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Chapter 13
Neither of them made mention to their wives what had happened, though they didn’t discuss keeping it a secret. It just didn’t seem like the sort of thing one mentioned to a person who was not there; no one was likely to believe them anyway.
The next morning, Aaron met Kian outside near the road. They decided they must return to the tavern to try and find Ward. Without a word to their wives of where they were going, they set out, certain that Ward would have some answers, though the longer time went by, the more Aaron began to doubt anything about the experience was real.
As they walked along, Kian voiced the same thoughts. “That did really happen to us, didn’t it?”
“I think so,” Aaron shrugged. “I mean, it couldn’t be a dream or else one of us wouldn’t remember, right?”
“Right,” Kian agreed, though his voice wavered. “I do hope those girls made it home safely. I would hate
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Aaron Chapter 14
“Very good. You are quick learners,” Ward nodded. “Kian O'Braonain, your clan was one of the greatest Hunters in all the world many hundreds of years ago. All Vampires feared the silver swords of the O’Braonains.” Turning to Aaron, he continued, “And the McReynolds clan comes from the descendants of the great Guardian Leaders. Not only that, your mother’s clan, the O’Riordans, were also highly skilled Guardians. With the blood of both of these clans coursing through your veins, you are sure to become one of the strongest Guardians of all time.”Both men were still having trouble accepting the information. Aaron looked at Kian and only shook his head. His friend, a stunned look in his eyes, finally asked, “May I have some water?”With a smile, Ward stood and crossed to a cabinet where he produced two glasses and filled them with water from a pitcher sitting on the counter before he took his chair.
Aaron Chapter 15
Killarney, Ireland, 1847The pain shooting through Aaron’s body was agonizing. Though it tended to radiate through his limbs most of the time, there were moments when his stomach muscles contracted so tightly, he thought he might pass out from the pain. Likewise, he’d had a throbbing headache for the last several weeks, and each time he moved he felt like his cranium might split in half.The Transformation process had begun nearly three months ago, and though it had started off with just the uncomfortable shooting pains in his limbs and soreness in his muscles, with each passing day it grew more unbearable to the point that he wasn’t sure how much longer he could take it.Despite the anguish, he had work to do, and so he pushed through the pain each day from sunup to sundown, getting us much work done on the farm as he could, though he knew he would’ve managed so much more if he’d only been pain free.Kian was also i
Aaron Chapter 16
A few days later, Aaron returned home to find Aislyn on her knees, retching into a bucket. Running to her, he dropped down next to her, pulling loose strands of her red hair back out of the way. “Are you all right?” he asked once she had finished and began to steady herself.“I’m fine,” she assured him, managing a smile.He rushed to bring her water and a towel to wipe her mouth. Once he helped her up and over to the bed, where she insisted on sitting instead of lying down, he took care of the bucket and ran back to her side. “Aislyn, do you have fever?” he asked, feeling her forehead. “When did you start feeling ill?”“A few weeks ago,” she replied, but she was still smiling, and though he had no idea what there was to be happy about, he took a deep breath and let her continue. “Aaron, I’m not ill,” she assured him, placing her thin hand on his knee.“What do you me
Aaron Chapter 17
However, as the days passed, he began to realize something wasn’t quite right with Aislyn either. At first, he had thought it was just the pregnancy. She was becoming more and more lethargic. Her skin was even more pale than usual, and her eyes had dark rings beneath them. He insisted she spend her days in bed, even though she argued, saying she was fine and had much to do around the house. He won out, however, and she continued to rest. Even with more sleep, she didn’t improve, and when she broke into a fever, Aaron panicked. He checked her entire body for any signs of infection. She insisted she was fine—that she had not interacted with any of the Dark Ones. She would recover fully with more rest.Aaron ran into town to find a midwife. By the time he returned, Aislyn was hardly even lucid. The woman checked her over and assured him that if she drank an herbal remedy, she would be fine in a day or two. She believed it was only the pregnancy wearing her down
Aaron Chapter 18
Aislyn’s color had still looked good when Aaron returned from the field. The pale tones he’d noted earlier had been replaced by the rosy cheeks he hadn’t seen in weeks. She had wanted to get up and fix dinner, but he insisted she stay in bed and rest. He’d managed to catch a rabbit that afternoon, so he threw together a stew which wasn’t half bad.He’d gone about his evening routine as normal so that Aislyn wouldn’t suspect anything, but his mind kept returning to what Kian was asking him to do. Imagining himself standing in his friends’ home, preparing to end his wife was too much for him. He had no idea how he was going to do it. By the time midnight rolled around, his stomach was cramping and his palms were sweaty. Realizing he had no choice but to follow through with his promise, he took one more glance at the sleeping face of his own angelic wife, slipped out of bed, and got dressed, praying that, by the time he reached the
Aaron Chapter 19
Killarney, Ireland, 1847The herbal remedy only lasted for so long, and before too many days, Aislyn was clearly ill again. This time, she was hardly conscious by the time the midwife got there, and though she checked her over thoroughly, she could not tell what was the matter. Without a diagnosis, she was unwilling or unable to make a recommendation and left, telling Aaron she was sorry, but his wife would likely die within a day or two.This answer was not acceptable to him, and though he had to travel far to find a third midwife, he was able to do so. Leaving Aislyn alone was not ideal, but he was fearful to ask a family member to sit with her because he did not know if the illness was contagious. He’d called upon Kian to see if he might come over and sit with her while he traveled to town, despite the fact that he had yet to come by and assure Aaron he was not angry about the situation with Shannon, but Kian was nowhere to be found. Ultimately, Aaron
Aaron Chapter 20
Something was different; something was wrong. He was an intelligent man, and he knew his wife very well. So, the fact that he was unable or unwilling to admit to himself or to anyone else that Aislyn was acting peculiarly was blamed on a number of other things. She’d been sick. He was going through changes himself. Shannon’s death was disturbing to both of them, as was Kian’s disappearance. No, Aislyn wasn’t quite her former self, but who would be after a long illness? Additionally, she was nearly five months pregnant. She was certain she’d return to her usual disposition just as soon as the baby arrived.When Aislyn refused dinner because she was nauseous and kept her eyes squinted because the light hurt her eyes, Aaron dismissed both as symptoms of the pregnancy or the illness. Her skin became paler; the circles under her eyes darker. Her skin was cold. He had never had a pregnant wife before, but he imagined all of these things could be
Aaron Chapter 21
Asking Kian to help him was out of the question. Not only would he refuse, Aaron knew that, if he employed the assistance of another, he would grow to hate that person, laying the blame on them for the action he was too weak to take himself. He understood now why Kian refused to speak to him. Even though they both knew better, he held Aaron responsible for Shannon’s death.He wouldn’t put this burden on anyone else’s shoulders. He would perform the task he must carry out in order to spare the children of Killarney, and then he would put Ward’s proclamation that he was unable to die to the test. If it proved true, he would go about finding a Hunter who would finish him off. That was a task he was quite certain Kian would be willing to perform.That day, he went about his typical tasks, as did Aislyn. She even hummed a lullaby as she swept the dust out the door. After dinner, they read the Bible together, though Aislyn refused to touch it, and cha
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