Darkness Becomes Her (18 page)

“Believe me, I’d rather do it on my own. We don’t have time, or I’d let you rest. I need to go back to the past again. Just a quick trip.”

Ah, so that’s why he’d put his sword away.

“Nae, canna do any more for a time. Ye ask too much of me.”

“We gave you something in return. At our expense, we let you experience carnal pleasure.”

“At your expense? Och, ye enjoyed it more than I. Do not fool yourselves, as ye dinna fool me.”

“It’s not a matter of us enjoying it or not,” Lachlan said. He lowered his head. “Aye, she and I lust for each other. But I have honor, or at least I’m trying to have honor.”

She walked up to Olaf. “We’re only human. Do you remember being human, Olaf? Having weaknesses? Feeling loss?”

Lachlan said, “You threw yourself into battle knowing you could be killed, because you believed in a lost cause. She believes in this cause, and you’re the only way for me to find out the truth before she throws herself into a dangerous situation.”

She let all of her emotions fill her eyes. “Please?”

Olaf growled. “Ye think ye can tug at me heart with that look?”

She bit her lower lip. “Help me save my mother, Olaf.” She put her hands on Lachlan’s arm and squeezed, peering into the visage of a face that looked so much older than twenty-six. “We need you.”

“All right, all right. Ye’ve chipped away at me enough.”

Lachlan sat on the couch and closed his eyes. She sat next to him. He reminded her of a sleeping cat, fingers convulsing, eyelids twitching. She put her hands on his arm again, thinking of that golden rope that anchored her in the Void.

It amazed her to think that he was going to her past. He’d said he looked like a ghost at the target location. She tried to remember if she’d seen anything strange that day, but the events in the kitchen would have taken all of her attention.

His muscles moved beneath her fingers. If only he could change the past.

He sat up, eyes open, clutching her hand in his. He rubbed his face, as though trying to rub away the horror of what he’d seen. With a deep, shuddering breath, he turned to her. “Your mother was telling the truth. Your father did it.”

Her chest caved in, and he pulled her against him. She clutched at him, trying to catch her breath. “What did you see?”

“I came in at the moment it happened. Your father . . . he was destroyed. I could see it on his face as he took the two of them in, I’m guessing just then realizing your mother had been involved with Russell behind his back. He became a wolf and lashed at her. One swipe, like Russell did to Magnus.” He held her closer. “I’m sorry.”

She sank into his comfort, savoring the feel of his mouth against the top of her head. Her father, a murderer. “That’s why he was convicted. The evidence did point to him. So that means, the man’s voice I heard, saying he could save Mom with Darkness . . . that was Russell. I assumed it was my dad.” She hated to move out of Lachlan’s embrace, but she got to her feet. “I have to get in touch with Russell. Mom said to leave a note on my apartment door.”

He tried to stand, but his body sagged back onto the couch. “I don’t like this.”

“Don’t you see, it’s going to be all right. Russell won’t hurt me, won’t hurt you. I won’t have to hide. And I’ll have my mom back.”

He took her in. “I hope so. Does this mean you won’t have to go back to that Void?”

She shook her head. “I hate the thought of my dad being there, but I can’t risk my soul for a murderer’s soul.” She turned to him. “You look tired.” He’d said he was tired after using his abilities. “I’ll drive into town—”

“With me.” He stumbled down the hall and returned with the sword. “I don’t trust Russell. He did say he wanted to talk about your mother the other day. Has he ever tried to tell you what he really wanted before then?”

She thought about it. “Once, he said something about my mother, but I didn’t want to hear what he had to say.” Now she wished she had. Magnus wouldn’t be holding Darkness. “I’ll drive, you relax. All I’m doing when I get there is sticking a note to the door and leaving.”

“If I fall asleep, wake me when you get there. I’m going up with you.”

“All right.” She put her hand to his cheek. Her protector. With sleepy eyes.

He dozed while she still tried to process everything. Darkness had turned her father into a murderer. She knew it wasn’t in his heart. He was a gentle and loving man. He had adored her mother, coddling her when she fell ill. Yet, Darkness had turned him into a savage beast. She had that beast in her, too. She glanced over at Lachlan. Any man she loved would be subject to it. One false move, one flirtation on his part, and someone would be dead.
Like your nightmares, when you kill the children.

Not fair. She wanted love, family, the simple things everyone could have. Not her. Never her.

By the time she pulled up to her apartment complex, Lachlan slept like a sweet, innocent boy. The sight of him made her heart swell, filled with an emotion she dared not identify.

She’d run up, tape the note on the door, and come right back down. No need to wake him. She quietly opened the glove box, took out the sticky notes and pen and jotted down her number.

As soon as she reached the top of the stairs, her heart lurched at the sight of her door cracked open. She hadn’t notified her landlord of her departure. No one should be getting it ready for the next tenant yet.

Russell moved into the gap, opening the door a little more when he saw her. “Calista said you were coming here. I hope I didn’t startle you, but as you saw, time is running out.”

Seeing him up close like this, her father’s green eyes, his impossibly long eyelashes, twisted her up inside.

He gestured to the living area, where a silver cup, a blood bag, and a needle sat on the table.

She glanced back to the vehicle where Lachlan still slept.

“Your mother was so happy to see you. I haven’t seen her with that much hope in a long time.”

It was bizarre, being civil with the man she’d been hiding from all this time. “You visit her every day?”

“I hate knowing she’s there alone.”

“You love her.” She could see the agony saturating his expression.

“More than life itself.” Genuine emotion seeped into his voice, a love warped by Darkness. “I loved her from the first moment I saw her, and all those years after your father stole her away from me. I could see that she still loved me, too. She had affection for your father, but we . . . we had an overwhelming kind of love. Have you ever loved like that before?”

She glanced again at her SUV. “Only my parents.” Was what she felt—the passion, the desire—Darkness?

“Your father and I had a turbulent history. I’m sorry for taking his body, but he killed your mother. I couldn’t bear for him to live when she was dead. But she’s not dead. She can be here with you again, Jessie. However you feel about me, I respect that. I’ve done some terrible things to you, but I hope you understand why. I’ll stay out of your way, allow you and your mother to get to know each other again.”

Her throat tightened at that. “What do I do?”

He stepped back and opened the door more. “Just lie down there. I confess that I have no practice in sticking a needle into one’s vein, but I’ve done a lot of reading on the subject. It might hurt, but I doubt I’ll do any permanent damage. In any case, it’ll be over in a minute or two. It won’t take as much bravery as it took for you to go to the Void, not once but twice. I admire you. I know how scary that place is.”

She shivered. “All right.” She sent one more glance Lachlan’s way before taking a step into the apartment. She saw no weapons, but of course, he
was
a weapon. But so was she.

Before Lachlan even woke, it would be over. He wouldn’t have to worry anymore. She’d go back to the car, drive to Sanctuary, and tell him it was over. Or would she wait with Russell to see her mother come alive again?

The door closed behind her.

Chapter 18

L
achlan dozed, lulled by his exhaustion and the soft vibration of the car as it moved through traffic. His body was dead tired, but his mind rolled through the possibility of Jessie being safe.

Maybe.

So all this time, Russell had only been trying to get some of her blood.

Maybe.

He didn’t like her meeting with him, but he would be right beside her. He summoned Olaf, mentally this time. “I know we just tapped you, cousin, but I need one more favor.”

“Och, ye’re wearing me out!”

“But I know the hearty stock you come from. You’re tough, a Highlander living in the frigid cold, pledging his life to protect those he cares about.”

“Hmph. Who says I care about ye?”

“Maybe you don’t, but you attached to me because you wanted adventure. Well, now you’re getting it.”

“This is the last time. I dinna like going to dark places where I canna do anything.”

Lachlan breathed in relief. “Just an astral projection this time. Take me to Russell Jackson.”

“At the present moment?”

“Take me back a week or two. Let me skim over the past, like an eagle over the plains.”

Olaf disappeared, long enough for Lachlan to think he wasn’t coming back. Then he felt the familiar sense of astral projection. He saw Russell, in a hotel room, saw him driving past the music store and then Jessie’s apartment. Then a flash back to the hotel, a slice of streetlight coming into the room through the drapes over the bed where a woman lay.

The man wasn’t as devoted to Calista as he’d said. No, wait. Something was very wrong with the scene. Lachlan pulled the image back, feeling his whole body tighten. Good God, the woman was tied to the bed, gagged, and terrified. Russell stood over her, drawing black smoke all around her.

“Calista,” he said, drawing out the name. “Come down, my love. The body is ready for you, the woman a perfect look-alike, wearing your clothing, your jewelry. I think it will work this time.”

A thin stream of smoke materialized from the ceiling and spiraled down to the woman. Russell lifted his hands to it.

“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 of 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.

M
y 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.