by Jaime Rush
He pulled into the carnival grounds’ lot. Unlike the night before, the place was buzzing with activity. He backed into a spot where he could pull out in a hurry, if need be.
She took in everything with a glow in her eyes. “We did it. It’s really going to happen. And it’s not terribly cold, so we should get a good turnout.”
“Uh . . .” He gestured to her mouth. “You’ve got chocolate there.” He itched to rub it off with his thumb. Admit it, you want to lick it off, you sod. He held in a groan as she ran her tongue over her upper lip, dabbing away the chocolate.
“Did I get it?”
“Oh, yeah.” He cleared his throat. “You’re good. I mean, you got it.”
She gave him a questioning arch of her eyebrow as she pulled on her coat and got out.
He maneuvered into his long coat and hooked the sword beneath it. She was already walking toward the entrance, hands clasped together in front of her, so excited about her carnival that she hadn’t noticed he wasn’t right behind her.
Something small and dark caught his eye. He turned toward the back of the SUV, then ducked to look beneath. Nothing. But the hairs on the back of his neck vibrated.
Nothing strange anywhere in eyeshot. Even so, the sooner they could leave, the better. He headed toward the entrance, where a couple of people stood talking to Jessie. She glanced back now, giving him a questioning look. He shrugged, then wiped the concern from his face. Let her enjoy this for a bit. He’d watch over her.
A woman bounded over, her body jiggling with her movements, pretty face aglow with excitement. He recognized her from the pictures in the paper.
“Jessie!” she said, wrapping her hands around Jessie’s forearms. “It was you, wasn’t it? The paper didn’t give a last name, but I know you’re Hayley’s anonymous donor. I said to Gerry, that’d be just like her, to do that and keep it a secret.”
Jessie’s face fell, though she forced a smile. “I wish they wouldn’t have put my name in there at all.”
Then it clicked, that she’d given the needed blood marrow that had saved Hayley.
“You are an angel.” The woman squeezed Jessie’s hands.
“No, I’m not.” Jessie meant it, too, her eyes darkening, mouth tensing at the corners. “It was just something I had to do.”
Her gaze flicked to him, and in that moment he got it. She didn’t know if Darkness could be transferred via blood. Saving Magnus wasn’t the first time she’d had to make that terrible choice: let someone die or give them a life possibly tainted by Darkness. She had done something wonderful and brave, but she didn’t see it that way.
A couple more cars drove into the parking area. He made a note to check the Yukon before they got in. Paranoid? Hell, yes.
Jessie interrupted whatever the lady was going to say. “We’d better get to work. We’ve only got a couple of hours before opening.” She gestured to him. “This is Lachlan. He’s here to help, too.”
“Bob LaMott brought his RV for the volunteers to grab a break. A couple local delis donated sandwiches and water, and the bagel shop donated coffee and bagels. It’s behind the Ferris wheel.”
“That’s great.” Jessie headed to the right, all business now, going over a list of tasks. She glanced back at him from time to time, finding him following a few feet behind.
Over there. Had he seen something small and black? But Russell wasn’t small. He caught up to Jessie, leaning close to her ear. She smelled good, like shampoo.
“We leave in half an hour,” he whispered.
“An hour.”
“Forty-five minutes.”
“I feel like we’re brokering a deal on Pawn Stars. Is there a reason you’re extra paranoid?”
“Plenty.” He glanced around again. “It should be fine, lots of people around, but the hairs on the back of my neck have been on end since we got here.”
She pressed her lips together, seeming to take that seriously. “I need to stay until the carnival opens.”
He released a breath. Aye, she was stubborn, all right. He knew, though, that this meant a lot to her. “Alright.”
The decision weighed heavily in his chest.
Chapter 8
Lachlan helped Jessie set up one of the game booths. He hammered in the hooks and then hung up the prizes, stuffed animals and other toys, while she set up the heavy pins and instructed the volunteers who would man the booth. He’d made sure she didn’t stray out of sight and even made her take his cell number. She’d accused him of being overprotective. So be it.
He hung the last teddy bear and stepped down, only to turn and find her standing next to the ladder surveying his work with a smile. “Nice job. I like how you staggered them.”
Okay, it was just a little compliment, no need to feel all warm and fuzzy about it. He shrugged. “Have you told anyone that you’re not staying long?”
“It hasn’t come up yet. But I will.”
“I don’t like being out here, exposed.” He swept the grounds again, but the area was too big, too cluttered with booths and rides to see much. It wasn’t open to the public yet, but Russell could still manage to get in.
“Then don’t expose yourself. It’s against the law anyway.” She gave him a wisecrack grin.
“It’s no time to be joking around.”
“It’s a perfect time.”
“Jessie!” The girl whose picture was on the front sign walked up.
Jessie’s face lit up in genuine affection for the teen with the short pink haircut in a style like hers. Probably not a coincidence.
The two exchanged a bear hug. He saw goodbye in the way Jessie held on for a few extra seconds, her eyes squeezed shut. She backed up and fluffed Hayley’s hair. “Big day’s here.”
“It’s fantastic. Just knowing my parents will have some help with the bills . . . oh, Jessie, this is so wonderful of you.”
“I had lots of help.” She waved off Hayley’s gratitude, not unlike what he’d done a few minutes earlier.
“Why don’t you ever want to take credit for the things you do? None of this would have happened if you hadn’t started it.” Her expression took on a sheepish look. “They did keep your last name out of the article. I hope that’s okay.”
Jessie rearranged a stray lock of Hayley’s hair. “It’s fine.”
People had been coming up all morning exclaiming over her good deed, and he knew it wasn’t all right. Jessie clearly wanted no one to know she’d donated her marrow.
Now the girl’s gaze swiveled to him. “Who’s this?”
“Lachlan, meet Hayley. Lachlan is Magnus’s brother.”
“Saw you hanging up the animals. Thanks for helping.” She looked around. “Where is Magnus?”
“He’s tied up, can’t make it,” Lachlan answered. “She won’t be staying long either, unfortunately. Family emergency.”
Hayley’s eyes widened. “Your uncle?”
Interesting and surprising that Jessie had told her so much.
Jessie nodded. “I’ll have to go.”
“Go as in . . . go? But you said it was fine.”
“He found me anyway. I’ll be all right.”
“No, it’s not fair. Can’t we—”
Jessie wrapped her hand around Hayley’s arm, halting her words. “I promise to drop you a note once in a while. I want to keep in touch.” She forced a joking tone to her voice. “Never know what might come out of that blood I gave you.”
Hayley’s laugh was hollow. “Yeah, like I become a vampire or something.” Someone called out Hayley’s name. “I gotta go. Don’t leave without saying goodbye.” She ambled off.
His chest caved as he watched Jessie’s face. “That’s the hardest part, isn’t it? Harder than leaving behind the last month’s rent and security.”
She bit her lower lip, avoiding his gaze. “Yes.”
“Why don’t we take a break?”
She led the way around the various booths to the far side of the grounds. The Ferris wheel spun in a lazy c
ircle, happy music playing. Carousel horses pumped up and down, bright and colorful, their wild eyes looking behind them as though they were being chased. He smelled the grease on the gears as they passed the workers testing the equipment. It was a more interesting aroma than the sausages cooking in a nearby stand, reminding him of working on his cars.
“You’re lucky you have your brother,” she said.
“Aye, I am.” Unimaginable, the thought of Magnus dying. All he had done so far to save him was allow him to be infected with some unknown energy. That wasn’t good enough. He had to get rid of Russell.
“To have one person who’s there, who you can always connect to. I can’t do that.”
She had to keep leaving people behind. His heart ached for her. “But you do connect, whether you want to or even whether you realize it or not.”
“You’re mistaken. I’m not even sure I can connect to someone anymore. What? Why are you giving me that ‘I know better than you’ look?”
“Because I do know better. You’ll have Magnus, once he wakes up. Russell will be dead, and you won’t have to run anymore.”
“What if he’s not dead?”
“Magnus will protect you. He’s like that . . . as you know.”
She paused on the metal step going up to the RV door. “So are you.”
“I’m only doing it to make up for what I’ve taken away.”
“Lachlan—”
“Wait. Let me check inside before you go in.”
It didn’t take long, as the place wasn’t that big. A miniature home, with a small bedroom, couch, kitchen. “Okay, come in.”
She walked to the little fridge, opened it and bent over to search the contents. Was he a complete jerk for noticing her fine arse in those jeans? It wasn’t like there was much else to look at, and he was waiting to see what was in the fridge, and—yeah, he was an arse.
“Ham and cheese?” She held out a cellophane wrapped sandwich.
“Sure.” He took it, and Jessie pulled another one out for herself.
She grabbed two bottles of water and stopped dead, staring past him at the floor. He spun around. A black Doberman pinscher sat by the door staring at them. Not a normal dog. Beneath its exterior, blackness churned like solid smoke. Lachlan pulled out his dirk.
The door opened and Russell stepped inside, two more dogs following him in. He locked the door behind him. “Finally, we’re alone.” He gave Lachlan a derisive look. “Well, almost. Dogs.” He nodded toward Lachlan.
The beasts reared up and leaped at him, teeth bared. Lachlan slashed, but the blade only seemed to nick them. Their teeth, however, tore into his flesh. He tried to move closer to Jessie, but they pushed him back.
“What are those things?” Jessie asked, hands poised, body in position to defend herself.
He smiled. “My minions. Jessie, I have no intention of hurting you. I know you’ll find that hard to believe. If you come with me, I will explain everything.”
“Like hell she will,” Lachlan said, shrugging out of his coat while keeping his blade at the ready.
Russell flicked a cold look his way. “But I will hurt your friend if he continues to get in the way. You don’t want him hurt, do you, Jessie?”
Lachlan shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Russell moved like a dark blur—no, became a blur. Suddenly he stood behind Jessie, his arms clamped around her, man again. She twisted and tried to jam her foot down on top of his.
No, dammit! Lachlau kicked at the dogs with the heel of his shoe. They backed up, but only for a second.
“Fade!” she screamed, and disappeared.
Russell sent a shroud of dark fog over her, outlining her form. His hold didn’t loosen. “That won’t work anymore.”
She appeared again, panic on her face. She pulled up the bottom edge of her shirt and slapped her hand over it. “Fade!”
Russell laughed and again threw his Darkness over her, revealing her.
Frustration tensed her face when she became fully visible again.
“You think that symbol makes you invisible? It means bird in some ancient culture. Your father studied the Mayans, and the Anasazis, the mysterious peoples he thought came from or consorted with beings from other dimensions.”
The dogs kept pushing Lachlan farther away, down the hall toward the little bedroom. One tried to get around him, but he easily blocked it. He pulled his sword, so he held a weapon in each hand, and slashed at them. They yelped, tiny bits of their Darkness splintering off, but it didn’t slow them down at all.
No good. How had he fought Russell before? He tried to summon the strange energy, imagining the lightning sparking down his dirk. Nothing. The astral projection, the strange energy, was it all a tease?
Jessie became a blur, then a dark mass, shimmering violently. Russell banged against the kitchen cabinet with her force, and she spun out of his reach. Russell stood between them now, keeping a wary eye on Jessie.
Someone tried opening the door, then knocked.
“Jessie? It’s Hayley. Peg saw you go this way. Why’s the door locked?”
“Hayley, leave me alone right now.” Jessie was trying hard to modulate her quivering voice. “I’ll find you in a bit.”
“Are you all right?” the girl called out.
Of course she would be worried, and she might get others if she thought Jessie was ill.
“She’s fine,” Lachlan said, holding the dogs at bay. With Russell’s attention at the door, the dogs settled. “We’re, ah, busy. If you get my drift.”
“Oh. Oh.” Silence as she obviously processed the oddity of Jessie doing the nasty there. Then, “Okay, come find me, after . . . well, you know.”
A dog flew at Lachlan, catching his side and throwing him against the wall. The sword dropped to the floor. He reached for it and the dog bit his hand.
“All right, you guys, don’t get too wild in there,” Hayley called out again, her voice filled with her perplexity. Banging some guy in the break trailer wasn’t in Jessie’s character.
Russell Became, turning a larger, more vicious version of the Dobermans. With one paw he reached into his chest and pulled out a blob of Darkness. He flung it toward Lachlan, and the blob formed into another one of those devil dogs in mid-flight. He only had time to fling his hands up and throw the beast to the side. It bounced against the wall and fell to the floor. In a second it rolled to its feet, up and ready to attack.
Russell’s voice was low and calm. “Kill him. Now.”
“No!” Jessie whispered.
Lachlan jabbed the dirk toward the closest dog, slashing at its neck. It yelped and fell back, then started knitting itself back together. Dammit. He could injure them, but he couldn’t kill them.
Jessie Became, launching herself at Russell’s dark form. They bounced off each other, throwing them in opposite directions. She landed on the arm of the couch and rolled to the floor in front of the door, morphing back to her human self.
“Run!” Lachlan said, cutting the dogs and sending them into temporary retreat while they mended. Damned things moved like mercury.
“I’m not leaving you here,” she said.
“Bloody hell, don’t worry about me.”
Another dog bounded his way. They were wearing him out, and he had no room to maneuver in the narrow hallway.
The dogs positioned themselves between Lachlan and his sword. One ducked beneath the dirk’s blade and nipped at him. “Damn mutts.” Pain seared his ankle, his arm, and his thigh, where they’d gotten him.
Jessie’s cheeks flamed red in rage as she faced off with Russell. “What are you going to do, haul me out of here in front of everyone?”
“You’ll come with me because you don’t want me to hurt anyone who might help you.” He nodded toward Lachlan. “This one is an adept fighter, but what about the others out there? The girl?”
She looked at Lachlan, agony on her face. “Please stop helping me.”
Russell’s mouth formed a
cruel smile. “Oh, no, let me kill your boyfriend. I’m so looking forward to seeing him ripped to shreds. Then maybe you’ll talk to me.”
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“Jessie,” Russell growled. “You’ll listen if you want to save your mother.”
“Don’t you dare talk about her. You killed her! You took everything from me. You took my father’s body.” Overrun by emotions, she Became again, rushing at him.
Russell’s instantly dark form grabbed her. Lachlan ran the final two steps into the back bedroom, leaped onto the bed and jumped over the dogs, aiming right for Russell’s back. Lachlan plowed his feet into him, sending him to the ground. Jessie’s form broke free.
Russell threw him back into the mass of dogs. Lachlan tried to keep his balance, to land on his feet, but momentum worked against him. The dogs jumped on him, a mob of claws and teeth. He struggled to get up but their weight pinned him down.
He wouldn’t go down without a fight, raising his dirk and readying to slash it down. The foreign energy crackled through him. Finally. He slashed at one of the dogs; its head spun off and its body splattered into nothingness. The ghostly, blunt-fingered hand shimmered on the handle. Another dog bit the dust as Lachlan stabbed it and got to his feet. He lunged for the sword on the floor and held it out. Lightning flashed down both blades, sending two dogs flying backward and splintering into pieces.
Both in Darkness, Jessie and Russell maneuvered in the small space. She was quick, staying out of his grasp by seconds.
Wait. Was it his imagination that Russell looked less dense? And even better, that he seemed weaker?
The dogs. Maybe using his Darkness to make his minions drained his strength. Especially as each dog got obliterated.
Lachlan ran toward him, his power coursing through him as a jagged energy. He jumped on Russell’s back, sending them both to the floor. Kneeling, Lachlan raised his sword and started to drive it downward. Russell bucked, still strong enough to throw him off. As Lachlan hit the wall, Russell opened the door with his paw and became a mist that disappeared.
Lachlan pulled the door closed before anyone could see in, then stumbled over to Jessie. “You all right?”
