Winter’s Light

by M. J. Hearle

  ‘All packed and ready to go?’ Yuri asked, coming up behind her.

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Got your passport?’

  For a moment Winter’s heart stopped beating and then she remembered slipping the passport into the front pocket of her bag.

  ‘Sure do. When do we leave?’ She still couldn’t believe she’d soon be on a plane travelling to Europe, compliments of the Bane. The idea seemed surreal.

  ‘Soon as possible.’ Yuri shielded his eyes with his hand, squinting past Winter at the sky. ‘We’re burning daylight.’

  Winter followed his gaze and saw the sun was almost kissing the top of Owl Mountain. Before long, it would sink behind the hulking landmass throwing part of Hagan’s Bluff into shadow. Winter knew better than most how dangerous shadows could be. The sooner they were away from this town the better.

  Sam limped towards them. He seemed different to Winter . . . lighter somehow. She realised quickly what the difference was – despite his bruised cheekbones and cracked, bloodied lips, Sam looked happier than she’d ever seen him.

  ‘Hey, Win, did Yuri tell you the news?’

  Perplexed, she shot Yuri a look. He shrugged nonchalantly, as though unwilling to spoil the surprise.

  ‘No,’ she said cautiously. ‘What news would this be?’

  ‘Yuri’s fixed it so I can return to France. I’m coming with you.’ Sam’s features relaxed into a smile that was so sunny Winter couldn’t help but mirror it.

  ‘That’s fantastic!’ No wonder he looked so happy and relieved. Her smile faltered as she foresaw a problem. ‘What about the whole “wanted for murder” thing? I can’t imagine they’re gonna just let you hop on a plane.’

  ‘We’ve already put in the request for the necessary documents that should see him safely through border control,’ Yuri said in a confidently reassuring tone. ‘Luckily, the Bonnaires have some very powerful friends.’

  Wow, Winter thought, deeply impressed. She didn’t think it would be easy to smuggle a suspected murderer out of the country.

  ‘Let me take that for you,’ Sam said, reaching with his good hand for Winter’s suitcase.

  She hesitated, glancing at his wounded arm. ‘Are you sure? It’s pretty heavy.’

  ‘I can handle it,’ Sam replied, grinning ruefully. ‘I’m not a cripple.’

  Winter shrugged and handed him the bag. She saw the slight grimace as the weight dragged his left arm down, putting pressure on his cracked ribs, but Sam didn’t say anything.

  ‘Nice hair by the way.’ She nodded towards his raven locks.

  ‘Elena did it this morning. I figured with my picture being all over the newspaper and TV it might be smart not to look so much like myself. ’

  Winter remembered the image the media had used of Sam – short blond hair, moody expression. In the picture, he looked a little like Eminem. Nothing like he did now. With his long black hair hanging over his eyes, fine stubble dusting his chin and jawline, Sam resembled a grunge guitarist rather than a gangsta rapper.

  ‘It suits you,’ Winter said, meaning it. ‘You should keep it dark.’

  Sam glanced up at her from beneath his eyebrows, trying to figure out whether or not she was teasing him. Satisfied she wasn’t, he blushed slightly and looked away. ‘I’ll put this in the car.’

  Winter watched him go, his blush making her feel a little embarrassed too.

  ‘So,’ Yuri said, clearing his throat. ‘Here’s the plan. Elena will drive you to Newbury tonight. It should take a little over sixteen hours so you’ll arrive just before daybreak.’

  ‘We’re driving through the night?’

  Yuri’s expression grew serious. ‘I think that’s the safest option. Benedict will find it harder to locate you while you’re moving. It’ll also make it difficult for him to mount an attack should he somehow pick up your trail.’

  ‘If you say so.’

  Noticing her apprehension, he smiled one of his quick mechanical smiles. ‘There’s no reason to be scared. Sam and Elena are very experienced in this sort of thing. They’ll look after you.’

  Winter’s gaze drifted to the car and she wondered just how effective Sam could be with only one arm.

  ‘I’ve booked you into the airport hotel so you can get some sleep during the day. Your flight’s at four-thirty tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be catching the train down in the morning, after I tie up all the loose ends here, and will fly out after you.’

  ‘By “loose ends” you mean my sister?’ Winter raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Yuri said, looking at her with what she hoped was sincerity. ‘I’ll treat her with the utmost sensitivity. Just like we discussed.’

  During their long and involved discussion last night, Winter had quizzed Yuri on how he planned to handle the Lucy situation. Initially, he proposed that he just disappear and spare her sister an awkward and potentially painful break-up scene. This suggestion didn’t take with Winter. She knew the importance of closure. If Yuri upped and vanished without a word, Lucy would be left wondering what happened to him. The wound left by his absence might be small, after all they hadn’t spent that long together (a fact Yuri was quick to point out), but without closure, it might never heal, troubling Lucy indefinitely. No, Winter decided emphatically, he had to give her a valid reason for his departure from her life.

  ‘You’ll tell her —’

  ‘That I’m leaving for Europe to care for my dying mother, and I don’t know when, if ever, I’ll be able to return.’

  ‘And . . .’ Winter prompted, making sure he didn’t leave out the crucial next part to the story.

  ‘And, these past few weeks we’ve spent together have been some of the happiest I’ve ever had. I’m heartbroken we won’t have a future together but I’m grateful she was part of my life. If only briefly.’

  Yuri looked to Winter for approval, eyebrows raised hopefully. She nodded, feeling a conflicting mix of shame and pride. Shame that she was complicit in her sister’s heartache, and pride that she’d helped create such a sensitive and moving farewell scene. It was a lie, but a kind lie. She only hoped Yuri was a good enough actor to pull it off.

  The front door banged open behind them and Elena strode out. She was dressed in jeans and a form-fitting dark brown soft leather coat with matching gloves. Winter suspected the long gloves weren’t a mere fashion quirk. Elena was hiding her hands for some reason.

  ‘We should be leaving,’ Elena said, her thick Russian accent lending her words a commanding bluntness. Her sapphire eyes flicked from Winter to Yuri, a flash of irritation clearly visible. They hadn’t been discussing Lucy loudly but she had the impression that Elena had overheard. Not for the first time Winter wondered what sort of woman would be happy with her husband seducing another to gather information. Winter certainly wouldn’t be capable of it.

  ‘Okay then,’ Yuri said, seeming to fade a little beneath his wife’s penetrating gaze. ‘Let’s get a move on.’

  The three of them walked towards the car where Sam was waiting.

  ‘The front seat is all yours,’ he said, opening the door for Winter.

  ‘I don’t mind sitting in the back.’ Usually, she would have preferred to sit up front, but she didn’t relish spending sixteen hours next to the Russian Ice Queen.

  ‘It’s cool,’ Sam said. ‘I need to stretch out and get some sleep anyway. The painkillers I’m on are intense. Kind of awesome actually. Until they wear off. ’

  She noticed now that his eyes did have a faintly glazed expression. Sam closed the door and slid in behind her, squeezing his lanky frame in between the luggage.

  ‘Jas didn’t want to say goodbye?’ he asked tentatively.

  ‘No,’ she said, thinking again of the her friend’s suspicious behaviour. ‘She had something to do.’ Something . . .

  Sam was quiet for a moment and then said, ‘She hates me doesn’t she?’

  ‘Pretty much.’

  ‘Fair enough,’ he said with a regretful sigh.
r />   Winter watched Elena and Yuri whispering to each other in Russian, trying to ignore the paranoid thoughts that buzzed through her mind. Just because they were speaking in Russian didn’t mean they were discussing her. It was their mother tongue – they were probably using it to disguise the kind of intimate sentiments usually reserved for a husband and wife about to be separated. Lending weight to this theory, Elena now reached up bringing Yuri’s mouth down to hers in an urgent kiss. After only a few seconds, Yuri gently pushed her away, his face crimson with embarrassment. He shot a glance back at the car and Winter pretended she hadn’t been watching.

  Keeping her gaze averted, she heard Elena’s footsteps on the driveway as she circled around to the driver’s side. The springs of the seat squeaked as she sat down and Winter stole a look at her. Elena’s expression was unreadable. Keying the ignition, she said without facing her, ‘I hope you went to the bathroom because we will not be stopping.’

  ‘I’m all good,’ Winter replied, unsure whether or not Elena was trying to be funny. There didn’t seem to be any hint of humour in the woman’s coldly beautiful features. As they backed down the driveway, she dared a look back at Sam, arching her right eyebrow quizzically. He shrugged in response, seeming to find Elena’s hostility towards Winter amusing.

  She sighed. This was going to be a long journey.

  ‘Put on your seatbelt,’ Elena said, jerking the car into gear. She only had a second to comply before Elena stamped down the accelerator, pinning Winter to her seat. Soon they were careening through the heart of town towards Owl Mountain and the exit to the freeway. Just as Winter was beginning to think that Benedict might be the lesser danger when compared to Elena’s reckless driving, she happened to look up and notice the position of the sun.

  In the brief time they’d stood talking on the front lawn, the sun had drifted further towards the mountain. It seemed eager to be hidden from sight, sinking quickly. Too quickly.

  Chapter 30

  Illuminated by the twin headlights, the road flowed out of the night and beneath their car, twisting and turning like a grey river. The last car Winter had seen passed them more than half an hour ago and since then they’d travelled this route alone. Through the passenger window, black hills swelled against the starry sky. There were no house lights to be seen, no glow of civilisation on the horizon. No signs of life. Just a queasy darkness that seemed eager to push up against the car windows and steal inside.

  Winter had no idea where they were, and only the vaguest sense that they were travelling east, away from the ocean. They’d pulled off the freeway just before Shereneck after glimpsing an ominous trail of red tail-lights receding into the distance ahead of them. Scanning the radio, they’d caught a news broadcast announcing the details of an accident further along the freeway. A semi-trailer had jackknifed, spilling its goods (non-toxic apparently) across all four lanes and bringing traffic to a halt. It might be hours before the lanes would open up again.

  Luckily, there was an exit before they hit the bulk of the traffic and Elena had made the executive decision to take it, estimating it would be quicker to detour through the country and join the freeway later on, rather than risk sitting in traffic for the next couple of hours. It seemed like a logical choice at the time, though now they were far away from the hum of the freeway and the company of other cars, Winter felt uneasy.

  This dark road could be leading them anywhere. Elena seemed confident she knew where it was taking them, but she was a foreigner and hadn’t once stopped to refer to a map. Winter hoped Elena’s internal compass was better than her own.

  In the backseat, Sam continued to snore softly. He’d fallen asleep shortly after they hit the freeway. One minute he’d been sitting up straight, talking about the last time he’d seen his aunt five years ago and the next he was sprawled out over the two seats, head lolling against the window, a trickle of drool running from the corner of his mouth.

  ‘You read about the creature, yes? Yuri told me of his diary,’ Elena said, abruptly breaking the silence and gesturing to Sam’s notebook lying on her lap. Winter had only glanced cursorily at the book, unable to concentrate because of her anxiety.

  ‘His name is Blake.’

  Elena glanced at her from the corner of her eye. In the blue dashboard glow her tattoo looked like a spidery black tear stain.

  ‘You cared for him.’ It wasn’t a question.

  ‘It’s none of your business,’ Winter answered stiffly.

  Elena’s left eyebrow lifted slightly. ‘Here you are putting yourself in the hands of those you don’t trust. Travelling halfway round the world, facing a danger you can’t possibly comprehend. And for what? For love?’

  The scornful way Elena phrased the last bit infuriated Winter even more. She was about snap back when she realised that this was precisely what Elena was trying to do. Just like Yuri, she was enjoying goading her into an argument. Instead, Winter said quietly, ‘Yes.’

  Elena’s arched eyebrow relaxed and the woman adopted a thoughtful expression. ‘You are not the first to fall in love with a Dark Traveller. They have a . . . glamour about them that is difficult to resist.’

  It was now Winter’s turn to look at her curiously. ‘You sound like you’re speaking from experience.’

  A small frown creased Elena’s forehead, a single line marring her perfect face. ‘There was a time when I thought I loved a man. Stephan. He came to my village as a teacher. He was tall and had long black hair down to his shoulders. Like a girl. A beautiful girl. Except for his mouth which was strong.’

  ‘He was a Demori?’ Winter prompted when Elena stopped. She was much less irritated at Elena’s sardonic nature now, the woman’s story was too intriguing.

  ‘He had green eyes. Unlike anything I’d ever seen before. I looked into those eyes and I was gone. Lost.’

  Winter knew the feeling well. Remembering that first day she’d lain in Blake’s arms in the church clearing, she felt a wave of heat suffuse her body and was grateful the weak dashboard light hid her face.

  ‘He courted me for two weeks,’ Elena continued, her tone hardening. ‘A game they like to play. There is no sport in a kill without seduction.’ She glanced over again. Winter kept her expression neutral, not letting Elena’s words provoke a reaction.

  Sam stirred, mumbling something unintelligible. Both of them waited to see if he would wake up and when he didn’t Elena resumed speaking.

  ‘One day Stephan took me to a spot outside of town. Near a lake. A surprise picnic. Foolishly, I thought he meant to propose to me. Only two weeks and I was ready to be his forever. No, I lie,’ she paused, a humourless smile twitching the corner of her mouth. ‘I was his from the first day. The first minute. The first moment those eyes found mine.’ She fell silent, drifting on the currents of memory. ‘He would have had me then, taken my life, taken my soul, if it weren’t for Yuri. He’d been following us, following Stephan anyway. Yuri and the Bonnaires saved me.’

  Winter wasn’t so sure about that, but kept her misgivings to herself. At least she now understood the nature of Yuri and Elena’s relationship. He’d saved her life and she’d rewarded him with love. Or if not love then enough gratitude to be his wife. Either way the bond between them had been cemented with the death of a Demori.

  ‘Your tattoo,’ Winter said, taking advantage of the small crack in Elena’s icy façade to ask a question that had been plaguing her since they’d first met. ‘What does it mean?’

  Elena’s eyes, which had clouded over at the memory of Stephan, suddenly grew clear again. Her expression hardened.

  ‘It is not a tattoo. These are —’ She broke off, distracted by something on the road. ‘What is that?’

  Chapter 31

  Following Elena’s frown, Winter only just caught the streak of white as it flew through the darkness ahead. A rabbit, perhaps? No, it was far too big to be a rabbit.

  ‘It looked like a —’ another animal darted through the glow of the headlights, ‘— cat,’
she finished, breaking out in goosebumps. Something was wrong. One cat running across a deserted road in the middle of nowhere might not have been weird, but two? She was about to warn Elena when another cat materialised out of the darkness, this one alarmingly close.

  ‘No!’ Winter cried out as Elena wrenched the car to the left, swerving away from the cat and sending them off the gravel onto the grass shoulder. Winter was thrown painfully forwards then backwards, the seatbelt biting into her chest before the station wagon skidded to a juddering halt. A troubling ticking sound came from the engine.

  ‘Is everyone okay?’ Her heart was pounding and there was an acid taste in the back of her mouth, but she wasn’t badly hurt.

  Elena was pressing her right palm tightly against her forehead, her gaze a little unfocused. At some point her head must have hit the steering wheel.

  ‘I . . . yes. I’m okay,’ Elena answered, her voice trembling.

  ‘Is the car damaged?’

  Even in her semi-shocked state, Winter knew they should be moving. As long as they stayed motionless, danger threatened. She could feel this danger gathering strength in the air about them, like a storm ready to erupt.

  Elena shook her head. ‘No. I think – I think the immobiliser cut the engine when the keys were knocked loose.’

  Winter didn’t know what an immobiliser was but hoped Elena was right.

  ‘What the hell happened?’ Sam said groggily from the back. Winter swivelled in her seat, wincing as her neck muscles twanged, a result of the whiplash. Sam was blinking at her in confusion, rubbing his broken arm with his left hand.

  ‘Are you hurt?’

  Sam nodded with a half-smile. ‘I think I broke my arm.’

  Winter relaxed a little. If he could joke he couldn’t be too badly injured.

  ‘Did you see them?’ Elena asked her.

  ‘The cats?’ Winter didn’t like her dazed expression. How hard had she hit her head? ‘Yes, I saw them,’ she answered slowly but firmly so Elena would understand the urgency in her tone. ‘Don’t worry about the cats. We have to get going. Now. Can you drive?’