Immortal Wounds
Second Edition
A Novel by
Nicole Grane
Immortal Wounds
Second Edition
A Novel by:
Nicole Grane
Copyright 2011 Nicole Grane
Cover art Copyright 2011 Chris Grane
Clip art design Ashley Grane
Redwood House Books
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission by the author.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, names, incidents, and dialogue are products of the author's imagination, and are not to be construed as real.
Learn more about the author at:
https://www.nicolegrane.com
DEDICATION
To my beautiful Phoebe, who lay across my lap sleeping while I created this story. To Ashley and Joey for letting mommy work, more hours than she could count. To my husband Chris for his unwavering support and understanding when I came to bed at three in the morning. And to my parents for their love and constant pushing to get it done! I love you all!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First, I would like to thank my talented husband, Chris, for his endless hours in creating the cover for this book. He’s captured my vision of Marcus’s castle with this unique watercolor—which was not easy because I tend to be picky, so I’m told.
My sister: Nicia Rotermund, for her vast expertise in Photo Shop, as well as being my personal IT Tech. She has the patience of a saint!
My Lucky Eight: Ashley Grane, Gina Rotermund, Eleanor Rodriguez, Laura Bastain, Caren Coonrod, Kim Talty, Rachel Perry, and Becki Schirmacher. Undoubtedly the best friends in the world. Who else on the planet would have suffered through all those typos and countless revisions, and still raved about the story? I love you all and would not think of publishing a book before you have had the chance to test drive it first!
My friend: Cheri Chesley, for always being there to answer my many formatting and writing questions. I can't imagine our writing group without you.
Maren Petersen: Editor Extraordinaire! This book would have never been completed without you. I will never be able to express how much you have helped me. I plan to put you in my pocket and keep you forever!
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1: Just a day at the Beach
Chapter 2: The Stranger
Chapter 3: My Hero
Chapter 4: Wild Animals
Chapter 5: Breaking Down
Chapter 6: Confession Time
Chapter 7: Sweet Dreams
Chapter 8: New Opportunities
Chapter 9: Vampires and Werewolves
Chapter 10: Flying
Chapter 11: Painful Memories
Chapter 12: A Bad Idea
Chapter 13: Danger
Chapter 14: Home Sweet Home
Chapter 15: New Plan
Chapter 16: Demands
Chapter 17: Richard
Chapter 18: Roses and Thorns
Chapter 19: Ashworth Castle
Chapter 20: Promises
Chapter 21: A Close Call
Chapter 22: A Misunderstanding
Chapter 23: Surprise!
Chapter 24: Raymose
Chapter 25: Reckless Behavior
Chapter 26: Sword Play
Chapter 27: Questions
Chapter 28: Welcome Home
Chapter 29: A Narrow Escape
Chapter 30: Honesty
Chapter 31: Damen’s Offer
Chapter 32: Sacrifices
Time Line & Character Information
A Glimpse into Book 2
BIOGRAPHY
Prologue
A war had been raging for a thousand years, a war that I was unaware of. Unaware that is until I’d literally stepped into the middle of it.
I don’t remember much about the events that took place that night in London that were to change the rest of my life forever. But I can say now, with great certainty, daylight doesn’t always mean safety . . .
I could feel the cold, rough cement against my face. I forced my eyes to open, blinking repeatedly. I was on the ground . . . had I fallen? My head felt as though it were spinning. I let my eyes fall shut again while my mind tried to process what had happened.
“Phoebe . . .” A cool hand brushed against my cheek, lingering for a moment—it wasn’t mine. My heart raced at the touch of it, at the sound of that voice. My nose took in a delicious scent that I couldn’t quite place. I strained to open my eyes once more. I could barely make out a face. His dark eyes penetrated mine. He was only there for a moment, and then . . . gone.
I jumped, wincing at the pain of it. My fingers sought my shoulder while my eyes wandered, searching . . .
“Who’s there?” My words echoed out into the night.
I reached back, my fingertips meeting something moist. My shoulder throbbed at the very touch. Beads of sweat began to form all over my body. I breathed heavily, waiting for someone to answer, praying that they didn’t. The sound of the cars passing by, voices in the distance, and the soft trickle of water running down a drainpipe were all that greeted me. The noises seemed amplified. My vision blurred, and then became strangely clear.
I brought a shaky hand to my face. “Oh God,” the words were barely a whisper. I was bleeding.
I spun around, expecting something or someone to be there lurking behind me. I was in the alley way behind the motel near the trash bins. I had been on my way to the car when—Kim and Leah! I looked around for them. They must still be back at the room waiting for me or maybe looking for me by now, I thought. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed.
I stood up slowly, my head pounding with each movement I made. I reached for my keys that were on the ground a few feet away. My fingers had barely touched them when I heard a deep menacing growl from behind.
I snatched them up quickly, and watched over my shoulder as I retreated back to my room. Something was watching me—I could feel it.
The TV was on, but there was no sign of the girls. I peeked out the bedroom window, careful to stay hidden behind the curtain. Dim lighting and a deserted parking lot were all that greeted me. I let out a breath of air, thankful that Kim and Leah hadn’t been there to witness my hysterical episode. I suddenly felt foolish. I’d obviously seen one too many scary movies!
I touched the back of my head softly. “Ouch.” A large bump had already formed. “Lovely.” I tossed my keys onto the counter beside the sink, then grabbed a washcloth from the shelf and ran it under the cold tap to wet it. I dug around in my bag searching for the Tylenol. I took two and slunk to the bed when the door to my room flung open.
“Phoebe! Where have you been?” Kim thundered at me as she bounded across the room, not bothering to notice my hand clutched to my heart or the cloth that was draped across my forehead.
“Phoebe, what happened?” Leah was more observant.
Kim Sanders and Leah Williams were my dearest friends. I’d known them my whole life. We took this ‘girls only trip’ to England after planning and saving all this last year. What a great way to end it, I thought.
“I must have slipped or something,” I finally answered. I told them what I remembered, leaving out the part of my delusional mind seeing things—no doubt do to serious head trauma!
“Your shoulder’s bleeding!” Kim grabbed my shirtsleeve and yanked it back.
“Hey, watch it,” I snapped. I turned my body away from her, trying to prevent further injury to my arm.
“Phoebe, that’s a bad gash, and there’s another one here too,” Leah said as she moved closer to examine my arm. “Maybe we should take you to the hospital? I think you need stitches . . . or a shot.??
?
“No way!” I sat straight up. I hated needles. “I’ll take care of it myself.”
“That’s not such a good idea,” Leah argued. “That could have been a dog out there growling at you. Dog bites can be serious.”
“I’ll be fine,” I waved her off. “I’ll just take a quick shower and clean up. I’m sure it looks worse than it really is.” I pulled myself up and walked to the bathroom, my head feeling heavier by the moment.
I could hear Kim and Leah arguing through the closed door. Kim was already offering several possible suggestions as to what might have happened to me, each one as crazy as the next. “Maybe a wild animal escaped from the zoo and attacked her? Or maybe a crazed psycho from a mental institution is running around slashing people?” I could hear the fear in her voice as she pondered over the possibilities.
I turned the water on muffling out the rest of the conversation. I removed my shirt, tossed it into the waste basket, and examined the gashes behind my shoulder in the mirror. There were two large punctures, like a knife had cut into me—twice. A deep growling reverberated in my mind. I spun around, sweat once again, forming on my forehead.
“There’s nothing here.” I breathed, trying to calm myself. “You’re fine, Phoebe.”
I climbed into the warm water. My thoughts instantly returning to the alley way . . . to the stranger I saw for only a moment. Those eyes . . . I’d seen them before. They were darker than any night. His voice . . .
I’m not sure how long I stood there, motionless, in a dream-like trance while the water ran down my body. I was just barely conscious of the thick steam that now hung heavy in the room. The water started to cool bringing me back to consciousness. I began to adjust the knobs, hoping to get a few more minutes of hot water when a dreadful thought washed over me. Had he been my attacker? Why else would he have left me there, bleeding? Suddenly, Kim’s “crazy ideas” didn’t seem so crazy after all.
I quickly turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. I wrapped a towel around me and rushed to the phone. I could see Kim and Leah watching me anxiously as I fumbled through some papers on the bedside table.
“Um, Phoebe?” Kim started slowly.
“Yes, I would like to change our departure date for tomorrow morning.” I spoke urgently to the ticket agent. My ears listened to the loud clicking of her fingernails on her keyboard as she looked for available flights.
“Phoebe?” Leah was standing next to me, arms crossed and looking extremely worried. I ignored her.
“Yes, the 6:30 flight will be fine. Yes, all three of us. Thank you.” I hung up the phone and turned to the confused faces beside me. “Pack!”
“Why?” Kim argued, “We still have two days left!”
I looked at her in disbelief. “I was just attacked! Someone or something is out there.” I pointed to the door.
“I thought you said you didn’t know what happened to you,” they both asked in unison.
“Yeah well, I don’t. But I know we’re not safe here. Whatever it was is still out there. He could be right outside that door this very minute . . . waiting!”
“He?” Leah questioned. I could see the fear in her eyes.
They looked at each other briefly, glanced at the door, then began shoving things into their bags, not even bothering to fold their clothes—they’d both seen one too many horror movies not to heed the warning.
I returned to the bathroom to get dressed. The room was still thick with steam. I wiped my hand across the mirror and leaned in closer. A pair of dark eyes reflected back at me from over my shoulder.
I gasped as I spun around, my heart pounding hard from within. There was no one there.
My eyes darted around the little room, settling on an open window—a window that I had not opened. I swallowed loudly. A shiver ran down my spine that had nothing to do with the crisp air that pushed its way into the room. I moved toward the window cautiously, reached out a trembling hand, and slammed it shut. I backed away, never releasing it from my gaze. A new kind of dread took hold of me. He’d been here . . .