away from this, unlikely as it might be. But this beast plagued with a terrible curse could not be reasoned with. It would kill until it was satiated. Until it found a new host.
The beast dropped to a crouch. Elisabeth tensed, her own body falling into a fighting stance. It was happening, and he should do as she said, go inside, hide, protect himself, but he was rooted in place. The sinewy muscles of the Rougarou rippled against the moon’s gaze, and then he was launched forward into the air, directly at Elisabeth.
Kieran leaped in front of her without thinking. He lifted both hands above his face, shielding it from the assault, just as he heard her gasp ripple through the night.
Stop! Stop! Stop! He cried out in his mind, as the last moments of life as he knew it ticked into oblivion.
The Rougarou stopped. He landed on both feet with a soft thud, panting, watching.
What did you say to me?
Kieran looked up. Where had that voice come from?
But he knew.
Low, gravelly. Beastly.
You heard me speak to you? Kieran asked, feeling foolish, feeling relieved. Behind him, Elisabeth had stopped breathing.
Yesss. I heard you. I heard your words. I recognized them, from a time before. But I have not heard them in a great many years.
Since you became a Rougarou.
Is that what they call me?
It’s the only word we know. What would you like us to call you?
“Kieran? What’s happening? Why does he stand there like that?” Elisabeth asked, not because, he thought, she sensed what was transpiring between beast and man.
David. That was my name.
David. How long have you been like this?
It seemed a great long while before David answered. My wife carries our child.
What year?
Nineteen fifty-two, of course. What year do you think it is?
Over half a century. David’s child would have grandchildren of their own by now. But to him, no time had passed at all.
I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve what happened to you.
Neither do you, but here we are, the two of us. My wife and unborn child are waiting. I can see them again, thanks to you.
“Kieran,” Elisabeth hissed. Kieran pressed a hand to her arm, hoping it was enough. If he said a word aloud, the spell would be broken.
You have served your time, Kieran returned. But I am not your replacement. It isn’t nineteen fifty-two anymore and hasn’t been for a long time. Almost sixty years have passed since you were afflicted, David. Your wife will be very old. Your child will have children of their own. I can find them for you. But there isn’t a place for you with them. Not anymore.
David’s rage trembled across the murky surface of the water. He threw his head back, sounding out a new howl. Grief tore through the center of it. It nearly knocked Kieran off his feet.
I’m so sorry. I could find them for you.
David showed his long teeth. I could find them myself.
You wouldn’t get far. This woman behind me? She’s a vampire. She’s trained to kill you and has been waiting over a century to do it.
David snarled. She seems more afraid of me than I am of her.
Tonight I watched her kill a woman without breaking a sweat. She had me in her trunk without a fight. Don’t underestimate her.
David regarded them. Elisabeth took a step, but Kieran held her back.
You could pass this curse, David, or you could end it. Your family has moved on. Mine still waits for me.
There is no ending this curse.
Tell me your last name.
Why would I do that?
Please.
Long pause. Aucoin.
David Aucoin. And your wife? Her first name?
Lucy. But she was a Landry, before me.
You know what? I’m a Landry.
You lie.
Through my father, Mason. His father was...
Kieran stopped. He’d never known his grandfather, just as Mason had never known his father. Grandma Lucy had always said Grandpa had run off with some young hussy and left her to raise the twins, Mason and Mary. She’d given them both the Landry name, so they wouldn’t be tainted by the curse of their father.
No, David said. I would know my own blood. I would know.
Maybe it’s why you hesitate. Why I can speak to you.
David sniffed the air. You can speak to me because you have magic. I know the scent. Who are you really?
I am the son of Mason Landry and Chelsea Sullivan. And I think... I think I’m your grandson.
The Rougarou took a step back. Then another.
“He’s retreating,” Elisabeth said. “I don’t understand. What aren’t