Susan Illene - 01 Darkness Haunts by Susan Illene

Author:Susan Illene [Illene, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

I received twenty-two stitches while Emily received over sixty. They separated us while we were getting treated, but I went to her room as soon as they let me go. It had been a close call and the doctor wanted to keep her overnight for observation. At least she looked better now that the blood had been cleaned off.

Derrick sat with her the whole time after convincing the hospital staff he was a relative as well. Once we were alone, he’d asked me how I had met Emily. I’d had to simplify the story about us running into each other while I’d been out searching for Aniya. It was kind of true if you took out the sensor elements. He hadn’t questioned it—to my relief.

Stitches covered the left side of her face and the doctor ordered her not to talk. I still wanted to know what she had been doing in the woods, but that would have to wait. With dusk growing near, her mother would be coming soon. Derrick had called her, arguing she had a right to know. It made me wonder what kind of mother, even a vampire, could take so little care of her daughter. If she had done the right thing, the girl wouldn’t be in the hospital now.

Derrick smoothed Emily’s hair while whispering reassuring words to her. She had been sedated and slept peacefully for the moment. He, on the other hand, had a forlorn look on his face.

“Derrick, are you okay?”

He turned his gaze toward the wall and cleared his throat. I almost didn’t think he would answer.

“I had a daughter once about Emily’s age. Her name was Judith.”

His voice came out low, but the words were filled with a soul-searing pain. A tear slipped from his eye, and he brushed it away with a swipe of his hand.

“What happened to her?” I asked.

“She was murdered, along with my wife and two sons.”

I sucked in my breath. That had not been the answer I’d been expecting.

Derrick’s face filled with rage as he spoke his next words. “I’ll get my revenge one day. They’ve dodged me so far, but if it takes another century to find them...”

Determination like that, I could understand. “I hope you do.”

He nodded and turned back to Emily. “Seeing her injured today, it reminded me of that time. We survived the Civil War, only to be slaughtered in our home a few years later. My daughter looked much like Emily did today—covered in blood. Except Judith was dead by the time I found her body laying outside where they’d left her.”

I leaned forward. “How did you survive?”

“Variola found me while I was breathing my last breaths, and saved me with her blood. Unlike the rest of my family, I’d had my werewolf side battling to heal me. My body would have lost the battle, though, if she hadn’t come. The injuries were too much to recover from. The attackers had expected me to die soon after, so they hadn’t even bothered to finish the job.

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