Granite Kiss (2 page)

A quick scan through her one bedroom apartment assured her the stray wouldn’t be making his way inside. She’d grown attached to the little furball and gave thought to building a shelter for him outdoors before the weather turned bad.

Tugging a bulging backpack over her shoulders, Elena locked the door behind her.

The fragrance of the changing of the seasons carried in the breeze, the bright sun above warming the crisp morning air. The streets bustled to life with students walking or cycling toward the university. Vehicles raced up and down the asphalt while folks fought the morning commute.

A deep inhalation of fall air brought to Elena’s mind thoughts of family togetherness, and just general fun. Ever since she was a little girl, autumn had always been her favorite time of the year.

Across the street, Elena watched an elderly man stuff a scarecrow with straw while sitting on the wooden steps of his porch. Despite the revving engines of passing cars, she tuned into the rustling of the many dried cornstalks placed around the front yard.

A grin lifted the corners of her mouth, and pleasant warmth filled her.

The effort people put into decorating their homes and lawns for fall and Halloween excited Elena much in the same way Christmas did for others. She thrilled at spooky ghost stories and was a lover of all things paranormal. More than once Elena had been told she
was
the ‘Halloween spirit’.

Rounding a corner at the end of the block, she nearly smacked right into a pirate. His costume came complete with a stuffed scarlet macaw on his shoulder and a black patch over one eye.

“Arrrgh,” he said. “S’cuse me, lassie.” With a lopsided grin, he tipped his leather tricorn hat and offered a wink before stepping aside, allowing her to pass.

Returning his smile, Elena entertained memories of her childhood as she took a moment to enjoy his attire.

Growing up, she would spend months preparing for her favorite night of the year. Careful consideration would be taken when deciding on a costume, and she prided herself that each and every year she’d created something unique.

After losing her parents before she had any real memories of them, her maternal grandmother had raised her. Sitting side-by-side, stitching Elena’s latest costume idea together had been a tradition they’d shared right up until her grandmother had passed two years earlier.

Lost in her thoughts as she enjoyed the walk, Elena stood at a light seven blocks from home when she mentally kicked herself for not calling a cab. Despite being more than halfway to the university, she was now going to be really late!

Breaking out in a jog, Elena hoped the students had enjoyed some pre-Halloween fun the previous night, and no one would be standing at the doors waiting for her to open.

As Elena hurried to her post in the university library, she narrowly avoided running into her third vampire since entering the campus. The week before Halloween was always more eventful than any other holiday, but most of the faculty didn’t see it as a disturbance.

She dug through her purse and pulled out the miniature sized candy bars she’d begun carrying three years ago when she’d first encountered the ritual “trick or treat” pranksters. Dropping two into the offered bag of an axe-murderer’s victim, she smiled at the student, who she recognized from the stacks.

At ten minutes past eight, she arrived at the library door, relieved to find no students waiting yet. Under her breath, Elena cursed her absentmindedness at running behind. Until this morning, her attendance record had been impeccable, and she’d taken pride in that. From as far back as she could remember, she’d adopted the letter carrier’s motto:
neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night...

Elena never once regretted going the extra mile where the students were concerned. Dedicating one-hundred percent of her energies to the kids’ needs was her way of giving back to education. To this day, she often thought of several teachers who had made a difference in her life, and she hoped one day a student would look back on their own life and perhaps remember her.

Tucking her backpack under the counter, Elena fired up the administrative computer and then took a walk around the library. The evening before she’d been in a rush to leave. Now, she took a couple of minutes to collect a few abandoned books from the tabletops. In the computer lab, she checked the network connection, changed the backup tapes and turned on the desktops. As she strolled back to the counter to begin logging in a new shipment of books, the door opened. Glancing up, she noted a gorilla, a nun and an axe murderer entering.

As she studied the trio, a smile curled Elena’s lips, and she felt her cheeks heat as she mused at the kids’ enthusiasm.

“Hi, Elena,” the young man dressed in the habit greeted her.

Elena loved Halloween, always had!

“Hey, E,” a muffled male voice under the gorilla mask said.

The axe murderer waved his plastic toy hatchet. Pulling a goalie mask from his face he called over, “Looking good, El.”

She smiled. “Good morning, guys.”

* * * *

When the time came, Elena signaled her coworker and headed out for lunch. Determined to enjoy the last of the Indian Summer, Elena munched through her salad and sipped an iced tea beneath the shady elm across from the library entrance. She still had thirty minutes before needing to return, so she pulled out the newest release from her favorite author.

One page in, Elena’s skin began to tingle, and an unpleasant chill raced up her spine. Glancing up from her book, she scanned the area around her. No one drew her attention, so she figured it was probably her overactive thoughts getting revved up about the spooky novel. That, and perhaps some of it could be attributed to the mass of students in costumes littering the campus yard.

A gentle tremor worked its way from the tips of Elena’s toes to the top of her head.

Turning her focus back to her book, Elena took a bite of her apple and had the unmistakable sensation she was being watched. Once again, she looked around, and for the second time, no one appeared to be paying her any mind.

Although she went back to her book, she couldn’t concentrate. Her skin prickled, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Someone was watching her, with intent. The weight of the stare grew heavier, making her very uncomfortable.

Unable to tolerate the disturbing sensations any longer, Elena quickly collected her garbage and tossed her book in her bag, stood up and dusted her backside off. After depositing her waste in a trash can, she nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

“Elena?”

Elena spun around so fast, she lost her balance. Strong hands wrapped around her upper arms, holding her upright.

“Jesus, Jeff,” she gasped, when she glanced up and realized who held her. Pressing a hand to the middle of her chest to settle the pounding of her heart, she drew several deep breaths. “You scared the hell out of me.”

A chill raced through her, and she shivered. Elena reached up and gripped Jeff’s navy sweatshirt in her fists. Taking a step closer to him, she attempted to draw from his strength. Something about Jeff’s presence at that very moment brought her comfort.

“I’m sorry,” Jeff said. Seeming to sense her distress, he pulled her closer still. “I called out to you, but I guess you didn’t hear me.”

Jeff Midland’s company had been brought in to provide security for the university following the events at Virginia Tech in 2007. She and Jeff had become instant friends during her first week at the university, after she had found a senior fast asleep in the corner of the library following a ‘kegger’. How the student had gained access to the locked library still remained a mystery. The boy had done no harm and no damage, so Jeff had escorted him back to his dorm to sleep it off.

Elena scanned the people going about their business, and despite the fact she still felt someone watching her, no one appeared to be.

“Elena?” Jeff called to her again in his deep voice. Taking a half step back, but still holding her arms, he looked down at her. “You okay, hon?”

Jeff seldom pulled rotation duty on the campus, but he did pop in every day to say ‘hi’ to Elena. Once before, he had mentioned that he oversaw the personal security needs for a close friend.

Despite making friends easily, Elena chose to maintain a low profile where her personal life was concerned, and Jeff remained respectful of that. Through conversations, she’d learned Jeff was like-minded in that regard and the respect went both ways.

Though Jeff was attractive, attentive, had a wicked sense of humor, and she enjoyed his company, Elena wasn’t interested in anything more than a friendship with him. They’d gone to dinner on a few occasions, and met for coffee several times a month.

The casual encounters they shared seemed to fill a need for both of them, and neither wanted to push their friendship to another level. Sometime in the beginning, they’d established the boundaries of their relationship and were comfortable with the unspoken terms.

“Elena?”

“Uh, sorry,” she stammered, and finally looked up at him. Releasing the death grip she held on his shirt, Elena smoothed away the wrinkles she’d created. “I was...er...never mind,” she said with a shake of her head. “I’m okay.”

“Glad to hear it, because for a minute there I wasn’t too sure.” Jeff seemed to be searching for something as he studied her. Concern filled his gray eyes. He loosened his grip on her and rubbed his hands up and down the length of her arms. “You sure you’re all right?”

A chill moved through her, and she swallowed with effort to rid herself of the sensations. “I...just felt a little funny, that’s all,” she admitted. “Maybe it’s just the Halloween atmosphere around here.”

Jeff chuckled. “But you love all this freaky shit.”

“I know,” she replied with a forced smile. “Weird, isn’t it?”

“Come on,” Jeff said, his eyes quickly scanning the campus lawn. “Let me walk you back to the library.” With his hand against the small of Elena’s back he moved himself in close to her. The tone of his voice was protective, and the warmth she felt from his body was comforting, not sensual. “I want to make sure you’re safe before I head back to my day job for the afternoon.”

“Thank you, Jeff,” Elena said, surprised to feel relieved.

After one last glance over her shoulder, she entered the building with Jeff at her side.

* * * *

Throughout the centuries, he’d honed his craft and relished his ability to blend in with any crowd, under any circumstance.

Today, he’d chosen a spot under a tree nearby in the hope his attentions would unnerve her. He’d succeeded. Using a glamour spell, he’d disguised himself as a student. To her curious eye, he would look as though he were studying from a thick textbook resting in his lap. But in actuality, he was staring right at her, intently concentrating on her every move.

The woman could feel the heavy weight of his stare. His unseen attention made her uncomfortable. The nervousness he brought her would feed him. Keeping her on edge for the next few days would be exhilarating.

He couldn’t remember when he’d experienced so much joy.

Well, there had been one other occasion, a very, very long time ago.

As if he could not have timed things any better, making his presence known was the smug pain in the rump, Jeff Midland. He’d expected as much. Over the years, the young man had become such a nuisance. Just as those before him had been, popping up at the most inopportune moments.

On several occasions, Jeff had proven himself to be more than a guardian; that irritated him more than he thought it could. Now, Jeff was the bane of his existence, even more so than...

He gave his head a slight shake.

Stay focused
, he reminded himself.

Midland should have been eliminated years earlier, before he’d ever been given the opportunity to follow his family’s destiny.

Why had he not taken care of him before now?
Oh well, Jeff Midland’s demise is fast approaching.
He too would meet his maker. No doubt much sooner than he expected.

He could not believe his luck when he’d learned the woman existed. Yes, it had been prophesied, but he’d never given much consideration to what the seers foretold. He had found her. After all these centuries, he had found her. Now the time to destroy her was drawing near.

All Hallows Eve.

Come the stroke of midnight on October thirty-first, the woman would be dead and the prophecy along with her.