A large form passed through the doorway. Tremors rocked her body as she clamped down on her chattering teeth. Over her ringing ears, she barely heard the man trip over the hidden bodies. He grunted an expletive as his massive frame crashed to the floor and shook the whole room.
She felt dizzy but knew this was her one chance. She slipped around the door and silently dashed outside. Gasping for air, she ran hard down the path, tears blurring her vision. She glanced at the cottage’s black entrance, seeing nothing. Maybe she would make it to the carriage house before he even knew she was gone.
Peering into the shadows ahead, terror brought her to an abrupt halt on the flagstone. Another hulking menace in black stepped from the tree line and crept toward her. She recognized him as her uncle’s friend. A large, black ring glowed on his left middle finger. She froze as visions from her nightmare flooded her mind and held her captive as though the cloaked man had already seized his prey.
Time seemed to slow as she watched him in a daze. He approached with intense eyes focused on her face and one arm extended, as if trying to coax her into grabbing his hand. Squeezing her eyes shut, she gritted her teeth and shook her head, and whispered in a shaky voice, “No. Run!”
She threw the phone at the man’s head and darted left, turning toward the southern trail as she ran.
The man swatted the phone away and gave chase, his mouth moving angrily at his partner. “She’s outside! What’re you doing in there? Let Simon worry about the damn vault!”
His partner—also wearing an obsidian ring—ran out to lead her pursuit. As she fled past the west wall, a slumped body caught her eye and jarred the memory of a man smiling at her—her uncle’s neighbor.
All of them—every single one—were people from her childhood. For years, they had given her support and treated her as a friend, but now they were breaking into her home or lurking in the darkness outside, and two were chasing her wearing the scowling faces of men with nothing but wickedness in their hearts. They no longer resembled the people she had known. Forceful sobs racked her body. Had anyone actually cared for her at all?
David had clearly ensnared every person she had known into cult-like devotion. Which meant that they were not only aware of her kidnapping, but had also aided in the deception to hide her. She still didn’t know her uncle’s true intentions, but she was swiftly getting the gist.
Suddenly, goose bumps riddled her flesh as the cloaked man flashed into her mind again. She peered at the void of his face and peeled away the shadows. Her uncle stared back at her with eyes so cold they chilled her heart, and his presence loomed like a black cloud.
She shivered involuntarily and a heavy pit formed in her stomach. Knowing she had lived with such a monstrous man made her sick.
Panting and thudding feet behind her were an unneeded reminder that she had to focus. If she allowed the past to consume her now, it would devour her future as well.
The tree line was just ahead, but it seemed so far away. She wore a meager silk slip, and felt naked and vulnerable in the open clearing. She pushed her muscles harder to disappear into the forest, and then took advantage of her smaller size, and her slight lead, to jump off the main path.
Blindly running straight into dense undergrowth, she instantly regretted her decision. Sunset Grove was tranquil by day, but at night, it mocked her escape, grabbing her and trying to hold her back.
Trees snatched her hair and twisted it around their branches, breaking off in her locks or wrenching strands from her head. Low limbs whipped her arms and face, and thorny bushes lashed her body and raked her legs, tearing at her nightdress and leaving burning welts and bleeding lesions all over her body. Sharp pangs shot through her bare feet as each hard hitting footfall landed on sharp twigs and prickly plants. Through every excruciating step, she thought only about Eric. About his vow of protection. And about the safety she always felt with him—the safety that lay just beyond the path.
A talon-laden branch suddenly clawed the length of her cheekbone, spilling warm fluid down her face. Paresh whimpered and pressed her fingers against the deep gash. Its jagged edges seamed themselves back together and, within seconds, her skin was smooth under slippery blood. The wonder of her unique ability gave her a short-lived boost of confidence.
A large black mass loomed ahead of her. She attempted to vault over it—a fallen tree trunk—but its girth was too wide. She stumbled over it, scraping away skin from her inner thighs and shin before crashing into the ground, landing with all her weight on her elbow and hip.
Hot, stabbing pain shot up her heel through her leg. She choked out a cry, and then bit her lip with a grimace to silence herself. Engulfed in eerie shadows and the smell of dank earth, she grabbed hold of her ankle and tried to catch her breath as quietly as possible.
Masculine voices carried to her from farther back on the path. She huddled against the damp, moss-covered bark.
Sudden noise to her left nearly made her jump up, but fear pinned her ruthlessly against the trunk. Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks when a raccoon waddled over, plopped onto her lap, and pawed at her like a scared child. The spooked animal’s heart was beating faster than hers was. She hugged it to her chest and used its fur to muffle her breathing. She couldn’t help the cry that escaped as her tears gushed.
“I heard something up ahead,” a gruff voice whispered a few yards behind her.
Heavy footsteps crunched twigs underfoot as the men thrashed the thicket on both sides of the path. She looked around in a panic, trying to find a useful distraction. But, even if she could find something, the brush was too thick and offered no clear path to the other side. Then she realized the perfect distraction was squirming in her arms.
She stroked the raccoon and set it on the ground to her right, giving it a gentle, insistent nudge. It obediently scampered through the bushes. She flattened herself along the trunk, wedging her way partially beneath it, and held her breath. Making slight shuffling noises, the raccoon scurried across the dirt trail and disappeared into the shadows.
“There goes your noise,” replied the gruff man’s partner. “Damn animals. Keep moving. She could be at the clearing by now.”
They were standing right next to her. One swivel of the neck would reveal her pale skin against the darkness. Thankfully, they dashed off to the south. With lungs about to burst, she exhaled a shaky breath and inhaled quiet, deep breaths until she could no longer hear their footsteps. Then she sat up.
Her foot felt like it was on fire. Biting her lip and drawing blood, she sat up, propped her foot against her knee, and pulled a pointed fragment of wood from her heel. It had stabbed her to the bone with the last footfall that had launched her over the trunk, and even with it now removed, sharp, throbbing pain consumed her entire leg. She thrust her head back against the trunk and grunted through clenched teeth, squeezing the shard with a trembling hand. Closing her eyes, she prayed for the pain to stop.
Alone in the silent darkness, with only an aching body to keep her company, she yearned for Eric and almost started crying again. But as the pain’s intensity began to fade, her chest slowly stopped heaving and she grew calmer. She evaluated the wound and felt tiny wooden fragments surfacing as the puncture regenerated from the inside out. All along her body, the superficial welts and scratches endured during her escape had healed.
The adrenaline that had spurred her on was fading and the stress on her body was draining her energy. Exhaustion and chills set in. She hugged her knees to her chest and rubbed her arms for warmth.
She had to think. Had to do something. If those men came back down the trail, they would definitely see her. Cutting across the clearing to the cottage offered Eric’s car keys and cell phone. It also offered a clear line of sight to her. And besides that, the men had mentioned someone else—
“Simon, too?” she whispered in disbelief. She thought back to Eric’s angry conversation with him the day before.
Eric had suspected him. That had been part of his theor
y—the theory, Paresh realized, that he had never told her. The reasons for Simon’s involvement, and why the man in the crimson cloak, her uncle, wanted to kill her, were mysteries. Feeling her eyes water, she shook her head and commanded herself to focus.
If she returned to the cottage, Simon could be there or the unconscious men could wake up. She couldn’t take the chance that she’d actually get inside and back out without being seen, and then make it safely to the carriage house where others may or may not be waiting.
She thought about following Eric and shuddered. She had foolishly followed him to her death in her nightmare, and given the way the night had gone so far, she couldn’t ignore the remaining similarities between her current reality and her vision.
With her choices dwindling, she decided to travel through the forest to get to the main road. The darkness under the canopy would keep her hidden. The police department was only a few miles into town and running across private properties would shorten the distance. She just hoped she didn’t get lost in the half dozen square miles that Sunset Grove blanketed.
By day, it was possible to lose sense of direction and wander in a straight line for hours without finding an exit. Night only made it worse. Without clear markers, she might travel in circles or head deeper in the wrong direction. Right now, she was close to the northern edge and could use the clearing’s tree line as a guide until she reached the other side. Near the carriage house, she could walk parallel to the rocky driveway to the main road.
She blew out her breath. The walk wouldn’t be easy, especially drained of energy. Her feet would suffer the entire way, and she risked falling into holes or over obstacles—such as downed trunks. But, the long route was the safest route. Pain would subside and injuries would heal. She needed to find help to survive.
After a careful glance around, she stood and stretched her legs. She sighed and bent to whisk a clump of mud from one calf. She needed to get moving, but found herself procrastinating.
Gently stroking her throat, her fingers lingered over the throbbing spot. She wanted to go to Eric, but he hadn’t come back yet. If they had defeated him, she had no hope of rescuing him alone. Knowingly heading into danger would nullify his efforts to protect her. Finding Walter Hodges was her only option. Resigned to her decision, she looked to her left, the direction of her escape. Nothing but darkness.
She gingerly tested her foot. It was healed and pain free. She took a few steps and froze when a twig snapped ahead of her. The force of the break indicated something heavier than the average woodland creature. Her heart skipped a beat as she held her breath, listening intently through the silence. The lifeless air wrapped around her and squeezed until the weight of the stillness reached an unbearable level. She swallowed hard and took another tentative step.
Snap! Another twig broke ahead of her, this one closer than the last. She stopped as dread’s icy fingers crept along her spine. An involuntary shiver shook her body.
The increasingly heavy beat of her heart roused her pulse with such a fierce intensity that it roared in her ears. Her lungs forced her chest to rise and fall in rapid succession, and a faint bead of sweat formed along her forehead. The air felt different, energized with unearthly tension. Beyond fear for her life or the instinct to survive, true terror enveloped her. Whatever was waiting in the darkness had remained silent until the time had come to make its presence known.
As the infused energy wafted over her, tingling pressure spread along her cheekbones. She suddenly felt like a scared mouse using its whiskers to feel for invisible currents of air moved by an unseen predator. The sensation originated from two separate posts ahead of her.
Adrenaline shattered her paralysis. Brilliant blue luminance chased away the shadows. She glanced around, bewildered and unable to find a source for the light. Then she realized that her eyes felt strange. They were suddenly able to see... everything.
The wall of silence crumbled, revealing soft breathing to her left and directly ahead of her, from the two points she had physically sensed. The owners of the faint noises remained hidden.
With no desire to meet the mysterious stalkers face to face, she fled in the opposite direction and crossed the path. Throwing a look over her shoulder, she saw two darkly cloaked figures with black, hollow faces emerge.
They remained where they stood. They did not need to advance. There were others present. She felt them, heard them. They surrounded her. In fact, one was directly ahead of her. Close.
As the realization hit her, Paresh swung her head around and crashed into a brick-like mass. The force knocked her to the ground. Looking up, a forbidding, yet surprisingly slender and tall masculine form blocked the way. The frightening figure had a face fringed in thick darkness, impenetrable even by her newly enhanced eyesight.
Not that she had time to try. Subtle noises behind him and to the north and east signaled that the others were moving in. As the ominous man extended a sheathed hand to grab her, she scurried back and scrambled to her feet.
Déjà vu swept over her. She shook it off. This wasn’t the man in the crimson cloak. This was someone else.
She ran in the only direction available: south.
The tall man alone followed her initially, but soon his onyx-garbed companions swarmed behind him like locusts and fell completely silent. Even the steady footfalls of her pursuer eventually disappeared. Soon she heard only the sounds of her forceful breath, her furious feet, and her deafening pulse.
He followed at a calm, regal pace, a shattering contrast to her wild flailing through the trees and cruel undergrowth that raked her body once more. He seemed unfazed by any obstacles, as though Sunset Grove had graced him with a clear path.
His gait resembled a quick but leisurely stroll. A wide stride allowed him to catch up with ease, yet he lagged behind her, as though he relished the hunt. His constantly changing proximity was a cruel torment.
She barely managed to jump over fallen trunks and limbs, and had to concentrate on the ground to avoid tripping over exposed tree roots. Choking on tears, her attempts to scream for help only resulted in desperate gasps for air. Once again, she was running for her life. The instinct to flee kept her burning legs moving. She could see obstructions in her path to navigate around them, but no matter how hard she pushed herself, she failed to gain any ground over him.
Suddenly, her foot slipped into a rabbit den. The very earth tugged on her ankle, refusing to let it free. She fell at an awkward angle with one arm extended. Her knee locked and over-extended, and a loud, head-splitting crack echoed through the forest just before she crashed onto her side. The last thing she felt was her wrist snapping beneath the weight of her body. Then, everything went black.
Her face was parallel to the dirt when she came to. Quick, tiny flashes filled her visual field like thousands of miniature black and white fireflies flickering in a summer eve. She tried to blink them away, feeling an overwhelming urge to get up and get moving.
She grabbed at the tree she had hit her head on and tried pulling herself up with her right hand. Agonizing pain shot up her injured arm and leg. Her head pulsed and throbbed. Uncontrollable sobs shook her body and fat tears dripped off her jaw and plopped loudly onto the leaves and dirt below. The entire forest spun around her.
And yet, somehow, she summoned the strength to rise.
Her left wrist hung painfully swollen, limp, and unresponsive. Both legs were wobbly, but she was able to force her good leg to support her weight as she leaned against a tree. Dizziness swirled her surroundings. Her stomach lurched. She wrenched to the side and vomited.
When her heaving subsided, ghostly whispers floated on the air. She gazed around in a daze and noticed the tall man standing several feet away. The voices grew louder, surrounding her like a rioting crowd.
“Run! Run! Run! Ru—”
Cut off as though time had stopped, the chanting ceased when the tall man tilted his head up. The shadows clinging to his face loosened their grip, falling away to reveal a
labaster skin far more translucent and luminous than Eric’s.
Paresh gasped.
He was more beautiful than anyone she had ever seen, with smooth, blue toned skin and petal pale lips. His eyes glittered like diamonds, but bore through her with the darkness of polished hematite. Two narrow, sharp fangs appeared when a commanding voice escaped his mouth. “Run, Paresh.”
Her eyes widened. Her mind was reeling. Eric had said the High Council thought she was their Servator, but now vampires were chasing her through the forest. Apprehension washed over her, draining away her confidence in Eric’s ability to protect her. He possessed strength unknown to men, but so did all vampires. She swallowed the giant lump that had formed in her throat and choked out, “What have you done to Eric?”
Her voice shook with panic and terror as she stared at the vampire through the liquid haze of fresh tears. Her mind screamed for her to run, but her body didn’t budge. If she was going to die anyway, she refused to run for his thrill of the chase.
He removed a glove and held his hand out to the side as if reaching for a sword. His nails grew to resemble daggers, and then, in an instant, his face was close to hers as he peered into her eyes. Mesmerized, she saw violence and blood from thousands of centuries past pooling in his pupils.
As he lowered his gaze to her neck, he swept his fingers toward her and ran the back of one protracted nail down her throat. Sliding beneath her necklace, he followed it down and stopped just before touching the cross resting on her chest.
“He would not want you to give up so quickly.” His empty eyes poured into hers. “You have been bitten. Obey me. Run.”
Her resolve fled with her body. Instinct drove her, not allowing her to think about anything. The vampire regained his calm pursuit as she hobbled through the brush as quickly as her wounded body would allow.
It had never taken this long to reach Grandfather Wisdom. She was disoriented and had lost her sense of direction, but she definitely had not been heading due south. The vampires had surrounded her on all sides but one, probably shifting to herd her through the thicket.
The Arrival (Children of the Morning Star Book 1) Page 24
