Bittersweet Blood (The Order #1)

“You did?”


“Aye, on and off we’d see you running wild on the moors. Or sitting on that big rock watching us all. Some of us wanted to do something about you—it didn’t seem right you spending all that time alone, not going to school, but we were told it was all in order, your aunt was teaching you.”

“Yes, she did.”

“It still didn’t seem right, but what could we do, and you seemed healthy and happy enough.”

“I was. Happy I mean, at least most of the time.”

“Good.”

Tara tried to make sense of what she had learned. What had happened to her mother? Could she have given birth and simply abandoned her daughter? What could make any woman do that? Perhaps she had hated Tara’s father, whoever he was, and staying with Tara would have reminded her of him every day. So she left, and maybe, even now, she was alive somewhere.

But Tara knew in her heart that her mother hadn’t abandoned her. At least, not voluntarily. She knew it with a certainty, and a deep well of grief rose within her. She swallowed back the tears. How could you grieve for a mother you’d never known?

Christian had told her that someone had gone to a lot of bother to hide her, keep her safe. Her mother must have cared for her enough to try to protect her, but from what?

She ran her hands through her hair, pressing her scalp to relieve the tension.

“Are you all right?” Christian watched her closely.

“I’m fine.” She shrugged. “I’ll go get another round in, shall I? Mr. Carter?”

He nodded and Tara jumped to her feet and headed to the bar. When she returned, she put the drinks onto the table and slipped into her seat.

“So, I reckon you would notice any newcomers around here?” Christian asked.

“Too right. We’re not exactly on the tourist track.”

Christian took a sip of his beer. “Have you noticed any other strangers recently?”

Ted Carter gave him a sharp look. “Not recently, no.”

Christian smiled. “How about a few months ago, around about the time Tara left.”

The other man nodded slowly. “Aye, we had a few strange types asking questions around about then.”

Tara frowned. “Questions about what?”

“I never spoke to them.” He looked thoughtful for a minute. “Do you mind if I invite someone over to join us?”

“Of course not,” Tara answered.

He crossed the room, returning a few minutes later with a middle-aged man and woman. “This is Bill Tyler and his wife, Jean.” He smiled. “Jean, you might be interested to know, is the teacher at the village school, and one of the main voices calling for something to be done about you.”

“You should have gone to school,” the woman said.

Both men rolled their eyes as if to say, here we go again.

“Right then,” Ted said. “Bill here was the one who spoke to the strangers.”

“What did they want?” Christian asked.

Bill glanced across at Tara. “It was strange. They turned up the day after you left, but they didn’t ask about you specifically, in fact, they didn’t seem to know much about what they wanted. Asked if we’d noticed anything strange in the area recently.” He grinned. “I said they were the strangest things we’d seen in a while. Weren’t too pleased about that.”

“What did you tell them?” Christian asked, and an undercurrent of darkness threaded through his voice.

Bill raised one eyebrow. “Nothing. We don’t speak to outsiders, but it was more than that. I didn’t like them. Straight off there was something not quite right, like they were looking down their noses at us. Anyway, that was the first lot.”

He sat back and took a swallow of his drink.

“There were more I presume?” Tara sensed Christian’s impatience. She was surprised the others couldn’t.

“Aye, a day later, but these seemed to know a whole lot more. Asked about anyone who had come to the area in the last twenty-two years.” He took another sip of his drink. “Then they asked about your mother.”

Tara sat up. “What?”

“Gave a spot-on description. They obviously knew her, but they didn’t mention your aunt. Or you, for that matter.” He turned back to Christian. “And before you ask, no we didn’t tell them anything either.”

Christian smiled.

“So,” Bill said, “do you know these people?”

Christian stared into the man’s eyes. Bill shook his head in some confusion. Christian turned to the others and held their gazes for a moment.

“Right,” Bill said, “Where were we? Oh yes, you asked about the weather, and no it’s not typical, very unusual to have this much snow, this early.”

Tara looked from him to Christian. The latter smiled at her, and she realized with a jolt that she had just seen vampire powers in action. He had wiped their brains of the conversation. Without any effort.

“Okay,” Bill said. “My round.”





Chapter Thirteen