A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends #1)

sat
on the damp ground. Although the sun shone through the canopy of loose branches
above my head, the freezing north wind made me shiver. In broad daylight, the
woods looked divine. The dried leaves scattered across the ground gave the
impression of a shaggy rug. Morning dew glittered in the grass. I sat there for
a while, inhaling the clean scent of oncoming autumn and sorting through my thoughts
until a plan emerged. I loved Aidan, but a relationship was out of the
question. The Shadows had been right. I was a mortal and didn’t belong in Aidan’s
world. Even if he wanted to protect me, Aidan had trouble written all over him.
My parents mattered far more than a deadly romance. My death or disappearance
would break their heart. To spare them the pain, I’d give up the love of my
life.
    Harry was nowhere to be seen as I followed
the path back to the house. Would Aidan expect me to resume my job as a
housekeeper? Probably not since I’d handed in my notice. I still needed the
money, but my lack of funds was the last thing on my mind.
    I cuddled on the sofa in the living room
and waited. The grandfather clock on the wall ticked, its unnerving sound
cutting like a razorblade through the silence of the empty room. I napped
through the afternoon, waking several times only to fall asleep again, dreaming
mostly of Aidan.
    When darkness finally descended, I got up
from the sofa and switched on the lights, chasing away the ominous shadows cast
by the heavy furniture. In the kitchen, I found some old sandwiches. The cheese
tasted sweaty, but I ate it anyway, then turned on the cold-water tap and
poured myself a glass of water to rinse my mouth. After a quick shower, I
changed into my favorite jeans and a shirt. The jeans smelt earthy from the
woods. As usual I’d forgotten to wash my clothes, but at least the shirt was
clean. I combed my wet hair, leaving it to dry naturally, brushed my teeth, applied
make-up and examined myself in the bathroom mirror.
    The dark shadows under my eyes were
obvious. The red lipstick didn’t do my flaky skin any favors, but Aidan wouldn’t
notice any of these because I wouldn’t let him see me up-close. From now on, I’d
keep my distance. No more talking about love bonds and a future together. My
obsession with him had to stop because I had a job to do, which was retrieving
the book so I could get the hell out of here.
    I returned to the living room and sat down.
Aidan hadn’t told me where he usually slept, but I guessed it was somewhere in
the house; maybe even in his own room or in one of the many other chambers
upstairs. I thought of Harry and Greta, and for the first time it occurred to me
that Aidan felt safe here and that he might find this century rather pleasant
because people were less superstitious. Since nobody seemed to question his
routines and habits, it made pretending to be normal easier.
    Time passed slowly. Eventually, I heard the
first creek of approaching footsteps. I sat up, rigid, suddenly nervous like a
teen on my first date. What would Aidan look like? Would he find me pretty
tonight? It didn’t matter anyway because I had no interest in getting close to
him.
    The door opened and the dark shape of a guy
entered.
    I lifted my gaze. My smile froze on my
lips. “What’re you doing here?”

Chapter 21

 
    Aidan

 
    I smelled the visitor long before I woke up,
my heart beating too fast, the sweet scent of blood beckoning to me more than
any other because it was so similar to my mate’s. I got up with a groan and
reached the food supply in a few strides, downing the content of a bag in one
large gulp. Since Amber’s arrival, the bloodlust was growing stronger, and
biting her hadn’t helped ease it one bit. In fact, it had made it stronger
because I hadn’t drunk fresh blood in a long time. My true powers tingled
beneath my skin, ordering me to drink more of the good stuff so they would
ripen to reach their full potential. But to fully embrace my real vampire
nature I would risk turning into what Rebecca was. I had drunk blood from a
source before and then waited it out a few weeks until the addictive need for
it subsided. But this time it was different. This was the curse of having a
mortal mate; her blood would always seem sweeter, more tempting than that of
any other mortal.
    Unfortunately the same applied to her
family. Killing Amber’s brother was out of the question though. How could I
persuade the in-laws I was the right one for their daughter