Into the Twilight: a Between the Worlds Novel

by Morgan Daimler

  The young Guard nodded slightly before jogging off. Jess turned to his brother. “Another killer dead.”

  “Yes, and again Allie is at the heart of it,” Zarethyn replied.

  “You think this is significant?”

  “I believe that synchronicity moves strongly in all of this and that Allie is tied somehow to the underlying pattern,” he said thoughtfully.

  “Her grandmother was the undoing of the original coven,” Jess pointed out.

  “Yes,” the captain agreed. “But she also participated in several of the ritual murders.”

  “What is the significance of that?”

  “I’m not sure,” Zarethyn admitted. They both paused at the sound of police sirens in the distance. “Go and question Allie and her friend. Despite the new emphasis on cooperation I do not trust that the police will not arrive and try to take over entirely.”

  Jess nodded and headed over towards where Allie was still sitting on the ground, looking pale and stunned. Her friend Jason was obviously nervous, shifting from foot to foot and watching the Guard the way an injured baby bird watches a snake. Odd, Jess thought, Surely Jason knows we all realize it was self-defense. I would hardly be angry with him for saving Allie’s life!

  He approached them both slowly, not wanting to agitate Jason, even as the sound of sirens grew louder. Allie looked up when he was a few feet away and then launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face into his chest. He stroked her hair and murmured comforting words until she relaxed a little bit, but her first words caught him off guard. “You aren’t angry at me?”

  “Angry?” he repeated, baffled. “Wherefore?”

  “Huh?” Jason said, then bit his lip and looked like he wished he hadn’t said anything.

  Allie sniffled slightly and Jess realized she’d been crying recently. “Wherefore means why. And because I followed some random emotions into a deserted area without calling the police or you first and confronted a killer and almost got myself and my friends killed…”

  “Allie!” he interrupted. “You took a risk yes, but no harm was done and thanks to your action – not alone but accompanied by two people more than capable of defending you - the killer had been stopped.”

  She took a deep breath. “Yeah, I guess you’re right I just feel like I keep walking into these things.”

  “Well you do have a unique talent for finding dangerous things no one else can find,” he agreed. “But good always comes from it in the end.”

  She swallowed hard and nodded slightly, pulling away from him. “I suppose we need to give our official statements?”

  “Yes, please,” he said, listening carefully and writing everything they both said down as they relayed in fits and starts the series of events that had led to Standish’s body cooling on the ground. He was particularly disturbed by the last words they both told him the killer had said, and he had the sinking feeling that Standish’s death would not be the end of anything.

  ************************

  The meeting was breaking up, people clustering together to chat. An air of desperation hung over the group, despite the leader’s best efforts to inspire them after Jerry’s loss. The woman knew deep down that it was too many setbacks in too short a time.

  She kept thinking about Jerry; she found it impossible to reconcile the friendly smiling man who had always been socializing with the other group members with the terrible things she knew he had done. It just didn’t seem possible that someone who had been so nice here could have been so brutal out there…

  The group’s leader appeared at her side, reaching out and grabbing the woman’s arm. “You promised you’d stop her.”

  The woman flinched, trying not to look guilty. The truth was she’d been avoiding the entire situation, unsure what to do. “I know…I will. We have time…”

  “We won’t have time if she keeps pointing the police right at us.” the leader hissed, her eyes shooting around the room to be sure no one was noticing the tense exchange.

  “She wouldn’t have helped catch him if he’d stopped sneaking out and…”

  The leader waved a hand dismissively, her manicured nails glinting in the electric lights. “That’s not the point.”

  “But…”

  “It’s not the point,” the leader said, her normally charismatic voice brisk and dismissive. “The police had nothing, but she found him. You’re supposed to be dealing with her, keeping her away from what we’re doing. Not only is she not staying away she’s even more involved than ever.”

  The woman frowned, frustrated. “I’m working on it, but it’s not that easy. I can’t be too obvious or she’ll get suspicious.”

  “I’m starting to think you don’t really care about keeping her safe.”

  “Of course I do! I’ve told you how much that matters to me…” the woman’s voice started to rise, and then glancing around she remembered where she was and that she needed to stay quiet. “You know how important it is. But it won’t do any of us any good if I get caught now will it?”

  The leader nodded, looking thoughtful. “Alright, well if you haven’t been able to think of anything…”

  “I just need more time!”

  “We don’t have time, the next ritual is almost here, and now we have to find another replacement. Don’t worry though, I have an idea,” the leader said, pulling a tiny plastic bag out of her jacket pocket. The bag was the sort that drugs were often sold in, but what it contained was like no drug the woman had ever seen: a dull grey metallic powder. She blanched and looked up at the leader, shaking her head slightly. The leader’s voice was reassuring, persuasive. “Don’t worry. You just need a tiny little bit. Barely any at all.”

  The woman reached out and took the tiny bag slipping it quickly into her own pocket. She nodded, biting her lip. “Okay. Okay. We’ll do it your way.”

  “You’ll see,” the leader said, relaxed and smiling. “This is a good plan. It’ll work perfectly. Just a tiny bit will be enough to knock her out of things and no one will know it’s not just the flu. By the time she’s on her feet again the next ritual will be over, and then we’ll have an entire month to get everything straightened out.”

  Chapter 7 - Saturday

  Allie clutched the edge of the toilet, gasping, consumed by the sensation of lava filling her stomach and intestines. She gagged again but there was nothing left anywhere in her system to come up. The pain was so intense that she could barely think around it; it was becoming her entire world.

  At some point she realized Liz was there with her, stroking her hair out of her face. She could hear her cousin speaking but the words were like water, flowing over and around her. “I’m so sorry Allie. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It wasn’t supposed to be like this at all. It was just supposed to make you a little bit sick…”

  Finally the words actually registered and Allie turned her head slightly towards her cousin’s voice, unable to get her eyes to focus. When she spoke her voice was a barely recognizable croak. “You…you did…this?”

  Liz’s hand stroked her back. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I only used a little bit of iron. It was just supposed to make you a little bit sick. Just enough to stop helping them”

  Allie felt her entire world collapsing. The pain came in waves now, never getting better but spiking into a blinding agony that drove away rational thought. She managed to force out one word. “Why?”

  As if from very far away she heard Liz say, “You were helping them too much and they were getting too close. It was ruining everything. I was supposed to keep you distracted but nothing was working.”

  Allie felt everything shifting and then the floor was cold against her cheek. Somewhere above her Liz was crying. She could hear Jess’s voice too, in her mind, but she couldn’t follow what he was saying or form a reply. She didn’t care anymore about anything but the pain. Then Liz’s voice was there again, in her ear, “Hang on Allie, I’m calling an ambulance.”
>
  Her body convulsed, eyes rolling up, and the entire world became the sensation of molten knives tearing her apart from the inside out.

  ***********************************

  Brynneth took a deep breath, stepping back slightly from the hospital bed. Sweat dripped from his face and he grabbed the bedframe, clearly exhausted. Zarethyn looked alarmed; Jess didn’t look away from Allie’s still form on the bed. Her face was ashen and she lay so completely still it was hard to be sure she was breathing.

  “I am sorry Jess,” Brynneth said, meaning it.

  “You can do nothing?” Jess asked, already knowing the answer.

  “I tried everything that could possibly be done. If she were fully elven she would be dead already, but her human heritage is slowing the iron poisoning somewhat. But…there is nothing that I can do to reverse the damage.” Brynneth said.

  “How long?” Zarethyn asked, his voice flat, his eyes on his brother.

  “Hours,” Brynneth said. “Perhaps less.”

  The Guard captain nodded, his expression grim. He inclined his head slightly towards the door and he and the elven healer quietly stepped out, leaving Jessilaen alone with Allie.

  He sat by the edge of the bed clutching her hand, watching for every slight sign that she still breathed. He reached up, smoothing her hair back from her face, her skin cold beneath his fingers. “I cannot lose you Allie,” he thought to her silent mind. “There must be a way to heal this. I know you can use emotions to heal yourself. Use mine, now. Let my feelings give you strength…”

  She remained still and silent and he felt a furious desperation growing in his chest. He could not let her die. But he was no mage or healer, nor did he have any particular gift. Again and again his mind returned to the idea of her speeding her own healing when she drew on his emotions, yet he also knew that she took the most energy from the more positive feelings, especially love and happiness. Certainly what he was feeling now was not anything she would normally allow herself to pull from…and yet he had also seen that when she was exhausted she would pull from him reflexively, even when she didn’t want to do so consciously. He was certain that her gift could help her now, at least pull her back enough to save her from death, and just being close to her she should draw on him even if she were unconscious.

  He bit his lip, certain that there was a way to save her if only he could figure it out. Skin to skin contact made it easier for her to connect to him. He clutched her limp hand in his own, but that was not enough. He tried to remember every time he had been aware of her using his emotions to strengthen herself, looking for any hint of a way to trigger the reflex in her. When we are close and touching he thought rubbing his eyes with his free hand. When we lie together.....That thought stopped him. When we lie together she connects to me completely he thought more slowly. The combination of the close contact and the heightened emotions…that might do it. She connects without thinking about it then, as if it were a reflex…as if were second nature. He frowned as the full realization struck. Or as if it were her nature, to use the emotions of desire and arousal. Jess had not served over two hundred years in the Elven Guard not to understand what that meant. He looked at her still form in the bed and shook his head slightly. It didn’t matter what her true nature was, if he could use that nature to save her now.

  It was a mad idea and for a moment he hesitated. It might not work at all and if anyone walked in….but what choice did he have? She would die if he did nothing and crazy or not this was the only thing he could think of that might help. Nothing else had any effect. But if he tried this, if he could get her to connect to him on that deep level and take his emotional energy reflexively…He nodded, suddenly determined. He would try, and if it failed then he was certain that he would die with her or soon after, and he would at least know that he had tried everything to save her.

  Physically joined with her he could feel her there with him, her mind somewhere dark reaching out to him. He reached back with everything he had, giving her all of his emotions. When he could feel the emotions subsiding again he pulled away from her, his eyes seeking any sign that what he had done had accomplished anything. He had given her everything, had felt her through their connection drinking in each emotion until he could not feel more than he already was. His heart had been full to a point that was nearly unbearable and he let her feel all of it with him.

  He felt a surge of excitement to see that although she was still pale her face was no longer grey-tinged and her eyes moved restlessly beneath the lids. Sliding from the bed he grasped her hand again and his heart lifted to feel her fingers tightening on his.

  And yet…it wasn’t enough. She was certainly better, but even he could see that she was still dying. His desperation surged anew and he gritted his teeth in frustration. If she could connect on the same level with someone else, perhaps drawing on another person’s emotions as well would be enough, but he knew that neither Brynneth nor his brother were close enough for Allie to willingly draw from, even on an unconscious level. Her friend Jason might work, and Jess was sure he would be willing, but he was not entirely certain that the necessary connection could be established between them, not if he were right about her nature and sexual attraction was a necessary factor.

  And that left only one possible person. Jessilaen hesitated for a moment feeling a mix of jealousy and denial. He frantically cast around for any other option, but could only come back over and over to the same conclusion. He looked at her lying on the bed, her form appearing somehow smaller as if some vital substance had been lost. What he had done was enough to revive her slightly and her hands opened and closed on the sheet that covered her. She looked like she was in pain now, no longer deeply unconscious but aware again of what her body was going through. Seeing that decided him. He leaned forward and whispered against her ear, hoping she would understand him, “Be strong my love, I will not let you die.”

  Now that he was resolved to do it he stood quickly and crossed the room in a few long strides, throwing the door open. The other elves in his squad had been in the middle of a discussion; they fell silent as he burst out into the hallway. He ignored them, his eyes fixing on Bleidd who was standing apart from the others, a look of naked anguish plain on his face. He was by the other elf’s side before anyone realized where he was going and he could see the sudden alarm on his brother’s face, as he grabbed Bleidd by his good shoulder and forced him towards the hospital room. The other elf went with him as much from the shock of the unexpected situation as any willingness.

  He pushed the former Outcast into the room ahead of him before the heavy door had swung shut from his exit. Turning to his companions he locked eyes with his brother, “No one enters.”

  Zarethyn opened his mouth to say something – whether it would be agreement or not Jess was unsure – but he was already turning away and he never heard it. He slid back into the hospital room and as the door shut he pushed a chair in front of it. A flimsy barrier it was and nothing that would hold back any significant attempt to force entry, but it should give him enough warning if anyone were trying to come in.

  Allie lay as he had left her, her head now rolling side to side from the pain, her eyes fluttering. Bleidd had moved to stand next to her, clutching one of her hands much as Jess himself had earlier. The dark-haired elf wept without shame, but when he spoke his voice was choked with rage not sorrow, “Whoever did this, I will find them, and I will kill them.”

  “I believe we can save her,” Jess said, his own voice thick.

  “It cannot be done,” Bleidd whispered. “Your own healer said she has very little time left.”

  “She can help herself with her gift.”

  “What do you mean?” Bleidd asked sharply, turning to lock eyes with Jess.

  “I had suspected it before, but I was certain after she was shot.” Jess said carefully. “Brynneth healed the injury as best he could but you know full well yourself how slow and painful it is to recover from an iron wound. It should ha
ve been so for her yet within a few days she was fully healed.”

  “How?” Bleidd asked, leaning forward. Jess knew then that he would help, would do anything, and he felt his own hope surging.

  “She uses the emotions of others, of people she is connected to - especially love and sex - to empower herself and I believe to help speed her own healing,” Jess said, still choosing his words carefully.

  Bleidd frowned slightly, “Do you understand what that means?”

  “Yes,” Jess said simply. “I also know that it means you can save her now if you let her connect fully to you and draw on your emotions.”

  “Why do you not do this if it will help her?” Bleidd asked his voice low.

  “I have already given her everything I have to give,” Jess replied, watching the other elf’s eyes go wide at the implications. “It has helped, but not enough.”

  “Why me?”

  “Because you love her,” Jess said. “And she loves you. She will connect to you even if she isn’t fully conscious and take what she needs.”

  “What must I do?”

  Jess struggled to keep his face expressionless. “Lie with her and let yourself feel everything, every emotion fully. Let her connect to you.”

  “Lie with her?” Bleidd’s was incredulous. “Are you mad? Here? Like this? Even if I was willing to I don’t know that I could.”

  “Yes,” Jess said. “I am not absolutely certain but I believe it’s necessary to make the connection as strong as possible. And if she accepts you, your emotions, then she will help you. She will amplify what you feel, any desire you have, until everything else falls away.”

  “And that’s what you just…” Bleidd trailed off. “You have lost your mind.”

  “You told me once that you would do anything to protect her life. Will you stand there now and let her die?” Jess challenged him directly and saw a flare of the same determination in the other elf’s eyes that he himself felt. And he knew that he would do what needed to be done.