Rising Darkness (A Rylee Adamson Novel, Book 9) by Shannon Mayer Page B

against the sudden yearning to have him hold me, ground me, and remind me that I was strong enough. I didn’t need him, but damn it was nice to have that rock to hang onto during the storms.
    “You might as well sleep. We’ll keep watch,” Berget said. “Not like we need to sleep.”
    Faris gave a grunt and wandered deeper into the barn.
    “Faris,” I didn’t open my eyes, but his footsteps stopped. “You think your blood is still in my system?”
    Before he answered, Alex sniffed my neck. “Still smell like stinking vampire.”
    “Never mind.”
    “Do you really want to take the chance?”
    “I trust Alex. We’ll do an exchange at the next stop.”
    The sounds of bodies settling into the hay were surprisingly comforting and I let the noises wash over me, taking away some of the building anxiety.
    I took Alex’s suggestion to heart and sent out a thread for those I loved, and who loved me in return. My friends in the barn were easiest. Berget was worried for me, but otherwise quiet, calm, content. Happy. Sane.
    Alex was a burning ball of love. My lips curled upward and I buried my nose into the ruff of his neck. Eve had the soft feel of someone fast asleep, without fear. I sent my Tracking farther, reaching out to the ones we’d left behind.
    Doran. Safe, worried, but safe.
    Calliope , the young unicorn I saved from Orion. She was bursting with excitement and what could only be described as joy.
    Deanna and Will. Safe, strong.
    Blaz. He was still with Deanna and Will, and they were flying. But he was fine and that eased my heart. I reached for India, the child who saw spirits, the first salvage with Liam. My heart stuttered. She had the pox, her life slowly slipping away, but she hadn’t given up. She was fighting for all she was worth.
    Tentatively, I reached for Kyle , my hacker who’d helped me break into the FBI files, who’d helped me find missing kids for years.
    His threads were empty. He was dead. I clutched Alex tighter to me, spun the threads of my family and loved ones around me. Those I could breathe in, and they gave me the strength I needed. I wished I could reach my daughter, Erik, and Coyote. The ones I’d left behind . . . somewhere safe.
    Carefully, I sent the next thread. To Pamela. She was healthy, wide awake . . . and happy. My heart bucked against that and I turned my head away. No more. I could do this no more. The one I’d avoided was Faris.
    One last thread, I sent toward him, touching on his emotions. Scared, the vampire was scared and uncertain. I almost sat up to see what was wrong. What the hell could scare him?
    There was only one thing he was scared of that I knew about. Before I thought better of it, I sent a thread looking for my heart.
    For Liam.
    There, in the back of the barn his soul burned bright, a wash of love and strength rolling over me. A sigh slipped out of my lips and I relaxed into that familiarity, the strength of his love wrapping around me was almost as good as his arms. “Goodnight,” I whispered, and fell into oblivion.

    Being stuck in a vampire wasn’t his idea of a good time. But it kept him close to Rylee and that was all that mattered.
    “You can’t have her again,” Faris said softly.
    You don’t know that. Maybe there is a way for me to come back.
    The vampire slumped against a stack of hay bales, as far from the rest of the group as he could get. Liam knew he was freaked out. The fact that he knew was enough to set Faris off, so he kept his peace.
    She isn’t going to fall in love with you.
    “Then stop making me feel like she is the only thing I damn well live for,” he hissed.
    Liam couldn’t shrug, couldn’t do anything other than peer deeper into the vampire’s mind. Not my fault. I was ready to move on, knowing I would see her on the other side at some point. You called me forward to use my abilities. This is karma.
    Faris linked his hands behind his neck, fingers intertwined. “Don’t remind me.”
    What are we going to