As Twilight Falls

Midnight came and went and still there was no sign of him.

Kadie jumped up when her father and his two friends entered the bar. No doubt her mother had discovered her absence and told her father. All he’d had to do was search for her mother’s car.

“Where is he?” her father asked, his voice harsh.

“I don’t know.” The tears that stung her eyes were real. “I don’t know.”

Her father insisted on staying until the bar closed. Taking Rob and Gordon aside, he spoke to them for a few minutes, and then he drove her home.

Kadie stared out the passenger window, her heart breaking, her cheeks wet with tears as she faced the truth. Now that she no longer wanted it, Saintcrow had given her the freedom she had pleaded for so many times in the past.

Chapter 31

Saintcrow arrived in Morgan Creek shortly after midnight. He had spent the last two weeks trying to convince himself he had done the right thing. Spending those few days with Kadie and her family, seeing how much they all loved her, how she loved them, had made him realize that leaving her was the right thing to do. Who was he to take her away from her home and family? He had nothing to offer her. With him, she would never have a normal life. Never have children. He envisioned her with a family of her own, a husband who could share her whole life, a man who wasn’t hunted by other men, who didn’t shun the sun, or exist on the blood of others.

Yes, leaving had been the right thing to do, and he had never been more miserable in his whole wretched life.

A quick stroll through the residential section told him that the women were safe in their homes. Before leaving town, Saintcrow had given each woman ownership of the house in which she resided, which meant that no vampire could enter their homes without an invitation. Hopefully, the women were wise enough to remember that. He noted that two of them were sleeping soundly; one was awake.

He walked around Blair House. It was empty at the moment, but Lilith’s scent was fresh. When had she come back? And where was she now?

His own home seemed colder and more lonely than ever without Kadie. How had he ever lived without her? What was the point in continuing his existence when she was no longer here?

He wandered up the stairs to her room. Standing in the doorway, he took a deep breath, filling his nostrils with her scent, remembering the taste of her lips, the warmth of her skin, the way she cried his name as she writhed beneath him. He had admired her spunk, the way she defended the other women. Marti and the others were free because of Kadie’s concern for them. Carl Freeman owed his life to her.

Feeling foolish but unable to help himself, he took the pillow from her bed and carried it down to his lair.

Hugging it close, he tumbled into oblivion with her scent all around him.

“He’s back.”

“Who?” Donna asked, and then her eyes widened. “How do you know?”

“I saw him out in front of my house late last night.”

Shirley and Donna stared at her.

“Are you sure it was him?” Shirley asked. They were sitting in the restaurant, having dinner together, something they did most nights. The town was quiet now, with only the three of them. But, thanks to the cell phones Saintcrow had given them, and the TVs they had ordered, they were no longer cut off from the rest of the world.

Donna shook her head. “Why would he come back?”

“What if some of the others came with him?” Rosemary shivered. “Remember when Lilith was here a few days ago? That creature is pure evil!”

Shirley nodded.

“Maybe we should leave,” Donna suggested. “Staying seemed like a good idea before, but now . . .” She lifted a hand to her neck. “If he’s back, maybe they’re all coming back. I can’t go through that again.”

“I think you’re right,” Shirley said. “Where should we go?”

“I don’t want to leave,” Rosemary said. “I know you’ll think I’m crazy, but this is my home now.”

Donna looked at her friend as if she’d lost her mind.

“I understand how you feel,” Shirley said. “It’ll be hard getting used to living around a lot of people again, but there’s safety in numbers. I think we should go.”

“He never bothered us before,” Donna said. “I’m willing to stay a few days and see what happens. But if Lilith and the others come back, then I’m leaving.”

“Unless he prevents it again,” Shirley said. Though she hated to admit it, she didn’t really want to leave, either. She glanced at her friends. “Let’s think about it and decide tomorrow.”

“If we have a tomorrow,” Rosemary said darkly.

Chapter 32

Kadie braked her rental car at the bridge. Though she had been away from Morgan Creek for only a short time, it was like returning to another world. Once she had hoped to leave this accursed place and never see it again, but she’d had to come back. She was certain Saintcrow was here.

Taking a deep breath, Kadie drove across the bridge; then, curious, she put the car in reverse. She breathed a sigh of relief when the car crossed to the other side, and then she frowned.

Maybe he wasn’t here.

Maybe he had gone to England without her.

As long as she was here, she decided to check on Rosemary and Shirley and Donna and see how they were getting along. And if Lilith was here? She thrust the troubling thought from her mind as she crossed the bridge a second time.

It hadn’t been easy, leaving her sister. Kathy looked more frail every day even though she insisted she felt fine. Kadie knew her mother was worrying herself sick. As for her father . . . Kadie shook her head. In the last few weeks, he had rarely been home and when he was, he was surly and withdrawn.

Kadie was about to turn up Oak Avenue toward the residential section when she noticed a car parked in front of the restaurant. Pulling in behind it, she smiled when she saw Shirley and Donna sitting at one of the tables near the window.

Shirley noticed her at the same time.

Kadie waved and then she was inside and they were all hugging each other and talking at once.

“. . . glad to see you.”

“. . . never thought we’d see you again, Kadie.”

“Why on earth did you come back here?” Rosemary asked when the first wave of excitement passed.

Kadie sat down. The other women resumed their seats. “Are you hungry?” Shirley asked. “We had an early dinner. There’s some ham and mashed potatoes left.”

“No, thanks, I ate on the road. As for why I came back . . .” Kadie lifted her shoulders and let them fall. “I was hoping Saintcrow was here.”