Read The Third Fate for Free Online Page A

acquaintance.
    In the meantime she needed to separate Paige from this mystery man. Or vampire.
    “ What my girls need is a getaway. Ye did me proud at the Miller weddin’ lasses, and I mean to show ye! Where do ye want to visit?”
    Brooke choked on her coffee.
    “ You, Sissy? You want us to take a vacation?”
    “ What’s the fuss, Brooke? Of course I want ye to take a vacation!”
    Brooke shook her head, eying Paige with a disbelieving look as if her mother had gone daft.
    “ Whatever you say, Sissy. Who will take care of the Triad?”
    “ We’ll figure it out. Don’t be worryin’,” Anna insisted.
    In reality she wondered herself, but getting Paige out of Scotland until ensured that the enchantments would hold erased any hesitation. Anna worried it was already too late for that. More frightening was the prospect that Paige was Awakening, the consequences of which would rip her from them forever, whether through her death at the hands of the Council or her metamorphosis into the undead.
    *
    Cael paced outside of Anna Kinnell’s tenement building, anxious for Paige to re-emerge. Tension arced through him.
    The house was cloaked.
    Mists of Druid enchantment hung in the air, imperceptible to most. He had lived long upon the earth; Druid spell-casting was child’s play to an ancient. The Druids themselves had learned their magic from the Netherworld, part of which was vampire. Someone had gone to great lengths to hide this home and all in it, the spells used no trifling black-magic practiced by amateurs. These were intricate, imbedded layers of deceit. Doubtless, it involved Paige. Finding the motivating reason behind it was key to unlocking her significance to him. Cael grew troubled.
    Who would want or need to hide her? And why was Druid magic involved? Those questions sparked another string of riddles, each pointing to one of two options. Either Paige was being hidden for her own protection, or her true identity, whatever that may be, was being kept from her.
    Paige stepped out the door pulling his attention to the present, and he trailed behind at a distance. Without knowing for sure what was going on, Cael determined to guard her closely. In the short time they’d been apart the enchantments had been reinforced. Her mind was clouded with Druid magic, and he expected to find Paige unaware of its presence. He would talk with her about her family to gauge her reaction. Despite his unease over having bonded himself to her by blood, there were advantages. She could not knowingly lie to him, nor he to her, but as an ancient he could silence the path between them, closing himself off if needful. Age such as his entailed certain benefits.
    Dampness pervaded the atmosphere, another downpour threatening before Paige made it home, and Cael considered taking her there by his preferred method of travel, instantaneous arrival. Doing so would require further deception, and that he was unwilling to do unless her life was threatened. Instead he followed, unsure at his need to be physically near when he could protect her just as easily from afar. Seeing her safely inside her flat, watching with satisfied happiness as she smiled and lifted the small bouquet from the door knocker, Cael strengthened his own protective enchantments and vanished.
    *
    Paige allowed the wide smile to overtake her. Fingering the blossoms’ silken petals she lifted the bundle, skimming its satin softness against her cheek before unlocking her door and slipping inside her flat.
    Admiring the bouquet, dropping her bags absently in the entryway, Paige drifted dreamily to her tiny kitchen to pull out a vase. She plucked the tiny note-card from where it nestled amongst the blooms and quickly read, sinking into a chair at the small breakfast table in surprised pleasure. Returning to the beginning, she devoured the message anew.
    Feminine grace of Queen Anne’s Lace and Begonia’s deep thoughts show true, while innocent Daisy wars both alongside and against