Read Online Forever by Pati Nagle - Free Book Online Page A

turning right onto a busy one-way street.
    “She helped us find Madóran. He lives well to the north, past Mora. Do you know where that is?”
    “Not really. I’m a Cruces kid.”
    He accepted that without comment, and I wondered if he knew what it meant. My home town, Las Cruces, is in southern New Mexico.
    “Sadly, we were not the only ones seeking Madóran,” he continued. “A former lover of his, one who had become alben, also came here looking for him.”
    “The first campus killer?”
    “Yes.”
    “The one who attacked Len.”
    Caeran inhaled deeply. “Yes. And others, including Madóran.”
    “What happened to her?”
    “Him.” Caeran pulled up to the curb outside my apartment, turned off the engine, then turned to face me. “We killed him.”
    Holy crap.
    “We do not kill lightly. The burden of taking an ælven life, or a human life, weighs heavily on us. Gehmanin left us no choice.”
    “What about the second one?” I asked, my voice rough.
    “Kanna. She followed Gehmanin here. Their relationshp was...complicated. Kanna fixed upon Amanda shortly after she arrived.” He ran a hand over his face. “That was our doing, I fear. Len and I convinced Amanda to join us in donating blood. Kanna spotted her as she was leaving the donation center. The scent of fresh blood was on her, and Kanna was hunting.”
    “Bad timing,” I said. “Not your fault.”
    He shook his head. “It began that way, but Kanna soon learned that we were involved in Gehmanin’s death. She decided to kill Amanda in order to hurt us.”
    “So you killed her, too?”
    “Savhoran killed her. She was hunting him and Amanda. It was self-defense.”
    A gust of wind buffeted the car. “What about these new ones? Are they looking for Mad—Mad—”
    “Madóran. I hope not. We won’t know until we learn who they are.”
    “Are you going to kill them?”
    He hesitated, but didn’t deny it. “Only if we have no other choice. We will first try to convince them to hunt elsewhere.”
    Hunt elsewhere? Where? How far away was far enough? Santa Fe? Denver? They would still be killing humans.
    “But before we can do that we must find them.” Caeran looked at his hands, lying in his lap. “I know it is annoying for you to be asked to leave your home. I promise you it will be temporary. Your safety is our main concern.”
    “Honestly, I don’t see how your house is safer than mine. You’ll be out hunting these alben.”
    “No. I will stay to watch over you and Len and Amanda while the others hunt.”
    My first thought was why couldn’t Lomen stay, but that was selfish. Len and Caeren were an established couple. And it was their house.
    “We should go in,” Caeran said. “If you have more questions, I will answer them while you pack.”
    I opened my door and got out, looking around for any lurking homicidal alben. The wind was getting stronger, and the sky had clouded over. The air smelled like rain—life-giving rain, always welcome in the desert. I sucked a deep breath, then led Caeran up to my door.
    My neighbor, a freshman with freckles and a Marilyn Monroe figure, came up the path at the same time. She welcomed me with a big “I like you” smile, then stopped in her tracks when she saw Caeran, eyes wide and her mouth making that classic “O” shape that drives straight guys crazy. I gave her a non-committal wave and unlocked the door.
    Inside, I stood looking around for a minute, wondering what to take. I picked up my phone from the coffee table. The futon’s cushions were rumpled, reminding me of what had happened there earlier. I clamped a white light lid on that memory and headed for my bedroom.
    Caeran followed me and watched while I pulled a gym bag out of my closet and stuffed some random clothes into it. Clean underwear, socks, t-shirts. Extra pair of jeans.
    How do you pack for going into a bomb shelter?
    I fetched a plastic grocery bag from the kitchen and filled it with toiletries. No telling when I’d be back