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  Sebastian stared. Just as the light darkened, another black shape swooped around the head of the lamp like a giant bird or a bat.

  He broke into a jog, a frown knitting his dark eyebrows together. As he approached the darkened lamp, he squinted. Something was wrapped around the top, blocking the light with its body. The shape stretched out what appeared to be a wing, again giving him the impression of a bat, but the movement was too fluid, as though made from smoke.

  The thing let out a screech and darted at Sebastian’s face in a flurry of flapping air and wings. Right before it collided with him, he caught a glimpse of glaring, blood red eyes. With a yell, he lifted his arms in defense and ducked, the creature having caught him off guard.

  The burst of movement confused him and, despite his speed and strength, he couldn’t get a grip on the thing. Sharp claws scratched his face, wings batting his arms and shoulders. Just as suddenly, it was gone again, leaving Sebastian standing alone on the street.

  He spun around, trying to figure out where the creature had gone.

  “What the hell...”

  Sebastian didn’t know which way to head. For the first time, after living in the city for several centuries, he felt lost. Though this placed looked like Los Angeles on the outside, he had a hunch that he was somewhere else entirely. He thought the walls of the buildings were no more solid than any of those in the film studios that filled the city. It was all just a facade, hiding something else.

  Obscuring the truth of where he really was.

  The road passed by as the wheels of her Land Rover ate away the miles. Old songs on the classics radio station made up her soundtrack for the journey, but Serenity barely heard them. Lost in thought, she kept only the minimal amount of attention on the road ahead. Elizabeth’s trip was to the Lake Casitas Recreation Area. The drive would only take a little over an hour, a location nearby purposefully chosen by the camp organizers in case of this exact thing happening and one of the children needed to be picked up. The girls were staying in a cabin and then going to the nearby water park the next day. It saddened Serenity to think Elizabeth would be missing out.

  She figured she’d be back long before dark—or at least she hoped she would. She’d not thought to leave a note for Sebastian to let him know where she’d gone. Cleaning up the mess of broken porcelain and splattered liquid had taken up most of her attention before she’d emptied the remainder of the coffee left in the percolator into a travel mug, snatched up her keys and purse and headed out the door.

  After so many months at peace, the old churning in the pit of her stomach was back again. Elizabeth’s bad dreams might only be nightmares, but something told her they might be more. On top of that, she couldn’t shake the sensation that someone else had been in the room with her when she’d been making breakfast. The strange way the cup had been knocked off the counter without her being near wouldn’t leave her thoughts. No, it hadn’t just been knocked off. The cup had moved with force, as if someone had shoved it to the floor.

  Serenity reached down and switched off the radio. The music was annoying her, interrupting her thoughts.

  No one had touched the cup. She’d been alone and if someone else had been close enough, she would have seen them. Unless, of course, she had magic to blame .... Or perhaps a ghost.

  The idea sent an awful, crawling, creeping shiver down her back and she pushed the notion away. She didn’t believe in ghosts.

  Did she?

  The parking lot for the campsite was located around the side of a log cabin with the sign for ‘reception’ hung above the door. Serenity parked the car and climbed out. Right away the sound of girls giggling and chatting caught her attention. Following the noise, she made her way around to the back of the building where rows of picnic tables were filled with kids eating packed lunches. Serenity spotted Elizabeth quickly, sitting among a couple of other girls. Her head was tilted to one side as she spoke to the girl beside her. The girl said something in return and Elizabeth laughed.

  She paused for a moment, enjoying watching her daughter be herself. Elizabeth’s skin was paler than normal and bruised shadows hollowed her eyes. She looked tired—a result of the nightmares, Serenity guessed.

  Elizabeth must have somehow sensed her mother’s arrival for she turned her head and caught Serenity’s eye. A wide smile lit her face and she lifted a hand and waved to her mother with a small, frantic gesture.

  Serenity lifted a hand in return and began to weave between the tables and children to reach her daughter. She squatted down behind her and Elizabeth twisted in her seat to give her a hug. Serenity breathed in her daughter’s familiar smell, felt the softness of her hair against her skin.

  “How are you doing?” she asked. “Still want to come home?”

  Elizabeth nodded. “I have to, Mommy. You and Daddy need me.”

  “Your daddy and I are fine. You look like you’re having fun now. If you want to stay, that’s okay too.”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “No, Mommy. I want to come home.” She lowered her voice. “I think everyone else wants me to go home too. I think I scared them.”

  Serenity’s heart broke for her. She wanted Elizabeth to fit in with the other children and hated for her to feel like an outcast. Part of her wondered if she was doing the right thing by taking her away. Wasn’t she only adding to Elizabeth’s isolation? Yet, if she refused to take Elizabeth home and the nightmares continued, she could scar the poor child for life.

  Serenity became aware of someone hovering behind her and she turned to see Veronica—the petite, short-haired Girl Scout leader—standing there, holding Elizabeth’s bags.

  “Hi, Ms. Hathaway. Thanks for coming,” Veronica said. “I hope you understand that we’re not in the habit of sending children home for this kind of thing, but these really are exceptional circumstances. With everything Elizabeth has been through over the last few years, we simply didn’t seem able to make her feel any better.” The young woman turned her attention to Elizabeth. “Your dreams are very real to you, aren’t they Elizabeth?”

  “Sorry I woke everyone up.”

  Veronica reached down and ruffled the girl’s dark hair. “It’s not your fault. But sometimes, if things are bothering us, it’s best to be with the people we love, isn’t it?”

  Elizabeth nodded again and Serenity reached out to take her bags from the Scout leader. “Perhaps you shouldn’t organize trips like this if you’re unable to take care of the needs of children.”

  Veronica blinked in surprise, but Serenity didn’t give her the chance to answer. She grabbed Elizabeth’s arm and hustled her away, ignoring shouts of “Bye!” from the other children.

  She knew she shouldn’t be annoyed with Veronica, she was sure the woman had done everything she could, but part of her felt frazzled and anxious about her argument with Sebastian and what happened at the house. The young woman was simply the person who stood in the way.

  “It isn’t her fault, Mommy,” Elizabeth said as they reached the car. Serenity flung Elizabeth’s bag in the back seat and the girl scrambled into her booster seat beside them.

  She sighed. “I know, sweetie. I just hate that your trip got ruined.”

  Elizabeth shrugged. “I don’t mind. I’d rather be home with you and Sebastian.”

  Serenity started the engine and pulled the car out of the lot and onto Santa Ana Boulevard. She sighed. How hard to be a mother—to simultaneously want to keep your child close, but also want them to create an independence and a life of their own.

  She glanced over her shoulder at her daughter’s face. Though Elizabeth smiled back, Serenity couldn’t miss the shadows beneath her bloodshot eyes and her pale skin.

  “Why don’t you get some sleep? We’ve got a bit of a drive.”

  “Okay, Mommy,” she said. Instead of closing her eyes, though, she turned and stared out of the window.

  They pulled out onto the freeway. Elizabeth was quieter than normal, her usual consistent chatter missing.


  “You can talk to me, you know,” Serenity said, assuming the nightmares to be responsible for her daughter’s silence. “Whatever is bothering you, you can tell me.”

  “Why don’t you want to marry Daddy?”

  Serenity glanced back at her in surprise. “What makes you think that?”

  Elizabeth pressed her lips together and arched an eyebrow in an expression that was far too old for her age.

  Serenity sighed again. She should have realized Elizabeth would already know what had happened between her and Sebastian. She could never keep anything from her daughter.

  “It’s hard to explain, sweetie.”

  “Don’t you love him anymore?”

  “Of course I still love him!”

  “Then why don’t you want to marry him? Isn’t that what grownups do? They fall in love and get married.”

  Serenity stared at the road ahead. There was no point in lying to Elizabeth. She would figure things out for herself sooner or later.

  “You remember Mommy was married before?”

  Elizabeth nodded. “To the bad man who hurt you.”

  “That’s right. When I was married, I was very unhappy. I wouldn’t want for your Daddy and me to end up in the same situation.”

  “But it would be different with Sebastian,” Elizabeth said, all of a child’s enthusiasm lifting the tone of her voice. “He would never hurt you.”

  Serenity thought back to the dried spatter of blood she’d spotted on Sebastian’s shirt. Some women checked for lipstick on their lover’s collar, she had to check for blood. How ironic that she’d gone from one violent relationship into a relationship with someone who needed violence to survive. Perhaps that said more about her than it did about the men in her life.

  “I know he wouldn’t, sweetie. It’s just the thought of being married again makes me ...”

  She trailed off, unsure of how exactly the thought of marriage did make her feel.

  “Scared?” Elizabeth offered.

  Serenity smiled. “Yeah, definitely scared.”

  “You don’t need to be scared, Mommy. I’d look after you.”

  Sudden tears clogged Serenity’s throat. “You’re a good girl.”

  In response, Elizabeth yawned, long and wide.

  “You need to get some rest,” said Serenity. She leaned back and hooked a jacket from the foot well of the backseat. “Here,” she said, rolling the material up into a ball. “Use this as a pillow and try to get some sleep.”

  “Okay, Mommy.” This time, she wedged the jacket between the back of the seat and the window and put her head down. She gave a long, exhausted sigh and her eyes closed.

  Serenity refocused her attention on the road, while her thoughts once again wandered. Was she being selfish in not marrying Sebastian? If Elizabeth thought getting married was the right thing to do, what was stopping her? For a child to want her parents to be married was only natural. She would do anything for Elizabeth, even marry someone.

  Except she didn’t want to marry Sebastian for the wrong reasons. If she changed her mind and said yes, she wanted to do so because she wanted to be his wife.

  Elizabeth moaned in her sleep and muttered something Serenity didn’t catch. She cast an anxious glance back at her sleeping child.

  “Elizabeth? Honey? Are you okay?”

  Elizabeth said something else and shifted in her seat as though she were uncomfortable.

  Serenity reached back to touch Elizabeth’s hand, but as soon as their skin made contact, Elizabeth jerked away.

  “No, Daddy. Don’t go ...”

  Her words came out mumbled, but clear enough for Serenity to understand.

  “Daddy!” Elizabeth yelled. “Leave him alone!”

  “Hey, Elizabeth!” Serenity spoke louder. Trying to keep control of the vehicle while leaning back, she grabbed her daughter’s knee and gave it a quick shake, her eyes darting between the freeway and her child.

  “No ... no ...” Her head thrashed from side to side, her eyes open in slits, the pupils unseeing. “Daddy!” she shrieked.

  The road was miraculously empty. Serenity swerved the car onto the hard shoulder and leapt out of the driver’s side and ran around the vehicle. She dragged open Elizabeth’s door and pulled the little girl from the car and into her arms.

  Elizabeth screamed, an ear-splitting shriek, and battered at her mother’s shoulders with balled fists. “You’ve got to help him! Something’s got Daddy!”

  Panic surged through her.

  Elizabeth was only seven, but she was tall for her age—all gangly limbs—and getting hold of her felt like fighting a pack of monkeys.

  Another vehicle drove past, the people inside craning their necks to watch the woman shake her hysterical daughter, but they didn’t stop or even slow down.

  Elizabeth finally opened her eyes fully. She took one look at her mother and burst into tears.

  Serenity wrapped her in an embrace and held her close. “Shhh,” she said, stroking Elizabeth’s hair to soothe her. “Everything is okay. You’re safe.”

  Elizabeth sniffed and pulled away so she could look her mother in the face. “I’m not frightened about me. Something’s got Daddy.”

  Serenity crouched to Elizabeth’s level and focused her attention. “Listen to me, Elizabeth. Your daddy is safe and sound at home. I checked on him right before I left to come and fetch you. No one has got him. We’ll be home in less than an hour and then you can see for yourself. Okay?”

  “But my dreams ...”

  “I can’t explain your dreams, sweetheart. But I believe what’s right in front of my eyes, and no one has your father. He and I went out last night and I left him sleeping in bed.”

  “I dreamed he wasn’t with us anymore. He was somewhere dark and something bad had him. Something really bad, worse than any of the vampires. It was pulling him away and he was screaming—” Her voice broke off in a choked sob.

  “Hey, it’s okay. It was only a dream.”

  “No it wasn’t, Mommy. They’re never only dreams.”

  Serenity didn’t know what to say to that. Elizabeth was right.

  No, she’s not, she reminded herself. Elizabeth has nightmares just like any other girl.

  Serenity had once read her a book about cartoon rats and Elizabeth kept thinking she saw rats in her room until Sebastian had thrown the book out. Another time, someone at school told her about a monster that lived under the bed and grabbed the ankles of children when they tried to get into bed. That time, she’d had nightmares and spent weeks trying to jump onto her bed from the other side of the room because she didn’t want the monster to grab her.

  Serenity felt a brief stab of guilt for speaking harshly to Veronica. If this was what they’d been dealing with, no wonder they thought it better for Elizabeth to be at home.

  Chapter Five

  Sebastian opened his eyes and started back in surprise. He’d been expecting Serenity, but instead Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed, drumming her heels against the base.

  “Elizabeth?”

  She turned at his voice and her eyes widened with delight. “Daddy!”

  His daughter jumped on him, her arms wrapping around his neck in a hug.

  Each time he woke, Elizabeth seemed to have grown just a little bit bigger. The way she’d transformed from a cute, chubby toddler to the long-limbed child she was today was almost miraculous. Tall for her age, Sebastian was starting to see the young adult she would become. Nothing made him more aware of the passing of time than watching Elizabeth grow up. Where previously nothing in his existence changed, she was a constant reminder of his own stasis.

  His dream of the strange city lingered with him. Dream ... vampires don’t dream! Finding Elizabeth here instead of Serenity furthered his confusion.

  “Shouldn’t you still be on your trip?” he asked.

  “Mommy came and got me early. I was having bad dreams again. I dreamed something bad hurt you.”

  His mind went to the incident wit
h the body in the forest, how its dead eyes still managed to glare with hatred. How it had kept on coming, even after he’d broken the thing’s neck.

  He forced a smile. “I’m right here, as you can see. No one has got me and I’m not planning on going anywhere.”

  Uncertainty rippled across her small features, her eyes large and worried, but she returned the smile.

  He gave her a squeeze and kissed the top of her head. “Well, I’m glad you’re home anyway. Where’s your mom?”

  “Downstairs. I think she’s mad at you.”

  Sebastian grimaced. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s go down and check.”

  He swung his legs off the bed and took Elizabeth’s hand. Together, they made their way downstairs to find Serenity sitting at the kitchen counter, a cold mug of coffee clutched between her hands. She looked up, but didn’t smile at the sight of him.

  “Elizabeth told me about her nightmares,” he said. “And that you had to go and pick her up.”

  Serenity pushed a hand through her hair, tucking some of the long strands behind her ear. “Her Girl Scout leader called and said we needed to come get her. She had another bad dream in the car on the way home, didn’t you, honey?” Elizabeth pressed her lips together and nodded. “She’s dreaming about you.”

  The words hung in the air like an accusation.

  “I know,” Sebastian said eventually. “She told me.”

  “Does she have any reason to be?”

  “Not that I’m aware of, Serenity.” His gaze flicked to where Elizabeth had positioned herself on the stool beside her mother. He didn’t intend on discussing what happened in the forest with Elizabeth right beside them. If she was having nightmares before, she’d be guaranteed to suffer even worse after hearing about that!

  Serenity must have sensed his reluctance to talk. “Hey, Elizabeth, you want to go watch some television for a bit?”

  Neither of them liked to use the television as a babysitter, but sometimes necessity overruled good parenting.

  “Sure!” Elizabeth bounced down from the stool and ran into the living room. She was old enough to work the flat screen by herself now, and within seconds, the sound of cartoons filled the house.