Edge of Darkness Box Set

by Margaret McHeyzer

  Laying awake, I watch the moonlight shining through the branches to create shadows on my wall. A star twinkles in the distance, capturing my attention. Standing, I head over to the window, dragging a chair with me. I sit and stare at the vast sky outside my window.

  The night is filled with stars, though none are as illuminating as the one absorbing me. “I feel like if I talk, you’ll listen,” I say as I smile at the star.

  No one is listening, Ivy. Only I am here for you. The beast breathes in my ear.

  Azael is close. He’s trying to tempt me with the hollow promise of comfort. “You’re selfish, and want me for yourself,” I say to him as I watch the star twinkle with delight and happiness.

  Drowning is your destiny.

  The hairs on my nape stand to attention and something akin to an electric shock flashes through my nervous system. Serenity is impossible when a demon whispers promises to you. But I have to remember that his promises are false. He doesn’t go away after I’ve cut, he only disappears briefly until he needs to feed on my emotions again.

  “Not tonight,” I say to him while I continue to look up at the star.

  There’s something surrounding me tonight, a confidence I don’t usually have.

  Come on, Ivy. Come and play with me.

  Staring up at the star, I gather my courage and pull my shoulders back. “Not tonight, Azael, not tonight.”

  And as quickly as he appeared, he disappears. Did I fight him off? Is he gone forever?

  I breathe out deeply. Man, it feels wonderful not to have him whispering in my ear.

  I hold onto hope that he’s gone. But in reality, he’s probably frustrated because I won’t listen to him and he’s giving up for tonight.

  Smiling, I look back at the star. It shines brightly, almost like a beacon of faith. Tilting my head to the side, a small smirk pulls one side of my lips up. “Can you hear me?”

  It sparkles brighter, if that’s even possible.

  “Do you think I’m weak?”

  All the stars in the sky glimmer as if they’re all answering in unison. They’re far too beautiful to tell me anything ugly.

  I beam up at them. They’ve heard me, and told me I’m not weak.

  Standing with a new-found sense of confidence, I take myself to bed.

  Sleep comes easily, and remains peaceful.

  Chapter 11

  “Hey, what happened to you?” Jared asks the moment I answer his call.

  “What do you mean?” I’m getting ready to go out with my camera.

  “You didn’t come to Chloe’s party last night. What happened?”

  “Tobias and I went for dinner, and time got away from us.”

  “Yeah, right. You two did the nasty, didn’t you?” he teases.

  “No, we didn’t. He took me on a picnic, and we were talking. I didn’t feel like going to the party, so we stayed at the lake ’til it was late. Then he brought me home.”

  “And that boy didn’t try it on with you? What’s wrong with him? Are you sure he’s not gay?”

  “I can guarantee, he’s not gay,” my voice cracks, giving away that I know for sure he’s not gay.

  “Ohhh, sounds like someone got lucky,” he taunts me with humor in his voice.

  “I told you; I didn’t. It’s not like that for us. Anyway, you’ve got Zane. Why are you going on about this?”

  “I wanna be the first to know when you two tango the international dance of love.”

  “God, Jared. You sound so corny. Anyway, did we miss anything at Chloe’s party?”

  “Well, Katie was no more than a few steps behind me all night and kept asking me if I’d heard from you. I think she was waiting to check out Tobias.”

  A small smirk stretches my lips. “And here I thought she was over him.”

  “Girl…” he draws out. “I’m not over him. That boy is damn fine.”

  “Well, take a number, because he’s only interested in me,” I say as I snap my fingers at him. Not that Jared can see me.

  “Oh snap. Look who’s woken up on the right side of the bed, girlfriend,” he shrieks into the phone.

  “Just saying, you look as much you want. He’s not interested… in anyone but me,” I quickly add the last part.

  “You two hanging out today?”

  “Nah, I’m catching the bus into the city. I’m taking the camera with me.”

  “Oh, nice. Where are you going?”

  “I want to sit outside the library, and see what I can catch while I’m there.”

  “Call me if you need a ride home. I’m heading into work, and Zane has a family thing on, so I’m free after work.”

  “Have a good day. I’ll call ya later.”

  “Get some good photos,” he says before we hang up.

  Just as I put my phone down, it rings again, and this time Tobias’s number flashes up on the screen. Swiping my finger across the glass, I smile when I answer, “Hello.”

  “Hey, beautiful.” His words cause a stir inside me, making me giddy. My stomach flips, then flops.

  “Hi,” I reply as I sit on the edge of my bed.

  “I wanted to see if you’ve changed your mind and want a ride into town.”

  “I like the bus. It gives me time to think.”

  “I can pretend I’m a bus driver,” he eagerly adds. “I’ll even charge you a fare. One kiss for every stop we pass.”

  He makes me smile. “Although a kiss sounds awesome, I really want some time to myself.”

  “How about I stalk you? Drive behind the bus, then pretend to run into you when you get to the city?”

  I laugh aloud. “How about you pick me up for school Monday?”

  “Is that the best I’ll get? School Monday?”

  “It is.”

  “Okay, I’ll take it. If you happen to want a lunch date, or if you need a ride home, call me—okay?”

  “Jared offered me a ride home too. But, I’ll see you Monday morning.”

  He grumbles into the phone. “Okay, Monday. It’s a date.”

  Standing from my bed, I grab my camera case and go to the kitchen. Dad’s left a note on the counter saying he’s had to run a few errands and he’ll be home before lunch. Turning the page over, I scribble down that I’m headed into the city to take photos and will be home before dinner.

  Grabbing an apple and a bottle of water, I swing my camera case over my shoulder, and walk toward the bus stop. As I approach, I notice Miss Jessica is sitting on the bench, staring straight ahead.

  “Miss Jessica,” I say as I sit beside her.

  “Hello, Ivy.” She turns and smiles at me. “We have to stop meeting like this, people will start to talk.” She laughs at her own joke. “Are you taking pictures again, dear?”

  “I am. I’m heading into the city to the library. Where are you off to?”

  “I’m going to see Albert today. I miss him, and I want to talk to him about a few things.”

  “We’re catching the bus together again.”

  “It’s such a lovely day. The weather’s changing.” She looks up to the sky and smiles.

  “We’re lucky; the weather is always nice here. The joys of living on the West Coast.” I smile. I’ve never been a fan of snow, or extremely hot days. Neither are appealing for different reasons. Snow is pretty to look at, but then it becomes sludgy but it’s a bitch to shovel. But extreme heat means I wear shorts, so I have to be careful how far down my leg I cut.

  Ugh.

  I hate both. Obviously.

  The bus arrives and I help Miss Jessica up the steps. We sit together, me on the inside, and her on the outer seat because her stop is before mine.

  “You know, I always wanted to travel when I was younger. I always wanted to go to Australia.”

  “You never went?” I ask. The bus ride becomes bumpier as we round the corners.

  “No, dear. Albert was terrified of planes. And then when he finally overcame his fear, life got in the way.”

  “You could always go
now.”

  She giggles while she looks outside. “Oh no. I’m way too old to get on a plane. And, besides, who would I go with? Being in a foreign country is scary for an old lady like me.” She smiles.

  “You’re young at heart,” I say trying to make her feel better.

  Her frail hand reaches over and squeezes mine. “Make sure you travel the world before you’re old and sitting next to a beautiful young lady telling her the same thing.”

  “I’ve never really thought about traveling,” I admit.

  “I hear once you start going to different parts of the world, you get the travel bug and you want to reach every corner. See everything and try everything. I also wanted to travel to Paris to see the Louvre and the Eiffel tower.”

  “Sounds more like an adventure than anything else. It could be fun.” I shrug with a smile.

  “You should see where that camera will lead you. Being a professional photographer has its perks, especially if you’re any good. Which, I suspect you are.”

  “I’m okay.”

  “Now you’re being modest. I bet you’re wonderful. Have you got a portfolio? Would you show it to me?”

  “I have some photos at home. I can bring them around if you like.”

  “I’m surprised you’re not taking pictures on your phone. That seems to be all the rage. I hear about what some young people are doing. What are they called? The ones they take of themselves?”

  “Selfies?”

  “Yes, that’s it. Oh, I can only imagine the terrible things young kids are doing with those selfies. I hear it’s an epidemic.”

  The bus takes a corner a little too fast, and Miss Jessica grabs me so she doesn’t slide off the seat. “Are you okay?” I ask.

  “Oh yes, I’m more than fine.” Miss Jessica is very well-spoken. It’s a sign of the era in which she grew up, when young ladies were proper and pronounced everything correctly.

  The bus stops, and Miss Jessica stands. “Do you need help getting off the bus?” I ask.

  “Not at all, Ivy. You have a nice day, okay?” She winks at me, as her small frame shuffles forward and eventually steps onto the sidewalk.

  The bus leaves once the doors close, and we head into the city.

  It’s another fifteen minutes before we reach my destination, so I put my headphones on, and listen to music.

  But Miss Jessica’s words of advice have stuck, and are resonating with me. Maybe I should look at doing something with my photography, travel the world. Who knows, maybe my demon is petrified of planes like Jessica’s Albert and won’t follow me.

  When the bus reaches my destination, I grab my camera case and head outside. The city is small, but still bustling. The library services a few surrounding towns so it’s a good size, and two stories high. The upstairs houses non-fiction books, my favorites. There’s something intimate about reading a book based on someone’s life, especially when it comes to tales of survival against all odds.

  The library itself is old. The building is made of stone, and I think I read on a plaque outside that it was originally built to be a church, but was bought and converted to the library nearly eighty years ago. Some of the windows still feature the original stained glass.

  Sitting on a bench across the street from the library, I take my camera out of the bag. I change the lens to one that can zoom up close, look through it, and adjust some of the settings to compensate for the sunlight.

  I watch as people mill around. Mothers with their children. Fathers with theirs. Teenagers. Old people. Even a stray cat skulks across the idle street.

  Lifting my camera, I watch the cat through the display on the back, and laugh at how he sneaks across the street, slowing down when he reaches his destination. As if he knows I’m here, he stops and turns to look at me, suddenly lion-like in his composure. A blatant look of disgust flashes on his face, as if to tell me I’m beneath him and not worthy of taking his photo.

  I snap the photo, and quickly look at the picture.

  His obvious look of revulsion is captured. His scruffy fur and glaringly evident of lack of food does nothing to dull his attitude.

  He’s looking at the camera like he’s royalty, and I’m nothing.

  I can’t help but laugh.

  “Wow,” I whisper and chuckle again.

  He disappears into the sewer and I look around to see a travel agency just down the street.

  It must be new, because I don’t remember it being there. I quickly tuck my camera back in the bag, and jog over to it. When I get to the storefront, I look at the posters in the windows.

  There’s one of the Eiffel Tower, and one of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and a full window photo of the Great Pyramid of Giza. “Wow,” I say as I look in awe at the pictures.

  I drag myself away from the window, and head inside. There are three people working. Two are on the phone with clients, and one is free.

  “Hi, can I help you?” A guy, maybe in his early twenties, smiles at me.

  “I was looking… um…” God, I can’t even form a sentence. Instead, I turn to look at the pictures, as if they can speak for me and tell the guy what I want.

  “You saw our display?” he eagerly prompts.

  “I did. Until today, I never really thought about going anywhere.” I must sound like a total loser.

  He laughs, which instantly puts me at ease.

  “The travel bug bit, eh? I’m kind of new here, but I’ve already traveled to Australia,” he says. “I can’t wait to take another vacation somewhere exciting.”

  “Oh really?” My shoulders sink with jealousy. A part of me wants to ask a million questions, another part is screaming at me that I’m a loser. “Was Australia beautiful?” I turn to look at the picture of the Harbor Bridge. The water below it is so blue and vivid, and the image easily captures my attention.

  “Better than beautiful. And the weather is like it is here, so you don’t have to acclimatize. The people are genuinely so nice. But everywhere we went, they wanted us to try Vegemite.” He screws his nose up and shakes his head. “Not good.”

  “Would you recommend Australia to someone like me, who’s young?”

  “The night life is out of this world. If you stay in Sydney, it’s really expensive, but it’s so worth it. It really is beautiful. Do you want to go?”

  “I had never really thought of traveling, but I was talking to a friend today and she said she wanted to travel when she was younger. She encouraged me to think about it. Maybe it’s something I can do when I finish college.”

  “What are you studying?” he asks with interest.

  “Oh, I’m not in college yet. Final year of high school.”

  He takes a small step back. “Wow, I thought you were older.”

  Awkward. “Anyway, thanks for talking to me. I’m sure you’ve got other stuff to do.”

  “Wait, I’ll get you my card, if you want any information on anything, please feel free to call me.” He walks over to his desk, grabs a card from the holder and writes something on the back. “Here, you go. My cell number on the back, in case you have any off-hours questions or anything,” he stutters a bit.

  How weird. Is he hitting on me? “Um, thanks.” I shove the card in my back pocket, and leave the agency. I head back to the bench, and take my camera out of the bag again. I start clicking away at random things. I’m careful not to take any images of people’s faces. Instead, I find it more interesting to look at the shadows dancing on the building. I’m always intrigued by them, wondering what others see when they look at them.

  I spend the next few hours catching some amazing images with my camera. I manage to get a great series of pictures of a hummingbird as it flies through the flowerbed to the left of my bench. It’s remarkable to see the speed of its wings, the colors of its feathers, and the perfection of its form.

  By midafternoon, I’m hungry and tired, and want to get home to load all the images on my computer and go through them.

  I head to the bus stop, and wait.r />
  A car pulls up in front of me, and the passenger window rolls down. “Hey,” the person calls out.

  I duck down to see it’s the guy from the travel agency. “Hi,” I reply. An uneasy feeling bubbles inside of me.

  “I’m on my way home, would you like a ride?” he asks, and offers me a smile.

  The guy is kind of cute, but I don’t even know his name.

  “It’s okay, I’ll wait for the bus,” I say and step back.

  “Are you sure? My car’s a lot more comfortable than a stinky bus. And, I can tell you a lot more about Sydney.”

  The knot in my throat tightens. Something’s not right here. Edginess takes over. Discreetly I slide my hand into my pocket, and press my finger on the circular button of my phone. Hoping it has registered my finger print, I quickly take my phone out. “Sorry, my boyfriend’s calling. Thanks anyway.” I quickly dial Tobias’s number via speed dial.

  I hope and pray it doesn’t go to voicemail and he picks it up quickly. The guy in the car waits. And this freaks me out even more.

  “Hey,” Tobias answers.

  “I’m great, how are you?” I say, my voice is uneasy.

  “What’s wrong? Where are you? I’m coming to get you.”

  The guy doesn’t leave. He stays. “I’m at the bus stop, on my way home. I should be there soon.” The guy in the car glares at me. The smile he had melts and it becomes a look of annoyance.

  “Who’s with you?” Tobias asks, I can tell just by his tone, he’s worried.

  My heart thumps inside my chest and my pulse pounds so loudly I can hear it. There’s a person walking toward the bus stop, but they’re too young to help. Looking around, I search for anyone who can help me.

  Suddenly, the car peels out and the tires squeal as it rounds the corner, leaving me. My heart beats wildly, because something about him was unnerving. But just because he’s left, doesn’t mean he isn’t going to come back. I talk as fast as I can, telling Tobias about the guy. Each word is blending into the next, and my voice cracks as I’m on the verge of tears.

  “Go into the library and stay there. I’ll be there soon. Run, okay?” he asks.