by Brian Harmon
The woman looked at Eric. Her expression told him that she doubted he could be of any help to her at all.
“My name’s Holly. I’m a witch.”
At this, the woman snapped her head toward her again.
“Is that what you are? Are you…?” She struggled to form the words. “Are you my sister?”
The woman’s expression softened. Suddenly, she was far less ghastly. Though her eyes remained bloody, the rest of her features warmed. She lightened somehow, as if a darkness had lifted from her. In an instant, she was no longer a phantom, but merely a woman. Though battered and naked, she could’ve passed for a living person again.
Except for those eyes…
She reached out to Holly again, as if she wanted to touch her. But she stopped. She looked up at the ceiling, startled. Stark terror washed over her face and she withdrew, vanishing into the concrete wall by where she first appeared.
At the same time, a door upstairs slammed shut and loud, purposeful footsteps crossed the floor, moving straight toward the basement door.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Eric felt his stomach twist itself into a knot.
Someone was here.
“Oh no…” whimpered Holly.
“In here,” he said, quickly opening the wardrobe doors.
“There isn’t room for both of us.”
“Don’t worry about me, just hide.” Above them, the basement door opened. Whoever was in the house was coming straight to them. It didn’t take magic to figure out that this person probably already knew someone was down here. Their only advantage would be to pretend that he’d come here alone.
He handed her Hector’s letter and quietly closed the doors. Then he backed quickly away from the wardrobe, all the way against the opposite wall.
This was it. There was nowhere else for him to go. He was trapped.
His heart was pounding. He could feel himself beginning to sweat. But from his vantage point, he could see both Holly’s hiding spot and almost the entire span of the stairs. They were open on this side, with only a handrail to block the view. Whoever was there was going to have to descend in plain view of him.
A shadow was moving across the wall.
Would it be Steampunk Monk again? Had he gotten away from Paul and Kevin? Had he done something to them? Or was this new arrival the young stranger with his wire ties? Or was it some other equally dangerous man?
It soon turned out that it was none of the above.
The feet that fell on the open steps directly above Holly were not those of a man at all. Tall, black heels clacked against the wood and long, lean legs appeared, growing longer and longer, until they revealed a tight skirt, a slender waist, a white blouse.
Eric watched, surprised. He couldn’t seem to wrap his head around the vision that was descending before him.
The woman was tall and shapely, with long, full, brown hair. She appeared to be only a few years younger than him, perhaps in her late twenties. Her face was beautiful, her makeup impeccable. Her hands were fair and perfectly manicured. Her skin was exotically tanned. Her dress was professional, powerful. Her posture was perfect. Her breasts were quite large.
Not that he looked at that sort of thing. She was showing it off with that low neckline, making it impossible not to notice. That was all.
The woman reached the bottom of the stairs and then turned and faced him. She looked right at him. She wasn’t startled by his presence there. There was no surprise in her eyes at all. There was no fear. Instead, her red lips were curled into a knowing smile.
Clearly, she’d already known he was here. Had they tripped an alarm? Did they get caught on camera?
Eric stood where he was and stared back at her, unsure what to do. He’d expected to find himself face-to-face with the insanity-inducing squirt bottle or Wire Ties’ handgun, but he had no idea how to handle this situation. Who was this woman? Why was she here? What were her intentions?
She looked him up and down, sizing him up.
He forced himself to not look toward the wardrobe. He kept his eyes only on the mysterious woman.
When she finally spoke, the only thing she said was, “Yes.”
Eric raised an eyebrow. “Yes what?”
“I assumed it had to be you, but I couldn’t be sure. Not until now. But it’s definitely you.”
He squinted at her, confused. “Are you sure it’s me?”
She smiled, amused. “I’m quite certain.”
He nodded. Well that cleared that up, he supposed. “Okay. So… Just to make sure we’re on the same page… Who am I, exactly, then?”
Her smile widened a little. She walked toward him, closing the distance between them. She had a sexy walk. Sort of a model walk. She practically oozed confidence.
He…well…not so much. He tried to take a step backward, but there was nowhere to go. He bumped into the wall.
She walked right up to him and then stood there, looking him over. She crossed her arms in front of her. The motion lifted her already impressive breasts, making her cleavage swell. “You’re the one who’s been looking for me,” she replied.
“I’ve been looking for you?”
“You have.”
“Oh. I hadn’t realized.”
She lifted one of her hands and tapped thoughtfully on her chin with the expensive-looking nails of her index and middle fingers. “Hadn’t you?”
“I hadn’t.” He forced himself to meet her eyes. She had confident eyes. She had beautiful eyes. They were such a stunning shade of blue that he was sure they must be contacts. Real eyes didn’t come in that color, as far as he knew.
“Then who were you looking for?” she asked.
“I wasn’t sure, to be honest.”
“So you were looking for someone, but you weren’t sure who.”
He considered this for a moment and then said, “I guess so. That does sound like something I’d do, since you put it that way.”
She gave him another smile.
“So who are you, then?” Eric asked.
That smile spread a little wider. She took another step, closing in on him. He pressed himself harder against the wall, but it was useless. She had him trapped. “I’m the one you’ve been looking for.”
This was getting increasingly awkward. He was starting to miss the young stranger and his wire ties. “I see.”
“I knew you’d come,” she told him. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I didn’t know I was expected until a second ago.”
That uncomfortable smile didn’t falter. She stood there, staring into his eyes for a moment. “I arrived in this town three days ago. I immediately knew that you were here. I could feel you. It was like…” She closed her eyes and bit her lip. She took a long, deep breath. She even gave a little tug at the top button of her blouse as if she wanted it undone. “It was like I could smell you on the air. Like an intoxicating cologne that filled my lungs and ignited me from inside.”
“I do accidentally put too much of that stuff on sometimes. Maybe that’s what happened.”
She opened her eyes and smiled at him again. “I like you. You’re funny.”
“That’s me. The funnyman.”
“Is that what I should call you? Funnyman?”
“Sure. Why not?”
“I knew you were here. I knew you’d find me.”
It was hard to meet those piercing eyes, but he forced himself to hold her gaze. If he looked away, he might glance at the wardrobe, and she might wonder what he was looking at.
The woman took another step toward him. She was right in front of him now. She reached up and caressed his cheek with her fingertips. “It’s not often that I sense someone of such power.”
“Power? I don’t know about that. Maybe you’re thinking of someone else.”
She leaned a little closer. He could feel her body heat, her breath against his face. “No. You’re not like other men. You have real power. You have so
mething profound, something incredible, inside you.” She leaned all the way in and brushed her cheek against his. Into his ear, she whispered. “And I can’t wait to have it in me.”
That escalated quickly. Eric felt his heart drop into his stomach. This was a whole new level of awkwardness. He actually felt dizzy as the blood rushed to his face, flushing his cheeks. “I’m pretty sure you’re mistaking me for someone else.”
There was something predatory about her smile as she leaned back and fixed him with her gaze again. “No. I can feel it radiating from you. You’re practically dripping with power. And I want you to share it with me.” She reached out and seductively stroked his chin. “I promise I’ll share mine with you.”
Eric pulled away from her touch. “And how exactly are we supposed to share power?”
She looked at him as though he’d just asked the silliest question she’d ever heard. “Through sex, of course.”
He was uncomfortable before, but now it felt like something hot and slimy was writhing around inside his guts. The temperature of the room seemed to be rapidly rising. He didn’t even know what to say to that.
She looked amused. “All that power and you don’t know about sexual energy? That’s adorable.” She leaned closer and placed her hands on his chest. “This is going to be fun.”
“Let’s talk more about you,” he said, leaning away from her. “Who are you? Why did you come to this town?”
That smile never disappeared. “I’m your destiny, Funnyman. You can call me ‘Lover,’ if you want.”
“‘Lover’ feels a little rushed. It’s more of a third date kind of name, I feel like.”
How the hell did he get himself into this mess? He was supposed to be dealing with weirdos in garish red coats and high-strung muggers with wire ties. It was beyond absurd. If Karen was here, she’d probably murder the both of them.
“Would you rather call me ‘Mistress’?”
“Why not ‘Janet’? You look like a Janet.”
“I’ll let you call me anything you want. I’ll let you do anything you want. We were meant to be together.”
Mistress Janet was kind of a freak. And she was making him extremely uncomfortable. He slid along the wall a couple more inches. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d squirmed this much. He was sweating badly now. How could that be attractive? “You don’t even know me yet. I feel like you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. I snore. And I never remember to put the toilet seat down.”
She bit her lip again. That top button she’d been fiddling with was undone now. He didn’t even see it come loose. Her ample cleavage now included a peek at the sexy, black lace of her bra. “I know all I need to know about you. I know you’re powerful. I always know when there’s a powerful man nearby.”
“Does that come in handy a lot?”
She licked her upper lip. “Mm. Very handy.”
Eric tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry.
“But not a lot, no. Powerful men are rare. They only seldom come along. And I’ve never felt one as powerful as you before.”
“I’m telling you, I’m really not very powerful.”
That smile spread across her face again. “So you say. And yet, you found and entered a secure, company safe house.”
“Safe house?”
“Not something an ordinary man would’ve been capable of.”
He wasn’t sure what was so hard about it. The damn door was unlocked. He and Holly had just walked right in. But he didn’t say so. He didn’t want to risk this woman realizing that he might not have come here alone. Instead he asked, “What company? Who do you work for?”
She pressed her finger against his lips, shushing him. “It doesn’t matter. When I’m done in this town, I won’t work for them. They’ll work for me. And so will you.”
“Will I?”
“That’s why we’re both here now.”
“Is it?” It was news to him.
She leaned in close again. “Don’t worry. I’m a very generous boss.”
“I bet you are…” It was all he could do to keep his voice even.
When she leaned back again, another button was undone. Her breasts were practically bursting from the blouse now.
(No way were those real.)
He forced his eyes back to hers and said, “So tell me about this job. What exactly does it involve?”
That smile was smug now. “I knew you’d be interested.”
“You’ve piqued my curiosity. That’s all.”
“Mm. I see.”
“What’s the name of this company? Where’s it located?”
She drummed her nails on her chin again. “That’s not really important.”
“I think it’s pretty important. I mean I’d want to know who was signing my paychecks.”
“It’s not that kind of company.”
Eric squinted at her, confused. “What kind of company is it?”
She leaned close to him again. She reached up and straightened the collar of his shirt. “It’s the kind of company that gives you the freedom to embrace your true power and be the god you were meant to be.”
“God, huh? Is that so?”
She was crowding close to him again. Her gaze washed over his face, lingered on his lips. “It is.”
He wanted to pull away from her, but he felt close to a breakthrough. This woman actually seemed to be trying to recruit him into the nameless organization. If he played his cards just right, he might learn something valuable. So he held his ground, even when her nose was practically touching his. “Tell me about your job,” he said. “What do you do?”
“It’s the best job you could imagine. I travel all over the world, looking for amazing things.”
“What kinds of things?”
“Amazing things.”
That didn’t really answer his question. She just repeated the same thing with more inflection on the word “amazing.” But he moved on as if satisfied: “And how do you find these ‘amazing’ things?”
Her eyes slid down his body. Her fingertips trickled down his chest. “Let’s talk about that later. I want this power. I want it inside me right now.”
Eric slid a few more inches along the wall. “But you’ve got me curious now. I want to know.”
She chewed her lower lip, frustrated. “I can sense them,” she relented. “Just like I sensed you.”
“Can everybody at your job sense these amazing things?”
She slid her hands back up the front of his shirt. He had to repress a shudder. “Everybody has different power. Some, like me, we’re good at finding things. Others are good at getting things. Others are good at…other things.”
Like conjuring monsters and murdering people, he assumed.
“And if you find these things? Is that how you get to be a god?”
“Sometimes. And sometimes you have to…claw your way up.” She closed her fists around the fabric of his shirt and pulled him closer.
“Are you a god?”
This made her eyes sparkle with delight. “I will be. After this job.”
“What’s so special about this job?”
“You.” She pressed herself against him.
Eric pulled back. “It can’t just be me.”
“Why can’t it?”
“Because you said you only felt me when you arrived in this town. There must be another reason you’re here.”
She smiled again. “Funny and smart. That’s sexy.” She moved in on him again. This time, she tried to kiss him. But he pulled away again.
“Tell me why you came to Creek Bend.”
She stood up straight again and crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up and farther out of her shirt. She narrowed her eyes, as if suspicious, but that smile never quite left her face. She was enjoying this strange little game entirely too much. “Like I said, it’s my job to look for amazing things.”
“And there’s something amazing in Creek Bend?”
“There’re
lots of amazing things here. There’s a secret history that almost no one knows about.”
“Is there?”
“Did you know there are things hidden here? Things most people can’t see?”
“I didn’t,” he lied. She didn’t need to know that he knew about the unseen. He liked her knowing as little about him as possible.
That smile turned dreamy. She turned and looked thoughtfully up at the nearest window.
Eric took the opportunity to glance at the wardrobe. It was still closed and he couldn’t see anything, but he knew Holly was still in there, listening to every word. If this conversation were to suddenly go south, she’d have the element of surprise.
“A long time ago, people like me, people from my company, came and conducted an experiment in this town.”
She had to be talking about the events in 1881. But he feigned ignorance. “Experiment?”
“They did something extraordinary. They opened a doorway. They glimpsed something beyond this world, something…godlike.”
Mistress Janet seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with godliness.
“Since then, others have occasionally come here. They also hoped to do something extraordinary.”
Like the gray agents in 1962, he assumed. And Pink Shirt last year.
“Sometimes they succeeded, but more often they failed. I came here to surpass all of them. I reconstructed the scenes. I studied the energies they left behind. I was determined to learn what they did wrong. And what they did right.”
He had a feeling they might disagree on which was which. “And did you learn anything?”
She looked back at him again. “I learned a lot. In fact, I’ve been conducting some experiments of my own.”
“What kinds of experiments?”
Again, she pressed her finger to his lips. “Ah-ah. Company business only. You want to hear all the juicy details, you’ll have to come to work for me.”
He tried to take her hand away from his mouth, but she grabbed it, entwining their fingers together. “I don’t know. I’d have to think about it. I kind of like the job I have.”
She leaned in close again, pressing her body against him. He could feel those firm breasts pushing against his chest. “Trust me. This is an opportunity you won’t want to miss.” With her free hand, she caressed his cheek again. “Nobody gives better jobs than me,” she whispered.