Dark Realms (17 page)

“Maybe,” I answered.

We sat in silence, as we finished the pizza
and stared towards the woods. It was pretty silent except for the
leaves rustling in the wind.

“Anyone want something to drink?” asked
Nathan, standing up.

“I’ll take some water,” I said.

“Me, too,” answered Duncan.

When Nathan left us alone, I stole a glance
towards Duncan, who I found was staring at me.

“What?” I asked.

He smiled. “I was just thinking how
beautiful you looked in the moonlight. I know that sounds like a
line, but it’s true.”

I returned his smile. “Thanks, Duncan.”

He clasped his fingers and rested his chin
on them. “Did you leave a broken heart back in California?”

I snorted. “No. In fact, I guess you could
say I haven’t had many boyfriends.”

“I find that hard to believe. The guys there
must be blind and stupid.”

I blushed. “It’s not like I didn’t get asked
out. I just wasn’t interested, I guess.”

“So, would you be interested now?”

I nodded.

He smiled.

“Duncan,” said Nathan, as he stepped onto
the balcony. “I almost forgot, could you take a look at my Mustang?
I think it’s the battery I’m having problems with, but I want to
make sure.”

“Do you have a battery tester?” he
asked.

“Actually, there might be one in the garage,
I never even looked.”

Duncan got up. “Let’s go and check it
out.”

Nathan nodded. “Thanks. Nikki, you can keep
watch from up here and let us know if you see anything. I brought
you the BB gun,” he said, handing it to me. “You still know how to
use it?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Holler if you see anything,” he
said.

They left me and I gripped the gun firmly in
my hands, feeling uneasy because I was now alone and they were
going to be in the garage.

Nathan’s laughter echoed through the
darkness. I watched as the guys stepped away from the cabin and
headed over to the garage.

“Nothing to be afraid of,” I murmured to
myself, staring towards the dark woods.

An owl hooted and I was reminded of some of
the scary movies I’d watched with Nathan. An owl hoots and then
something sinister usually happens in the next scene. I knew it was
just cinema, but I felt a chill in my veins just the same.

My eyes darted quickly from one side of the
yard to the other, and my breath caught in my throat as I saw a
shadow move across the grass. I looked up into the sky, but saw
nothing out of the ordinary.

“Nikki,” whispered a deep masculine voice
behind me.

I turned around, but found myself alone. I
stood up and backed away from the table, frightened beyond belief.
Hot breath brushed against the back of my neck and I whirled around
again, this time seeing a blurry haze of movement.

“Oh, my God… Nathan!” I screamed, running
into my bedroom. I ran downstairs and threw the front door open.
“Nathan!” I yelled, again.

Nathan and Duncan rushed out of the garage
towards me.

“What’s wrong?” called Nathan.

“Someone… was… on the balcony,” I gasped,
out of breath.

He looked behind me. “Who?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I heard my
name and then I felt someone breathing against the back of my
neck.”

“Someone’s in the cabin?” Nathan swore, and
then rushed past me and towards the house.

Duncan could tell I was pretty shook up and
put his arms around me. He stared down into my eyes. “Are you
okay?”

I nodded and leaned into him, closing my
eyes.

Suddenly, he was ripped from my arms and
thrown backwards.

“Duncan!” I screamed as he landed on the
ground.

“I’m fine,” he answered with an incredulous
look on his face. He got up and began walking back towards me.

There was a flash of movement and he went
flying through the air again, much farther this time. As I rushed
towards him, I felt something pick me up, and then we were moving
like the wind.

“Help!” I screamed in terror. We were going
so fast that my head was spinning. The next thing I knew I was
lying on the ground and a pair of steely blue eyes held mine.

“We meet again,” whispered Ethan, trailing a
cool finger down my cheek.

I was paralyzed as his eyes burned into
mine. A familiar yearning spread through my veins and suddenly I
wanted him fiercely.

“Sweet Nikki,” he whispered with a small
smile. He then licked his lips and lowered them to mine. Suddenly,
we were kissing and I felt an urgent need to wrap my legs around
him; to surrender myself to whatever he demanded.

“Oh,” I breathed when he removed his mouth
and began a hot trail down my neck with his tongue. My entire body
was trembling with desire. “Oh, God.”

He chuckled softly against my skin. “Not
quite.”

Someone shouted my name, startling me back
to my senses and I tensed up.

Duncan!

Ethan raised his head and I could see the
rage burning in his eyes. “Fuck,” he growled.

Duncan crashed through the bushes right as
Ethan took off and I was left staring up at the stars in
confusion.

“Are you okay?” asked Duncan, now at my
side, looking down at me.

“I think so,” I replied, as he helped me
up.

“What in the hell just happened!” hollered
Nathan, stumbling through the woods, out of breath.

My lips began to tremble. “I really don’t
know.”

Chapter Fifteen

Nathan and Duncan were full of questions as
we walked back to the house. I was still in a state of confusion
and had a difficult time answering them.

“Who was it?” asked Duncan.

“Where’d they go?” asked Nathan.

I shook my head. “I…I just can’t
remember.”

It wasn’t exactly true, but my thoughts were
so muddled because of my overwhelming attraction towards Ethan.
Part of me understood that it wasn’t natural; it was some power he
was using to control me. Another part of me didn’t care; I just
wanted him to have his way with me, whatever it was.

Nathan scratched his head. “Did you see who
it was, Duncan?”

He shook his head. “I was thrown backwards
and then she was gone in a flash. It was crazy.”

Nathan scowled. “I don’t even know how to
call this one in to nine-one-one. Attempted kidnapping by the
invisible man?”

I cleared my throat. “Um, don’t worry about
it, Nathan. I’m fine.”

“No, we have to call the police. You could
have been murdered or raped.”

It certainly wouldn’t have
been rape
, I thought. Although, if he was
using mind control to make me desire him so much, then it was as
bad as a date rape drug.

“I didn’t see anything. I don’t even know
who it was,” I protested. “The cops are going to think we’re all
crazy.”

Nathan stared at me for a minute. “Okay, I’d
better ask – was it human?”

“To be honest, I don’t know,” I
muttered.

Duncan grabbed my hand. “I’m calling my dad
to let him know I’m staying over tonight. I’m not letting you out
of my sight again.”

Nathan looked at both of us. “Wait a second,
did I miss something?”

I could feel my cheeks turn pink.

“I guess you could say that I’m kind of
falling for your sister,” said Duncan with a sheepish grin. “I hope
you’re okay with it.”

Nathan smiled. “I’m fine with it. Now I
won’t be the only guy who has to suffer her P.M.S.”

I slugged him in the shoulder. “Very funny,
booger.”

“See,” he said, moving away from my fist,
which was cocked again.

“Heads-up, your mom’s home,” said
Duncan.

She was just getting out of the sheriff’s
car and he was helping her up the stairs.

“Sheriff, what’s wrong with her?” asked
Nathan.

Caleb smiled. “She enjoyed one too many
glasses of wine again. I brought her home so she could sleep.”

Mom gave us a lopsided grin. “Hi, my
babies…”

I groaned.

She was totally hammered and stumbled
towards me. “Nikki, I love you.”

Nathan and I put our arms around her and
held her up. “Wow, mom,” I grunted, trying to hold her up. “I think
it’s time you start laying off the vino.”

Her smile fell. “I didn’t have anything to
drink.”

“Sure you did,” interrupted the sheriff.
“Don’t you remember the Cabernet you picked out yourself from the
wine cellar? We had it with dinner.”

Mom looked confused but then when her eyes
met Caleb’s, she smiled wickedly and licked her lips. “All, I
remember is dessert.”

“Okay, T.M.I.,” I replied as Nathan and I
swung her away from Caleb and into the house. The idea of her and
Caleb getting it on was enough to make me want to be celibate for
life.

“I’ll call you tomorrow night!” called Caleb
from the porch.

“Nikki, can you take care of mom? I’m going
to talk to the sheriff,” said Nathan.

I nodded and then proceeded to help her
upstairs, which wasn’t an easy task. When we finally made it to her
bedroom, she passed out the moment her head hit the pillow. I
removed her shoes and covered her up with a sheet as she began to
snore.

“Nikki, the sheriff wants to talk to you,”
said Duncan, as I closed mom’s bedroom door.

I nodded and took his hand while he led me
back downstairs. Both Nathan and Caleb were sitting on the
couch.

“So, I heard there was a little excitement
here earlier?” asked Caleb.

I sighed. “I guess you could say that. It
was really… bizarre.”

He nodded and took out a notepad. “Could you
tell me in your words what happened?”

I gave him my version but left off the part
of knowing who the person was that carried me off.

Caleb’s eyes narrowed. “So, you didn’t get a
good look at the person at all? Didn’t notice what he was wearing
or what he even smelled like?”

Come to think of it, Ethan had smelled like
butterscotch.

I rubbed my arm. “To tell you the truth, I
was so scared that I didn’t notice much of anything. I do know that
he was as fast as the wind.”

Duncan nodded. “He was quick. He shoved me
to the ground, twice, and I didn’t see him either; just a blur of
movement.”

Sheriff Caleb put away the notes he was
taking and smiled wryly. “You realize how this sounds, don’t
you?”

Nathan nodded. “Crazy, I know.”

“I know, show him the video,” said
Duncan.

“Oh, yeah,” replied Nathan, grabbing the
tape from the fireplace mantel. “We taped this yesterday after
someone destroyed all the video surveillance equipment. They
apparently missed this one.”

We all watched the video in silence, and
when it was over, Caleb let out a long sigh.

Nathan folded his arms across his chest.
“Even crazier, huh?”

He nodded. “I don’t really know what to say
about it, actually. It doesn’t really make a lot of sense.”

I cleared my throat. “What should we
do?”

Caleb ran a hand over his face. “Let me take
this tape and I’ll show some friends who specialize in paranormal
research.”

Nathan’s jaw dropped. “So you think it might
be a poltergeist, too?”

He shrugged. “Even I have
to admit; it’s
some
kind of strange phenomenon. I just have no experience with
this type of thing.”

“Okay, yeah take it. Let us know what you
find out,” said Nathan, giving him the tape.

Caleb stood up and started walking towards
the door.

“What about Nikki?” asked Duncan. “How are
we supposed to protect her against whatever this thing is?”

Caleb turned back and looked at us. “Don’t
go anywhere alone, keep your doors locked, and don’t invite any
strangers in.”

Chapter Sixteen

Nathan and Duncan slept on my bedroom floor
that night, just in case the “specter” came back to harass me. When
I woke up, it was just after nine the next morning and I was alone.
I went down to the kitchen.

“Where’s Duncan?” I asked.

As usual, Nathan was stuffing his face with
food. “He had to work. He’s going to pick you up after your shift
again tonight. I’ll get mom’s keys and drop you off at four.”

“Did you guys ever figure out what’s wrong
with the Mustang?”

He nodded. “It’s the battery. I’m picking up
a new one today.”

I yawned. “Where’s mom? Still sleeping?”

He nodded. “Yeah, she’s been doing a lot of
that lately. I think she should quit drinking, she just can’t
handle it.”

“I agree.”

Plus, she was our mom and really not making
a good impression by getting so hammered.

Two hours later, mom was still sleeping so I
decided to check up on her.

“Mom?” I called, knocking softly on her
door.

“Yeah,” she mumbled. “Come in.”

She had the blinds pulled shut so I turned
on the light.

“You, okay?” I asked her.

She smiled, lazily. “Yeah, just tired.”

I sat down next to her on the bed. “You
know, you really need to cool it on the wine, mom. The sheriff is
going to think you’re some kind of lush. You never usually drink
like this.”

“I didn’t drink anything last night. At
least, I don’t remember,” she said with a confused look.

“Oh, come on… mom, you
were trashed. I had to help you to bed last night. You
had
to have been
drinking.”

She rubbed a hand over her forehead. “I
don’t even remember.”

I sighed and changed the subject. “So, did
his daughter make dinner for you?”

“
I… think so.”

My eyes widened. “You don’t sound so
sure.”

She rubbed her forehead. “To tell you the
truth, last night was a bit of a blur.”

“I know the feeling,” I said, staring
towards her bedroom window. Last night almost felt like a dream. I
couldn’t explain my reaction to Ethan or the way he’d whisked me
through the darkness the way he did. It didn’t make a whole lot of
sense.