CHAPTER 2

ALLEGIANCE 

"I will not have you interfering in my business again, Sarah!" Lucas said. He was angry that she had stepped in his way. She was the only one who stayed by his side so he couldn't harm her.

If it was a different situation, then Lucas might not have recognized her as his sister.

"Why did you have to do that? You knew exactly why we needed him," Lucas went on.

"For the Blood Moon ritual?" she asked, and when Lucas said nothing, she understood that it was true. "I didn't realize that you'd just take the first person who walked into town today, father."

The man whom John Crowe hadn't snapped his neck was already on his feet. His body was stained with his own blood. Lucas Miller ignored him. 

"Stay away from him if you know what is best for you," Lucas warned her and turned to leave. 

She watched her brother then went back to where she had been standing. It was under the awning of a library. 

The man who stood beside her was Michael Smith but everyone called him Old Mickey because of his age. 

Old Mickey was busy reading a book and smoking his pipe. 

"Are you all right?" he asked her as she sat on the other side of the table. 

"I am fine," she said. 

"People who always say they are fine, aren't really," he told her. 

"Naturally," Sarah said. "But you don't have to worry about me, sir."

"Oh, we all worry about you. As long as Lucas is your brother, there is that cause to."

Sarah said nothing. She knew a lot of people feared her brother. And that was a very different thing from the respect they accorded him. 

They all talked about him in whispers. And it was the same way they talked about the Blood Moon. It was as if they thought he was some kind of god who listened in to their conversations and if they ever said a wrong word, that could be the end of their lives. 

Well, there wasn't much to live for in Black Hollow. Not since the Blood Rituals started some centuries ago. It was true that the town did it in exchange for protection and that was granted, but it was also sucking the goodwill from the place. Any sensible person could feel it. 

"We don't have to continue with it, do we?" Sarah asked, bringing back the conversation. 

Old Mickey looked at her from his book and asked, "With what?" 

"The ritual."

"The town needs protection." 

"From what?" she wanted to know. 

"From the beasts out there, girl. The wolves. I've been hunting them for years now. They do exist you know."

"And my brother is in charge of it all," he said. 

"Yeah, his time is going to pass someday. I don't think I can handle it alone."

She said nothing. 

"Hey, I think you should really keep yourself out of it. There is no need going against your brother. You both are family."

"Well, if there is anyone who's going to stand up to Lucas Miller, then that person would be me seeing as no one else wants to do it."

"You expect them to bite the hand that feeds them?" he asked skeptically. "Look, you can't change things that easy in Black Hollow. I'm not happy about the rituals but one life in hundred years against numerous in just days? I think I'll take the former."

But Sarah could not risk telling him the truth because it was just too bitter a pill to swallow. What the hell was really happening in Black Hollow was pretty much deeper than what the townspeople thought. 

And more darker. But it was her job to keep quiet about it because she has pledged her loyalty to her brother. She knew how the people looked at her every damn time she walked past. She knew they said things about her, and about her family.

It was not a rumor that her brother had ended up killing the rest of her family because they didn't seen to agree with what he called, his personal beliefs.

She was the only one he left behind because she was still too young to understand what the hell was going on. 

So Sarah pledged her allegiance to Lucas when she came of age. And so it had been for a very long time already. 

"That man," she said. "There is something about him."

"Yeah, there is," Old Mikey said absentmindedly. 

Sarah stared at him, her eyes curious to know what Michael found out. "What's that?" 

"I met him while he was entering the town. Dropped off my horses and came right here to pick a book. That when I saw you intervene in the fight."

"He fought well. I didn't think he'd stand a chance."

"And is that the reason you decided to help him?" Old Mikey demanded to know. 

"I wonder where he'll be now," Sarah replied, ignoring his question. 

"That shouldn't be any of your concern," Old Mikey said, caution in his tone. 

"He isn't safe in Black Hollow," Sarah said, as a matter of fact. 

Old Mikey looked at her. She was a beautiful lass and he would not want to see her get hurt. But that was between her and Lucas Miller, her brother.

"So you want to hide him?" he asked her. 

Sarah smiled at him and Old Mikey knew he would like what she was going to say next. "Yes, and I want you to help me. You know you can't say no to me, right?" 

He shook his head from side to side. Then he turned out his pipe and slammed his book shut. "I'll get my things. Don't go anywhere till I come out."

A while later, they were done. And both proceeded to look for John Crowe.

Sarah knew she was going against her brother's orders and breaking her allegiance to him in the process but the need to find the visitor kept tugging hard and she had to

respond.

If John Crowe wasn't the man she thought him to be, then she'd let Lucas Miller kill him.