Hunted by Darkness

Midnight Celebrations

Gabriel

He shouldn’t have let them take Sarah away. The echo of her energy still coursed through his veins, under his skin, like her fingers trailing over his body. It distracted him, except that there was nothing to be distracted from. He was still lying in bed, watching the seconds tick, as instructed by Elsebeth. He felt fine, but no matter how often he told her that, she wasn’t convinced. She couldn’t explain how Sarah had saved him and still survived. Had any of them tried what she had, not only would they have died, but Gabriel would not have been saved anyway. It would have been a pointless sacrifice.

Now that they had Sarah, though, Elsebeth had no reason to humour him. She had no need to pretend indifference at the fact that he left her for another women, though she would not say it in those words. Instead of letting it go, it had become constant fuel for the anger he had always felt ran under her carefully made-up surface.

Yet, when Elsebeth slipped her fingers into his hand, he didn’t mind so much. Uneasy at that thought and the effect she had on him, he let go of her with the pretence of scratching his chin. It was enough for the air to shift around him. The woman leaned of his bed, her eyes piercing.

‘It’s her, isn’t it? You can feel her inside you…’

Gabriel looked away.

‘She’s branded you, like her own, personal, bull,’ she said, her head snapping in the opposite direction.

He ignored the insult. It was all just so confusing. He hadn’t wanted to hurt Elsebeth, but she had used her body to coerce him into leading Sarah to a point of no return, though he only knew that now.

It backfired, though. She couldn’t have foreseen he would fall in love with her. He hadn’t known either. But then she had lost her memory completely and he, well, he couldn’t remember that day either, at the time. Not what had happened whenever they reached whatever it is they were looking for. He was lucky to find her again, but she didn’t remember him, and she wasn’t the Sarah he remembered. Maybe it was just because she had lost her memories, but there was something wrong about her after the accident. When he looked at her face, the line of her nose, the contour of her jaw, the curve of her neck, even the way she smiled and the soft smell of violets that had always surrounded her, everything reminded him of his Sarah. But the spell broke when he looked into her eyes. It’s as if she had suddenly aged. He had tried to convince himself that it was the traumatic experience that had led them to amnesia, partial or not, but he had a terrible fear that it was something much more severe and irreversible, and the kiss they shared didn’t make him feel confident. It wasn’t how he remembered it. Sure, he enjoyed it, and the first touch of her lips sent a jolt through his body, but the way she kissed him, the way her body responded… it wasn’t the same.

Nothing was the same.

‘Why did you send us there?’

‘There where?’

Gabriel set his jaw and took a deep breath.

‘You know I don’t remember. But you were adamant I had to take Sarah to this journey. Why? Did you want us dead? Or just her?’

‘God, you can be daft. Of course, I didn’t want her dead. Sarah is too important. We need her.’

She didn’t deny wanting him dead, though, and he couldn’t pretend it didn’t bother him, but he’d have to unpack that later.

‘How important? What do you need her for?’

Elsebeth hesitated, biting her brightly red lower lip, then she stretched out a hand to him. Gabriel took it and let her help him even though he was perfectly capable of doing that by himself. Outside, it was dark, the glow of the streetlamps making it hard to see the stars. Down in the street, a few late workers were finally going home, making their way to the bus or the tube, though the traffic was still heavy.

‘Look,’ she pointed outside, ‘can you see them?’

Gabriel frowned. There was nothing outside.

‘Look! There, on the roof across the street, that shadow next to the door.’

He nodded.

‘That’s not a shadow. It’s one of them. There,’ she pointed down at the street, ‘in the depth of that doorway, you can almost see its eyes.’

A chill ran up his spine and his flesh was covered in goosebumps.

‘What do they want?’

‘Sarah, of course?’

‘Why?’

‘Because she can destroy them.’

Elsebeth’s face was expressionless, her perfect mouth realised, her eyes scanning the city on the other side of the glass with complete disinterest. He, on the other hand, couldn’t help a shiver, the intense smell of putrefaction deeply ingrained in his brain.

‘They know she’s not here, though. There were many more than those before she left.’

‘We have to warn her, then.’

Elsebeth turned towards him with a smile and a spark in her eye.

‘Don’t worry. She is with my brother. He’ll take good care of her,’ she turned around. ‘Very good care,’ she said before leaving the room.

An invisible hand squeezed his chest as the shadows moved outside, looking for the same thing he was.

*********

Sarah

Four days passed since that night. Damian left all check-ups into Karen’s hands and never came back. She had tried to stay awake that night, waiting, but she fell asleep after what she judged must have been a couple of hours. A mist lingered over her eyes when she woke up the next day, and she wasn’t sure if she had heard steps outside her room sometime in the middle of the night, or if it had been just a dream.

‘Somebody tried to break into the grounds. The house is empty most of the year and they probably didn’t expect somebody to be here. Nothing to worry about,’ was all the explanation Karen gave her.

It was as good an explanation as any, and yet she didn’t quite believe it. Not then, and not today, after hearing several people running down the corridors and yelling outside in the middle of the night.

‘Any more people tried to break into the house yesterday?’

It was the sound of breaking glass that had woken her up first.

‘No, that, I’m afraid, was Damian. He had a bit too much to drink after dinner.’

It sounded suspicious, but everything sounded suspicious when you were locked in a room on imposed bed rest. It didn’t help her sense that she was forgetting something important, either.

‘I have good news for you, though,’ Karen said as if reading her mind, ‘I believe you could be ready to take a walk today.’

‘You mean outside the room?’ she half sat up.

Karen nodded.

‘I’ll bring you clothes after you finish your breakfast and I’ll help you shower, what do you think?’

It was long overdue, is what she thought.

Karen had the presence of mind to bring her comfortable clothing, including leggings, warm socks, a big woolly jumper and her boots, the only thing that had survived her assault. Although the sharpest pain had stopped, Sarah still needed help to pull the jumper over her head. The sleeves trailed long past her fingers, and it was long enough to be a dress. It must be a man’s. It smelled of lavender too, but she refrained from jumping to conclusions.

For the first time since she arrived, or at least since she had woken up, Sarah was allowed outside the room. The corridor was long and light, with windows along the opposite wall. The floor was tiled in black and white with rugs running its length and padded chairs every two doors.

They walked slowly, very slowly, turning at the end of the corridor, passing more doors. The building surrounded a large, central courtyard. The ground and first floors were visible through the windows, as well as a third floor. On the ground, the yard was surrounded by an arched colonnade, a fountain in the middle surrounded the sculpture of a woman, surrounded by flowerbeds and cast-iron garden furniture.

She was as happy to find her bed again as she had been to leave it. It was difficult to think that such a short walk had exhausted her. It felt as if she had lost any fitness she had ever had. Everything was hard.

‘I’ll bring you some lunch later,’ Karen said, pulling a blanket over me, ‘you did well.’

Whether she came back with lunch or not, Sarah never found out. As soon as Karen left, her eyes closed and she fell into a deep sleep, only to be woken up by a loud thump outside her door.

She woke up with a jump and her heart in her throat, its beating loud in her ears. Was it Karen bringing dinner? It was dark, now, outside the windows. She reached for the alarm clock on the bedside table. Half-three in the morning.

Her heart started settling down, but light shuffling against the door made it quicken again. With Karen’s warnings fresh in her mind, she wondered if she should start calling for help.

More shuffling. It sounded like scratching on the door.

Scratching?

Samson!

That was it! That’s what she had forgotten, wasn’t it? Her dog! He must have found her.

She sat up, but too quick and pain shot through her body once more. Still, it was dull, she could bear it. Slowly now, she pushed herself up. One step at a time, holding onto the wall and the furniture, she reached the door. The was a scratch, a shuffling and a thud.

Her heart racing, she grabbed the handle. As the latch slid out, a weight pushed the door in. Sarah stumbled back a couple of steps as something fell back onto the floor.

Not something, somebody.

Upper body now lying inside her room, long legs stretched out towards the corridor, Damian stared up at her, his eyes unfocused. No suit, his white shirt had three buttons undone, and his hair fell loose around his face.

‘What are you doing here?’ She asked, her eyes wide.

Damian grinned, a gesture so uncharacteristic of him, she’s wondering if this is not his evil twin.

‘I’v…’ he cleared his throat, turning on his side now, and getting on his feet with some effort. As he tried to take a step towards her, he stumbled and hit his shoulder against the doorframe. ‘I… vvvcome to ssssee you…’

‘Are you drunk?’ she whispered.

Damian chuckled, a bright spark in his eyes, as he reached out for her shoulder. His hand fell heavily on it, and his weight squashed her down. Leaning over her, his face coming nearer to hers, Sarah froze. His breath was hot on her neck and she could smell the alcohol on him.

‘Just a bit…’ he whispered in her ear. ‘I’m celebrating!’

He straightened up, his eyes digging into hers, before dropping into the nearest chair.

‘And what are you celebrating exactly?’ Sarah crossed her arms.

His eyes lifted to hers and she saw that spark again. They searched her, sharp, and both scared her and excited her. He held her gaze for eons, as the world passed around them, leaves turning colours and the stars drifting in the sky.

‘It’s my wife’s birthday.’

His voice sounded dense and heavy as he said the words.

His wife?

‘I didn’t realize you were married.’

He waved a hand in the air, his eyes losing focus again.

‘She’s gone, now…’

‘Is she…’ but Sarah didn’t get to finish her question because his gaze darted back to hers and the burning emotion in them stopped her in her tracks.

A gasp escaped his lips, and she took a step back. Still on her, Damian’s eyes softened, as if a switch had gone off, and he rubbed them with his fingers.

‘Sorry… I…’ he sighed, pushing himself off the chair and bridging the space that separated them.

He rested his hands on her shoulders, and she looked up into his bright blue eyes.

‘I didn’t mean to scare you…’ he murmured.

The more he leaned over, the more he put weight on her. Her muscles seized and pain exploded against on her side, making her shrink on herself and she choked on a whimper.

‘Damn it!’ his voice echoed in the room.

His weight dropped and his knees hit the ground right in front of her. As his hands held onto her waist, the nagging feeling of forgetting something came back, but she still had no idea what it was.

‘I hurt you, didn’t I?’

And his voice was so heavy, she couldn’t but wonder if he meant something else than just the throbbing ache on her side.

He lifted the jumper over her hips, and past her stomach, and stared at the bandage that covered her healing wound. He stared at it as if he could make it better by sheer will, while she watched, silent, wondering what was going on. Without giving it any thought, she reached for the lock of his hair falling over his forehead and pushed it off his face. Her fingers came in contact with his skin and as he looked up at her, her hand slid down the side of his face. His brown tightened and his eyes became watery as he lifted his hands to cup her face. Standing up, he leaned down, their eyes tangled. Her breathing hitched as she felt the warmth of his skin against hers. She couldn’t have moved even if she wanted to.

And she didn’t want to.

So why was she feeling like this was wrong?

And yet, as his lips came closer to hers, she willed them to come faster. It was like two people fighting inside her.

She could feel the warmth of his mouth on her lips.

‘Damian!’ a voice exploded at the door.

He didn’t jump, he didn’t startle, he just slowly closed his eyes and sighed, all energy abandoning him. His hands fell dead at his side.

‘We had a deal!’ Karen’s voice continued.

A deal? What deal?

‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered.

Sarah wasn’t sure who he was talking to, but he turned on his heels and joined his assistant, who stood at the door in a fluffy, purple housecoat.

‘Go back to bed, Sarah,’ Karen said over her shoulder, before closing the door behind her.

Go back to bed? As if she could go to sleep now…