Unhallowed (Rath and Rune #1) - Jordan L. Hawk Page 0,3

chosen successor would run off, abandon his post, as though all of her effort and training meant nothing?

The effort and training that would have been poured into Sebastian, if he’d just agreed to follow family tradition. But he had refused. Let her down.

Sebastian hunched his shoulders as if at a chill, even though the air remained warm. He hoped he was just being ridiculous. That Kelly was off safe and happy somewhere.

But he couldn’t make himself believe it.

Chapter 2

Ves’s first impression of Widdershins was of its age.

Not that Boston didn’t have more than its share of colonial architecture. And of course Widdershins had electricity and more modern buildings. But gambrel-roofed houses dominated much of the town, surrounded by gnarled, ancient oaks whose hoary limbs seemed to conspire to shield them from casual sight.

Much of the city went about its business like any other. But he caught furtive glances from behind curtained windows, and had spotted at least one cloaked and hooded figure scurrying down an alley. No one else had given the figure so much as a glance, though, which made him feel even more uneasy. He hadn’t imagined it, had he?

The boarding house whose advertisement he’d answered looked to date from the early eighteen hundreds, as did much of the neighborhood. Judging by the size of the houses, it had once been affluent, but many were either slowly sliding into disrepair, or had been broken up into apartments or boarding houses.

“The rooms are eight dollars a week, paid upfront,” the landlady said as she led Ves up to the third floor apartment. “Four rooms in the suite, furnished including bath and a gas stove.” She paused outside the door and gave him a look. “I’d apologize for the steepness of the stairs, but it looks as though they aren’t giving you much trouble.”

Ves flushed, suddenly conscious of how he must appear, with his heavy steamer trunk balanced easily on one shoulder. It was a stupid mistake; he should have at least pretended to struggle with the weight, or to be out of breath from the climb. He was acting suspicious, drawing attention to himself, at the very time he most needed to be discreet.

Her eyes traveled over him slowly, taking in his thickly muscled thighs, the breadth of his shoulders. The tip of her tongue touched her lower lip. “Been a while since there’s been a man around here who could take care of himself. I’m glad you decided to answer my newspaper ad, Mr. Rune.”

Ves’s face heated even more as he realized her implication. Her eyes slid over him again, lingering somewhere below his waist, as though in curiosity. “That’s very kind of you, ma’am,” he managed to say. “But I should like to set this down. It was a long walk from the train station.”

“Oh! Of course.” She hastily unlocked the door and flung it open.

A faint musty air hung in the small parlor, as if no one had lived in this suite for some time. Even so, it was nicely appointed, the furniture worn but not to the point of shabbiness. The mismatched couch and chair looked comfortable, and the rug had only a single small stain that he could see, even after she switched on the light. The generous fireplace was cold now, but had he been staying until the fall, it would have offered comfort in the cooler months. A large mirror hung above the fireplace, and he looked quickly away, before he could catch more than a glimpse of his reflection.

“I’ll leave you to settle in,” the landlady said from the doorway. “But if you need anything—anything at all—my apartment is on the first floor. Room one. Just knock, anytime of the day or night.”

“I will,” he said, though he was certain he’d be doing nothing of the sort.

She shut the door, leaving behind only a trace of her perfume. Lilacs.

Ves put down the trunk and went immediately to the windows to draw the drapes securely closed. A part of him still cursed himself for letting Nocturn become so careless…but if his brother hadn’t been spotted, then Fagerlie would never have found them, and their only chance at escaping the curse would have passed them by along with the comet.

But that had been sheer luck—or destiny, if such things still applied to them. If you turned your back on destiny once, did you get a new one?

The closed drapes plunged the rooms into dimness, but Ves saw in the dark as easily as