Broken Heart Tails by Michele Bardsley Read Free Book Online Page A

thanks, Elder.”
“One last thing,” said Raine, regret tingeing her voice. “You must draw your brother away from us.”
“Of course.” Sylphina had already planned to go as far from her home as possible. Synd wouldn’t blink an eyelash at harming the Elders. Hate burned in him as bright and hot as his own dragonfire.
“There is a place in Oklahoma. The town is called Broken Heart. I believe the vampires there will help you. Ruadan is familiar with our kind—and Ash could meet you there.”
“What if Synd finds me there?”
“Broken Heart knows how to handle the dangers,” said Raine. “They are a strong community.” She stroked Sylphina’s red hair, her gaze wet with unshed tears. “Though you cannot be with us during your transition perhaps being with other immortals will be of some comfort.”
Sylphina lowered her head, a sign of respect, but also to hide her own tears. How could she be comforted?
She was going to die.
Alone.
     
* * *  *  *
 
Libby lay face-down in the dirt, spitting out grass and rocks. Something warm and wet trickled down her temple, and she rubbed at it with trembling fingers.
Blood.
“Oh, my God! Libby!”
Her mother’s terrified voice sounded muffled. Libby shook her head and realized the fiery blast just moments earlier had muted her hearing. Dora stumbled toward her, her own face streaked with dirt and blood.
Libby’s whole body ached as she rolled onto her side and stared at the fire consuming the old barn. Even though she was yards away and protected by the tree line, the heat was intense. Her mother reached her and pulled her into her arms, hugging her so tight Libby couldn’t breathe.
She stared over her mother’s shoulder, unable to look away from the fire as it reached jagged, flickering fingers toward the blackened sky.
Libby woke up, the thin coverlet clenched between her fists. She sat up and flipped on the bedside lap. Her heart raced and sweat beaded her upper lip. Damn it. She hadn’t dreamed about the night of the bombing for a long time. Wasn’t ten years enough time to just to get over it, already?
The motel’s bed was rock-hard and the pillows flat, but it was still better than the RV’s couch. Combing through her hair with quivering fingers, she tried not to wonder if the dream’s reappearance was a portent. She’d had a knot in her gut ever since her parents had announced the Broken Heart investigation.
She went into the bathroom and poured a glass of water from the tap. It tasted metallic, but she gulped it down anyway. She returned to the bed and flopped down, so not ready to go back to sleep. The digital alarm clock blinked 2:08 a.m. Usually, sleeping in a motel felt like heaven, especially after being confined to the RV for weeks at a time. Tomorrow, they would cross Oklahoma’s border. Her parents wanted to stop in Tulsa and help with a haunted house investigation then … Broken Heart.
Screw sleep.
She grabbed her laptop and booted it up. Then she logged on to the PRIS forums and looked up the Broken Heart messages. Comments about everything from vampires to Bigfoot had been posted. She scrolled through the vampire posts. She had a healthy respect for the unknown, for the mysterious. But vampires? Really? She couldn’t fathom the idea of some undead guy sucking necks for food. Her mother had written a whole volume about the deamhan fola . Dora believed in vampires. In fact, she and Brady had worked out an odd sort of hypnosis (coupled with one of Brady’s cranial electro whatsits) that she said guaranteed they couldn’t be glamoured by the undead.
Hoo-kay.
Under the “Miscellaneous” category, she found a reference to a zombie attack.
My friend Ryan went to Broken Heart to visit his grandma’s grave. He said that some people wouldn’t let him into town because there was a gas leak. He snuck through the woods and got into the cemetery. This dead dude scared the shit out of him. His skin was all gross and peeling off. He didn’t have no