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own father had been killed during the war, brought down by his brother Caleb at first, but Braith had been the one to remove the head from his body. There were many things Jack didn't know about his vampire line, or the power that drove it, but his bastard of a father had somehow managed to survive a stake through the heart. It was possible that Braith, or even he , could survive a stake to the heart as well, but it wasn't a theory he was going to try and prove anytime soon.
    Jack would have killed his father himself without feeling an iota of remorse. No, it wasn't his father he grieved for, or his brother Caleb. He grieved for the man who had taken him in and treated him with far more respect than his own father ever had. He'd found a family and friends amongst David and his children. He knew he still had William and his siblings, but he missed the man that had shown him patience, kindness, and a whole new appreciation for the human race that went far beyond the fact that they were a food supply.
    Reaching over, he turned the lantern down. Laughter drifted up from below but it did little to ease the melancholy settling into his bones. It's only because the one year anniversary of David's death is a week away , he told himself. That was why the memories and sorrow were haunting him like a poltergeist today, but even as he thought it he knew he was lying to himself. He and William had been running from the memories ever since they'd left the palace behind.
    They'd return soon, he told himself, but he knew he was just lying to himself about that too.

CHAPTER 4
    Hannah watched as Heath and Ellen walked down the street toward Uncle Abe's small blue house down the road. Ellen led Heath up the stairs to Uncle Abe's porch and opened the door for him. She said something to the boy before closing the door. Ellen walked two houses up and dashed up the steps of her own small faded yellow home. Hannah's hand remained on the shutter as she watched her friend disappear into the home she'd recently built for herself.
    Ellen may be older than her at thirty-two, but she was the closest girlfriend that Hannah had. She would have preferred that Ellen stay with Uncle Abe or at the tavern with her and Lucas. It seemed like such a lonely existence in that small home all by herself, but then if it hadn't been for Hannah's and Lucas's respective parents taking her in, Ellen would have been all alone in the world. Ellen's mother had abandoned her here when she was seven. The only knowledge she had of her father was that her mother had told her he was of the house of Hendry. Ellen knew the name was a way for her to locate her father's family, but she had no intention of doing so.
    Hannah's family had given her work at the tavern and a place to stay. They'd raised Ellen as one of their own, and they had kept her safe. Until their original home had been hit by lightning when Hannah was sixteen, they'd all still lived together. The fire had not only destroyed their home but it had taken both of her parents, and Lucas's mother, from them.
    After the fire they had all lived in the rooms above the tavern for a few years before Ellen had decided it was time for a place of her own, and Uncle Abe had wanted another house. Hannah had contemplated moving in with one of them, but after the death of her parents she had thrown herself into trying to fill their roles at the tavern and spent most of her time here. It had simply been easier for her to remain here; Lucas had decided to stay in the tavern because he enjoyed the freedom that came from being out on his own.
    Hannah pulled the shutter closed on the window and slid the lock into place as the last star blinked out of the sky. She looked around at the damage that had been caused during the brawl. They'd have to bring up some of the stored furniture in the basement, and try to piece together what was left up here until they could have some new furniture made, but they should be able to get through the next