Dark Realms (48 page)

His eyes flew back to me. “You can’t stop
me, boy!”

“I’ll trade you, Shannon for Ben,” I said,
pushing her behind me.

He stared at me for a minute and then threw
his head back and laughed. “Oh, that’s priceless. You’re trying to
make a deal with me?”

I nodded. “Yes, leave my brother alone and
you can take Shannon back.”

He clutched his stomach and started laughing
harder.

“Get out of my house!” growled Jake, who was
apparently finding his backbone. “Leave us!”

O’Darby wiped the tears from his eyes. “It’s
time to leave. Come here, Ben.”

“No!” he cried. “Please don’t let him take
me, daddy!”

“I have another appointment in fifteen
minutes,” said O’Darby, looking at his watch. “I don’t have time
for this. I’m just going to have to add him to the pot right now,
forget about playtime.”

“Pot?” gasped Ben.

“Playtime?” I asked.

“I usually let Shannon play with the
children, then rock them to sleep before the transformation. No
time tonight.” Then, there was a flash of light and the large pot
from Shannon’s bedroom appeared next to O’Darby.

“Did you like my treasures?” he asked,
staring directly at me. He dipped his hand into the pot and brought
out a handful of coins. “They’re lovely, aren’t they?”

As I stared at the coins, images of young
faces began to appear. Frightened faces.

“No!” I gasped, realizing what he’d done
with the children.

O’Darby stared at the coins in delight.
“Treasures, all of them. I think so, at least. So does Shannon,
obviously. She takes care of them even after they’ve
transformed.”

“How could you do this?” I asked. “You have
a daughter of your own! How could you?”

His eyes regarded me curiously. “You look at
me like I’m some kind of monster,” he said. “But their parents,
they’re the ones who’ve traded them. They gave them up for riches,
fame, and fortune.”

“What they did,” I said,
staring at him in horror, “was give up the most precious gifts
they’d already owned for things that are worth
nothing
in comparison.”

O’Darby smiled. “Very good, boy. Very
good.”

“And you carry them around
in a pot,” I said, glaring at him. “Like
tha
t is any better.”

He frowned. “They
are
my
treasures
now. I keep them safe.”

“Are you kidding me? They’re prisoners! Look
at their faces! They’re miserable!”

He stared at the coins for a few seconds and
then shrugged. “It’s the way it is. Always has been that way
through the generations. At least we still value them more than
their parents.”

“If you value them, then set them free!”

He licked his lips and nodded. “I feel your
passion for the children, young man, really I do, but…”

“Do you think you’re any better? They are
suffering!” I said, staring at the coins. “Look, they’re
crying!”

Sure enough, the faces on the coins were
covered in tears and if you listened hard enough, you could hear
them sob.

“Wait,” said Shannon, stepping around me.
“There is another way.”

His eyebrows shot up. “What say you,
daughter?”

“Father, a riddle. Let’s ask him a riddle
and if he gets it right, release all of them. Remember the old
days?”

O’Darby’s eyes lit up. “Oh, I do love a
riddle, yes I do. That’s a splendid idea, my darling.”

“If I answer your riddle,” I said. “You’ll
leave them all go?”

“Well…” mumbled the Leprechaun, rubbing his
chin. “I’d hate to lose them but then again, I doubt you’ll ever
answer my riddle correctly.”

“But if I do, will you let them all go?”

He waved his hand. “Yes, very well.”

I inhaled. “Okay, lay it on me.”

“Wait!” yelled Jake, who’d been listening in
stunned silence. “Can I help solve the riddle?”

“No,” said O’Darby. “Only the young man. His
heart is pure, unlike yours.”

“But…” argued Jake.

“Why don’t you do the
honors,” interrupted O’Darby, turning towards Shannon. “Since it
was
your
idea.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

“Yes. But don’t you dare give him an easy
one, or I will take back my offer.”

“Okay, father.” She turned
to me. “Trent, think hard –
a mile from
end to end, yet as close to you as a friend. A precious commodity,
freely given. Seen on the dead and on the living. Found on the
rich, poor, short and tall, but shared among children most of all.
What am I?”

I closed my eyes and thought about the
words. If I got this wrong, it would be the end of Ben.

“Trent?” asked Ben.

I let out a ragged breath and opened my
eyes. “Something these coins haven’t felt for a long time. A
smile.”

O’Darby stared at me and then smiled. “Very
good, unfortunately, that one was a little too easy, I see.”

“But, father!” protested Shannon.

He raised his hand. “Just wait,
Shannon.”

“But!”

“Silence!” He then turned to me. “I need one
more thing from you, boy. You see, if I release these children,
they’ll need homes and I’ll need to know that you’ll find loving
ones. Give me a good reason why I should trust you with my
treasure?”

I thought back to what
Shannon had said to me the other day. It was beautiful and summed
up the love that a parent should have for their children.
“Because I believe that every child should be kept
closest to the heart, and I would never squander what is innocent
to gratify that which is wicked.”

His face darkened and he looked at Shannon.
“You shared this with him?”

She didn’t say anything.

“You know in your heart,” I said, “If you
really have one, that I hold these words just as true as you,
Leprechaun.”

He stared at me for a few seconds and then
threw his head back and laughed. “Oh,” he said, shaking his finger
at me. “You know, I like you, boy. You are quite amusing.”

“Are you going to let them go?” I asked.
“You promised!”

He sighed and nodded. “Yes, indeed.
Sometimes a pot needs to be emptied.”

“Thank God,” I said, falling to my knees as
Ben rushed over to me. I pulled my brother into my arms and held
him tight to my chest.

“But,” said O’Darby, grinning darkly, “mark
my words, the pot won’t stay empty. There are many people in this
world, too willing to refill it.”

***

O’Darby was true to his word and the
children were released from the pot. Some of them had been
imprisoned for centuries, some for only a week or two. Most,
mercifully, couldn’t remember anything, including their parents,
who’d given them up.

Fortunately, Shannon volunteered to help
care for the children, in an old family castle in Ireland, while we
searched for loving homes. Again, without her magic, there is no
way we could have succeeded without going to the police and sending
some of them back to the people who’d given them up like a pair of
shoes.

It took us four years to find homes for
three hundred-and-twenty-two children. During that time, Shannon
and I fell in love and eventually married. During the ceremony, her
father, who I still despised and kept a close eye on, offered us a
castle of our own, to live out the rest of our days.

I refused.

“You’ll do,” he said, nodding in approval.
“You’ll do.”

***

The End

Zombie Games

(Origins)

By Kristen Middleton

Cover by www.maeidesign.com

Copyedited by: Carolyn M. Pinard

www.thesupernaturalbookeditor.com

The characters and events portrayed in this
book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or
dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Copyright ©2012 by Kristen Middleton

ISBN 978-1-300-70919-0

Second Edition

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise without express written permission of the author.

Chapter One

“Cassie, take out the garbage.”

“Why can’t Allie do it?” I asked, closing
the refrigerator door, pickle jar in hand.

“Because it’s your job,” replied my mother,
who was sitting at the kitchen counter, leafing through the
mail.

I pulled out the largest dill I could find
and crunched down. “Mom,” I said between chews, “come on, she needs
more chores. She’s twelve.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

“Sorry.”

She peered at me over her glasses. “Tell you
what…you can do the dishes and I’ll have her take out the
garbage.”

“Fine, I’ll take out the garbage.”

“I thought so,” she answered with a wry
smile.

I rolled my eyes and swallowed the last of
the juicy pickle. Before I could reach for another, she pointed to
the trash can. “The pickles will still be here when you
return.”

“I still can’t believe you’re making me do
this in the middle of the night,” I pouted, glancing out the window
into the darkness.

“That’s funny, coming from a
seventeen-year-old who keeps begging me to extend her curfew.”

“Yes, but not to go wandering alone in the
dark.”

Her eyes softened. “Honey, there’s nothing
to be afraid of. We live on a quiet cul-de-sac in the suburbs.”

Even though my mother was trying to comfort
me, I just couldn’t shake the feeling of dread or quiet the
niggling voice inside, whispering of something wicked lurking in
the darkness. But then again, it could just be the fact that I’d
been watching a horror flick earlier and it’d totally freaked me
out. “Ok, well, if I’m not back in two minutes, send dad out.”

“Right,” she snorted. “Little Ms. Black
Belt.”

I couldn’t help but grin. Last week I’d
received my Black Belt after four years of intense discipline and
training. It took a lot of patience and commitment, but earning the
Belt was worth it.

As I stepped outside, a warm breeze lifted
my brown hair, blowing it across my face. I glanced up at the sky
and shrugged off my anxiety; it really was a peaceful evening. The
stars glimmered brightly and the moon was full.

As I rounded the corner of the garage,
Charlie, one of the neighbor’s dogs, began to bark; which was a
pretty common occurrence. As annoying as it typically was, tonight
it was somewhat comforting to know I wasn’t alone.

“Hey, it’s just me, Charlie!” I called, my
voice echoing across the dark cul-de-sac. A lone streetlight
flickered on his side of the circle.

Charlie’s barking increased and he tossed in
some obnoxious growls. As far as I was concerned, this dog had some
serious trust issues.

There was a sudden loud crash from behind
the Hendrickson’s rambler and the motion-detector light flickered
out. Charlie growled angrily in the darkness for a few seconds and
then, without warning, let out an ear-piercing yelp.

Oh crap, that can’t be good, I thought.

A knot formed in the pit of my stomach as I
began to panic. Really, I wanted nothing more than to take out the
garbage and hurry back inside. I also knew that if I ignored
Charlie, and he was hurt, I’d never forgive myself.

Dropping the garbage bag, I started walking
towards his house when I heard a deep, strangled moan. I froze in
my tracks; that wasn't Charlie.

I shivered. “Hello? Mr. Hendrickson?”

A tall shadow emerged from the darkness and
my breath caught in my throat. I watched, motionless, as the figure
shuffled through Charlie’s yard, towards me. It was about a hundred
yards away when the figure stopped directly under the streetlamp. I
sighed with relief when I recognized Scott, a guy from my karate
class, who I’d dated a few times. It certainly was creepy, though,
that he was lurking around the neighbor’s yard in the middle of the
night.

“Scott, what are you doing out here?” I
called out.

He just stared at me, swaying slightly.

“Is everything okay?” I tried again,
wondering if he was drunk. He’s my age, seventeen, and I’ve never
known him to drink alcohol or use any kind of drugs, so his
behavior was odd. I stepped closer and noticed that he held Charlie
in his arms. An alarm went off in my head, and I froze. “Um, is
Charlie hurt?”

Scott growled and then dropped his face down
towards Charlie, who lay motionless. When he lifted his head back
up, there was a dark red stain covering his mouth. He smacked his
lips and moaned in some kind of twisted pleasure. I shuddered in
horror as my brain finally registered what was happening. Scott was
feeding on Charlie!