Salem Moon (20 page)

As he walked, a light, cool drizzle of rain had begun to fall and he relished the cool breeze and the drops of rain. He was sweating
from both
passion and fear. His adrenaline was through the roof
.
Not only was he afraid of the police, but also of what Lucien may have done.

“
Where the hell are you?
”
Gabriel said aloud. There was no answer. His imagination was running wild
.
Had he hurt her, killed her even?

The more he knew of Lucien, the more convinced he became that the creature was a
n evil
liar
,
perhaps
even dangerous.
Was he
really
even an angel, or was that just another illusion, like that of the white wolf?

“
I assure
you;
I have not hurt or killed her
.
”
A
low voice, barely audible, but Gabriel recognized it at once
.
Lucien
.
From out of nowhere, there he was, incarnate, appearing as human as Gabriel himself.

“
What
have
you done, Lucien? That girl has nothing to do with any of this
.
And, once again you
’
ve put me in danger
.
”
Gabriel was done
speaking cautiously to
Lucien.

“
I didn
’
t do anything to her she did not want me to do. I had sex with her just as she wanted. Or shall I say, just as she
begged
me to.
”

“
Where
is
she? Her father is at Lily
’
s house at this very moment
.
I am sure he will be at the Blackstone
’
s shortly to question me
.
”

“
She is…safe. I have her tucked away where no one will ever find her
,
and there, I shall keep her a slave to my lust, for I have bound her to me by her own desire.
”

“
Damn you, Lucien
.
Let her go!
”
Gabriel demanded.

“
Ah, Gabriel, you should really take notice of the way you speak to me. Would you rather I release her and take
Lily
in her stead?
”

“
You wouldn
’
t dare…
”

“
Oh? Why wouldn
’
t I? I shall do as I choose. I cannot hold onto this form any longer. I shall see you again, in your dreams and in your mind as I continue to feed off your delicious soul, my friend.
”
He laughed
. T
he sound of it
was
beyond frightening
,
it was nothing short of pure evil
.

Gabriel saw that at least in this, he told the truth as he became less solid, less visible until he completely dissipated into thin air. God, he hated him, and yet he needed him and for that, he hated himself.

He gasped, seeing the same flashing lights of the police car now in the
Blackstones
’
driveway. Lily got out of the passenger side.

Lawrence and Chloe and even James stood on the front lawn
,
their faces hard to read through the light veil of rain which continued to fall. On the driveway stood Chief Thompson and Lily, who was continuously dialing and holding her cell phone to her ear. Her eyes were wide and her hands trembling.

“
She
’
s not answering her cell!
”
she said to Gabriel.
“
I should
’
ve asked her, should
’
ve made her tell me the name of the man she was meetin
’
…I never thought…
”

Gabriel put his arm around her waist, protectively, wanting to soothe her and she leaned into him as she continued to dial Lilac
’
s cell phone in vain.

Even though this moment was
totally
inappropriate, he felt desire for her. As she leaned on him, he knew she felt it too. She
’
d placed her hand on his forearm, lightly caressing it, feeling the tendons and muscles move under his taut skin. When he dared to look up, he saw Chloe looking at him hard,
her
mouth hanging open in shocked disgust.

He felt a pang of guilt; although he
’
d done nothing wrong, but the look on Chloe
’
s face caused him to look away in from her in shame. Would it show on his face?
Would the police chief, skilled in detecting lies see through him and suspect that he knew something about Lilac
’
s disappearance as easily as Chloe had picked up on his and Lily
’
s feelings toward each other?

Lawrence, Chloe and James stood bunched together, as far away from Chief Jack Thompson and Lily as they could get. It was as if both Lily and the
Blackstones
knew to keep their distance from one another. Gabriel had been informed in no uncertain terms that Lily was not welcome here.

The chief told the
Blackstone
s
that he was there to
speak to
Gabriel, his daughter had gone missing and it was routine questioning only. He was able to exhibit a semblance of decorum as the police chief, but his insides were churning with the emotions of a parent who had no idea where their child was.

“
Son, when was the last time you saw Lilac?
”
he asked Gabriel.

“
I…met her the other day
. H
er and Lily. We spent the day at Salem Willows.
”

Lily nodded in agreement.

“
And you haven
’
t seen her since? Not last night or today?
”

“
He was with me,
”
Lily said.

“
The whole time? What about last night? Jillian says she hasn
’
t seen our daughter since sometime yesterday morning. She
’
s beside herself
.
Please anything you can tell me…we would appreciate. Look, I know what my daughter is like. She
’
s high spirited and mischievous, but she would never just go off somewhere without ch
ecking in with her mother or me.
N
ever
!
”

“
Jack, Gabriel was here last night. I
’
ll swear to it if I have too,
”
Chloe Blackstone said.

“
Well, maybe she
’
ll turn up…I just don
’
t know what else to do.
”
He sighed.
“
I swear I
’
ve covered every inch of this city and
she
’
s just
…
disappeared
.
Lily, please, if you know anything you haven
’
t told me, please, I
’
m beggin
’
you!
”

“
I told you Chief Thompson, we met at the Willows yesterday and she said she had a date with a man I didn
’
t know and he was taking her someplace…secret.
”

“
And you, her
best friend
never
thought to ask about it? You didn
’
t even get his name? I know all about the risks she takes, but
this
.
She
’
s too trustin
’
.
She never thinks that anyone would hurt her. How could you not
ask
, Lily?
”
He was angry with her and she couldn
’
t really blame him, after all, she
’
d meant to ask…she just...hadn
’
t. If anything happened to Lilac, she would never forgive herself.

After Lily promised him that she
’
d contact him
immediately
if she heard from Lilac, the chief, shoulders slumped in defeat, climbed into his car and left.

C
hloe shot Gabriel one more very pointed glance
and then followed her husband into the house. 

“
Lily, we have to talk
now
, it is
urgent
,
”
Gabriel whispered vehemently in her ear. Lily was still trembling, her mind swirling with worry and guilt over her friend even as she was also angry with Lilac.

Then something popped into her head, unwanted, but there it was: did Gabriel know something about Lilac
’
s disappearance? After all, he
was
virtually a stranger. She couldn
’
t believe it of him. Lily
’
s strong sense of intuition kicked in and she knew two things without a doubt, one that Gabriel had nothing to do with Lilac
’
s going missing and two that Lilac was alive.

She thought of somewhere they could go, somewhere there would be less prying eyes and ears. It came to her in a flash
,
Baker
’
s Island, the lighthouse
.
Surely many of the seasonal residents of the island had left as summer was swiftly coming to a close. Some of the leaves
already
held a hint of color
,
a prelude to the magnificent foliage of Autumn to come, as the clock wound down and the days shortened, a time to be savored, even with a bit of sadness that summer was waning and winter awaited.

During the winter, only the caretaker remained on the island. Lily had taken her family
’
s boat out there many a time, if the waters were not too choppy. She loved to sit on the shore line, with a bird
’
s eye view of Salem Willows and Winter Park and all the houses looking so small and insignificant. It was a place she went alone, to think and ponder those secrets she held
in
her heart, only daring to reflect on them in that private place.

Even if there were any residents, they knew her by sight and always nodded hello and left her to sit on the sloping, rocky cliff of the harbor. Obviously,
because they lived
on an island in the summer, privacy was extremely important to them, therefore they respected hers.

“
Come on,
”
she instructed Gabriel.
“
We
’
re goin
’
for a night time cruise over to the lighthouse.
”

“
On a…ship?
”
Gabriel asked. He
’
d never been on a watercraft in his life!

“
Well, not a
ship
, Gabriel, on my family
’
s boat. It
’
s a lot smaller than a ship.
”
She was somewhat amused by the troubled look on his face.

No, she did
n
’
t
fear any harm from this man. But then again, Lilac hadn
’
t feared whomever she was going to meet either.

However, there was a difference between Lily and Lilac
,
a
big
difference
,
one that even Lilac was unaware of
,
although she
’
d heard the rumors about Lily her whole life. Lily could take care of herself, because she
knew
things about people. She had a gift, admit it or not. While others only suspected she was different, her brother, Dylan knew of her special gifts, but he was the only one who did. Should she share her secret with Gabriel? Perhaps, she
’
d tell him, after she
’
d heard whatever it was he felt was so urgent.