"I don't think your necklace will scare him, Grammy.
"
"You'd be surprised. And if it doesn't, then he deserves what he gets." Her grandmother patted her on the shoulder and turned to Selena. "Have you been practicing those exercises I showed you, Ms.
Laurens?"
"Yes, ma'am. I can feel my powers growing every day."
"Good. Now I better get back to Starla's. If that rank bastard comes near my baby—"
"Grandma!" Sunshine gasped. She'd never in her life heard her grandmother use such a word.
"Well, he is. Messing with my granddaughter. I'll boil his warts in oil and feed his head to the wolves."
Vane choked on that one. "You know, wolves don't really like to eat heads. Meat, yes, but heads are really hard on the jaws. Not to mention, the cranium gets caught between your teeth."
Her grandmother gave him a withering stare. "Are you being smart with me, boy?"
"Yes."
"Young man," her grandmother said in a haughty tone, "didn't your mother teach you any manners?"
"My mother only taught me one thing and, I promise you, it wasn't manners."
Her grandmother nodded. "I can see that. But you still have a very important lesson to learn in life."
"And that is?"
"One day you're going to have to let someone other than your brother and sister get close to you."
His face turned to stone and the look in his eyes was feral and fierce. "What do you know about my siblings?"
"More than you would care for. You have a hard road ahead of you, Vane Kattalakis. I wish I could ease it for you, but it's yours alone to travel. Just remember, you're a lot stronger than you think you are."
"Believe me, lady, my strength is the one thing I never doubt."
Her grandmother smiled at that. "It's amazing the lies we tell other people, isn't it?"
Her grandmother turned her back on him. "Selena, Sunshine. You two take care. And Sunshine, when tonight comes, follow your heart. Do as it commands, and it won't fail you."
"Okay, Grandma, I will."
Her grandmother kissed her cheek, then headed off toward St. Anne.
After she was out of sight, Sunshine turned back to see Vane looking agitated. "I'm sorry. She does that a lot to people. She tends to just say whatever pops into her head."
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) Vane didn't speak. Instead, he folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the black iron fence that surrounded the square.
Sunshine finished setting up her stand, then checked her watch.
It was still a little while before Cameron was due, so she pulled out her sketchbook and started doodling.
Before she realized it, she'd drawn a picture of the man who had kidnapped her.
Vane looked at the sketch. "Damn good likeness.
"
Sunshine went cold. "You know this guy?
"
"Well, yeah. Of course I do. So does Talon. Selena probably knows him too.
"
"Selena," Sunshine said, heading to her friend. "Do you know who this is?
"
"Sure, it's Acheron.
"
"Who's Acheron?" she asked. Everyone kept mentioning his name around her, but she had no idea who or what he was.
"For lack of a better explanation," Vane said, "Talon's boss.
"
"Why would Talon's boss kidnap me? Do you think it's to keep me away from Talon?
"
Vane laughed at that. "Not his style. If Ash wanted to keep you away from Talon, he'd just show up at your door and scare the crap out of you. Besides, he was the one leading the rescue party to you.
"
Well, that was nice to know.
But why did he look just like the guy who'd kidnapped her?
Her frown deepened. "He was there when Talon got me away from Camulus?
"
"Yeah and I was too. Don't you remember?
"
She shook her head. All she could remember was Talon. "How well do you know Talon and Acheron?
"
she asked Vane.
He shrugged. "I just met Talon, but I've crossed paths with Acheron a time or two over the centuries.
"
"Are you immortal too?
"
He shook his head no. "My kind just lives a lot longer than humans.
"
"How long?
"
"About a thousand years, give or take a century or two.
"
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) Wow. That was quite a while.
Sunshine couldn't imagine what it would be like to have that long to plan her future. But something inside told her that it might be as big a curse as a blessing to live that long, especially if you had to live it alone.
Sunshine watched Vane as he scanned the crowd around them. Those hazel-green eyes seemed to take in everything.
"Why are you so open to talk about this while Talon refuses to tell me anything?
"
He shrugged. "I didn't swear an oath of secrecy, and I figure you've seen enough spooky shit the last few days that knowing about me is the least of your problems. Besides, I dare you to tell anyone I'm really a
wolf pretending to be human.