The Darkness Within (10 page)

“You’re not in charge of me. I do what I want.” Darius took off into the night, as slick as mercury, in the direction Elgin had driven.

Chapter Thirteen

D
EL CROUCHED INSIDE
the unfinished house when she heard the car. The roof was open to the sky. Moonlight spilled into some of the rooms, casting shadows like bars from the skeleton-framed walls. The construction crew had only started the roof; several boards lay on top of the concrete walls, looking precarious.

She peered over the edge of the window opening and watched the car creep down the street. Was it the green Buick? It was hard to tell, though she could see the driver was on his cell phone by the square of light inside the car.

Something—or someone, she couldn’t be sure—darted in front of the car, too close to be trying to hide. It ran toward the house where she was hunkering down. Tucker? Oh, no, he was leading Elgin right to her!

No, not Tucker—at least she didn’t think so. She clearly saw a human-shaped shadow, though it ran in an unnatural lope across the dirt yard and into the door opening. One of them, then.

The car stopped in the road, and the driver got out. The interior light didn’t go on, so she still couldn’t see if it was Elgin. He evaporated, or probably Became, and in terror she watched his shadow moving toward the house, too.

Then, just behind him, another shadow. Wolf. Tucker. All heading toward her.

She slid from her spot and made to go around a narrow concrete wall to hide behind it. She came face-to-face with the man she’d seen first. Man, and yet . . . Darkness. He blinked in surprise at seeing her, then ducked and looked behind him at the sound of something scraping on the floor.

She ducked around the wall and found herself in the garage. He didn’t follow, didn’t try to grab her. Darius, maybe? She kept close to the wall as she headed to the opening at the front of the house where the garage door would go. She would be no help inside, where she could be grabbed and used as a hostage.

Where was Tucker?

She turned the corner and ran right into a hard, dark creature. Swallowing her scream, she stepped back, ready to fight. Tucker became man again, gripping her arms tight, his anger at her being there clear in what she could see of his face.

A scream of agony jerked their attention to the house. They ran to the first window, and then the second. He ducked back, pulling her with him. She pressed close as he peered around the edge.

The sight, at least what she could see of it, tightened her throat. One man standing, his hand held out as though to ward off someone. A glow, faint and blue, emanated from his hand. Elgin. Darius, in human form, too, writhed on the floor.

“Tucker, where’s the girl? I know she’s here somewhere.”

Elgin thought Darius was Tucker. Darius was gasping in pain, unable to answer. What was he doing to him? Why couldn’t Darius Become—and fight or run? Whatever Elgin was doing with his hand . . . he was using some supernatural weapon.

She could feel it, painful pulses, like the way being at a concert might feel, only the throbbing bass hurt. Could Elgin emit sound waves? She ducked back against the concrete wall, and it lessened. The concrete blocks acted like a buffer. She pulled Tucker back, too, gesturing to the wall. He nodded but dared another peek.

They had to help Darius.

Darius was panting now, dragging himself away from Elgin.

Elgin dropped his hand, and the painful waves stopped. He knelt down closer to Darius. “You’re not Tucker. But you are my progeny. I can feel me in you. Don’t try to Become, or I’ll hit you with the Force again. It will stop you, and if I do it long enough, your cells will explode.” Elgin said all this as though they were having a nice chat. “Where’s Tucker? Give me his location and I’ll spare you.”

Tucker was wolf shadow again, having leaped to the bare windowsill, his body compressed as he readied to leap.

“Right behind you, you son of a—”

Tucker hit, sending Elgin to the floor. Darius rolled out of the way just before he’d have gotten flattened.

“Grab hold of him,” Tucker said as he fought to keep Elgin from turning over and freeing his hands.

Elgin Became, twisting and growling, slashing at Tucker with fangs. Darius grabbed for Elgin’s thrashing hind legs.

Del climbed up on the sill, ready to jump down and help, if necessary. She knew better than to throw herself into the fray. Tucker’s fangs tore at Elgin, shredding off bits of Darkness.

Elgin twisted, chomped down on Tucker’s paw, and then lunged for his throat. It looked like blood pouring from Tucker’s neck, like a real wound.
No!
Would it weaken him? Then Elgin used the trick she’d seen Tucker do during his show: he disappeared into mist. When he reappeared, he morphed back to man only a few feet in front of her, facing Tucker and Darius, who scrambled to their feet.

Elgin shot his hand out, dropping both men to their knees, stripping away their Darkness. The sound waves threw her backward, and she fell to the ground clutching her head. Once the brick wall was between them, though, she was able to try to get up. The waves churned her stomach, throbbed through her entire being.

They would explode her cells, he’d said. She believed it, too, holding her stomach as she tried to stand. Only when she was directly behind the wall could she even manage the strength to do it.

She heard Tucker’s and Darius’s groans of agony. No, she couldn’t let Elgin kill them. She pulled herself up, ready for the blast again. Her heart plunged at the sight of Tucker struggling to get to his feet while curled in pain.

Have to . . . stop him.

She dropped down again, unable to bear it. How was Tucker even able to move under the direct onslaught? Her gaze locked onto the heavy boards on top of the walls, longer than her body, maybe a foot wide. From her vantage point, she could see the top of Elgin’s head.

You can do it.

She concentrated on the boards, Elgin’s head, the boards . . . the board shifted. Through the bricks, the sonic blast was muffled, but it still hurt all through her body. Her head. She clenched her jaw, teeth gnashing together, and focused all of her attention, her anger, and her fear into moving that damned board.

It flew off the wall and whacked Elgin exactly where she’d intended. The board fell to the floor, taking Elgin with it. Tucker slid down to his knees, his face pale. She only spared him a glance, though, her attention returning to Elgin as she climbed over the sill again. His body twitched, hands trembling, the board lying over his face. She searched for something else to use as a weapon.

He had taken her mother. Maybe even killed her. He’d tried to kill Tucker.

She grabbed a smaller board and approached him. He would never hurt her or anyone she loved again. Tucker staggered over to her, his breaths coming thick and heavy.

“Nails,” he managed to say.

She looked at the board she was holding, then followed his nod to the one on top of Elgin. Two nail heads gleamed in the dull light. Tucker kicked the board while she held her weapon like a baseball bat, ready to strike.

Two huge nails pulled away from Elgin’s forehead, out from the two huge holes they’d left in it. His eyes stared at nothing, his mouth open and moving, as though he were trying to say something. Blood trickled out as his body trembled again.

“Where’s my mother?” she asked, leaning down into his face.

That mouth turned up into a macabre smile, and a breath hissed out of his mouth. No word, just a sound like air being released from a tire. His face went slack.

She shook his shoulders. “Where is she?” Hysteria crept into her voice. She could barely move him, her fingers curled into his shirt as she continued to try to shake him. His head lolled to the side.

Tucker’s hand closed over her arm while the other hand checked his pulse. “He’s dead.”

“No.”

He pulled her into his arms. “You saved us, Del.”

“Son of a bitch!” That from Darius, who was trying to pull himself up to a sitting position. “I still can’t Become. What the hell did he do to us?”

Anger tightened Tucker’s voice as she felt him turn toward Darius. “You and I will talk later.”

“The trunk!” She tore away from Tucker’s embrace and raced out to the car still parked in the road. “She might be in the trunk.”

She heard his footsteps behind her as she pounded across the dirt and jerked the driver’s door open. It was too dark to see the dashboard, so she groped and pulled on every lever and button until she heard the trunk pop open.

He was already back there, lifting the lid when she ran up next to him.

Empty. She nearly collapsed with disappointment. “I’ll never find her. I’ll never . . .”

He braced his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him. His words were low and calm. “He took this car to where she is. You can find her.”

“I can’t . . . “ Hope washed through her, and she nodded so hard it made her dizzy. “Yes. Yes, I can find her.” She started touching the felt interior of the trunk.

Fear. Her mother’s fear and discomfort and concern for Del. It blasted her nearly as strongly as Elgin’s weapon. She ran to the driver’s seat, dropping down in it and gripping the steering wheel.

Home. Where’s home?

She saw a house, a yard, and felt the sense of the place. She turned the key in the ignition. “Get in. I think I can get to his house.”

“Hey!”

They both turned to Darius, who’d dragged himself to the middle of the front yard.

“We can’t leave him here,” she said.

“Yes, we can,” he said beneath his breath. “We’ll be back for you,” he called to Darius. Then he got in and pulled the door shut. “Go.”

She didn’t hesitate, putting the car into gear and driving out of the subdivision. “What happened?”

“He went off the rails, no regard to the plan we had in place. Got all Alpha on me, thinking he should be in charge. I don’t trust him enough to take him with us.”

“No. We don’t know what we’re going to find. Or who lives with Elgin.”

When she reached the Foothills entrance, she closed her eyes again, concentrating. She followed the sense of
home
several miles down the road and then onto another road. Signs announced
CAL ENERGY RESEARCH CO.
and another right behind it warned trespassers away.

She drove in through the open gate, spotting a large gray building up ahead. “It’s an industrial building.”

“Over there, see the smaller buildings? Maybe the employees live there.”

“These are the people from the other dimension. The ones who would kill us if they knew we were here.”

He surveyed the area. “Then we make damned sure they don’t.”

The sky behind the mountains was beginning to lighten. A few of the homes had lights on inside, signs of activity.

“He wouldn’t have brought her here, would he?” She didn’t want to think about what he might have done to her.

“She said she was going back to her people.”

“But she’d broken the rules. They’re not going to just let her come back and live here like normal. They would . . .”

“We’ve got to start with Elgin’s house. We’ll find something there.” He put his hand on her arm, his fingers closing gently around her. “You can find it, Del, if you concentrate.”

And not freak out. “Okay.” She took a deep breath, curling her fingers over the steering wheel, connecting to the thoughts and feelings it held. “Elgin was . . . he was angry at my mom. I can feel his anger, and the way he felt she was his. She betrayed him by leaving, and he couldn’t handle that.”

She focused on the house she’d seen. “They all look alike: neatly trimmed yards, arches over the front doors. How am I going to find his?”

Tucker pointed at the garage door opener on the visor. “I try every door until one opens.”

She released a breath. “Good idea.” Her relief was short-lived.

A man walked out of the house they were passing, his gaze on their car. His expression revealed his curiosity: why was Elgin coming home at six in the morning? The car’s windows were dark, but were they dark enough?

“Hey, Elgin,” the man called out. “Everything okay?” He paused, obviously expecting Elgin to lower the window and respond.

The garage door of the house next-door opened. She waved, hoping he could see that acknowledgment and nothing more. Tucker closed the door as soon as the car pulled inside.

“We don’t have much time,” he whispered, getting out. “If that guy thinks something’s up, he’ll be investigating. And if Elgin doesn’t come to the door when he knocks, he’ll definitely suspect something.”

“Thanks for that reassuring thought.” She passed him and reached for the door leading into the house.

He pushed her back, his hand on her collarbone. “Let me go first. I can tell if someone else is in there.”

She nodded, and he went in, his chin tilted up as though he were sniffing the air. They passed through the kitchen, and she grabbed a knife from the butcher block on the counter. Not that it would be any defense against people who could use sonic weapons. Or Become. But she had her own weapon: Tucker. Could he Become, though?