Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 137871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 689(@200wpm)___ 551(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137871 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 689(@200wpm)___ 551(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
“What’s your point?” Adriel snapped, not appreciating how her tension and fear rose with every accurate statement.
“My point is we need a better plan than running our feet bloody and brainwashing our way over the Canadian border. Your mate may be old and powerful, but you’re female, and females are clever. If you had a halfway decent plan, you wouldn’t have to exhaust yourself running for your life.”
They were wasting time. “This is the plan I have! I don’t have the luxury of pausing to think! Don’t you get it? Every moment I waste debating if there is a better way, he gets closer to catching me!”
“You have no target! What’s your end game? We need to move toward something, or this insanity will never end.”
“The target is north!”
“That’s too broad and too far! There has to be a closer destination. A hideout. Someplace safe. A hidden space I could spell and protect so we can rest. I can’t keep actively using my magic if there’s no end in sight, and you need my magic if you want to beat him.”
“I don’t know any place like that! I’ve lived on the farm for too long. That’s all I know.”
Adriel’s voice trembled as her fear got the better of her. With such a sheltered existence, she knew nothing of the modern world. She only had the good sense to fear it.
“Well, I can assure you it’s not safe here in the woods. We’re wide open and unprotected. We need walls and a door.”
“Again, I don’t—”
“I get it.” Juniper held up a hand. “Your home was on the farm. Blah, blah, blah. Adriel, if you want to evade this guy, you’ll have to throw out your old rules and find some balls.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you’re a freaking vampire. Act like it.”
Her eyes widened in horror. “I am no such thing! I’m immortal—”
She waved away the technicality. “Tomato, tow-mah-tow. I’m not the only one with powers. Use yours so we can find a place to hide.”
“What do you expect me to do?”
She pointed to her forehead. “Do that mind thing you guys do! I know you can bend people’s wills and make them forget. We need a place to stay. Let’s find a house. You can do your dazzle thing or glamour or whatever the term is to the owner. And then we can freaking rest and regroup.”
“Are you suggesting we steal—”
“Borrow.” She gathered up her straggly brown hair and twisted it into a knot on top of her head. “We need to find a house that looks safe. Something with some property, maybe some sensory lights, and a camera system with security would be sweet.”
“I’m not familiar with such things.”
“I am. I just need you to do a little mind voodoo to get this ball rolling.”
“It’s not voodoo.”
“I don’t care.” Juniper glanced back at the woods. “Do you feel him? Is he close? It’s been a while since the earth shook. How does he do that?”
“If I use my senses to find him, he’ll be able to track us, so I have no way of knowing how far he is. And I don’t know how he’s able to shake the earth. We all have different disciplines. When in a temper, he’ll pounce, and the impact is startling. Sometimes, the earth splits open, as you saw. He’s also clever with fire.”
The Cerberus she knew several centuries ago was terrifying. This one was somehow worse. Just as Juniper pointed out, he was also older, which made him stronger. And, after what they’d done to him, he was undoubtedly angrier.
Juniper swept away a dark strand that escaped the knot on the top of her head. “Then you’re going to just have to trust my survival instincts. Which way is civilization?”
Adriel listened for vehicles and pointed east. “If we leave the shelter of the forest, we’re more likely to be seen.”
“We’re also more likely to blend in and disappear. It’s a big world out there, and the one thing I know about modern American culture is that no one gives a shit about anyone else, so it should be easy to hide.” Juniper started eastward. “Come on. Step one is shelter. Step two is getting us some normal freaking clothes. Step three is food—and not your kind.”
They walked for several miles before reaching the road. The noise and vibration of modern civilization interfered with Adriel’s senses and left her on edge.
When they first emerged from the woods, homes were cluttered like broken teeth in a crowded mouth, and the air smelled of chemicals and decay. Already, the pulse and tempo of modern living had Adriel on edge.
Few animals explored this far into the mortal population, doubling her concerns. While immortals were said to be natural predators, modern civilization had a way of making her feel like prey.