There had never been another sighting of Isaiah after that. The Council had assumed him long dead, most likely driven to the point of insanity too deep to survive.
He could have survived, Eleazar, Adriel said, pulling him back from his memories.
Doubtful.
I think you should return home and hear the evidence for yourself.
What evidence? Hearsay and rumors are not concrete facts.
The boy said there have been reports of six murders. Females, all of them.
How does he know this? I do not trust Cain Hartzler. Perhaps he killed these women.
Perhaps, but why would he return home and draw The Council’s attention to the act? He says the deaths are all over the English news. He claims he found markings in the woods, impressions that only a male, traveling at immortal speeds, could make in the earth.
Eleazar was growing tired of this conversation. This is only speculation. The Council laid the issue of Isaiah Hartzler to rest long ago. I assure you, Isaiah Hartzler is dead. It’s far past the time to bury rumors of his return.
But Eleazar, the women—
I must go, Adriel. I have work to do. He couldn’t waste any more time on such nonsense.
Before their connection cut off, Adriel rushed out, Each victim was drained of blood!
Eleazar stilled. Drained of blood? Impossible. Why now?
He glanced up at Larissa’s window one last time, then spun in the opposite direction and ran, not stopping until he located a corner store. The bell chimed as he shoved into the small shop reeking of gasoline and overheated pork products. A metal rack of newspapers sat beside the door.
He rummaged through the pages, searching for any reports of females drained of blood. Inked articles fluttered to the floor, and he only then realized he was missing a shoe. He was going to throttle his mate when he got his hands on her again.
“Sir, you have to buy that if you’re going to read it,” the clerk at the counter said.
“Quiet!” he barked, giving the clerk a mental push to mind his own business.
Finally, he found what he was seeking. Under a picture of a young boy and an even younger girl, both appearing consumed by grief, was the headline, beast leaves children orphaned.
The article recapped the events of the past year. Adriel was right. The murders all happened in the town of Jim Thorpe, not far from their farm.
Words jumped out at Eleazar as he read. bloodless. drained. females. sexually assaulted. man. eyewitnesses. carnage. puncture marks at the carotid artery.
Eleazar slammed the crumpled paper into the bin and left the store. If this was, in fact, Isaiah Hartzler returned and running rogue, he would need to be hunted and destroyed.
This time, no other Hartzler would accompany the men on the hunt and there would be no mistakes.
He needed to retrieve his disobedient mate and return home, but something stopped him from doing so. Some inexplicable emotion that refused him to go to her in a fit of rage—and that only aggravated him more.
He could easily retrieve her from her apartment and drag her back to the farm. He simply had to keep his mental block in place.
But he wasn’t ready. He wanted time. Time to punish her. Time to torment her. Time to understand her. And time to claim her. The Silus situation could wait.
Selfishly, Eleazar decided he would deal with the Isaiah Hartzler threat after he dealt with his mate—another Hartzler. Why was this family always complicating his life?
On his way back to Larissa’s dwelling, he reconnected with Adriel.
Rude, she scoffed in greeting.
Adriel kept up-to-date on council business because she listened from a bench just outside the Council Hall doors. A bench he had placed there specifically for her. She never missed a meeting, but she had never once been granted entrance because she was female. Yet, she heard every word from her place in the hallway.
Cain Hartzler is right. There’s news of something murdering English women in the woods, he confirmed.
Do you think it’s Isaiah?
Despite her earlier concern, he sensed her reluctance to accept such an unfathomable possibility. Isaiah was dead.
Doubtful. We’re not the only immortals in existence. There are plenty of lawless others. Do you have any other news?
As a matter of fact, I do. Jonas Hartzler.
The mention of his mate’s father captured his interest. Go on.
He and Abilene are fighting. Jonas hasn’t been sharing his wife’s bed.
And you know this how?
When under stress, immortals rarely guard their thoughts. I plucked it right from his mind.
Eleazar shook his head and chuckled. Such a busybody.
Do not judge me, Eleazar. Snooping is the only way a female can learn anything around here. Change the laws, and I’ll consider changing my ways.
I doubt it.
Adriel snickered. You know me too well. Anyway, I suspect Jonas has been called.
Eleazar stopped walking. You cannot be serious.
A calling is always serious.