Deep is the Night: Dark Fire

by Denise A. Agnew

  “Heck, no. Whatever would give you that idea?”

  She shook her head. “It’s just that so much has happened and with the murders, I guess I’m a little on edge.”

  “You should be. Lots of mighty strange things going on right now. I told my wife she wasn’t going out shopping even in the daytime unless she was with someone else. It just isn’t safe until they catch this killer.” He stood up and walked to the single big window overlooking the parking lot at the front of the building. Snow now drifted down steadily. He kept his gaze on the weather. “I know what I said about Tavish earlier, and I don’t know the guy from Adam. But if you think he’s all right, then I’ll take your judgment.”

  “Thank you.” Erin wondered about her motivations, deciding she needed once and for all to decide whether she trusted Lachlan one hundred percent, or not. “I know Lachlan isn’t a murderer.” She felt the truth of it down in her soul. “I think Danny is suspicious of any stranger in town and Lachlan is new to the area. So it’s natural, I suppose, that Danny wants to investigate him.”

  “Well, do me a favor, just try and keep them from having fisticuffs in the library, will you?”

  * * * * *

  After Erin left Fred’s office and headed back to the front counter, she thought she heard something. A deep, malevolent laugh.

  As she glanced around the area, she wondered what difference it made. All patrons had left as the hour grew closer to closing time. Other than the laugh Erin thought she heard, the old building had a graveyard quiet that made all the hair on her body prickle.

  Determined not to let nerves or atmosphere take control, she turned her attention to the storm continuing outside. Grayish clouds and swirling white snow assured a darkening gloom. Just watching the fluffy white stuff fall made her glad she’d worn silk thermals under her sweater and pants.

  Gilda had gone upstairs, Erin figured, to make sure the area cleared out. Although she should have been relieved the day ended soon, she couldn’t help but feel icky.

  Icky because the library seemed shrouded by that same cold, awful blackness she’d felt last night outside Ricardo’s and several other times since these attacks started. She also felt terrible because she couldn’t decide if she feared Lachlan’s hold on her or loved him so much she couldn’t see straight.

  That must be it. You’re so bewildered you don’t know what you’re doing. She could absolve herself from guilt and worry if she could blame her deeds on confusion. But she never blamed anything or anyone else for her actions. She’d lost her heart, and yet a tiny piece of her didn’t trust him with her heart. Not when he wouldn’t explain how he could read minds and why his eyes glowed. She shivered as she imagined him wandering the streets of Pine Forest, enjoying attacking the women of the town like a cat’s nocturnal wanderings for prey.

  “No,” she said and shook her head. “No.”

  No matter what she thought of him, he couldn’t be a murderer. She’d told Fred so with complete confidence.

  Disturbed, Erin concentrated on clearing her work away. As she gazed around at the numerous bookshelves and the nook-and-cranny effect of the entire library, she realized if a strange attacker wanted somewhere to hide, this would certainly be an excellent place. For a short while she enjoyed the quiet, her nerves soothed by the pedantic nature of her work.

  Silence became unnerving when Gilda didn’t return to the first floor. Nerves prickled along Erin’s skin as the haunting quality of the room brought her unease. Seconds later she heard the laugh again, this time fainter. She froze, each muscle tight as she waited for it to return. When the sound didn’t echo, she decided the acoustics in the cavernous area must have been playing tricks on her. Fear did a dance up her spine despite self-assurances.

  I know what this place is like. I’ve been here late in the evening.

  Damn her conscience for comforting her, then deciding to scare her with spooky thoughts. She left the counter and headed into the bookshelves, scanning the corridors in between. When she saw no one lingering in the stacks, she figured she’d imagined the laugh.

  Her low-heeled boots made small clicks on the hardwood floor. She took even breaths to quiet the uneasiness trying to surface. Each step brought her past one row, then another. As she stopped at the last row, near huge windows, she took another look outside at the weather. Fading sun couldn’t make it through the clouds, and she knew the slick roads would require caution.

  A shadow moved somewhere by the trees near the windows. She gasped and stepped straight back into something solid.

  A startled squeak came out of her throat as she wheeled around. Her hands went out, as if to hold back an attack.

  No one was there.

  Her breath came in gasps, her heart thumping. “Shit, shit, shit.” She had bumped into someone. Where were they now? “Who’s there?”

  Quiet.

  A dull ache started behind her eyes, but she didn’t dare close them. Trembling a little, she started back toward the front counter. She’d find Gilda and they’d get the hell out of this place before the willies drove her to within an inch of screaming.

  She’d become a wimp after today’s encounters with two stubborn men. That was all. No ghosts lingered in the rows of books waiting to assault her. She’d imagined the feeling of someone behind her.

  Yet the sensation of being watched skulked behind her like a monster in an old movie. She tried to smile at her silliness, but she couldn’t. She headed toward the restrooms, determined not to care that shadows grew long in the hallway.

  Instead, skin on the back of her neck prickled. If she’d been the religious type she might start now, whispering the Lord’s Prayer or some other chant. Instead, she stopped at the entrance to the women’s restroom and waited. No sounds, no footfalls.

  Seconds later she heard it, the shifting of footstep on flooring.

  She whirled around.

  No one.

  “Hello?”

  She hoped a friendly, human voice would greet her.

  Human. Of course it would be human. Why did she feel like one of the converted, those who let Pine Forest transform them into something they despised? Those that feared and those that worried dwelled in this place called suspicion. She didn’t want every old building in town to haunt her. She put one foot in front of the other, resolute.

  She pushed aside fear and went into the bathroom. Once she finished there, she figured she’d find Gilda. When she left the restroom, though, Gilda hadn’t returned to the counter.

  Concern built inside Erin, so she headed upstairs. As she ascended the steps, she remembered the first night she’d met Lachlan and the incredible things that happened. Yet they lost so much when he wouldn’t tell her the truth about his glowing eyes or his assertions about vampires.

  When she reached the landing she attempted to ignore the persistent feeling of someone behind her. She glanced down the stairs.

  Nothing but silence.

  Maybe the creepiness of the light in this old building made everything seem more insecure. She glanced at the high ceilings and imagined that a winged creature could hide in the darkness near the top of the enormous ceiling. No matter that chandeliers threw sparkling illumination, the light never seemed to reach the top. Then she spotted something along one towering wall she’d never noted before, and her eyes widened.

  A faded gargoyle drawing, its face grinning evil, looked down upon her position.

  It blinked.

  Chapter 20

  Erin jerked in surprise and gasped. She blinked and when she looked back, the grinning gargoyle had disappeared. She laughed, the sound self-deprecating. How idiotic. She’d allowed this place to influence her into having horrifying hallucinations.

  The persistent ache behind her eyes now turned into a full-fledged headache in the temples. Cold seemed to penetrate her bones.

  Shivering, she rubbed her sweater-clad arms and searched the children’s area. “Gilda?”

  Seconds later she heard an almost
inaudible whimper. Her heartbeat quickened. Seconds seemed to crawl into minutes as she listened. Could she have imagined the pitiful human sound as she had the laugh downstairs?

  What if Gilda had been hurt?

  “Gilda? Gilda, where are you?”

  Again, the barest sound, terrified and pleading, sent a terrifying sensation of being stalked into her system. Fear threatened at the door, and she thought about calling for the police.

  Another cry, this one stronger, came from the storage area where they stored supplies and some older periodicals that needed archiving. She hated venturing into the vicinity where light never seemed to reach. She stepped into the dim recesses, girding her courage.

  A shadow moved into the dim light with such swiftness, Erin flinched but couldn’t move fast enough to run.

  Hands caught her by the back of the neck and pulled her forward against a granite hard chest. Her breath felt frozen in her chest and dizziness filled her head. She couldn’t see anything but a dark shadow.

  She couldn’t breathe.

  Panic touched Erin as her vision wavered and blackness threatened.

  “No, little one, you won’t die.” The voice whispered, this time in full volume. She pushed against the man’s chest, unable to see his face in the murky light. Terror made her thrash, and she tried reaching up to rake her nails over her captor’s face, but she could barely move. “You will be mine.”

  “No,” she rasped, as her limbs weakened. “No.”

  Cold breath filtered over her face. Chilling and yet blazing hot, the man’s terrific strength held her like iron bars in a prison. She struggled, flailing against the powerful body. She refused to allow death so close, to surrender to whatever or whoever held her.

  “You will be mine for eternity. Surrender, and I will shower you with riches beyond your wildest dreams. We will travel the world and the planet shall be our feast.”

  Butter-soft tones, deep and filled with insistence, demanded her compliance. Panic danced through her body, and she wavered between coherence and fading consciousness. Why can’t I see him?

  She knew the voice and yet she didn’t, and terror hovered, waiting to attack. His grip tightened on the back of her neck. His icy breath passed over her face in a beastly touch.

  “Let…me…go.” She forced words past her lips, the pain in her throat starting to become overwhelming.

  “Hush, Dasoria. Hush, Erin. Hush, wee one.”

  Erin struggled again, but her muscles wouldn’t obey. The pressure on the back of her neck increased and her consciousness ebbed. She coughed as she fought for oxygen.

  “I’m not your enemy, Erin. Not if you obey me. I will be yours to command in our night of love. I’ll teach you things and show you things you never dreamed. When I take your blood you will die, then return to me as Dasoria.”

  With a relentless and smooth cadence, his voice seduced her, slowing down the pandemonium within her and giving her hope that maybe he didn’t mean to kill her. Erin sagged against him.

  Her throat felt tight and dry, and she struggled to speak. “Please…no.”

  Then, with slow deliberation, her heart seemed to slow, each beat drumming in her ears, thumping to a new rhythm that fit with her captor’s.

  Erin wondered why she feared him so much. His body felt solid next to hers, his arms tight but sheltering. A woman could get lost in his embrace and never return.

  “Feel me,” he whispered, his breath now hot against her ear. “Feel what you do to me and know I am your slave.”

  Her mind struggled to stay focused on surviving this strange lethargy. One small part of her realized if she didn’t fight him, she might end up like the other women who’d been attacked by this creature. She must fight. Fight!

  She tried commanding her muscles to move, but weakness now spread through her entire body.

  The strangling sensation eased as she ceased all struggle.

  His lips touched her nose, and the touch of chill flesh made her shudder.

  Erin.

  At first she thought he now read her mind as Lachlan did.

  Then it hit her.

  Maybe the man who held her now was Lachlan.

  She strained to see in the darkness and couldn’t make out his features. He wasn’t even a shape in the shadows anymore.

  God, no. I can’t see anything. He’s invisible.

  New panic welled up, and she tried to scream, but her throat refused to issue a sound.

  He’s done something to me.

  Erin! A new voice blasted into her sore head and demanded attention. Erin, listen to me. Just hang on. Resist him. Don’t listen to him. I’m almost there. Do you hear me? Don’t listen to his voice. Think of something else. Think of me.

  Lachlan?

  Yes, love. It’s me. I’m coming for you.

  Lachlan, please hurry.

  Think of us together by a warm fire. I’m holding you and you’re safe.

  “I am yours to command, Erin,” the man holding her said. “You are the birth, the death, and the life. No one can save you but me.”

  Seconds later she felt a hard jerk as she was released from the man’s grip and her legs buckled. She fell to her right side, her body jarred by the impact. Everything wavered, and the impressions she received floated disjointed in her head.

  Cursing. Sounds of struggle. A loud groan. A punch.

  The beat of great wings fluttered above her head.

  Wings?

  What seemed minutes later, hard masculine hands touched her head, and she fought. She flayed out with her arms and legs, intent on escape. Powerful hands gripped her arms and held her still.

  “Erin, it is Lachlan. You’re all right. You’re safe. Please stay still until I can make sure you’re not hurt, lass.”

  Despite wanting Lachlan and the safety he promised, fear still rolled inside her. How could she trust him?

  Her eyes popped open, and for one moment in the darkness of the hallway, she saw his gaze glowing with that unmistakable aura. She blinked, then blinked again, but the radiance lingered. Lachlan leaned over her and brushed back her hair.

  He pulled her hair away from her neck and looked closely. “Thank God. I wasn’t too late.”

  Too late for what?

  He didn’t answer her telepathically or verbally. His stricken face and gentle touch told her everything. Lachlan’s hands, so much more tender than the madman’s grip, made her long to wrap her arms around the Scot and never let him go.

  Before she could reach for him, a dark haze clouded her mind, and she slipped into blessed unconsciousness.

  * * * * *

  More hands touched her, and Erin wanted them to leave her alone. Confusing noises filled her head. People talking, whispering.

  Her body ached like one overused muscle, her head fuzzy and her thought process confused. Could she be thankful she lived, or did more horror wait once she opened her eyes?

  Lachlan?

  I’m just outside the room, lass. Don’t worry, I won’t leave you for long.

  “Lachlan?” Her throat hurt. She reached out with one hand. “Lachlan?”

  “It’s all right,” a young woman’s voice said. “We have to examine you now.”

  She tried to peel open her eyes, but they wouldn’t cooperate. She heard a man’s gravelly voice. “I’m Doctor Majors. Can you open your eyes?”

  She thought she heard angry voices outside in the hallway. Danny Fortesque? Lachlan’s voice sounded aggravated, then Tom’s calming voice entered the conversation.

  The strange fog in her brain lifted. She opened her eyes and the harsh, glaring light of an examining room greeted her. “The hospital.”

  She realized she was lying on an examining table. A young, auburn-haired nurse smiled down on her. “You’ll be all right. Just rest now. Let’s get this top off so we can take more vitals.”

  The doctor, an older man with a pleasant smile, asked her questions as he started his examination.

  Erin tried to piece to
gether scattered impressions of what happened at the library. Images rushed through her memory, and she realized the entire experience seemed surreal and no one would believe her.

  El Chupacabra?

  Lachlan’s voice came into her mind. No, lass. There is no El Chupacabra here in Pine Forest. Rest easy now and let the medical people do their job.

  Lachlan’s voice echoed in her head, and the warm rush of heat filling her body comforted her more than a soft blanket. She reached out with her mind.

  Lachlan, I’m scared.

  It’s all right. I’m just outside the room. I won’t let anyone harm you again.

  Cherishing the mental communication that a few days ago would have seemed ludicrous, she relaxed.

  “What time is it?” she asked the doctor.

  “Almost six-thirty. Did you hit your head?”

  “No. I think I just fainted.” With a rush she remembered Gilda. “Gilda? Where is she? Is she all right?”

  The doctor smiled, and she got a little relief from the sincerity in his eyes. “She’ll be fine. We’re keeping her overnight for observation.”

  Relief warred with doubt inside her. “I want to see her.”

  He patted her arm. “Easy now. Let’s get you taken care of and we’ll see about visiting with her later. All right?”

  She took a deep breath and released it. “Yes.”

  Erin tried to relax, reminding herself that Lachlan was nearby. As the examination went on, she realized that other than feeling very tired and that dull headache, she felt fine.

  After the exam, Doctor Majors said, “It looks like other than some bruises, you’re all right. I want to run a few more tests, though. We’re going to keep you overnight for observation.”

  Immediate alarm made her flinch. “No.” She didn’t know why she didn’t feel safe in the hospital, but she knew she shouldn’t be alone here. “I’d be more comfortable at home.”

  The doctor glanced at the nurse as if to say he didn’t cherish arguing with Erin. “I can’t force you to stay, but I advise against it. You’ve been through a substantial trauma.” He started toward the door, then smiled at Erin. “You’ve got some very worried friends that wish to see you, but it’s going to have to be after we finish with tests.”