Read Online Valley of Dust by Karoleen Vry Brucks - Free Book Online

it had to have been Lucian; who else would have known I was taking a leave of absence? I was thankful that Lucian had made taking time off work a breeze for me. Most things in my life were never that easy, but since meeting Lucian and Carla, it felt like things were running smoothly; maybe too smoothly. The next person on my list was the detective. I looked at the card and saw his name, Detective Michael Jones. That was such a generic name; he must have hated school. I was shocked I didn’t remember his name from the hospital. I knew it must have been the drugs the nurse and doctors kept putting in my IV. I decided the detective would be the last person I would call for the day. I dialed his number and told him I was living with a friend for now and to keep me updated on anything else that comes up in the case. That is when he told me his case was taken away. I was shocked to know some higher-up agency had taken the case over and not even contacted me, the prime witness. The detective thought it was strange too and told me to keep my eyes out for anything suspicious. I wondered what he meant by suspicious. There was many things going on that were strange and suspicious with me already. Especially the fact that I could absorb energy from the land. I was happy that the detective assigned to my case was a stubborn cop, and I knew he was going to keep digging into my case no matter what anyone said. It gave me peace of mind that I could trust him. I gave him my new phone number and address and told him if he needed me for anything not to hesitate to call.
    I felt annoyed not remembering the other attacker that had killed the guy trying to rape me, but in a way I didn’t care. The guy had saved me and left me without attacking me. I knew he obviously wanted to help me; he just overkilled the way he did it. Everything felt so unreal until I heard bad news from the detective. Him losing the case was the only thing that didn’t feel like a fantasy. I felt for once a little grounded since I came to Lucian’s house. I mean, after all, Lucian’s house was like a wonderland filled with the most exquisite furniture I had ever seen. I worried about what exactly would happen to my case and how the detective was handling losing something under his nose. I knew, however, from my first impression of Detective Jones that he would try to solve it on or off duty. The only thing left on my list was breakfast, and boy was I hungry. I got dressed in something simple from my closet and hurried downstairs to the kitchen. That’s when I saw Carla sitting down at the table. I was extremely excited to see Carla’s face this morning. I now would have a lot more free time on my hands, so it would be good to have someone to spend it with. The thought of having Carla as a friend was a thrilling and new experience for me. I hoped, however, that I wouldn’t intrude too much on her schedule. I wondered exactly what she did for Lucian and why she lived the closest to the mansion. As we sat down to eat, I found out from Carla that Lucian had an important meeting to attend and she would have three days off from work. I smiled at my good luck. I knew now she and I would have plenty of time to explore and get to know each other better.

10  
    L UCIAN HAD THOUGHT all day about how to conduct the meeting with the council. Lately he had so much on his mind that he hadn’t prepared anything for the meeting. Lucian had asked Carla to help Selene to adjust to her new living arrangements. He hoped Carla would not be in harm’s way watching over Selene. Carla was a trusted mortal, someone who kept his ties to the mortal world very harmonious. She was the only one in his employment that was not a strigoi. Lucian had to keep Carla’s house close by to his mansion since his undead employees may unintentionally drain her life force. That’s why they were considered a misfortune. The undead couldn’t adapt well around humans because they would slowly steal life