Darkness Becomes Her

by Jaime Rush

  “Calista, come to me.”

  The smoke stabbed into the woman’s chest like a jagged knife, making her arch and groan in pain. Russell pinned her shoulders to the bed, his face close to hers.

  “Almost there, my love.”

  That stream of smoke joined his Darkness and lit up like lightning inside a tornado. The woman arched again, her body jerking in seizures. The smoke from the ceiling had almost gone all the way in.

  The woman went limp, blood dribbling from her mouth. The line of smoke shot back up to the ceiling and disappeared. Russell fell forward onto the woman’s body and screamed in agony.

  Lachlan jerked awake, the words “He’s killing women” out of his mouth before he even focused on . . . the empty driver’s seat.

  Disoriented, he looked around. They were parked in front of her apartment building, the engine still running. She was nowhere in sight, not smelling roses or looking at a flutterby.

  The sword felt as though it weighed a hundred pounds as he pulled it from the backseat. He didn’t even bother to hide it beneath his coat, only holding it to his side as he ran from the car to the base of the stairs.

  His legs felt as though they were filled with sandbags. “Olaf, I need your help. You wanted battle. You might get it.”

  He felt the Scot’s energy suffuse him, but not as powerfully as before. They’d both worn themselves out.

  She’d be okay, having popped inside to get something she’d forgotten. He turned the doorknob and pushed at the same time. When the door opened, the horror of what he saw hit him squarely in the chest: Jessie on the couch with Russell sitting next to her, pulling her arm out straight.

  “Stop!”

  “It’s okay, Lachlan,” she said. “He’s just taking some blood—”

  “Not if he’s going to do to you what he did to that woman a week ago. And not only her.” He moved closer as he spoke, sword down but ready to strike. “Remember the newscast about a woman going missing, and the police thinking it was connected to several other disappearances in the area? It’s him.” He reached for her arm from over the back of the couch, yanking her up. “He surrounds them with Darkness and calls down your mum’s spirit. But it hasn’t worked. He needs you, Jess, because you have her DNA.” The pieces clicked together, making a heinous puzzle. “You’re a perfect match.”

  Russell turned to Jessie, on the couch. “He didn’t see that. It’s preposterous.”

  It was clicking for her, too. Lachlan could see horror creep into her expression. “You don’t need my blood,” she said. “You need my body. Does my mom know you’re trading me for her?” He saw the betrayal drain the color from her face.

  Russell threw out his hand and a ball of Darkness hit her. She sailed across the room and fell against the wall, landing in an unconscious heap.

  “Calista!” Russell called, sending a stream of Darkness toward Jessie.

  Lachlan stepped in front of it, feeling it sting him like the blade of a knife. He sliced through it with his sword. The sparks of magic shattered it.

  Another stream of Darkness came down from the ceiling above Jessie. Lachlan made to cut it, but Russell spun off his dogs. Four of them sailed over the back of the couch at him, knocking him to the floor. He’d thrown up his sword as he fell, and one of the dogs ran right into it, splintering. If he could work through the dogs, making Russell create more, it would weaken him.

  Russell ran toward where Jessie lay on the floor. “Calista! Come, my love.”

  Lachlan lashed another dog as he ran toward them. Using his hand as a brace, he jumped over the couch and landed a foot away from Russell, sword at the ready. As he brought the blade down, Russell swung his hand, throwing him back against the couch. The dogs had been coming at him, and they flew right into Russell. Lachlan took advantage of the momentary chaos and lunged at the twisted mass of them.

  The dogs exploded out of Russell, crashing into Lachlan. Olaf’s energy swamped him in rage. He felt the blackness edging in.

  Back off! I need your help, not you possessing me.

  If ye need my help, ye canna set the terms.

  Great. He was fighting Russell, his hell doggies, and Olaf. Lachlan swung his sword from side to side, magic crackling along the blade. The two remaining dogs flanked him. As he swung one way, the other dog would move in. Damn, he needed his dirk.

  Olaf tried to take over again, and Lachlan’s arm jerked out of his control, the sword twisted in a clever way. Blackness throbbed at the edges of his vision now.

  Hold fast.

  Russell Became, snarling at Lachlan. Another dog splintered as he rotated the sword above his head and delivered a fatal blow. Olaf was good, he’d give him that. But at what price? Lachlan held on, swinging in a full circle, slicing at the final dog, using the momentum to fling himself at Russell. He knocked the wolf aside, ramming it into the wall.

  They engaged, sword against claws. He didn’t dare spare her a glance, though he was worried sick for her. She’d been knocked out flat.

  More dogs emerged from the dark form, like bees from a disturbed hive. Bring them on, you son of a bitch. Lachlan backed the dogs away from Jessie.

  One grabbed at the back of his leg. He hadn’t even seen it. Teeth sank into his calf. He brought the sword round and sliced it in two, then stabbed another one that had come up to join the first.

  From the corner of his eye he saw Russell moving in on him. Lachlan was twisted round, and he bent down and lunged through his spread legs. The tip of the sword sliced into Russell’s leg. Unfortunately, he didn’t splinter like his creations. He groaned in pain, though, and backed up, electrical arcs still moving over his knee. Lachlan felt the tug as Olaf used his body to run toward the smoke that hovered above Jessie—Jessie’s mum. He heard Russell scream, “Calista!”

  Then everything went completely black. The rage came on him like a tidal wave, sinking him deep into his subconscious. Just like the day he’d killed his mum.

  No! I can’t hurt Jessie. Let me back in!

  Olaf wasn’t letting go this time. Lachlan felt himself move but couldn’t see anything. Focus on my body, the ache of my muscles and the heat on my skin. The Darkness ebbed, and Lachlan saw a smeary blur. He heard a Gaelic battle cry coming from his mouth and felt himself rush toward a dark figure. He felt a thud as the sword hit something, sending him falling backward.

  It jarred him out of Olaf’s control. He opened his eyes. The sword handle still rocked from the motion, inches from his face. His gaze flew to Jessie, in a heap only inches below where the blade had jammed into the wall.

  “Son of a bitch! You nearly killed her!”

  “I knew what I was doing.”

  Lachlan pulled out the sword, jumped to his feet and searched for Russell. “Where is he?”

  “Gone,” Olaf said. “When I went for the smoke and it disappeared, he ran out screaming the woman’s name.”

  Lachlan dropped to his knees. “Jessie. Come back.”

  He tapped her cheeks, making her head rock back and forth. He pressed his finger against the pulse point at her neck. At first, nothing. He moved his finger and finally found it, strong and steady. He pulled her into his arms and stood. Her head lolled to the side. The thought of losing her felt like his half-lang stabbing right through his chest.

  It wasn’t easy, but he managed to hook his sword at his hip, hidden by the coat. The place was a mess, but he had no time to tidy up. He carried her down the stairs to the SUV.

  A man got out of his car, his eyes going to them as he rushed over. “Is she all right?”

  Luckily, she bore no lacerations. The goose egg was hidden from sight, at the back of her head. “She’s wiped out from the flu. Wouldn’t go to the doctor when she first got the fever. And they say men are stubborn.”

  Go on, then.

  The man had backed up at the word “flu,” but he was clearly suspicious.

  Lachlan’s heartbeat tripped when he saw the tip of his sword peeking out between the folds o
f his coat.

  The man said, “Maybe I should call someone. Ambulance. Police.” His gaze started to move down Lachlan’s coat.

  Lachlan shifted to the side. “I’m taking her to the hospital now. No worries, she’ll be fine.”

  The man must have sensed that something wasn’t right. “I’ll get the door for you.”

  Was there anything in the front seat that would further pique his suspicion? Last thing they needed was the cops looking for them. “Sure, that would be great.”

  The good Samaritan opened the door and was none too subtle about peering inside. Lachlan nudged him out of the way and laid her in the front seat. “Thanks, mate.” He closed the door, got in, and headed off.

  He watched her as he drove, her chest rising and falling evenly, her face peaceful. Poor Jessie. She would be heartbroken. Let down by her father, betrayed by her mother. And now, possibly suffering a brain hemorrhage? Swelling? God, he didn’t know what to do.

  “The lassie’s all right.”

  Olaf, popping in just like that. Lachlan held in his fury. For now. “How do you know?”

  “Since she and I ha’ gone to the Void together, I feel a connection with her, too.”

  Great. “Will you be possessing her now?”

  “Nae, but I get the feel of her. She’s having scattered thoughts, like pieces of dreams. She’s thinking of ye.”

  Lachlan didn’t want to think about her dreaming of him. “Can you read my thoughts? How’d you know I was worried about her?”

  Olaf sputtered a laugh. “It’s plain on your expression how ye feel about her.”

  “I care about her, aye.” The sight of her on the floor had crumpled his heart like a balled-up piece of paper. “She might be my sister-in-law someday. I have to see her like that. Like a sister.”

  Another damned laugh. “If that’s what ye want to tell yourself.”

  “I do.” Lachlan’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. He should feel shame for how he lusted for her, but so far he’d managed to do the right thing. He’d keep doing it. Magnus would awake in a day or two, and they’d sort out their feelings.

  It hit him then, that Magnus had the same Darkness as her father, who killed her mother over the affair. Russell had sought Calista for years, even though she’d married and had a child. If Magnus possessed that territoriality, he might kill him if he got a whiff of what had already happened between them. He and Jessie would have to squash any last bit of their attraction. Hell, even Olaf could see how he felt about her.

  And how do you feel about her?

  Not going there. “Olaf, you said you couldn’t possess me, but that’s what you did back there.”

  “I hadn’t possessed ye, but I can possess ye. Did I not make that distinction?”

  “No. That’s how I killed my mum, lost control. And I almost killed Jessie. The damned sword was inches above her head!” If he’d come to and found that he speared her, he would have run the blade through himself rather than live with that.

  “Russell was trying to bring the spirit down into her,” Olaf said. “I had to move. Ye weren’t doing anything.”

  Lachlan gritted his teeth so hard his jaw hurt. “Because you’d taken me over! I blank out when you do that. You go crazy, slashing and stabbing without thinking. Never do that again.”

  “Och, ye only want my help on your terms, is that it?”

  “Aye, that’s it.”

  “It doesna work that way. I told ye already, ye canna dictate how I should help.”

  “Then I don’t want your help. I can’t trust you. You’re a wild card.”

  “I dinna know what that means, but I take it as an insult.” Olaf pulled out so fast, it sucked Lachlan’s breath away.

  “Hell.”

  Had he made a mistake? Lachlan glanced over at Jessie. Olaf had nothing to lose. But he had everything to lose. He would live with the consequences, knowing he wouldn’t be the one to hurt her. It would have to be enough.

  My brain has cracked in half.

  That was Jessie’s first thought. She took note of her body. I’m in a bed, cozy and warm, though there’s something cold against the side of my head where it hurt the most. Her second thought. Other than that, it was hard to think. Her mother! She was going to give blood to bring her mother back, and Lachlan burst in, and Russell had thrown her. That’s all she could remember.

  She cracked an eye open. Lachlan was pacing by the bed, but he turned at that movement and came closer.

  “You’re alright?”

  She nodded, then winced as pain rocked her head.

  He knelt by her side, clicking on a penlight. “I’m supposed to check for concussion. I thought about taking you to a hospital, but here seemed the safest place, so I looked up symptoms.”

  She forced her eyes open, which was damned hard with him shining a light in them.

  “You remember what happened?”

  “Mostly, up until I hit the wall.” She struggled to sit up, and the pieces came together. “You ruined it, Lachlan. I was going to bring my mom back, and you barged in yelling, setting Russell off.”

  “I barged in because Russell isn’t after your blood, Jess.” He opened the bottle of aspirin by the bed and took two out. “Think about it. Can he really make a body from Darkness and a pint of blood? His hell doggies are forms, not anything that can pass for normal. But just like he went into your dad’s body, he thinks he can bring your mum into yours.” He handed her the aspirins and the glass of water he’d already put there.

  “No. My mom wouldn’t do that. I’m her daughter.”

  She swallowed the aspirins as something hard and cold seemed to break loose deep inside her, like a chunk of glacier breaking off. “You said Russell killed women while trying to bring my mother back.” The words moved up her throat like one of those chunks of ice, slowly, painfully.

  He related what he’d seen during his astral projection. “He was summoning your mother’s soul down into her body, but the woman died before it was completed. I researched news stories while you were sleeping: the four women who disappeared recently all look like you, like your mother might look.”

  “I remember worrying that a serial killer was targeting brunettes.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “Obviously it hasn’t worked. He needs me, my body. He was using my feelings for my mom to get me to cooperate.” A bigger, darker truth loomed closer. “My mom . . . she knew.”

  He gave her a sympathetic look. “He was trying to get her to come down into your body. Maybe he’s lying to her about how he’s going to bring her back. We won’t find out, because you’re not going back to the Void.”

  “But if I talk to her—”

  “No. It’s too dangerous, for one. Besides, I don’t know if Olaf will be helping us anymore.”

  Her eyes widened. “Is he gone? Did he go to the Light? It frightened him so.”

  “No, he pissed me off. He took me over at your apartment, pushed me right out. Next thing I know I’ve plunged the sword inches above your head.” His voice tightened in fear, at the thought, no doubt, that he could have hurt her like he hurt his mother.

  “The hell of it is, we need him.” He stood and started pacing again. “What were you thinking, going up to your apartment without me?”

  “You were asleep.”

  “I woke and you were gone. Gone! You weren’t supposed to go inside. You said you were just putting a note on the door.” He pinned her with a fierce look. “What are you smiling about?”

  She curled her arms around her pillow, a soft smile warming the ice just a little. “You care about me.”

  Now he flung his arms out. “That’s all you’ve got to say for yourself?”

  She shouldn’t like that he had been so worried, but she did. “I’m sorry. I went up and the door was open. He was inside, and I thought this whole thing could be over before you woke.”

  “Don’t do it again. Ever.”

  “Fine. I won’t.” She loved that he’d allowed h
er the hope that maybe Russell was duping her mom, even if it wasn’t likely. She scooted out of bed. “I want to see the women he’s killed.”

  “Why?”

  “They’re connected to me.”

  “It’s not your fault they’re dead.”

  “I know that, but it’s because of my family that they’re dead.”

  He looked at her, releasing a breath. “All right. Then we’ll have dinner, if we’ve an appetite for it.”

  He led her into his bare room and gestured for her to sit in a hard wooden chair at the small desk. “Not even an office chair?” she said.

  “Dad and I once astral-projected to a monastery. This is what their rooms looked like. It seemed appropriate. I even thought about joining one.”

  “You were going to become a monk?”

  “I thought it would ease the pain. But I didn’t want to abandon this place, so I stayed.”

  She shook her head and sat down in front of the laptop. She moved the mouse and the blank screen made way for a newspaper’s website.

  “That’s the last one,” he said, coming up behind her. “The woman I saw.”

  “She’s beautiful. Only twenty-seven. Oh, God, and she has two young children.” Her heart crushed under that one line. Two children were missing their mother, like she had missed her mother. “Were any of them found?”

  “No. And they’ve started disappearing more frequently. He was getting desperate when he couldn’t get you as easily as he wanted. Now he’s focusing on you again.”

  “In an odd way, I can understand why he’s so desperate. If you could see her, embedded in the wall, fear in her eyes, knowing she’ll be swallowed. He loves her fiercely, insanely. Of course he’s getting desperate.” She put her hand over her mouth. “If he’d found me, none of these women would have died.”

  Lachlan clamped his hands on her shoulders. “Don’t put that on yourself. This is him, all him. You don’t get to die to save anyone. It’s not your place. In any case, he’s failed with these other women. You’re his only hope.”

  She returned to his initial search, clicking on another link. Another woman. This one also had a child, though he was a teenager. Still, losing a parent at any age had to be devastating.