Darkness Loves Company: A Tides of Darkness Prequel

by Sarah Blair

  Sidney grinned. “It’s the coolest.”

  “We’re calling this Nerdy Glam. Who says women can’t have everything?” Megan tossed clothes left and right. “Babe, did you get the carseat down from the attic yet?”

  “Pumpkin, we still have ten days,” Williams said.

  “Dude! I told you, Dr. Saraj is in the Poconos until Wednesday for that conference.”

  “What does Dr. Saraj have to do with the carseat? RAWRRR. PterafairyREX!”

  “Daddy! It’s Fairydactyl.”

  “Holy shi—uhhh, buckets.” Sidney grabbed Megan’s laptop and clicked on a headline. “Sorry, Rachel.”

  “It’s okay.” The little girl dangled upside down in her father’s grasp. “Mommy says shit all the time.”

  “Yeah, and snitches land in ditches.” Megan reached around and attacked her with tickles and kisses. Come on, let’s go get a snack.”

  Williams set Rachel down and she went into the kitchen with Megan. Then he leaned over the back of the couch. “What’s going on?”

  “Hutch’s mom confessed.”

  “Yesterday. I thought you knew?”

  “I’ve been driving. I wasn’t really paying attention.” Sidney grabbed her phone. She’d been so consumed with thinking about Mitch, she’d completely forgotten about the real world.

  Sure enough, there were a line of missed calls and messages from both Hutch and Williams. And 532 messages in the WILF chain.

  “Ugh. These WILF people are relentless,” she grumbled.

  “I told you.”

  She scanned through the messages, and then sat up. “Wait. Today’s Sunday?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “Did you see this?”

  “No, I blocked them.” He took her phone and scanned the email. “Pfft. Who does a Halloween party on a Sunday night?”

  “The full moon is tonight.”

  Williams handed back her phone. “What difference does it make? Hutch’s mom already confessed so there’s no connection to the case anymore.”

  “The difference is, they’re planning another ritual. With thirteen people this time.” Sidney jumped up and pointed at her phone. “Don’t forget to bring your animal friends?”

  “Oh. Shit.”

  “Daddy, said shit!” Rachel yelled.

  “Madame Oliva said we need salt,” Sidney told him.

  Williams rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a box out of the cabinet.

  “I don’t want to know what you weirdos are doing with that,” Megan dumped out some bunny shaped crackers for Rachel, “but you better be back in time for dinner. Mom’s at Zabar’s she’ll be here any minute.”

  “Sure. Got it. No prob.” Williams kissed her cheek and mussed up his daughter’s hair as he sailed back to Sidney, who waited at the front door.

  “Have fun.” Megan waved. “Try to come back in one piece. Love you, bye.”

  “Back soon, sugar patootie.” He blew kisses to his wife and daughter. “Love! Love!”

  “Later, Pops! Bye, Sidney.” Rachel waved.

  Sidney waved to them, and joined Williams out on the stoop.

  “The amount of confidence these kids have is vastly out of proportion to their education in the dark arts.” Sidney scanned the emails, half-jogging to keep up with Williams’ long stride. “They’re going to get themselves killed. Or unleash a plague of devil koalas on Manhattan.”

  “I’m putting money on both,” Williams said.

  Sidney pulled up the address from the email while they hustled into the parking garage. “This is really close.”

  They got in the car and buckled up. “So, when are you going to tell me who you really drove up to meet?”

  “What? The chief was having a family emergency. He needed help.”

  Williams adjusted the driver’s seat and something clattered to the floor. He reached under to grab it and Sidney froze. She reached inside her vest pockets and realized they were empty, except for her phone.

  All the blood drained from her head. “Oh, God.”

  “Super ultra magnums?” He shook the box of condoms. “This is a family vehicle.”

  She’d noticed them when she stopped for gas, and grabbed a three-pack. All she wanted was to make sure she was prepared this time, in case dinner turned into something else. They must have slipped out when she got out of the car earlier.

  “Well, I know they’re not mine,” he said. She snatched the box out of his hands. “Not that size matters. I keep my woman satisfied.”

  “Oh, my God. Williams.”

  He exited the garage and Sidney glanced in the side mirror, trying to judge how much it would hurt if she opened the door and took a flying leap into traffic.

  “Who’s the lucky fella? Good try using the chief as an excuse. You almost had me.” Williams waggled his eyebrows. “Is it your boy, Hutch? Except, he’s not a Super Ultra Magnum. Is he? Because I never would have—”

  “Can you NOT.” Sidney shoved the box in her pocket.

  “Cool your jets.” He turned left once they got to the river. “We’re partners, now. That’s a sacred trust. I’m not going to tell anybody.”

  Sidney let out a long breath. “Thanks.”

  “Okay, but who is he?”

  “Nobody.”

  “Is he a royal? Did you sign an NDA? It’s fine. It doesn’t count if you don’t say it out loud. I can guess. Twenty-one questions, yes or no: does he have a mustache?”

  “I am not discussing my sex life with you, Williams. Let it go.” Sidney checked the map and pointed. “Right here.”

  He swung over onto an empty access road along the river and cruised past a few open piers.

  “This should be it. The gray one.”

  Williams scanned the area. “There’s nothing here.”

  “Hang on.” Sidney dialed a number from the e-mail and waited. “Straight to voicemail.”

  “Maybe they canceled.”

  “The emails have stopped, too.” She scrolled through her phone shaking her head slowly. “Nothing at all for the last half hour.”

  “This is your case, Lake.” He glanced at her. “What’s our next move?”

  A ragged shout ripped through the stillness. Adrenaline surged. Ice filled her body and it burned.

  “Grab the salt.”

  Twenty-Five

  Williams and Sidney loaded all of their available pockets with salt for easy access, then crossed the abandoned parking area towards a long building stretched out over the water.

  Grass grew up between the cracks in the pavement, tracing long shadow fingers across the asphalt. It made Sidney feel like they were reaching for her, ready to snatch her ankles and drag her into the crevice below. She squinted against the low, orange sun, as they left behind the hum of traffic on the other side of the chain link fence.

  There was no further sign or sound of life.

  “You definitely heard that scream, right?” Sidney’s heart thudded hard against her chest. Her fingertips buzzed. It was exactly the same feeling as she got stepping onto the mat at the dojo with a partner she’d never sparred with before. Except, this time if a devil koala came at her, she couldn’t tap out.

  “Yeah.” Williams scanned the side of the building, gripping the heavy-duty flashlight he’d retrieved from the back of his car. “I definitely heard that scream.”

  Sidney tried the door and the handle moved easily. She paused, and Williams dipped his chin. “Ready partner?”

  “As I’ll ever be.” She gave him a fist bump and stayed behind the door, using it as a shield while she eased it open.

  Williams beamed the flashlight inside. “There’s a small cargo ship. And—”

  He stepped back, blowing out a heavy breath. His tawny complexion washed out to ash. Sidney peeked around the edge of the door.

  A guard lay prone just inside, arm stretched out toward the door. His face was ripped to shreds. A cord of muscle drooped limp and bloody from one eye socket. Nothing remained on the end of it. B
lood trailed across the concrete leading to the dock.

  The guard burbled out a spurt of blood in one last rattling exhale, then nothing. Sidney dug her fingers around the edge of the door and pressed her forehead against the steel.

  “Oh, fuck.” She swallowed a gag.

  Williams tugged her arm. He made an elaborate series of hand motions. “Okay?”

  Sidney gave him a blank stare. She whispered, “You want me to fake a pitch and throw a fastball to third?”

  “This isn’t the World Series, Lake. Don’t you know tactical hand gestures?” He shout-whispered back.

  “Who taught you those?” she frowned.

  “I found an infographic online. They’re standard.”

  “Yeah, because everything online is accurate.” She went heavy on the sarcasm, but it was hard to make it effective in a whisper.

  A heavy thump sounded inside followed by a low rumbling growl.

  “Shh!” He waved his hands. They stilled and listened.

  A ball of fur bolted through the doorway. Sidney ducked.

  Red eyes flared in the deepening shadows between the buildings. Blood dripped from four long teeth. The koala screeched up at them with that same squeaky toy sound Sidney heard the other night, but it was a lot more terrifying now that she knew what they were capable of.

  Sidney planted her weight and put the tip of her steel-toed boot in its face. She snatched Williams’ flashlight. The koala crouched. Its deep growl set her teeth on edge.

  “Punch it, Rocky!” Williams shouted.

  Sidney gripped the flashlight in her fist and slammed into its nose. It fell back, unmoving. She stomped down on its head one more time and cringed at the crunch it made.

  “Ugh.” She shuddered and cleared her boot off on the pavement. She sprinkled salt over the body, and it sizzled out faint red smoke.

  Williams gaped at her. “You scare me, Lake.”

  “Let’s get this over with.” She shouldered her way through the door.

  A container ship floated quietly inside with a wide dock surrounding it in a U-shape. The beam lit up the name ADELAIDE painted across the bow. A flash of fur skittered across the deck.

  Sidney checked to make sure Williams was with her, and then eased onto the gangplank. Another set of glowing eyes appeared at the top, blocking her path.

  “Down!” Sidney slammed to her knees. Heavy paws landed on her back. Claws dug in, then disappeared. Water sprayed her face.

  She peeked out. The koala spluttered below in the narrow space between the dock and the ship. It squawked and thrashed in the water. Williams tossed salt over the edge, and the water boiled red. Finally, it went quiet and Sidney took a breath again.

  “Thanks, partner.”

  He nodded. “Two down.”

  They continued onto the ship. The control room up at the front was a massacre. Long streaks of blood splattered the windows. Two koalas sat on the ship’s captain, feasting on his open chest. Williams snatched a fire axe from a case in the wall and Sidney stayed clear while he hacked into them.

  “Not bad,” she nodded.

  “There’s that new axe throwing place that opened up near the Highline. It’s really fun.” He tossed the axe up and it flipped in the air.

  Sidney winced and held her breath when he fumbled the catch. She braced herself, but the crash didn’t come. He held it teetering between two fingers, dangling an inch from the floor. She exhaled.

  “Nice.” Sidney checked a narrow closet and found a harpoon. She closed her fists around the narrow steel and felt more secure.

  A spiral staircase just off the bridge wound into the dark belly of the ship. The red glow of an EXIT sign provided the bare minimum amount of light. Sidney stared down, a tight dread filling the pit of her stomach. Going down was one thing, getting back up was entirely another.

  Sidney locked eyes with Williams. She pointed below. He nodded.

  The narrow stairs were so steep, they were barely more than a ladder. Sidney lowered herself down slow and steady, placing the thick rubber tread of her boots on the perforated steel as silently as she could.

  A small sound directly below froze her in place. It sounded different from the koalas. Human. Williams bumped into her. He grabbed the scruff of her vest to keep her from tumbling forward. Instead, the axe slipped free and clattered down the stairs.

  She shrank back, fighting the urge to climb up the stairs and get the hell out of there.

  A vicious growl melted out of the darkness. Another koala pounced on the axe, attacking the handle with its razor teeth.

  Another scream cut through long and ragged. Sidney’s knees gelled with fear. A woman huddled under the stairs in a ball. She caught the attention of the koala with her scream and it stalked toward her.

  “No! Please!” She dissolved into tears.

  Sidney leaned over the railing and threw the harpoon. It landed in the koala’s back, catching it mid-leap. The woman held her arms over her face, whimpering.

  “Hey, you’re okay.” Sidney came down and kneeled beside her. “Everything’s all right. What’s your name?”

  It took the woman a few heaving breaths to get it out. “Trisha.”

  Williams kept watch while Sidney soothed her.

  “I thought this was going to be a séance or something. A Halloween party.” The woman cleared her face with the edge of her sleeve. “There were supposed to be snacks.”

  “Where’s Victoria?” Sidney asked.

  “The galley.” Trisha pointed down the narrow passage. “That way.”

  “How many other people are here?”

  “She said there had to be thirteen of us for it to work. But Alice changed her mind, and Nathaniel and I couldn’t get koalas. She decided to make it work anyway.” Trisha shuddered back a sob. “I don’t think this was supposed to happen.”

  “Everything’s okay.” Sidney patted her back. “It’s clear upstairs. Get outside. Okay?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You can.” Sidney pulled her up and aimed her at the stairs. “Don’t look in the bridge on the way out.”

  “Wh—what’s in there?” Trisha’s chin wavered in the dim light.

  “Trust me.” She nudged her. “Go!”

  Trisha made her escape up the stairs. Williams retrieved the axe. Sidney yanked the harpoon out of the koala, letting the body fall to the floor with a thump.

  “At least twelve more people. Seven koalas?” Sidney rolled the tension out of her neck. The hallway stretched into darkness. She couldn’t even see the end of it.

  “Sounds about right.” Williams adjusted his grip on the axe. “Where’s the flashlight?”

  “Our eyes are adjusted to the dark. If we turn on the light now, we can’t see.”

  The long screeching started up again, rolling down the hallway. Sidney grabbed his arm.

  “Yeah.” Williams whispered. “You’re right. If something’s about to eat my face off, I definitely don’t want to see it coming.”

  The back of her neck prickled. Chilly air wafted down the hallway. “That door at the end.”

  “Okay.” Williams firmed his mouth into a straight line. He crept down the hall. Sidney fisted a handful of his shirt and watched behind them for any signs of movement.

  Williams sang in a high-pitch under his breath.

  Sidney stopped.

  He glanced back over his shoulder. “Something coming?”

  “Are you singing Whitney Houston?”

  “Nervous tic. Can’t help it.” He shrugged. “Miss Whitney soothes me.”

  “Just go!” Sidney shoved him.

  The squawks behind the door evaporated into rumbling bellows, punctuated intermittently by deep, gasping snorts.

  Sidney’s stomach tightened. There were only about ten steps left to the door.

  Nine.

  Eight.

  A musical chorus exploded around them.

  “AAAGH!” Williams jumped and hit the wall.

  Sidney screamed and crou
ched into a ball.

  Right Said Fred started singing about how sexy he was from Williams’ back pocket. He leaned against the wall, heaving for air. “I gotta take this.”

  “Williams! This is not the—”

  “Hey, baby cakes,” he answered, quiet but feigning cheerfulness. “Fine. Fine. It’s all fine. So, hey, now’s not the best time to—”

  Sidney slapped her hand over his mouth. He shook his head and kept talking, words muffled in her palm. The door at the end of the hall banged open.

  “Oh. Shit!” Sidney yelled.

  “MOSHFTH!” Williams screamed into her hand.

  Victoria stood in the middle of the galley straight ahead. Flickering candles circled her. The flames burned black, sucking light in instead of giving it out.

  A multitude of glowing eyes focused on Sidney and Williams. One of the men in the middle of the group opened his mouth, but the sound that came out wasn’t human. It was the same squawk as the koalas made.

  The others joined in. A mix of squawks and bellowing growls gathered up into a crescendo. The metal walls of the ship vibrated around them, until the sound seeped into Sidney’s bones and her whole body vibrated along with everything else.

  Sidney’s hand slid down from Williams’ mouth.

  “Get a cab, honey.I’ll meet you at the hospital.” His voice was weak. He tucked his phone in his pocket. “Her water broke.”

  “Awesome.”

  Sidney dug her heels in and backed up into him. Everything in her body screamed for her to get away from this place. Scott eased down the hall, red eyes glowing to match his floppy knit hat, skinny jeans riding low on his hips.

  “What do we do?” Acid rose in the back of Sidney’s throat.

  “Your case. Your call, dude.”

  “I’m not an actual field agent!” Sidney held the harpoon out in front of her. Emotions washed through her, one after another, unstoppable. She wanted to cry. Barf. Run. Scream. Everything at once.

  “Hate to break it to you, but humans possessed by demon koalas are kind of a new thing for me.” Williams grabbed onto her. “I can’t make Meg a single mom with two kids.”

  The candles flickered and danced around Victoria, casting moving red shadows on the walls and tables. The darkness crept out of the room ahead of them. It framed Scott as he stalked down the hall.