It was time to return home, to Halton Cray, having mostly spent our visit lazing around on the sandy beach and swimming in the ocean. Without a trace of nausea or speck of blood, Thom relished diving through the rough waves of the freezing English Channel. He seemed surprised to see me happily navigating the choppy waters. But I’d always preferred swimming in the sea. Though on this occasion I loved it less; the current was very strong and it broke one of my diving fins clean in half.
‘Alex,’ Thom whispered in a singsong, just as we passed through Winchester, almost halfway home, ‘you’re eyes are almost closed. Why don’t you recline your seat and sleep a little?’
‘I’m fine. I’m just enjoying this ride, it’s so relaxing.’
I looked over to him, driving our new jeep (which was second-hand, but just as good) with the windows down, the sunroof open. He wore sunglasses and nothing to cover his well-formed torso that glistened with sweat. And below, just jeans and decks. His black hair was blowing around everywhere as he sang along to the radio.
‘We’ll have to get you to the barbers soon, you know.’
‘I know.’ He glanced over to me with a huge grin. ‘I’m half-intrigued to grow it out like an 80’s rock star.’
‘Oh, God!’ I smirked, hoping he was winding me up. He would grow a full beard, too, if it weren’t so hot.
I turned my head into the headrest and promptly fell asleep.
The strong sun pecked my eyes open. Thom was carrying me through Halton Cray car park, my arms neatly curled around his neck. I hadn’t even realised we’d arrived or that he’d gotten me out of the car. He smiled and kissed me as I closed my eyes again; the heat was too much to remain conscious.
It was Sunday afternoon and we’d beaten the traffic back. I slept until six o’clock, then rose to find Thom cooking dinner.
‘These last few months have been amazing,’ I said, watching him rinse the shellfish we’d bought fresh this morning to go into his debut paella.
‘More than amazing, Madness. I feel like we’re in a movie. It still doesn’t feel real; it’s too good.’
‘Don’t eat all the prawns, sir!’ I jibed. ‘You shouldn’t eat them raw anyway; you’ll be ill.’
‘I don’t mind that, Madness. I want to experience every feeling of life.’
‘You, and not me, are the nutter in this relationship! At some point you’ll go too far and poison yourself.’
‘Last one!’ he said, throwing a grey prawn into the air and catching it in his mouth.
‘And I’m now dating a seal,’ I muttered.
After dinner, which I might add was a success with the chef still conscious, we watched TV before going to bed. As usual we left the windows open to cool the mansions warm attic. Still, I sank uneasily, knowing our new routine of Thom nightmaring would wake me within hours. I’d spend an hour, usually, trying to calm him before he would relax. There was always some delay in his waking up. He would settle down and sleep peacefully for a while before sitting up with a start.
As usual, I woke in Thom’s bed to his restlessness. My eyes slowly adjusting to the blackness of night. The Shockers ran by harmoniously, having become the soundtrack to my dreams. I watched the outline of Thom’s body beside me, tangled in the bed sheet, his massive chest undulating with deep and rapid breaths. He groaned uncomfortably, and I sat up to stroke his arm. When he at last became calm, I got up for water. The warm summer nights had me regularly refilling my glass.
Pulling on a cotton nightdress, I headed for his kitchen. Quietly closing the bedroom door, I switched on a small lamp. I didn’t want to wake him now he was tranquil. His sleep pattern was very much human and without six or seven hours a night he really was a cranky git.
As I turned on the faucet, I noticed something in the room, out the corner of my eye. – I screamed!
The glass slipped from my fingers, smashing in the sink. Someone was in the room. A shadow ran across the wall! It still ran now, and fast towards the bedroom. I jumped back against the kitchen unit, still screaming.
‘Alex?’ Thom yelled.
In a flash, Thom was at the bedroom door looking round to me. My eyes still glued to the shadow, followed it as it sank quickly to the floor and joined Thom’s feet at the threshold.
‘Oh–!’ I couldn’t speak. I held the space over my throbbing heart.
‘What’s wrong?’ Thom was looking round the room ready to attack something while stark naked.
Discovering no one else was present, he closed the distance between us, even as I edged back from him.
‘What’s the matter, you lunatic? Are you sleepwalking?’
‘Your shadow!’ I pointed to the floor. ‘Your shadow was in here, on its own! I saw it on the wall!’
‘This shadow?’ he pointed, cocking an eyebrow.
‘Yes – it’s attached to your feet now! But it wasn’t when you came in here.’
‘Alex, you’ve had a bad dream.’ He gripped my shoulders and pulled me towards him, inclining his head to gain eye contact. ‘Hey, look at me! Obviously, whatever I have is contagious! It was just a dream. My shadow can’t leave me anymore. Besides, it could never leave my sight anyway, and definitely couldn’t leave the room I was in. So you see; it was just a dream. I am human now, Alex. I know my little bonuses contradict that, but I am not the evil dead any longer.’
I began to believe him, partly because I wanted to, partly because it was the middle of the night.
I put my fingers to my temples and shook my head.
‘I swear I saw your shadow running along the wall. I thought someone was in here and–’ I paused and took a deep breath. ‘I suppose I must’ve been sleepwalking.’
‘Alex, we’ve both been through a lot. The last couple of months have been fantastically normal. Maybe you’ve been waiting for the strange nonsense to start up again, I don’t know. But it’s understandable you might start seeing things. You’re clearly on edge.’
I took another deep breath.
The tap was still running. He switched it off and began clearing up the fragments of glass in the sink.
‘Pass me another glass,’ he said, pausing and tilting his head.
He looked round at me.
‘What?’ I questioned.
He looked me over and moved my way. Grasping a handful of my nightdress, he rubbed it between his fingers. For a moment, I thought he wanted to christen his kitchen counter with our love. Then he let go and looked to the wall where I’d been pointing.
‘You say you saw it moving along that wall?’
‘Yes.’
He went over and stood there to look at me.
‘And you were in here just getting water? You had that green glass in your hand?’
‘Yes – why?’
He took a single sharp breath and fell silent.
‘Thom?’ I gulped.
‘I just realised, right before I woke, before I heard you scream. I was dreaming about you. You were just standing there at the sink, where you are now. You had a green glass in your hand, turning on the tap.’
‘Are you serious?’
‘Afraid so.’
‘I knew I wasn’t seeing things! What the hell does it mean?’
‘I think it means that my shadow has somehow taken to having a life of its own; at night anyway.’ – He looked down to his normal-looking shadow. – ‘I’m seeing whatever it sees, whatever it experiences, in my dreams.’
‘But, Thom, you’ve been having nightmares!’
‘Yes, I realise that.’
‘Does that mean they’re not nightmares? They’re real? Your shadow is living them and you’re seeing this under your eyelids?’
‘I think that might be what they call hitting the nail on the head, Alex.’
‘So’ – I hemmed until I reached his shoulders to steady me – ‘what’s happening in your dreams? Because I’m terrified to guess.’
Silence.
‘What have you been dreaming, Thom?’
‘Oh,
God!’ He moved away from me, covering his face.
‘What is it? Tell me!’
‘I can’t bring myself to say it, Alex.’
‘Thom, for God’s sake.’ I made another grab for him, to gain eye contact. ‘Are you feeding by shadow at night? You need to tell me!’
‘So you can leave me again like you did months ago?’
‘That was different. I was completely unprepared for anything like this. Besides, I came back remember! Just tell me if you’ve been feeding?’
‘No!’ He shook his head. ‘The demon is gone. I’ve not been drinking blood! Not one drop! Alex – it’s worse!’
A NOTE TO THE READER
Thank you for purchasing this book. I hope you enjoyed it and that you look forward to the next instalment. Word-of-mouth is crucial for any author to succeed. If you did enjoy this book, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Even if it’s just a sentence or two. It would make all the difference and would be very much appreciated: www.amazon.com/Halton-Cray-Shadows-World-Book-ebook/dp/B00NF8NCTU
If you would like to keep up with the latest news/release dates for the Shadows of the World series, you can email me at [email protected] and I will add you to my mailing list, or you can find me on Twitter or Facebook:
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
With special thanks to my fiancé, Antony, who has been a pillar of support: for his listening skills, editorial talents and valuable critique. Thank you to Sharon, Tanya and Ashleigh for reading early drafts and giving that initial feedback. Thank you to Sharon for rereading and critiquing further drafts. With especial thanks to Sara for her rare and invaluable integrity, and willingness to say no! …And to everyone who’s encouraged me along the way with little words of wisdom, such as, ‘Please stop talking about it, and just write it!’ and ‘Where’s this mysterious book of yours?’
Thank you to The Society of Authors, on behalf of the Bernard Shaw Estate.
Thank you to Charlotte Brontё, for bringing such an excellent thing as Jane Eyre into the world.
Extracts of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and John Dryden and Nathaniel Lee’s Oedipus, used in chapter 29 (Mortality).
All other uncited quotations written by the author for effect.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
N.B. Roberts is the author of Halton Cray, the first book to the Shadows of the World series.
Born and raised in Kent, United Kingdom, Nicola resides there with her fiancé and their daughter, with whom she enjoys dancing and singing. Nicola also enjoys reading, painting, travelling, pyjama days and chocolate (especially pyjama days with chocolate).
Table of Contents
One APPEARANCES
Two FOG
Three QUESTIONS
Four THE GRAPEVINE
Five CREATURES OF THE NIGHT
Six THE DUNGEON
Seven THE GOSSIP’S ADVOCATE
Eight PETER PAN’S SHADOW
Nine JEALOUSY
Ten THE STRANGER
Eleven SLIMY UNIVERSE
Twelve HE WHO RIDES THE PALE HORSE
Thirteen LATE
Fourteen STIGMATA
Fifteen THE ATTIC
Sixteen THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PARTY
Seventeen BLIND
Eighteen A STAB IN THE DARK
Nineteen HEARTFELT FRIENDS
Twenty SHOPPING CENTRE
Twenty-one THERE ARE DEMONS
Twenty-two LOVE ON ICE
Twenty-three MIRROR
Twenty-four THE PREMATURE BURIAL
Twenty-five DEAD RINGER
Twenty-six FATE OR NO FATE
Twenty-seven BUTTERFLIES
Twenty-eight DIARY
Twenty-nine PARTING WAYS
Thirty MORTALITY
Thirty-one MANHATTAN
Thirty-two THE CEMETERY
Thirty-three PLAYTIME
Thirty-four ASHES TO ASHES
Thirty-five LAST RITES
Thirty-six EPILOGUE: HALTON CRAY
Halton Cray (Shadows of the World Book 1) Page 42
