Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
A great wave of sorrow rolls over me as I finally have to face the fact that Beck and Cian are gone. They’re separated from me by that door as surely as death could ever force us apart.
Would they think I ran? I can’t stand the thought. I love them.
I stop in the middle of the sidewalk, unable to take another step since each one feels like a step away from them. I lean against the brick of a building. The tears can be held off no longer, and I sob into my hands. How can I be here, so far from them? I still feel them. Not the way I did before. But they’re in my heart. The demon was right. I’m nothing on this plane. I was someone on the Faery plane, and not because marriage made me a queen. It wasn’t Beck and Cian’s love, either. Their love wasn’t what made me into the woman I became there. My love had.
Loving them made me a better person. Love transformed my heart into a huge thing with the capacity to forgive even myself.
I weep in the middle of the street and vow to hold on to it. I’ll hold on to the love I have for them. If there’s any way to get back to them, I will find it. There are vampires on this plane. Dante talked about them. I read some interesting theories on them. Some believe they are the original vampires and there’s a whole hidden society here on the Earth plane, a mighty council that rules the supernatural world. I’ll find them. That’s what I’ll do. I am a queen, and I can trade on that. The vampires will help me—if they don’t eat me first.
I feel slightly better now that I have a plan. It’s an insane plan, but it’s a plan. I stretch and feel the satchel on my hip and realize I have something that might prove valuable. The vampire computer is still in my bag. Its shape and weight are a joy. I won’t be able to connect to the vampire version of the Internet, but there are thousands of DLs on every subject imaginable that I can read. Dante showed me some anthropological articles from a scientist who spent years on the Earth plane studying the vampires here before his contract with the demon came up and he was dragged to hell.
Vampires are serious about science.
It’s getting late. I have to deal with the fact that I don’t have a home anymore. I need to find a place to stay. Where did the lady say the homeless shelter is?
Turning back to the sidewalk, a neon sign catches my eye. My mouth drops open as I realize my salvation might not lie with a bunch of vamps. Fate. It’s nothing less than fate. It is not coincidence that I walked through the night to get to this spot.
I suddenly know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will get home. I will see them again. The neon sign in front of me proves it.
Dellacourt Electronics
If it’s broke, we’ll fix it
And it looks like someone is still home. There’s a light on in back of the store, and someone is moving around.
The Vampire and Earth planes are mirror planes. And that means I might just have friends here. Oh, he doesn’t know we’re friends, but he’s about to find out.
I bang on the door with all my might. I pound and pound, not caring if I bother the neighbors.
“Dante!” I yell with a mad sort of glee. “Open the door, Dante!”
After a long moment, a familiar face peeks out the window. His eyes are narrow with suspicion.
“We’re closed, crazy lady.” The human version of Dante points to the sign in the window that has been turned to Closed. He obviously thinks I’m insane, but he’s still Dante. His eyes move straight to my chest, and he boldly checks me out.
“I’m here for sex, Dante.” I know exactly how to manipulate him if he’s anything like his other self.
Dante opens the door immediately.
“Really?” He’s slightly thinner than his vampire counterpart and is dressed in worn jeans and a comic book T-shirt, but he’s Dante all the same.
“No, idiot,” I say with a tearful smile as I push my way in. I can’t help myself. He’s the best news I’ve had all day. He’s hope. I throw my arms around him. “But I am so glad to see you.”
He hesitates only a second before letting his hands find my waist. “I’m glad to see you, too. How do we know each other? If I owe you money, I’m really sorry. I don’t have any. Did my sister send you?”
“No, Susan didn’t send me.” The explanations are going to be…weird. “You don’t owe me money and get your hand off my ass. I’m a married lady. And you’re going to help me get home.”