“—as we will make the most of you.”
The figure released her, then walked back toward the house, his outline blurring to become one with the fog.
Silence descended, the only sound the quiet lapping of waves at the water’s edge.
“Caro?” a voice whispered.
Caro looked up quickly, then around carefully.
“I’m here,” a voice called softly. “I’ve missed you.”
It’s not him. It’s not Rob.
“Better to be in Hell with the one you love than alone in Heaven,” his voice came lightly. “Isn’t that what we always said, after we made love?”
“That’s not you,” Caroline said, disbelieving.
“I love you as much as always. Stay here with me, Caro—”
“Stop it!” Caroline screeched, taking a step forward “You’re not Rob!”
A shot rang out behind her, making Caroline turn.
Helter hung over the edge of the boat, his gun slipping from his bloody hands. “Stop talking and leave,” he said weakly, as he drifted away from her, into deep water.
Caroline took off her jacket, and then waded into the water.
Helter tried to reach for her, then collapsed on the edge of the boat, blood dripping from his fingers into the water.
Swimming hard after the boat, despair overtook Caroline, as the rope moved farther and farther away. God, she would never reach it in time…
Suddenly, the boat abruptly stopped moving. Caroline swam up to it, and a ghostly figure passed it to her. Caroline clung to the boat all of her strength failing as she looked into the eyes of Bowman.
“You have to stop this misbehaving,” he said in a chiding manner. “You’re going to throw away your life, when there is so much more to live for.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Caroline gasped. “You aren’t my mother—”
The spirit morphed suddenly, its features changing and shifting, the masculine features becoming high delicate cheekbones. Sad dark eyes looked back at her from a familiar face.
“It’s you…you’re here…” Caroline whispered. All she was encompassed total shock, overwhelmed by emotion, afraid to blink and have her mother disappear.
“You have to keep going in the bad times,” her mother said. “More are coming. That’s what life is. You have to be brave and good, Caro. There is so much more to see than what you’ve already had. You’ve got to go on. Don’t end here, on that isle.”
“Why are you here?” Caroline wailed, scared, upset, and only wanting her mom, for this to truly be her mom.
“Because there are more than forces for evil in this place,” he mother said lovingly. “I will always be with you.” She let go of the boat with a swift push, then moved away. With a last smile, she slipped beneath the waves.
“MOM!” Caroline screamed.
Suddenly Helter was beside her, grabbing her hand. “Caroline.” He helped steady her as she climbed into the boat. She hugged him, trying to put pressure on his wounds. Both of the holes were seeping blood steadily, though the arrows were gone.
“Did we destroy it?” Helter said weakly. “I thought I heard the charges go.”
“Yes,” Caroline lied. “I’m not sure how you did it, but it worked.”
“Your faith,” Helter said with a smile, then he closed his eyes.
Caroline hugged him to her carefully.
“We never got a happy ending,” Helter murmured, putting his arms around her. “Sorry about that, Caroline. You deserved one—”
“Shh,” she said. “Save your strength.”
“Don’t worry,” he said weakly. “It’s just a flesh wound.” Then his arms went limp, falling from around her.
“No,” Caroline said tearfully.
A clap of thunder sounded overhead, and it began to rain. The waves rose, churning the water. Looking up through her tears, Caroline saw the fog clear, the isle of Latham’s Landing rising from the water, fingers of ice again spreading out from its base. A frantic look showed her the shoreline ahead was open, but ice was already forming on both sides of the boat, heading right for it.
It would trap her, as it had trapped the two women who tried to escape.
“Goodbye,” she said, kissing Helter’s cooling brow. She clasped Barb’s hand briefly, then dove into the waves, swimming hard for the shore.
The fire within her wasn’t hot anymore, but cold—the cold fury left in the aftermath of catastrophic pain. Everything else had been burned clean, leaving only the resolution to survive this night. Because her mother and Helter were right. She had to live.
Caroline staggered up on shore, the first light of dawn lightening the sky behind her. Her breath plumed in the frosty air, as she stood shivering before her car and Barb’s, turning to look back at the house. A fog began to rise, hiding Latham’s Landing from view, as the encroaching ice mysteriously stopped, leaving the last few inches of water open.
Cooper came out from behind her SUV, whining and wagging his tail. “You made it,” Caroline said, hugging him.
Thank you God, for saving me. I only wish you could have saved Helter, too.
Fishing in her pocket for the keys as she blinked back tears, Caroline unlocked the door, then started the SUV. Hitting the OnStar button, she activated the emergency help.
Opening the back door, she let Cooper onto the back seat, where he promptly shook himself.
Caroline gave a jittery laugh as she grabbed a blanket out of the back for her shoulders, then shut the door. “Let’s lock the doors and sleep while we wait for the police, shall we—?”
The sky darkened suddenly, the light fading. Caroline turned, the open driver’s side door falling closed with a click behind her. Cooper began to bark, pawing at the glass.
“Murderess,” a voice whispered. “Murderess.”
A row of yellow eyes, each easily eight feet up from the ground stared down at her. The beings had indistinct forms in the rising fog, their bodies made of darkness and shadow.
Hustermen hunt evildoers. They were made to guard against evil at sea…or any evil near water.
Caroline took a step backward. “No.”
“Murderess,” the voices chorused. “Murderess.”
They punish the guilty. They don’t see distinctions, only black and white.
Caroline’s eyes flicked to her wrist. Her handmade bracelet with her mother’s hair was gone. She turned to run, letting out a final shriek as the Hustermen engulfed her in living shadow.
EPILOGUE
The police car pulled up next to the SUV, its sirens wailing. The sunrise was almost over, the yellow ball of weak light burning off the fog.
Officer Stahl got out of the car, his happy expression turning sour as he beheld Cooper locked in the running SUV, pawing at the glass. Grabbing his phone, he called back OnStar. “I’m here at the SUV. Unlock the doors. There’s a dog in there, and I’ve no idea how long he’s been in there.”
Ten seconds ticked by, then the door lock clicked open. Stahl opened the door. Cooper whined, then reluctantly jumped back out.
Stahl petted him. “Where’s your master, boy?” He unclasped the collar, seeing the cameras and the cross. “What the hell?”
Cooper ran to the shoreline, barking. The police office followed, calling in his position. “There were two cameras on the dog’s collar and a cross, if you can believe that. But there’s no sign of anybody—”
He cut off, his eyes settling on the boat trapped in the ice, the white bruised and bloody arm limply hanging out, covered with frost.
“Send a unit and an ambulance,” he said into his radio gruffly. “There’s at least one body. We’ll need ropes and wetsuits. See if you can get a copter, too.”
Cooper whined once more, then sniffed a small heart drawn near the shore in the mud, covered in a layer of lake ice. The letters inside read C + H, 4-EVER. A partial human footprint lay nearby, the edges indistinct.
About the Author
Tara Fox Hall’s
writing credits include nonfiction, horror, suspense, action-adventure, erotica, and contemporary and historical paranormal romance. She is the author of the paranormal action-adventure Lash series and the vampire romantic suspense Promise Me series. Tara divides her free time unequally between writing novels and short stories, chainsawing firewood, caring for stray animals, sewing cat and dog beds for donation to animal shelters, and target practice.
Other works by Tara Fox Hall with Melange Books, LLC
Return To Me
Surrender to Me
The Origin of Fear in Spellbound 2011 Anthology
Night Music in Midnight Thirsts II Anthology
Partners in Midnight Thirsts II Anthology
Kink in Wicked Christmas Wishes Anthology
The Oath in Wicked Christmas Wishes Anthology
Bedtime Shadows Anthology
Make Me Behave Anthology
Latham’s Landing, An Anthology
The Promise Me Series
Promise Me, Book 1
Broken Promise, Book 2
Taken in the Night, Book 3
Taken for his Own, Book 4
Turn the page for more books available
from Melange Books
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Bedtime Shadows
Tara Fox Hall & Jenny Twist
The Man With No Face – Jenny Twist
All her life Deborah has been haunted by the memory of a couple locked in a deadly embrace. She thinks the woman may be the mother that abandoned her, but she cannot see the man's face. Who is he?
All That Remains – Tara Fox Hall
This thrilling sequel to The Origin of Fear (Spellbound 2011) takes us back to Latham's Landing. Will Tina and Sandra survive their encounter with the ghosts that inhabit the haunted isle?
The Children of Hope – Jenny Twist
It is 1963, and Ginny is unmarried and pregnant. Her parents consign her to one of the infamous Mother and Baby Homes which are little more than prisons and workhouses. Will she be able to escape before they come to take her baby away?
The Bull-Dancer – Jenny Twist
The twelve chosen bull-dancers are sailing out of the harbour under a black sail, bound for Crete and the deadly Minotaur, while a mother looks on in anger.
Take the Chance – Tara Fox Hall
A young girl growing up in post-apocalyptic America is determined that she and her sister will survive–whatever it takes!
A Victorian Dolls' House – Jenny Twist
When Violet sees the dolls' house in the antique shop she has to have it. But the Delacorte House is no ordinary dolls' house–and it is definitely not a toy!
Heart's Bells – Tara Fox Hall
Theo and Casey are in love, but so many things stand in their way. They suffer separation and heartbreak but still remain true–until something happens to Theo that changes everything.
Doppelganger – Jenny Twist
When Christine wakes up in a sumptuous white room with silken hangings, she assumes she is in heaven. But she soon finds out she is not. And before too long she begins to wonder if she is even still Christine.
Voices – Jenny Twist
Olivia and Aidan are telepathic twins. Olivia is used to hearing Aidan in her head, but she is terrified when she hears a new and sinister voice.
Return to Me – Tara Fox Hall
Determined to find the source of the nightly creaking she alone can hear, Sam Reading discovers Harrison Benning, a ghost who becomes corporeal for one night of the year, on the summer solstice. Their warm friendship soon becomes powerful love that lasts through decades, tragedies and even beyond death.
Catch Me If You Can – Jenny Twist
Willy prowls the streets at night, listening to all the sounds of the old town. But does he have a more sinister purpose?
Shades of Grey – Tara Fox Hall
Throughout history there has always been a Seer making sure that the world follows its proper course, keeping the world in balance. Yet when the old Seer prepares to hand over the burden to his apprentice Tim, he realizes too late that Tim has his own ideas of how things should go.
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Jack
Irene Patino
Golgatha Brighton comes from an affluent family with political ties to the Royal Houses of England, and a secret society known as The Blackguard. Indoctrinated early in life to the seamy underbelly of espionage, his young mind catalogs and buries away the memories of a childhood filled with all the atrocities he has endured at the hands of the two people that should have been there to protect him, his parents. Brighton regresses further and further into a world where there are no lines of reality. He severs all hope of a future anywhere and disappears, never to be heard from again. Or does he?
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Carnival of Nightmares
J. Troy Seate
Whatever exists in the outside world is invalid here. Forget everything you've learned about human nature. Your heart is beating to the rhythm of the fearful ride you've been afraid to climb on. But now you must, for your mind is no longer yours. It has been captured by the seductive lies bred of the unearthly carnival of nightmares. No use to fight the lure of the unknown or your attraction to these quixotic personalities, both living and dead. We've been waiting for you and the best you can do now is simply pray.
Here lie fifteen tales and a novella of the strange, the fanciful, and the macabre, mostly fiction, but some fact. You will meet ghosts, monsters, psychos, femme fatales, and even an angel or two along the midway of canvas-draped attractions. Most stories start with the humble everyday, but a normal beginning can sometimes lead to a situation in which the heartbeat quickens and the mind searches for new answers. Going from routine to a mind-bending ride on the edge of madness is never more apparent than when Mr. Seate pens tales of both earthly and unearthly delights. Your ticket has been punched, so come inside. He's been waiting for you.
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