Shadow Rider (Vampire Academy Fanfic)

Chapter 67 - Thanatia

It was a blazing hot day. With only a small fan keeping the worst of the humidity off me in my little cottage, I didn't sleep very good, tossing and turning until I finally abandoned sleep altogether. I headed out in the hopes that the restaurant area was opened. It was, so I padded inside, sighing deeply when the blast of several fans hit me in the face.

Sarah, who stood polishing the bar, gave me a narrow-eyed look. Her eyes darkened even more when she noticed what I was wearing.

Although I heavily disliked revealing clothing, today had felt like an emergency. Still, I felt I was work-appropriately dressed in cargo shorts ending just above the knee, and a tank top. But the way Sarah's eyes openly ogled me, I might as well have been dressed like a showgirl.

I felt my posture automatically stiffen, and had to force myself to relax.

Sarah was young and impertinent, typical teenage behaviours, and there was no reason for me to get worked up about it. I was too old for that crap.

So I snagged a newspaper from a table and slid into a booth, not bothering with ordering any breakfast this early. I already knew what Sarah's reaction would be.

My eyes fell down on the paper, thinking of whether it was worth it or not to order a glass of water at least, but then I jumped in my seat. Of course - I should have expected it. The front-page headlines stood out in glaring, bold text:

DISAPPEARANCES IN KENTUCKY EXPLAINED - TORTURED AND MURDERED IN SUBURBAN HOME

I scanned the pages, looking for any details revealing anything out of the ordinary. But no, the article explained how a crazy, drug-abusing woman along with two unidentifiable accomplices had kidnapped and killed several people. Only three had escaped, the article reported. Jeez, it was all like a movie. I shook my head wearily, last night's events replaying in my mind.

Even when the rest of the crew trickled in, announcing the beginning of our workday, those thoughts wouldn't escape me.

I couldn't believe I'd managed to get out of that situation unscathed, with both guys alive and breathing, with minimal exposure to the local humans. Thank god for the Alchemists. It was almost too good to be true. I spent the whole day panting and fidgeting, anxiety racking my mind to pieces. The Strigoi were killed but - a huge dilemma presented itself before me. I thought about the two Strigoi, zeroing in on Anne. I recalled those blonde locks and blue eyes, the sweet, heart-shaped face, marred by those alien Strigoi features. Anne had been a beautiful young woman before becoming undead, and those features...I swallowed. Those features were mirrored in another little person. In no one else but little Maddie.

There could be no question about it: Strigoi Anne had to be James' lost wife.

The discovery tore at my heart. Yes, I'd wanted to keep him out of the vampire world, but a small part of me wished he'd seen Anne for himself, because it would have taken away the options from me.

But as it were, I did have options. The choice to tell him or let him live on in ignorance. James was doing okay - he was a fighter, a survivor. But I knew deep down that he was still suffering, still beating himself up over not protecting his wife. In his world, she was just gone, or missing; not even confirmed dead. It offered him no real closure.

I thought and thought about it but reached no satisfactory answer. What was the right thing to do? What was the selfless thing to do? What was the healthiest thing to do? It all became a jumble in my mind.

Late last night, I'd seen to it that the Alchemists had safely deposited James at the hospital. And that's where he spent the day recovering his head injury while I took charge at the farm. I wasn't severely injured and James' sister-in-law had wanted to stay with him anyway. I figured I'd make myself useful. Brian's son was still with the Alchemists. He'd lost a lot of blood and, until his kidnapping could be explained away to the authorities, his physical state had to remain a secret.