Ethan watched her raise a shaking hand to push back a strand of hair.
“He’d always been about staying strong and controlling situations. When his dogs didn’t obey him, he tied them to a tree. When Grandma didn’t obey him . . .” She shook her head. “I don’t really know because she never told me, but I suspect it must’ve been bad for her to fear him that much. He’d taught me to hunt, to know my way around most weapons by the time I was eight. He saw my refusal to go into that room as weakness. His cure was to chain me to my grandmother’s bed, close the bedroom door, and leave me alone with her corpse for two days.”
Ethan couldn’t believe his explosion of fury. He hoped the man was still alive so he could kill him. The Second One murmured its approval.
“He released me on the third day. The first thing I did was to run all the way to the next farm and call my parents. They came and took me away. I never saw the old man again. I refused to talk about him, but a few months later Mom told me that he’d been committed and that he would never hurt me again.” She laughed softly. “It was too late, though. That particular horse had already left the barn.” Cassie finally looked directly at him. “But after what happened in the funeral home, after what they did to Felicity, you can count on me to do my part tonight.”
“Is he still alive?”
“No.” Then she walked away. “Let’s get going before your maker sends someone to see what’s keeping you.” She didn’t glance back as she walked into the living room. She stopped at the door. “Did you feed the cat?”
He almost smiled. Almost. Such an ordinary question in the midst of extraordinary events. “Yes. And Zareb took care of the litter box.” Something he’d never thought to see his maker doing. He would’ve taken a picture and loaded it onto YouTube if he hadn’t thought that Zareb would kill him.
Ethan had stopped to pull a hoodie from the closet. His change was almost complete. From this moment until the Second One retreated, Cassie couldn’t see his face. He pulled the hood far enough forward so he was hidden in shadow. On the way out, he picked up his sunglasses.
She frowned. “The Second One?”
He nodded.
Then they left. Cassie didn’t say anything until they were in her car. “No one waited for us.”
“We’ll meet up near Eternal Rest. They’ll all come in their own cars. They’ll park a few blocks away and wait for Zareb to give instructions.”
“Cars?” She smiled. “I’m disappointed. I thought vampires would have a sexier way of getting around than that. I know you don’t do the dematerializing thing, but how about flying? Do vampires fly?”
“No.” Ethan knew she was trying to sound calm, but he could hear her quickened heartbeat, sense her tension. “If we could do all the things myths say we can do, we’d have conquered the world centuries ago. We have preternatural speed and strength, enhanced senses, and our own specific gifts. And if you belong to my bloodline, you have the Second One.”
She remained silent for a few minutes, and Ethan was hopeful that she’d run out of questions. She hadn’t.
“I was in the shower when you explained things to Zareb. So how did you end up in that glass coffin? And please tell me what a binder is?”
He kept his attention on the road. He didn’t want to repeat the story, but she had a right to know. “I was in Jersey when they caught me.” He wouldn’t go into details about the chase, about how the hell they even found him. “They shot me up with something to keep me weak until they got back to Eternal Rest. Then they took my clothes and dumped me into the coffin. I was still too weak to do anything when the binder came in with his freaking headstone.” Where had they found someone like him?
“They? Who are ‘they’?”
“I don’t know. Some kind of hunters.” Human, but not human. And they’d brought beasts with them. His mind skittered away from thoughts of the beasts.
“So explain ‘binder.’”
Ethan could feel her gaze on him, but he didn’t turn to glance at her. He couldn’t take the chance that she’d see his face. “A binding spell bends someone to your will, makes them do what you want them to do.” He shook his head. “But I’ve never seen or felt anything like this. Tony brought in his headstone, set it next to me, and suddenly I couldn’t move a muscle. I was like that for days.” He’d fought, tried to at least twitch. Nothing. He was a mind trapped in a useless body. He’d never admit how terrified he was. “I don’t know where Garrity found someone that powerful.”
Cassie nodded. “The etching on the tombstone showed you wrapped in chains and a lock on the coffin. So he made you feel exactly what his drawing depicted.”
“I don’t know why they wanted me, or why they put me in a glass coffin. I need answers.” He hoped he would get those answers tonight.
Even though Ethan suspected that Cassie had more questions, she stayed silent for the rest of the drive. He parked her car three blocks from the funeral home. His car was still in Jersey. At least he hoped it was.
Once out of the car, Ethan moved close to her. Her emotions touched him—fear, sorrow, anger, determination. He’d tried to stay clear of the feelings of others in the past. Nothing good came from allowing yourself to be sucked into the maelstrom of human emotions. Involvement made you careless, vulnerable.
He recognized the risks. But this time he couldn’t resist. Ethan wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Whatever goes down when we get there, Zareb will want me to go in first because I have the big guns tonight. He’ll follow me in. He’ll choose a few others to go in with us. The rest will stay outside to deal with guards or anyone trying to flee.”
“What about me?” Her expression said that if they planned to tuck her safely behind some tree, they could just forget about it.
“I want you between Zareb and me. It’ll be the safest place. You know what I can do. And Zareb is old enough to remember the pharaohs. Hell, he might’ve been one. He has crazy survival skills.”
She nodded, her whole body tense.
He couldn’t help himself, Ethan reached over with his free hand and slid his fingers along her clenched jaw. “I’m here.” Stupid words. They’d mean nothing to her.
She drew a deep shuddering breath and relaxed into him. “Thanks.”