Dark Realms (47 page)

She pointed to me. “You should be the one
apologizing to him.”

I stared at her incredulously. “No way. Even
Shannon said he was dangerous. I’m not talking to him.”

“That’s another thing,” she said. “Mr.
O’Darby asked that you stay away from Shannon.”

“Fine,” I said. “Whatever.”

She sighed. “I know you’re worried about
your brother, especially after those children have disappeared, but
you can’t start accusing people because they’re a little
weird.”

I raised my chin. “That reminds me, have
there been any more missing children?”

She stared at me but didn’t say
anything.

“There was, wasn’t there?” I said. “Last
night.”

“Yes, twenty miles from here.”

“Was it like the other ones?”

She nodded.

“It was him! He did it! Why don’t you
believe me?”

“Did what?” asked Ben, walking into the
kitchen.

“Don’t worry about it,” said mom, warning me
with her eyes.

“Is it about dad?” he asked, frowning. “Did
he cancel?”

She smiled. “No, honey. He hasn’t canceled.
In fact, I spoke to him again and everything is all set. He’s
picking you up right after school and you’re going to spend the
entire weekend with him.”

Ben’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

She pulled him into her arms. “Really.”

“Awesome,” he said. “I can’t wait.”

I could though. Something told me that
O’Darby wouldn’t care where Ben was. He’d find him and kidnap him
on his tenth birthday.

But not if I could help it.

***

Monday after school, I rushed over to
O’Darby’s to talk to Shannon.

“You shouldn’t be here,” said Shannon,
through the screen door. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Shannon,” I pleaded. “He’s threatening to
take my brother. You have to help me stop him.”

“I can’t stop him,” she whispered, tears
forming in her eyes. “Nobody can.”

“Is he the one taking all of the kids?” I
asked.

She stared at me but didn’t say
anything.

“Shannon,” I pleaded. “Tell me, is he
stealing the kids?”

She let out a ragged breath and shook her
head. “No. He’s not stealing anyone.”

“I don’t understand. He has to be
responsible for the missing children. I can just feel it.”

“He’s not stealing the children, but he does
take them.”

“I don’t understand.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Tell me what’s happening. Please! It’s my
little brother. I can’t let him take Ben.”

“They’ve been offered to him.”

My eyes widened. “What?”

“He’s collecting on payments that are due,
on the child’s tenth birthday.”

“Are you serious?”

It sounded insane. Who would offer a child
for payment? And for what?

Her eyes grew large. “He’s coming, I feel
it. You have to go!” she cried, slamming the door in my face.

I backed away and turned around, only to
find Mr. O’Darby standing at the bottom of the steps.

A smile spread across his ruddy face.
“Foolish boy. You just don’t learn, do you?”

Before I could answer, he raised his hand
and a ball of green light began to form. As I stared in horrific
wonder, he pulled his hand back and thrust it at me.

***

I shot up in my bed, gasping for breath.

“Trent! Thank God!” cried my brother,
throwing his arms around me.

“Wha…what happened?” I asked when he pulled
away.

His eyes were red and puffy, as if he’d been
crying. “I found you outside, passed out on the front lawn. I shook
you until you stood up and then walked inside. I was so freaked out
because you wouldn’t talk to me, Trent. You just ignored me.”

“What?”

He nodded. “Yeah, you reminded me of a
zombie, except you weren’t bloody or missing body parts.”

My heart began to race as the memories came
back. Mr. O’Darby had hit me with some kind of magical light!

But he hadn’t killed me.

Odd.

“Did you see Mr. O’Darby outside?” I
asked.

“No, thank God.”

I stood up, moved to the window, and looked
outside. It was still daylight. “What time is it?”

“It’s six-fifteen,” he said. “I’m hungry.
Can you make me something to eat?”

I stared at Shannon’s house and noticed she
had curtains on her window now. “Yeah,” I said, turning back to
Ben. “Let’s go downstairs.”

***

“That was really weird,” said Ben, finishing
his milk. “The way you passed out.”

I finished chewing the rest of my
macaroni-and-cheese. “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I probably
just needed some food.” No way was I going to tell him what really
happened.

“Oh.”

“Listen, I want you to do me a favor. When
you’re at your dad’s, call me if you need anything. I don’t care
what time of the day it is. I mean it.”

“Okay,” he said.

I reached over and ruffled his hair. “You’re
a good brother.”

He smiled. “You too.”

Chapter Seven

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful,
but I didn’t take my eyes off of Ben when school was out. I even
slept on the floor of his bedroom at night.

“Why are you doing that?” he asked after the
second night I’d set up camp.

I shrugged. “I just think we should spend
more time together. Pretty soon I’ll be going off to college, you
know.”

He smiled. “Oh, yeah.”

Mom didn’t notice at all because she was on
third shift the entire week.

“I’m going to miss you this weekend,” she
said to Ben before leaving for work Thursday night. “I don’t know
what I’m going to do without seeing your beautiful blue eyes.”

“It’s only one weekend mom, sheesh.”

She kissed the top of his head. “To me it’s
going to feel like a lifetime.”

Those words gave me the chills.

He smiled. “I’ll call you every night.”

“And I’ll call you every day,” she said,
hugging him.

After she left for work, I stared out the
window, towards the O’Darby’s house, wondering when he’d try taking
Ben. I wasn’t sure, but I knew one thing, I wouldn’t be too
far.

***

Jake showed up for his son Friday afternoon.
It had been almost a year since I’d seen him and he looked very
different. Not only was he wearing clean clothes, but his dark red
hair was neatly trimmed, his beard was gone, and he looked…
sober.

“Hey, Ben,” he said, throwing his arms
around him. “I’m so happy to see you!”

“Dad!” cried Ben. “I missed you so
much.”

Jake looked at me and smiled. “Hi,
Trent.”

I nodded towards the Mercedes. “Nice
ride.”

“Thanks,” he said, opening the door for
Ben.

“Doing pretty good these days?”

He closed the door and shrugged. “Yeah, I
guess.”

“You hear about those missing kids?” I
asked.

“Unfortunately.”

Ben rolled down his window. “Goodbye,
Trent!”

“See you soon, buddy! Have a great birthday
with your dad!”

“Thanks,” he said and then rolled up the
window.

“Take care of him,” I said.

“Of course. He’s my son,” said Jake.

We stared at each other for a minute and
then he got into the car. I watched as he pulled away and then made
my move.

***

“Hi, Shannon,” I said, staring at her
through the screen door.

“You’re very persistent,” she said with a
bitter smile. “You just won’t give up.”

I grabbed the screen door handle and was
relieved to find it unlocked. “No, not when it comes to Ben.”

She stared at me in horror as I swung the
door open and grabbed her wrist. “What are you doing?”

“Sorry, but I need you,” I said, pulling her
outside onto the porch.

She tried pulling her arm away. “Stop, this,
please, Trent!”

“It’s the only way I can think of saving
him. I’m sorry,” I said.

“Trent, would you…just…stop!”

I released my grip on her
and rubbed my forehead. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? It’s Ben’s
birthday. His
tenth
. Your dad’s going to take him if I don’t do something to stop
him.”

She rubbed her wrist. “How is kidnapping me
going to help?”

“Negotiation. Ben in return for you.”

“Seriously? That’s all you’ve got?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

She groaned. “You still don’t get it.”

“What’s there to get? He’s a lunatic and
wants my brother.”

“Look, all he has to do is snap his fingers
and I’m back home and in my room. You can’t stop him.”

“What about you?”

“What
about
me?”

“You’re his daughter, don’t you have any
powers? Can’t you help me stop him?”

“No, he’s much too powerful.”

I grabbed her wrist, again. “Sorry, Shannon,
but I don’t have time for arguing. We’re leaving.”

“Trent…”

“Listen, What if I buy you a cheeseburger
along the way? Would you at least consider helping me?”

She sucked in her breath. “From
McDonald’s?”

I smiled. “Yes. I’ll even get you a bigger
one this time.”

“Why didn’t you just say so?” she said, this
time pulling me down the steps.

“Are you going to be okay in the sun?” I
asked, looking up in the sky.

“Yes. I’m not a vampire, goofball.”

As far as I was concerned, stopping a
vampire would be easier.

Chapter Eight

“This is
so
good,” she groaned, as
we sat outside of Jake’s gated mansion in the darkness. “It’s even
better than the last one.”

“It’s a quarter-pounder,” I said, tapping my
fingers on the steering wheel.

“Well, thank you for getting it.”

“Does he have a set time when he takes the
kids?” I asked, getting more frustrated by the minute. What if he’d
already taken Ben?

“Usually at the exact time they were born.
But…then again, it’s not always the case. It’s a matter of
convenience.”

“So, we have no idea.” The truth was, I
didn’t even know what time Ben had been born.

“
Don’t worry – I’ll feel
his presence when he arrives.”

“Good.”

“Look, I know you don’t understand this, but
he only takes children that are given to him.”

“I still don’t understand
that,” I said, raising my voice. “Nobody
gave
Ben to your father.”

She motioned towards the house.
“Really?”

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.
“No, Jake wouldn’t give away his son.”

At least I didn’t want to believe it.

“He’s obviously wealthy. Was he always this
rich?” she asked, taking another bite of the burger.

“No. He was a drunken loser who used to beat
his wife,” I mumbled.

She nodded. “Well, it’s obvious, then. He
made a deal with my dad.”

“A deal?”

“Riches for his first-born child.”

“What – is your dad, like, the Devil or
something?”

“No, he’s a Leprechaun.”

“I thought they were supposed to be happy
little guys who brought luck?”

“Just be lucky he didn’t kill you the other
day.”

***

Dreams of four-leaf clovers, rainbows, and
evil Leprechauns invaded my sleep. Just when I was about to lose
the pot of gold, someone was shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes
and stared into Shannon’s pools of green.

“He’s here,” she whispered.

We quickly got out of the car, walked up to
the gate, and stopped.

“If he really gave Ben to your dad, he’s not
going to just let us in.”

She sighed. “Give me your hand.”

I did and watched as she closed her
eyes.

“Close your eyes,” she said. “Or you’re
going to be very dizzy.”

“Okay.”

The next thing I knew, we were inside the
large Colonial mansion, in one of the hallways.

“How did you do that?”

She dropped my hand and smoothed down her
white and green skirt. “My dad isn’t the only Leprechaun in the
family.”

“A Leprechaun?” My eyes
traveled down her long legs. “
You
certainly don’t look like one.”

She shrugged. “My mother was a Tree
Nymph.”

“Oh, well obviously.”

“Where’s your brother’s room?” she
asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

She closed her eyes and then opened them.
“We have to hurry. They’re in the den.”

“Where’s that?” I asked.

She grabbed my hand and told me to close my
eyes again.

“What is the meaning of this?” growled the
familiar angry voice of O’Darby.

Knowing how powerful he was, I didn’t waste
any time. I pulled Shannon in closer to me. “I have your daughter,
so don’t you dare touch Ben.”

“Trent!”

I turned towards my brother’s voice and
found him cowering behind Jake in the corner of the room.

“Trent, what are you doing here?” asked
Jake.

“I’m here to stop you from giving away my
little brother, asshole!”

His lips thinned. “No, I’m not letting him
take Ben. I’ve already refused.”

O’Darby stepped closer to Jake and pointed
his finger at him. “We made a deal. It was non-negotiable.”

Tears filled Jake’s eyes. “I was wrong, he’s
my son. You can’t take him away from me!”

O’Darby spread out his hands and grinned.
“You gave him up, for all of this. Isn’t this everything you’ve
ever wanted?”

“It was, but not anymore. I’m not that same
man.”

“Well, that’s too bad for you. You see, once
you’ve made a deal, there’s no going back.”

I took a step towards O’Darby. “I won’t let
you take him!”