He showered and dressed, debating whether to go see Bryn again or sever the relationship now, before it grew more complicated. Unable to decide, he went to visit his mother.
Kadie smiled when Conor materialized in the living room.
Striding toward the sofa, he bent down and gave her a hug.
“Can you stay awhile?” Kadie asked.
“Sure.” Conor dropped down in the chair beside the couch.
“Something on your mind, son?”
“Yeah. I met this girl, Bryn. She was here with her sister a few weeks ago. We went out and then she had to leave. I went to see her a few nights ago.”
“And?”
“I can’t stop thinking about her.”
“Sounds like you might be falling in love.”
Conor shook his head. “It’s too soon for that. But it wouldn’t be hard to do. She’s pretty and smart and...the thing is, how and when do I tell her the truth?”
“That’s a complicated issue.”
“Don’t I know it. If I tell her now, she’s liable to freak out and tell me to get lost. If I wait and we get serious, she might hate me for not telling her from the start.”
Kadie nodded. “If you decide to tell her, you have to make sure she understands that she can’t tell anyone. Doing so could put not only your life in danger, but hers, too.”
Conor nodded. “Saintcrow told me you hated him when you first met.”
“Oh? What else did he tell you?”
“Not much. Are all those stories about Morgan Creek being a haven for vampires true?”
Kadie hesitated to answer. It was a dark entry in Morgan Creek’s long history.
“Mom?”
“Back in the 1800’s, Morgan Creek was a ghost town. Then Saintcrow came along and claimed it as his own. Eventually, other vampires found out about it. Ordinarily, vampires are solitary creatures, but with Saintcrow’s permission, several ofthem lived here.” Kadie hesitated again, wondering how much to tell him. She was still debating when Rylan materialized in the room.
“Sounds like an interesting conversation,” he said, settling on the sofa beside Kadie. “Go on.”
“Maybe you should tell him the rest,” Kadie said.
“Like your mother said, it was a long time ago. Morgan Creek had been a ghost town for decades. There were a lot more hunters back then than there are now. I found this place and gradually the word got out. I allowed vampires who agreed to abide by my rules to stay here. One night a couple drove across the bridge and it occurred to me that if we kept them here, there would be no need to hunt outside the town. I warded the bridge so that people could cross into town but once here, they couldn’t leave.”
Conor stared at Saintcrow, thinking the tale would make an amazing horror movie.
“The vampires were forbidden to kill the humans,” Saintcrow went on. “And then your mother crossed the bridge one rainy night and she changed Morgan Creek – and me – forever. Eventually, I let the humans go, and sent the vampires away. And that’s all you need to know.”
“How did you make Mom fall in love with you?”
“She was always in love with me,” Saintcrow said smugly. “She was just too stubborn to admit it.”
Conor looked at Kadie. “Is that true, Mom?”
“I hated what he was, what he did to the people he trapped here, but I don’t think I ever really hated him,” she admitted with a smile. “How could I? So, what are you going to do about Bryn?”
“I don’t know. I guess I won’t know until I see her again. And there’s no time like the present.” Rising, he kissed Kadie on the cheek, fist-bumped Saintcrow, and vanished from the room.