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 Soul Bitten
Blood & Fangs (Book One)

A Soulbound Shifters Novel

Riley Storm
 Soul Bitten
Copyright© 2021 Riley Storm
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in
any form or by any electronic means without written permission
from the author. The sole exception is for the use of brief quotations
in a book review. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of
this copyrighted work is illegal.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and

incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used
fictitiously and are not to be construed as real.

All sexual activities depicted occur between consenting characters

18 years or older who are not blood related.

Edited by Olivia Kalb – https://www.oliviakalbediting.com/

Cover Designs by Jacqueline Sweet Covers

 Table of Contents
Soulbitten
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
 Note from the Author
Hi,

I just wanted to let you know, that while I’ve done my best to
ensure that this series is a complete standalone, there are mentions
of events and outcomes from the prior series in this world
‘Soulbound Shifters’.

While you can read this on its own, if you want to start from the
beginning I’d suggest going back and reading (or re-reading) The
Wild Moon, the first book in my Soulbound Shifters series.

Either way, I hope you enjoy!

-Riley Storm
 Chapter One

I was late.
Not my period—my uterus was still on its regular cycle of
complaint concerning my lack of pregnancy. And it was going to stay
that way until I found my mate.
I was late for my shift. My Soulshift, to be precise. That first,
magical night under a Wild Moon, the silver orb full and powerful, its
magic stirring the blood of the wolf inside me, forcing it to the
surface. Uniting us as one under its watchful gaze.
And mine was late. Sort of. It was difficult to explain and even
harder to live with. Every wolf shifter experienced their Soulshift on
the first Wild Moon after their twenty-first birthday. When the full
moon arrives, the wolf takes over, and a battle of wills ensues to see
who emerges victorious. It’s a dangerous but also wondrous time in
the life of a shifter.
The Soulshift signifies adulthood, freedom, and finally coming fully
into one’s powers.
My problem? My twenty-first birthday was three months ago.
Supposedly. When your parents are heavily into drugs and booze,
you count your miracles that you didn’t emerge with some sort of
illness, and you don’t complain if your parents accidentally
celebrated your birthday wrong for your entire life.
So now I was stuck, waiting nervously for each Wild Moon to see
if this was the one where I became a woman in the eyes of shifter
society. Where I found my Soulbound mate and was free to live a life
with them, a life we would create together.
“It’s going to be this one,” I said, slapping a knee as I sat back on
the ratty old couch in my parents’ living room. “I can feel it, Dad.”
 The beige and black cross-hatched fabric stretched tight under my
petite frame, and the ancient springs groaned as they shifted to
support me. The couch was old, so old it still hid the crayon marks
on the wall behind it that my best friend and I made when we were
kids.
“I hope so, my dear Jo.”
That was my dad, Ron, sitting across from me in his favorite
rocking chair, trying not to look sheepish.
“Dad, we’ve been over this,” I said. “I don’t hold you guys
responsible. The nineties was a wild time. I get it. Punk rock, stickin’
it to the man, all that stuff. You did a great job raising me, and that’s
what counts. We’ll come up with a fun day to celebrate as my
birthday.”
“I still feel bad,” my dad, a long-since recovered alcoholic, said
uncomfortably. “Forgetting my baby girl’s birthday! What a terrible
dad.”
I shrugged. “You had a lot on your plate,” I said quietly, my eyes
traveling to the stairs leading to the second floor. “Taking care of
Mom and me couldn’t have been easy.”
My father’s eyes followed mine. “You’ll understand one day,” he
said. “You can’t forgive yourself so easily for something like this.”
“Mom didn’t remember either,” I pointed out.
Of course, when you’re in a drug-induced zombie state every
minute of the day, it’s pretty easy to forget a lot of things.
Sometimes, I was surprised she even remembered she had a
daughter, given how the pills she took every day kept her basically
comatose, unspeaking, perhaps even unseeing.
“You think this is going to be the one, though?”
“Yeah, I do. My wolf is stronger than ever. She’s more active. Like
she’s pawing around in my mind, trying to get out. The Wild Moon is
only ten days away. That has to mean something. It’s like what Dan
said when she had hers. Her wolf got active, and the closer she got,
the stronger it was.”
Dan was actually Danielle Wetter, my absolute best friend in the
world. I called her Dan ‘cause it was short and easy. For some
reason, she let me get away with it.
 “Well, I hope so, dear. That makes me glad it’s finally coming
around.”
“Me, too, Dad, I–”
There was a knock on the front door. We exchanged looks of
confusion and curiosity. Without saying a word, we both made it
clear that we had no idea who it might be and we wanted to know if
the other did.
“I’ll get it,” I said, getting to my feet first once it became clear this
was an unexpected visit.
Heading to the door, I undid the rusty deadbolt—I’d often
wondered why we had a deadbolt in a town full of wolf shifters. It
wouldn’t keep any of them out if they really wanted in. Appearances,
I guessed.
I opened the door to a face I wasn’t expecting to see until the
next morning. A strong jawline that narrowed deliciously led my eyes
to a full mouth, a strong, regal nose, and a pair of the brightest blue
eyes I had ever seen.
Every time I looked at him, those cerulean circles sucked me in
and threatened not to let go. I could lose myself in their endless
depths and probably would have if the owner of them didn’t flash
me a blindingly brilliant grin that made my knees wobble, even after
knowing him for several months.
“Aaron,” I said, greeting the vampire, impressing myself by getting
his name out without stammering or letting my voice go throaty.
Like most vampires, Aaron exuded masculinity. It didn’t drip off
him; it rushed out and slammed into me like a tsunami. Every time. I
was drenched in his alpha predator status, even as I noticed the
pointed ends of his canine teeth, a sharp reminder of what he really
was.
“I want you to be mine.”
“Huh?” I was still trying to get over his sheer sexuality, like a shark
among fish.
He stood at the door, looking down at me, his tall, lithe body
layered in athletic muscle, without the thick, bulky weightlifter style
most shifters possessed. His white suit was tailored to his fantasy-
like body, and it just made me even fuzzier on the inside. My
stomach was doing loop-de-loops like nobody’s business.
And that was before my brain processed what he’d said.
“I want you to be mine.”
I shook off some of my daze. “I’m already working with your
team, though. We’re headed out to try and round up one of Lars’
enforcers tomorrow morning. Aren’t we? Or is that off?”
Lars was my pack’s old Alpha. He’d tried to do some very bad stuff
and had been stopped in the nick of time. A lot of his lackeys had
escaped, however. Aaron and his team, along with me, one Joanna
Alustria, were setting out tomorrow to take down the first one.
“That’s not what I mean, Jo,” Aaron said.
His grin slightly faltered as I heard footsteps behind me. That
would be my father. Unfortunately, I heard him heading deeper into
the house. Giving me space instead of a reprieve to gather my
thoughts.
“What do you mean?”
“I know it’s not as fancy as a Soulbond,” Aaron said, somehow not
losing any confidence despite my muddled mind, “but I want you. To
be mine.”
I laughed. Not harshly, but because I couldn’t think of anything
else to do.
The grin slowly faded.
“Aaron,” I said. “I’m a wolf shifter. Or at least, I will be when the
Wild Moon gets here in a week and a half. Then, I’m going to
change. I’ll find my Soulbound mate. I can’t stop that. Besides … I
barely know you.”
“You’re sure of it this time?”
I nodded. “I’ve been feeling her more and more as the days go
on. She’s getting stronger. It’s just like everyone has said it would
be. A few months late, but it’s coming. She’s coming. And with her,
will be my mate. I’m sorry.”
If he came looking to have some fun, to take me on a date,
maybe dinner, an activity, and breakfast the following day, I might
have said yes. Might have. I definitely wasn’t going to let him claim
me. If vampires could even do that.
 “I see,” he said.
“Besides,” I joked, “how would that even work between a shifter
and a vampire?”
Aaron opened his mouth to reply when feet thudding down the
stairs interrupted him. Frowning, knowing my dad was still
downstairs, I spun just in time to see my mother appear on the mid-
stairs landing, her face flushed.
I gasped. I’d never seen her do anything like this.
She thrust a finger at Aaron. “Vanar!”
 Chapter Two

She was wearing a white nightgown like always, and her hair, cut
fairly short for ease of management by my dad, was all out of place.
Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she was staring at me even as she
screamed the single word.
“Mom?” I gasped. “Mom, are you okay?”
Even as I asked the question, I was racing across the main floor of
the farmhouse, hoping I could get to the stairs before my mother fell
down the rest of them.
My dad beat me to it, courtesy of his full shifter powers. Coming in
from the kitchen, he slipped past me and grabbed my mother.
“Marie,” he said, worry tinging his words. “Marie, what are you
doing out of bed?”
He tried to help her back up the stairs, but to both our shock, my
mom shrugged him off. I’d never seen her act this way, so strong, so
… lucid. Like she knew what she was doing.
“Mom?” I said, crouching in front of her as she leaned against the
wall.
Our eyes met, and I swore, for the briefest moment, I actually
saw a person looking back at me. Tears blurred the edges of my
vision.
“My sweet Joanna.”
I went rigid. Never had my mother talked to me in a voice like
that. A mother’s voice.
“Mom, what is it?” I asked. What the hell was going on with her?
Was she okay?
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m so sorry. You have to.”
 She shoved her hands out to me as the look in her eyes faded,
replaced once more by the vacant stare I’d seen my entire life.
I looked down at her hands and saw her clutching a piece of
paper. Gently, I took it. As I did, however, she opened her other
hand and dropped four little white pills into my palm. The same pills
she’d taken my entire life.
“Mom?” I said, confused. “What are these for?”
I looked at the piece of paper as I spoke. It was my birth
certificate.
“Dad, what is this?” I asked, looking up at him. “This says my
birthday is March 19th. That’s the day we’ve always celebrated.”
My dad took the paper from me with one hand, using the other to
support my mother, who was no longer trying to get away. I
watched while he read it. He shook his head. “I don’t get it. So, we
never forgot your birthday? We had it right all along?”
“But then, how come I’ve not shifted?” I said, looking at it, then
my mom as I held the pills she’d given me in my other hand.
“Vanar.”
My attention returned to my mom. “What? What did you say?”
“Vanar,” she repeated. “Vanar.”
“Vanar? What’s Vanar?” I asked, looking at my dad.
“Or who,” Aaron said softly from the front door.
My mom’s hand grabbed onto mine with wicked tightness, and she
looked at me wide-eyed, on the verge of hysterics. Once again,
there was a hint of lucidness. “Vanar,” she repeated, looking back
and forth between Aaron and me.
“Vampire?” I said, frowning, wondering if her words were slurred
and she was trying to say something else instead. “Yes, Aaron is a
vampire. He’s no danger, though, Mom. He’s on our side.”
Her head shook back and forth in sharp, jerky motions. She tried
to pull away from my dad and me, but we held her tight. I didn’t
trust her legs to last for long. Wolf shifter blood might flow through
her, but she’d taken her pills for so long, I wasn’t sure if the healing
powers of our race still affected her. Her muscles were likely on the
verge of giving out.
 “No. Vanar. Vanar. Vanar.” She kept repeating the word, over and
over, her eyes unfocusing again.
“Mom,” I said, tears starting to fall from the corners of my eyes.
“Mom, please. You need to stop taking those pills. You need to get
clean. You can’t be like this. I … I can’t lose you.”
Which felt odd to say since I’d never really had a mother to begin
with. But still. I didn’t want her to die.
“Let me get you help. Please. Me and dad, we’ll find someone.”
“Vanar,” she whispered, then blinked rapidly. Her eyes focused on
me. “Safer for everyone. You must.”
She reached out and closed my hand over the pills.
“I know, Mom,” I said. “You need your pills.”
“Saved my life …”
“No, they ruined your life,” I said.
“Vanar.”
I shook my head as she let go of my wrist, and my dad took her
fully. Any further hint of lucidity was gone, and she was back to her
usual state. Whatever had caused this outburst was over.
“I can’t,” I said, holding out my other hand. “I’m sorry.”
My dad knew what I was saying. That I couldn’t be a party to this
anymore. I knew she needed them, but it cost me too much to help.
He nodded and took the pills from me. “I know, dear. It’s okay. I’ll
handle it.”
We traded pills for paper, and I helped him get a proper grip so
that he could help my mother back upstairs.
“I love you, Mom,” I said softly, looking into her eyes.
It might have been my imagination, hoping for something, but I
swear I saw her focus on me, just for a moment. Like she knew
what I’d said and wanted me to know she felt the same. Then, she
was gone, lost again behind the cloud of drugs, and my dad took her
to her bed.
I went back downstairs, half-falling onto the couch, staring blankly
at the birth certificate and my apparently accurate birthday.
“What the heck does this all mean?” I said to nobody.
Footsteps from the door reminded me in a distant corner of my
mind that I wasn’t entirely alone. Aaron was still there.
 “I’m sorry you had to witness that,” I said awkwardly.
“Don’t be,” the vampire said from the threshold. “But I think I can
help.”
I stared at him, my question written on my face.
“I know who Vanar is.”
 Chapter Three

“You know who Vanar is?” I said, getting up and hurrying to the
door. “Well, who is it? Fill me in. How is it that you know, but my dad
and I have never heard the name before?”
“I’m shocked your mother has heard it before,” the vampire said.
“It’s not exactly a common name. Assuming it’s referring to who I
think it is.”
It was then I noticed Aaron’s somewhat drawn expression. He
didn’t seem overly enthusiastic about things. That was part of why
I’d never seriously explored anything with him over the past few
months. There had been chemistry between us, but one moment
he’d be flirtatious and fun, and the next, he’d be cold and hard.
Almost scary.
I needed more stability than that, even if it was just a few weeks
of fun before I shifted. Right now, I didn’t see Aaron as a friend or a
boss. I saw him as the master vampire that he was. It wasn’t an
enjoyable experience. Still, right now, it was the master vampire who
had answers about what the hell had just happened with my mother.
“So, I take it you know them?” I said, pushing forward, putting the
pressure on him instead.
Aaron could be all sorts of frightening at times, but I wasn’t afraid
of him doing anything to me. If he did, my best friend would fry him
the second she found out. Of course, he still scared me, but that
wasn’t the same as fearing for my life.
The vampire carefully mulled through his words. I could practically
see the decision process working out in his eyes.
“I’ve never met them, no,” he said. “But if it’s who I think it is,
then yes, I know of them.”
 “So, they’re a real person then?” I asked, trying to get as much
information as I could.
“They’re real, yes,” he replied.
So they’re real. And my mother knows them. And Aaron isn’t a fan
of them. But they exist. Which means I can find them. And ask them
what happened to my mother, how to help her. Maybe they’re the
solution.
That decided it. I needed to track this Vanar down. Somehow.
They could help me find out the truth I hoped.
“Where do I find them?” I asked quietly. “Who are they? Tell me
everything.”
Aaron thought my demand over.
“You can’t,” he said at last.
I groaned, rolling my eyes. “You mean because I’m not a full wolf
yet? Man, I’m getting tired of that excuse from everyone. This next
Wild Moon can’t come soon enough.”
“No. I mean that you cannot find them. Period.”
“Why not?”
“Because they’ve been imprisoned for fifteen hundred years.”
“Come again?” I said. “My mother knows the name. She knows
them. My mother is not fifteen hundred years old. Are you even that
old?”
“No.” That was the only reply I got back.
“So, who are they? Where have they been imprisoned? Can we go
talk to them? Maybe my mother did that. Please, I need this. I need
to find them.”
I was begging now, and I hated it, but if it helped my mother, I
would do whatever I needed to. This Vanar person was the only clue
I’d had my entire life about what might have caused her to be this
way.
“Walk with me,” Aaron said, gesturing outside.
Hesitating, I looked in the direction of my parents’ bedroom. My
dad was still up there, helping my mother settle in. I had no idea
how long that might take since I’d never seen her so agitated
before. However, there had been no more noises from upstairs,
nothing to indicate he was having any trouble.
 “Okay.”
I slipped on some shoes and followed Aaron outside. My family’s
home was an old farm homestead. Although we didn’t have much
land left, my dad still worked a few acres, keeping what we could
eat and selling off the excess. It let him keep the house, but it
wasn’t much more than that, which was why much of our furniture
was ancient. We used it until it was unrepairable.
“So, Vanar,” I said as gravel crunched lightly underfoot while we
meandered along the long driveway, not really going anywhere in
particular.
“Vanar, short for Vanargand, is an ancient name for a being not
seen on Earth in a long time.”
A being. He’d purposefully said “a being” and not a human. Not a
shifter. Whoever this Vanargand was, they were obviously an
immortal. To survive imprisonment for fifteen centuries made that a
necessity. I couldn’t begin to imagine what it must be like. To be
punished for that long. It would drive someone insane, I was sure of
it.
“How the hell would my mother know this person?” I asked, not
really expecting a reply.
“I don’t know. It shouldn’t be possible. Maybe it’s someone else?
Maybe she was just trying to say vampire after all?”
“Maybe,” I agreed, though I didn’t believe that, and I was pretty
positive Aaron didn’t either. “Could my mother have gone to this
prison and talked to them at some point?”
“Technically? Yes, I suppose, though I don’t know how she’d have
gotten there. It’s not like you can just take a train or drive. No, I
don’t think that’s it.”
“So, what is it?”
Aaron shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“What can you tell me then? So far, you’ve remained very tight-
lipped about this being. Why are you playing it so coy? Who is
Vanargand? Why are they imprisoned?”
I was trying to avoid the fact that Vanargand must have done
something really bad to be punished like that. If I thought about
that, I would then have to acknowledge that my mother knew
someone that bad. Why would she associate with someone like that?
She was a good person. Wasn’t she?
“Vanargand has another name,” Aaron said at last. “One that more
people are familiar with, though not as much from this part of the
world.”
“This part of the world?”
“The Vikings would know the name. However, they might very well
refer to him by his more common name. Fenrir. The great wolf.”
“Fenrir. A wolf. Okay, well, that’s not too outlandish.”
Aaron shook his head. “Fenrir is not just a wolf, Jo. He’s a wolf
shifter. And a—”
“Wolf shifters aren’t immortal,” I interrupted, my mind working
overtime. “He can’t be. And he’s not part of our mythology. He’s not
a god. Is he? I can call Dani, and she’ll know.”
My best friend had recently discovered that our shifter mythology
was no myth. The gods existed. She’d even gone so far as to end up
mated to one after a wild adventure that had nearly seen us both
killed by her enemies. If this Fenrir was a part of that mythology,
then she would know it or could find out. Maybe she could bring me
to them, so I could ask how they knew my mother.
“She won’t,” Aaron said. “Fenrir isn’t a god. He’s a vampire.”
I blinked. Not the answer I had been expecting.
“What? You just said he’s a shapeshifter.”
“He is. Not just one. He’s the one. The first vampire-shifter. When
he was bitten and turned into a vampire, he … went crazy. A lot of
people died. At first, he was banished. That’s when he ended up
among the Norse gods, trying to reinvent himself as simply a wolf.
But eventually, the sickness got out of control again, and he was
imprisoned for eternity.”
“Oh.”
I started walking again, unsure of when we’d stopped. Aaron kept
pace easily, his long legs taking him one stride for every two of
mine. I turned and headed back for the house.
“I think I need to be alone for a bit,” I slowly said as I paused at
the bottom of the stairs. “I have to process all this. And … yeah. I
need to try and ask my mother how she knows Vanargand.”
 I couldn’t shake from my head that a vampire appearing at my
door and my mother having this episode was just a coincidence.
She’d pointed at Aaron the first time. I was positive. Not me, but at
him.
“Of course,” Aaron said, then hesitated.
For a moment, I thought he was going to bring up his ridiculous
idea of wanting me. I had ten days to go until I was Soulbound to
another shifter. It was too late for fun, and I most certainly wasn’t
going to let him turn me into a vampire. Did that even stop a
Soulbond from forming? I had no idea. But it wasn’t for me.
If he did bring it up, he was going to get an earful for his lack of
tact, given everything that had just transpired.
As we reached the house, I pulled open the storm door and went
inside, leaving Aaron at the threshold to say whatever else he
wanted to say. This way, if he did say anything about the two of us
again, I could just slam the door in his face.
“Marie!” my father shouted just as footsteps banged across the
floor upstairs and my mother came stumbling down the stairs.
I shouted in fear as she tripped, rolled, and slammed to a halt on
the landing. She looked up.
“Vanar!” she shouted hoarsely. “Find Vanar. He’ll know. Find him.
Before the Wild Moon.”
I stared at her, unable to move even as my dad raced down the
stairs to save her.
“Before it’s too late for you,” I heard her say before she dissolved
into distressed sobs as my father wrapped his arms around her.
Turning, I stared at Aaron.
“I need you to take me to him. I don’t care where it is or how
dangerous it is. I have to see him.”
The vampire nodded slowly, digesting everything he’d just seen
and heard. “I will see what I can arrange.”
 Chapter Four

I leaned against the truck, being careful not to scratch the paint. It
was new. Not just the paint, but the truck itself. If I looked hard
enough, I could still see the marks on the window from the dealer’s
sticker. The entire thing glittered, its metallic white coat brilliant in
the early morning sun that came over the horizon.
The other two trucks nearby were much the same, though one
was silver and the other black. Yet they all glittered with that new
vehicle shine. I knew because I’d had time to admire them. I was
that type of person. If I wasn’t fifteen minutes early, I was late,
which meant I always showed up twenty to thirty minutes
beforehand and then awkwardly stood around like an idiot, waiting
for the appointed time.
I knew it was a silly habit, but I’d rather be waiting alone early
than running up late. Especially after Aaron had been so kind as to
let me help out his team on their missions. I knew they didn’t need
me, but I wanted to do something to help the pack, so I’d
volunteered. And the pay wasn’t too bad either.
Still, the last thing I wanted was to give a bad impression on the
first day. I needed people to know I was competent, even if I hadn’t
had my Soulshift yet.
“You like?” Aaron said as he exited Aldridge Manor and headed
across the gravel parking lot toward me.
“They sure look better than the last ones.”
Aaron grinned. “Yeah. Demons are hell on wheels.”
I groaned at the pun. His team’s previous trucks had been turned
into torched wrecks by a group of Jinn, flying monkey-frog demons
sent from the Underworld by an angry Hades. It was a long story,
but Aaron and the others had royally pissed off the god of the
Underworld, to the point he sent legions of his demons after them.
And me. I’d been a part of that. It had been terrifying.
“Any word yet?” I asked as he drew near, keeping my voice low.
“I’ve put out the word to see if anyone is masquerading as Fenrir,”
he said.
“What?” That wasn’t the answer I’d expected to hear. I had been
expecting him to say that once we got back from the mission, we
would head off to wherever Fenrir was so that I could speak to him.
“Jo. Fenrir the Wolf was imprisoned somewhere you don’t escape
from. It took several gods to forge the collars that bound him. He
didn’t just waltz out on a day pass to hang out with your mother.
Someone must be pretending to be him.”
“You heard my mother,” I hissed, angry that he’d changed the
plan. “She said to find him. Before the Wild Moon. Which is now ten
days away. This mission will take two.”
“One. We’ll be back really late tonight or early tomorrow,” Aaron
said. “If everything goes according to my plan. Then another day for
me to wait for word to come back. Forty-eight hours. If I don’t hear
anything, then … then we’ll see about a more drastic option.”
I grimaced. I didn’t like it, but if Aaron thought a week was long
enough to get me to Fenrir, then I would trust him. He’d been an
erstwhile ally to my best friend and my pack after that. I had no
reason not to believe him.
The rest of the team came out of the house that served as my
clan’s headquarters, ending our conversation. They came in small
groups, splitting up and heading toward whichever vehicle they had
chosen. In addition to Aaron, Fred and Dave had keys to the other
vehicles. They would be his drivers today.
I frowned as I looked them and the other team members over. All
of us were dressed in black clothing—plain, functional, and made of
thick material. Yet while I had a backpack slung over one shoulder,
the others all had duffle bags that looked quite full. I wanted to ask
if I should have brought more, but doing so would betray my
ignorance.
Was that better than being unprepared? I had to decide.
 We’ll be in Kellar. I can get anything I need there if I must.
Kellar was the nearest major city to my pack’s hometown of
Seguin. It would have anything else I needed. I just hoped I had
enough so that I didn’t look like an unprepared idiot.
“Got everything?” It was as if Aaron had read my mind.
“Yeah,” I said, tossing my backpack into the backseat as he did
the same with his bag. “I think.”
Packed away were a spare pair of shoes to replace the boots I was
currently wearing, spare underwear, bra, shorts, pants, shirts. Basic
toiletries. I didn’t own any weapons or anything like that. What else
should I have brought? I felt out of my depth already, and the
engines hadn’t even started.
“You’re coming with, then?” Dave asked, pulling open the driver’s
door to the silver truck.
“Sure am,” I said before Aaron could speak up.
“How come?”
I shrugged. “Someone has to make sure you guys earn your
money.”
Dave’s face split into a grin. He was the most good-natured of the
vampire team and always the one with a quip.
“Well, shit, Aaron. She’s onto us. How do you figure she knew we
had a deal in place with all these rogue shifters to give them a cut of
the profits in return for making it easy for us to catch them?”
I laughed, trying to let go of some of my earlier frustration and
worry. “Well, now that I’m along, you’ll just have to give me their
share. In addition to my own.”
Dave’s smile stayed in place. “So, you’re here for the money?”
“I’m here for the money.” I didn’t elaborate. They didn’t ask me to.
Although Dave seemed to accept that, Alexi, his riding mate,
didn’t seem so confident. He looked at Aaron with a wordless
question.
Aaron, however, just looked at me. It wasn’t his job to defend my
position on the team. That was up to me.
“What’s the matter, Alexi?” I said. “Afraid you can’t handle the
heat? That I might find our guy before you? ‘Cause if you do, maybe
you should stay back then.”
 Alexi was the tracker of the team, so my question had extra
poignancy.
“How?” Alexi said, his words slightly accented, as always, with that
eastern European lilt to them. “No offense, but you can’t even shift
yet. He could take you down or outrun you. Any number of ways.”
“Perhaps,” I agreed, acknowledging the truth. “But fifty bucks says
I do more to help get him than you.”
Alexi considered my offer for a moment, then nodded once. “I like
you. But I accept your bet, and I expect my money to be promptly
paid after we catch him.”
“Very good,” I said with a grin.
The others seemed to accept me after that, and we got everything
loaded up before pulling out from the manor and onto the road that
would lead us to Kellar. It was a two-hour drive, give or take. I found
myself looking over at Aaron repeatedly, but he stared straight at the
road, ignoring my questing glances.
Maybe later. For now, I should focus on the mission at hand.
“Who’s our target?” I asked instead. “I never did get that
information.”
“Center console.”
“I don’t remember them being on Lars’ council,” I joked, even as I
pulled open the console and grabbed the file folder inside.
“This is going to be a long car ride,” Aaron grumbled, but his lips
were twitching.
Glancing through the file, I hissed as I stopped at a picture of the
shifter we were after.
“Something wrong?”
I shook my head. “No. Just recognizing who we’re after, that’s all.
Glenn Ross is a nasty customer.”
“Only the nastiest of Lars’ enforcers are left,” Aaron said. “Many of
the others died the night Dani killed him or shortly thereafter. The
smartest of them fled. Unfortunately for us, the smartest are often
the strongest.”
“Yeah,” I said, staring at the picture of Glenn Ross.
He was a big, mean, beefy shifter. Taller and thicker than most, it
was all muscle. His hair was buzzed on one of the lowest settings,
revealing his balding pattern. Glenn didn’t care. Nobody was dumb
enough to comment on it. He had a flat nose that had been broken
too many times from fighting and a broad face that grew thick,
coarse facial hair.
Without seeing a picture of him, it would be easy to assume he
was a dumb brute. But the eyes told a different story. Large and
round with a strong amber tinge to their brown coloration, they
screamed intelligence. Nobody would mistake him for a mindless
knuckledragger.
“Why would someone like him flee only to stop in Kellar?” I
mused, tapping the spine of the folder on the dash in thought.
“Not sure,” Aaron said, though he didn’t object to my unspoken
observation that it didn’t make any sense for him to do something
like that. “But he’s keeping his head down and hasn’t caused any
trouble yet.”
“Not any trouble we can pin on him,” I said. “Glenn operates in the
background. I wonder if he knows that Kellar is your home base.”
“I would assume so,” Aaron said. “Kellar is a paranormal hub. All
sorts of entities operate out of it. He’s most likely staying there for
that reason. More support to draw upon. Besides, we haven’t been
there much lately to threaten him. The renovations aren’t done yet.”
“Ah.” I didn’t have to say more. The same monkey-frog Jinn that
had destroyed his trucks had also gutted his penthouse apartment.
It’d been an expensive few weeks for Aaron.
Expensive for him and nerve-wracking for me. I’d been caught up
in it all and had nearly died at the hands of Lars, Hades, and then
Lars again. As an unshifted wolf-shifter, I was particularly vulnerable.
And a liability. Hopefully, on this mission, I would prove that I could
be an asset.
Now to figure out how to be helpful. Aaron hasn’t given me any
orders yet, so it’s up to me to figure something out. Somehow.
Aaron must have some idea. He wouldn’t have let me come along
if he didn’t have any clue how to use me.
“Do we know where in Kellar he’s operating out of?” I asked,
thinking fast.
 “A place I’ve been to before,” Aaron said. “The owner reports
comings and goes to me. He’s part of the scene.”
By that, I knew Aaron meant the paranormal world. I thought.
Perhaps he meant the other side of the law. Or both.
“So, we’re just going to browbeat the owner into giving up Ross?”
“No,” Aaron said sharply. “He’s simply an informant for me,
nothing more.”
“Of course. And I suppose Ross probably knows that, which
means he’s expecting you guys, so you can’t just go waltzing in. He’ll
be prepared for you.”
“Most likely. We’re going to have to find a way to isolate him. To
get him away from whatever supporters he’s gathered. Make him
vulnerable.”
“Crap,” I muttered, listening to how Aaron was talking.
“What?”
“You didn’t let me come along because you thought I could help in
some way. You already had a plan in mind for me. Didn’t you?”
“I have a backup plan, too.”
That was as good as admitting I was right. Which meant …
“You want me along because I’m a woman,” I sighed. “Don’t you?”
“No,” Aaron said, looking over at me, his lips curling up in a smile.
“I want you along because you’re a beautiful woman.”
I groaned. “Flattery will get you everywhere.” Besides, it’s not like
I had a choice. I needed to earn my money. “What do you want me
to do?”
 Chapter Five

“I’m fairly positive that I didn’t include this on my résumé,” I

muttered into the microphone cleverly disguised as a button on my
blouse.
Tugging down on the blood-red skirt, I tried to get it to cover a bit
more of my legs. It didn’t work. The tight lycra-like material just
rode back up again. The blouse was no better. Tucked tightly into
the skirt, its white material clearly showed my black bra—not that
people had to look that hard, given it was only done up halfway.
“I don’t like letting others look at you in that any more than you
do,” a voice growled in my ear, familiar despite the slightly tinny
aspect from the earpiece. “But as much as I might not want them to,
the men are all going to be staring at you.”
Again I was reminded of his desire to have me. Claim me.
Whatever it was that vampires did. None of the ones I knew had
women in their lives, so I wasn’t exactly sure what happened. If
anything. Maybe Aaron just wanted me to come away with him. I
had no idea. Regardless, it wasn’t going to happen. Even if I
appreciated the protective tone in his voice, it was nice to know he
didn’t want others to look at me in this getup, in a weird sort of way.
I guess it helped reassure me that he did this because it was the
likeliest plan to work and avoid as much collateral damage as
possible. Still, I’d seen the way his blue eyes roamed over me before
I left. He might not like others staring at me, but he’d enjoyed my
overflowing cleavage—that much I hadn’t missed.
“That’s because I look like an escort,” I pointed out dryly,
suppressing the urge to scratch my head. I didn’t want to risk
dislodging the red wig I’d put on to hide my identity. Not that I
necessarily needed it.
I was completely done up with a load of female war paint. A face
full of it, with dark eyeshadow, blush-colored cheeks, and lipstick to
match the skirt. Even just standing in line outside the bar, I was met
with stares. I avoided most of them. It was awkward enough to be
dressed like this, but having to fend off conversation after
conversation with men who wanted to take me home was not on my
list of activities for the night.
All that mattered was the mission.
“That was the point,” Aaron said over the earpiece. “And I must
admit, you look good.”
“Good enough to attract his attention, I hope,” I murmured back,
trying to ignore the shiver his words sent down my spine. “Because
this is incredibly demeaning. It had better work. If I did all this for
nothing, you aren’t going to be happy with me.”
“It will work,” Aaron assured me. “When he thinks he has you to
himself, he will be more than distracted. Then, I shall ensure he
suffers for his thoughts of you.”
I shivered at the protectiveness in his voice. That was the sole
thing that convinced me to go along with the plan. He and his entire
team were already on the rooftops, ready to come bursting through
windows and ceiling to rescue me if things went sideways.
And you said you would do anything to help the team. Even if this
isn’t quite what I had in mind.
“Have my fifty bucks ready, Alexi,” I said into the mic, drawing
some curious stares from the people in line behind me. I ignored
them but made a mental note to stop drawing attention to myself.
My hooker outfit would do that for me.
“He says he’s not giving up yet,” Aaron said humorously.
“Too bad,” I whispered. “I could have used it to bribe the bouncer
and bypassed the line.”
Aaron was silent in response to that. Good. I’d asked him if he
could use his contacts with the owner to get me ahead of the line,
but he’d said no. The idea, he insisted, was that I get in unnoticed,
without any undue attention. Which apparently meant wearing
bright colors while my tits were pushed up and out for everyone to
see.
Men.
My outfit had been picked for me. I was so glad we weren’t after a
woman. She would see through the getup in no time. Yes, it was
“flattering,” and it highlighted my best assets—I may be a little
biased—but I would never wear something like this out and about.
It’s the type of outfit a man would have a woman wear in his
fantasies. Or maybe for his birthday, if he was extra good.
The line shuffled forward, and I went with it. I reached the
bouncer just as he seemed to be roping off the line. He saw my
outfit and that I was alone.
“Just one?” the burly, tanned brute rumbled.
I nodded. “For now,” I said, trying to act playful, hinting that
letting me in would be good for one of the male patrons inside.
I hated myself so much. But it worked, and the bouncer gestured
me through with a knowing grin.
In your dreams, buster, I thought, plastering a smile on my face
and acting like I completely agreed with his unspoken sentiment. I
pulled open the door and strode into the bar. I was here on a
mission, and I couldn’t let anything distract me from that.
Music washed over me, but not so loud that I couldn’t hear myself
think. The converted industrial building retained many of its original
characteristics. Tall support poles rose to the second-floor ceiling,
breaking up the entire floor into smaller chunks. A raised dias to my
right had seating designed to overlook the dance floor, such as it
was. Beyond that, another tier up, was a secondary bar.
I headed for that instead of the main bar on the ground level.
That one was packed with patrons of all sorts, but I doubted it
would be where my target was hanging out. He thought he was hot
shit, which meant he’d be somewhere a little more exclusive. Like a
VIP bar.
As I approached, I saw two men lounging around, clearly keeping
the general populace away from anyone at the private bar. They
were unobtrusive but present. I flashed one a smile as I
approached. He looked over at his partner, and the two of them
relaxed back to their posts, neither stopping me.
Why is it that men are always rendered useless by a pair of
boobs?
A red-bearded giant of a barman noticed my approach. He smiled
at me, but his eyes didn’t stray from my face. Nor was there any
sign of a leer that all the other men seemed to put in place the
instant they noticed my outfit.
“Evenin’, Miss,” he said with a noticeable burr to his voice. “What
can I get for ye?”
I suspected he would have been more at home calling me lass
than Miss.
“Something fruity and strong,” I said, trying to pitch my voice
higher but not so high it sounded completely fake. “Thank you.”
The big Irishman nodded and immediately went to work, his
hands moving over glasses and bottles with ease. A man who knew
his trade indeed.
“New here?” he asked a minute later as a pinky-yellow drink
appeared in front of me, complete with a little umbrella.
“Yes,” I said, not having to fake the shyness. “Mr. Anderman told
me it would be fun and a good show.”
The bartender smiled through his bushy beard as I name-dropped
the owner and Aaron’s informant. “Ah, yes. The show won’t begin
for a little bit, but if you’re into that sort of thing, then it won’t
disappoint. Always a good bit of fun.”
“Good,” I said, taking a sip. “Mmm, this is delicious. Thank you.”
He nodded in appreciation of my compliment, then turned away to
serve another customer. As he did, I took a seat at one of the swivel
stools lining the front of the bar top and turned to survey the rest of
the occupants, looking for my target.
“How’s it going?”
I jumped slightly as the voice sounded in my ear. Aaron had been
quiet for the past ten minutes or so, and in truth, I’d forgotten about
the earpiece.
“Mmm, this is really good,” I said, taking another sip of the drink.
 “Just let us know how it goes,” Aaron said. “Shout if you need
help.”
I bent over the drink to get my mouth closer to the mic. “I will.
Now let me work, I—”
A figure across the open floor caught my eye, and I stopped
talking, stiffening in a mixture of surprise and anticipation. It was
him. Ross was here. I hadn’t expected to see him so soon.
There was no doubt it was him either. Even if I couldn’t hear him
talking from this far away, the flattened nose and wide face were
unmistakable. Downing another sip of my drink, a long one this
time, I worked up the courage to go through with the next part of
the plan.
“Ye sure ye want to do that?” a voice asked over my shoulder.
I turned at the waist to see the barman standing nearby. His eyes
fixed on me, then across the floor to Ross.
“Nasty customer that one. Even if Mr. Anderman brought ye here
for him, ye might want to rethink that,” he said in a gentle but gruff
voice.
He was warning me off of Ross. Which, if I were an ordinary
escort or hooker, would be a truly class-act thing to do. But I wasn’t.
I had my own reasons for going over there.
“Thanks,” I said, sliding off the stool anyway; my skirt caught on
the edge and nearly pulled up to reveal my underwear.
“Ye look like a good girl,” the barman insisted as I fixed my outfit.
“Ye don’t have to do that.”
I smiled at him, finished the drink, and set the empty glass on the
table. “Thank you for such a tasty drink,” I said, giving him a real
smile.
Then, I walked out of the VIP lounge and made my way across
the open floor, trying hard not to stare at Ross as I approached. I
wanted him to spot me first so that he could make the first move.
That would allow him to feel more in control of the situation, putting
him at ease. He was talking to a tiny, diminutive man who I didn’t
recognize.
As I sauntered closer, though, Ross said something to the other
man, who then disappeared into the crowd, leaving Ross alone as I
moved to walk past him.
“Hello there, beautiful,” he rumbled, swinging a meaty arm out
wide to block my path. “How are you tonight?”
I looked up at him, wishing to the heaven’s that I could do up my
shirt. I felt dirty with how he was staring right at my goods.
“Hi,” I said, trying hard to be demure and shy.
“I’m Glenn,” he said, taking the arm he’d used to block my path
and turning it into an extended handshake.
“Tina,” I said, using my fake name to let Aaron and the others
know that I’d made contact with him.
“What are you doing here tonight, Tina?” Ross asked, looking
around. “Did you bring any friends?”
“Just me tonight,” I said, flashing a knowing yet apologetic smile.
“What about you?”
“Some friends around, but nobody specific,” he said, sidling closer,
grinning when I didn’t move away. “Would you like to get a drink?”
I nodded and tried my hardest not to shiver when he put an arm
around my shoulders.
“That would be nice,” I said. “I’d like that.”
“I’m sure you would,” Ross said, his voice dropping an octave, just
as his fingers tightened around my neck. “Miss Alustria.”
 Chapter Six

“Not a peep,” Ross growled into my ear, “or I’ll break your neck.”
I swore I could hear my bones grinding against one another under
his grip. There was no way I could nod, so I simply stayed still,
trying to reassure myself. Aaron’s here. He and the entire team are
just outside. You’re going to be fine.
“Jo!” There was worry in Aaron’s tinny voice as it came through
the tiny speaker. “Did I hear that right? Did he say your name? Is
everything okay?”
At least the team was now alerted to the danger I was in. They
would be moving, reacting, getting ready to come in and rescue me,
I was sure. There was no need to panic. The vampires would make
quick work of Ross.
The pressure on my neck increased, making me wince.
“Let’s go,” Ross said, just loud enough for me to hear. I wasn’t
sure the microphone in my button would even pick it up.
I had to hope, however, that Aaron would be able to keep up and
figure out where we were going.
“Now.” The repeated command came with an extra painful
squeeze, sending a blinding lance of pain into my head.
Swallowing back a whimper, knowing it wouldn’t benefit me in any
way, I pushed back my nerves and walked with him, doing my best
to go where he wanted.
We passed by others in the crowd, but none of them seemed wise
to my predicament. Some gave Ross knowing looks, to which he
responded with a huge grin, while others leered at me, eyes greedily
looking down my shirt. However, none of them noticed the
commanding grip on my neck. None of them stepped in his way to
make sure I wanted to go with him.
Which was probably for the best. Ross clearly had a plan. He’d
known who I was from the start, and he’d expected me to show up.
He’d even recognized me in my outfit, which spoke volumes about
his source of knowledge. Whatever he’d done, and whatever he had
ready next, he wasn’t going to let some human get in the way of it.
I didn’t want any of them getting hurt for nothing anyway.
Guided by Ross, we filtered out to the back of the open section,
where a number of grunt workers were busy putting together
something that looked suspiciously like a fighting cage. The
bartender had mentioned something about the show, I recalled. I
figured this must have been what he meant.
They were too busy to stop us, so we passed through a set of
swinging doors into a hallway. Musty, stale air greeted my nose,
despite the proximity to the regular bar. The overhead lights were
more than half out, creating giant pools of shadow. In the corners
where the wall met the floor, I could pick out small puddles of water.
This was not a highly trafficked area.
As the doors shut behind us, the shadows grew larger. I peered
into them, trying to see if more people waiting for us. It was empty,
though. Nobody was there. Not even Aaron.
Damn, I need to tell him where I am. Somehow.
The doors swung open again, illuminating the hallway. Ross
swung us around, and my hopes soared as six men came down the
hallway toward us. All of them looked tough as if they meant
business. Maybe they had seen Ross’ hold on my neck and had come
to help …
Oh, no.
My stomach sank as I saw their leering smiles appear as they
approached. They weren’t here to rescue me. Not in the slightest.
Wordless communication passed between Ross and the group. I
saw heads shake, but I didn’t know what the question was. With a
grunt, Ross pulled me back around, and we kept walking. I was
helpless in his grasp. Without my full shifter strength, there was
nothing I could do to break free.
 But does that mean there’s nothing I can do at all?
I thought frantically. I couldn’t escape, no. That was out of the
question. But I didn’t need to. Not with Aaron and his team nearby.
They could rescue me. If they knew how. To do that, they had to
know what they were up against. They thought it was only Ross in
here.
“Seven of you against me? That seems a little excessive,” I
squeaked out, not having to fake the terror in my voice.
Rescue team nearby or not, Ross could kill me before they got
anywhere close. I was scared.
Ross growled wordlessly and flung me through an open door into
a darkened room.
“Keep it up, Jo,” Aaron said. “Let us know whatever you can about
where you are, who is with you. We’re here. We’re not letting you
go.”
Just hearing his voice helped ease some of my nerves, lifting the
sense of impending doom. Knowing I had help was one thing, but
being able actually to hear his acknowledgment of the situation was
even better. There was no doubt of that.
I looked around as someone hit the light switch. It didn’t do much
to illuminate the room. Two bare bulbs hung from the ceiling,
swinging ever so slightly on long cords. Their dull yellow light was
centered over a small shower area and a bank of lockers, both of
which were on the far wall. Most of the rest of the room, including
the entrance where Ross and his gang were, was still shrouded in
shadows and darkness, making it hard for me to see them.
Gotta give Aaron some information on where I am, I told myself,
thinking fast.
“Oh, real mature,” I said, glaring at Ross. “This one of your high
school fantasies? Little blonde girl in the locker rooms? Is that it?”
Ross’ hand came up faster than I could react, and I stumbled back
into the bank of gray metal lockers with a cry. Pain exploded from
my cheek, and I held a hand to it, shocked at the callous attack. I
probably shouldn’t have been, but at the moment, I couldn’t believe
he’d actually hit me.
“Watch your tongue,” Ross spat. “Just keep your mouth shut.”
 “Yep, gotta make sure I keep quiet so that I don’t attract
attention, is that? What next? Are you gonna throw me in the
shower, too, Ross?”
“I could rip her shirt off anyway,” another of the men said with a
leer at my body that made me nauseous. “I wouldn’t mind seeing
what’s beneath.”
“You wish,” I growled, putting a hand over my chest, trying to
obscure it from their view. I felt exposed, centered in the light while
they hid outside its circle.
“Enough,” Ross said. “They’ll be coming for her now. But we’ll
have a surprise ready for them, won’t we?”
I shivered at that knowledge as the eight of them moved. Wait.
Eight? I counted again as a shape moved from shadow to shadow,
hidden from my sight. There was something familiar about it, but I
couldn’t place it. Something that I knew I’d seen before. Though
how could that be when it was a shadow?
My eyes jumped to the rest of the group. “So, where did you
recruit this group, Ross? You can’t have found, what are there,
seven others? Yeah, you couldn’t have gotten all seven of them here
in Kellar, that’s for sure.
“Seven? I thought there were seven, including Ross? Are there
eight now in total? Cough if yes, sneeze if seven in total.”
I faked a cough as I looked around.
“So, you just going to stand around then, Ross, is that it? This is
pretty boring. Please tell me we’re going to do something else.”
Ross just chuckled. “When they come looking for you, they’re
going to be in for a big surprise.”
“When who comes looking for me?” I asked, trying to sound
stupid.
Ross fixed me with a bone-chilling grin. “How do you think I knew
it was you in that outfit?”
“Okay, we’re ready,” Aaron said into my ear before I could
contemplate Ross’ words. “We just need a distraction. We’ll be
coming in from the door and from above. Can you do something to
distract them? We’re going to need the advantage. The more
distracted and unprepared for us, the better.”
 A distraction? What the hell could I do that would stop the shifters
—and there was no doubt in my mind that’s what they were—from
looking around and expecting an attack. It had to be something that
would get their attention and keep it.
“Sneeze when you’re ready, and we’ll come in five seconds later.”
Right. A distraction. I thought about charging Ross or that familiar
shadow, but that wouldn’t distract them. They didn’t fear me. Nor
did they need to. As soon as I got in range of them, they would just
slap me aside. I was no threat, so not worth their attention. Not
while I couldn’t fully shift or draw upon my wolf’s speed and
strength.
I needed something else. Something to focus their attention on
me. Not on everything around them. I—Shit. I had an idea. A really,
really bad idea.
 Chapter Seven

“This had better be worth it,” I muttered to myself and also the
mic.
“Hey, boys,” I said, pitching my voice low and throaty. “Think we
can have a little fun while we wait?” I asked, backing up to the
showers.
All their eyes turned toward me. For a moment, I felt powerful. In
command. Like I could dictate what the men would do.
Then, I sneezed and lifted my shirt and bra even as I buried my
face in shame as I set women’s rights back a hundred years. I
couldn’t believe what I was doing, but judging by the appreciative
growls, I had their attention. The distraction was working.
Now, I just had to hope that Aaron and his team—
Far above me came the sound of shattering glass. I hadn’t even
known there were windows up there. But Aaron had. They exploded
inward in a hail of shards. I squeaked and pushed myself as flat
against the wall as possible, holding my arms above my head still to
protect myself.
Multiple thuds announced the presence of Aaron’s team as they
dropped from the ceiling, coming out from the shadows. I heard the
sounds of fighting and lifted my head just in time to see Aaron barge
through the door, the cheap wood splintering under his impact and
giving way to the determined vampire.
For just a moment, our eyes locked, and I saw something in them.
They had gone cold and hard, with an icy blue fury that had me
feeling just a bit empathetic to my kidnappers. Aaron was pissed.
His eyes traveled downward, and I saw a brief thawing of the ice
even as his eyebrows went the opposite direction. Feeling exposed
and vulnerable at the sudden reminder my chest was still out, I
yanked the shirt down, covering myself as fast as I could. Several
threads ripped in the process, but thankfully the flimsy material held
while I fixed my bra, watching as the room around me devolved into
fighting between shifters and vampires.
The close confines didn’t favor either side. With so many bodies in
the locker room, there wasn’t that much room to maneuver. While
the glass shower from the broken windows bought the vamps time
to land and attack, it had also bought the shifters time to recover
from their shock. The fight was evenly matched.
Except there were more shifters than vampires. Aaron’s team was
outnumbered, and I saw in a heartbeat that they were going to lose
if something didn’t change.
They need my help. I have to help them. I can’t keep standing
still. I have to move.
At first, my body didn’t respond. I was rooted to the spot,
watching the fight in horror, paralyzed by indecision.
“Jo, get out of here!” Aaron roared from where he was wrestling
mightily with Ross, each trying to gain the advantage over the other
without letting themselves be vulnerable. “Go! Now!”
To my left, someone grunted in pain. My head whipped around to
see Alexi stagger back, a dagger sticking out of his side. The shifter
he’d been struggling with came at him again, but the vampire didn’t
give up. He tugged the knife from his side with another, pained
grunt and, in a blinding flash, buried it in the leg of his opponent.
The shifter roared and leaped on Alexi, using his larger size to
take the vampire down. The knife popped free in the fracas and
came skittering across the floor to bump against my boot.
It was that contact that snapped me out of my frozen state. I bent
down, snagged the knife, and with a mighty shriek, leaped at the
shifter pinning Alexi to the ground. I brought the blade down into his
back, plunging it deep enough that I hoped it hit something vital.
“You bitch!” the unnamed shifter bellowed, backhanding me away.
The knife came with me, ripping free of his skin as I refused to let
go. It didn’t matter though, the pain and distraction helped. I
collided with the wall, my breath momentarily leaving me, even as
Alexi moved like a snake until he was behind the shifter. He got his
arm locked into the shifter’s throat, and that was it.
Staggering to my feet, I watched as another of the shifters tried to
race by me to hit Fred from behind. I scythed my leg out as hard as
I could, tripping him up and sending him falling to the ground. I
didn’t stick around, however, because I wasn’t stupid. There wasn’t a
single scenario in which my fighting one of the shifters ended well
for me, even with the knife to aid me. So, I didn’t.
I raced across the room and slammed my foot up into the groin of
a shifter tangling with Dave. It was harder to gauge where to hit him
when doing so from behind, but from the way the shifter collapsed
with a wordless gurgle, I knew I’d done okay.
Spinning, I went after another shifter and kicked hard, aiming with
my heel at the knee in his extended leg. The joint buckled, and he
went down as Pieter grabbed him, the smallest vampire a terrifying
sight to behold as he wrapped his arms around the shifter’s head
and twisted mightily.
Then, it was over, just like that. Six bodies on the floor and Ross
leaning heavily against the lockers, blood streaming down his face. I
looked around frantically. The fighting was over, but my mental
count wasn’t adding up.
“What is it?” Aaron asked, coming up to me and putting a
protective arm around me. “Jo, are you okay? Are you hurt?”
I jerkily nodded as I continued to look around the room. “Yeah,
I’m fine. Not a scratch, actually. I promise.”
“Then what is it? What’s wrong?”
“There were eight in here,” I said, looking at the bodies one by
one. I recognized all their faces from the group that had followed
Ross and me down the hallway. No new faces. “It’s not here.”
“What’s not here?” Aaron asked, giving me a slight squeeze.
“The last one. The one I never saw. He stuck to the shadows, but
he was here as well.”
“Room is clear,” Jaxton, Aaron’s second in command, said. “If they
were here, they snuck out the door after we burst through.”
“Damn,” Aaron growled. “I hate loose ends.”
 I thought about the familiarity of the figure, wondering again what
was setting off the alarms in my head. Was it somebody I knew?
What was my mind trying to tell me?
“Are you okay?” Aaron asked as Ross groaned and slid to the floor,
the loss of blood slowing as he healed.
“I’m fine. Not a scratch. But … I don’t get it,” I said, looking up at
him. “He knew who I was from the start. I don’t look anything like
myself in this getup. How is that possible?”
“Only two groups knew we would be here tonight,” Aaron rumbled
ominously. “Us and Mr. Anderman.”
“What are we going to do with them?” I asked, pointing at the
bodies, not all of whom were dead. I could see several breathing,
simply unconscious. “That’s too many to bring back to Seguin.”
“My team will deal with them and with the unfortunate Mr. Ross,”
Aaron growled. “They know what to do.”
“I just wish the other one was here,” I hissed. “There was
something almost familiar about them.”
Ross snarled at that. “The bastard betrayed us. We would have
had you if he’d stuck around.” That earned him a kick to the
stomach from Alexi that sent him back to the floor.
“We’ve got this,” Jaxton said. “You two go.”
“Where are we going?” I asked, wondering what I’d missed.
Aaron growled. “To talk to Mr. Anderman. Because I don’t think
Ross was the only one who was sold out tonight.”
 Chapter Eight

I followed Aaron out of the back room and into the hallway, doing
up the buttons of my shirt. After what had gone on back there, I
was feeling extra conspicuous about showing skin. Besides, there
was no need for me to play the part anymore. My job was done.
Now, I was just accompanying Aaron to ensure that Mr. Anderman
was properly … encouraged ... not to betray Aaron again.
By the time we emerged into the main club section, my adrenaline
was calming, and I was beginning to think straight again.
“Why would he do this?” I asked, following Aaron’s lead.
He didn’t so much as make his way through the crowd as he did
cut a path to his destination. Although he lacked the imposing bulk
of a larger man, Aaron was one of those men who had an air about
him that warned others off with simple body language. We walked
along the ground floor like a pair of sharks through a school of fish.
We went in a straight line, and everyone moved out of our way.
I felt badass, even if I wasn’t the one giving off the apex predator
vibes.
Not everyone was so easily intimidated. Near the VIP section was
a set of stairs cleverly angled up behind the bar, obscuring them
from view. One of the bouncers who I’d thought was watching the
bar entry was actually watching those stairs. As we approached, he
stiffened. The man was no slouch. He knew trouble coming when he
saw it, and he didn’t hesitate to get in the way.
His partner saw it a moment later and started moving to intercept,
but they were a mile late and an hour slow, at least when it came to
Aaron.
“Stand aside,” Aaron said with a terrifying hiss.
 I shivered at the sound. There was no way it could have come
from a human throat. Not that deep, guttural “sssss” that followed
his words. Only something inhuman could have done that.
“You don’t have an appointment.”
My eyebrows went up as the bouncer stood his ground. I was
impressed. The last thing I’d expected was for him to not only stick
around but verbally deny Aaron. Either this man was extremely
dumb and hired only for his muscles, which were admittedly rather
impressive, or he was more dangerous than he looked, and a single
vampire didn’t scare him that much.
“I don’t care,” Aaron growled. “Out of my way, troll.”
Troll? He’s not that ugly?
In fact, he really wasn’t ugly at all. While I wasn’t attracted to the
bouncer, I could admit that he had a decently attractive face. Many
would find him good looking, and—
The bouncer made a gurgling noise that somehow came across as
threatening. It was also not a sound any human throat could make.
I swallowed, my mouth dry. Aaron hadn’t been insulting the
bouncer’s looks. He’d been calling him out. The man didn’t look like
a troll. He was a troll. In disguise, apparently.
“I will quite literally rip your arm from your body and shove it
down your throat before lighting you on fire,” Aaron threatened,
taking a step toward the bouncer, even as the other one arrived next
to him.
The bouncer tried to stand tall, doing an admirable job of
protecting his station. But in the end, he backed down before the
fury in Aaron’s bright blue eyes, the fires in them a warning of what
would come.
We marched on past. Me, being the wise, worldly person that I
was, didn’t antagonize the trolls any further, despite the very
tempting urge to throw in a “ya, I thought so!” If the bouncer wasn’t
willing to call Aaron’s bluff, then neither was I. Best we went on our
way.
Aaron took the steps two at a time, catching me by surprise. I
hurried to keep up.
 “Hey, what’s the rush?” I said, my short legs churning up the stairs
as they took a right-hand turn down a hallway once we reached the
top.
“They’re going to warn Mr. Anderman,” Aaron said. “Can’t let that
happen.”
“Right,” I said, nodding in understanding, trying to move faster to
keep up.
Aaron reached the doorway at the end of the hallway, coming to a
halt so abrupt I nearly slammed my nose into his back. He didn’t
bother calling for Anderman. Didn’t bother knocking. All he did was
lean back and kick the door in.
I realized it was solid wood once I heard it snap, though it didn’t
entirely give way. A second kick ripped the slab from its hinges and
sent it crashing to the floor, after which Aaron stormed into the
room, heading straight for the figure behind the desk.
I gasped as Aaron gripped the edge of the deck and simply
heaved it aside. I’d known he was strong, but the desk was solid oak
by the looks of it, and it was a huge L-shape with a hutch on one
side. And he tossed it aside like candy. It was impressive, to say the
least, and my respect for him went up a level.
Anderman, on the other side of Aaron’s wrath, had backed up
against the far wall, eyes wide. I noted, however, that he wasn’t
shaking or begging for his life. He was scared but not terrified.
Intimidated but not breaking.
That changed when Aaron surged forward and lifted Anderman
from the ground, pinning him to the back wall by his neck.
“You should probably start talking,” I said gaily. “He’s really not
happy with you right now. And you don’t want him to get mad. That
would be bad for business, I’m certain. Best to cut off any troubles
now, don’t you think?”
Anderman glared at me like he resented my interference, but I
didn’t care. I was riding the coattails of Aaron’s entrance, and it was
fun.
“You sold us out,” Aaron snarled. “You put her in danger!”
I forced my heart to stop fluttering at the protectiveness in his
voice. I was part of the team. That was why he was so angry about
it. It had nothing to do with the way he’d showed up at my door
yesterday saying he wanted to claim me. I’d made it clear to him I
wasn’t interested.
Hadn’t I?
“No,” Anderman started to say. “I—”
“You’re lying,” I said, stating the fact in simple terms. “And we all
know you’re lying. Only two parties knew we would be here tonight.
Us and you. That’s it. You’re the only one who knew I was working
with Aaron’s team. Yet somehow, Ross knew not only that were we
coming for him tonight, but he somehow recognized who I was,
even in this ridiculous outfit, wig and all. Now, how do you think he
managed to do that, hmm? I would think real hard before denying it
again.”
Anderman’s eyes darted back and forth between us.
“If you’re no longer trustworthy,” Aaron said icily, “then you’re no
longer any good to me. And I see no reason to keep you around.”
That seemed to get through to Anderman. He’d not been cowed
by threats of violence, but at the idea of being killed? That drained
the blood from his face.
Unless Aaron isn’t going to kill him, I thought, watching
Anderman’s face pale. That expression, the blood draining, spurred a
thought. Maybe Aaron wasn’t talking about death. Maybe he was
talking about something else.
I shivered. I definitely did not want to watch Aaron suck the man’s
blood or turn him into a new vampire or whatever it was he was
threatening. That would ruin my illusion of Aaron.
“Just tell him what he wants to know,” I snapped.
“I had no choice,” Anderman said, his voice raspy from the
pressure Aaron was applying to his neck. “No choice!”
“There’s always a choice,” I growled, stepping closer. “You could
have chosen not to betray us.”
Anderman shook his head. “No. No choice!”
I frowned, glancing up at Aaron, trying not to shudder at the
emptiness in his eyes. “I don’t get it. It’s like he’s more scared of
someone else or something. Yet it’s not Ross, is it?”
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 — Miehelle on kunnia suuremman arvoinen kuin lapset, sukulaiset
ja ystävät. Kun kunnia on kysymyksessä, ponnistaa mies kaikki
sielunsa voimat, unohtaen kaikki hellemmät suhteet saadakseen
kunniansa takaisin. Mutta te näytte unohtavan, herra, kenelle
puhutte ja rohkenette ruveta minua tutkimaan. Neuvon teitä
tyytymään siihen, että saatte tutkia poikiani, muutoin minullakin
puolestani olisi syytä ruveta teiltä yhtä ja toista kyselemään. Kuinka
itse olette näin tyyni ja kylmäverinen, että kykenette tekemään
minulle kierteleviä kysymyksiä, vaikka hän makaa tuossa?

— Minä kyllä tiedän, kenen kanssa puhun ja te saatte kohta sen

tietää. Teidän kysymykseenne saan vastata, että hän, joka nyt
makaa tuossa, on ollut minulle kaikkea muuta maailmassa kalliimpi.
Nyt olen hänet kadottanut ja onnettomuuteni on niin suuri, niin
ääretön, etten vielä oikein voi sitä käsittääkään ja senvuoksi voin olla
näin tyyni ja kylmä… ainakin aluksi. Voidakseni kostaa, koetan pysyä
näin tyynenä… ymmärrättekö sen? Vielä minulla on tehtävänä
muutamia kysymyksiä, joihin teidän pitää vastata. Miksikä Irene
ehdollaan olisi…

Sanat takertuivat Haraldille kurkkuun, ne kun olisivat loukanneet

hänen tunteitansa ja häväisseet tuota rakasta olentoa, jonka
ylevyyteen hän niin lujasti luotti, että vaikka kaikki todistukset olisivat
olleet häntä vastaan, vaikka kuolleet olisivat nousseet haudoistansa
sitä vakuuttamaan, niin hän ei kuitenkaan olisi uskonut Irenen
tappaneen itseänsä.

— Miksikä hän olisi lopettanut henkensä, te kai tarkoitatte, sanoi

vapaaherra, auttaaksensa Haraldia alkuun.

— Sitä tarkoitin… niin mitäpä syytä hänellä olisi siihen ollut?

 — Tekö sitä kysytte, jolla on niin suuri syy siihen? Hän teki sen
toivottomuudesta, hänen omatuntonsa kun oli ruvennut häntä
vaivaamaan.

— Huomaan, että tyttö poloinen on tunnustanut kaikki julmalle ja

armottomalle isälleen, joka ei ansaitsisi, että hänellä on sellainen
tytär. Mutta älkää yrittäkö minulle luulotella, että hän, sitten kun
rakkautemme on tullut niin lujaksi, ettei mikään maailmassa voi
meitä erottaa, olisi elämän ja onnen sijasta valinnut kuoleman. Juuri
tänä aamuna, jolloin hän odotti sydämensä ystävää ja tiesi saavansa
hänestä, ei salaista, vaan julkisen suojelijan teidän pahoja juonianne
vastaan, nytkö vasta hän olisi näin avuttomasti joutunut epätoivoon!
Niin hullu en ole, että ottaisin sellaista uskoakseni. Vaikka olisin
viipynyt poissa kauankin yli määrä-ajan, niin tiedän ettei Irene
sittenkään olisi menettänyt jaloa luottamustansa, vaan olisi elänyt
toivossa onnellisena, taivuttamatta uljasta päätään kurjan ja ilkeän
ikeenne alle… Tiedän kyllä, kuinka asiat ovat. Kamarijunkkari on
tänään häntä kosinut ja Irene on kohdellut häntä ylenkatseellisesti ja
kylmästi. Sitten kamarijunkkari varmaankin on uhannut kostaa,
ilmoittamalla hänen isästään asioita, joita Irene isänsä tähden ei ole
tahtonut minulle suoraan mainita. Kuitenkin Irene on pysynyt lujana
sekä isänsä että kamarijunkkarin tahtoa vastaan. Silloin hänen
isänsä ajatteli näin: jos nyt laitan tytön pois tieltä ja teen sen
ikäänkuin hän itse olisi lopettanut päivänsä, niin minulla ei enää liene
syytä pelätä kamarijunkkaria. Ja mainio tilaisuus teillä olikin siihen
täällä ullakolla, varsinkin kun satuitte lukitsemaan ovenkin, Te se
olitte, joka panitte paulan hänen kaulaansa ja tapoitte hänet. Valkeus
ja pimeys eivät sovi yhteen… hän oli enkeli ja te olette itse
pahahenki.
 Näin puhuessaan Harald kerta toisensa perästä oli istahtanut
patjalle Irenen viereen. Hänessä kyti vielä heikko toivo, että hän
mahdollisesti virkoisi henkiin ja hän koetti joka tavalla saada hänet
tointumaan. Ahtaan hameenmiehustan ja kureliivin hän oli päästänyt
auki ja siepannut seinältä päällysvaatteita, peittääksensä niillä
vaaleaa morsiantansa, varjellaksensa häntä pakkaselta, jonka
kuitenkin toivoi häntä virkistävänkin. Tuon tuostakin hän otti vadista
vettä, kastaaksensa sillä hänen otsaansa ja ohimoitaan.

Hän oli väkisinkin koettanut pysyä tyynenä tämän rakkaan,

vaalean tytön takia. Ken olisi hänet siinä nähnyt, ei olisi voinut olla
ihmettelemättä hänen mielenmalttiansa sekä sitä eriskummallista
asemaa, johon kohtalo oli hänet heittänyt. Lähellä häntä oli kaksi
olentoa, joista toinen oli hänen pahin vihollisensa ja toinen hänen
sydämensä ainoa rakas ystävä. Edelliselle hän puhui inhon ja
ylenkatseen sanoja, toiselle ei virkkanut sanaakaan, hän kun ei
kuitenkaan olisi voinut hänelle vastata. Kuitenkin oli viimeksimainitun
hoito hänelle pää-asiana ja toisen kanssa puhuminen vain
välttämätön sivuseikka.

— Onko sinulla todistuksia, jymisi vapaaherra, vaadin sinulta

todistuksia, mokomakin rohkea ja hävytön konna, jonka armosta
olen antanut syödä leipääni, suoden sinulle tilaisuuden houkutella
tyttäreni pauloihisi!

— Mitäpä ne paulat olivat tämän kuoleman paulan rinnalla! Sanot

minun syöneen sinun leipääsi, mutta minä vastaan, ettet sinä
koskaan vastedes tule syömään minun leipääni. Sinut ajetaan ulos
ryöstetystä linnastasi ja pois ihmisten silmistä. Mutta siitä ei nyt ole
kysymys. Vaadit todistuksia; siis ei niitä ole mielestäsi tarpeeksi… ja
ehkäpä niistä huolimatta voisitkin kiertelemällä päästä maallisen
oikeuden kourista… mutta minusta ne kumminkin ovat sitovia. Ja
onpa tässä olemassa hyvinkin pätevä todistus. Vai oletko koskaan
kuullut, että kukaan, joka ehdollaan tahtoi kuolla, ensin olisi repinyt ja
pahoin pidellyt omaa ruumistansa? Katsopa, kuinka Ireneni suhteen
on julmasti menetelty, katso näitä paisumia ja sinelmiä, näitä kynsien
jälkiä kaulassa ja niskassa, katso kuinka nämä kauniit hiukset ovat
sekaisin ja takkuiset. Olet häntä piessyt ja joka tavalla rääkännyt,
laahannut häntä hiuksista pitkin lattiaa… Ja vielä puhut, ettei muka
olisi todistuksia…

Näin puhuen Harald jälleen tunnusteli Irenen otsaa ja valtasuonia

ja luuli huomaavansa, ettei enään ollut mitään toivoa. Nyt hän
vihdoin hurjistui ja huusi jymisevällä äänellä:

— Vai eikö minulla ole todistuksia, sinä kavala tiikeri ihmisen

haahmossa, sinä luonnoton ilkiö isäksi?

Näin sanoen hän hyökkäsi vapaaherran kimppuun. Niin

kärsivällinen elehvanttikin, kun sen kärsivällisyys vihdoin viimein
loppuu, hyökkää julman tiikerin päälle ja saa siitä pian voiton. Harald
paiskasi vapaaherran voimainsa takaa lattiaan ja lyödä läimähytti
häntä, niin että veri purskahti korvista, suusta ja sieraimista. Mutta
siihen hänen raivonsa myös päättyi. Vapaaherra, joka ei kuitenkaan
pyörtynyt, alkoi kovalla äänellä huutaa apua:

— Palvelijat, pian apuun, ennenkuin minut tapetaan. Rientäkää!

— Älkää pitäkö kiirettä! Vapaaherralla ei ole mitään hätää, huusi

Harald vielä kovempaa.

Askeleita ei kuulunut, eikä ketään tullut apuun. Harald piti vielä

vapaaherrasta kiinni lujilla kourillaan ja huusi kaikuvalla äänellä:
 — Vai enkö minä sinua tunne? Puolisosi sinä myrkytit, kälysi…
mutta hänestä saamme vast'edes puhua… veljesipojan jätit jylhälle
kalliolle… veljesityttären annoit tappaa… vielä toisenkin kerran aijoit
murhata hänet, Stellan… ja nyt lopuksi, päälle päätteeksi olet
tappanut oman tyttäresi. Onkohan olemassa niin suurta rangaistusta
kuin olisit ansainnut? Eihän se liikaa olisi, vaikka tukasta laahaisin
sinut tuonne loukkoon ja hirttäisin niinkuin itse teit hänelle, joka
makaa tässä. Mutta minä en ole kelvollinen sinua rankaisemaan,
vaan jätän sen Jumalalle, eikä se olisikaan kylliksi kova rangaistus
sinulle… Ollakseni kuitenkin varma, ettet lähde karkuun taikka, julma
kun olet, rupea tätä minulle kallista ruumista vielä raatelemaan, niin
seuraa minua, jottei minun tarvitse sinua tukasta laahata.

Koneentapaisesti vapaaherra kulki hänen perässänsä toiseen

loukkoon. Kun Harald vuorostansa nyt alkoi laittaa paulaa, niin
vapaaherra taas yritti lähteä karkuun, mutta samassa kuului
ikäänkuin seinästä ääni, joka lausui tuon ainoan sanan: Henrik.
Ikäänkuin kiveksi muuttuneena jäi vapaaherra paikallensa
seisomaan, jotta Harald sai tehdä hänelle mitä itse tahtoi. Hän pujotti
vapaaherran paulan läpitse ja jätti hänet kainaloista riippumaan;
tämä asema oli siksi tukala, ettei hän voinut ponnistella vastaan, eikä
päästä omin voimin irti.

Harald poistui nyt ullakolta ja tapasi portailla paitsi rouva Orrbergiä

ja v. Assarin sisaruksia myös koko talonväen koossa. Kaikeksi
onneksi pojat olivat kaupungissa kestissä ja pikku Ulla nukkui vielä.
Siitä asti kun ovi särjettiin olivat he seisoneet siinä kuuntelemassa,
uskaltamatta rientää vapaaherran avuksi, taikka lieneekö heiltä ollut
tahtoa puuttunut. Kaikki he olivat pelästyksestä puhumattomina ja
Amalia itki.
 Harald meni huoneeseensa ja jotta ei hänen äitinsä liiaksi
pelästyisi hän, tarttuen häntä käteen, selitti muutamilla sanoilla mitä
oli tapahtunut ja mitä vielä oli tehtävä. Haraldin annettua hänelle
liinan, johon hän saisi kätkeä kasvonsa, he molemmat astuivat ulos.
Portailla seisoville sanoi Harald:

— Jo on aika, että tulette todistajina katsomaan sellaista, jota ette

ole tienneet aavistaakaan. Älkää viipykö, tulkaa heti!

Jos Haraldin odottamaton ilmestyminen jo oli herättänyt heissä

kummastusta, niin he nyt aivan ällistyivät, nähdessään tämän
salaperäisen naisen. Ja heidän tultuaan ullakolle, niin kuka voisi
kuvailla heidän pelkoaan ja kauhistustansa, kun he tapasivat
vapaaherran siellä elävänä roikkumassa ja vähän etäämpänä
hänestä näkivät hänen tyttärensä makaavan kuolleena lattialla.

Annettuaan heidän muutaman silmänräpäyksen tuota katsella,

päästi Harald hänen ilkeästä ja häpeällisestä asemastansa. Nyt oli
vapaaherra käskemäisillään miespalvelijansa ja kamarijunkkarin
vangita Haraldin, jonka aikoi ilmoittaa Irenen murhaajaksi, mutta
nähdessään tuon salaperäisen naisen, hänen rohkeutensa
kokonaan lannistui, niin ettei hän saanut sanaakaan suustansa. Sen
sijaan Harald ryhtyi puhumaan:

— Halusta sinä, vapaaherra Arvid Henning, käskisit kaikkia tässä

läsnäolevia tekemään minulle väkivaltaa, mutta kielesi ei ota
kääntyäksensä ja se onkin parasta, koska he tuskin uskaltaisivat
taikka tahtoisivat sinua nyt totella. Siis, kuulkaa minua. Kaikkein
teidän, sekä talonväen että vieraitten läsnäollessa, minä julistan, että
vapaaherra Arvid Henning on varas, rosvo ja moninkertainen
murhamies. Katsokaa tätä hänen tytärtään, hänen omaa lastansa,
kuinka hän makaa tuossa kalpeana ja puhumattomana, katselkaa
kauhean nuoran jälkiä hänen hienossa ja valkoisessa kaulassaan,
katselkaa hänen niskassaan kynsien jättämiä jälkiä. Kaiken tämän
on hänen isänsä tehnyt ja minkätähden? Kostonhimosta sekä
maallisen rangaistuksen pelosta. Siitä varmaankin kaksi meistä voisi
antaa tarpeellisia tietoja, koska luulen heidän pitävän kunniastaan ja
kuuntelevan omantunnon ääntä… mutta kentiesi sitä ei heiltä
vaaditakaan. Siinä kyllin, että monesta seikasta käy selville, ettei
tämä nuori neiti ole tappanut itseänsä, vaan että hänen isänsä on
hänet surmannut. Ja ellei näitä todistuksia pidettäisi täydellisinä, niin
muistakaa, että oikeudessa katsotaan puoliakin todisteita päteviksi,
jos on kysymys henkilöstä, joka aikaisemmin on huomattu syypääksi
suuriin rikoksiin. Tähän asti hän on voinut salata ilkitekonsa, niin ettei
laki ole pystynyt häntä tuomitsemaan; mutta kuulkaa nyt, mitä muita
rikoksia hän on tehnyt, paitsi sitä, jonka näette tässä silmäänne
edessä. Seuraavista kahdesta rikoksesta minä tulen tekemään
kanteen häntä vastaan ja toivonpa voivani todistaa hänet syypääksi.
Katsokaa tätä naista, tunnetteko hänet?…

Kreivitär veti liinan pois silmiltään, näyttäen kasvonsa. Kylmä hiki

nousi vapaaherran otsalle ja hän vaipui vanhalle sohvalle, jolle jäi
istumaan.

Eipä paljon puuttunut, ettei kaikkein saapuvilla olevien käynyt

samoin, heidän nähdessään nuo vieläkin kauniit kasvot, jotka
muistuttivat kuollutta.

Vapaaherran kamaripalvelija, joka oli noin viidenneljättä ikäinen

mies ja oli ennen palvellut vapaaherran vanhempaa veljeä, syöksyi
nyt esiin ja heittäytyi polvilleen entisen haltijattarensa eteen.

— Armollinen kreivitär, hän huudahti.

 Kyynel kimmelsi kreivittären silmässä ja hän laski kätensä
palvelijan pään päälle, koettaen sitten saada hänet nousemaan. Itse
hän ei voinut puhua, mutta hän viittasi Henrikille, että tämä jatkaisi.
Kesti vähän aikaa ennenkuin tämä jälleen pystyi sitä tekemään ja
sitäpaitsi hän silmillään seurasi Amalian toimintaa, joka, vaikka se
olikin hänestä turhaa, kuitenkin herätti hänessä kiitollisuutta.

Haraldin puhuessa tämä nimittäin oli uskaltanut lähestyä rakkaan

neitinsä vuodetta, koettamaan hänen otsaansa ja käsiään. Hän ei
tehnyt sitä uteliaisuudesta, vaan pitääksensä huolta emännästään.
Hän riensi alas ja toi palatessaan jotain väkevää hajuvettä ja muuta
sellaista, jolla alkoi häntä hieroa ja joka tavalla virkistyttää. Harald
hymyili tuolle surullisesti ja jatkoi:

— Niin, tämä on kreivitär Helena Henning. Paitsi tätä uskollista

palvelijaa on monta muuta vielä elossa, jotka voivat sen todistaa.
Hänet haudattiin, koska hänet luultiin kuolleeksi, vaikka hän olikin
vain valekuollut. Hän heräsi maanalaisessa huoneessa, jonne ei kuu
eikä aurinko päässyt paistamaan. Siellä hän tuon tuostakin näki
kaksi miestä, joista toinen on vapaaherra tuossa ja toinen, jonka
myös aijon haastaa todistajaksi, omasta pyynnöstään on jäänyt
samaan hautakammioon, josta viime yönä onnellisesta
sattumuksesta pelastin kreivitär Henningin. Tyydyttääksensä
pirullista, luonnotonta kostonhimoaan, vapaaherra neljätoista vuotta
on pitänyt häntä siellä vangittuna. Kieli tarttuisi kiinni suulakeeni, jos
rupeaisin teille kertomaan kaikkea, mitä minä tiedän ja uskon. Tässä
näette hänet, tuon rakkaan ja armaan… hän elää, mutta
huomaatteko, kuinka vapaaherra vapisee…

Kreivi Henningillä oli vaimonsa kanssa kaksi lasta. Itse hän pitkät
ajat oleskeli poissa, koska oli joutunut orjuuteen; sillä välin pidettiin
hänen puolisonsa hulluinhuoneeseen teljettynä. Vapaaherra lähti
Saksaan matkustamaan ja otti mukaansa holhokkinsa, pikku
Henrikin. Siellä hän jätti lapsen asumattomalle saarelle, mutta se
tulikin pelastetuksi. Kelpo ihmiset ottivat sen kasvattaaksensa ja se
elää vieläkin. Tyttären, joka äidin luulotellun kuoleman jälkeen myös
joutui setänsä holhouksen alaiseksi, oli tämä myös päättänyt
surmata, mutta hänen kätyrinsä, jonka kävi lasta sääli, vaihetti sen
kuolleeseen lapseen, jonka vapaaherran poissa ollessa toimitti
hautaan. Huolimatta kaikista vaaroista ja kummallisista
elämänvaiheista, tämä kreivittären toinenkin lapsi vielä elää. Kaikki
te hyvin tunnette hänet… se on Stella. Katsokaa, kuinka äiti ja tytär
ovat toistensa näköisiä, niin ette enään epäile!… Mitä poikaan tulee,
jonka muistopatsaan olette nähneet puistossa, niin hänkin, niinkuin
jo sanoin, elää vielä. No niin, minä olen Henrik Henning… tämä on
äitini ja Stella on minun sisareni… Oikeudessa olen vaativa takaisin
kaikki oikeutemme ja syytökset tätä miestä kohtaan olen myös
käräjissä näyttävä toteen. Olkoon hän kuinka viekas tahansa,
kierrelköön niin, että totuus muuttuu valheeksi ja valhe totuudeksi,
Jumala on kuitenkin oleva puolellani ja antava minulle viisautta, jotta
saan hänet kaikkine juonineen paljastetuksi.

Vapaaherra ei enää voinut seurata Haraldin puhetta. Hän makasi

vanhalla sohva-rämällä sellaisessa tilassa, että muulloin, paitsi nyt,
olisi häntä surkuteltu. Kirkkaus oli sammunut silmistä, jotka hurjasti
tuijottivat ympärillensä, tukka nousi pystyyn ja suu oli vaahdossa.
Harald huomasi hänen tilansa ja sanoi palvelijoille:

— Kantakaa vapaaherra huoneeseensa, jonka hän toistaiseksi

saa pitää omanansa. Lähettäkää heti noutamaan lääkäriä, ellei tämä
pian mene ohitse, ja hoitakaa häntä hellästi. Hän on vanha mies ja
sitäpaitsi teidän isäntänne.
 Panikohan jalomielisyys nämä sanat hänen suuhunsa, vai
pelkäsikö hän vihamiehensä menettävän järkensä, niin ettei
saisikaan hänelle kostaa. Vast'edes saamme tietää hänen syynsä.

Kaikki palkolliset paitsi Amalia poistuivat, mutta kamarijunkkari

sisarineen kuitenkin jäi. Edellinen ryhtyi puhumaan:

— Luuleeko maisteri… suokaa anteeksi, että teitä vielä siksi

kutsun… luuletteko minulla olevan mitään osaa tähän?

— En tahdo luulla pahaa muista, kun olen tullut huomaamaan, että

yksi ainoa on syypää niin paljoon pahaan.

Emilia v. Assarin tunteet olivat näiden kauheitten tapauksien

johdosta peräti muuttuneet. Hämmentyneenä hän lähestyi Haraldia
ja tarttuen häntä käteen, sanoi:

— Harald Thalberg tai Henrik Henning, uskokaa pahaa vielä

toisestakin… minusta. Minä se olin, joka yllytin veljeäni menemään
niin pitkälle kuin mahdollista, ja seuraus siitä on ollut näitä hirvittävin.

— Ei, sisareni, tällä kertaa en täydellisesti sinua totellut.

Vapaaherran tullessa tänne ullakolle, toivoin vielä tapaavani Irenen
alhaalla ja silloin olisin suostunut hänen niin kauniisti lausumaansa
pyyntöön… olisin luvannut luopua tyttärestä, rupeamatta silti
ahdistamaan isää. Siitä vapaaherra ei kuitenkaan tiennyt mitään,
sillä siinä tapauksessa hän ei olisi tehnyt minkä teki.

— Turhaan sinä koetat painua lohduttaa, Emil, sillä vaikkei

vapaaherra olisikaan tavannut Ireneä täällä, niin sinä kumminkin
alhaalla olisit tavannut minut ja minä olisin uudelleen yllyttänyt sinua
pahaan. Sillä minäpä kehoitin sinua pysymään vaatimuksissasi,
vaikka tiesin ketä Irene rakasti. Tuo syyllisyyteni, jonka nyt vasta
huomaan, tekee minut onnettomaksi. Turhamaisuus ja itsekkyys
viettelivät minua… kentiesi myös rakkaus, mutta minkä arvoinen
olikaan sellainen rakkaus, joka viihtyi yhdessä näin kehnojen
tunteitten kanssa. Voi, jospa Irene vielä eläisi, taikka jos hän jälleen
virkoisi henkiin, jotta hänellekin saisin tunnustaa ilkeyteni, jotta saisin
jollakin tavalla sovittaa, minkä olen rikkonut. Näetkö, Harald, minä
rakastan sinua ja kuitenkin tahtoisin hänen tulevan vielä henkiin;
etköhän siitä huomaa että kadun? Mutta mitäpä on katumuksesta ja
kyynelistä, koska tehty kuitenkin on tehty eikä Irene enää herää.

Emiliassa olivat hänen paremmat ominaisuutensa päässeet

voitolle ja hän itki katkerasti.

Silloin kreivitär Henning tuli puristamaan hänen kättänsä. Äiti

tahtoi niin kernaasti lohduttaa sitä, joka rakasti hänen poikaansa.

— Hän toipuu, kuiskasi Amalia, hiljaa, hän toipuu.

— Vetäydy syrjään, Emil, kuiskasi Emilia veljelleen. Tämä

ymmärsi, mitä hän tarkoitti ja totteli.

Harald ja kreivitär menivät Irenen luo ja ensinmainittu oli

huomaavinaan hieman punaa hänen poskillaan. Vaikka pelkäsikin
erehtyneensä, hän kuitenkin sanoi:

— Kannetaan hänet varovasti lämpöiseen suojaan.

Neljän he kantoivat Irenen patjoineen Haraldin huoneeseen ja

laskivat sen hänen vuoteeseensa. Sitten asettivat he peilin hänen
suunsa eteen ja sen kalvoon ilmaantui hikeä. Harald koetteli hänen
valtasuontaan ja huomasi sen hiljaa tykyttävän. Jälleen hän alkoi
kastella hänen ohimoitaan vedellä ja Amalia koetti uudelleen käyttää
hajuvettä. Kaikkien iloksi loi kuolleeksi luultu silmänsä auki.

Heikolla äänellä, jonka suloinen sointu tunkeutui kuulijain

sydämiin,
Irene sanoi:

— Harald, sinäkö siinä oletkin, Harald ja tuossa on kiltti

Amaliani…… ja Emilia, oletko sinäkin täällä… mutta sinä… Stella…
oletko vanhentunut? Miksikä Stella yksin on käynyt vanhemmaksi?
Harald, ymmärrätkö, mistä se johtuu. Ensin tahdon kuitenkin sanoa,
että rakastan sinua.

— Irene, oi, Ireneni!

— Muutoin luulisin eläväni, jatkoi Irene, vaivoin kohottaen hiukan

päätään, mutta koska Stella noin on vanhentunut, niin lienenkin
kuollut. Nyt minä ymmärrän. Olen kuollut ja autuas; Jumala on
antanut minulle Haraldin huoneen taivaakseni… Mutta minkävuoksi
on Emiliakin täällä?

Emilia purskahti itkuun, mutta nyt se tapahtui ilosta. Hänelle teki

niin hyvää saada Ireneltä nuhteita. Hyvyys hänen sydämessään
alkoi jo kantaa kauniita hedelmiä.

— Sentähden Emilia on täällä, että hän on ystäväsi, ja parhaimpia

onkin, selitti Harald.

— Vai on. Hyväile minua sitten, Emilia, niinkuin teetkin ja itke

ilosta, että olemme taivaassa. Sitä vain en käsitä, miksi Stella yksin
on käynyt noin vanhaksi.

— Hän on Stellan äiti, sanoi Amalia.

 — Oikeinko totta? Silloinpa ehkä vielä elänkin ja olen maan päällä.
Harald, minä rakastan sinua. Harald parka, älä ole noin
murheellinen!
Olenhan minä kuitenkin sinun omasi, joko elän tai kuolen… Mutta
olen
kipeä ja väsyksissä ja tahdon nukkua.

Hänen päänsä vaipui jälleen päänalukselle ja hän vaipui uneen.

Harald meni alas ja viittasi Emiliaa seuraamaan. Tämän iloksi hän

ystävällisesti puristi hänen kättänsä.

Alhaalla hän kysyi, miten vapaaherra jaksoi. Ei kukaan tiennyt sitä

sanoa, koska ei kukaan ollut käynyt häntä katsomassa. Pikku Ulla oli
häntä kysellyt, mutta hänelle oli vastattu, että isä tahtoo olla yksin.
Sitten hän oli kysynyt suurta siskoa ja saanut vastaukseksi, että hän
on kipeä, mutta ei ilmoitettu, missä hän on.

— Mene minun huoneeseeni, sanoi Harald, kun pikku Ulla tuli

häntä vastaan, siellä iso sisko makaa sairaana… mutta astu hyvin
hiljaa.

Pikku Ulla katsoi häntä suurilla, viisailla silmillään ja läksi.

— Tulkaa, Emilia. Menkäämme nyt tätä sairasta katsomaan.

He menivät. Huoneessaan vapaaherra makasi tiedottomana,

sellaisena kuin he olivat nähneet hänet ullakolla. Kamarijunkkari,
joka oli saanut tietää missä he olivat, tuli myös pian sinne. Häntä
kummastutti hänen nähdessään, kuinka heistä oli tullut hyvät
ystävykset.
 Nyt on kirkkoonmenon aika, sanoi Harald, minun tekisi mieleni
mennä kirkkoon. Irenehän nukkuu ja kamarijunkkari kai pitää huolta
tästä sairaasta. Lähdettekö, Emilia, mukaan?

— Mutta, entä jos hän heräisi, arveli Emilia. Lähdepä, Emil,

Haraldin huoneeseen ja ota sieltä hänen pistoolinsa, jotta voit
puolustaa Ireneä.

Pian Emilia oli saanut ylleen päällysvaatteensa, hevonen oli

valjastettu ja he kaikki kolme menivät siihen huoneeseen, joka nyt oli
Irenen hallussa. Hän nukkui makeasti, näyttäen unissaan enkeliltä.

Kamarijunkkarin otettua pistoolin, Harald ja Emilia jättivät

nukkuvan hyvästi ja läksivät.

Tämä kirkkomatka tuli olemaan Emilian onnellisimpia muistoja.

Tosin hän tiesi, ettei Harald häntä rakastanut, mutta hän tiesi myös,
että tämä ymmärsi häntä. Kaikesta mikä vast'edes kohtaisi häntä
elämässä, hän saisi korvausta tästä muistosta.

Otettuaan osaa jumalanpalvelukseen, he kirkolta menivät

kappalaistalolle, jossa söivät päivällistä, lähteäksensä sitten pastorin
ja Stellan seurassa Ristilään.

Harald oli kertonut kaikki mitä siellä oli tapahtunut ja matkalla

Stella sanoi:

— Olet aina naurahtanut niin epäilevästi, kun olen sanonut, että

joskus maailmassa vielä löydän vanhempani, ainakin äitini. Näetkö
nyt, Erkki… sinä paras ja rakkain ystäväni… että olin kerran
oikeassa!
 — Oikeassa olit, pikku kulta, sinä ainoa iloni ja tulevaisuuteni
toivo. Oi, kuinka rakastankaan sinua, lapsi raukka!

— Tiedätkö, Erkki, että olen vihoissani sinulle eräästä asiasta.

Muistatko, että kerran sanoit: "ajattelepa, jos tulisi joskus ilmi, että
oletkin prinsessa, kreivitär taikka korkeasukuinen neiti… ja minä olen
vain köyhä pappi ja tulen aina semmoisena pysymään"… Mutta
tiedätkö, jos minusta tulee rikas, niin silloin minä vasta tunnen itseni
oikein rikkaaksi, kun saan antaa kaikki mitä minulla on tuolle
köyhälle papille, omalle Erkilleni… ja sanoa: koska Stella köyhänä
sinulle kelpasi, niin ehkä et rikkaana häntä hylkää.

— Taikka ehkä sanoisit: ota kaikki rikkauteni ja Stella vielä kaupan

päällisiksi, naurahti pastori.

— Minähän laskin vain leikkiä, sanoi Stella, joka äkkiä oli

muuttunut totiseksi, kuinkapa minä voisin sinuun suuttua. Tiedän
kyllä, että sinä ymmärrät minua ja sinä tiedät, että minä ymmärrän
sinua.

Mutta kun hän huomasi, että hänen sanansa luultavasti kuuluivat

sukkelilta, niin hän purskahti nauruun, muuttuaksensa kohta jälleen
totiseksi.

— Mitä huokaat, Stella? Vaikka tässä tilaisuudessa lieneekin

sopivampi, että huokaat, kuin että naurat.

— Kiitos, Erkki, että minua nuhtelet, mutta toria minä oikeastansa

tarvitsisinkin. Kovin olenkin kevytmielinen, kun saatan nauraa näin
tärkeällä hetkellä… minä, joka pian saan nähdä äitini… oman äitini…
ja vaikka olen kuullut semmoista, jota Harald meille kertoi. Mutta en
oikein tahdo saada päähäni, että se on totta, mitä hän kertoi. Vai
minulla olisi vielä äiti elossa… sehän olisi liian suuri onni minulle… ja
Haraldko olisikin minun veljeni… hän, johon varmaan olisin
rakastunut, ellei hän olisi vienyt minua sinun luoksesi. Sehän olisi
ollut kauheaa. Tiedätkö, kuinka minusta tuntuu? Tuntuupa ikäänkuin
olisin kulkenut sammalen peittämän äkkisyvän kuilun ylitse pitkin
kapeaa polkua. Jos jalkani olisi astunut vähänkin harhaan, niin olisin
syöksynyt syvyyteen.

He olivat nyt saapuneet Ristilän puistoon. Pastori osoitti

sormellaan harmaata linnaa ja sanoi:

— Tuo on ollut Stellan ensimäinen koti.

Stella kalpeni ja puristi hänen kättään. Eikä hän omin voiminsa

olisi päässyt ylös portaita ullakkohuoneeseen, ellei Erkki olisi häntä
tukenut. Ovelle hän seisahtui ja viittasi Erkkiä jäämään. Muutaman
kerran hän veti syvään henkeänsä ja Erkin tarttuessa lukkoon, hän
nyökkäsi myöntäen. Harald vei tyttären äitinsä syliin.

*****

Pikku Stella, joka ei muuten hevin pyörtynyt, kuitenkin

uudenvuoden päivänä 18 .. kello kahden ja kolmen välillä iltapäivällä
tointui äitinsä sylissä, oltuaan kolmasti tainnoksissa.

*****

Irene nukkui raskaasti ja sikeästi ja kovin hän olikin virkistävän

unen tarpeessa.

*****
 Harald ei unohtanut v. Nitiä. Seppä oli käynyt avaamassa lukon ja
pian v. Nit jälleen oli ullakkokamarissa, jossa Harald kertoi hänelle,
mitä päivän kuluessa oli tapahtunut. Herra v. Nit ei tahtonut mennä
vapaaherraa katsomaan.

Seppä avasi myös lukon, jolla kreivittären vasen käsi vielä oli
kytkettynä rautavitjoihin. Nyt vasta hän tunsi itsensä oikein vapaaksi
ja miltei unohti menneisyyden.

— Nuo rautavitjat aijon ripustaa seinälleni, jotta ne alati

muistuttaisivat minulle, kuinka kärsimyksiä on kestettävä, sanoi
Stella.

— Ja kuinka on opittava panemaan arvoa onneensa, jatkoi

kreivitär. En nureksi kärsimyksiäni, sillä ilman niitä en nyt voisi olla
näin onnellinen. Jumala oli minulle armollinen, eikä antanut minun
kuolla ennenkuin oli suonut minulle tällaisen onnen. Vapaus ja
tavarat eivät kuitenkaan ole mitään sen ilon rinnalla, että nyt olen
saanut takaisin lapseni. Ja kuinka olettekin hyvät ja älykkäät ja
sitäpaitsi niin kauniit ja miellyttävät! Kuinka on mahdollista, että olen
tullut näin onnelliseksi… sanokaapa te, Harald ja Stella, taikka
Henrik ja Helena…

*****

Tämän päivän iltapuolella, jonka alku oli tuottanut hänelle niin

suurta tuskaa ja surua, tunsi Harald olevansa onnellisempi kuin
koskaan ennen. Kello viiden aikaan Irene avasi silmänsä ja näytti
olevan täysin tunnoissan, koska hänen puheensa ei ollut ensinkään
sekavaa.

Harald viittasi pastoria tulemaan kanssansa ulos.

 — Luuletko, hyvä ystävä, sanoi hän, että hetkeksikään olisin
jättänyt Irenen, ellei minulla olisi ollut hyvin tärkeitä syitä. Tahdoin
edelläkäsin ilmoittaa sinulle ja Stellalle, mitä täällä saisitte nähdä, ja
oli minulla vielä toinenkin asia, joka on minulle varsin tärkeä.
Tahtoisin nimittäin, että kirkko vahvistaisi rakkauden synnyttämän
liittomme, koska en kestä nähdä kuinka tyttöparka makaa siinä niin
pahoinpideltynä, kärsien ehkä vielä kovia sieluntuskiakin. Poista
hänestä nuo tuskat, sillä vaikka hän nyt näyttääkin paremmalta, niin
voipa tapahtua, että hän jälleen rupeaa huononemaan, niin että ehkä
kuoleekin. Pyydän sinua sentähden vihkimään meidät ja soisin, että
se tapahtuisi nyt heti.

— Minulla ei ole mitään syytä kieltäytyä sitä tekemästä. Irenen

isähän on menettänyt kaikki edusmiehen oikeutensa, joten en
menettele vastoin lakia. Tule siis.

He palasivat sisään ja pastori selitti muutamalla sanalla, mitä nyt

oli tapahtuva. Sitten hän tavallisuuden mukaan toimitti vihkimisen ja
nyt Irene koko ijäkseen oli tullut Haraldin aviopuolisoksi.

Lienee tarpeetonta luetella todistajain nimiä, siinä kyllin, että niitä

oli viisi ja että kamarijunkkari myös oli niiden joukossa.

Itkevistä Emilia itki eniten. Hänen kyyneleensä olivat katkerimmat,

mutta samalla myös suloisimmat. Rakkauden unelma oli päättynyt,
mutta hänen sydämessänsä kohosi rakennus, joka ei ollut mikään
tuulentupa, vaan itse kieltäymyksen temppeli. Ja nuorta avioparia
onnitellessaan hän ei tuntenut mitään kateutta.

Juuri hän olikin kehoittanut Haraldia tähän pikaiseen vihkimykseen

ja Harald oli siitä niin kiitollinen kuin saattoi olla naiselle, jota ei
rakastanut.
 *****

Olemme jo sanoneet, että Haraldin sydän oli herkkä ihmiskunnan

suruille ja vaivoille ja sen huomaamme seuraavastakin.

Hän läksi ulos huoneesta ja palasi hetken kuluttua noutamaan

pastoria kanssansa alas.

— Nyt seuraa se, joka sinulle Herran palvelijana on kentiesi

tärkeintä, sanoi hän. Nyt vasta sinulta kysytään sielunvoimaa, sillä
nyt ei ole kysymyksessä kahden ihmisen yhdistäminen, vaan
kuolemaisillaan olevan valmistaminen ijankaikkisuutta varten. Mitä
olen pelännyt, on valitettavasti nyt tapahtunut. Siitä saakka, kun
vapaaherra näki maan päällä hänet, jonka oli tottunut näkemään
vain maan alla, on hän ollut aivan puhumattomana. Luulin sitä ensin
pelkäksi teeskentelyksi ja että hän oli olevinaan mielipuoli, mutta siitä
huolimatta olisin kuitenkin vaatinut sinua käymään hänen puheillaan.
Niin surkeaa kuin se onkin, olen kuitenkin nyt huomannut, että häntä
on kohdannut halvaus, ja että hänen kasvonsa ovat kauheasti
muuttuneet. Mene nyt valmistamaan häntä kuolemaan.

Pastori kalpeni ja meni. Hän viipyi kauan sairaan luona ja Harald

alkoi jo toivoa parasta.

Vihdoin pastori palasi vielä kalpeampana kuin oli sinne

mennessään ollut.

— Kaikki on turhaa, sanoi hän, ensin hän ei minua ymmärtänyt,

maatessaan siinä tunnottomana. Mutta niin pian kun hän toipui sen
verran, että tunsi minut, viittasi hän minulle, että poistuisin. Ja kun
siitä huolimatta rupesin hänelle puhumaan, niin hän kiristeli
hampaitaan, puristi nyrkkiänsä, vieläpä nauroikin ilkkuen. En voinut
hänelle mitään ja palaan nyt toivottomampana kuin olin sinne
lähtiessäni.

— Lähtekäämme ylös etsimään lohtua rakkailtamme.

Portailla tuli Emilia heitä vastaan.

— Käypä, Emilia hyvä, vilkaisemassa tuon tuostakin vapaaherraa,

sillä luulen hänen olevan kuolemaisillaan, kehoitti Harald. Palkolliset
eivät näytä hänestä piittaavan ja ehkä kammoksuvatkin häntä. Mutta
missä on pikku Ulla?

— Hän tuli vast'ikään ylös ja kyseli ison sisaren sulhasta.

— Jospa hän ei vain rupeaisi puhumaan isästään, niin että Irene

saisi sen kuulla.

Heidän tultuaan ylös, Harald kuiskasi muutaman sanan pikku tytön

korvaan. Siihen Ulla ei vastannut mitään, sanoi vain veitikkamaisesti:

— Kyllä tiedän, että sinä olet ison siskon sulhanen. Irene ei

kuitenkaan kuullut näitä sanoja, sillä vihkimyksen jälkeen hän oli
mielenliikutuksesta saanut lievän kuumekohtauksen ja tunsi
olevansa niin uupunut, että pian vaipui uneen. Harald kävi istumaan
vuoteen viereen ja tyytyi siihen, että sai suudella hänen hiuksiansa.
Stella istui äitinsä ja Erkin välissä ja näytti äärettömän onnelliselta.

Huoneessa vallitsi syvä äänettömyys, jonka joskus katkaisi

hiljainen kuiskaus. Pikku Ulla ei uskaltanut hiiskuakaan.

Heidän istuttuaan noin yhden tai kaksi tuntia, astui Emilia sisään ja
viittasi Haraldia tulemaan ulos.