Sanctuary

Chapter 1

Jaynah

The sun started its slow descent below the horizon and the lengthening shadows warned me of the approaching night. I sighed as a chilly breeze picked up and played with the fur that lined the hood of my coat. Soon I would have to return to the stables and put the horse in his stall before going on patrol. In a rare period of downtime, I'd snagged a few days of vacation and raced across the channel to visit my friend Debbie and her mate. But decades of constant work had left me unable to relax. After just a few hours at the stronghold, I was begging her to allow me to go out on patrols with them.

No, that's not the full truth. The peace and quiet wasn't what drove me back out into the field. It was why I had gone to visit Debbie. So why couldn't I relax and enjoy the chance to get away from the chaos of life in a big city? Simple. I couldn't get my mind to slow down. If anything, it sped up, demanding I deal with things I had been avoiding for months, if not years.

A big part of that tangled mess I had been putting off was my job. Maybe job isn't the right word. I'm not sure what is. Calling is about the closest, maybe. I'm a vampire hunter. Nothing is more important than keeping humans safe from the things that haunt their nightmares. It's what I was born to do. But after almost eight decades of being on the move, not being in one place for more than six months at a time gets tiring. My home base may be in Lyon, but it hasn't been my home since graduation. I'd toyed thought about transferring to another stronghold, but after eighty years, they all looked alike. The actual buildings and settings may be different, but they still felt like any other stronghold.

At least they did in Europe. I'd only been to America a few times, but each time, I didn't relax until I was on the plane back to France. I couldn't shake the feeling that if I transferred to one of the American strongholds, I would be even busier than I am now.

"Should have known you would be here. You had a phone call ten minutes ago."

I turned at the unexpected sound. My eyes flew past the woman who had approached me to the motorbike that was sitting a few feet away from me. How had I missed that? Sloppy, Durand. Being so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't hear the approach of a motorbike was a good way of getting myself killed. The annoyance I felt at my slip crept into my voice. "Who was it?"

Debbie's grin faded, replaced by a deep scowl. "Who do you think?" Her expression told me who had called before she did. Only one person I knew of could create such a rapid change in her mood. A sigh escaped my lips as I kept my eyes on the horizon. "So what did he want?"

Debbie spoke, turning my thoughts back to the present. "You're being ordered home."

Her expression told me that my orders were only part of what she needed to tell me. "There's more isn't there?"

She nodded, her agile face taking on an expression that was a curious mix of excitement and what looked to be disappointment. "Duncan and I are going back to Australia for a few months, so this is the last time we'll be able to do this for a while." She grinned at me and winked. "Luke's there with Kelly, so it should be more peaceful on the continent."

I took a moment to tuck a few hairs that the breeze was playing with, back under the hood of my coat then shrugged my shoulders, feigning a nonchalance I didn't feel. "Luke's not being here won't change much. I still have to deal with my asshole. brother."

"One good thing about Australia, no Blaise. I will enjoy the chance to go home for a while." Her grin told me how much she was looking forward to going. It had been about a year since her last visit. No matter how much she loved Scotland, I knew she missed her family and friends that still lived in her childhood home