“We find Hannibal,” Erika said gravely, “and we kill him. That’s half our problem taken care of.”
“I’m not so sure—” Stefan began, but Erika cut him off.
“I’m sure,” she said.
“And then?” Allison asked, her eyes on her lover, Will Cody.
“And then, darlin’,” Cody said and squeezed her hand, “we start chipping away at the world outside. But we start by taking care of each other. Our own coven, in a way, but the first made up of shadows and humans. We stick together, and watch out for one another, and we’ll be just fine.”
“I wish I could believe that,” Erika said, and it was Rolf, next to her on the couch, who answered in his own way. He reached out and stroked her cheek and merely nodded, as if to say, Believe it.
They were quiet after that.
A few minutes later, George Marcopoulos came in, ready to tell them that the UN had joined the American declaration of war against all vampires, but before he got two sentences out of his mouth, he saw Allison and Will. And Peter.
Peter Octavian, his best friend, whom he had thought dead for five long years, whose survival he had been unaware of until that very moment. He couldn’t say a word as Peter crossed the room and took him in his arms. Peter was gentle, for George was getting old, but they hugged each other tight. They were like father and son, though which was which had never been certain.
“Oh, my friend,” George finally whispered into the silence of the room, “I missed you. We have so much to talk about.”
And so George took his place in the high-backed chair that had been left empty for him, put his feet up on the ottoman while Joe went to get him a cup of tea, and told them all that the stakes had risen higher still. And he told them of the death of his wife, Valerie, the only woman he had ever loved, who had apparently missed him too much.
Once again they mourned, they remembered, they cried. Later, they laughed and talked and dreamed. Finally, when it was far past George’s bedtime and they admitted that they all needed rest, they prayed.
Together.
Table of Contents
Cover
Praise for The Shadow Saga
About the Author
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication page
Acknowledgements
Epigraph
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Epilogue
Angel Souls and Devil Hearts Page 40
