Love & War Book 1 in The Arcadia Falls Chronicles Read online

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  Back at the house, after I showered and put on some fresh and dry clothes, I gathered my notebooks and research materials into my backpack. I needed to go to the library and continue research about witches. Finding out whatever we could about Alice’s heritage or anything on how she could harness the magic within her was paramount. If we were going to go to war, it would be a huge asset to our side if she had some sort of power to add to our arsenal.

  After I had everything packed, I hurried down the stairs and found Alice in the kitchen baking some sort of goodie for us. That was one thing I totally liked about Alice being around: There was always some kind of fresh bread or pastry for us to munch on.

  "Hey, Alice."

  "Hey." She reached over and pulled two pot holders off the counter, opened the oven and extracted yummy-looking muffins.

  "Those look so good!"

  Alice grinned. "It’s the least I can do, since Luke won’t let me cook the meals."

  I laughed, remembering the bickering that had taken place between Alice and Luke for dominion over the kitchen. She set the muffins on a cooling rack and wiped her hands on her apron.

  "Where are you going?" she asked.

  I reached over and snatched one of the steaming hot muffins to take with me.

  "I’m going to the library."

  "You want me to come?"

  "You should." I tossed the muffin from hand to hand because it was still so hot. "I’m looking up witch stuff today. We need to find out more. We know next to nothing about this stuff."

  Alice nodded. "Okay, give me a minute."

  She took off her apron, made sure the oven was off, and hurried out of the kitchen.

  I wandered into the living room, tossing my muffin from hand to hand.

  Our living room was small, but it was cozy, and that’s what really mattered. It always felt homey and lived-in. The muffin finally cooled enough for me to take a test bite. While I chewed, I noticed someone had left the newspaper spread all over the coffee table. I took another big bite and sat down to scan.

  The newspapers were all from different days, and some of the reports had been circled with a red marker. Each circled article was a report of an animal attack where the victim had been saved by a dark-haired man.

  All the victims were women, and each woman claimed she remembered nothing about her rescuer, except the dark hair, and only minimal information about the attack itself. One woman stated she had been walking home from work. She couldn’t remember seeing an attacker, just felt an animal bite into her neck, and the next thing she knew, she was waking up to see the dark-haired man telling her everything would be all right, while he dialed for the ambulance on her phone and handed it to her. Then he was gone.

  Another report was a young woman trying to unlock her car at her home to leave to attend a night class for her college courses. The bites on her were reported to cover her neck, arms, and thighs. Medical personnel reported that most of her bites probably occurred while she fought off the animal. This woman’s memory was also vague. She remembered being attacked from behind and seeing a dark-haired man rushing toward her and the animal. She admitted to closing her eyes at that point, thinking she was probably going to die. She had felt the animal being ripped away and thrown. Only then had she opened her eyes. The man, who wouldn't look at her, had snatched up her purse and taken out the phone. He had dialed 911, reported a severe animal attack, and then had left the scene. The women stayed behind, lying on her blood-covered driveway, waiting for help.

  "Interesting, huh?" Drew stood in the doorway.

  He surprised me so much I almost dropped my muffin.

  "Who is this guy?" I asked.

  "I don’t know. But the attacks are vampires, so he’s fighting them and saving innocent people." He shrugged. "We can’t decide if we want to let him be, or if we should try to find out who he is."

  I stood, excited. "We have to find out! He could help with our plans."

  Drew shifted and leaned against the door frame. "We don’t actually have any plans, yet, in case you forgot."

  "Plans for what?" Alice hurried into the room.

  "World domination." I ate the last bite of my muffin and crumpled the wrapper, and then I wandered into the kitchen to throw it away.

  I could hear Drew explaining the whole thing to her. I took my time in the kitchen, got a glass of orange juice, drank it, rinsed the glass and set it in the sink. I finally heard Alice’s quiet voice reply, "I think we should find out who he is, too. Whether we have plans to attack or not, we should know who he is."

  I wandered back into the room. "Does he even know about the hunters? That is another thing to consider."

  I picked up my backpack and slipped it on my back.

  Drew narrowed his eyebrows. "That’s a good point. Most importantly, he's drawing attention to himself and exposing us without even knowing it. Where are you going?"

  "Library. You ready, Alice?"

  Drew spread his hands out "What? I’m not invited?"

  I went to him and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Oh, don’t pout. Of course you’re invited."

  Alice laughed out loud. I turned away and opened the front door.