Haunted (26 page)

Cooper put me delicately in my office chair and ran out without a word. He returned quickly with some yoga pants, a t-shirt and some running shoes. He produced a jacket for me after I'd changed and I slipped it on gingerly, trying not to move my arms more than necessary. I was thankful that Sean had thought to mention what kind of clothes to bring; he was always so level-headed in a crisis.

“Did Gregory say where he was taking her?” Sean asked, getting down to the task at hand.

“Not exactly. He said she would die in a place she loved. I'm not sure where he was talking about.”

“Did he say anything else? How he was going to do it, maybe?” Sean pried, desperate for more helpful information.

“He said he was going to 'sacrifice' her before heading to the 'festivities' downtown.”

“That doesn't really narrow down the list much,” said Sean, looking more concerned than I liked. “Think! What has she said to you over the past couple of weeks? She's confided in you, told you things about Gregory and her that she wouldn't have told anyone else. You have to know.”

So I thought as hard as my weary mind would allow, running through every conversation I could recall over and over again. Nothing stood out that seemed overly helpful. I couldn't help feeling like I was missing something, like it was right there but just beyond my grasp.

“I don't know,” I said, sounding every bit as hopeless as I felt. “I can't remember anything.”

“Think!” he yelled, slamming his fist down on the desk beside me.

“I'm trying!” I whined, doing my best not to burst into tears.

“Try harder, Ruby. You're her only chance,” he said, before reminding me what was at stake. “We'll never find her in time just driving around the city trying to pick up their trail. She'll be dead by then.” The word “trail” made Scarlet stir.

Park.

The single word literally flashed through my mind as she willed it to.

“What park?” I said aloud, trying to make sense of what was happening. My thoughts were not my own in that moment, making me disoriented and nervous.

The park...outside of town.

“Scarlet?” I asked, trying to figure out what was happening. Everyone around me was starting to look concerned as I carried on a conversation with myself with no regard to their presence whatsoever. “How do you know?”

She told you she was going there with him once, you were too busy worrying about yourself at the time to listen. Don't question me...just go now if you want to find her alive.

I stood in disbelief, wondering how it was possible; until that moment I'd never heard Scarlet in my head. I knew it had to do with whatever happened between Sophie and Scarlet, but I couldn't for the life of me figure it out. My answers would have to wait; it was hardly the time to solve that mystery.

“She's in the park just north of town.”

“Let's go,” Sean said, not doubting me for a second. Maybe the crazier I acted, the more likely people were to listen to me.

He led the way out to the front of the store and popped open the door to his SUV. Evening was falling outside and I wondered exactly how long it had taken for everything to transpire in that room. How long was Gregory there? How long was it before they found me? How long did Sophie work on us?

As Cooper loaded me gently into the backseat, I started my search for answers.

“How did you find me?” I asked him as he buckled me in. “I stared at the ceiling thinking that even if you were upstairs, there was no way for me to reach you.”

“Your cell phone,” he said, his face serious. “We'd gotten nowhere with our search, so we went to the police department to see how that was going. When they said that no report had been filed and nobody matching your description had been there all day, we got worried. When you didn't answer your phone, we knew something was wrong. We thought it best to come back to the house and start our search for you from there. When we pulled up your car was nowhere to be found and the lights were off in the store and the house. I kept calling you the whole time hoping you'd eventually answer, telling me I was the most annoying person ever.”

I laughed a second before remembering my new “no laugh” policy, and shot Cooper a look.

“Sorry, I forgot,” he said softly. “Anyways, I was calling as we went up the stairs to the apartment when I heard a faint ringing coming through the wall. I hung up and tried it again, and the ring started up right on cue. We ran outside, came through the shop and found you bleeding out on the floor. It was the scariest thing I've ever seen.” He looked far away as he spoke about finding me. Cooper had both been through and seen a lot in his time; he was in no way a virgin to violence. For him to look so disturbed about the condition he found me in spoke volumes about just how bad it was.

“Your eyes were so empty,” he whispered. “Lifeless.”

“But my eyes were closed, weren't they?” I asked, thinking I closed them before the light came for me.

“No, Ruby, they were wide open, staring up at nothing,” Cooper replied, pushing a stray piece of hair from my face.

“I closed your eyes when we found you. Neither of us could bear the sight,” Sean added, weighing in after a small break in the conversation. “The darkness you saw was the fade...it comes just before the light. You imagined closing your eyes.”

“I can't get that image out of my head,” Cooper said, looking out the window beyond my face. “That and the thought that I almost had to cut your finger off to let Scarlet out of her cage.”

I looked down at the bandaged digit. I'd forgotten all about it amid the chaos. It hurt, but only slightly. I wiggled it to be sure I still had one and Cooper laughed as he caught me doing my finger check.

“I didn't have to cut it off, Rubes, but I sliced it to the bone. Sean worked his magic on it to take the edge off. It's still pretty nasty, though. It's gonna hurt for a while yet, I think.”

“I'll manage,” I said, winking at him.

* * *

We arrived at the park, which in truth was better described as a wildlife conservation area. It was heavily wooded with rudimentary trails that, though marked, were overgrown and difficult to trek. It was an excellent place to hide a corpse.

As soon as Cooper stepped out of the car he growled.

“I smell her,” he said before taking off down a path.

Sean scooped me up and started after him. Before Sophie had a second to argue he told her to shut it, unless she wanted to carry me. She conceded, realizing it was a necessary evil. I wished I could have seen the look on her face.

What was left of the light disappeared underneath the canopy of trees above. I was glad that I wasn't the one running, knowing that I'd have certainly caused a pile up of sorts after tripping on an innocuous root or branch somewhere and taking everyone else down with me.

It took only minutes at the speed we were going to plunge deep into woods, until we were surrounded by trees and brush on all sides. By the time we were completely enveloped, we'd managed to catch up to Cooper. Sophie had been left behind, not having superhuman speed like the others, but Sean said she could sense Peyta once she got close enough and would find her way. She was probably spitting bullets the entire trip.

“They're not far,” Cooper called out over his shoulder as he poured on a final sprint. He slammed on the brakes a minute later as he crested a hill, nearly causing Sean to slam into the back of him and drop me in the process. Sean placed me lightly on my feet, being sure that I could bear my own weight before letting go. The three of us looked down upon a scene so unnerving that the hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention. Down in the valley below stood hundreds of semi-transparent entities, shells of the werewolves Scarlet had killed.

I'll happily do it again...

She purred those words in the back of my mind so soothingly that it smoothed those hairs out. I searched the mass of people for Peyta, but had no luck in finding her. Panic struck instantly.

“I can't see her,” I whispered, grabbing Cooper by the shoulder, turning him around to face me. “Can you smell if she's...if she's...still alive?”

“I can feel her,” Sophie said quietly, approaching from behind us. “She is still with us.”

“She won't be for long if we don't come up with a plan,” Sean added soberingly. “And quickly.”

“So how do you kill someone who's already dead?” I asked, searching the faces of the others in the group. None held a knowing expression.

Sean sighed then looked me square in the eyes.

“I haven't a fucking clue, Ruby,” he said. “I'm hoping for some divine inspiration.”

Lord, so was I.

33

I looked over to see Gregory emerge from the mob, finding a raised section of ground to place himself on – his earthen soapbox. He hauled Peyta up with him, still bound with her mouth taped shut.

“Did you see that?” I asked the others.

“I see him,” Cooper growled.

“No, not that. Something just happened to the Watchers….”

I trailed off unsure of how exactly to explain what I thought I'd just seen. For a fleeting moment the group looked more whole, more solid than their previously transparent selves. It flashed so quickly that in the pale light of the emerging moon, I couldn't be sure if it really happened or if my eyes were playing tricks on me. I tried to describe it to the other three, but they just looked at me like I wasn't quite all there.

“I saw nothing,” Sean announced, sounding all business. “Perhaps your vision is still a little fuzzy from your blood loss.”

“I guess,” I conceded.

“We need to do something,” Cooper said anxiously. “She's right there. Can't we just grab her and go? We can deal with him later.”

“Ummm, about that,” I said nervously, realizing I hadn't really shed any light on Gregory's evil plot. “We have to figure out a way to stop him, too. He plans to publicly unveil the existence of werewolves. He wants to wipe out the whole town at the celebration tonight.”

They all looked at me with utter disbelief. He was going to do the unthinkable if we didn't stop him.

Without saying a word Sean bounded down the hill towards them, with Cooper not far behind. For a moment Sophie and I looked at each other, not knowing what to do before we finally followed them down. She didn't offer a helping hand to me, so I sat on my butt and scooted my way down the hill. It wasn't elegant, but it was effective at minimizing any potential further damage I could have caused by falling. I wasn't worried about my pride in that moment.

The not-so-subtle approach by Sean and Cooper had earned the attention of everyone in the valley. The duo stopped just yards away from the gathering, absorbing the hateful stares of the dead completely unfazed. As Sophie and I came to join them, Gregory addressed us from on high, a position he enjoyed all too much for my liking. I wanted to knock him right off his pedestal. If he'd been surprised to see me alive, he certainly didn’t show it.

“Hello, Ruby. I guess you'll be able to see Peyta off after all,” he said, sounding enthused, as if my spectating would be more enjoyable to him than dying alone in my shop.

“Actually, I had a little something different in mind. I never did get to kill you. I was thinking of remedying that.”

I knew I was all talk as I clutched Cooper's arm in an effort to stand up straight. I wasn't sure I could have fought if my life had depended on it, and Scarlet seemed awfully quiet, making me think she was nearly as out of commission as I was. That only made me further wonder about what had happened during the healing.

“How sporting of you, Ruby,” he said, chuckling. “And I thought you'd be a bit put off about earlier today.”

“Nope. I love a good disemboweling in the morning. Gets me energized for the day,” I told him facetiously. “You should try it. Come on over and I'll hook you up.”

He laughed harder. It wasn't the response I was looking for.

“I really do enjoy your wit, Ruby,” he shared with me. “I think I will keep you around for a while before I kill you again. Precious little makes me laugh anymore.”

Cooper tensed under my grip and I betrayed him by looking up to see his expression. At first I thought he was frightened by the implications of what Gregory had said, but instead he was fuming, wanting to fight. He yearned to take Gregory down yet again and I seconded his enthusiasm.

“I think I'll be starting with our fair Peyta here,” Gregory said, grabbing her by the elbow, yanking her towards him.

Sean looked down at me and bent to whisper in my ear.

“If he can touch her, then he's corporeal. He can die,” he said before pulling a machete-like blade out from under his coat. He stormed through the Watchers towards Gregory, deciding to end the whole thing right then and there. It seemed a tad anticlimactic.

It was.

He raced up the mound that Gregory stood upon, weapon drawn for a killing blow, but as he sliced the blade through Gregory's body it was met with air – like he wasn't even there. I guess in a sense he wasn't.

Somehow he was able to touch things and move them, even use sharp objects to fillet my abdomen, but he wasn't real. Sean looked baffled as he regained his balance. He'd put everything he had into that attack, expecting to meet resistance as his blade met flesh. Instead, he nearly fell over as his momentum carried him farther than his stance had allowance for.