Whisper to Me (Borne Vampires Book 1) (20 page)

For a vampire!

Berating himself for the millionth time, he lay
there wondering how he could have left her for Candy. Now, he’ll never have the
chance to get her back. She was one of them, a vampire. How the hell did Mariah
wind up involved with vampires anyways?

Closing his eyes again, he tried to sleep and
escape the guilt of betraying her again. An awful stench, close to rotting meat,
had him jerking his eyes open and he stared right into lifeless, bloodshot
eyes.

“Hey, Handsome.” Candy leaned closer to him. “No
sleeping. We’re supposed to be at the club, remember?”

Scrambling to sit up, he saw she had a white bandage
taped to the right side of her neck. “Baby, who hurt you?” He reached to
examine the wound, but Candy drew back and rose to her feet.

Smoothing her hand down the red, slinky gown she
wore, she shrugged. “Just a nick. It’ll heal in no time. You need to change. Don't
you want to meet my new boss?” Her skin was usually pale, but it was damn near
translucent tonight.

“Oh, sure, I can't wait to meet the owner of
The Inferno
.” Rubbing his face to hide the
fear he felt at being alone with his own wife, he said, “Give me a minute to
get ready.”

“Why didn’t you bring Mariah to the club?” He laid
his hands on her bare shoulders, alarmed at how cold and clammy her skin felt
to touch.

Crept out at the disturbing way she kept staring
at his neck, he explained, “Bitch wouldn’t come with me. Don’t worry. I was told
we will still get something for finding her.”

“You’re in love with her,” she stated in an
unemotional tone. A rare calm moment for Candy, and he went instantly on the defense,
prepared for the merciless tirade he knew would surely follow. Only this time she
didn’t explode.

Taking the rare opportunity, he kissed her and
said with a soft murmur, “Babe, you know I love you. Why else am I here?” He
went to the bedroom closet and pulled off his shirt and put on a clean one,
followed by a brown blazer. Heading into the bathroom, he noticed the necklaces
Candy kept beside the sink as he brushed his hair.

“Well, I’m ready. Are you?”

“We need to hurry or we’ll miss all the fun.”

When he looked at his wife, a sinking feeling hit
him. A nasty smirk curved Candy's red lips as they went out to the car. Opening
the car door for her, he closed it when she was in. They didn’t speak until he
parked in front of
The Inferno
.

“I thought there was a party here?”

“Oh, there is.” An ugly grin spread across her red
lips, making her look like a corpse. “Trust me, baby. Our life is about to
change, and I promise, you won’t be disappointed.”

Getting out, Jeremy went around the car and opened
her door for her. Helping her out, Candy took him by the hand, leading him
inside the club. Interior dim, except the dance floor was illuminated in a red
hue. Fog curled and coiled around his feet and ankles. At the far end of the
dance floor, sitting in a chair, was a tall man, elegantly dressed in a
pristine-white suit with a black shirt underneath, white tie. Beautiful in a
masculine way, his blue eyes glittered, reminding Jeremy of the icebergs he’d
seen on television. The man’s long hair flowed down his chest and shoulders, the
white-blond strands illuminated in the black lights. At first, he thought the
man was smiling pleasantly at him, but the closer he came, he saw how wrong he
was.

“Jeremy Waters, the foolish human who rejected my
beloved Mariah and broke her heart.” Sneering at him, the action exposed the
man’s discolored fangs. “Immortality would be wasted upon a fool such as you.”

God, another vampire!

“My lord,” Candy knelt before the vampire,
“please, Jeremy has been faithful to me. He will be for you. I promise.”

The vampire caressed her face with a claw-like
nail. “Does he mean so much to you, my dear?”

“Yes, my lord. I love him.”

Slowly, the vampire lifted his eyes to him. Jeremy
swallowed hard as he felt himself pulled into those icy depths. “Jeremy, I
extend to you the gift of my kind. Drink my blood and become one of my
children.” Slicing his wrist, the vampire offered it out to him. Blackish-green
blood dripped to the floor.

“Please, Jeremy,” Candy urged, rising to her feet.
“Drink and become one of us. Death will never touch us. We’ll never grow old. Join
us and become an Immortal!”

“Us?”

Ripping off the bandage, she exposed an oozing wound,
the rotten odor made him want to gag. “Ah, hell no!” Jeremy fumbled inside his
shirt front, withdrawing the silver cross he’d found in her jewelry. Candy
snarled at him, her mouth suddenly filled with razor sharp teeth.

Jarrod smiled. “Clever human. Any other surprises?”

Fog swirling around him rose into the shapes of
three men, solidifying into Rathe and the two dark-haired vampires he’d seen at
Mariah’s house! They were three feet behind him, flanking him with their swords
drawn.

Vampires with swords? What next?

Rathe tossed Jeremy a bottle with a black cross on
it. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what it was for. Vampire lore flooded
his mind as he hurriedly unscrewed the top.

“Surprised, Jarrod?” Rathe grinned dangerously.

Gripping the arms of his chair, Jarrod sat back in
his chair. “My old friend, I must admit when I heard of your death, a small
part of me wept.” He shrugged as he laughed and held his hands out. “Of course,
the feeling went away.”

Rathe shrugged. “I’ll shed no tears after I kill
you. Not after what you’ve done to me and my family.”

“What I’ve done to
your
family? Whose family is alive and whose
isn’t, Rathe Romulas, the legendary Demon Slayer? If I may, the only family I
have left is Mariah and her daughter. The rest died at your hands!”

“Jarrod, you’re family brought their deaths about
when they murdered and turned innocent humans.” Rathe cautiously approached
Jarrod. “You are hereby judged for the crimes you’ve committed against humans
and the Borne. Death is your sentence.”

 
“Oh, Rathe,
we are past such threats, are we not? Nothing you do to me can compare to your
betrayal. Nothing!” Visibly struggling to rein in his anger, Jarrod smoothed
his hair with his hand. “Well, with the exception of my brother’s murder.”

Rathe made to rush Jarrod, but the vampire held his
hand out and wiggled a long finger at him. “No, no! Not if you want your
precious family tainted with Damned blood.” Jarrod clapped his hands together.
Ten vampires, dressed in black and armed with machine guns, leapt onto the dance
floor, surrounding them. More appeared, not as sophisticated or organized as
the ones in black, but were holding handguns aimed at Rathe and the two men.

“What do you mean ‘family’?” Rathe demanded warily.

Jarrod snapped his fingers. Three vampires came
out, holding Kai and two other girls.

“Which one shall I taste first?” Jarrod smugly
inquired. “Or perhaps, I should turn my bride and make her my queen?” A big
brute dragged Mariah out. Flames rippled in her amethyst-colored eyes as she
fought him.

“I will cut you slowly, if you harm my family!”

“You are not in a position to make threats, my
friend.” Jarrod said to Candy, “Search for the two women who escaped you
earlier. I want them brought here.”

His wife signaled to the ones holding machine guns
and walked past him, not looking at him. Clutching the bottle of Holy water to
his chest, he stood there, unsure the best course to stay alive. Fight or run
like hell?

A loud shriek made him jump. His wife slide across
the dance floor and hit the wall, buckling the drywall. Green blood trickled
from the cut above her left eye. Partially rising out of his chair, Jarrod
slowly sat down when a woman with white hair, glowing in the black light,
appeared beside Rathe. Her ageless, beautiful features hard, her slender shoulders
were thrown back proudly.

“Did you kill my men?” Jarrod asked casually, but
the narrowing of his eyes gave way his anger.

“Your men have abandoned you, Jarrod.”

“Candy, is this true?”

Using the wall to support her, Candy nodded. “Yes,
my lord. They left me after that bitch struck me!”

“What?” Jarrod’s beautiful features blurred to a
face that was hideous and shrunken like a corpse’s. Struggling, the vampire
twisted his head and his face returned to what Jeremy realized was only a mask
concealing the monster underneath. “Tereza, to what do I owe the honor of your
presence?”

“I demand justice for the death of my husband,
whom you are guilty of murdering.” Her lilting voice was pure music, compelling
in deadly tones.

Jarrod forced out between clenched teeth, “Demetri
did not die by my hand, I swear it.”

“You lie!” she shouted at him, drawing her sword.

He shot out of his chair. “I loved him as a son to
a father. As I loved you. You were more a mother to me than the bitch who gave
birth to me and Aidan. I’d not raise hand against you or Demetri.”

Tereza and Rathe exchanged a quick look. “Who
then? Who brought my husband low and forced him to meet the sun?”

“Look to your own,” Jarrod said with hatred and disgust.
“Long have you and those who still hold honor been deceived. Those whom you
hold in high regard have played you for fools.”

Rathe lowered his sword. “Are you saying the
Elders had a hand in my father’s death?”

“Their hands are soaked in Borne blood. I took in
those your precious Elders would have slain. I welcomed the lost and condemned.
You,” Jarrod thrust his finger at Rathe, “are as guilty as your father! You
judged an innocent and forced me to choose life as the Damned. Do you not like
what you created,
dear
friend?”

Behind Jarrod, he saw a tall woman appear,
gorgeous beyond words. Wielding a sword, she chopped off the heads of the
vampires holding the girls. Simon, Faeroes, and Rathe moved so fast, Jeremy
only saw the heads of Jarrod’s men fly around him as they killed them. Jarrod
withdrew a gun out of his suit and shot wildly as he made to retreat back to
the huge man holding Mariah.

Searching for Candy, he saw her rush into the
fight, a long knife in her hand. When he saw who her goal was, he tossed Holy
water in her face. Candy screamed as her skin bubbled and smoke rose as if
she’d been doused in acid. Shocked at what he’d done, he made to help her, but
she backhanded him, sending him crashing into the wall. Ears ringing and dazed,
he watched Candy jump on Tereza, biting her neck as she thrust her knife in the
woman’s chest repeatedly.

“No!” Mariah screamed.

Jeremy looked to Rathe and realized the man hadn’t
seen what had happened because he was rushing Jarrod, who now had a sword, too.
Suddenly Jarrod shot upward, breaking through the ceiling. Rathe gave chase. Struggling
to get his feet under him, Jeremy tried to make his way to Mariah and free her.
The guy holding her screamed as his head was ripped clear off by the tall
blonde he’d seen at her house. Freed, Mariah ran and bodily slammed Candy off
Tereza.

They wrestled, rolling across the dance floor.
Mariah fought back, dodging Candy's snapping teeth as she tried to bite her. Gathering
her feet under Candy's stomach, she kicked her off her. The knife flew out of
her grip, flying harmlessly out of the way. Snarling, Candy and Mariah circled each
other. Suddenly, Candy gasped, her eyes bulged, surprise and horror shown in
those terrible depths. She clutched her chest as the sharp point of a sword
exited her. Greenish-black blood erupted out of her gaping mouth. Collapsing to
her knees, Candy stared in disbelief as the awful-colored blood coated her
hands and chest. Behind her stood the dark-haired girl, who’d been held captive
with Kai. Candy screamed when the blade was yanked out of her. Tears streamed
down the girl's pale face.

Drawing back the sword, the girl said in an oddly
calm voice, “You are hereby judged. May God
never
forgive you!” She drew back the sword, lights from above glinted along
the blade's length before she swung, cutting off Candy’s head, sending it
tumbling toward him.

Handing the sword to a stunned Mariah, the girl
said to her, “You have to go to after Rathe and help him stop Jarrod, once and
for all.”

“I will, Mina, I promise.”

Jeremy watched Mariah jump up through the gaping
hole in the ceiling. He cautiously went to Kai, who pressed bar towels on
Tereza’s wounds, trying to stop the bleeding.

She glared at him and shouted, “Get away from us! Because
of you and that bitch you married, Tereza is dying.”

Faeroes grabbed him by the throat and threw him
away from them. “Stay back, human, or you’ll die like your wife.”

Biting his lip from crying out in pain, Jeremy
climbed to his feet, knowing tonight was his entire fault. If only he had stood
up to Candy, if only…. He ran out of the club, ashamed of his actions, his
weakness.

Pausing outside the club's doors, he felt a cold,
unnatural chill sweep over him. Whipping around, he came face to face with a
woman whose height matched his. A golden cloud of curling golden hair framed
the face of an angel. Her blue eyes held him a willing captive in their
hypnotic depths. Trailing her slender hand down his cheek, around his neck, she
snapped his head to the side, exposing his throat. Red lips parted in a
sadistic grin, exposing rows of yellowed teeth.

“Dinner is served!” Tearing into his flesh, she
ripped his throat out.

He never had a chance to scream.

Chapter Fourteen

Lightening arced, radiating in the pulsating
darkness. The wind howled with a vampire's fury. Should she call back the storm
or let it rage, giving Rathe another weapon he could use?

Peering out of the jagged hole in the roof, Mariah
saw Rathe and Jarrod fight, swords clashed, blue sparks flew as steel met
steel. Heavier and taller, Rathe should have had the advantage, but Jarrod
proved quicker, lighter on his feet.

Jarrod yelled, “Rathe, you have no hope to defeat
me. Help me destroy the Elders! We can rule over the Borne and the humans
alike. We can be gods!”

“Gods? I need no one to worship me, Jarrod. I’ve
no vanity need nursing.”

“What do you want? Mariah?” He speared her with a
loathing glare as she leapt onto the roof. “Since you’re the one who tainted
her, I’ll give her back to you — once I’ve converted her, of course.” Jarrod
bared his sharp teeth in a gruesome smile.

“Mariah will never be one of the Damned!” Rathe
roared, “We end this now!” He struck harder, faster. Unfortunately, each blow
deflected, Jarrod unharmed.

“Why, when I've had so much fun playing with you
and your delicious family? What's wrong, Rathe? Are you not proud of what you
created? Am I not exactly what you condemned me to become? Yes, Rathe, this
is
your fault! If you had just looked at me,
really looked at me that night you would have seen I hadn't turned. The
villagers had to pay for what they did to my brother! Revenge for Aidan!”

In the flash of lightening, she saw the old Jarrod
and just as the flash faded, so did his sanity. “Well, you wanted me Damned,
here I am, baby!” Jarrod leapt, striking down at Rathe, who barely raised his
blade in time to deflect it.

Behind Jarrod, she thought she saw fog rising.
Acrid-smelling, she flinched, realizing it wasn’t fog, but smoke, and it was
rising on all sides of
The Inferno
!

“Rathe, someone set fire to the club!” She pointed
at the flames dancing along the edges of the rooftop.

He checked out the fire and that’s when she saw
Jarrod rip his wrist open with his jagged teeth. He drew back his hand to
attack Rathe.

“No!”
She grabbed Rathe
and yanked him to safety just as Jarrod threw his blood at him, fortunately
flying harmlessly past his shoulder.

Snarling at her, Jarrod yelled, “You, bitch, I’ll
cut your heart and feed it to my ghouls!”

Braced for an attack, she shouted back, “Jarrod, what
would Aidan think of your plans? Your war set upon a man who held you as close
as a brother? To me and Kai, your only blood family left?”

Jarrod quieted, tears of green blood coursed down
his gaunt face. “I miss him so much. I want my soul back. I want this thing out
of me … the demon gone.”

“I know you do, but I can’t bring your soul back.
I don’t have the power.”

“Then you are worthless to me!” Rushing her, his
sword rose to strike her, thankfully Rathe was faster and blocked him.

An explosion beneath her feet sent her rocking for
balance.
“Rathe, the fire’s below us! We’ve
got to end this.”

“I want him to
face the Elders!”
Rathe’s
chest heaved as he held his sword ready, protecting her.

“What?”

Rathe grabbed her sword. Running at Jarrod, he
drove the tips through his feet, pinning him to the roof. Howling in pain, Jarrod
tried to free himself, the silver in the blades burning into his flesh. He
grabbed the hilts and screamed. Letting go, his palms blistered from the silver
inlaid in the hilts. Jarrod's glamor slipped and the demon he had become
emerged as he howled his fury.

“Now what,” she shouted to Rathe

“I—” His response was lost when the roof caved in.

They fell, tumbling down into the flames. Hitting
the dance floor on her side, the wind knocked out of her. Gasping for air,
drawing smoke into her lungs, she started coughing. Jarrod stood a few feet
away, screaming, trying to pat out the fire caught hold his clothes. The ends
of his hair crackled and burned. Rathe swept her into his arms.

Simon held the door open for them. “Rathe, run!”

As he bolted for the exit, she looked over Rathe’s
shoulder. She watched in horror as Jarrod’s skin caught fire, melting like wax
under the flames.
Jarrod’s pain struck
her like a physical blow as he opened his mind to her, sharing with her his
destruction. She felt the fire burn his flesh, destroying the shell of evil
he’d become.

“For every soul
you took, for every life you stole, you are hereby judged,”
she
whispered to him.

“Mariah!” Jarrod cried out as the flames engulfed
him.

Outside the club, Rathe stumbled and fell to his
knees, holding her tight to him as she clung to him. Sounds of sirens wailing warned
them the police and fire trucks weren’t far away. Rathe was on his feet,
setting her on her own. Faeroes held Tereza in his arms. Blood soaked her clothes
and his. Her face was white, her skull bones prominent, cheeks sunken in, as
she bled out from her wounds.

Rathe ordered, “Back to Mariah’s!”

She grabbed Kai, Simon took Lydia, Anya and Mina
jetted into the sky, flying as fast as they could back to her house. Landing
ungracefully, they hurried to Faeroes, who gently laid Tereza on the ground. Rathe
was beside them, checking the wounds on her neck and shoulders.

“We need to get her to ground!” Furious when no one
would obey, Rathe demanded, “What the hell is wrong with you? Do as I command!”

Faeroes dropped his head, his bloodied hands
braced on his knees. “It won’t save her.”

Mariah saw the festering bite marks, knew it was
only minutes before Tereza would turn and lose her soul.

“Bullshit, we have to try.” Rathe made to lift
Tereza in his arms when his mother gave a small shake of her head, stopping him.

She lifted her hand to caress his cheek, her voice
barely audible, “I feel the poison contaminating my blood. You must not let me
turn.”

“Mother, do not ask me this.”

“My son, I must tell you … the truth. Demetri
did
meet the sun. He left us.” She gasped,
crying.

“Mother, I don’t understand?”

“Demetri learned the young were … being judged
falsely. Signs false! When bloodlust hit is not a sign turning. Our … our nature
… the darkness in … our souls, it is part of us.”

“God be merciful.” Faeroes leaned closer to her. “How
many were judged before Father disbanded the Slayers?”

“Too many … for your father’s soul … to bear.”

Rathe and Faeroes exchanged shocked expressions,
lost and sickened at the youth murdered because of a misunderstanding of the
laws.

Tereza smiled wistfully at Mina, who angrily wiped
her tears away. To Mariah’s surprise, Tereza waved her closer. “Mariah, promise
me you will raise Aramina as ... your own? Help her find love like ... we did.”
Her pain-filled eyes pleaded with her.

Kneeling beside Tereza, she took her hand in both
of hers, scared at how hot they felt, not cold like it should be. “I-I
promise.”

“Thank you.” Tereza whispered to Rathe, “Son, you
must ensure I do not rise. You must, my son. Must not," with a little sighed,
she went still.

He cradled his mother to him, his grief so great
and painful it physically shook him. Mariah reached out to comfort him,
startled when he shook her off. Mina and Kai hugged her, taking the sting out
of his rejection.
 

 
“Anya,” he
asked, “I need Holy water and lighter fluid.”

Mina sniffed, wiping her cheeks with her sleeve. “Rathe,
we must … we have to make it so Mother does not rise.”

“I’ll not desecrate her body!” He gently placed
Tereza on the ground and went to his SUV when Anya did not move.

She saw the grimness in Mina’s expression as she
stared at her mother’s lifeless body. Kai jumped to her feet and yanked Mariah
backward when Tereza took a deep breath and her eyes flew open, glowing red. Before
Faeroes or Simon could react, Mina took Rathe’s sword he’d laid on the ground
and cut off her mother’s head. Stunned, she watched as Kai slowly reach out and
took the sword out of Mina’s hand, handing it to her. Together, the girls left,
holding onto each other.

Rathe stood there, disbelief on his face. Tears streaming
down her cheeks, Anya sank to her knees beside Faeroes, holding him as he held
her. Numb, Mariah walked past Rathe and retrieved the blanket out the SUV and
brought it back to cover Tereza’s body with it. With the wave of her hand, she
‘willed’ the earth to open a grave. Faeroes and Simon helped her place Tereza
in the ground. Trying not to flinch, she picked up Tereza’s head and placed it
under the blanket. Rathe liberally squirted the can of lighter fluid over the
blanket covering his mother.

Setting the can on the ground, he flicked the
lighter and the flame held steady. “Mother, I—” Rathe bowed his head. “Rest in
peace. May Father find you in the next life.” He tossed the lighter into the
grave.

Mariah felt Mina and Kai beside her. Taking their
hands, she looked down and saw the hatred contorting Mina’s angelic features. “Rathe,
I want to take the girls to the cabin I was shown.”

“No. We stay here.”

“No, we aren’t.” She sensed Faeroes and Anya’s
surprise as she met his savage glare. Refusing to cower or back down, she faced
his anger. “I’m taking the girls to the mountains, like I was told to.”

“Are you saying Mother’s death is my fault?”

“No, that is not what I’m saying.”

“Then what is your meaning?”

“Mina has endured enough tonight. She and Kai need
a place to process what’s happened. He said it was a safe house. They need it.”

Eyes narrowing at her, he shot back accusingly,
“You want to know if he’s there, waiting for you!”

“Yes, I need to find him. I need to know who he is,
and why he didn’t fight with us against Jarrod. Most importantly,
I’m
thinking of the girls.”

Faeroes agreed as he and Anya rose to their feet.
“We should go to the cabin. Mariah needs to find out who the vampire who speaks
to her is. Only family and blood-bonded can speak with each other. It concerns
me that he would warn her, but not help us in the fight.”

Kai spoke up behind them, “But he did help us.”

Surprised, Mariah asked her, “He did?”

“He called off his men, the ones with the machine guns.”

“How do you know?”

“It had to be him. Why else would the vampires
abandon Jarrod?”

“Do you think he is still close by?” Rathe asked
Kai.

“I think so. He’s hard to read. Only when he wants
to make contact, can I talk to him.”

Faeroes held Anya’s hand in his. “We’ve nine hours
before dawn. Plenty of time to scout the area, check if it’s a trap.”

Appearing defeated, Rathe gave in. “Fine. Mina,
you fly with me.”

Mina came out of her trance. “I can fly with Kai.”

“Are you sure?”

Determination stiffened Mina’s resolve. “I am.”

“Everyone gather only what you need for tonight.” Rathe
went to the SUV and pulled out his black duffle bag.

Faeroes and Anya went to their car and pulled out
a duffle bag similar to Rathe’s. Anya handed her a gun and several clips of
ammo. Since Kai and Lydia’s suitcases were in the sports car, there really
wasn’t anything for them to bring with them.

“We ready?” They nodded. Flying into the air, she sped
toward the mountains where the vampire showed her was the cabin.

Half an hour later, she found the log cabin
nestled in a small clearing, overlooking the valley below the mountain it was
built on. No roads led into the cabin. There weren’t any signs of humans or
vamps around. Landing, she released her daughter, who went to Mina. Having the
odd feeling she had been here before, she kept it to herself when Rathe and his
brothers left to scout the area.

“Mariah,” Anya motioned with her head at the cabin,
“let’s check it out.”

Cautious, guns in hand, they went inside. Flipping
the light switch, Mariah was relieved the lights came on. Surprised to find firewood
had been placed in the fireplace, more stacked in the wood box set on the other
side of the mantle. Searching the kitchen, she checked the enclosed back porch
and found a generator filled with gasoline in it and cans beside it to run it.
Returning to the kitchen, she opened the fridge. It was well-stocked. The
cabinets were, too.

“He prepared the cabin for us.” Walking back into
the living room, she stumbled when flashes of her as a child blinded her.

 
“Mom?” Kai
came around and put her arm around her waist, steadying her.

Rathe, his brothers, Mina, and Lydia entered the
house when Anya came down the stairs. “All clear.”

“Good.” He gave her a quizzical look. “Mariah,
what’s wrong?”

“Rathe, I’ve been here before.”

“You have?”

“Yes,” she said slowly as she and Kai walked
toward the fireplace. “When I was little girl. He sat in that chair, watching
me as I played before the fireplace. He was kind and gentle, but there was
always sadness in his eyes.”

“The spell must have bound your memories of him,
as well as your nature.”

Taking the medallion out under her shirt, she
smiled. “This was his. He kept it in a small box. Sometimes, when I was scared,
he would let me wear it.”

Rubbing his face, Faeroes placed his arm around
his wife’s shoulders. “I think we’re going to ground early.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Mina, do you
want to sleep with Faeroes and Anya, or me and Mariah?”

“I’ll make my own grave.”

Simon offered, “You can share with me, if you’d
like.”

“No,” she said firmly. “I’m not a baby. I can
sleep on my own.”

Rathe made to argue, Mariah stopped him as Mina
stormed out the door. “Rathe, I’m going to make dinner for Lydia and Kai. Can
you build a fire to warm the house?”