Soul Eater (7 page)

Turning the water on, she stood under the shower and let the water run over her body. The sensation of the hot water against her tired muscles was like heaven.

Leaving the shower, Jenna wrapped in an oversized towel and went in search of her clothes. She found them in a heap on the living room floor.

"Coffee is done if you want some,” he called to her from another room.

Jenna put off gathering her clothes and pattered barefoot into the kitchen. He smiled at the sight of her in a towel, hair still wet and dripping.

"Apparently you had no intention of leaving here this morning,” he told her as he handed her a cup of coffee.

"What makes you say that?"

"You look far too tempting to let you escape so quickly."

Before she had a chance to answer, he had reached beneath her towel to squeeze her ass, his hand slowly traveling around to the front to massage her clit. She was still sore from the night before, but that didn't stop the sweet sensations his fingers gave her.

"Brody, I have work to do,” she protested.

Groaning, he backed away. “You're right, we do have work to do. It's time to put the ghosts of the past to rest. We're going for a ride so I can show you something."

"Where are we going?"

"To Eerie Mountain."

Jenna looked at him nervously. “Do you think that's such a good idea?"

"I want to check that cave and see for myself if it's been disturbed."

Less than an hour later they were traveling on a dirt road, deep in the Wind River National Forest. Eerie Mountain loomed up ahead. The peak was shrouded in shadows, preventing the sunlight from reaching most of its timber-covered face. Jenna had to admit the sight unnerved her.

"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for? Where's this opening?” Jenna wanted to know.

"By most accounts the cave is located just halfway up the mountain, on the west side. They say you can't miss it because all the trees around it are dead."

"Oh, how inviting."

Brody gave her a wry smile. “If we want to beat this thing, we may have to go to its heart."

"If you were so convinced it was this Soul Eater that's killing people, how come you haven't come up here long before now?"

"It would have done me no good. You're the only one with the power to beat this thing."

Jenna glanced at him sharply. “What are you talking about?"

"Don't you know the power that is within you?"

"I haven't the slightest idea of what you're talking about."

Brody stopped the truck abruptly and looked over at her. “Jenna, you're psychic. I saw it in a vision years ago. You were the real reason I was hanging out with your sister's group of friends. I had to stay close to you. The Soul Eater wanted you more than all others."

"You're kidding right? Me psychic!” Jenna's laugh died in her throat when she saw how serious he was.

"Do you ever have feelings that warn you about something, feelings that come out of nowhere? Do you sometimes see things that you know cannot be there?"

Jumping into her thoughts was the dream she'd had about her sister and the vision of her father in the hall. She remained silent, neither confirming nor denying his claim.

"I knew it,” he said as he put the truck in gear and they started moving.

"If that is true, then it must still want me."

"Yes,” he told her.

"That's comforting,” she said as she stared out the side window.

Again the truck came to a sudden halt and Jenna moved her attention to what was in front of them. A mass of dead trees covered the area ahead of them. Dark shadows blanketed much of the area, giving one the impression that phantoms waited just beyond the light. The bare branches of the trees appeared to be reaching their ghostly limbs to the sky, as if calling out to some heavenly entity to rescue them from their torment.

Jenna shivered as a chill traveled down her spine. “This is it."

Brody nodded. Killing the engine, he opened the door and got out. Jenna followed close behind him. A small trail, overgrown with weeds led them into the trees. They hadn't been walking for long before coming on what was left of the mining operations. It had obviously been abandoned for years.

"Fools, they were mining right here. They opened that cave on purpose."

"Makes you wonder if something didn't compel them to open up shop right here,” Jenna put in. She was amazed that she was actually beginning to believe that there was something to Brody's theory.

"There's no doubt it has been opened,” Brody said with a deep frown.

"So now what? How do we stop it?"

He didn't answer but motioned for her to follow him back to the truck. Once reaching the truck, they climbed into the cab and Brody turned it around. Not until they were well down the mountain did he answer her question.

"You will have to use your light, your aura to force it back into the earth. Then we will have to seal the cave."

"Just like Spotted Eagle?"

Brody nodded.

"Do you think it was possibly looking for me when it got my family?” Jenna asked him with a new sense of guilt.

Brody cast a sympathetic look in her direction. “I do think it was looking for you, but you must remember it would have, and in fact did, know where to find you. I think that your father was a threat for another reason, and not just to the Soul Eater, but to those who have been touched by its evil."

"Are you suggesting the Sinister Police?"

"Your family's disappearance was swept under the rug. You know that."

It was true. The police had made no progress in the case and had never sought help from an outside agency. They had been acting very strange since she'd arrived, almost as if she was a threat.

Letting her thoughts wander, Jenna paid no attention to where they were going until they came on Mirror Lake.

"What are we doing here?"

Brody gave her a seductive smile. “I thought we should come back to where it all started."

Helping her out of the truck, he took her hand in his and they walked along the shore. The sunlight sparkled off the surface of the glassy water, providing the illusion that the lake was filled with millions of tiny gems.

Stopping, Jenna looked up at him. “How could we have stopped all this from happening?"

"I don't know if we could have,” he told her, reaching up to caress her cheek with his fingers.

"If I hadn't come to the lake that night...."

"You'd be dead,” he finished for her. “It's time to stop blaming yourself. Maybe we could have stopped it if we'd had foreknowledge of what was to come, but we didn't."

"Why didn't I? If I am really psychic, why didn't I know what was going to happen?” she cried.

"You were young. You had no idea you had the ability and it was undeveloped."

The years of anger and hurt came to the surface, twisting her heart. She could no longer hold back the tears and she let them flow freely.

"I miss them so much. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye,” she sobbed.

Pulling her into his arms, he held her closely. “I know.... I know exactly how you feel."

Remembering Brody's little brother, she felt guilty for her own thoughtless selfishness. “I'm so sorry that this happened to you ... to us."

Brody cradled her face in his hands, forcing her to look into his eyes. “Baby ... the pain will never leave us completely, but it will grow weaker over time. The best that we can do is to keep them alive within our hearts by cherishing their memory. And kicking this thing's ass,” he added.

Jenna nodded. “Where do we start?"

"First thing on the agenda is to go home and get some rest. We'll gather our forces and tackle this thing tomorrow."

Home. The thought sent shivers through her body.

Brody laughed. “Of course you'll be staying with me, at least until this is done."

She wasn't about to argue with him. Even the thought of spending the night alone in that house was terrifying. Give her a serial killer, a bank robber, even a psychotic and she could handle it. But ghosts and phantom demons were a whole other story.

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Jenna watched out the window for Brody's return. He'd left hours ago, promising to be back before sundown. Brody had made her swear that she wouldn't leave the house, but she was beginning to worry about him being gone so long.

He'd gone to fetch a shaman by the name of Raven Heart. Brody was convinced that they would need the old man's medicine in their battle with the Soul Eater.

A glance at the clock on the wall told her it was nearing 7:00 pm. The sun would be down soon.

The victims were all killed after sundown
.

Jenna nearly jumped out of her skin when her cell phone began ringing. Unnerved, she answered the call. “Hello."

"Agent Claremont?"

"Yes, this is Agent Claremont."

"This is Detective Jordon of the Riverton Police. I'm afraid I have some bad news for you."

At the detective's words, Jenna felt her throat constrict, cutting off her breath.

"Agent Claremont ... can you hear me?"

"I'm here.” Jenna forced the words out.

"We've discovered the body of Agent Banks. We found his car near the river. He was inside. I'm sorry,” he said in a sympathetic voice.

Clearing her throat, she asked. “Is it the same ... the same MO?"

"Looks like it. Do you want to come and take a look?"

She'd promised Brody that she wouldn't leave, but she had to. It was her job. “Yes, I'll be there shortly."

Locking Brody's front door behind her, she cursed him for not having a cell phone like the rest of the civilized world.

By the time Jenna reached the scene, it was dark. As she approached she could see the blue and red flashing lights of the police cars. The local police milled around the boundaries of the taped off crime scene.

Parking her car out of the way of the CSI van, Jenna approached Detective Jordan. “Have you found anything additional?” she asked.

The detective shook his head. “Nothing. It's pretty much the same as the others."

Jenna examined the body, taking care not to touch anything. Banks was slumped over the wheel and even from a distance she could make out the bruising on the neck. There were signs of a struggle. Files were strewn around the front seat.

Backing away so that she could look at the vehicle, Jenna noted that it appeared the car had hit some trees as it went off the road and came to rest near the bank of the river. He had been attacked while driving.

Banks was too smart to have picked up a hitchhiker or any other kind of stranger. He wouldn't have let anyone in the car he didn't know.

So how had it gotten to him? For that matter, how had it gotten to her family?

The only logical answer was that someone they knew, or thought they knew had attacked these people. Otherwise the victims would have tried to get away, and all indications pointed to the fact that most of them never had time to run. The attacker was either invisible, or was known to the victim.

Jenna pondered the thought.
How would that explain Banks, though?

"Can I barrow a flashlight?” she asked Detective Jordan.

He handed her the one he was holding. Jenna approached the body once again and shined the light toward his exposed ear. It was there, just a couple drops of blood. She would bet that he had also had an aneurism.

Backing away, she handed the flashlight back to the detective. “When you send him to Cheyenne, can you put a note to the coroner to check for trace dust on the body? Also, is there a way an officer can go to the old mining site on Eerie Mountain and get a sample for comparison?"

"Sure, though it might be a chore to find someone willing to go up there. Are you trying to make a connection to the mine?” he asked her, giving her an odd look.

"If my hunch is correct, there will be a match,” Jenna told him as she was dialing the number to the FBI office in Washington.

Jenna pulled into the driveway of her childhood home. For some time she sat in the car, peering at the silent house. Her stomach churned at the thought of going through that door and into the darkness.

What evil waited for her beyond the door?

When she'd first returned to Sinister, going to the house had been troubling, but now it was downright frightening. Stalling the moment that she would have to enter the house, she picked up her cell phone and once again checked for any missed calls.

There were none. She knew Brody hadn't returned yet or he would have tried to contact her by now. Jenna choked back a sob. Something was wrong. There had to be. She trusted that he would have kept his word about being back before dark if he could have.

It wasn't satisfied with taking her family. It also had to take the only man she'd ever truly loved.

Blinking back tears, Jenna now admitted the truth. From the first time she'd seen Brody, she'd sensed his essence, his inner strength and incredible sensuality. He'd been the image of what she'd always imagined her man to be like, but she'd been forced to go away and now he might be lost to her forever.

She tried to push that fear away, but a hidden voice kept whispering gloomy thoughts in her ear. Gathering her courage, Jenna left the car and fumbled with the keys to the front door until she found the right one.

As soon as she stepped into the dark room she felt the atmosphere change. It was like she'd entered a bubble—a strange, timeless bubble.

The phone was ringing. Tina was calling from the bathroom for Jenna to answer it. The sound of the evening news drifted in from her father's study.

The room began to spin. Jenna brought her hands up to her ears to block out the sounds. “Stop!” she cried out. “Just stop. This isn't real. You're all gone."

Slowly, she removed her hands from her ears and was greeted by silence. Sighing with relief, Jenna wondered why she kept hearing and seeing scenes from the past when she was in this house. Was it the ghosts of her family tormenting her for living?

Making her way to her father's study, she began searching. She wasn't sure for what—something, anything that was out of the ordinary. It had been late afternoon when her father had announced that he was going to send evidence to the state crime lab. Jenna reasoned that it was unlikely that he'd had a chance to send it before
it
happened.