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Yeah, definitely to be avoided.
Levet’s small hand reached up to tug on her sweatshirt. “Anna, we must hurry. ”
With a weary smile, she grabbed his cold fingers in her hand and tugged him through a gap in the sagging fence. From there it was a battle with the horseweed and blackberry brambles that had taken over the yard.
At last they managed to reach the door of the barn that was thankfully intact, and pulling it open she led the weary gargoyle across the dusty floor into the shadows of the far corner.
The barn was nearly empty. There were a few rusting farm implements scattered about the floor, and a pile of old newspapers that were being slowly nibbled to bits by mice. Whoever had once called this remote farm home had long ago left for greener pastures.
“Here,” she murmured, pushing aside a forgotten bale of hay to tuck him into a narrow stall.
The gargoyle would at least be hidden from casual sight, although if someone actually searched the barn he would be easily spotted.
Where were all those freaking vampire tunnels when you needed them?
On the point of finding her own hiding place, Anna was halted when Levet grasped the sleeve of her sweatshirt.
“Anna. ”
“Yes?”
“Once the sun rises I will not be able to help you. If something comes you must run. ” Loosening his grip he reached for a stray nail that had been left in the stall and scratched through the dirt. “This is Darcy’s number. Call her as soon as you can find a phone. ”
Her brows snapped together. “I won’t leave you, Levet. ”
“You must. Nothing can hurt me while I am in statue form. ”
Anna blinked. That seemed like a handy little trick to have up his sleeve.
Especially if Morgana decided for an encore performance.
“Nothing at all?”
Without answering, Levet glanced toward the narrow window that was blooming with a pale pink wash of dawn.
“Anna, I am sorry. ”
She stumbled backward as the tiny body began to glow and then hardened into unrelenting stone before her very eyes.
“Damn. ”
Maybe she should be used to the strange and the wacky. God knew that there had been enough of it over the past few days. Hell, there’d been enough of it over the past two centuries.
But the sight of the gargoyle altering from a living being to a chunk of granite was above and beyond what she was prepared to watch.
Bolting out of the stall, she paused to shove the hay bale across the opening before moving across the barn and climbing the narrow stairs to the hayloft.
The beams were low enough that it was easier to crawl on her hands and knees than to risk whacking her head, and thankfully the loft was empty of everything but a few stray wisps of straw. Taking care to test the warped boards before putting her full weight on them, she inched her way to the back of the loft and pushed open the small door that offered a view of the surrounding countryside.
From here she should be able to keep watch for anyone approaching. Friend or foe.
What the crap she intended to do if something attacked the barn was an entirely different matter.
Chapter 15
Anna knew at once she was in one of those dreams that wasn’t really a dream.
For one thing, she didn’t remember ever falling asleep. One minute she had been keeping a vigilant watch out for the bad guys and the next she was tumbling through a black void that seemed to devour her.
Besides, her sense of awareness was too clear, her surroundings too crisp and vivid for the regular run-of-the-mill nightmare.
Glancing down to make sure that the bizarro world included clothes, she was relieved to discover she was covered in a long green gown with an embroidered tunic that fell nearly to her knees. She looked like she had just stepped out of a medieval painting, but she was too happy not to be stark naked to care.
Of course, the ridiculous dress seemed to fit the strange place.
With a shiver she took in the crumbling ruins of the ancient castle that surrounded her. It was nothing more than a shell of worn, gray stones that were covered in mold, along with empty windows that revealed that the castle was perched on the edge of a cliff with some unknown sea crashing against the rocky shore.
With her heart beating with the same force as the distant waves, Anna slowly turned about, searching through the odd, silvery mist for the familiar form of Morgana.
For long moments there was nothing to see. She might have been completely alone in the isolated, peaceful ruin. Even better there wasn’t the faintest whiff of pomegranates to mar the salt-scented breeze.
Then, as her eyes widened in fear, a large, silver and black wolf appeared in an arched doorway, regarding her with an unnervingly intelligent green gaze.
“Oh…” She took a hasty step backward, her hand pressed to her heart. The wolf halted, as if realizing it had startled her—which might have been a lot more comforting if a strange glow hadn’t started to shimmer around the large animal—and in a blink of an eye it took on a misty, ethereal shape of a man. “Crap. ”
“Do not fear, I mean you no harm,” a deep voice rumbled from within the mist.
Anna shook her head. Despite the vague impression of a large, very male figure in heavy armor, it was impossible to make out any actual features. Almost as if the mist battled against holding a steady shape.
That, of course, didn’t mean the…thing wasn’t dangerous. With her current streak of luck, she could almost count on it.
“I seem to be hearing that a lot lately,” she muttered. “Usually right before someone tries to hurt me. ”
The mist stirred and Anna had the impression that the stranger had lifted his hands to remove his helmet. It was nothing more than a feeling. Just like the feeling that the man possessed craggy, worn features and a long mane of silver-peppered black hair.
“I sensed Morgana leaving Avalon and moving through the world,” he said, ignoring her comment. “That is what has brought me here. ”
She took another step backward. “You know Morgana?”
His short, bitter laugh echoed through the empty room. “Intimately. ”
“Then that whole claim of not meaning to hurt me was just a big lie?” she rasped.
“No, Anna Randal. ” His hand lifted in what she assumed was a gesture of peace. “I am here to offer you what little protection that I can. ”
“Why?” she demanded suspiciously. “Why would you want to protect me?”
“You are blood of my blood. ”
Blood of my blood?
A strange surge of excitement raced through her, only to be swiftly squashed. Jeez. How pathetic was it to be excited by the thought that she might have found a long lost part of her family?
He was a blob of mist, for Christ’s sake.
“You mean that we’re related?” she demanded, her tone deliberately indifferent.
“We are more than mere relatives. ” The mist stirred, as if in reaction to some strong emotion. “You are the culmination of centuries of hope and sacrifice. You are my ultimate weapon of justice. ”
“Weapon of justice?” She shivered as a sudden chill lodged in the pit of her stomach at the ominous words. “I don’t think I like the sound of that. ”
“Morgana must pay for her sins. ”
“Sins against you?”
“I am but one of her victims, just as you are. ” The mist neared, bringing with it the smell of warm, rich sage. “There have been an endless number of victims over the years. And should she ever be truly liberated from her citadel in Avalon…”
She frowned as his words trailed away. “What?”
The man hissed, shaking his head. Or at least she thought that he shook his head.
“The world will be bathed in her perversions,” he said, his voice vibrating with a fierce command. “You cannot allow
such a fate. ”
“Me? What am I supposed to do?”
“You possess the power to destroy Morgana. ”
“Oh, no. ” She gave a wild shake of her head. The ghost, or shade, or whatever the hell he was, was clearly off his nut. If Anna ever fell into Morgana’s hands she didn’t doubt the woman would bitch-slap her from one end of Chicago to the other. “I don’t. I really, really don’t. ”
“You have proven otherwise by simply being alive. Morgana has gone to great lengths to be rid of you. ”
Her laugh held a world of bitterness. “Good God, all I’ve done is cause one disaster after another. It’s a wonder that I haven’t managed to kill myself and everyone around me. And for your information, the only reason I’m still alive is because of Cezar, not because of any power I might possess. ”
The mist seemed to still. “The vampire. ”
Anna blinked in shock. “You know him?”
“I see much, even here. ”
“Ah. ”
Anna wasn’t sure if she should be pleased or creeped out. It was nice to think someone might be watching over her. On the other hand, the last thing she wanted was a mystical peeping tom. She cleared her throat.
“You underestimate yourself, Anna Randal. ” His voice softened. “You are bred to be a champion. Your destiny is greater than even I could have imagined for you. ”