Midnight Whispers - Paranormal Romance (5 page)

Worse, she
found herself dreaming more and more frequently about Bryce. At first it was
the nightmares, where her house was being ransacked and burned, and he would
come around the corner in place of the man that would always try to murder her
right before she woke up. But instead of simply grinning at her, he would take
her by the hand, and she would feel a sense of security envelope her instead of
the fear she knew she should.

“Come,” he
would say, pulling her along, and he would lead her to safety, avoiding falling
debris and passing rebels when he could, and striking them down when he
couldn’t. But when they stepped out into the fresh air, it was always into the
woods, and not the manicured grounds that belonged to her father’s estate. They
would be inside the maze, standing at the heart of it, but the walls would look
different, and Kyra would be unable to find her way out.

“Help me,”
she would say to Bryce, “you must know the way out. Why won’t you help me find
the way out?”

He would
shake his head at her. “This is simply the conflict inside your heart
projecting itself into the dream, Kyra. You must decide your fate. Whether or
not you will choose me, or whatever it is that is waiting for you outside these
trees. Despite your fear, you already know somewhere inside you that I will not
let harm come to you, that I will protect you. The Call will lead you back to
me when you are ready to follow it.”

He would
always disappear, and she would wake up and stare at the ceiling, wondering if
it was truly just her subconscious speaking, or if he was somehow able to speak
to her through her dreams. The only way to find out for certain was if she
asked him, and since that would require going back into the woods, it wasn’t an
option.

One day,
shortly before noon, Jake showed up at her doorstep with a picnic basket looped
over one of his sturdy arms. “I’m terribly sorry to show up unannounced,” he
told her aunt with a cheeky grin that belied his statement, “but I was hoping
to surprise her. Would you mind terribly if I took your niece out for a
picnic?”

If she’d
still been living amongst the gentry, and had one of those proper, highborn
mothers who were sticklers for the rules, Jake would have been shooed away instantly
for the idea. A young man escorting a lady for an afternoon alone in the
countryside, without a single servant or chaperone in attendance? It was the
stuff scandals were made of. But out here it was normal, almost expected even,
and so her Aunt Sylvia simply smiled, looking very pleased.

“I’m sure
Kyra would love to go.”

“Are you
certain?” Kyra asked, stepping forward. “I know you’d planned to have me help
with the wash today.”

Her Aunt
shook her head briskly. “Nonsense, child. I’ve been doing the wash by myself
longer than you’ve been alive. I assure you I can make it through the day
without your help, as much as I do love your company.” She pinched Kyra’s cheek
affectionately. “Now hurry and get your bonnet and shoes. I’m sure Jake doesn’t
want to be kept waiting long.”

Shaking her
head, Kyra did as she was told, though she couldn’t help the smile on her face.
“I do believe my aunt is doing her best to see I spend as much time with you as
possible,” she said after her Aunt had shut the door, hooking her arm around
his as they walked through the grass.

“Well, good,”
Jake said, squeezing her arm affectionately.

“Oh, you,”
Kyra began, then stopped at the sight of the fully-saddled workhorse standing a
few feet away. His nose was buried in the grass as he munched, his long tail
swishing lazily, and his black coat gleamed in the sunlight. “You brought
Ahern?”

“The place I
had in mind is a little far for a walk,” Jake admitted. “I hope you don’t
mind.”

Kyra shook
her head. “It’s been a few months since I’ve last been in the saddle,” she said
as he mounted. “It will be nice to feel horseflesh beneath me again.”

She allowed
him to pull her up and settle her between his legs, and though it was a little
uncomfortable sitting sideways without a sidesaddle, she was able to lean
against his chest, which more than made up for it. Cradling the picnic basket
in her hands, she listened to his heartbeat as they trotted through the fields
and down a dirt path. His chest was warm and sturdy beneath her cheek, and he smelled
like sweet hay and the freshly baked bread from his mother’s kitchen.

With a little
sigh of contentment, she watched the tall grass waving lazily in the summer
breeze, listened to the birds twittering and the sound of small animals
scampering about. Closing her eyes, she allowed peace to envelope her.

“We’re here,
sleeping beauty.”

She jerked up
with a start, nearly hitting the top of her head against Jake’s chin. They were
standing near the base of a hill, overlooking a small pond tucked against a gathering
of apple trees and blackberry bushes. The sweetness of the berries, which were
about ripe to bursting at this time of year, wafted to her on the warm breeze,
and the sunlight sparkled off the clear water.

“It’s
beautiful,” she murmured, and then recalled his words. “Did I really fall
asleep?”

“You did.”
Jake helped her dismount, then slid smoothly to the ground himself. “Snored all
the way here.”

She smacked
his chest even as she caught the twinkle in his eye. “I don’t snore!” she
exclaimed indignantly, but she was half-laughing as he said it.

“I know. I
just love riling you.” He grinned widely. “Your cheeks flush and your eyes
sparkle.”

Kyra could
feel a blush spreading across her cheeks at his words, and she looked away.
“Now you’re just flattering me.” Before he could respond, she picked up the
basket and walked over to a spot beneath one of the apple trees. “Let’s eat,
shall we?”

They spread a
blanket out, then removed what turned out to be a veritable feast—cold
ham, cheese, buttery rolls, pickles, and sweet strawberry tarts. “Are you
certain we aren’t missing someone?” she teased. “This is enough to feed a small
army!”

“Believe you
me, Kyra,” Jake said as he tucked away two rolls piled high with meat and
cheese, “I eat enough for at least one army. Farm work burns a lot of energy.”

Kyra studied
him over her own sandwich. He was wearing a green shirt, trousers and
boots—simple attire, and yet Kyra had no doubt that if he walked into a
ballroom, every single lady would swoon. The top two buttons of his shirt were
left open so she caught a glimpse of chest hair and the muscles that lay
beneath it, and the trousers showed off his long, muscular legs.

Surely she
should be more attracted to him, shouldn’t she? He was funny, intelligent,
extremely good looking, and he paid attention to her—real attention, as
if she were not just a woman, but a person too. Many of the men she knew back
home had admired her looks, but hadn’t been willing to give her the time of day
when she tried to engage them in stimulating conversation. As far as they were
concerned, women were to look pretty and make babies, not use their minds.

“Your mother
makes the best tarts I’ve ever tasted,” Kyra told Jake after biting into one
and savoring the flaky pastry and juicing strawberry filling as it saturated
her tongue. “I really must nag her for the recipe some time.”

“I’m sure
she’d love to teach you how to make them sometime.” Jake smiled, and then his
eyes turned serious. “Kyra, I’ve noticed that you’re looking a bit… peaky,
lately. Is everything alright? I hope you’re not getting ill.”

Kyra reached
up to touch her face. There weren’t any mirrors in her aunt’s house, so she
hadn’t really paid much attention to her appearance as of late. Glancing over
at the water, she studied her reflection and winced mentally. ‘Peaky’ was an
understatement. Her face was pale, her eyes heavy and rounded with dark
circles. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d looked like such.

“I… I had no
idea,” she murmured, wondering why her aunt had never mentioned it. “I… I
suppose it’s because I haven’t been sleeping very much lately.”

Jake frowned.
“Why not?”

Kyra
hesitated. She didn’t want to tell him about her dreams of Bryce, or how the
wolf howling kept her awake at night because she had to fight not to leave her
bed and head back into the woods. It seemed as though the Call, as Bryce had
spoken of it, was strengthening with each night, along with the intensity of
the dreams. It was maddening, as she didn’t want anything to do with it, and
yet short of hitting herself on the head with a board to knock herself out,
there was nothing she could do. And though the lack of sleep was irritating,
she imagined that waking up every morning with a raging headache would be even
more so.

“I’ve been
having nightmares,” she decided to tell him, which was partially true—she
did
sometimes still have the nightmares, though the endings were very
different from what they were before she moved out here. “I still dream about
the night the rebels attacked, and when I wake up, I can’t get back to sleep.”

Jake’s face
softened in sympathy, and he reached over to squeeze her hand. “I’m so sorry,
Kyra,” he said gently. “I can’t imagine how it would feel to lose my entire
family in the course of a single night.”

Tears filled
her eyes suddenly, and she blinked them back. Forcing a smile, she picked up
her half-eaten tart. “Let’s talk about something else, shall we? It’s a
beautiful day, and I don’t want to dwell on things I cannot change.”

“Of course,”
Jake said, but Kyra caught the flash of disappointment in her eyes—he
wanted her to confide in him, she realized. It would be nice if she could lean
her head against his chest like she’d done before, and unload her emotional
baggage onto his sturdy shoulders.

But something
in her heart held her back, something she didn’t fully understand since she
knew Jake wouldn’t begrudge her for it. And it infuriated her more than
anything else that she couldn’t seem to take her heart in her hands and give It
to someone of her own choosing.

****

His senses
on high alert, the man crept silently through the darkness, crouching through
the trees. His body stiffened as he heard a branch crack behind him, but when
he turned it was only one of his hunters. Biting back a curse at the man’s
clumsiness, he motioned with his fingers for silence, then continued to inch
forward, sweeping his surroundings with a keen gaze, searching for prey.

Years of
practice had honed his eyes so that he could see in the dark as well as any
night animal, and his other senses were heightened as well—he could hear
each breath his men took, smell every scent the wind brought to him on her
wings. He’d worked hard to hone his skills, and the number of kills under his
belt signified just how much that had paid off.

Finally
they reached their destination, and crouched behind the bushes some distance
away to wait. The sliver of moonlight illuminated the man slumped under a tree,
seemingly asleep. A trickle of blood burned brightly in the night, like a
beacon, and the man tensed as he readied his weapon, banking that it would draw
the right kind of predator forward—the one that they were looking for.

Just when
his legs were beginning to go stiff from crouching motionless for so long, a
figure stepped out of the shadows. He appeared a normal man, dressed in a
jerkin and leggings, but his extraordinary pale face and red eyes gleaming out
of the darkness gave him away—he was a monster, and exactly the kind of
creature he and his men fought to eradicate from this world. Because of his
group, the country people lived in relative peace, undisturbed by the horrors
lurking in the shadows.

The man
crouched down on his haunches, tucking two pale fingers beneath the other man’s
chin and pushing it up to expose his throat. He opened his mouth to reveal the
long fangs that marked his kind—vampire. Filthy, foul, bloodsucking
vermin. Spawn of the devil.

As the
vampire leaned down to feast, the man hidden in the shadows released the bolt
from his crossbow. It pierced the vampire’s chest, who let out a keening howl
and toppled backward. As he did so, the ‘unconscious’ man leaped forward,
pulling a stake from his sleeve, and drove it into the vampire’s heart.

Smiling
with grim satisfaction, the man motioned for his group to stand, then crossed
over to the one who had made the kill. “That’s very good work.” He clapped him
on the back. “You’ve done your ancestors proud.”

The man
smiled, wiping away the blood at his temple. “Thank you, sir.”

“You’re
welcome. Now let’s get that bonfire built so we can burn this bastard. I don’t
want to leave any chance open for him to come back.”

****

Kyra dragged
herself out of bed as the sun came up, gritting her teeth as a headache pounded
relentlessly at her temples. She was getting tired of being tired, and her
resolve not to heed the wolf call was growing perilously thin. Keeping her
teeth clenched so as not to give into the yawns trying to work their way up,
she pulled on her clothes, then stumbled outside to the lean-to so she could
splash some icy water onto her face.

Apparently it
wasn’t enough, because when she came back inside her Aunt took one look at her
before her own face blanched in horror and concern.

“Kyra!” she
exclaimed, rushing over and placing her small hands on either side of her face.
“What on earth is wrong with you, child? Are you ill?” She peered into Kyra’s
eyes, then felt her forehead. “You look like death warmed over.”

Kyra tried to
crack a smile, but her lips didn’t seem to have enough energy for it. “I’m just
tired. I haven’t been sleeping very well lately.” She was unable to stifle the
yawn this time. “The nightmares… they’ve really taken a toll.”