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Prologue
1886, The Great Reckoning – Northern Ontario – Somewhere in the Boreal Forests
Talan McKenna wiped the blood from his mouth and slung the lifeless soldier to the ground. Somewhat revived, he raced toward the deepest part of the forest. He could feel the sun beginning to rise. There was a prickling tightness to his skin already. He dared not fight anymore. Not tonight. He needed to go to ground before the sun rose.
For the last eleven years, his kind had been at war with the humans. Which wasn’t to say that the humans were any more human than his kind were. They just didn’t need to drink blood to survive. That single distinction set them worlds apart. He put down his satchel and gun, then began to dig.
As he dug the shallow grave, he thought of the stories they believed about him. About his people. According to most they were ghoulishly undead. Monsters that lived only for human flesh. Depraved souls living for the suffering of others.
This, from the people who desecrated the graves of the dead mercilessly. They set fire to anyone or anything they could during the day. His kind, for the most part, took only what they needed to survive, as they had done for centuries.
In his lifetime, which had spanned some three hundred years, he’d done things he wasn’t proud of. In his infancy as one of the others, as he liked to think of them, he had killed. Even in war, he found it distasteful, and he certainly wasn’t proud of it. The memories still haunted him. When he thought of her, he could still see the little girl’s eyes staring vacantly up at him as her life slipped way. He had taken other lives, but hers was the only face that haunted him.
He had never been a cruel man, but he had known hunger. During those first days when his body was changing, he hadn’t been able to control himself. His family long since dead from famine and disease, he’d had no one to rein him in. Learning to survive was something he’d done on his own. There had certainly been some missteps along the way, though.
Over the years he had learned to take only what he needed. He tried never to kill. Humankind wasn’t exactly a renewable resource. If they drank to excess, they could technically bleed their food source dry, which would destroy them all.
He settled his body into the hole and covered himself as best he could with no assistance. He tucked his satchel and gun into the grave beside him, along with the shovel, then settled in under the moose hide he’d fashioned. It was covered with leaves and dirt—not the best cover, but it hadn’t failed him yet.
With any luck, it would snow again tonight. Or maybe it wouldn’t, and his grave would be discovered. He was beginning to think maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad idea. He had wandered alone for centuries now. He knew others like him but didn’t feel any particular allegiance or love for them.
Talan was tired of the violence. He was tired of the war and the fighting. He was just plain tired. Perhaps tomorrow would be better, he thought, as the darkness called to him. Perhaps tomorrow would be better.
Chapter One
Present Day – Toronto, ON – Foxwood Casino and Spa
Lilly Ferguson pulled her coat more tightly around her slim frame as she quickly made her way to the car. It was brutally cold outside. The thick coat did little to protect her from the frigid winds. By the time she made it to her car in the employee parking area, her hands ached from the cold. Why, oh why had she forgotten her gloves in the car?
She heard the shuffling behind her only a moment before someone ripped at the strap of her purse. She whirled around and struck out blindly at her assailant. She was wrapping up a twelve-hour shift in which she’d been cursed and spat on by a drunk when she’d cut him off. Lilly didn’t have much. There was no goddamned way she’d let some little tweaked-out punk steal her money.
When her attacker landed a blow on her cheek, she felt her head snap back and crack into the roof of her old sedan. She let loose the loudest scream she could muster and gouged at the attacker with her keys. She landed a blow and heard him grunt in pain. Lilly continued to struggle, slashing out at the man until she heard a car coming up the row.
The attacker looked up at the approaching vehicle, then took off running in the other direction. As she watched the man run away, she slumped against the side of the car, clutching her bag. Adrenaline raced through her system as the security officer jumped out of the SUV.
“Miss. Miss? Are you okay?” he said as he approached her.
Lilly held a hand up to her cheek and said, “He tried to steal my bag. I wouldn’t let him. I think I stabbed him with my keys.”
She looked down at the blood that coated her car key and said, “Hopefully I got something vital. Asshole.”
The security guard shook his head and said, “If only,” as he eyed the mark on her face. “Are you otherwise okay?”
She stepped away from the car and said, “I think so,” as she started to sway.
He took one look at her and then said, “No you’re not. Come inside…Lilly,” as he took in her name tag. “You’re swaying back and forth. Come back inside with me. Are you cut anywhere? Did he have a weapon?”
They moved slowly toward the SUV, Lilly leaning heavily against his side. She said, “I think I hit my head. No cuts though. The bastard.”
Before she could protest, she found herself being scooped into the passenger’s side of the SUV. It was probably for the best anyway. Her head was throbbing.
As they sped back toward the employee entrance, the guard radioed ahead, calling for the concierge doctor. Lilly raised her eyebrows. An on-call doctor? Wasn’t that fancy?
Within ten minutes, she was surrounded by two security officers and a doctor. He gently prodded at the knot on the back of her head, while she held ice against her throbbing cheek. As he started to shine a small flashlight into her eyes, she heard a deep voice in the hallway murmur, “Where’s the girl? Was she seriously hurt?”
When he stepped through the door, she realized it was the owner of the casino. She had seen glimpses of him on occasion, but she’d never actually spoken to him. His eyes swept the room and landed on her.
She blinked in surprise as he knelt down next to the doctor, so he was eye level. His eyes settled on the bag of ice she held against her face. He didn’t speak. The small tic in his cheek was the only reason she could visibly tell that he was upset. Otherwise, his facial expression gave away nothing.
His voice was devoid of any emotion when he spoke. “Miss...” he paused, prompting her for her name.
“Lilly. Lilly Ferguson.”
He nodded and continued, “Miss Ferguson. You’re okay?”
She nodded, and then winced. “I hit my head. He hit me in the face. Otherwise, I’m fine.”
His eyes swept over her, as if he was trying to v
erify for himself. His eyes took in her bag. The strap had a tear, but for the most part it was still intact.
Lilly followed his line of sight and took in the torn bag. “That was a casualty of war, too, I guess,” she said with a smirk.
A slight smile curved his lips as he said, “I’m sorry for your loss. I’m surprised you didn’t just give it to him, though.”
“I’m not willing to part with what little I own, Mr. McKenna,” she answered honestly.
He nodded as if he understood.
Lilly stared blankly at him. She had serious difficulty thinking he’d be able to relate to her in any way. He was one of the Transfigured. Rich as Croesus, he owned the casino, and was a huge power player among his kind.
Her thoughts must have been written all over her face because he said, “I’ve had almost five hundred years to become who I am, Little One. I can still remember when I had nothing. When I was nothing. I admire your spirit.”
She swallowed, uncertain.
“Will you be okay to drive home?” he asked.
The doctor cut in from the other side of the security office. She hadn’t even realized that he’d moved. He said, “I wouldn’t recommend it, Mr. McKenna. She needs to rest in a dark, quiet room at the very least for the next eight hours. She’s showing signs of a mild concussion.”
