[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Hannah. Jonas said her name softly, slightly awed by the raw power forged and controlled between
the sisters.
Kate took a deep breath and let go. Let go of her sisters and her body and the physical world she lived
in to enter the shadow world. Far off, she heard the echo of Hannah s frightened cry. The world wasn t
silent as one would expect. She never got used to that. There were noises, moans and cries, not quite
human, unidentifiable. Static, the sound of a radio not tuned properly. And the terrible howl of the wind
endlessly blowing. It was cold and bleak and barren. A world of darkness and despair. She looked
around carefully, trying to find the one she was seeking.
She wasn t alone. She could feel others watching her. Some were merely curious, others hostile. None
were friendly. She was a living being, and they were long gone. Something slithered close to her feet. She
felt the touch of something slimy against her arm. Kate took another breath and called out softly. At once
she saw it. A terrifying sight. Tall, bare white bones, the skull ghastly with a gaping mouth and empty
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
sockets for eyes. It wasn t fully formed. A great hole was in the chest cavity. The ribs were missing. It
came striding toward her, and she noticed that the skeleton wore old-fashioned boots stuck at the end of
the sticklike bones of its legs. She might have laughed had it not been so frightening. The bones rattled as
it rushed toward her, deadly purpose in every bone.
Kate! Abigail s cry echoed Hannah s and Sarah s.
Kate held up her hand to ward the thing off as it reached her.
Matt felt Kate s energy crackling in the air around them, a fierce force never wavering, yet her slender
body shook with the effort, or maybe with fear, crumbling beneath the strain. Without warning he felt
every hair on his body stand up. Kate went sickly pale. Afraid for her, he swept her up into his arms and
held her tight against his chest, the only thing he could do to shelter her from the onslaught of the wind
and the menace of the fog.
Kate wrenched herself from the shadow world, opened her eyes, expecting to see Matt. Empty sockets
stared back at her. The skull s mouth gaped wide, the jaw loose, bony fingers wrapping around her
throat. She screamed and pulled away, trying to run when there was nowhere to go. The pressure on her
throat increased. She choked.
The wind rose to a howl. Feminine voices became commanding. The bony fingers slid from Kate s
throat. She fell to the ground and stared in horror as the voices of the Drake women forced the skeleton
away from her one dragging step at a time. Those pitiless empty eye sockets stared at her with malice.
Kate tried to scoot crablike in the opposite direction, feeling sick as the entity clacked white bones
together in a dark, ugly promise of retaliation.
The wind blew sand into the air, obscuring Kate s vision. She squeezed her eyes closed tightly against
the new assault. At once she felt Matt s body pressed close to hers. Afraid to look, she lifted her lashes,
hands out in front of her for protection. Matt s reassuring face was there, the planes and angles familiar to
her. She buried her face against his throat, felt the warmth of his body leeching some of the icy cold from
hers.
The fog crept back toward the ocean slowly, almost grudgingly, retreating from around the house and
deck to the beach, with obvious reluctance. With Kate safely in his arms, Matt stared in horror at the wet
sand. Distinct footprints were left behind, as if someone had backed toward the ocean with short,
dragging steps, a man s boots with run-down heels. A cold chill swept down his spine. His gaze went
from the prints in the sand to Jonas. What the hell are we dealing with here?
Chapter
7
As lovers meet beneath mistletoe bright,
Terror ignites down below them this night.
MATT STARED DOWN ATKATE S FACE.SHE LAYin his bed, sound asleep, the signs of
exhaustion present even as she slept. She looked more fragile than ever, as if fighting back the entity in
the fog had taken most of her spirit and drained all of her strength. The curtains over his sliding glass door
were pulled back to allow him a clear view of the ocean. He had always enjoyed the sight and sound of
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]