Night Games

by Nina Bangs

  Ally frowned. She didn’t like to have decisions made for her. God knows she’d let that happen enough during her doomed marriage. “I still think I can take care of these scratches here. Why should I hike all the way up the hill?”

  Brian didn’t release her, and she could feel his thumb smoothing the inside of her wrist as she guessed he usually smoothed away any female resistance. Well, she was one woman who had a whole lot of resistance to him or any man.

  “The Old One traveled a long way to get here. Who knows what germs she’s carrying that could infect those scratches.”

  “Traveled a long way. Right.” There was something wrong here, just out of reach. “I thought Philadelphia was known for the Liberty Bell and cheese steaks, not exotic diseases.”

  Something else niggled at her. Something about his cat. “How did you get your cat into Ireland? Isn’t there a quarantine?” He was doing the thumb-rubbing thing again, trying to distract her. It wasn’t working. Not much anyway.

  He smiled at her, and she recognized the expression for what it was, a diversionary tactic.

  “I strapped her around my waist, put on a big Hawaiian shirt, and walked on through.”

  “Give me a break. That’s ridiculous. Didn’t they ask you any questions? What did you tell them?” Surprised, Ally realized she was walking up the hill toward the keep with him. And her capitulation had nothing to do with his thumb action. It was her godawful O’Neill curiosity.

  “Told them I was pregnant.” He shrugged.

  That should have been funny, but she wasn’t laughing. He wasn’t going to answer her question seriously. She pulled at her wrist, and he released her. They walked in silence until she couldn’t stand it anymore. “So, I still don’t know much about you except that you’re from Philadelphia. Thanks to Katy, you know more than I ever wanted you to know about me.” It embarrassed her to realize how much this stranger did know about her. “Were you born in Philadelphia? What’re you interested in? Tell me something.”

  He stared at her, and she had the uncomfortable feeling he was trying to decide what to tell her.

  “I don’t know where I was born. If I ever meet my parents I’ll make sure to ask.” His words were blunt, his lips drawn into a don’t-care line. No self-pity.

  Ally had enough pity for both of them. “Sorry. I won’t pry anymore.” Her parents might have fought their lives away, but at least they were there for her.

  “It happened. I got over it. I survived.”

  The bitterness in his voice betrayed him. He hadn’t gotten over it. But Ally wouldn’t call him on it.

  “What am I interested in? Kids. I like to help kids.”

  He paused while she digested what he’d said. “And I’d like to build something, maybe a house.”

  Brian shrugged, and she sensed the embarrassment behind his admission.

  Ally smiled. She might not approve of his desire for a woman who’d please him, but she liked his other goals. She relaxed a little.

  He stopped in front of a strange-looking tent tucked behind a corner of the keep. “Wait out here while I get something for those scratches. Won’t take a minute.”

  “Brian. Your cat is running away.” Katy’s voice wafted to them from the far side of the keep.

  “Coran’s tail!”

  Coran’s tail? Ally had heard some colorful curses in her life, but Coran’s tail was not one of them.

  Brian exhaled sharply. “Look, I’ve got to get her. Don’t leave. I’ll be right back.” Turning, he broke into a run.

  Ally watched him until he was out of sight. He sure was attached to that cat. Of course, that made him a perfectly nice person, didn’t it? A man who liked kids and animals couldn’t be anything but admirable. Then why did she still have a feeling of unease?

  Ally studied his shelter. Talk about state-of-the-art camping equipment. It looked like a square tent, but she didn’t recognize the material.

  She glanced at her scratches. They were really stinging. Maybe she could slip inside and find his first-aid box. It shouldn’t be hard to locate, and surely he wouldn’t mind her taking care of the scratches herself. He hadn’t said she couldn’t go into the tent.

  Ally pulled back the flap and stepped inside. Everything looked pretty normal. There was a fancy sleeping bag in the corner and a small box he’d piled some things on.

  She walked to the box and glanced at the things scattered on top of it. No first-aid kit. Probably inside the box. She’d just move everything off the box and . . .

  A small black object caught her attention. It looked like a remote, but there was no TV, so that was out. Not a cell phone. What was it? She picked it up to examine it, turning it over to see if there was a place to put batteries.

  Her thoughts were only half on the object she was examining. She wanted Brian to come back and take care of her scratches. Her stomach was starting to remind her she hadn’t eaten breakfast. When she got back to the wagon she’d grab something to hold her until they reached Liscannor.

  The object started to slip from her grasp, and she instinctively tightened her grip, pressing several of the buttons. Without warning, the object vibrated violently at the same time the ground beneath her shook.

  Ohmigod, an earthquake! Katy was out there. She dropped the object, then stopped dead. Earthquake? Ireland didn’t have earthquakes. But something had shaken the ground. She had to find Katy and Brian.

  Brian stared down the narrow winding path that led to the main road, watching helplessly as the Old One trotted out of sight. He wouldn’t catch her now, but he knew where she was going. She’d search out Cap and there’d be another battle. He hoped she didn’t try to change into her true shape. Earth wasn’t ready for the Old One in her real form. Wouldn’t be ready for another few hundred years.

  He turned to Katy. “Where’s the nearest town?” Cap would be staying somewhere close.

  “Liscannor. You must’ve come through it on your way here. Think she’ll head for town?” Katy turned to peer at him.

  Brian nodded. “You mentioned that you and Ally were going there to buy supplies. Mind if I tag along?”

  “No problem. Glad to have a man along.” Katy frowned. “Even if Ally isn’t. Ever since her husband ran off with that woman, Erica, she hasn’t had a real positive attitude toward men.”

  “Ally.” He’d left her standing by his shelter. “I’ve got to get back to her and take care of those scratches.”

  Katy nodded, but she didn’t pay attention as he strode back toward her grandniece. Something at the edge of a small group of trees held her attention.

  Brian was halfway back when he felt the ground shake. He closed his eyes. Kick him if he ever left home again.

  Someone had activated the Constructor. One guess who that someone was. He broke into a run.

  As he rounded the corner of the keep, he skidded to a stop. Ally stood outside his shelter staring wide-eyed at the Ultimate-Universe McDonald’s she’d created.

  Okay, this wasn’t so bad. It still had the golden arches. She’d recognize those. Familiar was good. Maybe the free-floating planets drifting around the arches weren’t familiar, but at least they didn’t look threatening.

  She turned shocked eyes toward him. “What happened? What is this?”

  “Congratulations. You just built yourself a McDonald’s.” His vacation was finished, but it had been pretty crappy up to this point anyway. Problem was, he didn’t know if he could get a stag to pick him up on such short notice. And this was all Ally’s fault. “Anyone ever tell you not to play with things that aren’t yours?”

  She stared blankly at him, then returned her gaze to the McDonald’s. “I accidentally pressed a couple of buttons and this happened. What is it? Why is it here?”

  “You were thinking of food when you pressed the buttons. The Constructor always aims to please.” No use holding anything back now. Might as well tell her the whole thing, then get the hell out of 2002. “Wait a minute.” He slipped into his shel
ter, scooped up the Constructor and the cell-growth cream, then went out to where Ally was still staring at the building.

  “It’s floating. Why is it floating?” She didn’t look at him.

  Brian didn’t answer. He punched in a set of numbers, pressed the activator, and the Mc-Donald’s disappeared.

  Ally turned and stared at the Constructor. “What is it? How does it work? Why do you have it? And why was the building floating?”

  Brian wearily rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “It was floating because in 2502 all the buildings float. The greenhouse effect kicked in, all the polar ice caps melted, and there were an increasing number of violent hurricanes. Humans found it more efficient to live above the sogginess. Besides, you can move a floating building. If business is bad in one spot, just move it somewhere else. Floating buildings are cost effective.”

  “What?”

  Brian almost smiled. She looked sort of cute with her mouth open. “Oh, and this?” He held up the Constructor. “This builds things without human effort, and I don’t have a clue how it works. Do you know how your cell phone works, or your computer?”

  She shook her head as she raised a shaking hand to push a blond tendril of hair from her face. “I . . . I don’t believe you’re from the future. I don’t know where that ‘Constructor’ came from, but it didn’t come from the future.” She was shaking all over now.

  He sighed. It was no use. He couldn’t let her just stand there and shake. He understood fear. Fear that turned your insides liquid and your legs to boneless jelly. He felt it every time he stood somewhere high and looked down. He couldn’t turn away from her fear.

  Brian pulled Ally into his arms.

  She stood, arms at her sides while he rubbed a circular pattern of comfort on her back. Slowly, her shaking stopped, but she didn’t lean into him. She stepped away.

  He let her go. “It won’t do any good to go to the authorities. They won’t believe your story. And I’d be gone before they came to investigate.” He grasped her hand and applied the healing cream before she had time to yank it away.

  She stared blankly at her hand, then nodded. “I’ll harness up the horse, and we’ll leave you and your Constructor in peace.”

  He studied her. “Don’t you have the least bit of curiosity? What if my story is true? You’re a writer. Are you going to walk away from something like this?”

  She cast him an incredulous stare. “You bet. All this is too weird for me.”

  Brian had no idea why he was goading her. Maybe it was her hardheaded refusal to believe the truth. “And this is the woman who’s wandering around at midnight looking for a vampire?”

  She straightened her shoulders, and he could almost see the courage oozing back into her. “Katy’s hunting for a vampire. I’m hunting for some peace so I can think about my book.”

  He held up his hands as though it was all very simple. “I don’t see a problem. You want peace, I’ll give you peace. You won’t even know I’m around.” What was this all about? He wanted her to leave, didn’t he?

  “I doubt that very much.” Her smile was barely there.

  “And if you decide you want the story of the century, come to me.” And if you want the sexual experience of five centuries . . . No, couldn’t do that. No sex. His contract was his promise, and he didn’t break promises.

  “There has to be a logical explanation for that building. There has to be.” She sounded as though she was trying to convince herself.

  “Why? Why does everything have to be logical?” He laid his arm across her shoulders, and she flinched. “Go with what’s new and amazing. In another five hundred years it’ll be logical.”

  Ally was confused because no matter what explanation she came up with, she’d seen what she’d seen. And there was no logical explanation for what she’d seen. “Okay, so are you a scientist working on a secret project?” That sounded hokey even to her.

  He shook his head.

  Since she had no explanation for the unexplainable, she reverted to the mundane. “Katy and I will be going into Liscannor for supplies.” And we won’t be back if I can help it.

  “I’m going with you. I already talked to your great-aunt.” He cast her a half-lidded stare. “I don’t know if you should tell her about what you saw.”

  “Right. I mean, Katy wouldn’t understand, and she’s getting up there in years, and I wouldn’t want her to be too scared and—” Lord, stop my babbling.

  “Your great-aunt would love it. She’d build herself a haunted castle.” He slanted her a hard grin. “After which she’d ask me to tell her every detail of my sexual technique during the games.”

  “You’re right, she would.” Ally felt herself wilting under the burden of what she’d seen. Who to tell? “Katy is a little too gullible.”

  “Your great-aunt accepts things as the truth until they’re proven false.” He followed her down the hill toward the wagon.

  Ally felt his disapproval like a blow. What the heck did he expect? Nothing he said made sense. You saw the Constructor at work. He had to be crazy. What about the Constructor? And that was the one thing that kept her from screaming and running away from him. If she walked away now, she’d always wonder . . . because a crazy man wouldn’t have the Constructor.

  Katy met them at the wagon. “ ’Bout time you got back. We need to get started into Liscannor. Think we should stay at a bed and breakfast for the night so Brian will have time to look for his cat. It’ll be good to have my own room for a night.” She cast Ally a matter-of-fact glance. “You talk in your sleep. Wouldn’t mind if you ever said something good.”

  Ally chose not to argue with Katy about her talking in her sleep. Katy never lost an argument. She turned to Brian instead. “What makes you think your cat will head for town?” She watched Katy climb into the wagon.

  “She’s looking for someone.” Brian didn’t elaborate.

  Ally forced a smile. “Oh, come on, a cat wouldn’t know where to look for someone.”

  Brian focused his intense stare on her. He didn’t smile back. “She’s not a cat.”

  Chapter Four

  Not a cat. Did Ally believe that? Nope. And she didn’t believe Brian Byrne was an MVP, future Hall-of-Famer for some solar system sex league. She glanced down at her hand. And she absolutely did not believe her scratches were almost gone. Nope. Didn’t believe any of it.

  She was still feeling shell-shocked as she climbed from the wagon in front of Fitzpatrick’s Bed-and-Breakfast.

  Brian drove the wagon away to find someone who would let him put the horse in their pasture, while Katy hurried off to do some shopping. Ally slowly walked into the small bed-and-breakfast to register.

  She considered calling Dad and telling him they were flying home, but he’d want to know why. Ally could lie to Dad, and she could lie to Katy, but she couldn’t lie to herself. She was running from something she didn’t understand, couldn’t cope with. The same way she’d run from the truth when she first suspected her perfect marriage wasn’t going to make it until “death do us part.”

  The same way she’d run from the press and readers when they had realized her Perfect Wife series was a sham, that it couldn’t pass the litmus test of time. She couldn’t face all those women who’d believed her, modeled their marriages according to her advice, then watched her fail miserably.

  To be honest, it was a relief to be in Ireland. She could concentrate on her coping-with-single-life book while remaining invisible to press and curious readers alike.

  She registered, called Mavis her literary agent, and left a brief message telling where she could be reached tonight, then retreated to her room with a sense of letting-go. Flopping onto the bed, she closed her eyes. Just a little nap, then she could decide her course of action.

  When she woke, she glanced at her watch. An hour. Katy hadn’t knocked, so she was probably still pillaging the local stores. If Katy bought any more souvenirs, they’d have to heave things out of the wagon so the ho
rse could make it up hills.

  During her hour’s rest, her problems hadn’t disappeared. They hadn’t even gone away while she dreamed. In her dreams, a packed stadium roared encouragement, waving condoms with their team’s colors. Vendors hawked sizzle dogs, and a futuristic version of Queen chanted, “We will, we will boink you.”

  Horrible. Okay, so one part hadn’t been too terrible. The part where a naked Brian Byrne, sleek with powerful muscles and gleaming green eyes, covered her and—She’d never know what happened because she woke up. Her mind probably recognized she wasn’t emotionally ready for what came next. Rats.

  She’d promised herself she’d never work to please a man again, but if the man was doing the pleasing, hey, that was fine by her.

  A hot shower would feel good now, ready her for the face-off she knew was coming: with Brian, with Katy. She’d better do it now before everyone used up the hot water.

  Grabbing her towel, washcloth, and soap, she headed for the communal bathroom. The newer places had private baths, but you met more interesting people in an older place like this.

  As she walked down the carpeted hallway, she mulled over her options. Stay or run? Each had its drawbacks.

  Deep in thought, her subconscious registered an intrusion. Not a sound, but a feeling, a sense that something was wrong. She turned her head to identify the source of her unease and froze.

  The Old One padded along quietly behind her. Unhurried, but obviously a cat on a mission. She closed the distance between them. Not a cat. Ally didn’t know at what point she’d decided to believe Brian’s words, but sometime between her nap and now, she believed.

  She turned to face the Old One. No way was she turning her back on whatever the cat really was. Carefully, she backed down the hallway, fear catching at her throat. Even if the cat chose to perpetuate the myth that she was just a cat, Ally didn’t want the joy of wearing an ankle bracelet with teeth.

  “You know, this whole intimidation thing is a waste of your time.” She hoped no one opened a door and caught her talking to a cat. “I mean, I’m absolutely no threat to Brian. I don’t want him to stay here. Definitely want him to go home. So you can go stalk someone else.”