by Jaime Rush
“Calm down, sweetheart. He’s only been hunting you because he needs something from you. To free me.”
She stumbled back a step. “Free you? But he put you here. He killed you—that’s why you have no body to return to. He killed you and took Daddy’s body.”
“Your father killed me. Russell sent him here to punish him. He sent me here to try to find a way to bring me back. He’s been working on that, but all those years in prison kept him from doing much.”
“No.” Jessie shook her head so hard she felt dizzy. “Daddy did not kill you.”
Calista let out a soft breath, her green eyes filled with sadness. “You’ve gone through so much, you poor thing. That terrible day . . . fifteen years ago, right? How much did you see?”
“Russell and Daddy fighting. You were . . . already on the floor bleeding. Then Russell sent his Darkness into Daddy’s body and banished him to here.”
“I’m glad you didn’t see him kill me. But you must know what he did before you try to free him. Russell came to the house to declare for me. He’d been in love with me all those years, and no, he shouldn’t have barged in like he did. He was a man driven by passion.”
By Darkness.
“Your father became outraged. I knew about the Darkness, but I’d never seen it in him. It was frightening. He became a monster and spent that rage on me.”
“No.”
“Honey, I’m sorry. I never wanted to take that away from you. But you mustn’t free that man.”
“If Russell is trying to help you, why are you imprisoned just like Daddy?” None of this made sense.
“Russell didn’t know what this would become. He created it, but it took on a life all its own. Your father and I were in different chambers. He was contained. I was not. But eventually this mass began growing. It trapped my feet first, and then the wall came to me, growing inch by inch. It will continue until it swallows me whole. It’s growing faster, and time is running out for me.” Fear penetrated her voice, her eyes, tearing at Jessie’s heart.
She instinctually shifted her feet, looking down at the ridged gray floor. “What does Russell need from me?”
“Your blood. He knew you would never trust him, so he had planned to capture you and take some blood. Not a lot, a pint maybe. He would then release you unharmed. I hated that it would be so frightening for you, but I knew he was right. You fought him.” She smiled softly. “Of course you would. You were a feisty girl.
“He felt terrible about your dog, broke down and cried right here. But it was threatening him. And he’s growing desperate. He loves me, has always loved me. Your father was a good man, but he hated his younger brother. I became something else they fought over.”
Jessie could see how they’d fall in love with a beautiful, fragile woman. “But Daddy loved you, didn’t he?”
“I think he did, but in this fierce, territorial way. He was insanely jealous, moving us far away after we married because he thought Russell was looking for me. All Russell wanted was love, acceptance. I loved them both, but I got pregnant by Henry and so I married him. I’m glad I did.” She smiled. “Russell had a place in my heart, even after he married, and had a son. I’d heard that his wife died in a fall a few years later. A few months before the end, Russell and I met up. He wanted to heal me. He’d learned Darkness could do that, and he gave me small doses.”
Jessie’s mouth tightened. “You had an affair, cheated on my dad.”
“How could I not fall for a man who loved me that much?”
“So that’s why you started getting better.”
“He had nothing but his love for me. His son had turned his back on him. I . . . couldn’t do it, too. His devotion has never wavered. He has been coming here ever since my ‘death,’ trying to free me. But we need you, darling. Just a little of your blood. Please trust him. He won’t hurt you, I promise.”
Jessie’s knees went so weak, she slumped to the floor. Her father a murderer? Russell not so much the bad guy? Her heart hurt, as though this horrible organism was squeezing it.
“I wish I could hold you, darling, like I did when you were a girl. I’ve missed you so much.”
Jessie didn’t point out that she had done most of the holding. It didn’t matter. The floor pulsed beneath her hands. She lurched up, wavering. “I’ve missed you, too.” All those years of longing for her mother, feeling so pained and envious when she saw mothers and daughters together. “He’ll use Darkness to bring your body back?”
“Yes. He’ll create a body using your blood, because it contains my DNA. I’ll have Darkness, too. We’ll be alike, all of us. And maybe someday we can be a family.”
“No, I will not be a family with Russell. With you, yes. Not him.”
“Okay. You’ll need time, I understand that. But he loves me, angel. He loves me so much he’s making himself crazy trying to save me. I hate shattering your illusion about your father, but think about this: why was he sent to prison?”
“They convict innocent people because of circumstantial evidence all the time.”
“Evidence confirmed that he’d done it, blood splatter, fingerprints. Think on it. You’ll know in your heart what the truth is. But don’t think too long.” She wiggled her fingers. “I don’t have much time.”
The breathing was getting louder.
She walked closer to her mother. “Are you in pain?”
“No. The agony has been watching the walls close in. But it’s almost over, one way or the other. You must go. Find Russell, give him your blood, and then come back for your father, if you must. But if you bring your father back now, Russell’s soul will be gone, and so will the knowledge of how to bring me back. You must go to Russell first.”
The choice twisted inside Jessie. She’d come to save her father, but it would be at the expense of her mother’s soul.
“All right.”
Her mom sighed in relief. “Thank you, baby. I knew you’d make the right decision. I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.” The words came out in a whisper. “How do I find him?”
“Put a note on your apartment door with your phone number. He’ll call you.”
Jessie gripped the rope and walked toward the crevice from which she’d come. One last look at her mom and then she slid in. She followed the rope back through all the pulsing layers, fighting the panic when pressed tight between its breaths. What if it didn’t let go? She felt its hunger.
It eased open, and she slid a few more feet before it closed on her again. Was this how it felt for her parents, being held immobilized? She shuddered, moving again when she could, faster and faster until she broke out of the opening.
She came awake in Lachlan’s arms again.
He was studying her. “It didn’t work?”
“I didn’t even try.”
She told him everything, watching the same disbelief she’d felt about Russell’s part in it in his expression.
“You’re not going to Russell,” he said.
“Don’t you see, I have to save her? If that’s all he wants, then you’re safe, too. The only reason he’s been so brutal to you is because you’re in the way of his saving the person he loves. You said you would kill for me. What Russell’s doing isn’t so different.”
He grunted in disagreement. “You’re sure it was your mother? Not some illusion?”
“I’m sure. She’s always called me by a lot of endearments: baby, honey.”
Lachlan walked over to where he’d propped his sword, never far away. He took it in hand and walked down the hallway toward his room. Where was he going?
He returned a few seconds later, no sword. “When I astral-projected back to that day, I saw it from your point of view. I stayed with you. I want to go back and see it from the kitchen. Olaf!”
The image of the Scottish warrior flickered over Lachlan. “Ye’ve exhausted me and ye want me again?”
“Believe me, I’d rather do it on my own. We don’t have time, or I’d let you
rest. I need to go back to the past again. Just a quick trip.”
Ah, so that’s why he’d put his sword away.
“Nae, canna do any more for a time. Ye ask too much of me.”
“We gave you something in return. At our expense, we let you experience carnal pleasure.”
“At your expense? Och, ye enjoyed it more than I. Do not fool yourselves, as ye dinna fool me.”
“It’s not a matter of us enjoying it or not,” Lachlan said. He lowered his head. “Aye, she and I lust for each other. But I have honor, or at least I’m trying to have honor.”
She walked up to Olaf. “We’re only human. Do you remember being human, Olaf? Having weaknesses? Feeling loss?”
Lachlan said, “You threw yourself into battle knowing you could be killed, because you believed in a lost cause. She believes in this cause, and you’re the only way for me to find out the truth before she throws herself into a dangerous situation.”
She let all of her emotions fill her eyes. “Please?”
Olaf growled. “Ye think ye can tug at me heart with that look?”
She bit her lower lip. “Help me save my mother, Olaf.” She put her hands on Lachlan’s arm and squeezed, peering into the visage of a face that looked so much older than twenty-six. “We need you.”
“All right, all right. Ye’ve chipped away at me enough.”
Lachlan sat on the couch and closed his eyes. She sat next to him. He reminded her of a sleeping cat, fingers convulsing, eyelids twitching. She put her hands on his arm again, thinking of that golden rope that anchored her in the Void.
It amazed her to think that he was going to her past. He’d said he looked like a ghost at the target location. She tried to remember if she’d seen anything strange that day, but the events in the kitchen would have taken all of her attention.
His muscles moved beneath her fingers. If only he could change the past.
He sat up, eyes open, clutching her hand in his. He rubbed his face, as though trying to rub away the horror of what he’d seen. With a deep, shuddering breath, he turned to her. “Your mother was telling the truth. Your father did it.”
Her chest caved in, and he pulled her against him. She clutched at him, trying to catch her breath. “What did you see?”
“I came in at the moment it happened. Your father . . . he was destroyed. I could see it on his face as he took the two of them in, I’m guessing just then realizing your mother had been involved with Russell behind his back. He became a wolf and lashed at her. One swipe, like Russell did to Magnus.” He held her closer. “I’m sorry.”
She sank into his comfort, savoring the feel of his mouth against the top of her head. Her father, a murderer. “That’s why he was convicted. The evidence did point to him. So that means, the man’s voice I heard, saying he could save Mom with Darkness . . . that was Russell. I assumed it was my dad.” She hated to move out of Lachlan’s embrace, but she got to her feet. “I have to get in touch with Russell. Mom said to leave a note on my apartment door.”
He tried to stand, but his body sagged back onto the couch. “I don’t like this.”
“Don’t you see, it’s going to be all right. Russell won’t hurt me, won’t hurt you. I won’t have to hide. And I’ll have my mom back.”
He took her in. “I hope so. Does this mean you won’t have to go back to that Void?”
She shook her head. “I hate the thought of my dad being there, but I can’t risk my soul for a murderer’s soul.” She turned to him. “You look tired.” He’d said he was tired after using his abilities. “I’ll drive into town—”
“With me.” He stumbled down the hall and returned with the sword. “I don’t trust Russell. He did say he wanted to talk about your mother the other day. Has he ever tried to tell you what he really wanted before then?”
She thought about it. “Once, he said something about my mother, but I didn’t want to hear what he had to say.” Now she wished she had. Magnus wouldn’t be holding Darkness. “I’ll drive, you relax. All I’m doing when I get there is sticking a note to the door and leaving.”
“If I fall asleep, wake me when you get there. I’m going up with you.”
“All right.” She put her hand to his cheek. Her protector. With sleepy eyes.
He dozed while she still tried to process everything. Darkness had turned her father into a murderer. She knew it wasn’t in his heart. He was a gentle and loving man. He had adored her mother, coddling her when she fell ill. Yet, Darkness had turned him into a savage beast. She had that beast in her, too. She glanced over at Lachlan. Any man she loved would be subject to it. One false move, one flirtation on his part, and someone would be dead. Like your nightmares, when you kill the children.
Not fair. She wanted love, family, the simple things everyone could have. Not her. Never her.
By the time she pulled up to her apartment complex, Lachlan slept like a sweet, innocent boy. The sight of him made her heart swell, filled with an emotion she dared not identify.
She’d run up, tape the note on the door, and come right back down. No need to wake him. She quietly opened the glove box, took out the sticky notes and pen and jotted down her number.
As soon as she reached the top of the stairs, her heart lurched at the sight of her door cracked open. She hadn’t notified her landlord of her departure. No one should be getting it ready for the next tenant yet.
Russell moved into the gap, opening the door a little more when he saw her. “Calista said you were coming here. I hope I didn’t startle you, but as you saw, time is running out.”
Seeing him up close like this, her father’s green eyes, his impossibly long eyelashes, twisted her up inside.
He gestured to the living area, where a silver cup, a blood bag, and a needle sat on the table.
She glanced back to the vehicle where Lachlan still slept.
“Your mother was so happy to see you. I haven’t seen her with that much hope in a long time.”
It was bizarre, being civil with the man she’d been hiding from all this time. “You visit her every day?”
“I hate knowing she’s there alone.”
“You love her.” She could see the agony saturating his expression.
“More than life itself.” Genuine emotion seeped into his voice, a love warped by Darkness. “I loved her from the first moment I saw her, and all those years after your father stole her away from me. I could see that she still loved me, too. She had affection for your father, but we . . . we had an overwhelming kind of love. Have you ever loved like that before?”
She glanced again at her SUV. “Only my parents.” Was what she felt—the passion, the desire—Darkness?
“Your father and I had a turbulent history. I’m sorry for taking his body, but he killed your mother. I couldn’t bear for him to live when she was dead. But she’s not dead. She can be here with you again, Jessie. However you feel about me, I respect that. I’ve done some terrible things to you, but I hope you understand why. I’ll stay out of your way, allow you and your mother to get to know each other again.”
Her throat tightened at that. “What do I do?”
He stepped back and opened the door more. “Just lie down there. I confess that I have no practice in sticking a needle into one’s vein, but I’ve done a lot of reading on the subject. It might hurt, but I doubt I’ll do any permanent damage. In any case, it’ll be over in a minute or two. It won’t take as much bravery as it took for you to go to the Void, not once but twice. I admire you. I know how scary that place is.”
She shivered. “All right.” She sent one more glance Lachlan’s way before taking a step into the apartment. She saw no weapons, but of course, he was a weapon. But so was she.
Before Lachlan even woke, it would be over. He wouldn’t have to worry anymore. She’d go back to the car, drive to Sanctuary, and tell him it was over. Or would she wait with Russell to see her mother come alive again?
The door closed behind her.
Cha
pter 18
Lachlan dozed, lulled by his exhaustion and the soft vibration of the car as it moved through traffic. His body was dead tired, but his mind rolled through the possibility of Jessie being safe.
Maybe.
So all this time, Russell had only been trying to get some of her blood.
Maybe.
He didn’t like her meeting with him, but he would be right beside her. He summoned Olaf, mentally this time. “I know we just tapped you, cousin, but I need one more favor.”
“Och, ye’re wearing me out!”
“But I know the hearty stock you come from. You’re tough, a Highlander living in the frigid cold, pledging his life to protect those he cares about.”
“Hmph. Who says I care about ye?”
“Maybe you don’t, but you attached to me because you wanted adventure. Well, now you’re getting it.”
“This is the last time. I dinna like going to dark places where I canna do anything.”
Lachlan breathed in relief. “Just an astral projection this time. Take me to Russell Jackson.”
“At the present moment?”
“Take me back a week or two. Let me skim over the past, like an eagle over the plains.”
Olaf disappeared, long enough for Lachlan to think he wasn’t coming back. Then he felt the familiar sense of astral projection. He saw Russell, in a hotel room, saw him driving past the music store and then Jessie’s apartment. Then a flash back to the hotel, a slice of streetlight coming into the room through the drapes over the bed where a woman lay.
The man wasn’t as devoted to Calista as he’d said. No, wait. Something was very wrong with the scene. Lachlan pulled the image back, feeling his whole body tighten. Good God, the woman was tied to the bed, gagged, and terrified. Russell stood over her, drawing black smoke all around her.
“Calista,” he said, drawing out the name. “Come down, my love. The body is ready for you, the woman a perfect look-alike, wearing your clothing, your jewelry. I think it will work this time.”
A thin stream of smoke materialized from the ceiling and spiraled down to the woman. Russell lifted his hands to it.