Legacy Lost

by Jillian David

  Everything was wrong.

  “Stay back a bit, could you? I want to isolate what I’m picking up.”

  That hurt. “I don’t like it, Shel.” With a shake of his head, he followed her from fifty feet away. Too far to respond quickly if something attacked her. He fingered the revolver handle.

  He peered into the soundless forest.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

  “Fine. I think we’ll find the source over here.” She walked along the edge of the drop off.

  He didn’t like this situation one bit. He pulled the radio and called Kerr, giving a brief update. Fifteen minutes, and Eric was taking her back to camp. Period. Even if he had to carry her out of here.

  Twilight created strange shapes in the forest. He was done with this weird mission.

  As he turned off the radio and bent his head to stow it, a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He strained to see in the dim light, spying Shelby far ahead on the edge of the rocky drop-off.

  A dark shape emerged from behind a tree near her.

  A warning burst from his mouth as her strangled cry reached his ears. Her body lurched forward, as if a hand shoved her.

  Then she disappeared over the edge of the bluff.

  Chapter 28

  Snapping fire shot through her leg when Shelby landed at the bottom of the wall of jumbled rocks.

  The breaths came hard and harsh as she struggled to draw air.

  Nausea nailed her as she tried to shift her foot. With ginger movements, she tugged off her gloves and held out her shaking hand. Running it over her leg, she encountered a hard, irregular bump angling the bone midway down the limb. And dampness soaked the inner layer of her alpine pants.

  She screamed.

  Her vision dimmed, and she had to fight back the darkness that threatened to entomb her.

  Beneath this unstable wall of rock, what light remained at dusk was gone. Only shadows of trees and nearby boulders were visible. Fighting another wave of hot nausea, she slipped off the backpack and fished around for her flashlight. Bursts of pain from her leg made her fight the urge to throw up every few seconds.

  Oh man, if she survived this mess, her brothers were going to kill her.

  An angry shout filtered down to her from above.

  Unless Eric killed her first.

  “Shelby?” His voice echoed thin and angry against the rock wall.

  “Down here,” she croaked.

  She scooted away from the pebbles and debris that rained down as he skidded and scrambled down the unstable bluff. His shadowy shape filled her vision until he rustled in his backpack and clicked on a headlamp.

  “Shit.” He dropped to his knees and shoved the band for the light around his head. In the shadow of the headlight, his mouth pressed into a hard, grim line. He ran hands over her body and stopped suddenly. “Damn it. Your leg.”

  “I know,” she panted.

  “You want me to remind you how this was a stupid idea and you could have been killed?”

  “I’ve got the idea.” The words had to be gritted out through another hot rush of agony shooting up her thigh.

  “Everything else okay? Any chest pain? Are you breathing all right?” He ran his hands back over her again, businesslike and professional. A few spots made her wince, but nothing else felt broken. He did a quick check with the stethoscope then nodded.

  Fishing around in his backpack, he pulled out a moldable splint. When he cut her pants away, every movement of her leg created a new blast of fire licking the raw bone and skin.

  It didn’t help that she saw everything he saw. Including the pieces of her tibia and fibula sticking out from midway down her leg. The leg had already swelled, and blood mixed with glistening yellow marrow oozed from the open wound. In better news, the chilly air soothed the hot swelling.

  She laid her head back on the cold, rocky ground and stared up at the dark night sky. So bad. An inappropriate laugh tried to erupt from her lips. Shit, this was a bad situation.

  After wrapping her leg with gauze, he fixed the splint in place. The pain surged, then faded to a constant throb. Worry and concern poured out of him, ramping up her barely contained panic.

  “Okay for now?” he asked. The headlamp cast his face in skeletal shadow.

  She shivered. “Peachy.” How the heck were they going to get out of here with her mangled leg? She swallowed. They would do it slowly, and it was going to hurt like a bear.

  “Yeah, right.” He rummaged into an outside pocket of his pack and pulled out the radio. “Kerr?”

  Static.

  “Kerr? It’s Eric. Over.”

  Nothing.

  He bent his head and changed the knobs. Then tried again. No response.

  “Should work,” he said, staring up at the black sky. “Are we that far off the line of sight?”

  “Supposed to work even in nooks and crannies, or so the package insert claimed.” She groaned. “You may need to go back up top and call him.”

  “I’m not leaving you alone.” He swung his head around, the rocks and rough ground illuminated in the flashlight’s glow. When he turned back to her, the light hit her in her eyes and she flinched away. “Sorry.” He tilted the beam down. “What the hell happened up there?”

  Frowning, she tried to recall. “I heard the child’s cry. It was getting louder. Like it was in pain, suffering. I don’t know. All that mattered was finding the source of that sound.” She pointed above her head. “So I stopped at the edge, there. As I looked over to see what was down here, a weird feeling like someone shoved me in the back. And then I ended up here.”

  “You’re lucky to be alive.”

  “No kidding. The backpack took most of the impacts on the rocks.” The leg throbbed and she grimaced. “Until that last big jolt, of course.”

  “Damn. From where I stood, it almost appeared that something had come up behind you and pushed.”

  “For real?”

  “Like a shadow or something. A bear?” He shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense. Bears don’t act like that. And it was there one minute, gone the next.”

  “A shadow?”

  “Yes.”

  “Like what I saw at the ranch. And right when we found Troy.”

  “Sounds similar.” His lips rolled into a hard line. “That’s real bad, then.”

  “I know.” A buzzing started in her head, and she cringed as a wave of pure malice sliced through her skull. “Oh, no.”

  “What?”

  Pushing her hands down on the cold ground, she tried to scramble to her feet. And failed. Painfully. She panted, “We have to get out of here. Something’s really wrong.”

  “I agree. But I can’t get you up that bluff on my own.”

  Those imaginary icy fingers climbed her neck. “Then you need to go. Get out of this place.”

  “Are you nuts? No, I won’t leave you here, Shel.” Irritation, fear, and anger surged from his mind to hers. His view of her broken leg and her dirty, bruised body shook him to the core. Nothing hidden. No filter. Fear for her life took a starring role in his thoughts right now.

  And she knew every last thing he saw and thought because she was the terminus of the mental pipeline from his brain to hers.

  “Damn it.” The tarry, black evil sensation clogged her nose. She couldn’t breathe. “Go. Please.”

  A chuckle—was it real or in her head?—reverberated against the rocks. Low and painful, like a mallet pounding thick metal, the sound traveled through the ground and into her bones. Into her head, her ears. Even in the night, she could still get a sense of trees and rocks. The clouds let a tiny bit of light through.

  But behind Eric, there was an absence of light.

  An absence of air.

  An absence of anything.

  Right behind his shoulder.

  Two low red embers appeared, like eerie eyes, floating a few feet away from him. Fixed on Eric and Shelby.

  As she opened her m
outh to scream, a rumble sounded deep in the earth and traveled up through the rocks. Deep cracks reverberated above them. Debris showered down.

  “Damn it!” Eric lurched forward, grabbed her by the armpits and shoved her back against the wall, jarring her already bruised body and shooting torment into her splinted leg. Her flashlight skittered out of her hand and away. With snaps and cracks exploding all around her, she scooted under a tiny overhang and covered her head.

  “Come here, Eric!”

  “Okay, I—” The headlamp light dimmed as a roar of rocks plunged around him. The last thing she saw was his horrified, shadowed face as he was buried.

  Dim light straggled out between the rubble.

  “Eric?” Nothing. “Eric?” Heartbeats rattled in her chest, like a snare drum roll.

  A slight glow came from a few feet away, beneath the rubble, and ignoring the fire slicing along her leg, she crawled toward the light. Feeling around, she encountered large and small rocks. She pulled them away from the light, uncovering most of his head and torso.

  The flashlight, still attached to his head, continued to glow.

  “Eric?” With a shaking hand, she rocked his prone body.

  No movement.

  No answer.

  Nothing.

  No thoughts or images flowed from his mind.

  Chapter 29

  She held her hand in front of Eric’s nose and mouth. Warm vapor. Still alive.

  Careful of the injuries, she pulled the headlamp off his head and shoved it on hers.

  “Eric?” she whispered, pushing more rocks off of him.

  No images flowed from his mind. No emotions pinged from him. The background sensation of his thoughts that had become like a warm, familiar blanket? Gone.

  When she had opened herself up to him, body and mind, she thought she’d been exposed.

  But now, without his presence, she was utterly bare.

  Alone.

  Under the glow of the light, she leaned over him, the movement awkward with her straightened, splinted leg. A gash on his temple poured blood. She gingerly pressed her fingertips over his head. Near the wound, the bones gave way with a dull, thick crunch that turned her stomach.

  Depressed skull fracture. Her EMT brain flipped through the potential sequels: brain damage, hematoma, stroke, brain swelling, paralysis.

  Death.

  Damn it. She glanced up at the rock wall.

  No radio contact.

  No way to get up that steep wall.

  Another burst of malice speared her in the temple.

  Something else waited a few feet away in the darkness. She felt the shift in the black night, like the shadow inhaled.

  Waiting.

  Had to be waiting, else it would have struck by now.

  She peered up the wall and down to her leg. Whatever was out there had attacked them. But why?

  Was she dealing with the same . . . thing . . . she’d seen at the ranch yesterday?

  A whoosh was followed by the sharp scent of sulfur, making her cough.

  She turned her head; the light from the flashlight went nowhere.

  Disappeared.

  As in, a large, dark mass several feet away from her freaking absorbed all light. Sucked it up, like a black hole or something.

  It became hard to breathe. Harder to move.

  As if she could move.

  She glanced at Eric’s inert form. As if she would move.

  The form loomed larger. More light disappeared. Two red embers that passed for eyes blazed to fiery light.

  The flame didn’t warm her one bit.

  Why should it? It wasn’t as if Mr. Black Hole or whatever the hell that thing was, wanted to hang out and roast hot dogs. A surge of pure, unadulterated rage rose out of her churning gut and waited, front and center, in her mind, ready to go. Years of frustration. Outrage for all of the dilemmas her power had thrown in front of her. Being robbed of normal human relationships. Plain, old anger.

  She could work with anger. It was the only tool she had right now.

  Because, unless she could pull a miracle out of her ass, she and Eric would die here tonight. She stared at his strong brow, smooth in his unconscious state, a purple bruise growing near the hairline. Blood continued to flow from the laceration on his head, despite pressing her hand over the wound. A sob lodged in her throat.

  No. She would hold her shit together. For Eric’s sake.

  The thing made what passed for a chuckle. “Now do you believe me?” It wasn’t so much a voice as a slither of sound like a warm, wet tissue disintegrating on her skin.

  “What?”

  “You will die tonight.”

  Well, that answered one pressing question. “Who are you?”

  “For your family, I am death. For the rest of the world, I am rebirth and power.”

  “Uh, can you be more specific?” Maybe help would come if she delayed long enough.

  So her leg would miraculously heal and she could carry Eric out of here? Right.

  Cold terror weighted her limbs. The urge to curl up and sleep robbed her of strength.

  Two red eyes hovered a few feet over Eric’s half-buried body. If this creature tried to hurt him . . .

  What? She’d shoot it? Beat him up? How about kick him with a leg that didn’t work.

  Oh, man this was bad.

  She was going to watch Eric die, wasn’t she?

  No.

  Her heart thudded, too loud in her ears.

  Oh, God. This was bad.

  And Kerr couldn’t get here quickly enough. Even if he were here, his leg limited what he could do. He would die, too.

  Garrison was too far away. And he needed to protect Sara and Zach on the ranch.

  Vaughn? Who knew where he was? Close as the other side of the world right about now.

  No one was coming to help her.

  Sadness and a hearty helping of fury drilled right under the ribs.

  The dark shape crackled like a wildfire as it moved. Another whiff of sulfur made her wheeze. That thing needed a better signature scent, for starters.

  “For the past year, I’ve been gathering my power again.” Its voice vibrated, casting eerie echoes all around her. “Waiting for my opportunity to return to the world. When I discovered the Brands’ silly feud with your family, I knew I had the perfect chance for revenge. Something I could use for my second coming.” Hot, slimy evil splashed like acid over her face and mind at the same time.

  “Hold on. I don’t follow.” What the hell? It had a business plan?

  “It’s not for you to understand.”

  “Uh, if it involves my mortality, you should let me in on the secret.” She tried to glare daggers into the thing. Didn’t work.

  Either she was getting punchy, or this situation had gone so far past horrific that it now edged into ridiculous. Laughable and tragic, all at the same time. Kind of like her life.

  Another slip of sound, like a giant lizard licking dry, cold lips. “Ah, my dear, your eyes. So beautiful. They remind me of one I loved and lost.”

  So, the thing was lovesick and homicidal? Freaking fabulous combination. “You were in love?”

  “Don’t be so surprised. In my previous form, I was quite the specimen. And I would have had my lady love, if it weren’t for a certain meddling man.”

  Fear made her babble, “M’kay, but not understanding how this relates to this situation here, now.” Well, except for this creature’s overt lack of sanity.

  And she’d just fed it. Great.

  His chuckle did not make her smile in response. “Of course not. How could you understand? The night those two tried to destroy me, I made a pledge to rain down all the powers of hell upon her progeny.” Those flame eyes shone brightly. “No one denies the Great One. Once, all I wanted was to rule the cowed masses upon this Earth. Feed off the power of souls everywhere. Now, I have a new goal.”

  Great. It had a revised business plan.

  He paused.

  �
��Yes? And?” It seemed like the thing to say. Either that or the inappropriate giggle would erupt, bringing behind it tears and screaming.

  “Now I will destroy every shred of my love’s legacy. There will be nothing left of her in the world. This I pledge.”

  Shelby could think of better things to pledge right about now.

  She needed to buy time and pray. Maybe Kerr would home in on her distress and bring help. “Well, uh, you do seem very committed to your plan.”

  “Of course.” His tone changed to that of preening pride.

  Play dumb, Veronica Mars. Don’t try and solve the whole mystery all at once. Buy some time. She caught a familiar tingle on the edge of her mind. Kerr!

  Coughing against the sharp matchstick odor, she kept talking. “Could you explain again how your vendetta involves me and my friend here?”

  “Your friend has nothing to do with my plan.”

  “But you buried him under a ton of rock.”

  “Yes, well. It had to be done. Couldn’t do for you to escape.” His sigh, a knife sliding out of a sheath, made the hairs on her arms stand straight up. “And it served well as yet another way to inflict pain upon your family.”

  “Why my family?”

  “Because of my love’s legacy, of course.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t under—”

  “Silence!” The sharp smack of sound froze her. “You love him, don’t you?”

  Shelby was not answering that question, even if he was a black, demonic blob. He could take his world domination, wronged lover, Dear Abby crap and shove it.

  Enough. Shelby Taggart had had enough . . . of life, of this monster, of everything. The dam holding back the ridiculousness of her existence broke.

  “Not a simple question, thanks for asking, even though it’s technically none of your business. But sure, since you seem to be in the sharing mood, fine, I’ll bite. Here’s the deal. See, our relationship is complicated, and basically, I know too much about him, which isn’t conducive to a budding love life. Things didn’t go well with the whole ‘warts and all’ part right at the beginning.”

  The figure paused, as much as a black blob of death and torment could pause. Did those eyes frown at her? Well, she’d take an evil creature in a perplexed state over a vicious state any day of the week.