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Chapter One
In the dianesti cast a forlorn look at the flower beds she’d once tended with care They’d become choked eeds since her death
To be honest, gardening had ranked low on her list of priorities for the past three s to fret about, such as adjusting to a steady diet of blood when six years ago she would have fainted at the sight of it, and dealing with an increased amount of psychic power that hts whether she wanted to or not
Practically overnight, she’d been expected to ht scary to look down and see nothing beneath her feet With no way to ground herself, she kept tipping over Mental note: never wear a skirt to levitation practice
And what about teleportation? She was terrified she’d materialize halfway into a tree or a rock And why the heck couldn’t she enius of a husband couldn’t answer that one Ro
Then there were the fangs They tended to pop out at inopportune times Thankfully she couldn’t see her scary new canine teeth in a mirror Unfortunately she couldn’t see herself, either She’d nearly dropped her three-year-old daughter on the floor the first ti in a mirror, held by an invisible mother
And that was the er the same mother she’d been before Every scraped knee or bruised feeling her children experienced in daylight hours would be soothed away by so the day, she was dead
She’d never fully appreciated what the other Vah each day at sunrise Death-sleep was easy enough, since you just lay there like a lu there was the pits She had to die Over and over, as the sun broke over the horizon, she experienced a burst of pain and a terrifying et easier in time when she learned to relax, but how could she reain? What if she never saw her children or her husband again?
There was no co out to her with the promise of a happy afterlife There was only a black hole of nothingness According to Roman, that was the way it was for vampires As a former medieval monk, he had interpreted the darkness as one more indication that he was cursed and his soul forever lost
He now believed differently When he’d fallen in love with her, he’d accepted that as a blessing fron that he wasn’t entirely abandoned And then dear Father Andrew, may he rest in peace, had convinced the rest of the Vamps that they had not been rejected by their Creator There was a purpose to everything under heaven, Father Andrew claiood Vamps They were the only ones with the necessary skills for defeating bad vaood Vamps protected the innocent, so they served an important purpose in the modern world
Mental note: reuys It should lass of synthetic blood easier to s
"Coed up the steps to the front porch
Not to be outdone by her older brother, Sofia clambered up the steps, too
"I don’t have to wait for Mom to unlock the door," Tino boasted "I could teleport inside"
Sofia scowled at hiain"
She gave Tino a pointed look How many times had she warned his? So far, Sofia had not displayed the ability to teleport, and she was growing increasingly sensitive about it
"There, now" Shanna’s"Everyone has their own special gifts"
Sofia nodded, ss that Tino can’t"
"Moh-pitched voice to mimic his little sister
With a snort, Shanna carried her children’s empty suitcases up the steps to the front door In spite of the recent upheaval in her personal life, her kids continued to behave nor in any environment
"Nice porch" Darlene looked around "It needs to be swept, though And you’ll need to get the yard tidied up before you post a For Sale sign"
"I know" Shanna set the small suitcases down so she could unlock the door This was the first ti their home in White Plains, New York And maybe the last
Since Shanna’s transforon Nest Academy, the school she’d started for special children, mostly shifters or hybrids like Tino and Sofia Ro their children ell supervised during the day
He was secretly worried that she wasn’t happy, that she wasn’t adjusting And deep inside, he was afraid that she bla her from her children He never said it, but she could read it in his thoughts And sense it whenever they made love There was a desperation in his kisses and an extra tenderness to his touch, as if he hoped to eradicate her fears and heal her sadness with the sheer force of his passion
She blinked away tears as she opened the front door Poor Roman She should reassure him that she was fine, even if it was a lie
She wheeled the two suitcases into the foyer that was already well lit The porch light and a few lights in the house switched on each evening thanks to an automatic timer so the house would appear inhabited "Come on in"
"Oh"What a lovely home"
Shanna smiled sadly "Thank you" She’d procrastinated for threethe inevitable They had to er worked, not with her and Rooodness her mother was back in her life Only recently had Darlene broken free from the cruel mind control imposed on her by her husband, Sean Whelan She spent all of her ti to make up for lost time
"Come on, Grandma!" Sofia clambered up the stairs "I want to show you et her suitcase" Shanna handed the pink-and-green Tinkerbell suitcase to herwhatever toys she can fit in there"
"I want my Pretty Ponies!" Sofia shouted, halfway up the stairs
"And there’s another suitcase in her closet," Shanna said "She needs more clothes"
"No problem" Darlene started up the stairs "I’ll take care of it"
Shanna handed her son his orange Knicks-decorated suitcase "Here you go"
Constantine regarded her quietly before responding "Do we really have to move?"
She nodded "It’s for the best There arethe day"