Taken at Dusk (Shadow Falls #3)

Taken at Dusk (Shadow Falls #3) Page 36

Gravity grabbed Kylie from below. Her breath caught at the same time a hand caught her arm. Her heart throbbing in her chest, she looked up into the face of her rescuer. Red.

He jerked her back to safety.

She found her footing, beside him. But her mind raced as she realized he'd saved her. "Hello, Kylie," the rogue said.

She just stared at him, not sure what to say.

"She made her choice," said the bearded man standing beside Mario. His dark brown robe fluttered in the wind as he raised his hand and pointed those long, aged fingers at her. She stared in something akin to horror as flames came from the tips of his fingers.

Red jumped in front of her, and the old man's flames stopped. "I told you I would change her mind. Give her time. She's too good to kill."

"She has made her choice," Mario said. "Her time is up. Move out of the way. Let her plummet to her death."

"No," Red said.

Kylie stared at Red, confused by his willingness to protect her. And yet hadn't he been doing it all along?

"You dare to disobey me in front of my peers?" Mario growled.

"I dare," Red said. "I've spent my entire life living by your rules. You murdered my mother. You forced my father to run away. I've accepted that all my life, and I have asked nothing of you but this. Spare her. For me."

"She cannot be spared," said the other old man. "She will bring us down."

"She won't. I'll take care of her," Red said. "I'll change her mind, I'll convince her." There was pleading in his voice.

"The decision is made," the bearded man said.

The second old man raised his hand, and a surge of wind picked her up from the ground and knocked her back toward the edge.

She felt herself falling. Felt the air part as her body descended. Fear made her tense; grief for everyone she loved chased off the fear. She saw faces in her mind's eye that she would miss. Things she would never do. She saw Lucas's face and then Derek's. She saw her friends-new and old. Then she blinked, unable to breathe. She saw the sun setting and found an odd sort of calm settle within her. The colors in the dusk sky filled her mind with a surge of calm. She'd be able to be with Daniel and Nana.

Something or someone caught her again. Her memory shot back to being caught by Perry. The grips around her wrist were not human. The jolt brought air into her lungs. Had Perry come to save her?

"I have you. Hold on!"

But the voice didn't belong to Perry. It was Red.

A bolt of lightning shot past them, so close that Kylie felt the sting of it.

In seconds, the huge bird landed back on the ledge and set her gently on her feet. There were no sparkles as he changed back to human form. He was more than just a shape-shifter.

"You okay?" he asked.

Kylie looked at him through the tears in her eyes and nodded. She remembered him saving her from the snake. From the lightning strike in the woods and then trying to save her from the sinkhole. She'd never said thank you, never considered needing to, because all she saw in him was evil. But then he'd saved Miranda, too.

"I don't even know your real name," she managed to say.

"Roberto." He smiled. "I managed to snag this." He handed her Ellie's cap.

Right then Kylie knew. Red ... Roberto wasn't all evil.

"Thank you," she said.

He stared at her as if he didn't know how to respond. Then he reached out and brushed a tear from her cheek. "You are even pretty when you cry."

"No, I'm not. I get all red and-" A bolt of lightning shot down from above. Roberto pushed her away. Her back hit the rock wall behind her. He looked prepared to run, but before he did, the lightning struck again. It hit him. The ground beneath her shook at the impact. The smell of burned flesh filled her nose.

Kylie dropped to her knees. Panic clawed at her throat. She didn't want to see it, but she couldn't look away. Roberto's eyes turned blood red, and his body contorted backward; something that looked like smoke billowed out of his mouth, and Kylie knew it was his soul. And then he fell. The sound of his soulless body hitting the hard earth was pure sadness.

She moved to try to save him.

"Don't." The sound of his voice startled her. She looked at him. His spirit stood several feet from his body, gazing toward the dusk-filled sky. "I don't want to stay." Purples, shades of bright pinks, golds, and shades of gray now laced the sky.

"Do you see them?" he asked.

For a second, she thought he meant his grandfather and the two other men, but then she did see, and she understood. Angels were dancing in the painted sky; like birds, they moved gracefully in the wind.

Kylie nodded. "I do." But she still had to try. She laid her hands on his body. And concentrated. Nothing happened. Her hands would not heat up. Giving up, she finally gazed up at his spirit.

"Why would you want to save me?" his spirit asked.

"Because you saved me," she said, and looked up.

He gazed back at her, and all hints of evil were gone from his eyes. What she saw was a person who never had a chance. A boy raised into evil, taught evil, and never loved. "I understand now," he said. "I was wrong, Kylie Galen. You are not my soul mate. But because of you, I have saved my soul." Then slowly his spirit was taken, pulled up by the sky. He became part of the colors in the dusky sky. Part of the beauty, part of something that was eternal. The death angels took him at the last second of dusk.

Kylie wasn't sure how much time passed, but the colors of the sky had turned black when another whoosh of wind hit. What was a flash in the night suddenly became a body, crouched down only a few feet from her. Kylie scooted back and then recognized Burnett.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Kylie nodded.

"I need to get you out of here, now." He pulled her up.

She looked down at the body near her feet. And realized his eyes, empty, dead, were open. She lowered herself and closed his lids.

When she stood up, she told Burnett, "He died saving me."

"Then maybe hell will be easy on him." Burnett picked her up.

"He didn't go to hell," Kylie said.

She didn't know if he heard her. It didn't matter. She knew.

Burnett carried Kylie back to the main office, where Holiday paced across the front porch. He set Kylie down.

"Thank God!" Holiday ran to Kylie and hugged her.

"Thank you," Holiday said to Burnett, but when she released Kylie, he was already gone.

Her frown deepened, but her expression changed and she met Kylie's eyes. "Are you okay?"

Kylie nodded and tried not to cry. "Is Derek okay?"

"He's resting."

Kylie nodded.

"What happened, Kylie? You were there one minute and then gone the next."

Kylie pulled out Ellie's hat from her jeans pocket. "I went back for this, and..." The tears she didn't want to cry came anyway, and she told Holiday the whole story.

Kylie wasn't asleep when she heard the knock on her door several hours later. She heard Della answer it. Then she heard Lucas's voice. He came into her bedroom and pulled her against him, and Kylie held on to him like a life preserver. She needed his strength. Needed to feel his arms around her. They stayed like that for hours, not kissing, not making out, just holding on to each other.

The next morning, the mood at the camp was somber at best. Everyone missed Ellie. They missed Burnett. They missed Derek. He'd left for the weekend to stay with his mom. Kylie was almost afraid to see him. Ellie's funeral was set for next week because the FRU wanted to do an autopsy. Kylie knew that no one at the camp blamed her, but she couldn't quite keep from blaming herself.

Holiday, sensing Kylie's emotion, had taken her to the falls. It was there, behind the wall of water, that Kylie felt most of the ugliness of guilt lift. She asked the question why, why it had to happen. The answer came in a feeling. Fate had called Ellie home. Fate was still pissing Kylie off. But some of the guilt did fade.

Holiday worked like crazy to keep the camp running and do interviews for teachers. It was too much for one person, though. So Kylie got together with a couple of the other campers and assigned jobs. One person oversaw the contractors, while another answered calls at the office.

Holiday almost protested but then threw in the towel and accepted their help.

On Thursday afternoon, when Lucas had her for shadow duty, Kylie asked if he'd seen Burnett.

"No, but he's around," Lucas said. "He's set guards around the camp in case anything else happens."

Kylie hoped nothing else would happen. According to Miranda, whoever had been hanging around was now gone.

Apparently, so was Kylie's ghost, because she hadn't appeared in days.

The next afternoon, Kylie was sitting on the front porch when Derek walked up. He must have returned early.

The lingering guilt she felt at Ellie's death bubbled to the surface. And when she saw that he still had shadows of grief in his eyes, she felt her guilt swell to the point of pain.

He lowered himself beside her. "That's what I came to see you about."

She looked at him, unsure what he meant. "I knew you would feel responsible for this. And I just wanted you to know that Ellie made that choice when she took off after the intruder. I made the choice to follow her. It's not your fault. You would have done the same for anyone in this camp."

Kylie felt a knot form in her throat. "But he was here because of me."

"I know. I'm sure Ellie knew it when she went after him. But it didn't stop her. And she would be so unhappy if she knew you blamed yourself for her death. It would be a dishonor to her memory if I let you keep blaming yourself. She liked you. She liked you a lot."

Kylie felt a few tears roll past her lashes, and Derek put his arm around her. It wasn't a boyfriend kind of hug, just a hug from a friend who was offering a warm touch of comfort. And it felt really good.

When the next day came and Jane was still a no-show, Kylie went to Holiday with a request.

"No." Holiday shoved herself back in her desk chair.

"But I need to see her, and I know she's there."

"Don't you remember what happened the last time you went?"

"I remember I survived," Kylie said. "I also remember I ended up helping another lost soul, and I learned something when I was there. I need to go, Holiday."

Holiday slapped her pen onto the desk. "Someone is trying to kill you."

"Was trying," Kylie said. "I think Miranda is right. They're gone right now."

"Why would they leave?"

"I don't know. But I refuse to live my life in a prison."

"This isn't a prison," Holiday said.

"It is if I can't ever leave."

Holiday scowled. "If I say no, you're still going to go, aren't you?"

Kylie gave the question some thought and answered honestly. "Probably."

"Fine. I'll clear an hour after lunch and we'll-"

"I don't think you should go," Kylie said.

"Why?"

"I've been there. They know me, and if you show up, it might confuse things. I think you scared Jane Doe. She might not show herself if you're there."

Holiday's frown deepened. "There is no way in hell that I'm letting you go by yourself."

"Not by myself," Kylie insisted. "You could call Burnett."

Holiday frowned, but Kylie knew she wouldn't say no. Not when it involved someone's safety. And yes, this might have been a bit of a ploy to get them back together again, but it was killing Kylie to see Holiday so miserable.

Besides, Kylie did want to help Jane Doe.

Burnett agreed to the plan. But after Ellie's death, he said he wasn't going in with just the two of them. Lucas wasn't there. He'd driven into Houston to get the contractors their supplies. He wouldn't be back until three. So Burnett recommended Derek and Della.

Derek looked thrilled when she asked if he would go with her. He'd agreed before she told him where they were going.

"It's the cemetery," she said. "And there will be ghosts there."

"No problem."

Della hadn't been so thrilled. But of course, after grumbling, she agreed to go.

When they arrived at the Fallen Cemetery gates, Della grumbled some more. Derek put his warm hand against Kylie's back and whispered, "It's okay. I'm here."

Obviously, he'd read her misgivings about making the trip. Sure, she'd put up a good front with Holiday, but it didn't mean she wasn't scared. She could still remember how terrified she'd felt when the ghosts had charged her all at once.

"Thanks." Then she mentally pulled up her big-girl panties and walked through the gates, with Della on one side of her and Derek and Burnett on the other.

Sun and shadows danced across the graves at the same time the unnatural cold fell upon them like an invisible cloud of fog.

Derek leaned in again. "I need to talk to you ... when we can steal a minute. It's important. Please."

She nodded.

"It's her. She's back..." Kylie heard one voice and then a merge of voices, male and female, young and old.

"She said she'd come back."

"And I thought she was just bullshitting us."

"I told you she wasn't lying."

Tension pulled at her skull, forecasting a headache. But the spirit of the old man's wife manifested and the voices retreated.

"My husband got his medicines right, thanks to you."

"That's good," Kylie said out loud.

"What's good?" Derek asked.

"She not talking to you," Della said. "Freaky, isn't it?"

"It's not that bad," Derek said, but Kylie saw him cutting his green eyes from side to side, as though he wondered where the spirits were. Burnett remained silent, standing stoic. He'd hardly spoken since he'd met them at the front of the camp.

Why haven't you passed over? Kylie asked this question in her head as she ambled down the path between the tombstones.

"I decided to just wait on him," Ima said. "But Catherine passed on. That was the woman you helped. Her kids came here. I heard them say they're planning on changing her tombstone to show her real name. That was nice of you to do that."

Kylie nodded. Have you seen the other one? The one you call Berta Littlemon?

"She was just here. She's been a basket case since they took her away."

"Took her away?" Kylie asked aloud again.

The spirit just shrugged and said, "There she is. Sitting by the grave."

"I'm going to be right over there." Kylie pointed to the grave where Jane sat on the ground.

"As long as we can see you," Burnett said.

Kylie moved over to Jane. The ghost looked up and the sun hit her face. She had tears webbing her dark lashes. She didn't have on any makeup. She looked young. And pregnant.

"Are you okay?" Kylie sat down next to Jane.

The spirit looked back at the grave. "I want to remember so badly. But my brain doesn't work. Sometimes I feel as if the answers are right there, but I can't reach them. Then I remember something and it disappears. Why doesn't my brain work right?"

Kylie hesitated. But Jane deserved to know. Just like Kylie deserved to get her own answers. "I don't know everything, but I know some."

"What?" she asked.

"There's an organization called the FRU. They're like the government for supernaturals. According to the leader of our camp, several years ago, the FRU were doing tests, something about genetics. I don't know what kind of tests they ran, but from the vision I had, I think you were one of the ones they tested, and they operated on you. You had your head shaved and had stitches. In the vision, you looked paralyzed. I think something went wrong with the test they did, so ... they killed you."

Jane put her hand over her trembling lips. "I remember I showed you that. They put a pillow over my face."

"Yes," Kylie said.

"I didn't want to do the tests, but ... my husband. What was his name?" she asked Kylie.

"I don't know."

Jane shook her head. "He insisted that we do it, so they would leave us alone."

"Who would leave you alone?" Kylie asked, wanting to make sure they were still talking about the FRU.

"The organization that you said. If we didn't agree to be tested, they'd imprison us."

"Why?"

Jane paused again. "I can't remember. But I think it was because we were different." She looked at the grave. The dirt around the tombstone had been disturbed. "He took me away. He dug me out of the ground."

"Who did?" Kylie leaned closer.

"That bad man."

"What bad man?"

"The one who wanted you to be tested."

"Burnett?" Kylie asked. "He took you away?"

She nodded. "I don't like him."

Kylie stared at the grave, trying to figure out what that meant. "He's not bad," she said. But why would he dig up Jane's body? Was it to prove what the FRU had done? Or was it to protect the FRU from her accusations?

"He looks bad." Jane pointed toward the path.

Kylie looked up. Burnett stopped in front of her. "I can explain it."

Kylie stood. "I hope so."

He frowned but didn't explain, so she decided to start asking questions.

"Why did you take Jane Doe's body?"

He hesitated. "I thought you wanted to know who she was."

Kylie sensed he was speaking only half the truth. "Do you know who she is?"

He nodded. "I was going to tell you, as soon as I had a little more information." He paused again. "But I guess now is fine. Her name is Heidi Summers."

Kylie looked around for the spirit. She didn't see her, but she could still feel the cold. Whether it was from Jane or someone else, Kylie didn't know.

"I have an address, too. She lived a couple of miles from here. I thought you'd want to go there."

"Yes," Kylie said. "Is her family still there?"

Burnett started walking, and Kylie followed him. She saw Derek and Della waiting for them by the gate.

"The house is listed to Malcolm Summers," Burnett said. "So I'm assuming it's her family."

Kylie caught her breath when a hundred or more souls lined up on each side of the path. They all reached out for her and started talking at once. Her head started to pound. The icy feel of their touches stung like thousands of needles.

She felt herself being pulled in a thousand different directions.

"Help me."

"No, help me."

"Stop it!" the spirit of the old man's wife screamed. "If you're not nice, she won't come back."

The jabbering stopped. They brought their hands to their sides, but they didn't leave. They stood completely still and watched her with soulless eyes-all wanting, needing her to do something for them so they could cross over.

But there were too many to help. Guilt filled her chest. She breathed in the frigid air and forced herself to concentrate on the one she could help. Jane Doe.

"The Summers family. They're supernaturals, right?" Kylie asked, unsure what she would say to them. But if they were supernaturals, perhaps it wouldn't be so hard.

Burnett frowned. "They aren't registered supernaturals."

"You think they're rogue?"

"Not everyone unregistered is rogue. But they could be."

Derek moved in beside Kylie, appearing concerned. He brushed the top of his hand against hers. She felt the calm he offered and appreciated the assistance.

Burnett turned to Derek and Della as soon as they walked out of the gate. "I called Holiday and asked her to pick you two up. I'll bring Kylie by later."

Kylie and Burnett got into his Mustang. As she watched Della and Derek get smaller in the rearview mirror, the craziest thought struck. What if Burnett took her to the FRU to get tested? What if Jane was right? What if he wasn't a good guy?