Visions of Death

by B. T. Lord

  Realizing that Ellis wasn’t letting the investigation go, was Tim about to kill Dara because she’d done readings for DeeDee, Richard and Mallory and knew who the baby’s father really was? Was that why Tim was dating her? To retain control of the situation?

  Or was the truth much darker?

  With grim determination, Ellis put the SUV into drive and headed out into the driving winds.

  By the time he reached the parking lot at Watson Pond, he was seeing double. He now suspected he did indeed have a concussion, but he’d deal with it later. Right now, he had to find Dara.

  He grabbed his flashlight and, getting out of the SUV, shone it into the surrounding shrubs and dark corners. It wasn’t long before he saw what looked like a pair of headlights near the ladies bathroom reflecting back at him.

  With the gusts making walking difficult, he managed to get to Dara’s car. He tried each door, but they were locked. Flashing the light through the windows, he was dismayed to find what looked like a man’s jacket lying on the backseat. What frightened him more was the sight of the keys still in the ignition. As if announcing that no one was coming back.

  The water on the pond spun in turmoil as the winds blew across the surface, sending up white angry caps. Ellis’s hood barely stayed on as the wind hurled itself against him. He attempted to clear his vision by shaking his head, but it only earned him sharper, almost debilitating bouts of pain.

  Trying hard not to slip on the icy path, or trip over exposed tree roots, he gingerly made his way towards the spot where they’d found Richard. He kept the flashlight turned down towards the ground in front of him, afraid that its light would give him away, but knowing he’d never find his way without it.

  He finally reached the area where the trail forked. To the right lay the smaller pond where they’d found DeeDee’s purse. To the left was where Richard’s body was discovered. Hampered by the piercing pain in his head and the blurred vision, he didn’t know which way to go.

  Make a decision! He screamed at himself.

  Opting to go the left, he was just coming to the beach when, suddenly without warning, he felt the hairs stand up on the back on his neck. He slowly lifted his flashlight to illuminate the path before him and saw the familiar shadowy figure standing in his way.

  Despite the darkness, he saw its outline against the background of black. Fear shot down his spine when he saw two red eyes appear. They locked onto Ellis, paralyzing him. Holding him in place despite the winds pushing against him. He felt a coldness reach down into his very being, leaving him helpless. Vulnerable. Completely defenseless.

  He didn’t know how long he stood there. A blast of wind, fiercer than what he’d experienced so far, suddenly threw itself against him, unbalancing him and knocking him up against a tree. The trance was broken as he struggled to keep from falling to the ground.

  Unwilling to see if the shadow was still there, Ellis gritted his teeth and started forward, determined to run through the accursed creature if he had to. To his surprise, when he reached the spot where the shadow had been standing, it was gone.

  He winced as blood from his forehead seeped into his eyes, adding a sharp stinging to the pain in his head. Once again he fought against the nausea as the throbbing threatened to immobilize him. Yet, he pushed on. His gut screamed that if he didn’t find Dara and Tim, he’d be dealing with another death.

  And he’d be damned if he let that happen.

  He followed the path as it curved slightly into the woods. When it rounded back, he saw the beach laid out in front of him. He shone the flashlight down near the shore and caught his breath. What looked like a large, dark lump was lying half in and half out of the water. It appeared motionless as the sleet and rain drove itself against its surface. At first, he thought it was a tree trunk, ripped from the ground by the high winds. However, it wasn’t long before he realized his mistake. It wasn’t a tree trunk.

  It was a body.

  Good Lord. Dara!

  He took out his cell and immediately called Rhys.

  “I’m at the far end of Watson Pond. I found a body that I believe is Dara Clemons. Can you get here as soon as you can? I’m going in now to see if she’s alive. Call Cade and tell him what’s going on.”

  Withdrawing his pistol, he cautiously made his way down the incline. He knew once he stepped away from the protection of the hill, he’d be out in the open and an easy target. But he had no choice. He had to get to the girl and pull her out of the water before she died of exposure.

  If she was still alive.

  He started towards the body when he felt a cold rush through him that had nothing to do with the storm. Once again, a sense of paralyzing dread filled his mind. He didn’t need to look to know the shadow man was back. This time, it stood next to the body, its red eyes challenging him to come closer.

  His heart almost stopped when the thing lifted its hand and beckoned him forward.

  Jesus, were the stories right? Was this thing protecting Dara? Or had it turned on her.

  Staring at the monstrous creature, Ellis did something he hadn’t done since he was a child. He recited a prayer of love and protection under his breath. He then took a step forward.

  The thing continued to watch.

  He took another step forward.

  The red eyes blazed in intensity.

  He took yet another step in the wet, clutching sand.

  From behind him, he thought he heard a voice calling his name, but it was ripped away in the wind. Yet whatever he’d heard did something to the shadow. It shimmered in the darkness. Then it disappeared.

  Taking advantage of its abrupt departure, Ellis ran forward and kneeled down next to the figure. He instantly knew something was wrong. Shoving the flashlight into his pocket, he pulled the body up out of the water and turned it over. He didn’t need the flashlight to tell him he’d made a horrible mistake.

  It wasn’t Dara in the water. It was Tim.

  He felt for a pulse and thought he felt it feebly throbbing against the ice-cold skin. Tim was soaked through and Ellis feared he would die if help didn’t arrive quickly. Without thinking, he tore off his own coat and threw it over the motionless body. He then took out his cell and was about to call Rhys a second time and beg him to hurry when he again heard a voice cry out. Thankfully, the wind died down long enough for him to make out what was being said.

  “Help me!”

  It was Dara. He scanned the hill, but in the darkness, he couldn’t see anything.

  “Where are you?” he called back.

  “Over here!”

  He was turning in the direction of the voice when a sixth sense made him suddenly swivel his body. He caught his breath when he saw a branch swing just inches away from his head. He scrambled to his feet and saw Dara standing before him. She was soaking wet, but it was her eyes that horrified them. They were red. Just like the shadow man.

  “They were useless!” she screamed in a voice that wasn’t her own. “They hurt with their words and destroyed with their actions. They deserved to die. As do you. You refused to help your partner when he needed you most. Betrayal comes easily to you, doesn’t it? It comes easily to all of you.”

  Ellis lifted his hands and pointed his gun at Dara. “Drop the branch and step back.” To his surprise, she laughed as she swung the branch at him again. “Dara, don’t make me do this. Drop the branch now!”

  Keeping his eyes on her, he was shocked to see the shadow man materialize behind her.

  “Shadows kill,” she crooned as she circled him. “And more will die.”

  Ellis’s blood ran cold. Those were the same words he’d heard in his dream when the shadow man first appeared.

  Jacob’s words came back to him.

  That thing has been looking after the family for centuries. Doesn’t let anyone mess with them. They do, they die. It’s always been that way.

  Ellis finally understood what was going on.

  “This isn’t you, Dara,” he shouted, desperate
to be heard above the howling winds. “You’re kind and sweet and compassionate.”

  “And a fool who must be protected,” she growled back at him in a raspy voice that send chills down his spine.

  “That’s not true. You need to stop this thing once and for all. You’re a good person. You’d never hurt anyone. You’d never hurt me. And what about Tim? He was nice to you. He helped you.”

  “He served his purpose. Just as others have done before him. He’s no longer needed.”

  It took a moment for her words to penetrate his exhausted mind. When they did, he stared back in sickened disbelief. Could he combat this thing? Could he reach the sympathetic, gentle Dara who must still be in there?

  He couldn’t give up. He had to find a way to reach her.

  “Dara, listen to me. You can’t blame yourself. It was part of a legacy you didn’t know how to escape. But you can. I’ll help you find a way, I swear it. I’ll never abandon you.”

  He watched as the red eyes dimmed. She wavered and stared at the branch in her hand as if she was seeing it for the first time.

  Yes!!

  Just as he was about to continue his gentle entreaties, he suddenly felt his throat constrict. He struggled against icy hands he couldn’t see crushing his windpipe. The gun fell from his grasp as he brought his hands up in a desperate attempt to defend himself. To pull the fingers away. But there was nothing to grab.

  Ellis fell to his knees as he struggled to loosen the grip of hands he couldn’t physically feel. He clawed at his own throat, but it was no use.

  He was slowly being choked to death.

  “Dara…” he croaked as he found himself on the brink of unconsciousness. “Help me.”

  Pinpricks danced before him as a dark curtain moved across his eyes. He reached out to Dara imploringly, but it was a futile gesture. She stood over him, the branch in her hand, her features expressionless.

  With one last effort to survive, Ellis looked up at Dara.

  “Tim loved you,” he rasped.

  There was no change in her expression.

  He’d lost.

  He fell back upon the sand, his face and body thrashed by sleet, rain and a chill that seeped into his very core. He’d never thought about what his last moments would be like. He’d just assumed it would be the way his partner had died. In a shootout in a filthy, abandoned warehouse.

  Who could have ever predicted he’d die on a windswept beach on a remote island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean at the hands of a lethal shadow that had plagued mankind for centuries?

  Not even Dara, with all her abilities, could have foreseen that.

  “Ellis…”

  On the edge of consciousness, he slowly turned his gaze upward. Into the storm. Into the ice and the winds. Into the face of Dara looking down at him. The red eyes were gone, replaced by an expression filled with regret and sadness.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered through tears as she dug her hand into her pocket and withdrew a small bottle.

  A fierce gust of wind smashed against her, almost knocking her down, but she somehow managed to stay on her feet. Knowing she had little time, she frantically uncapped the bottle and hurriedly drank its contents. A second later, Ellis abruptly felt his throat released from its deadly hold. He rolled over and coughed as he hungrily filled his lungs with air.

  As his breathing returned to normal, he looked to Dara, only to see her sprawled on the sand.

  With the pain in his head and throat unbearable, he willed himself to crawl to her. He cursed under his ragged breath when he recognized the reddish foam at her mouth.

  “It was the only way,” she whispered.

  “No, no,” he croaked as he gathered her into his arms. “Dara, hold on, help is coming. Don’t you dare give up!”

  But it was too late. She was dead.

  EPILOGUE

  I’d heard the stories, but I refused to believe them. I thought they were fairy tales created to justify Mom and Grannie’s strange behavior. Our whole family’s strange behavior. But they were right. God help me. They were right.

  The shadow man is here to protect me. But I don’t want that kind of protection. He makes me do things I don’t want to do, all in the name of keeping me safe. I tried to stay away from everyone so they couldn’t do anything that would anger him. I begged Mallory, DeeDee and Richard to leave me alone. But they wouldn’t listen. They had to treat me like dirt. And the shadow man got his revenge. Mallory – see and speak no evil. DeeDee – hear no evil. Richard – kneeling to ask for forgiveness.

  I’m still horrified at what it did – what it made me do. I swear I didn’t know. I didn’t even remember I still had the syringes I used to administer morphine to Mom when she was dying of cancer. I had no clue I still had the sedatives I’d bought to help me sleep after she passed. It knew though. Just as it knew I’d been taught to make sure I didn’t have any bubbles when I filled the syringes with morphine.

  And I honestly don’t remember buying or making the tea he made me put the sedatives in.

  I can’t fight the shadow man. He’s too strong. And smart. He knew enough to have the world blame Richard for everything.

  Now he’s going to hurt Tim. The only person who was ever nice to me and stood up for me. The only person I’ve ever loved on this godforsaken island. The only person who could have loved me back. Who did love me back. Because of that, he’s now condemned to death. Just like every man who ever fell in love with a Clemons. I won’t let that happen.

  I’m not going to bring our child into this horrible legacy. She won’t suffer the way I suffered.

  With me dead, the shadow man will never hurt anyone else ever again. I’m the last of the Clemons. I die, he dies.

  Ellis closed the diary. He sat on Dara’s couch and contemplated what he’d just read.

  Was it possible that what she’d written was true? Had that black thing somehow inhabited her body and made her carry out the murders of Richard, Mallory and DeeDee? Its mission was to protect her. Their horrendous treatment of Dara had unwittingly been their death sentence.

  He felt a deep sense of sadness when he considered her final action. Only by killing herself by drinking poison did she believe she could stop the killings. Only by taking her own life could she protect the only person she’d ever loved. She must have felt she had no choice when she discovered she was pregnant. She wasn’t willing to condemn her child to carrying on the horrible birthright of the Clemons women. Of being a destructive instrument of death just as she and her ancestors had been.

  It was Chandra he’d called after the car accident. He heard her voice echoing in his mind when he’d asked her to repeat the rumors about the men who’d impregnated the Clemons’ women.

  As soon as they served their purpose of continuing the female line by impregnating the Clemons women, they disappeared, never to be heard from again.

  By getting her pregnant, Tim had no idea he’d condemned himself to death.

  It was unbelievable.

  Thankfully the young man was going to be okay. Rhys was able to save his limbs and pump his stomach of the sedatives he’d been given by Dara in the tea she’d served him.

  “She called me in hysterics. She was so upset over everything that had happened, she begged me to come over,” Tim explained to Ellis once he was able to give a statement. “It was just after you left. She sounded so strange and so distraught, I didn’t feel I had a choice. Despite the bad weather, I had to go to her.”

  Ellis looked about the small apartment. His eyes rested on the homemade deck of tarot cards still sitting on her coffee table. He leaned over and picked them up.

  She’d been gifted. And had paid for the family legacy with her life.

  Which showed what a wonderful person she’d really been. If only the islanders could have seen that and treated her like a human being instead of as a pariah, Mallory, DeeDee and Richard would still be alive. Dara would still be alive.

  And the shadow man would have
faded away.

  Taking out his cell, he placed a call to a number Chloe had been able to track down. He spoke for a few moments then hung up.

  He stood up, looked around the apartment one last time and started to put the cards back down onto the table when he paused. Instead, he slipped them into his pocket and quietly let himself out.

  Dianne Jarvis hung up the phone and stared into space for a long moment. She felt she should be sad. After all, the police officer had just informed her Dara was dead. But there was nothing. No grief, no sadness. No emotion whatsoever. Just a strange emptiness. Maybe the sorrow would come in time.

  But she didn’t think so.

  It had been so long since she’d been on Eagla. One marriage, one child, one divorce later, she was so far removed from who she’d been back then. She had no wish to remember her family, the legacy of being outcasts. Of actually being thought of as witches.

  It was something out of the Middle Ages.

  That was why she’d left. To find a better life for herself and any children she might have.

  To make sure she wasn’t tainted, she never contacted them. Never told them about the marriage. The baby. The divorce. As far as she was concerned, her life had started the moment she stepped on the ferry all those years ago.

  It was time to stop thinking about it. That was another life. One that didn’t exist anymore. And would never exist again.

  Dianne stood up from the kitchen table and walked down the hallway in the large spacious condominium she owned in one of the Boston’s residential suburbs. She knocked on the door and entered.

  She saw a cascade of blonde curls sitting on the bed, the face under the hair buried in her laptop. A warmth filled her heart as she watched her daughter Trisha look up at her.

  “Hey Mom. What’s up?”

  “Oh nothing. Just wanted to know if you’d like Thai food for dinner tonight.”

  “That sounds great. Take-out, right? I’m busy trying to talk Philippa off the ledge.”