Page 32 (1/2)

Chapter 1

The day ust afternoon in 1864, the weather so oppressive that even the flies stopped swar around the barn The servants' children, who usually played wild games and shrieked as they ran from one chore to another, were silent The air was still, as if holding off on a long-awaited thunderstor e of Veritas Estate--my family home I'd packed

That hat I'd been doing most days that summer I was seventeen and restless, ready neither to join the war alongside my brother nor to have Father teach me to run the estate Every afternoon, I had the saure out who I was and what I wanted to beco, and Father had inia until the war had ended Since then, I'd been curiously stuck in the in-between I was no longer a boy, not quite a man, and utterly unsure of what to do with myself

The worst part was that I had no one to talk to Damon, my brother, ith General Groom's army down in Atlanta, most of my boyhood friends were either about to be betrothed or on faraway battlefields themselves, and Father was constantly in his study

"Gonna be a hot one!" our overseer, Robert, yelled fro two stable boys attempt to bridle one of the horses Father had purchased at auction last week

"Yep," I grunted That was another problem: While I yearned for someone to talk with, when presented with a conversation partner, I was never content What I desperately wanted was to meet sos like books and life, not just the weather Robert was nice enough and one of Father's most trusted advisers, but he was so loud and brash that even a ten-minute conversation could leave me exhausted

"Heard the latest?" Robert asked, abandoning the horse to walk toward roaned inwardly

I shookthe papers What's General Grooh conversation about the war always left me uneasy

Robert shielded his eyes from the sun as he shook his head "No, not the war The animal attacks The folks over at Griffin's lost five chickens All with gashes in their necks "

I pausedon end All suhboring plantations Usually, the anieese, but in the past feeeks someone--probably Robert, after four or five tuun a rumor that the attacks were the work of demons I didn't believe that, but it was one rown up in Everything was changing, whether I wanted it to or not

"Could have been a stray dog that killed the the words I'd overheard Father say to Robert last week A breeze picked up, causing the horses to stomp their feet nervously

"Well, then, I hope one of those stray dogs doesn't find you when you're out riding alone like you do every day " With that, Robert strode off toward the pasture

I walked into the cool, dark stable The steady rhyth of the horses relaxed me instantly I plucked Mezzanotte's brush froh her smooth, coal-black coat She whinnied in appreciation

Just then, the stable door creaked open, and Father stepped in A tall man, Father carried himself with so much force and presence that he easily intimidated those who crossed his path His face was lined rinkles that only added to his authority, and he wore a for coat, despite the heat

"Stefan?" Father called, glancing around the stalls Even though he'd lived at Veritas for years, he'd probably only been in the stable a few tiht to the door