A Feral Darkness Part 21

The creek slowed and swirled and began to settle; the island brush reappeared, bent and stripped of leaves, shiny wet. Dismally muddied, Parker approached the scoured bank; he made a few steps toward the footbridge and halted. Two long tree trunks it had been, with s.p.a.ced crosspieces of wooda"some old, some newly replaced and bright in contrast to the othersa"and laid across the width of the creek, high above the water. Heavy, st.u.r.dy . . . not going anywhere.

Or so Brenna would have said.

Except it was no longer there; it wasn't even in sight.

Brenna wiped the dripping water from her face and sat back on her heels, knees pointed downhill, to make a rag of her shirt hem and run it around the rifle barrel. She swiped a hand down each side of Druid's face, muzzle to ears, and removed the water sparkling there. There was no haste to her movements; she was here, Parker was there, and never the twain to meet. She didn't have to make the decision to pull the trigger; she didn't have to try to run. And if there was something of a dazed shock in the quality of her movement . . . then well there ought be.

She had to tell Masera. Forget the dogfights, forget what she'd done to him the night before and how they'd stared at one another at the threshold of her house. Never mind the things it had stirred in her, the feelings she didn't recognize and didn't know what to do about. He was the one who could put this into perspective, and who could tell her what to do next. How to protect them from the darkness.

If anyone could.

Silence slowly overtook the roar of the flash flood, leaving them in unnatural quieta"though not for long.

"You shouldn't have done that." Parker stood across from her again. Just as miraculously as it had overflowed, the water was back to normal, gurgling along in altered creek channels. The island, scrubbed clean to the dirt between what brush had remained rooted, was as bare as she'd ever seen it. The upstream edge had seined out an acc.u.mulation of debrisa"sticks, leaves, an old horseshoe, the proverbial old shoe. The stepping stones between it and the bank on either side were clearly exposed, but Parker made no attempt to descend to them. No, he stood there and glowered at her from beneath lowered brows, and repeated, "You shouldn't have done that."

Brenna said simply, "I didn't."

He laughed, as dark and low as the forces that now shaped his life. "You did," he said, and his gold hair glinted ruddy in the light from the setting sun; it felt like more of an omen than anything she'd seen so fara"as if she, in the presence of one miracle, was suddenly able to read omens. "Whether you know it or not, you did it. You and whatever puny little G.o.d you first called to this place. Did you even know what you were doing, way back when?"

"No," Brenna said, almost a whisper, though she suspected he somehow heard it anyway. "Do you know what you're doing now?"

A strange, conflicted look pa.s.sed over his features, so quickly that she wasn't even sure what she'd seen. Hesitation. Doubt. As if in that moment, he actually thought about what he'd gotten into, what he was aiding and abetting and causing. As if she'd managed to touch something of him that had once been more human than what lived in him now.

And then the anger and hatred returned tenfold, and she had the feeling he'd make her pay for that moment.

"I know exactly what I'm doing," he said. "Which means that you haven't got a chance. I want this spring, Brenna Fallon. Honey. I want the land it's on. I'm even willing to pay for it."

Money, she thought, probably wasn't what mattered to him anymore, anyway. Why not pay for it?

"And you'd best take me up on that offer."

For that instant, she found herself tempted. He was right; she had no idea what she was doing and she had about as much chance of getting through any escalation of powera"where did one go from instant flood? Fire? Tornado? Fast-moving glacier?a"as she had of controlling his darkness. So why not give him the land, that which she'd so recently contemplated leaving behind by choice, simply so she could make her own choices? Why not walk away, when the rabies and the chaos had already taken hold?

Because you can't outrun a plague, you idiot.

And because she simply couldn't bear to be the one who handed Parker's darkness its anchor point of power. If it was strong and restless now, what would it become with a G.o.d's well of power to feed it?

"You're right," she said, hearing her own voice grow steadier, louder. Enjoy it while it lasts. "I'd best take you up on your offer. But you know I won't."

He grinned at her. A nasty grin, the sky fading behind him. Oh, Lord, she was going to get caught out here after dark. He said, "I hoped you wouldn't. It wouldn't have been as much fun. You know, lately I've imagined ripping that hair out of your head fistful by fistful. I should thank you for the opportunity."

Not the same man she'd first met out here weeks ago. Not at all. That man had been an easy liar, not much concerned with things like honor and truth, but not malevolent, either.

This man was malevolent. Changed. And he had something hungry in his expression.

Hungry for her.

Druid growled.

"You've got that right," Brenna muttered at him, smoothing down the hackles he'd raised. She glanced again at the skya"could she get home before dark?a"and at Parker, trying to gauge him. What he might do if she simply got to her feet and left him there.

What could he do? He was stuck on the other side.

And that's when Druid whined. His fearful whine, the warning whine. Reminding her that while she was out of Parker's reach, the darkness had no such boundaries. And that she couldn't depend on another miracle, when she had no idea how or even if she'd called the last one. "Shhh," she said, nonsensically enough, even as she dreaded what she feared would come next.

That trickle of breath-sucking dread she'd finally come to recognize. The hair standing up on the back of her neck, gooseb.u.mping down her already chilled arms. The breeze rising, lifting the strands of her long thick hair, black in this light and without the chestnut streaks that spoke of sunshine and light-hearted days in this very pasture.

Sunny's b.l.o.o.d.y collar tossed aside by her barn.

What would remain of her?

Nothing, if she just swayed here on her knees waiting for the inevitable.

But the inevitable was here.

Roaring across the bottom of the pasture like a directional tornado, it tore up chunks of sod and sticks and debris, a blotch of midnight in the twilight air, heading straight for her.

Parker only grinned. Fearless. In control.

Brenna didn't think. There was no time for thinking. She did the only thing left to her. She threw herself over the spring, over the grave of her old companion. And as darkness thundered up the hill for her, ripping through the creek, shredding what brush remained on the island, churning a wide path up the hill, she dropped the rifle and yanked Druid's leash, jerking him right off his feet and into the area she'd always considered part of the spring.

Too much for a st.u.r.dy little dog who'd already pushed his limits for the day. Druid landed already shrieking, not that Brenna could hear him above the maelstrom that churned around thema"around thema"not touching them. It deafened her, oppressive enough that her ears popped and she, too, screamed, a mindless, gut-level scream of protest and fear. But within the sphere of the spring the air barely stirred, and when Druid's struggles took him to the edge of that calm, Brenna hauled him in close, throwing herself atop him and squinching her eyes shut against the onslaught from without and withina"and now from beneath. For Druid flipped and flung himself, whacking his solid skull against her mouth, her nose, her foreheada"

No, Druida"no!

Someone else's familiar voice in her head and she held him tighter, heedless of the claws that gouged her arms and legsa"

Wails of grief, wails of fear and loss and Emily's voice moaning Jill's name over and over and unfamiliar voices crying their own sorrow, a deep and gibbering laughter underlying it alla"

And Druid shrieked and Brenna screamed and held him tight and the darkness tightened in around them until her ears were agony and her head felt like it would implode and it seemed like this was all her world had ever been and ever would bea"

And then it stopped.

Then there was utter silence, and Druid went quiescent beneath her, so flaccid she thought she'd smothered him to death and held her own breath until she felt the jerk of his chest as he panted.

She couldn't hear it yet. All she could hear was a ringing in her ears, and then her own harsh, gulping breaths through a throat raw and abused. "Shhh, shhh," she told Druid, and couldn't hear that, either.

But as she lifted her head and shoved her hair aside, she saw star- and moonlight, and as she straightened her cramped back and looked out over the lower pasture, she found Parker on his knees, his shoulders slumped, his head dropped. Sounds started to trickle back ina"her own breathing and Druid's, both easing, and even Parker's, sounding as exhausted as she felt.

Exhausted, and in no shape to chase after her in any manner.

Brenna grabbed Druid's leash and ran.

Chapter 17.

EHWAZ.

A Partnership in Effort

When she reached the barn, Brenna staggered up to the target-shooting bales and threw herself against them, thumping the stack against the barn. Druid sat on her feet, clinging to her like a Velcro dog while she caught her breath and took stock of herselfa"and first and foremost was the fact that she'd made it at all, sprinting like a woman possessed all the way from the spring.

Which maybe wasn't far from the mark.

But her tremulous legs berated her for such effort, and her arms and thighs throbbed from the claw sc.r.a.pes they'd endured while a painful fat lower lip swelled at the corner of her mouth. Her hair hung against her bottom in a solid snarla"hair that had been outside the spring's protected area. Just from the heavy feel of it, she doubted she'd ever manage to comb it out.

You're a mess, Brenna Lynn Fallon.

Which is what she got for not paying attention. For falling asleep by the spring with so much conflict focused on that very spot. The anchor point. The place of power.

Brenna snorted softly to herself. "You are so, so in over your head," she said softly, suddenly wondering if returning here was the right thing at all. Maybe she should have stayed at the spring, where she at least knew she had an area of safety.

A small one.

No kitchen at the spring. No bathroom. Not even any water to speak of, at least not for drinking purposes. And boy, did she want a tall gla.s.s of ice water right this very moment.

Druid still leaned against her, stress-pantinga"but he managed to pause long enough growl, his ears canted back at a wary angle, his attention toward the house.

"Oh, no," Brenna groaned, tipping her head back so the barn overhang loomed dark in her vision. No more. Not tonight. Please.

Russell, maybe. It was just about the right timing, if their mother had reached him after work. She groaned again.

On the other hand, after what had just happened, facing Russell didn't feel like such a big deal. Why hadn't she ever told him he could call ahead if he wanted to talk to her? And another new concept bloomed, suddenly obviousa"this is a bad time, you'll have to come back when it's convenient for mea"as she abruptly realized all the times it had been true and she'd never even considered sending him off. Never even thought of inconveniencing him.

But Druid only growled once, and then dismissed whatever he'd detected, returning his worried attention to Brenna.

Someone he knew, then. She didn't think that would include Russell. She found herself almost disappointed she wouldn't get to act out her new concepta"and then dreading the effort of dealing with whoever it really was.

Brenna pushed away from the hay bales and went through the barn on wobbly knees, not bothering to admire her newly hung gate this time. And when she rounded the corner and saw the pale, becoming-familiar lines of Masera's SUV, she could have sobbed with relief.

When she saw him sitting against the front hood, one heel propped against the b.u.mper, his dark form relaxed and waiting, she did. "Iban!"

His head whipped around; he'd been looking across the yard, as though she might have been off at Emily's. She didn't think about it; she dropped Druid's leash and ran for him, so full of relief she was no longer alone in this suddenly terrifying journey that she didn't even hesitate. Not caring that he was startled, not caring that there was anger left unresolved between them. Not caring that he'd never held her beforea"and knowing that his arms would close around her just as they did, firm but careful. Warm. As if for that instant, she could let herself believe she was safe here. No matter what. Darkness be d.a.m.ned.

But the instant was bound to end.

He stood, moving to the side, maintaining contact. And when he said, "Brenna?" it was as much a statement, an affirmation, as a question. He said it again, lower this time.

She didn't respond; she suddenly didn't know what to say, how to explain what had happened. How to admit how much she needed his help when she'd never even resolved for herself whether she trusted him at all. How to ask him to hold her for just a few moments longer before she had to face the world again. And while she was thinking about it, he changeda"stiffening a little, growing somehow more focused. She felt it in his hands, the way they rested against her back, how they followed the curve of her spine. And she felt it in the set of his shoulders, how he took himself back just far enough to look at her in the darknessa"though he could see no more than she, not with the moon easing from quarter down to new.

Some part of her had seen this coming, even knew the look on his face through the darkness. Intent, as usual. She shouldn't have been surprised, but somehowa"since her brain had evidently ceased to functiona"when he buried his hands in the hair at the nape of her neck and kissed her mouth, it did surprise her.

So much for common sense. So much for do I trust you or don't I. So much for we've got things to talk about.

At the moment, she couldn't think of a single thing she wanted to say.

At least, not until he tipped his head to kiss her more deeply and she tipped her head the other way to say yes, let's and her fat lip came between them.

"Mmm!" she said, the best she could manage at the moment.

"Hmm?" He drew back enough so she could say, "Ouch!" but not so far that she didn't brush his mouth when she did it, and replied, "I don't think ouch is the appropriate response." But he must have seen something, because he took her face and tipped it to catch what little of the moonlight there was, and then he pulled her unresisting to the porch and flipped on the light.

One glance at her face and he swore heartily, causing Druid to give a prim bark. At Masera's tone, no doubt, but Brenna couldn't help but laugh, in spite of all that had happened to her within the past few hours. From supernatural attack to a dark a.s.signation in the driveway.

Or maybe because of all that happened. A nice little hysteria.

He swore again, not amused. "You should have said something, Brenna. What the h.e.l.l happened?"

"I didn't have the chance to say anything," she told him. "I'm not complaining, so you'd better not."

He gave that a double thought, even had the grace to look a little sheepish. "No," he said. "But let's get a cold washcloth on some of those bruises." He opened the door for her, let her precede him inside, and held it open long enough so Druid could come through trailing his leash. She flicked the light switches on her way in, blazing a trail to the bathroom.

Where she looked in the mirror and swore.

"I told you," Masera said, sounding satisfied. "Now you tell mea"what happened?"

Brenna stared at the blood streaking her upper lip and dried down the side of her face; the slight normal b.u.mp in her nose now swollen and reddened off to the side; she gingerly touched it and made a face whena"surprisea"pain shot through it. Similar swellings marked her brow and cheek, and she had another cut on her chin. Welts dotted with blood raked her arms in neat claw lines, and a glance down at her thighs revealed the same.

"Parker," he said, unable to refrain from guessing and now lurking by the closed bathroom door. "You came from the pasture. I heard the noise out therea"thought it was a town truck somewhere with the jake brake on. But it was Parker, wasn't it?" His voice darkened. "Parker did this to you."

"In a way." Brenna fished a washcloth from the linen closet and ran cold water over it, raising her voice. "It was Druid. I pulled him on top of the spring, and what with the wind anda"" Well, that wouldn't make any sense. Not told inside out like that. "Wait a minute. I'll be right out."

She looked much better with her face clean and her arms and legs washed down. She came out of the bathroom with purposea"almost knocking him down, he stood so closea"and marched to her bedroom, where she pulled off her shirt and replaced it with a soft old cotton sweater, one with little horseshoes marching around the cuffs, bottom, and neckline. Warm and soft. She'd left the windows open and the heat off, and the house was no longer pulling in sunshine . . . and besides, she wanted it around her, snug and comforting, like an old blanket. Pulling her hair out from the neck of it, she found again the horrifying snarls near the end and wandered back into the kitchen where Masera now waited, examining them with resignation. "I'll have to cut it, I think."

"You will not," Masera said, rising from the chair in which he'd finally settled, coming to face her and do what he'd probably wanted to do all alonga"put a hand over either shoulder and lift her hair, running his fingers through it as far as they could go before encountering tangles. "Do you know how hard it's been to keep my hands out of this hair? Get a comb."

She laughed. "You think it's that easy, do you, you with your hair that can be measured in inches?"

He raised an eyebrow, acceptance of a challenge. "My mother has long hair."

She really didn't want to cut it. Not that much of it. She went to the bathroom and returned with two combs and a bottle of horse finishing spray.

"This is for horses," he said, taking it from her. "Just how hard did that dog hit you?"

She gave him a warning look, one brow quirked up. "It'll make the hair slick. I use it all the time." She took the bottle back and went to the den, where she plunked herself in the couch, draping the snarls around to lie across her thighs. Druid put himself at her feet. "Come on, then."

He came in with a gla.s.s of water for each of them, antic.i.p.ating what she'd forgotten to ask. Sitting on the floor beside her, he picked up a section of hair, mulling the extent of the tangles, running his fingers over it as though it were a strange Braille that only he could read.

"Here," she said, handing him the finishing spray. "What happened was, I was at the spring, giving Mars Nodens a candy bar. And then I fell asleep, and Parker came, and we had an argument."

"Giving Mars Nodens a candy bar," Masera repeated, looking up at her with disbelief.