The inspector’s clear blue eyes met hers in the rearview mirror. He nodded briskly. “Quite right. This road loops about though, and with less traffic we’ll make better time.”
Kacey managed a faint smile, feeling rather foolish.
“You know the area then, Miss Mallory?”
“Not really. I took the bus from Hastings on the way to the abbey, though, and I remember the route.” Her voice trailed away and she found herself blinking back tears. How long ago that all seemed—how different she had been then.
A tear slipped down Kacey’s cheek, and then another. Oh, Nicholas, hold on!
It was a moment or two before the sound penetrated her consciousness—very soft, like a sigh.
A sound she’d heard before…
Her eyes narrowed. She sat up straighter.
Then the realization slammed into her like a fist. Her heart began to pound. Dear God, she hadn’t even asked for any identification. They hadn’t let her tell Marston that she was leaving…
“Did you…” Kacey swallowed, trying to steady her voice. “Was Nicholas’s wound better when you saw him?”
“Wound?” The blond brow framed in the rearview mirror slanted up.
“On his cheek. He fell when the power was off last night. It was quite a bad cut.”
“Ah.” The driver nodded thoughtfully. “No, there didn’t seem to be any bleeding.” His tone was faintly apologetic. “I can’t say for certain, though, since the bandage was still in place.”
Through the wild hammering of her blood, Kacey managed to smile naturally and nod. Dear God, it was true then. Nicholas had no wound on his cheek, of course, or any bandage. If these men had seen him, as they claimed, they would surely have known that.
Again came that faint hiss of air…
Now Kacey knew without any doubt that the man in the front seat was her unknown caller of yesterday!
Her fingers locked in her lap. At least they didn’t know she’d found them out—not yet. Think, Katharine Chelsea—think! If they didn’t have Nicholas, then where was he? And what would he want her to do?
Escape.
The word simply dropped into her mind, then hung there, resonating faintly.
Kacey blinked. And how exactly am I supposed to do that?
She didn’t realize she’d asked the silent question until an answer flashed back to her.
There’s a door right beside you, my dear, the voice said dryly. I suggest you use it.
Only he didn’t speak in words, of course. He communicated in quick bursts of meaning, in bold, concrete pictures.
And the speaker was most certainly a he. She could feel the dark force of him most clearly.
Adrian? she queried.
None other. But you must make haste.
That’s easy for you to say, Adrian Draycott! You’re a ghost—you can walk through walls! came Kacey’s angry, silent answer.
Static ripped through her thoughts for a moment, and then the voice in her mind returned, needle-sharp this time. Now, Katharine! Before they realize you’ve seen through their desperate little masquerade. Get out of there!
Still wearing a crooked smile, Kacey moved her fingers down in search of the door handle. They were going about forty miles an hour, she estimated—enough to do quite a bit of damage to whatever part of her anatomy hit first. At least she was on the left side of the car, which meant she would land on grass rather than pavement.
For a long, breathless moment, she fought down wild laughter.
And then, with a gasp, she yanked open the door and dove from the Mini.
The ground exploded toward her, a swirl of green, and she heard the driver shout. “She’s bolted, damn it! Stop her!”
Dimly, Kacey heard the shrill scream of braking tires. An instant later her vision filled with shards of light and then went blank as the darkness claimed her.
She heard a shrill whine. Her head felt huge and heavy. Savage hammering split her left temple.
What…
And then Kacey heard the dim scream of grinding gears.
Run, Katharine! Cross the fields to your left, toward the cliffs.
Kacey brushed a shaky hand across her temple and frowned to see it covered with blood. She must have hit her head on a rock when she’d jumped from the car.
Now, woman! the voice broke in, harshly this time.
Wincing with pain, Kacey stumbled to her feet and began to weave toward the distant slash of silver, where the cliffs turned to chalk below the green turf of the downs.
Nicholas? she queried wildly.
Unharmed. But he’ll need time.
Kacey no longer even wondered at this strange, wordless form of communication. In fact, all she heard was the first word. It burned through her with a rich glow, giving her the strength to plunge ahead.
Good girl! That’s it, steady on—now to the left.
Abruptly the voice receded, as if Adrian had moved away.
Kacey fought down a feeling of fear at the sudden severing of their unspoken contact. Not human contact, she could accept that now, but contact with someone who had once been very dear to her.
Gasping, she ran over the flat green earth, her eyes fixed on the distant azure glint of the channel.
And then she heard a low growl, felt the ground begin to vibrate. Still running, she turned her head and saw the blue Mini swerve sharply and head off the road onto the grass.
Coming directly toward her.
Adrian! What do I d-do now?
No answer.
Kacey swept her hair from her eyes, fighting the razor-sharp pain in her head. Something slipped into her eye, blinding her, and she brushed it away roughly.
Sticky. More blood…
Just like that night, when she’d run away toward the village, unable to bear the pain of being caught in the middle any longer.
Kacey shuddered as the growling behind her grew louder. She heard the muffled thump of tires and the metallic creak of the car frame protesting as the Mini took bump after bump far too fast.
It came to her then, with total, blinding clarity. She’d never make it. She could never hope to outrun the car, not on this flat downland, without trees or any place of concealment.
Adrian’s warning had come in vain after all.
A wave of despair slammed into her, black and suffocating. It was not for herself that she grieved, but for the love severed fragile and newborn, like a green shoot trampled just as it pushed free of the earth.
“No!” Her wild, angry cry split the air. She had to think—there must be something she could do! Time, that’s what Adrian had whispered to her.
And then she saw it—a narrow, gorse-fringed basin dotted with boulders at its lowest point.
Enough gorse to slow a car. Enough stones to savage the car’s underbody and perhaps even destroy the engine floor. And if she circled around gradually, the basin would be totally invisible from above, until one was almost upon it…
Kacey’s breath was coming ragged in her ears when she shifted course. Behind her, the motor droned louder.
“Stop, you fool. You can’t hope to outrun us!”
Sheet-white, she closed her mind to the angry shouts. It must be the other man, the smoker. The man who had phoned the abbey yesterday expecting to reach Draycott with his warning.
Oh, Nicholas—hurry!
Her throat was raw and her knees shaking as she stumbled down the slope toward the basin, calculating the remaining distance. Twenty-five feet, with luck. Maybe a little more.
Behind her, she heard the man curse. A second later a bullet whined past her head, and she ducked reflexively.
Dear God, not a gun too!
Fifteen. Twelve.
Her heart felt like it would explode from her chest.
Ten. Nine. Eight.
And then the roar was beside her. From the corner of her eye, Kacey saw a door swing open. They meant to ram her!
Somehow, at the last second, she managed to dodge and stumble to
her knees, then right herself drunkenly. A moment later she felt the sharp arms of the gorse spear her ankles. Just in time she jumped across and dropped out of sight, flat against the ground.
A stream of curses ripped the air. An instant later the Mini came sailing over her head, tires spinning uselessly, engine whining, only to land with an explosive crash atop the rugged line of boulders at the center of the green crater.
Without a backward look, Kacey pushed to her feet and lurched back up the incline, away from the muffled shouts, a silent prayer fixed in her head.
She had just cleared the gorse when she heard a shrill crack. White-hot metal bored through her shoulder. Gripping her forearm, she tried to fight back tears.
Adrian…where in the name of heaven are you? Now would be…nice…very nice…
She swayed, closing her eyes to the tears and pain, feeling hysteria weave its seductive web around her. She caught back wild laughter. Asking help from a ghost, no less!
When her tear-streaked eyes opened, she saw a gray shape dart over the slope, moving downhill.
Kacey squinted in disbelief. “G-Gideon?”
But the cat was gone, no more than a slash of gray as he surged down the hill out of sight. From the hollow came angry curses, grunts, and the whine of spinning wheels.
Go, Katharine. Head east! The voice took her by surprise.
She stumbled to the left. Adrian?
No, east, to the right. That’s it—steady now, love.
Her hair tossing wildly about her face, Kacey did as the voice bade her, too tired to wonder at his return, too tired now to think of anything but escape.
Panting, she wobbled up the incline, trying to focus on the cloud-dappled earth stretching flat to Eastbourne and beyond that rising sharply to the ruined battlements of Hastings.
Her eyes glazed with tears, Kacey didn’t see the dark shape at first. Only gradually did the shadow resolve into an oval, then into a horse with flying feet—and a rider.
“N-Nicholas!” she cried raggedly, lurching over the grass, one hand to her shoulder, the other scrubbing away tears of pain, now turned to tears of joy.
Such fierce joy that she didn’t hear the low, feral purr until the Mini was nearly upon her.
Turn! The raw order rang out in the depths of her mind.
She moved by pure instinct, just as Nicholas’s hoarse warning filled her ears a split second later. Horrified, she watched a blue door go whipping past, only inches away from her knee. If she hadn’t moved it would have broken her kneecap—and possibly much more.
This time, however, the car kept going, picking up speed. Dear God, they were heading straight for Nicholas!
In mute horror, Kacey watched the two adversaries surge together on a collision course, car and rider implacable. She caught a glimpse of Nicholas’s face, dark with fury, before he pulled his mount aside at the final instant, barely managing to avoid impact with the Mini.
He pounded past her a moment later, shouting a question. “—all right?” she heard.
“Yes! Be careful! They’ve got a gun!”
But he was already gone, streaking toward the coast. In that instant Kacey felt her stomach wrench as she realized his intent.
To save her, he meant to draw them off, toward the cliffs.
Be careful. Oh, be very careful, my dearest love. At first, she didn’t realize that she’d spoken with her thoughts rather than with speech. Raw static filled her mind for an instant, and with it came a burning sensation like acid. Like bitter sadness and aching regret…
She turned, her legs wobbling, her lungs aching. Horrified, she saw the Mini wrench about in pursuit of Nicholas. As if caught in a nightmare, she watched the car streak after horse and rider. In the bright sunlight, the jaws of the cliffs gleamed silver above the sea, and Kacey realized that this deadly game of cat and mouse would soon be pushed to a bloody conclusion.
Help him, Adrian! Please, if you love me—if you ever loved me, help him now! Tears spilling from her eyes, Kacey put all the force of her yearning heart into her plea.
Suddenly the swirling static receded; now only chill silence remained. Kacey tasted the sick-sweet tang of fear on her tongue as the two shapes began to converge.
They were gaining on him! It was only a matter of yards to the edge now! Nicholas kneed the horse in a sharp turn, but the car followed, its angry wheels jolting over the earth.
“Dear God, no!” Kacey’s shrill scream echoed across the downs.
And then out of nowhere came the gray blur, flashing from behind the gorse and streaking over the flat earth. Only feet from the Mini, he lengthened stride and leaped into the air, legs flexed, a study in grace and power.
A second later, the cat lay flat against the windshield, his black paws braced against the wiper blades as he clung to the glass.
Kacey never knew exactly what happened next. It would always remain a blur of noise and movement interwoven with the sound of her own screams.
An angry shout. The wild neighing of a horse. The scream of grinding gears…
And then the dark rectangle of the car, rising as if in slow motion and arcing in sudden, dreamlike silence over the ragged edge of the cliffs to plunge out of sight into the snarling waters six hundred feet below.
“N-Nicholas…” Kacey never finished her hoarse cry. Already swaying, she felt her legs give way. That was the last thing she felt before crumpling slowly to the ground.
CHAPTER NINE
IT IS DONE. I MUST GO NOW,Katharine.
Kacey frowned, hearing—no, feeling—the words slip down to the dark place where she floated, mind asleep, thoughts closed off to the outside world.
A-Adrian?
Yes, my heart. I’m here.
Thank you—for saving him.
Silence, bleak and total, for long moments. In those empty seconds, Kacey realized exactly how much he loved her.
And just how much he regretted having to give her up.
Suddenly the scent of roses filled her mind, along with the gentle kiss of spring wind. Nonsense, the voice whispered. It is no more than I came to do. Now you, my stubborn woman, must rest. There will be time enough for all the other things. For now, just rest…
Kacey tensed, caught up in the terror of those last, chilling moments. But—Gideon? He was—
Gideon will be with me, which is where he belongs. And then, as if he’d seen her frown, No, don’t fret, Katharine. Not for what you cannot begin to understand…just accept this thing I tell you.
Then…thank him, at least.
A smile. She could feel it crinkle through her, warm and slightly chiding. No need, sweeting. Gideon has already heard. You might try the aquamarine, you know. Whistler vows it was always his most difficult pigment in the Nocturnes. And be bold—add ocherto your aquamarine and lavender to your grays, then dilute the lot with a liberal dash of turpentine. This is his way of thanking you for caring. But then you were always a rare one for caring, weren’t you, my love? Even while Nicholas and I tore you in two…
The scent of roses lay heavy upon her, almost like a lover’s caress. And then Kacey’s thoughts began to scatter, exhaustion overtaking her, the fragile thread of contact beginning to unravel, Adrian? she asked drowsily.
Sleep. It was a brisk command, almost paternal now.
She felt the last thread break, then slipped deep into a cloud of dreams.
Into forgetting. Just as Adrian had intended.
Goodbye, my heart, the voice in her mind whispered softly, knowing she could not hear. Regret hung heavy on him as he began the last difficult step of easing the contact which had become the sweetest thing in his long and very tattered existence.
His bitter sigh mingled with the wild channel winds. My three visits have been given and used. There can be no more, my love.
Someday, perhaps, you will remember—when the pain has faded and this day is no more than a faint shadow in your memory. And on that day, perhaps you will remember just how much I loved you, Katharine,
though my damnable pride always got in the way.
Until then, forget me and everything about me. Just forget…
The voice fell away, ebbing into a raw swirl of noise for a moment.
He collected himself, but only with great difficulty. Until then, mind my roses, if you will, sweeting. Them I have loved full well. But not as much as I have loved you, Katharine. And always will love you…
Then the voice melted away, buffeted by the chill currents from the sea, swallowed up by the cry of gull and curlew.
Soon even the scent of roses was swept away on the churning channel winds.
SOMETHING PRODDING—SQUEEZING her fiercely.
Go away!
“Kacey!”
No more—leave me alone. World surging in, and all she wanted was forgetting—no, remembering, in a way more intense than any waking thought.
“Sweet God, Kacey, wake up!”
Once again the probing fingers. This time they shook her, then slapped her cheeks.
She started to reach out with her mind, then stopped short, frowning.
Reaching out for what? For whom?
No answer came back from the chill shadows around her. Only sheer blackness, like a slate washed pure and clean.
“Kacey, can you hear me?”
Something about the raw plea in that voice pierced the dark veil of her thoughts. She opened one eye warily, wincing at the light that flooded in. Her head immediately began to throb, and pain broke over every inch of her body.
It was a hard face Kacey saw above her then—eyes smoldering silver, lips full, tense now with fear. So very tense…
Slowly she reached up and traced the taut line of that mouth. A beloved mouth? A beloved face, she realized.
In one sharp stroke, recognition burst over her, and the lingering traces of her dreams were swept away.
“N-Nicholas? Is it really you?”
The hands tensed and crushed her to his chest. “Thank God,” Draycott muttered thickly, his fingers buried in her hair, his breath warm on her cheek. A faint line of moisture worked down his face.
“You came,” Kacey whispered. “I hoped…I tried to believe…”
“Of course I came. I’ll always come, my brave, sweet love.”
Enchantment & Bridge of Dreams Page 11
