than to remember the bitter taste of poison.
I missed BJ and Jodie too. I missed their crude humor, and BJ’s warm brown eyes and the way they’d sparkle when he laughed. I missed carefree nights at the bar, giggling and talking about nothing.
“It’ll be okay, Georgie,” I said, reaching out to touch her arm. She jerked away from my touch like I had just fucking burned her.
I blinked and pulled my hand back. Regret flashed across Georgie’s face, as if she wanted to take back what she’d done, but it was too late. We stared at each other for a moment, neither of us knowing what to say.
Georgie lurched to her feet, pressed her palms to her eyes, and let out a shuddering breath. When she moved her hands, her eyes were wet with tears, the hardness of her face dropping to defeat. “I’m going to bed.”
I stared after her.
Even though she was right here, I missed Georgie too.