Face the Dark (Hunters of the Dark #3)

by Dave Ferraro

  Chapter Nine

  “Has anyone explored the hedge maze yet?” Rachel asked, gazing out into the dark beyond the tall glass windows of the pool room. “I can’t even see them from here.”

  “They’re just past the stream that runs through the property,” Jordan told her from the pool, where he waded in the deep end. “Past the basketball court. I only went out that far once to see if there was anything else.”

  “The garden is beautiful,” Jade piped up. “There’s this one older guy who I always see out there during the mornings. He takes really good care of the flowers.” She sighed. “Too bad Fall’s coming soon. They’ll all be dead before you know it, and then the snow.” She shuddered.

  “Does anyone play tennis?” Jordan asked suddenly, then winced when he realized that his sister had, until her accident.

  Jade smiled tightly, but didn’t say anything.

  “I play, Bro,” Brett piped up from the shallow end, as he paused to wipe the water out of his eyes after doing a few laps. “Used to play all the time.”

  “I thought you’d be more into basketball or football,” Rachel mused.

  “I like them too,” Brett shrugged. “But I found I had a knack for tennis in high school, so I played a bit with a good friend. The summer between my junior and senior years, I played every morning. It was nice.”

  “Maybe we could make a new routine,” Jordan suggested.

  “That would be cool,” Brett replied casually, then grinned. “If you don’t mind having your ass handed to you.”

  “You wish.”

  Brett scoffed before continuing his laps.

  “Well, I should probably hit the hay,” Rachel said reluctantly. “Beauty sleep.”

  “I’m surprised Shanna isn’t back yet,” Cameron murmured to no one in particular.

  “I think I’ll turn in too,” Amelia stretched as she stood up in the hot tub. “We should do this more often. It’s nice to just hang out.”

  “We could go into town tomorrow,” Rachel suggested. “We haven’t really had much of a chance to explore since we got here. It might be fun. You know, provided something monstery doesn’t come up.”

  “I like that idea,” Jade said. “We should totally do it.”

  “Good. We’ll plan it for tomorrow night then.” Rachel smiled, then glanced over at Jordan. “By the way, your boyfriend was hanging around the mansion yesterday. You should give him a call.”

  Jordan nodded, blushing.

  Rachel paused, watching him for a moment as she nibbled on her lower lip, when Amelia sauntered up to her and engaged her with talk about tomorrow, and escorted her out of the room.

  Brett swam up behind Jordan and grabbed hold of the side. “Did she say ‘boyfriend?’”

  Jordan sent him a shaky smile. “Yeah, I’m, uh, gay.”

  Brett nodded slowly as he processed the information, then shrugged. “All right. Just no handling the merchandise.”

  Jade scowled. “Jesus, Brett. Just because he’s gay doesn’t mean he’s attracted to an ingrate like you.”

  “I am way prettier,” Jordan added, smirking.

  Blinking, Brett regarded the two of them. “I’m totally hot.”

  Exasperated, Jade turned to talk to Cameron, who sat silently in the hot tub, watching the exchange. “Can you believe him?” she muttered.

  “I am hot,” Brett said again, with a little less certainty as he turned to Jordan.

  Jordan shrugged. “Not really my type though.”

  “Oh. I guess that’s cool.” He considered for a moment, then frowned. “Wait, so how am I not your type?”

  “Look, I’m going to go to bed. Are we still on for tennis?”

  Brett looked distracted as he nodded. “Yeah, and don’t think I’m going easy on you.”

  “I wouldn’t expect any less,” Jordan said, pulling himself out of the pool and leaving the room.

  Brett left a few minutes later, leaving Jade and Cameron to themselves. For awhile, they talked about superfluous things: the next day’s trip, the garden outside, but eventually the course of the conversation shifted, to their teammates, and then to themselves. “I know you feel like a freak right now,” Jade said softly, watching Cameron through her eyelashes. “I can see you trying to hide how you feel.”

  “Great,” Cameron murmured. “I just…it might take awhile to feel normal again. When we go out tomorrow, that’s all I’m going to be thinking about - how the people around us are reacting.”

  “I know what you mean,” Jade said, lifting her shoulder. “At least you can still function the same.”

  “I didn’t mean-”

  “I know what you meant,” Jade interrupted. “People aren’t going to stare to be cruel though. They’re…curious. Things that are different attract their notice. They don’t mean anything by it.”

  “It still hurts feeling like I’m on display. Even here, I…” He shook his head. “I know people are tiptoeing around the subject. It’s hard to do with it right…here.” He gestured toward his face in general.

  “People are going out of their way to be extra nice?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I noticed. Brett didn’t even say anything rude.”

  Cameron chuckled. “I’m glad that you brought it up though. The others…they’re just uncomfortable talking about it. You can relate.”

  “I can,” Jade said. “We’re both going to be dealing with this for the rest of our lives. But we have a good support group here. These people, for better or for worse, are our friends. And they’re damn good friends. They won’t let us down.”

  Cameron nodded, avoiding her eyes, doubts racing through his mind. They’d been surprisingly supportive through this dark trial. How would they feel if they ever found out what he’d done? Would they understand? It seemed that Jade would, at least. And Shanna…she was always understanding. She would get it too. And that’s all that really mattered to him, in the end. He would let her make her own decision when it came to La Faer Noir, like a big girl, and he would back up whatever she chose, just like he was sure she would do for him.

  “Well, it’s past my bedtime,” Jade announced, standing up. She glanced down at Cameron, who still sat in the hot tub. “You’re going to get awfully pruney if you stay in much longer.”

  “I just want to wait for Shanna,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Jade frowned. “Cameron, Shanna’s been gone for hours. She’s probably hanging out with Quinn, trying to make him feel better about things.”

  Cameron shrugged. “Well, in case she comes down, I don’t want her to feel like she missed out.”

  Nodding, Jade tried wrapping a towel around her torso. She struggled with it for a moment, then sighed and just slung it over her shoulder. “See you tomorrow,” she said, leaving the room.

  Cameron stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes, wondering what Shanna was doing at that moment. Was she asleep? Had she gone to bed, figuring the party had ended by now? Or was she having a quiet intimate talk with Quinn about their past lives? Either way, he felt a stab of pain in his chest. It felt like…betrayal, in a way, how she was so casual toward him. He was going through a hard time currently too. Where was the comfort and reassurance that he needed right now?

  “Damn it,” he muttered, closing his eyes. “Why?”

  He sat there for a moment longer until the timer on the Jacuzzi went off and the water stilled. Then he sat a little more, wondering if he should go to Shanna’s room, see if she was there. But what if she wasn’t?

  “Penny for your thoughts?”

  Cameron jumped, splashing water as his arms cut through the surface, getting some of it in his eyes, where the chlorine instantly began to sting them.

  “Shit,” Cameron cursed, reaching for a towel and running his eyes over the terrycloth as he climbed out of the water. It didn’t seem to help much, but he turned toward the speaker throu
gh blurry eyes. “Tessa.”

  Tessa smiled at him as she lounged in the chair Jade had vacated just minutes earlier. “Sorry. Samantha tells me that I need to make more noise when I enter a room.”

  “You should follow that advice,” he suggested as he began to towel off the rest of his body. After a moment, he looked up at her. “I did what you asked.”

  “You mixed the new powder into Shanna’s drink?”

  Cameron nodded. “Yeah.” He scowled. “Rachel had some too, actually.”

  “No matter,” Tessa said, regarding him as he worked on drying his legs. “Rachel has already been marked. She can’t be marked twice.”

  He looked up at her and tied his towel around his waist. “So, what do we do now?”

  Tessa stood up and approached him. When she reached him, she touched his scar. “I rather like this. It makes you seem dangerous. And brave. It’s something you’ve earned, facing a beast and surviving to tell the tale.”

  Cameron flinched. “Well, I don’t like it. Do you need me to do anything else for you or not?” He walked past her, then turned around to watch her.

  She looked back at him over her shoulder. “For now, we must wait and see how the events play out.”

  “When should I expect the demon to come for us?”

  Tessa smiled and brushed the gem over her forehead as she pushed a stray strand of hair back. “Soon. I won’t tell you anything other than that or it could look suspicious if you don’t act appropriately.” She tilted her head. “However, I was asked to cast a spell so no harm comes to you.”

  Cameron stiffened. “You should do it for all of us.”

  “Then the demon would have no reason to come,” Tessa said. “However, we need you for our plan to proceed, so you need to remain safe. Come here.”

  Taking a deep breath, Cameron approached her and she turned to face him. She placed her fingertips against his chest, surprising him with how warm they felt, like they’d just been hovering over a fire. He didn’t mind it though. In a way, it felt rather nice, reassuring. He closed his eyes as she made a few shapes on his skin with her fingers. “Amelia said that more magick could kill me.”

  “She’s right,” Tessa told him. “You’re flooded with the stuff. Your body can’t contain much more.”

  “Won’t this harm me then?”

  “I don’t use magick,” Tessa told him. “I bend reality.”

  Cameron opened his eyes wide and stared at her. “You…” He stiffened as he looked down at the golden shimmering patterns she’d left on his chest as she withdrew her hands.

  She looked up at him. “There. Now just don’t do anything stupid to get yourself killed.” She grinned to let him know that she was teasing and he smiled back.

  When she pulled away from him, he saw the golden glow disappear from his flesh. He stared down at himself with amazement, touching his chest tentatively, then looked up at her with awe on his face. “What are you?” he whispered.

  “I am everything and nothing. I can be anything. I can do anything.”

  “Like a…god?”

  Tessa smiled at this. “Hardly, but I’ve been worshipped as such.” She tilted her head. “I am djinn.”

  “Like a genie?” Cameron asked.

  Tessa nodded.

  “And Samantha owns you?”

  Tessa looked down for a moment, a moment that hinted at sadness, but she was looking back at him in another second, her intimidating stare back in place. “She is the vessel I channel my powers through at the moment,” she said, stepping away from him. “And if I were you, I would think very carefully about crossing Samantha. It would be your undoing.” She smirked. “Fair warning.”

  Cameron watched her approach the glass windows that looked out over the night and frowned. “So, that’s it? I can’t be harmed by the demon?”

  Pausing, Tessa glanced back at him. “No. When I said that there was no cure for the mark, I was not exaggerating. But with this charm, the demon, and any of its subjects, will have to finish the rest of its marks before it harms you.” She sent him an amused look. “You’d better make sure your comrades make it through this trial.” With a little wave back at him, she walked toward the window again. “Till we meet again.”

  And then she disappeared, walking right into the glass, as if it were a portal to somewhere else. Cameron watched the glass for a moment, hardly noticing the dark shrubs and the night air beyond as he let what Tessa said sink in. A djinn. Marking all but himself for demons. This was serious, scary stuff that he was dealing with. And he realized then that he was more over his head than he’d ever imagined.