Secrets - [Guardian Trilogy 01] (4 page)

“How are you this evening, Mr. Smith?”

I gave Roger a level look, sensing anxiousness and fear forming around the edges of his forced calm. It was hard not to smile at his discomfort. “Do you have my money?” I asked.

Roger opened his safe and pulled out a thick envelope that he tossed on the desk in front of me. I picked it up and figured it was approximately the right weight, so I didn’t bother counting. Instead I looked at him with the general disdain that I felt.

“It’s all there. Count it.”

“There's no need. If you ripped me off, I’ll find you. There's nowhere in this world or the next that you can hide. And trust me, you don’t want
me
to find you.”

He nodded, swallowing hard. I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a small package wrapped in plain brown paper and handed it to him, eyes glazed over with excitement and anticipation. He tore off the paper and inspected it. I stood and placed the envelope in my pocket where the small, wrapped book had been.

“Mr. Walker.” I gave him a single nod. “If you need anything else, you know how to reach me.”

“Dr. Faustus . . .” I heard him mutter as I left, which made me chuckle as I went down the stairs and out the door. He’d be an easy one. Already too much interest in the occult for his own good; he was putty in my hands. The lost, priceless, German 1587 edition of Dr. Faustus now in his grasp only greased the wheels further. Playing with him was already boring me. It was like a master chest player competing against the town drunk. In a couple moves, he would be mine.

Rather than return to my car, I went on the prowl for something more entertaining. I walked up and down the mostly deserted streets until I finally saw a group of loud, drunk kids itching for trouble—my specialty. I was heading their way, ready to relieve some of my boredom, when the girl intruded on me again. It was just a brief encounter, but I’d recognize her strange calm anywhere. I could feel her all around me, poking in places that should be left alone. I stumbled against a building, her presence in my mind demanding my undivided attention.

Three

I awoke in some kind of desert, with warm, nearly white sand pressing into my flesh. A gentle breeze sent the granules skating across the top my body as if I was merely part of the ground. I wasn’t uncomfortable though. I actually had a sense of safety and belonging, the sand covering me as comforting as any blanket.

I knew I couldn’t stay wherever I was indefinitely, but I lay still until the fear of being lost forever began to take hold. Finally, I sat up and tried to decipher my location, while brushing the particles off my clothes. I appeared to be alone in an endless sea of white. “Hello,” I called out to anything that might be out there, and then I stood and yelled louder. “Hello?”

The only reply was a rustle of sand as the wind continued to rearrange the landscape. The sun was bright and warm, but not painfully so. There were no sounds of life—just emptiness and me. Another turn, looking in all directions, only confirmed it: no sign of a town or another living, breathing soul.

As I came back around, he stood in front of me—the disturbing man from the bar. He didn’t frighten me though he looked menacing. More than anything, he sparked my curiosity. He reached for me, and I held myself still, refusing to flinch away. His brow creased in distinct annoyance as his fingers curled around my upper arm.

“Where am I?”

He looked at me with a measure of curiosity surrounded by a healthy portion of hostility, but didn’t answer. I had the impression he only touched me to see if I was real.

            “Where am I?” I repeated, looking past him at the miles and miles of desert around us.

            He pointed to a bridge that had not been there only the moment before and released my arm. It felt like he was daring me to look. I accepted his challenge and walked to the bridge. There was no water beneath it, only more sand.

I considered my peaceful, empty surroundings and the bridge to nowhere.

“Is this death?” My voice was loud and echoed across the empty land. The question felt like the natural thing to wonder. I wasn’t scared; I was eerily calm. The man in the bar was a grim reaper—
my
grim reaper. That was why Jules hadn’t seen him and why I was so entranced. He was here for me.

But he shook his head no, slowly and deliberately, still standing where I had left him. He nodded back towards the bridge. I looked down again. Thousands of snakes were suddenly slithering, coiling, and hissing underneath the bridge, weaving over one another in a terrible, writhing mat. The air lost its tranquil feel as the snakes became more agitated, striking and attacking one another. My heart sped up. I wanted to run back to the man.

“Don’t fall in,” the words came from directly behind me
.
Too close
.
His voice was soft and velvety and made my spine tingle and my mouth go dry. The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood as if reaching towards him. I turned around, my body scraping against him, but he didn’t back away or give me any room. I was pinned between him and the bridge.

“Who are you?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “I should ask you the same question.”

“Where am I?”

“How did you get here?”

“I don’t know.”

We were getting nowhere. He studied me as if I was a mirage. “Can’t you just answer me?”

            His jaw tightened, but his eyes were calm and expressionless. “Come with me,” he said. “There’s something you should see.”

I took his hand though it wasn’t offered. He looked down at my hand in his, then back at me with something like disgust in his eyes, but didn’t pull away.

As he led me away from the bridge, I followed without question or trepidation. Fingers interlaced, we walked in silence. Eventually, an old farm house appeared off in the distance. As we neared it, other buildings showed just beyond the house. We were approaching a town that seemed to emerge from nowhere. Shadows of people roamed around about like memories frozen in time. Again, I thought I understood,

“All of these people are dead?”

“Yes.”

“Who lives here?”

“No one
lives
here.”

“Is this what you wanted to show me?”

He looked me directly in the eyes with the same arresting intensity he had outside the club. “You should never have come here. I would’ve let you go.”

“Will they hurt me?” I still wasn’t frightened. The calm that filled me while I lay in the sand had yet to relinquish its hold, and the stranger holding my hand only added to my sense of security.

He shook his head as if he couldn’t comprehend why I didn’t understand. “Not them.” He began walking again, pulling me along beside him.

 At the end of the street stood two identical buildings, both of them had huge red double doors, each measuring at least twenty feet tall by five feet wide. I looked back and forth the buildings, wondering if I’d have to choose.

 “Not here,” his voice seemed strained “Keep going. We don’t have to stop.” His eyes darted around, looking everywhere besides the door.

His reaction made me more curious than anything. “What’s inside?”

“Nothing for you.”

I looked up at the door, considering. “What’s around the corner?”

“I don’t know. There’s never been a corner.” He smiled then, though it did nothing to soften his features. His jaw flexed, setting at a stubborn angle. “Those doors are
not
for you, not tonight.”

“I don’t understand any of this. Let’s go back.”

“There’s no going back. You’ve come too far. Now we need to move forward—while we can.” I let him pull me to the corner, feeling the first trickle of unease.

            It was not only a new street, but like a different place altogether. This one was not sad and desolate; it was busy and bursting with energy. It reminded me of a market in Florence, colorful, bustling with life and excitement.

For a moment, taking in the different booths and people, I was glad to be there. And then I felt the vibrations.

Heavy thuds of footsteps shook the street and rattled the wares. A giant with skin the color of blood walked toward us, crushing everything in his path without a thought. The street ceased to exist behind him—vanished right before my eyes.

My unease turned to a river of fear. I tried to run, but the man from the bar held me tight, refusing to relinquish me, despite my efforts. I looked at him in panic as the giant drew near.

“It’s okay.”

“No, we have to leave!” I shrieked, my eyes searching out a place to hide. This was no time for bravery. From the “I can take him” look in his eyes, it was obvious that bar man had never walked away from a fight in his life, but I wasn’t ashamed to run.

“I can make you stay.” There was no heat behind his threat; it sounded more like a stray piece of conversation.

“No—come with me,” I insisted and this time I pulled his hand, urging him to follow me. He glanced once more at the giant who was nearly on top of us, then followed me back around the corner. The blood-colored man was so close I could feel his breath. I ran to the red door and pulled with all my might, but it wouldn’t open.

“Not in there.”

“Where else can we go?”

He shook his head and raked his hand through his hair, as if trying to decide what to do with me. His posture became ridged, and his face morphed into an expressionless mask. “If you’d really like to go in, just knock.” His voice was different, deeper and colder than it had been.

“Knock?”

“Yes,
knock
.”

He was practically daring me to do it, so I did as he said. The door creaked opened and immediately, I recognized my mistake—but it was too late.

I sat up in bed with a start. My breathing heavy, a thin sheath of sweat on my brow, and my heart feeling like it would explode. I franticly searched the darkness, unable to shake the feeling I was being pursued. I saw nothing but my white curtain billowing in the breeze. Yet I didn’t feel alone. Someone was watching. Too many shadows, too many flashes of movement catching my eyes.

Get yourself together, Liv. It was only a dream.

A dream that was already fading. Replaying it in my mind while I pretended to sleep, I could barely hold on to it. Though I normally didn’t buy into the whole dreams having hidden messages thing, I felt this one was important. I needed to keep it—to remember.