Love Your Entity (11 page)

Ronan had believed that his sister had done well. It was the only thing that kept him sane during the nearly hundred years of bloodshed at Voz’s bidding. He’d had no choice or voice in who was killed. The guilt of that would stay with him forever. There were moments when he’d wanted to die, when he’d wanted to end it all.

But that hadn’t happened. Instead he’d fought on. Been covered in blood from numerous vampire uprisings of various rival clans. So many that Ronan had lost count.

But each time it happened, Ronan was reminded of the blood of the battlefield at Cantigny in northern France. He had no idea why his human memories remained after he’d been turned. But they did.

Ronan wondered if he’d lost his humanity there and then, back in France with the injured screaming as their guts oozed out of them or their limbs lay beside them. Maybe he’d no longer had a soul when Voz had turned him. Maybe that’s why Voz had chosen him in the first place.

*   *   *

Sierra set the bag of groceries on the kitchen counter a second before Ruby appeared.

“I thought you were going to work on your plan of getting rid of Hal,” she said impatiently. “Why are you shopping?”

“Because there’s no food in the house.” She opened the refrigerator and put a dozen eggs in along with some Parmesan cheese and crusty bakery bread. She added fresh zucchini, broccoli, and a bag of russet potatoes to the fridge’s vegetable bin. The potatoes didn’t have to be refrigerated but she didn’t want them lying around in case Ruby decided to throw them like she had those plates.

Ghosts couldn’t get into refrigerators. Although sometimes they could make them, and other appliances, go on the fritz. Toasters seemed to be a popular target for some reason.

“What did you do about Hal?” Ruby demanded.

“I went upstairs before I went out.”

“And?”

“And I confronted him.”

Ruby looked doubtful. “Really?”

“Okay, he confronted me first, but only because he talked first.”

“He always does.”

“Good to know. I’ll remember that for next time.” Sierra folded the paper bags and set them beneath the sink.

“What happened when he confronted you? Did you turn around and run?” Ruby said.

“Of course not,” Sierra said. “He told me he wanted me gone and I told him I wanted
him
gone.”

“And then what happened?”

“Ronan showed up right out of the shower, wearing a towel and nothing else.”

“So you were distracted by a naked Ronan again?” Ruby looked incensed.

“I was not distracted, despite the fact that Hal practiced his usual tricks and yanked the towel off Ronan.”

“I’ve never heard of Hal doing something like that before.”

“There’s always a first time,” Sierra said as she gathered up the ingredients for a mushroom omelet. Cooking made her feel more in control, more everyday normal.

Ruby grew bored and disappeared when Sierra took her plate into the dining room. Her omelet might not be fluffy and perfect—in fact, it was rather brown on the bottom—but it tasted good.

She liked eating alone. It gave her time to think about her book and upcoming scenes. She kept a notepad nearby. She’d nearly spilled food on her iPad so she didn’t use that during meals. Instead she went old school—back to pen and paper.

Thinking about the transition from World War I to the roaring twenties reminded her that she’d seen a book on that subject in the massive floor-to-ceiling bookcase in the living room.

Leaving her empty plate on the table, she stood and walked over to the built-in bookcase. She reached for the book on the second shelf from the top. She heard a strange noise and a second later the entire bookcase came away from the wall and crashed toward her so fast that she couldn’t move.

Chapter Nine

Ronan was there, pulling her to safety. It happened so fast it was a blur. And not blurred because she was traumatized but because he had moved faster than any human could. And no human could have pushed away the heavy bookcase with such ease, not even the strongest man on the planet. It had to weigh a ton. Okay, not literally a ton but it had weighed a lot. Granted it wasn’t completely full of books but it was still a huge piece of furniture.

“What the hell just happened?” Sierra’s voice shook. Books encircled her on the floor but miraculously none had actually hit her.

“A bookcase almost crushed you,” Ronan said.

“I know that.”

“There’s no way that should have come loose from the wall like that. It’s almost like someone pushed or pulled it over,” he said.

“They did,” she said.

“Who? There’s no one here.”

“Hal is here,” she whispered.

“Who the hell is Hal?” Ronan demanded.

“The ghost upstairs. He used to be upstairs. Clearly now he’s gaining strength.” She waved her trembling hands. “I want to know about
you
.”

“I’m fine.”

“How did you move so fast and how did you push that bookcase away from me? It was too heavy for one person to move that way and you did it with ease.”

“What makes you think it was a ghost?”

“Because I see ghosts. I have all my life. But I’ve never seen what you just did.” She poked his arm as if to test his density. “Are you real?”

“I’m real. How long has Hal lived here?”

“Before he died or after?” she said.

“I need your help,” he said.

He didn’t seem the least bit fazed that she saw dead people. “Not until you tell me who you are.”

“I’m Ronan McCoy and I just saved your life. You could say you owe me.”

“Or I could say you’re not human. Would I be right?” Her mind was racing a mile a second. Was he some kind of ghost she’d never heard of before?

“You’re in shock,” he said.

A crash behind him had him turning superfast. He was poised as if ready to attack. But it was the gleam of his fangs that totally freaked her out.

She wasn’t alone. Ruby freaked too. “He’s a vampire!” Ruby shrieked.

Sierra didn’t bother shrieking. She focused her energy on getting the hell out of the house. She ran as fast as she could, praying the vampire wasn’t right on her heels, the few steps to Zoe’s house.

The moment Zoe opened the door, Sierra started talking. “Oh my God! Ronan is a vampire!”

Zoe gently put an arm around her shoulders. “You better come in.”

“A bookcase fell over and almost crushed me. I would have been killed if Ronan hadn’t rushed in and pushed it away from me. And by rush I mean go so fast I couldn’t even see him move.”

“Are you saying he pulled the bookcase down?”

“No, that was a poltergeist gangster ghost named Hal.” Sierra gulped back a sob. “I should probably tell you that I can see ghosts. I have most of my life.”

“So the house next door is haunted?” Zoe asked.

“Yes.”

“I knew it,” Zoe said.

“Do you see ghosts too?”

Zoe shook her head. “Not exactly.”

“Is…” Sierra’s voice shook. “Is Ronan some kind of—”

“He’s a vampire. So am I,” Damon said as he joined them in the foyer.

“You didn’t have to spring it on her like that,” Zoe reprimanded him. “Can’t you see she’s upset?”

“She’s not the only one,” Damon said. “Here’s yet another human trying to blow our cover.”

Sierra’s heart stopped and her ears started ringing. She couldn’t be hearing correctly. This couldn’t be real. “You’re … you’re all vampires?”

“Absolutely not,” Zoe said.

“Zoe isn’t a vampire,” Damon said. “She’s a witch.”

Zoe glared at him. “I’m not allowed to share that information with a human.”

“You didn’t. I did,” Damon said.

“You can’t compel her to forget. You already know that doesn’t work.” Zoe tapped her foot impatiently. “So what’s your plan, Damon?”

This was all too weird for Sierra. Backing up until she was against the door, she felt for the doorknob behind her. She needed to get out of there.

She needed to hop in a car and leave—wait, she didn’t have a car yet. What if Damon could move as fast as Ronan had? What if they both ganged up on her? She wouldn’t have a chance.

The door behind her was pushed open and Ronan stood on the threshold.

“You might as well come in,” Zoe told him.

“Sierra can see ghosts,” he said.

“We know,” Damon and Zoe said.

For a surreal moment, Sierra wondered what her heroine Nicki would do. She’d probably kick ghost butt, but vampires and witches had never been involved in Sierra’s plotlines. She’d considered it, given the popularity of vampires. But she wrote what she knew. Ghosts.

Besides, she wasn’t Nicki. Sierra was scared. She was shaking so hard her teeth were chattering.

A sudden thought hit her. Did her distant cousins who had inherited the house before her really leave the house or had these … these vampire people drained them of blood and killed them?

Was she going to suffer the same fate?

Not without a fight.

Right. How was she supposed to fight two vampires and a witch? Maybe she’d fallen asleep and this was all a bad dream. She pinched herself hard. Shit. That hurt. Which meant she wasn’t asleep.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” Zoe reassured her.

“Damn right you’re not.” She reached for the wide sterling silver bangle she wore and held it up. “Stay back!” Wait, did silver work on vampires or just werewolves? She wrote paranormal novels, she should know this stuff.

And what about witches? What worked on them? Hell if she knew.

“I realize this is a lot to take in, but you shouldn’t panic,” Ronan said.

“Sure. You’re right. The fact that you’re a vampire and my neighbor says she’s a witch is no big deal.”

Damon raised his hand.

“Right,” Sierra said. “You’re a vampire too. I’ll take your word for that.”

“I can show you—” Damon said.

“I don’t want to see,” Sierra said. She tried to think logically here. She’d seen stories on the Internet of people who’d had their teeth changed to become fangs. But were those retractable fangs? Because Ronan sure as hell hadn’t had fangs when she’d kissed him a few hours ago.

“Would you like to sit down and talk about this?” Zoe offered. “We could have some of Daniella’s cupcakes.”

“I need to leave.” After she spoke, Sierra realized it might not have been smart stating her intention to exit this craziness. “Do not try to stop me.”

Zoe put her hand on Ronan’s arm. “Let her go.”

Sierra wasted no time in getting out. Once in the cold February air, she tried to figure out a plan. She sure as hell wasn’t leaving without her laptop. Her book was on there. Yes, she’d backed up part of it to the cloud but that was several days ago.

She’d rush into her house and grab a few things and get out. She’d go to the cupcake shop and call a cab on her cell from there.

Ruby greeted her the moment she walked in.

“How could you not know he’s a vampire?” Sierra demanded. “You were here with him before I came.”

“I never saw his fangs until today. Besides, he couldn’t see me, so what difference does it make?” Ruby said.

“It makes a lot of difference to me.”

“Well, it doesn’t to me.”

Sierra’s anger flared. “And that’s all that matters, right?
You
.”

“No,” Ruby said. “You matter too.”

“Only because I’m useful to you.”

“Not yet, but I have hopes.”

“You are incredibly self-centered, do you know that?”

“Talk to me after you’ve been stabbed two dozen times and had to parade around in your underwear for decade after decade. I’ve been waiting forever.” Ruby paused as Sierra reached for a bag and quickly tossed a few fave books and a handful of clothes in it. “What are you doing?”

“Leaving.”

“But you can’t. You’ll lose the house.”

“I could lose my life if I stay,” Sierra said bluntly. She grabbed her laptop, purse, and the bag. Her furniture could stay. As for the box of her books, she’d ask her publisher to send more. She could just imagine the conversation with her editor, Lily Janeway.

“You know that box of books you sent me? I had to leave it behind for fear of being attacked by vampires and a witch plus a poltergeist ghost and Ruby the garter girl.” Yeah, right. Like that talk was ever going to take place.

She turned but only got as far as the foyer before Ronan appeared in front of her. He didn’t appear out of nothing the way ghosts did, although it was pretty damn close.

“You have to stay,” he said.

“No I don’t. I am totally out of here.”

“My sister’s soul depends on you.”

The anguish in his voice should not have gotten to her but it did. Still, she tried to hide that fact by using sarcasm. “Is she a vampire too?”

“No.”

“So you want to steal my soul and give it to her?”

“No, nothing like that. Where do you come up with this stuff?”

“I’m a writer,” she muttered.

“Which means you have a vivid imagination,” he said.

“Not so vivid that I ever imagined I’d inherit a house full of vampires,” she shot back.

“And ghosts. Don’t forget the ghosts.”

“The ghosts were no surprise. You are the surprise.”

“Just so you know, the house is not full of vampires. My family lived here before I was turned. The house is mine by Vampire law.”

“Yeah, well, it’s mine by every other law,” she said. “Like the state of Illinois law.”

“Vampire law trumps all others.”

“Says you.”

“Check it out with your lawyer.”

“Right. I’ll do that,” she said sarcastically. “I’m sure he’s up-to-date on all the intricacies of Vampire law.”

“If you leave then you will lose the house,” he said.

“And if I stay I will lose my life.”

“No you won’t. Where did you get such an idea?”

“From you. You’re a vampire.”

“I’m not going to kill you.”

“So you just want to turn me into a vampire?” she said.

“No.”

“Then what do you want?”

“I’m trying to tell you, but you won’t give me a chance.”

“I’m too scared to think straight,” she muttered, before pointing to the mirror in the foyer. “Wait, I can see your reflection.”