The Beautiful and the Damned (24 page)

The memory of him saying that made her smile, and Cyn gently placed her hand on the
patch of unburned skin right
above his elbow. “I’m sorry as hell this happened to you. But that bastard who did
it is dead now. He took a short walk and a long drop off the edge of a cliff. You’ll
never have to see his face again.”

The back of her head itched, and she reached up to scratch it. The wig she was wearing
was cheap. But it made her feel better to have it on. Protected.

The tattoo outline of the number thirteen on the back of her neck itched too. It was
still fresh.

Placing the cigarettes on the stand next to the bed, she gave Lenny a two-finger salute
on her way out the door. “Thanks for always looking out for me, big guy. I hope I
get the chance to see you and Marv again.”

~  ~  ~

She didn’t see the vintage 1948 Vincent Black Lightning following her as she stole
another car and pulled out of the hospital parking lot. Which was just fine with Avian.
He had a lot of thinking to do and a lot of open road to do it on.

She headed south. And Avian was willing to bet the Vincent Black Lightning he was
on that she was going to the deep south. Back in Sleepy Hollow, he’d mentioned Mint
in Louisiana to her, and just last week Mint let him know about
a call he’d received from a girl asking if he was hiring.

At least she wasn’t running anymore. But just because she wasn’t running didn’t mean
she wouldn’t need someone to look out for her.

Good thing Louisiana was nice this time of year.

A
LSO BY
J
ESSICA
V
ERDAY

The Hollow

The Haunted

The Hidden

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people,
or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events
are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or
places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

SIMON PULSE

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

First Simon Pulse hardcover edition October 2013

Copyright © 2013 by Jessica Verday

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any
form.

SIMON PULSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau
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.

Jacket designed by Regina Flath

Interior designed by Paul Weil and Karina Granda

Jacket design and wings photograph by Angela Goddard

Jacket background texture photograph by Thinkstock

Jacket photographs of metal corner ornaments by Thinkstock

The text of this book was set in Caslon.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Verday, Jessica.

The beautiful and the damned / Jessica Verday.

p. cm.

Summary: Cyn, a witch, and Avian, executioner of the truly evil, discover that Cyn
is an Echo, a conduit for souls of the dead, who will lose control unless she risks
her life to vanquish the source of her power in Sleepy Hollow.

ISBN 978-1-4424-8835-9 (hc)

[1. Supernatural—Fiction. 2. Memory—Fiction. 3. Demonology—Fiction. 4. Angels—Fiction.
5. Vampires—Fiction. 6. Dead—Fiction.] I. Title.

PZ7.V5828Be 2013

[Fic]—dc23

2013016758

ISBN 978-1-4424-8839-7 (eBook)