She twists her hands together, making her skin red as the blood rushes to those areas.
My senses are so keen, I hear the flow and her heartbeat quickening. The pulse at her throat is an alluring patter that draws my attention.What is wrong with me?I shake off the madness and focus on the distressed woman.
When she looks up, there are tears in her blue eyes. “This may have been a mistake.”
“I can’t see how, Lori. How is Olivia’s therapy going?” When the child was retrieved by Tilda, nearly sacrificing her own life to free her, we all knew the trauma of the experience would leave a lasting scar emotionally. I did what I could to help her sleep with my elixir, adding it to a cup of herbal tea. Once she was sleeping through the night on her own, I stepped away in favor of the local psychologist to help.
Gripping her hands tighter, Lori bites her lip again. “I don’t think it’s helping. Livi is so sad and scared all the time. I just want my happy, sweet girl back.”
“These things take time. Olivia is young. She will recover with your help and with her sister’s.” It hurts my soul to know that the child is suffering. Seeing Lori so upset calls to something inside me that I believed long dead.
She stops fidgeting and meets my gaze. “You could fix this. I heard that vampires can remove memories. I know you can help my baby.”
If my heart had a regular beat, it would stop. I think I might have misunderstood her. “You don’t mean that.”
“I do. I want my baby to be happy. She used to sing and was learning to play piano. She did well in school. Now, she just wants to sit in the corner, and she cries all the time.” Tears well up in her eyes, making them look like crystal pools.
“You must give this more time, Lori.” I like the way her first name feels on my tongue, even as I hope that using it will make her listen.
“Can you fix this, Ion? Can you make her forget?” She leans closer without any fear of me.
Wildflowers and beeswax are what her scent reminds me of. It might be autumn, but Lori smells of spring. Standing, I put some distance between us. “There is a difference between what is possible and what is right. I will not steal from Olivia. She will recover if you give her time and the love you have always shared with her.”
Dashing the tears from her eyes, her mouth pulls into a flat line. “I see.” She gets up and faces me. “You could help, but you won’t. What good is a thousand-year-old vampire if he won’t help when he’s needed? You should go back to wherever you were hiding before you came here. This town is full of people and monsters who all help each other. You don’t fit in.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way.” A knot forms in my gut like a pile of rocks. I’ve been told worse things. I’ve been banished from villages at the hot ends of torches and escaped horrible deaths more times than I care to count. Still, this mildly worded reprimand from Lori Manning feels worse than all of those things.
Storming to the front door, she stops with her hand on the knob. “I thought…” She shakes her head. Anger rolls off of her in waves.
Unable to stop myself, I walk toward her with my hands open. “Pick some other way I can help you. What you ask is not possible.”
“Only because you refuse.” She draws deep breaths that she lets out slowly, trying to calm herself.
I can’t really argue with that. “Stay a while and let’s talk about this, Lori.”
“You should go back to calling me Miss Manning.” She swallows. “I’m so angry at you, but I can’t let that keep me from asking.” She bites that full bottom lip.
My body reacts in ways that are completely out of character and out of place in the current situation. “What else do you wish to ask me?”Please let it be something less horrible.
“Will you come and at least help her sleep? Neither Livi nor Dotty has slept through the night since you came to the house for a few days after we got her back.” She stares directly into my gaze, which is not usual for a human. They typically look away from a vampire’s eyes.
This woman will be my undoing. I nod. “What time shall I come?”
Her expression softens, and more tears shine in her eyes. “Eight?”
Could she have thought I didn’t want to help? Madness. “I’ll see you then, Miss Manning.”
With a swift turn, she’s out the door and running to her car.
Unable to take my eyes from her, I watch until she backs out of the driveway and drives away.
The back door opens, and Tilda steps behind me. “What did Lori want from you?”
“To remove Olivia’s memories of the boogeyman.” I stare at the corner where she turned.
Tilda sighs. She places one elegant hand on my shoulder. As both a vampire and a swan shifter, she is both fierce and graceful. She lived as a swan maiden until Pierre took her mortal life and made her a vampire. Having been a victim, I think she understands Olivia’s trauma better than most. “I was afraid it was something like that.”
“I refused, of course.” I face her.
