Darkness Becomes Her (21 page)

Don’t cry.
She swallowed tears that wanted to spill out. “You are a great guy, Lachlan. Forgive yourself. That’s what you can do for me.” She wanted to tell him how much he meant to her, but he would no doubt show this to Magnus. No, let that be. What would be the point anyway? She ended the recording and sent it to him. She hated that he’d go crazy for a bit, but he knew her, knew this was what she’d have to do in this situation.

He knew her. The only person who really did.

She reached the warm lights of the shop as a sports car pulled up to the curb. Russell hadn’t been lying about the size; it had one of those barely there backseats.

“Jessie!” Hayley jumped out and hugged her. “I can sit in the back. I’m so glad you’re coming.”

Clearly, she had no idea how terrible this man was, just as it should be. As they stood outside the car, Russell peering at them from inside, one desperate thought of running flared in her mind. But he was Darkness. He would catch them in an instant, and Hayley would know how dangerous and awful the world could be, if she survived. Once she was a witness, he couldn’t let her live.

Hayley crawled into the back, and Jessie sat in the passenger seat and closed the door. She turned to the girl as the car pulled away. So innocent, so beautiful. “Who are we seeing in concert?”

Jessie thought her voice sounded odd and disconnected. Hayley didn’t seem to notice.

“Muse. I hope you like alternative rock.”

“You do realize how dangerous it is to get into a car with a stranger.”

The girl’s expression fell. “I know. But it was so cold, and I had a while to walk yet. I promise I won’t do it again.”

“Ever. And don’t sneak out of the house again either. I know you want to stretch your wings. You’ll have time for that.” Her breath hitched, making her heart hurt. “Plenty of time.”

Russell watched in his peripheral vision, a small smile on his face. Bastard. He’d found her biggest vulnerability. He’d ripped out her heart and now the slowing blood flow was shutting down her organs.

They pulled into the jammed parking lot of the auditorium, hearing the throbbing bass right through the closed windows. Only a few people remained outside. Hayley’s face lit up the moment she crawled out of the backseat and looked at the large building. “My first concert!”

“Shall we go, ladies?” Russell gestured toward the entrance.

Jessie took Hayley’s hand and they walked together, though the girl’s pace was much faster. Hayley was going to a concert, and she was going to her death.

“You don’t look well, Jess,” Hayley said. “Are you okay?”

“I may be coming down with something. I’ll be alright.” Would she? Where would her soul go? To the Void?

“I’m sorry I dragged you out here.”

“Just enjoy yourself. And when we get out, call your mom and have her come get you. She’s worried.”

“She’s going to be pissed.”

“Yeah, and deservedly so. You have to earn her trust, and she has to give it to you. Work on that together.” Jessie wanted to give her all the advice she could think of, but they were approaching the box office.

Russell bought the tickets but held them in his hands. “We need to stick close together.”

Hayley gushed in gratitude. Jessie did not.

They walked in, his hand on each of their shoulders. Jessie shook it off, but he only put it back and squeezed gently.
Cooperate
, he was telling her.

She moved away again.
Get your hand off me. I’m not going anywhere.

Bleachers went way up all around the sides, but Hayley led them straight into the crowd in front of the stage. The music was hard, pounding, and loud. Blinding white lights flashed and swept over a mass of heads and arms. Hayley became one of those people, moving to the music next to her. Russell stood right behind Jessie, his body brushing hers ever so slightly. He was smiling, eyes glittering with anticipation. The song was about being victorious. The bass pounded right through her, making her eardrums itch.

She leaned next to Russell’s ear. “What if I die like all the others?”

That, at least, stole the smile away. “How the hell did you know about them?”

“That doesn’t matter. What if I collapse right here in front of everyone? You can’t hide my body like you hid the others’.”

“It will work. You’re a part of her.”

“Does she know you’re trading me for her? That you’re sacrificing her own daughter?”

“Shut up.”

Maybe she could somehow talk to her mother before the exchange and get her answer. That was her only hope, that Calista would be horrified and refuse. Mothers sacrificed for their children, not the other way around. Well, in theory.

Hayley screamed. Jessie jerked around, imagining a column of black smoke coming down into her head. But she was frantically waving at someone.

“My friends!” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

She weaved through the crowd to a group of teens. One girl hugged her and both girls jumped up and down and squealed. Hayley gestured toward Jessie, clearly trying to get her friends to come her way. They shook their heads, pointing to the spot they had near the stage.

Russell pointed to a section way up high and nearly empty. “We’re going up to the bleachers.” Most people were either on the floor or midway up.

A few minutes later Hayley returned, looking letdown.

Jessie leaned closer. “We’re going to sit up there. It’s too crowded down here.”

Hayley’s face reflected even more disappointment. “But I like it here. Can I stay with my friends? No, then I’d be leaving you, and you came because of me.”

Leaving her.

She looked at Russell. “Hayley’s going to stay with her friends.” It wasn’t a request.

He considered it, then nodded. It would probably work better in his plan anyway.

Hayley hugged her. “Thank you, Jess.”

“Why don’t you plan on staying with them the rest of the concert?”

“And leave you with some strange guy? No way.”

“You were comfortable enough with him to get in his car. Besides, I’m a grown-up. I’ll be fine. I don’t want to stay for the whole concert anyway. Now that I know you’re safe with your friends, I’m good with leaving early.” When Hayley hesitated, Jessie said, “It’s okay, really.” Yes, get away from Russell.

“Well, all right. Text me when you get home.”

Jessie smiled. “Yes, Mom.”

Hayley rolled her eyes. “I did so totally sound like her, didn’t I? I guess I can see why she worries.”

Jessie pushed back a strand of Hayley’s pink hair. “It comes with caring. It’s a small price to pay, believe me.”

The girl dashed off to her friends, merging with the group. Jessie followed Russell through the crowd to one of the stairways that led up toward the cavernous ceiling. Her heart tightened into a tiny ball with each step. He wouldn’t wait much longer. He had a couple of hours to do what he needed to do and give her time to recover. Or leave her there and escape if she died. Would he try again with Hayley? Probably not. If she didn’t work, Hayley wouldn’t either. And Hayley would now be with her friends.

She told Russell that. “She’ll be expecting a text from me when I get home tonight. Otherwise she’ll be worried.” And investigate. “Text her that I have to leave town now. Assure her that it’s not her fault.”

Jessie wanted Hayley as far away from who she’d be. She was sure Russell would take his love—her body—away as soon as the exchange was complete. The girl would be hurt by her distance, but Hayley would go on.

Thank God.

She would go on, too. She just didn’t know where.

Chapter 21

F
rom the window, Lachlan watched Jessie walk down the sidewalk. She was on the phone, probably calling the girl’s mother to assure her she was all right.

Cheveyo stepped up beside him. “You’re still worried about her.”

“I trust your shield. It’s kept Russell from finding my home so far. But . . .”

“You love her.” That wasn’t a question either. Cheveyo smiled. “I’ve seen the look before, and I’ve felt the same resistance you feel now. I had my reasons, too. Good ones. But you know, reasons, codes of honor, don’t fill your heart, don’t warm your bed or slake your desires. They’re cold and lonely when it comes right down to it.”

Lachlan only grunted in answer. How did the guy know so much? He wasn’t a normal guy, that’s why.

“Go on, follow her. She doesn’t have to know you’re there. I’ll watch over Magnus. The second he wakes, I’ll call you.”

He gave Cheveyo a nod of thanks and went to grab his phone. He searched the floor, under the bed, everywhere. Then he looked downstairs. “Where the hell is my phone?”

“Give me your number and I’ll call it.”

Lachlan traced the ring tone to between the cushions of the couch down in the living room. Odd. He pulled it out and saw a text message notification from Jessie. Even odder. He opened it. No message, but a video. Tightness pulled at his chest even before he could think of why she’d be sending a video.

Her words plunged his heart to the depths of despair. That’s why the phone had been hidden. She hadn’t wanted him to find it before she had a chance to do something really stupid.

Lachlan turned to Cheveyo, standing behind him. “Where’s the nearest coffee shop? She said the name of one on Main Street . . . it had a name, Jack, Peter—”

“Pete’s Java?”

“That’s it.”

“Follow me.” Cheveyo ran down the stairs to the door, Lachlan steps behind him.

It wasn’t far to what looked like the main drag. Their shoes pounded on the pavement, his blood pounding the same way in his head. Lachlan saw the lighted sign,
PETE’S JAVA,
no one standing out front. Was she inside? He tore through the entrance just as a couple was coming out. He slammed right into them, but his gaze scoured the space, the woman in the corner with her laptop, not Jessie, a woman at the counter ordering, not Jessie. No Jessie anywhere.

“Hey, man,” a voice said next to him.

A cup lay on its side on the floor, coffee spilling.

“Sorry.” Lachlan dashed back out to the sidewalk where Cheveyo was still searching, shaking his head.

“She’s not here.”

Lachlan’s heart was like that cup, all of his blood spilled right out. “I’ve got to find her.”

“Let’s get Pope.”

They raced back to the town house. Cheveyo called out for Pope the second he opened the door.

Lachlan grabbed his sword. He hated asking for help, but there was no room for pride when Jessie’s life was on the line. “Olaf, now would be a good time to have your help.”

No answer.

Cheveyo and Pope rushed back in. Pope said, “To Jessie?”

“Yes. Now.”

Pope grabbed his arm and Lachlan felt a
whoosh
. He heard Cheveyo’s outraged, “Hey! What about me?”

Lachlan and Pope materialized in a dark, loud place that smelled of sweat and smoke. It only took a second to orient himself. Concert.

Lachlan searched the crowd. “Where is she?”

“My ability hasn’t come back precisely. She’s here somewhere.”

They pushed their way through the mass of people in the smoke-filled space. Twenty minutes later, he spotted Hayley.

“Where’s Jessie?” he asked, startling her.

She pointed up. “She and the guy who gave us a ride went up there. She’s not, like,
with
him—”

Lachlan turned, finding Pope and gripping his arm. “Up there!”

In a flash, they transported to the top of the bleachers.

Jessie!
Lying limp across Russell’s lap, his hands hovering inches above her, his head thrown back as he looked at the ceiling. Bringing down Darkness, though in the murky smoke-filled air Lachlan could hardly discern it. Russell looked up, and his expression fell.

Nothing like I feel, you bastard.

Lachlan lunged at him, but Russell stood, holding Jessie’s body in front of him.

“You don’t want to hurt her, because there might be a chance she’s still in here.”

Was there a chance?

Fury burned through Lachlan. “You’re going to hide behind her, you coward?”

Russell’s gaze slid beyond him to where Pope stood. He Became, dumping Jessie on the floor between the rows of seats. The dark wolf blended in with the black walls behind him. An occasional flicker of light reached them, flashing on the churning interior of the wolf. Several dogs emerged like a visible belch from the wolf’s mouth, and two turned toward Pope.

Lachlan removed the dirk at his waist and called, “Pope!” He tossed it to him, handle first. Pope caught it a second before the dogs hit him. Then he disappeared, reappearing behind Russell.

Russell spun, baring his teeth and snarling at Lachlan, who brought the sword down, scraping the wolf’s chest. No magic. No arcs of electricity. The wolf yelped in pain but didn’t back up. Lachlan could see the realization in its eyes: it knew he didn’t have the power.

But he had skills. He took a second to check on Pope, who was leading the dogs on a chase, disappearing and then reappearing. He pushed out his hand, and the dogs fell back as though hit with an invisible force, only to leap at him again.

Lachlan saw movement and swung around, sword slicing through the air. The wolf stumbled back. They fought in the small space behind the last row and the wall. Damn small spaces again. He thrust, the wolf advanced, then retreated.

Back and forth, until Lachlan’s back slammed into a wall. Hell. He was cornered. The wolf smiled and prepared for a final strike. Lachlan jumped to the top edge of the seats, then to the next row, running along the top of that one, and pounced on it.

He landed on the wolf’s broad back, bringing the sword round and cutting its throat. Russell should have died right then. Far from dead or severely wounded, it howled and twisted, sending Lachlan to the floor. He couldn’t win, he realized, not without magic.

Olaf! Now is not the time to hold a grudge.

No response. Bastard was ignoring him.

Russell tore back toward Jessie. Knowing he had to keep himself between them, Lachlan leaped to the top of the seats again, keeping her in his sights. The wolf had been solid enough when he landed on it. He knew he could hurt it. There was a slash in its throat, but the beast had no blood to spill, no skin to split. He was weaker, though. As Lachlan watched, the split mended.

Russell’s gaze shot behind Lachlan, where Pope smacked the dogs back with some unseen force. The wolf’s mouth moved, uttering the words, “Who the hell is that?”

“You’re not the only one from Surfacia.”

Russell’s eyes widened as he turned back to Lachlan, who was charging toward him. Russell sent him flying backward, slamming into Pope and scattering the dogs like bowling pins.

Pope whispered, “Get to Jessie. I’ll get us out of here.”

Russell, much closer to Jessie than they were, bounded toward her again. Pope clamped onto Lachlan’s arm, and with a
whoosh
they were next to Jessie. Pope put his other hand on her leg and they left again. The last thing Lachlan saw was Russell’s shocked face.

The three of them popped into his living room. Lachlan, on the floor beside Jessie, set his sword aside and pulled her onto his lap. “Jessie. Wake up, baby. Wake up.”

It hit him then that if she woke, she might be Calista.

She looked just like she had when she went to the Void. An enormous hole opened inside, threatening to swallow him. The thought of Jessie being in that horrid place she’d described, being devoured by it . . .

Pope put his hand on his shoulder. Out of sympathy, Lachlan realized.

He turned to the man. “You left Cheveyo behind. Why?”

“I care about him and his family deeply. They have been through a lot, but now they are happy, settled, and raising a son. Cheveyo would throw himself into your fight without a second thought. It’s his nature. If he was hurt, Petra would heal him and end up dying. If he was killed, she would kill me.”

Lachlan nodded. “They’ve earned their rest, as have you.”

Pope knelt down, waving a hand over Jessie. “She’s not in there. Something like this happened to Petra. She had healed too many mortal wounds, and Cheveyo warned her not to heal again for some time. Unfortunately, as you know, when you love someone, logic does not prevail. Nor self-preservation. When Cheveyo was shot, and she healed him, her soul left her body. He used their soul connection to go after her.”

Lachlan looked at Pope. “He obviously succeeded because she’s here.”

“Yes, but he almost got lost himself.”

“I can bring her back.”

Pope shook his head. “I do not sense the kind of psychic connection that bonds Petra and Cheveyo.”

Lachlan’s heart opened. “I love her. Isn’t that enough?” He did love her, he realized. He hadn’t just fallen for her, but loved her with everything that was in him.

“You must have a way to get to where she is,” Pope said. “Their bond allowed that connection.”

Lachlan lifted his head. “I have a way. I just have to convince him.” Something occurred to him. “The girl! There’s a girl at the concert who got some of Jessie’s bone marrow. Russell lured her into trusting him, figuring if she had Jessie’s DNA, it might be enough to use her body to bring Calista back. Russell might go after Hayley again. She doesn’t know she’s in danger, and we want to keep it that way if we can.”

He set Jessie on the couch and ran to the kitchen to find the initial article about the carnival. His gaze went to Jessie’s picture even as he pointed out Hayley. “This is her. She’s down in the pit.”

Pope vanished. The man wasted no time, that was for sure.

Lachlan rushed back to the couch, pulling Jessie into his arms. “Olaf!” Desperation and fear saturated his voice. “Please.”

He felt the Highlander’s energy. “Och,
now
you ask nice. What happened to the lass?”

“Russell sent her soul to the Void to bring back her mother’s soul.” He tore his gaze from her, looking at his reflection in the glass. He and Olaf both looked opaque, ghostly. “I need you to take me to the Void, like you did with her. I have to go in and bring her back.”

“Nae, I’m no’ going back there. Ye took me to task before, and now ye beg for my help. I’m done helping ye.”

“Yes, I’m begging.”

Olaf made a grunting sound. “Ye dinna even know if ye can go there. She holds the same as that place, the Darkness. Ye dinna have that. And the Light, it gets closer e’ery time I go. As angry as ye make me, I’m no’ ready to go yet.”

Lachlan looked at that grizzled face, weathered and old even at a young age. “This isn’t about you or me. It’s about her. She’s done nothing to make you angry. Can you let her be trapped in that place? Swallowed?”

The ghostly image looked down at Jessie. “It’s a terrible thing, aye. But so is the Light.”

“I thought the Light was supposed to be warm, welcoming, full of joy with loved ones coming for you.”

“No’ when ye’ve done the things I done.”

Lachlan remembered something he’d said earlier. “You let your men down.”

“Och, rub it in, why don’t ye?”

“I’m not rubbing it in. You said you let your men down, that it haunts you. You have a chance to make up every wrong you’ve ever committed. Redemption. You ache with the need for it, the hopelessness of ever getting it. I know that ache well, and I know that sometimes we’re given a rare chance to hold it in our hands again. This is your chance. Help me save her.”

“You’re killin’ me, cousin. Aye, it sounds honorable and brave, but it’s a lost cause. Ye willna get in, or ye’ll get trapped yourself.”

“Scots always embrace a lost cause. That’s what the Jacobite rebellion was. When you ran across the heather, sword in hand, you knew that, didn’t you? But you ran anyway, with your battle cry and your rage, knowing you were fighting for the right side. You lost that time.”

“Och, there ye go, rubbin’ it in again.”

“You get a do over.”

“A what?”

“You get to do it again, only this time you’re going to get it right. We’re going to win.”

Silence for a few seconds. Good. Lachlan put his hand over her heart, feeling the beat of it. “We can save her. Remember her laugh, the soft smile on her face, and her adventurous spirit.” He remembered, and it hurt and soothed at the same time. “She wasn’t afraid of anything.” Not even of him. “We can save her, Olaf. You can save her.”

“And what if I go to hell?”

“There’s no hell. Hell is here, on earth. It’s what we make of our lives. I’ve made my own hell. You probably made yours, too. A lot of us do. When you go to the Light, you leave this hell behind.” He didn’t know where this was coming from. Maybe out of desperation. But it felt right. “All you take are your triumphs and joys.” Olaf’s energy ebbed. “Don’t you slink off like a coward!”

“Now ye’re getting mean again.”

Ah-hah. Being called a coward poked an old wound. A deep one. “That’s what you did, isn’t it? When things started going bad, you ran. That’s how you let your men down.”

Olaf vanished, as wholly as Pope had. He’d pushed the Highlander too far.

Lachlan touched his forehead to Jessie’s. “I’m sorry, Jess. I blew it.”

This was like those moments after he’d come out of the blackout to find his mother dying on the floor, feeling so damned helpless. He wanted to throw something, break something. But he clutched Jessie to him, not wanting to let her go.

Where was she? He couldn’t abide it, thinking of her in that place she’d described with fear and disgust in her eyes. He couldn’t sit there and do
nothing
.

Her words echoed in his mind:
You are a warrior who will go to any length to do what’s right. To protect those you care about.

How they’d filled him then, how they tore at him now. He laid her down, pulled up her shirt and stretched out beside her so that his head rested on her stomach. He traced the symbol there, then pressed his hand flat against it.