Darkness Falls
The House of Bannerman, book 3
written by Melissa R. L. Simonin
© 2015
Darkness Falls
The House of Bannerman, book 3
written by Melissa R. L. Simonin
copyright 2015 by Melissa R. L. Simonin
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in whole or in part in any manner or in any form without the written permission of the author.
Dedicated to…
My dear friend Chocolate Chip, who I still miss even after thirty years.
Mom, who listens every day as I read what I’ve written and work through plot twists. Your listening ears and insight are invaluable, and your proofreading skills are top-notch.
My sister Becky Clements and dear friend Paula Pavletich. The time you spend proofreading is so very much appreciated!
To my daughter Emily, for your excellent suggestions regarding book titles and cover art.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 1
I lay on my stomach looking through the course catalog, carefully choosing which classes to sign up for as my gray panther kitty, Night Furry, stalked the pencil in my hand.
“You’re not making this easy,” I said, laughing at his attempts to wrestle the pencil away from me. He looked at me with his mesmerizing yellow-green eyes and purred, rubbing against my shoulder.
Through the open windows, I heard Lawncare Extraordinaire lawnmowers, and the scent of fresh cut grass wafted in on the late summer breeze. Night abandoned the hunt for my pencil, and leaped at the scattered rainbows and flashes of light that the diamonds and rubies in my engagement and wedding rings cast across the whole cloth quilt on our bed.
Night was suddenly struck from below as Pandora, his sister, leaped up off the floor and grabbed him, pulling him right off the bed. They hit the rug on the hardwood floor with a thud, then chased each other out of the room. Amazing how eight little cat feet can sound so much like a herd of elephants thundering down the hall.
“Whoa, where are you two going in such a hurry?” I heard Miles say.
From the sound, it was safe to assume their only response was to crash into a wall on their way down the stairs.
“There you are,” Miles smiled as he walked into the room, followed by golden retriever Trixie, and chocolate Lab Chip. “We’re wondering if you’d like to go for a short hike before dinner, but you look like you’re in the middle of something.”
He sat next to me on the bed, gazing at me with those amazing hazel eyes of his. He brushed his fingers through my shoulder length brown hair, and I sat up and leaned into him as he pulled me closer and kissed me.
“You’re distracting me, you know,” I said.
“Sorry about that. I’ll just go then…” he said, and smiled when I grabbed him by the shirt.
“I wasn’t complaining, don’t you dare leave.”
“Fine then,” he smiled. “Since you put it that way, I’ll stay.”
He looked at the catalog in front of me.
“It’s nice we’ll have some of the same classes again this year. Every year, maybe, since you’ll have to have some Finance, Economics, Management, and Accounting classes. Communications, too.”
“Yeah, I’m glad we will. Too bad we aren’t majoring in the same thing, we could have all of them together, from now until we graduate.”
“Don’t tempt me,” said Miles. “I might end up adding on another major.”
“Oh, you’ve got plenty on your list already, Mr. Valedictorian-in-progress, Mr. Make-the-rest-of-us-feel-like-slackers for only having one.”
I admired how smart he was, and what an amazing work ethic he had. When he undertakes something, he gives it his all, and I’ve never known him not to succeed brilliantly.
“You’re no slacker, Anika Riley Bannerman,” said Miles, with an answering smile. “You’ve accomplished amazing things in your life, already.”
“You were right there with me, we accomplished those things,” I reminded him, sharing the credit, as was only fair.
“I wonder what we’ll accomplish together, next?”
“I can only imagine, if it’s as exciting and unusual as the first two years we’ve known each other.”
“I have to admit, I’ve appreciated our uneventful summer,” said Miles.
“Me too. I’m looking forward to college starting in a way, but I’m going to miss being completely free to do what we please, once it does.”
“Yes... but, this year will be a big improvement over last,” Miles said. “Goodnight doesn’t mean goodbye-until-morning, anymore.”
“That—is a most major improvement,” I agreed. “And no crazy stalkers out to get us, either.”
“I won’t miss that part any,” said Miles.
“Speaking of apartments though, which one is ours?” I asked.
“Same floor as last year, at the end of the hall.”
“Oh, so not far from our friends, then.”
“No, not far,” Miles said, “since John is taking my place as Xander’s roommate, and Annette is taking your place as Jenny’s.”
“I like that. Jenny and Annette can carry on the tradition of being Grand Central Station, for study groups and movie nights.”
“And we can have all the peace and quiet and privacy we want, whenever we want it, at our own place,” Miles finished my thought for me. “So, how about that hike, or are you too busy?”
“No, not too busy at all. I’m tired of this, I’ll finish it later.”
I hopped up, and slipped on my shoes. Trixie and Chip both knew what that meant, and began to mill about in excitement.
“You kids act like you haven’t been playing outside all day,” I said, laughing at their antics.
“That’s what we get for having high energy dogs. I hope Trix will tolerate apartment living better than she did last year,” Miles said, then he turned to Trixie. “No more sneaking out, Trix.”
I laughed at the look on her face and pretended to scold her. “Now Trixie, you need to mind your dad.”
I didn’t need Miles to translate the look she gave in response to that comment! Miles and I both laughed, and she rolled her eyes. I was rubbing off on more than just Miles, apparently.
“Alright Trixie, Miles is your friend, not your dad. I get it.”
She looked slightly appeased, then turned and led the way out of the room, and into the hall.
“Stairs, or elevator?” asked Miles.
“Stairs, since we’re going down. But thank you for putting in the elevator. There are times I’m really grateful for it, living on the fourth floor, like we do.”
“You’re welcome,” Miles smiled.
It was a beautiful, late summer afternoon. The towers of the estate rose above the trees into the deep blue sky, reminding me of why I refer to it as the castle. Oak trees encircled the grounds of the estate, and roses filled the garden.
“Happy anniversary, by the way,” said Miles, and I turned to look at him, puzzled. “Oh, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten. Why Anika Riley Bannerman, I’m surprised at you!”
There was a teasing gleam in his eyes, and suddenly I remembered. It was a yea
r ago, that we became engaged. I stopped and gave Miles a hug, and kissed him.
“Happy anniversary to you, too!”
“You’re trying to distract me, so I’ll forget you forgot,” he said, the laughter I love so well, shining in his eyes.
“Is it working?” I asked.
“Always,” he said softly.
~***~
The end of summer arrived, and it was time to return to Glen Haven, for our second year of college. I was looking forward to seeing our apartment, and getting settled in. It would be fun to see our friends almost every day again, too.
“Now you children call and let me know you arrived safely,” said Grandma Polly. She hugged me one last time, then hugged Miles and kissed his cheek.
“We will, Grandma Polly,” Miles said, returning her hug. “You take care of yourself, and enjoy your traveling. Don’t forget we’d love for you to come visit us in Glen Haven, too. We’ve got a guest room in our apartment ready for you, anytime.”
“All right, dear,” Grandma Polly said, smiling and patting his cheek.
As we drove down the long curving driveway and away from the estate, I waved to Grandma Polly until she and the castle vanished from sight.
I turned back around and took the hand Miles offered, while he steered the vehicle with the other.
“I feel much better than I did last year at this time,” I commented.
“I’m glad you avoided the flu this year, and aren’t seeing shadow figures creep around the castle.”
“Me too,” I said, shuddering. “This year is bound to be positively boring compared to last year.”
“Boring is severely underrated,” said Miles. “It takes the kind of excitement we’ve gone through, to appreciate it.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” I completely agreed.
The drive was blissfully uneventful. We talked the whole way, and the hour and a half passed quickly.
Miles parked our vehicle in the covered parking area, outside our apartment building. We let the dogs out, and each carrying what we could—well, Miles could have carried it all, but that would be breaking the “no superpowers in public” policy—we walked through the front doors, into the lobby.
It wasn’t as I remembered it. The security guard on duty, used to sit behind a counter. After what happened at the end of the semester last year, the guard and the elevator doors were now completely enclosed in bulletproof glass, with a small vent to allow communication from one side to the other. We were so thankful the guard on duty when George Frank broke into my apartment, was only Tasered by Bea Cochran, instead of killed. We were thankful that we escaped with our lives, too.
“Hi, Steve,” Miles greeted the security guard.
“Good morning, Mr. Bannerman, Mrs. Bannerman,” Steve smiled.
“It’s good to see you, Steve,” I said, as he pressed a button, and the doors opened to let us pass through the lobby, to the elevator.
“It’s good to see you too,” Steve said, smiling at Chip and Trixie and Night and Pandora, who were in the carriers Miles and I carried. They weren’t exactly thrilled to be there. Who knew two cats could make so much noise!
“All right Mister,” I said sternly, once the elevator doors closed behind us. I let go of Night’s carrier and it stayed in front of me, floating in the air.
I put my hands on my hips and raised an eyebrow at Miles.
He smiled.
I stomped my foot.
“You are incredibly sweet, but what if someone were to see that?”
“Quit letting go of things, and no one will.”
Trixie looked as if she was laughing.
I rolled my eyes and kissed his cheek.
“Oh, I give up! You’re just impossible.”
As the elevator dinged to announce our arrival, I put my hands back on the cat carrier and pretended to struggle under an enormous weight.
Miles laughed.
“Do NOT let anyone see you do that, they’ll think I’m a terrible husband, leaving you to carry things that are obviously too heavy for you, and that we’re terrible pet parents, letting our cat get so fat you can’t even lift him.”
I laughed too, and walked beside Miles normally.
We finished carrying in our things, or at least I pretended to, and began to unpack and settle in. Chip and Trixie set out to explore every square inch of the place, and the cats too.
“This place is beautiful,” I said, looking around. “I thought my apartment last year was nice, but this—is amazing.”
It had an additional bedroom and a larger kitchen, dining room, and laundry room. The master bedroom was huge, which was saying a lot, considering how large my bedroom was in the apartment Jenny and I shared last year.
“I’m glad you like it, since we’ll probably be here for the next three years,” Miles smiled.
“I do, I love it,” I said, and smiled back.
A shadow passed over us. I flinched, and grabbed the front of Miles’ shirt.
“It’s just Night,” said Miles, rubbing my back. He pointed to the high window near the vaulted ceiling. My gray panther cat was perched there, casting a long shadow across the apartment.
I breathed a sigh of relief, and rested my forehead against Miles’ chest.
“It’s okay,” Miles reassured me. “There aren’t any shadows or stalkers or murderers after us, anymore.”
“I can’t believe how much that scared me,” I admitted, still holding on to Miles.
“If you’re suffering from PTSD, it’s completely understandable.”
My heart slowed to normal.
“We’re going to have a boring year, right?” I said.
“Right. Nothing exciting… except for the good kind of exciting.”
I nodded.
Night floated gently down to the floor, then gave a meow of protest and looked back at the ledge he’d been sitting on. Pandora came out of nowhere and jumped on him, and the two took off chasing each other through the apartment.
“They don’t even care anymore when you do that,” I commented, getting back to unpacking.
“They’ve gotten used to it,” said Miles, reaching for the folded blankets that I held out to him.
“And why wouldn’t they, as many times as they’ve been floated right off of our bed and out of our room?” I said, and Miles smiled, as I led the way to begin unpacking in the kitchen.
“I have to say, I find it very useful as far as superpowers go,” Miles said. “Not just for that reason, but others too. Imagine, someday we have guests over, and they outstay their welcome.”
I laughed, as I handed him a stack of plates to put away.
“You’d just march them right out, huh?”
“It would be better than floating them out like Night and Pandora,” he reasoned, and I laughed again.
“I do find it very useful. Much better than going through walls,” he said, reaching for more dishes.
“How true that is. Pretty cool how you’ve learned to use it without having to lift a hand.”
“Why do more work than you have to,” Miles said, and I laughed as I handed him a stack of bowls.
“As if anyone that knows anything about you would ever think you would try and get out of work!” I said.
“Seriously though, it’s safer this way,” said Miles. “It’s become second-nature again, and if I forget sometime and do this in front of someone else, I don’t want it tied to me.”
“I completely agree. I don’t even want to know what the repercussions would be if other people found out. I’d be afraid someone would—try to study you, or experiment on you, or something.”
Miles raised an eyebrow.
“Really? You think there’s any way someone could contain me if I didn’t want to be?”
I laughed.
“No. I know there isn’t. You’re sure handy to have around. It would have been very inconvenient otherwise, when the keys got locked inside the vehicle last week.”
“That was pr
etty cool,” agreed Miles. “When I was semi-transparent, just about the only time I left the estate was to walk you back to the cabin. I think I’ll find all sorts of ways that this ability is useful, that I never tried before.”
“Everyone around us will be less likely to have accidents, that’s for sure,” I said. “That elderly lady crossing the road against traffic would have died for certain, if you didn’t assist the driver’s brakes and stop the car in time.”
“I’m glad I could help her. I’m also glad no one had any idea that we did more than get her off the street, and find her family.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, putting dishtowels in a drawer.
“Are you tired of doing things the old-fashioned way, yet?” asked Miles.
I looked up, as he smiled.
“Okay… but you’re totally going to spoil me for doing anything harder than lying around letting you do all the work,” I said, as I moved to stand beside him.
“It’d be hard to spoil you,” said Miles, as our belongings began to find their way to their designated places, while we stood there watching. “But I love trying.”
“You are so sweet,” I said, kissing his cheek. I knew better than to distract him more than that, when he was working. The staff at the castle still wondered how that heavy armoire managed to smash all over the floor by itself.
“There you go,” Miles said, turning to put his arms around me. “All done. Now you can distract me.”
I smiled, and kissed him.
There was a knock at the door.
I raised an eyebrow as I looked at Miles.
“Do you suppose that’s Jenny and Xander?”
Miles laughed.
“Probably so, but guess what, dear? This year, the tables are turned. Now we’ll be clocking them.”
“Oh my goodness, what goes around comes around!” I laughed, and Miles smiled.
“Yes, it does.”
We walked to the door and opened it. As we suspected, Jenny and Xander were on the other side.
“Hi, guys!” I said, “Come in!”
“Xander, good to see you,” said Miles, as Jenny hugged me, and she and Xander walked into the apartment.
“Good to see you too, man,” Xander replied.
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