A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends #1)

choice. Either she tries
with you watching over her body, or she dies.” Clare nodded, taking my silence
as some sort of agreement. “I’ll arrange a meeting then.”
    “What is he?”
    “Better you don’t know. You might not be so
keen on a meeting.” She smiled, her white teeth shimmering in the darkness. She
was strikingly beautiful, and yet I felt nothing.
    “Thanks,” I said.
    Amber’s picture flashed before my eyes. Sweet
Amber slipping into her dreadful flannel PJs that covered every inch of her
soft skin. Clare rose to her feet and walked a few steps toward the house
before she turned, her low whisper carrying through the eerie silence of the
night. “There’s something you should know.”
    The illusion of Amber disappeared. Sighing,
I turned. “What?”
    “She doesn’t know you’re her mate. Seems
like you have competition. His name’s Cameron. It’s a beautiful name, isn’t it?”
    Cameron? I hated the guy’s guts already.

Chapter 8

 
    I knew I was still asleep when I opened my
eyes in my dream, staring at Aidan’s rigid shape up the hill. His gaze was fixed
on something in the distance, his dark hair swaying in the cool Scottish breeze
that turned my skin into goose bumps. He rubbed his fingers over his face and
turned to face me, eyes shining as vivid as the stars on the dark horizon.
    The damp air carried the faint mustiness of
fallen leaves. Deep melancholy was palpable in the air. A whisper escaped Aidan’s
lips. I stopped breathing in the hope of grasping the meaning of his words. His
voice grew louder, distorted, cutting through the silence like a knife, as he
frowned, trying to explain something I still couldn’t understand. His eyes,
dark and shiny in the dim moonlight, bore into mine. I felt something pierce my
heart. Knowledge and pain. Regret and hope. Love and something much, much
deeper. Like a cord, wrapped around me, him, us. Then a thought struck me:
Aidan’s going to kill me.
    My limbs turned to jelly as he smiled,
beautiful and terrible at the same time. My eyes followed the perfect shape of
his teeth to his fangs, and I slipped into oblivion.

 
    ***

 
    When I woke up, bright light seeped through
the drapes. I stirred and winced at my reeling head, nausea building up inside
my stomach. Something happened to me in the woods, and I had a feeling it wasn’t
going to disappear all by itself. I got out of bed and walked to the bathroom.
The ceiling light bathed the room in glaring brightness that hurt my eyes.
Turning on the cold-water tap, I dived my hands into the jet of water and
moistened my face. A trickle ran down my feverish temple, cooling my skin.
    I sat there until my racing heart calmed
down, contemplating the strange dream. Talk about my subconscious sending me a
clear signal. Aidan wasn’t danger per se, but the undeniable attraction to him
threatened my relationship with Cameron. I started recollecting Cameron’s good
traits. Good looks. Check. Amusing. Check. Honest. I wavered. Cameron was honest. He might not tell me things
straight away, like that his parents were visiting when I so badly wanted to
meet them after a year of dating. But better a commitment phobe than a guy who kept his ex’s clothes.
    With a grunt, I rose from the floor and
went about preparing myself a cup of tea in the kitchen, then returned to my
bed, sipping the hot liquid. I snuggled under the covers and fell asleep,
clutching Cameron’s picture to my chest.
    I slept fitfully through the Sunday afternoon,
voices echoing in my ears. Fragments of dialogues and pictures flashed through
my mind: Aidan saying he’d never trusted Rebecca, Cameron spread-eagled on his
back, his throat displaying a gaping wound, and then the woman from the pub
holding the gemstones in her hands, laughing as she pulverized them to dust.
    It’s
too late, dear. You’re as good as dead. Just like me.
    The woman’s voice still screeched in my
head when I finally woke up. Realizing I hadn’t eaten all day, I took a quick
shower and dressed in jeans and a tight top, paying attention to my make-up. It
wasn’t like I really made an effort, was it? I just didn’t want to look as
crappy as I felt. Aidan wouldn’t notice my efforts anyway. I headed down to the
kitchen to heat up a ready-meal.
    A strong wind rattled the windowpanes, the
unnerving sound carrying through the silence of the house. I ate my lasagna,
chewing each bite slowly, then washed up and dried the plate. The front door
opened