by Ian Somers
We had organised the entire escape two nights before. Cathy had transferred her considerable inheritance to an Irish bank account, under an assumed name, and we had searched the internet and found a small cottage by the coast that was available to rent. Cathy had contacted the owner and he was waiting for us when we arrived. We were free at last.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
A Visitor at Christmas
Many weeks passed peacefully and we grew to love our quaint, little home. It was a basic cottage with a bed-room, a small sitting room and a kitchen not much more spacious than the cramped bathroom. It was safe and it was ours though, that was all that mattered to us. Neither of us would ever get over the incredible losses we suffered at the hands of Edward Zalech, but after a time we learned to live with the awful things we had experienced. Life goes on, as they say.
We even fell into a routine: Cathy liked to run along the cliffs to the north in the morning and then she’d make breakfast for us both. I had got used to waking up late again, and I often spent the afternoon practising on my skateboard that I bought in a nearby town. In the evenings we would spend time together doing simple things that all normal couples do. At night I would get a fire going and Cathy would sit on the couch in front of it, reading a book. I would walk the beach, which was just ten minutes walk from the cottage, and on my return I would always find her sleeping with her face on the arm of the chair.
As I made my way home one night, in late November, a stray, black cat followed me. It was a bitterly cold night and I couldn’t bear to leave her outside in the freezing temperatures. I took her into the cottage and Cathy insisted that she be allowed to stay. I knew how fond she was of animals, particularly cats, so I agreed that Nightshade, as we called her, would be our first pet.
At Christmas we bought a few glittering decorations and a short pine that we placed next to the window of our sitting room. We both bought some presents for one another and had them wrapped and placed under the tree. The ones I bought were the ones that looked like a monkey had wrapped them. Cathy’s were picture perfect.
The night before Christmas was very much like any other, apart from my constant begging to open my presents early. She hadn’t let me. When she started reading in front of the fire I told her I was going for a stroll along the beach.
I was contemplating the previous year and all that I had learned and lost. I thought of my parents mostly and how I missed them both so much. Anger and deep regret still tainted every memory I had of Dad. I also thought of Romand and of Peter Williams and how dull the world was without them. Hunter, too, occupied my thoughts now and again, and I found that I really missed the big grump.
Zalech crossed my mind once or twice and the certain devastation that had been avoided by his death. I wondered if another villain similar to him, or Dolloway, would emerge from some corner of the world and would the Guild be able to deal with them. Part of me felt guilty for having run away, leaving them to deal with the sinister forces of the gifted world. They probably needed me, but I had made my decision and I didn’t see any way of going back. I chose Cathy over the Guild. I chose normality over adventure. I chose a life full of love rather than a life circled with death.
I reached the cottage later than usual that night and I was shaking with the cold when I got to the front door. Nightshade was standing the steps outside the door and the hair on her back was raised.
‘What’s up with you?’ I said to her. She usually pawed at the door when I returned from my walk. ‘Stupid cat.’
Nightshade hissed wildly and backed up against the door.
‘What’s got you so spooked, Nightshade?’
‘Cats can see through body refraction. Don’t you remember?’
I spun around – no one was there. I had recognised Hunter’s voice, though, and a second later he became uncloaked, right next to me.
‘What are you doing here?’ I asked. ‘How the hell did you know where I was?’
‘Bentley, you can’t hide from the Guild of the True. We have ways of finding people and you didn’t do a very good job of covering your tracks. I was sent to find you and then to inform the Guild of your whereabouts. I’ve been hanging around this area for two days. I spotted you this morning, but needed to come down here for a closer look to be sure it was you.’
‘Now you know it’s me.’
‘Yes. That doesn’t mean the Guild has to know.’ He came closer, limping slightly. ‘I guess you deserve a quiet life more than anyone. As does Cathy.’
‘I would be very grateful if you tell them you never found us.’
‘Found who?’ He turned away and slowly headed along the path to the gate. He paused before he opened it, but didn’t look back. ‘If we ever get in too much trouble,’ he said, ‘if the Guild is in danger of being totally destroyed, I will have to come back here. Not to demand anything from you. But to you ask you as a friend, and as a respected former colleague, for your help.’
He opened the gate started off along the road. I waited a few seconds then went to the end of the garden and out onto the road.
‘Hunter,’ I called after him, ‘ask for my help and you’ll have it. Just don’t ask any time too soon.’
‘All in good time, Bentley,’ he shouted over his shoulder. ‘All in good time.’
The first Ross Bentley book
Million Dollar Gift
by Ian Somers
Ross Bentley has a gift – he can move things with his mind.
Ross has always known he was different, but he’s kept his talent secret, even from those closest to him. Everything changes when he hears about a contest called The Million Dollar Gift – a wealthy businessman has pledged a million dollars to anyone who can prove they have superhuman powers. It’s too good a chance to miss …
But Ross finds himself drawn ever deeper into a world of corruption and peril. His gift puts him in danger from powerful foes, but also introduces him to people and talents he can hardly believe exist …
A fast-paced ride into a hidden world of extraordinary gifts and deadly enemies.
Ian Somers lives in Dublin and works as a graphic designer. His first book about Ross Bentley, Million Dollar Gift, is also published by The O’Brien Press.
Copyright
This eBook edition first published 2013 by
The O’Brien Press Ltd,
12 Terenure Road East, Rathgar,
Dublin 6, Ireland.Tel: +353 1 4923333; Fax: +353 1 4922777
E-mail: [email protected].
Website: www.obrien.ie
First published 2013
eBook ISBN: 978-1-84717-573-1
Text © copyright Ian Somers 2013
Copyright for typesetting, layout, editing, design
© The O’Brien Press Ltd
Cover image and internal images: Ian Somers
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