Echo in the Hall

by Cricket Starr

  Things like making his dinner, baking him bread, and telling him that she loved him. If she got the chance at the museum, she’d do the latter there.

  With barely controlled sob, Chloe grabbed her coat and small purse and headed for the door. She had a long walk in front of her.

  * * * * *

  Where the hell was Chloe? After arriving home and not seeing her in the front part of the apartment, Alex had checked the bathroom and the bedroom to find no trace of her. Now he stood in the kitchen staring into the refrigerator, holding an unopened bottle of beer.

  Some sort of casserole was on one of the shelves, while a bowl of salad waited on another. Obviously she was going to cook dinner. Funny thing, though. Normally by now the casserole would be in the oven.

  As would the bread. Alex turned and stared again at the puffy lump of dough sitting on the countertop. Chloe didn’t leave dough like that. She kept it covered with a cloth like…that one! He found the damp cloth lying on the kitchen floor. Alex put his bottle down and bent over to pick it up. He placed it in the sink.

  Something was wrong, very, very wrong. Chloe would never have left a wet cloth on the floor. She wouldn’t leave her dough uncovered and she would have started dinner by now.

  Where was Chloe?

  He looked again at the mute lump of dough, wishing it could tell him what had happened. Then his gaze fell on a piece of paper on the counter. He snatched it up. On one side was Chloe’s neat handwriting, a shopping list. Milk, rice, eggs, grape leaves… What did she want grape leaves for?

  The writing on the other side did not look like her handwriting at all. He could make out the first word, “Alex”. Was the next one “darling”? It was hard to say. There were skips and jumps in the ink, as if she’d had trouble controlling the pen. Also the letters sloped to the wrong side. Had something happened to her hand?

  He glanced wildly over at the knives in the rack. None were missing, and he saw no blood. If there had been an accident, would she have stopped to clean up the mess before leaving for the doctor?

  The uneasy feeling creeping about in his stomach turned into a solid lump of fear. Chloe was gone and he didn’t think it was by her own choice. Other than the note, he had no way of knowing where she was.

  Foregoing his beer, Alex sat down at the table to try and puzzle out the note. He made out another word, “sorry.” Sorry for what, that she had left? What was she sorry for?

  The “C” at the bottom was probably her signature. Alex breathed a faint sigh of relief. At least he knew the note was from her. But what did it say? He stared at it again, this time focusing on the letters right above the “C”. These were less shaky and not quite so run together. She must have taken more care with them. He could make out an “I” and an “l”. Next were “o”, and a “v”, then “e” and “y”. The final letters were “o” and “u”.

  He sat up and stared at the wall. It was a blank wall, in an unattractive color. Chloe had wanted to paint it, but he’d said no, not wanting to spend the money…why was he thinking of this now?

  Because it was easier to think about how often he’d disappointed her than about the note. He’d given her enough reasons to leave and fewer reasons to stay. Alex returned to the note and reread the last three words. Even though there were no spaces between the words, he knew there were three words because there was only one thing she’d be saying with those letters.

  He rested his head on the tabletop, knowing he’d lost his chance. She’d told him weeks ago she might have to leave suddenly, but he’d expected to have more time. There was no more time.

  Chloe had written “I love you”. That wasn’t something she’d write lightly. She wasn’t a coward like he was. She’d have spoken the words before leaving them in a note. He glanced over at the photo album on the bookshelf. Had she even seen it before she’d left?

  But she had written the words, and that could mean only one thing. She’d written them because she knew she was leaving and wouldn’t be back. Chloe was gone.

  Loss and despair hit him hard, and he fought the urge to give in to tears. Twice now he’d fallen in love, and twice he’d lost her. The difference this time was that now he deserved it. Chloe deserved better than him, a man too afraid to admit he had feelings for her. Maybe leaving was a good thing for her.

  A noise from the living room alerted him that he was no longer alone. He looked up just as a woman with closely cropped dark hair appeared, carrying a guitar case.

  A guitar case? “You looking for the Von Trapp family? I think you have the wrong address.”

  Her eyes narrowed and Alex immediately regretted his joke. This woman didn’t look like she liked him very much.

  “You must be Alex. I’m looking for Chloe.”

  “Yeah, I’m Alex.” He checked out her outfit, tight blue jeans and a low-cut sweater that must have cost a fortune, and made an educated guess. “You must be her sister, Nina.”

  He nodded at the case. “You have more sex toys in there?”

  She ignored his question. “Where is Chloe?”

  Alex shook his head. “I don’t know. Gone, I think.”

  “Gone?” Nina looked upset. “Where did she go? Did she say?”

  “She was gone when I got home. I found a note.” He held it out. “It’s hard to make out, maybe you can read it.”

  Just before she took it, he remembered the last few words and snatched it away. He could tell just by looking at her that Nina was a real bitch, and the last thing he wanted was to share his love’s sweet words with her.

  Nina dropped the case and glared at him. “Are you going to show it to me or not?”

  Shaking his head, Alex folded the paper and put it in his pocket. “They were private words. For me.”

  She arched one eyebrow. “I thought you couldn’t read them?”

  “I could some. The ones that mattered.”

  “Oh?” Something like a smile crossed Nina’s face. “I guess that means she finally decided to tell you that she was nuts about you.”

  “You knew?” How could his sweet Chloe have told this woman about how she felt, when she’d never told him? Oh, but she’d been afraid to tell him, and this woman strange as it might seem, was Chloe’s sister. Of course she’d told her sister.

  Hope rose in him. Maybe she’d told her sister something else, like where she’d gone. “Do you know where she went?”

  His hope died when she shook her head. “I know where she should have gone, but she probably didn’t. Are you sure I can’t look at the note?”

  What the hell. She looked at least as lost as he was. He pulled it from his pocket and handed it to her.

  Nina squinted at the ill-formed letters. “Huh, looks like she wrote this with her left hand. It is hard to read, but I think I understand it. She had to go, it was sudden, and…and… And she wants you to meet her at the museum!” she finished triumphantly.

  “The museum?” Alex glanced at the clock. “It will be closed in five minutes.”

  “You have a key, right?”

  “Sure. But why would she need to go to the museum?”

  “Because that’s where her statue is. She has to go back into it.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because…” Her voice trailed off for a moment and she didn’t look him in the eye. Alex wondered what she was hiding. “Let’s just say that the spell that made her human has failed and if she doesn’t get back to her statue, she’ll wind up nothing but a loose spirit again.”

  “The spell failed? How come? That was Aphrodite’s spell, how could it fail?”

  “I can’t tell you, Alex. Maybe you should ask the goddess that?”

  Oh yeah. Like he’d take the goddess on. She’d scared the crap out of him when he’d met her at the museum the first time. Still, if she had answers for him, he might ask her. He needed to know what was going on and why Chloe had left him.

  She hadn’t wanted to. Her note had told him that with the illegible “I love you.” Now
he needed to know what it was that was making the spell fail and why she needed to return to her statue. Maybe he’d be able to fix things so she could stay with him. He needed her to stay with him.

  He needed that a lot. “You’re saying she’s at the museum.” Sudden hope rose. Maybe it wasn’t too late to fix things. Alex jumped to his feet and headed for his coat and the door, determination in his stride.

  “Wait for me,” Nina called, grabbing her guitar case.

  He glared at it. “You won’t need that. We aren’t going to a folk-sing, you know.”

  She clutched the case to her chest and narrowed her eyes. “I come and it comes…understand?”

  It was too much trouble to argue. “Have it your way. The back’s filled with junk so you’ll have to carry it on your lap. Fortunately there isn’t much to you so it shouldn’t be too bad.”

  He held the door for her and slammed it on his way out.

  Chapter Sixteen

  By the time Chloe reached the service entrance to the museum, she could barely feel her right arm past her elbow. If she bent her arm, it went right through the fabric of her sweatshirt and coat, which continued to hang straight down. Having a naked arm poking through the fabric of her garments was too strange to look at so she let the arm remain straight so it continued to be covered by her clothes.

  A revolting development. Her clothes would probably fall off her once her body lacked the solidity to support them. She’d end up naked before she could join with her statue unless some small amount of her magic returned to her so she could manufacture a decent garment.

  At least the tingle wasn’t uncomfortable, nor was her arm cold, despite the frigid temperature outside. It could freeze tonight, she thought. A good night to indulge in the luxury of staying snuggled under the bedcovers with someone you loved.

  That was a luxury she’d never have again.

  Chloe suppressed a quick sob, fighting to control her tears. It was hard enough to leave without torturing herself with images of what she was leaving behind. Worried that she might have to find another way in, she tried the door and found it unlocked. She let out the breath she’d been holding.

  After one last look around and a deep breath of fresh outdoor air, Chloe slipped inside.

  The dimly lit service corridor stretched before her. Cautiously she moved into the building, hoping to avoid notice. The practice of many nights when she’d slipped from her statue to explore the museum returned to her. No one had ever caught her during those adventures.

  Well, no one until Alex had caught her that is. She’d need to be extra careful tonight. The museum was closed and it wasn’t likely that the staff would approve of her presence. She had to get to her statue before she finished dematerializing.

  From somewhere up ahead came voices. Chloe flattened herself against the wall, knowing she’d be spotted if they came this way. Fortunately she heard the voices grow faint and disappear. So far her luck was holding. The door had been unlocked and no one had spotted her. Carefully she made her way to the gallery where her statue was kept. Once there, she could relax a little. She’d easily be able to hide in one of the deep window niches until things were quiet. That close to her statue, she wouldn’t have a problem slipping back inside when the spell that kept her human failed.

  The gallery she wanted should be just to the left. Chloe made the turn and entered past the huge Grecian urns that guarded either side of the entrance. She passed several statuary groups, heading for the center. It should be just ahead.

  It wasn’t.

  Chloe stared at the empty space where for long, long years her statue had stood. There was no sign of it, no marble base, no truncated tree, no figure of a wood nymph peeking from behind the trunk. Was she in the wrong place? She moved closer and noticed the paleness of the marble floor where the base should have been. It had been here.

  Could they have moved it? Alex hadn’t said anything but perhaps he didn’t know. Tamping down her desperation, she searched the gallery and took a brief look at the one next to it. No sign of it, anywhere.

  Trembling, Chloe sank onto a marble bench. Where could it have gone? The goddess had told her to get to the statue as soon as she felt something change. If she wasn’t near it, she’d evaporate into mist as soon as she lost the last of her solid shape. She’d become lost, a mere spirit on the wind as she had been a long time ago.

  It sounded like a romantic fate, but it wasn’t. At least with her statue she could become solid occasionally and be able to see and experience some form of life. Not as much as she wanted—but what she wanted she couldn’t have anyway.

  A tear trickled down her face, followed by another. At least at this point she could still cry. Chloe bent her head into her hands and gave into despair. “Oh, great goddess Aphrodite. What am I going to do?”

  “You still pray to her?” A familiar voice drew her attention to the corner of the room. Leaning against one of the pillars was Pan, arms folded over his bare chest, his hairy legs crossed at the ankle. As always he was virtually naked, only a loincloth hiding his genitals, and that not all that effectively. Beneath the fabric a bulge appeared that grew more pronounced the longer he stared at her.

  He shook his head at her. “Chloe, haven’t you learned by now who your real friends are?”

  Chloe narrowed her eyes at him. “I wouldn’t call you a friend, Pan.”

  “Really?” His hurt look might have fooled her if it hadn’t been for the amused glint in his eyes. “But I’m here to help you. Honest.”

  “There is nothing honest about you.” With a nod of her head, she indicated the empty space where her statue should have been. “You wouldn’t know where it went, would you?”

  “What are you talking about? Did you misplace something?”

  “I misplaced nothing. Someone stole my statue!”

  “Stole it?” Pan grinned. “Not at all. I borrowed for a little while, that’s all.”

  “Borrowed? How do you ‘borrow’ a statue?”

  “When one is a god, one can do many things. I was struck by how much the figure looked like you and since I couldn’t have the real thing, I simply borrowed the statue so I could make a copy of it.”

  Chloe didn’t believe him for a moment. “You just happened to borrow it on the one night I needed it?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Funny how things work sometimes.”

  “Very funny. Could you bring it back? Please?” Chloe tramped down on her panic. She could feel very little of her right arm now, but she didn’t want to let Pan know how desperate she was.

  “No,” he said slowly. “But I could take you to it.”

  Take her to it? “Where is it, Pan? In your bedroom?”

  “Echo, what do you take me for? I told you I wouldn’t force you into my bed. Your statue is quite safe, in the garden of my home.”

  He was good. If she didn’t know better she’d guess that his outrage was real. Chloe rested her left hand on her shoulder and tried not to think about how little of her right arm existed below her shoulder.

  Pan approached. For the first time she saw honest concern in his face. “What is it, little one?” He pointed to her arm. “Is there something wrong?”

  What was the use of hiding it? Maybe he’d take pity on her and bring her statue back. “The spell Aphrodite used to make me human is breaking up.” She pulled off her coat and held up her right hand. It appeared ghost-like in the dim light of the museum. “I’m losing substance, becoming just a spirit again.”

  Pan reached for Chloe’s transparent hand and to her surprise, captured it in his. She felt his fingers close around her palm, warm and sensual, and under his fingers the transparency disappeared. He used one finger to stroke her arm and where he touched, the skin grew solid.

  She looked up at him in astonishment. “I can feel your touch.”

  A crooked smile grew across his face, and for the first time Pan seemed less the god of lechery, and more someone Chloe might actually want to know. I
n spite of herself, Chloe returned his smile with one of her own.

  He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. “Did you not believe me when I said I could help you? I can replace the spell the goddess used and bring you back to immortality. I can give you back your life, Echo.”

  Pan stood too close to her now. She smelled his scent, flooding her nose. His musky essence had been described as being able to drive the most chaste vestal virgin into opening her legs and begging for a good fucking. Chloe was hardly virginal or chaste, and while his aroma didn’t appeal to her the way Alex’s did, she couldn’t help but be aroused by it.

  She put her hand on his chest, feeling the coarse manly hair, so different from the fleece of his legs. It was easy to imagine her breasts buried in that hair as he lay over her, pounding that donkey-sized cock of his into her pussy.

  In spite of herself, Chloe felt her panties dampen in instant sympathy with her thoughts. “Pan, I don’t know…”

  Grasping her by the elbows, Pan pulled her to her feet. He dragged her closer into his arms, tight against his chest, his face inches from hers. “What don’t you know, little Echo? What I want? What you want? Let me show you, then.”

  His mouth came down hard on hers, a powerful kiss, masterful. It was the kiss of someone who knew just what he wanted and how to get it, a kiss of claiming. It should have rocked her off her feet and turned her into a puddle.

  Except that it didn’t. Chloe felt…very little. She tried to participate, opening her mouth to give his tongue access, but that didn’t improve things. It wasn’t like he was doing something wrong. It was a very nice kiss. But something about it felt wrong and it just didn’t put her in the mood.

  Pan pulled back and stared down at her, his eyes showing the same surprise she felt. His sensual lips pulled down into a deep frown, reflecting disapproval over her lack of reaction. “Don’t you like being kissed?”