Sleep Keeper (27 page)

“It’s never too late to make the right choice,” I urged.

“The right choice for who, Alexis?! Me… or you?
He
understands me…
He
doesn’t hold me down like Mom and Dad did…
He
loves me!” he shrieked. Rage flashed in his eyes.

“No, Jeremy, he’s using you. He’s a monster… a murderer. Look what happened to Mitchell!” I hollered back.

“Oh yes, Mitchell… I passed that test with flying colors. That’ll teach you to get in my way again,” he snickered.

“But… you were in jail…” I stammered and shook my head. My vision blurred in shock. My clammy hands slid from the car.

“After my failed attempt to get rid of
you
, Erebus taught me a few new tricks… to send you a message. Seems I'm the special sibling after all.”

His face was beaming with pride. It felt like my chest was hit with a bat. My stomach tightened and I couldn’t breath.

“No…” I whispered as my eyes welled up.

My own family… my own blood…

“Oh come on Alexis… I did you a favor. You don’t have to pretend to be grieving with me.”

I stood with my mouth-hung open, not sure how to respond. I wanted to scream that he was wrong, but… looking back, I didn’t know what I thought. I grabbed my head with my hands. He threw the car in reverse and peeled away, without looking back. I felt sick and bent over in the sidewalk. So it was my fault. The stitched up hole in my heart was torn back open and guilt flooded back in.

Oh Mitchell, I’m sorry!

“Alexis? Are you okay?” Mom called from the doorway.

              I straightened back up and wiped away the tears with the back of my hand. I took several deep breaths to calm down.

“Yes, Mom,” I hollered back in a shaky voice.

              When I turned around, Mom was right beside me.

“Where’s Jeremy? Are you crying?” she pressed.

              “No, I’m fine. Jeremy left,” I answered and headed back in the house.

              “Oh Alexis, what happened? - Did you tell him!?” she gasped in a panic.

              “No, Mom, I didn’t say anything,” I huffed and bolted through the door. I grabbed my purse and headed back out before Mom made it through the threshold.

              “Where are you going?”

              “I need to go home,” I said as walked out the door toward my car.

              “Wait, what happened? Did you two get in a fight again?” she accused with a deep sigh.

              “I just need to be alone,” I answered and climbed into the car.

              “Alexis? But my car!”

              I heard her calling my name through the car door but I didn’t look over. I started the engine and drove away. Glancing in the rearview mirror as I drove down the street, I watched Mom walk back into her house, shaking her head in confusion.

              I sped home and sat on my bed, which was now my sanctuary. I guessed that Erebus had something to do with Mitchell’s murder but I never knew how, until today. My own brother. The thought of it made me sick. My head was screaming and I fell onto the bed, squeezing my temples with my palms. Flashbacks of Mitchell running across the parking lot in terror were etched into my memory. I felt his fear inside of me as the knife’s cut through him. I felt that pain again in my heart as I recalled Mitchell’s last terrifying moments. More guilt flooded in. I moaned and squeezed my eyes shut. Jeremy’s smug grin and beady eyes swam around.

“Please stop,” I begged aloud and began to cry.

I felt beaten and exhausted. I was tired of being afraid and drowning in anger and hate. I wished I could run away with Orion and my baby. I felt like a prisoner. Why couldn’t I just be free? I lay there in bed and cried myself to sleep.

I woke in a flash and instantly felt lighter. The burden of my enemies suddenly didn’t feel so heavy on my shoulders. The sun was peeking through a break in the trees and shining against my face. A light breeze brushed against my skin and I could taste the fresh air. I was home.

I smiled and spotted Orion’s cabin thirty yards away. With all of my new revelations, I was even more eager to see Orion today. I ran to the cabin and threw open the door. Before I could process the scene, I was hurled through the air and crashed against a mirror on the wall.

“Alexis!” Orion screamed, as shards of broken glass dug into my back.

I remained suspended for a moment before tumbling to the ground. I stretched out my hands and knees to avoid any impact to my abdomen.

My eyes darted around to assess the room. Leyland lay still in a pool of blood near the couch. Orion was pinned to a dining room chair, although I couldn’t see any restraints. His head was thrown back and the tendons in his neck and arms protruded fiercely. He clenched his teeth and thrashing about, trying to break free of the hold.

              I turned my head to the right and saw Erebus lurking near the corner, his face snarled like a wild dog. Still on my knees, I met his stare and locked onto his eyes, refusing to look away. I jumped to my feet. I brushed off splinters of glass from my hands as blood sprinkled onto the floor.

Before I could blink, Erebus was standing behind me with one arm around my neck. Pressure crushed my windpipe. Pain. I tried to gasp for air but my throat was completely blocked. I tore at his arm but it didn’t budge an inch.

              “Let her go!” Orion growled.

My head throbbed from the pressure and my ears began to ring. Remembering my last strangulation, I turned to the side and jabbed my fist as hard as I could. A sharp pain spread across my knuckles and down the middle of my hand. It felt like I punched a brick wall. Erebus appeared impervious to my assault.

My vision was blurring and the throbbing in my head became more severe as each second ticked by. I reached up and clawed at his eyes. I felt my finger slip into something raw and wet. He shrieked and released his hold.

I fell to my knees and sucked in sporadic gasps of air while coughing profusely. My throat was on fire and my head felt like it was going to explode. I staggered to my feet and he yanked me back with a fistful of hair. I let out a scream. Before I could react, I felt something sharp wedged against my stomach.

Flashes of Mom’s vision came to mind. I knew instantly the severity of the situation and held very still. Orion’s face was blanched with fear as Erebus pushed the knife farther against my belly. I tried to pull away but Erebus’ hold was too strong to budge.

“Stop! That’s enough! I’ll show you where it is,” Orion bellowed.

              “No! You will
tell
me, right now,” Erebus snarled.

              “Let her go first and I’ll tell you,” Orion countered.

              “No deal,” Erebus clamored and pushed the knife into my stomach.

              I cried out as the blade penetrated my skin. I grabbed the blade with my hands and tried to stop it from going farther. It slid through my right palm, ripping through the tendons. I grit my teeth while I screamed and bore down harder until I felt the blade scrape against the bone in my hand.

              “Enough! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you, just stop, please!” he begged with marked desperation.

              Erebus pulled away the knife. I curled up my lacerated hand and covered my stomach with my arms. I wanted to tell Orion not to say anything; that I was willing to die for this world, like I was willing to do before. But this time all I felt was relief that the knife was no longer threatening my unborn child.

              “Well?” Erebus said impatiently.

              “It’s buried at the bottom of Reflection Lake… at the base of Mount Rainier,” he uttered.

“You better be telling me the truth. I don’t give second chances,” he warned.

“That’s the truth, I swear it,” Orion whispered in defeat.

              “If I have to come back for you, I won’t hesitate to slice open your lover and her baby - while you watch,” he threatened.

I knew he wasn’t bluffing. Orion’s face was hardened and the corner of his mouth twitching in anger. Erebus smiled at his victory. With a jerk, he pushed me down and disappeared with lightening speed out of the house. Orion’s hold was released and he sprang to his feet. He ran over and lifted me off the floor in a quick swoop. He gently placed me on the couch.

“How bad are you hurt?” he asked frantically, while lifting my shirt to inspect my stomach.

“I’m okay; I don’t think he pushed it in that far.” I looked down at the inch-long gash on my belly.

“You’ll need stitches. Let me see your hand,” he insisted.

I still had my hand curled up against my chest in a red soaked mess. He pulled at my arm, but I resisted.

“Come on Alexis, I need to see how bad it is.”

I tried to open my hand but the pain was too much. I cried out and kept it clenched tight.

“You need to see a doctor,” he instructed as he pulled me to my feet.

“Wait… Leyland!” I directed my head to his body on the floor.

Orion paused, contemplating the severity of my wounds. I ignored his hesitation and staggered over to Leyland’s limp body, lowering myself to my knees for a closer inspection.

His chest was sliced open from collarbone to stomach. The laceration was deep; layers of flesh and tissue soaked with fresh blood, still oozed onto the floor. I felt wetness touching my knees as the blood soaked into my pants. His eyes were closed shut, encased with faint purple circles against his pale blood-drained skin.

“Oh no…” I whispered.

Orion leaned over and checked for a pulse. “He’s barely alive. We don’t have time to waste. Do you think you can do your thing and get him out of here and into town?” Orion hastened.

“I can try,” I stammered doubtfully.

Orion put his hand on my shoulder and I took Leyland’s flaccid hand in my unwounded one. His icy touch sent a shiver up my arm. I closed my eyes and focused on the center of the town, trying to ignore the throbbing pain from my injured hand. I took a deep breath and focused. I felt Leyland’s hand growing warmer in mine. Hot actually… scalding hot.

I tried to open my eyes but they wouldn’t budge. Orion winced and pulled his hand away. An intense burning pain shot through my lacerated hand. The burning spread from both hands, throughout my arms, and encompassed my entire core. Every muscle of my body strained as I became engulfed in a smoldering heat. I tried to scream through clenched teeth but no sounds escaped.

Just as before, it ended in a blink and my body fell limp to the ground. I opened my eyes and saw Orion at my side. His lips were moving quickly against his troubled face, but I couldn’t make out the words. All I heard was a high-pitched ringing in my ears. He softly shook my arm but my muscles wouldn’t obey.

I heard a soft moan as the ringing dissipated and saw Leyland stirring next to me. I gathered all my strength and tried to sit up. Orion saw my attempt and scooped me into his lap in one quick movement. He traced his fingers along my healed hand. All that remained was a faint white scar. He lifted my shirt and inspected the smooth perfect skin where the small incision once was. Orion leaned down and kissed my swollen belly.

“Leyland,” I mumbled.

Leyland opened his eyes and pulled himself up. He looked bewildered as he darted his eyes around the room. Orion began to laugh with delight. I felt a light fluttering in my abdomen. I put my hand over my stomach and held very still, trying to feel my baby.

“I felt it,” I whispered.

Orion moved his hand to my stomach and waited, “I don’t feel anything.”

“I felt it from the inside. I don’t think you can feel it yet,” I chuckled.

“Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?!” Leyland interrupted. He ran his fingers through his serrated shirt and gaped at the pool of smeared blood on the floor.

“Alexis healed you,” Orion beamed.

“You can do that?” Leyland asked in disbelief.

“I don’t think
I
did it… I think it was the baby,” I rubbed my stomach.

“Erebus?” Leyland hollered and scanned the room.

“He’s gone,” Orion’s voice hardened, “…and he got what he came for. This has to end today.”

Leyland stiffened. His lip curled into a slight grin that quickly disappeared, “What do you have in mind?”

“I’m going to kill him. We’ll prepare immediately,” he declared.

I sat silently, unsure how to respond. I was tired of standing by helplessly watching my life crumble, but I was also petrified of losing Orion. In the end, I knew this nightmare wouldn’t end until Erebus was dead.

Leyland flashed a wide grin that made me shudder. I think he was going to enjoy this more than the rest of us.

“I’m sorry, Orion. It’s all my fault,” I sulked.

“Of course not! This has everything to do with me.”

“But you told him because of me.”

“No, I told him because of
him
,” he corrected and grazed his hand against my belly.

“Him?”

“Or her,” he smiled.

“How did Erebus know about the baby? He said he would…” Leyland began.

Orion shot Leyland a hardened glare that quickly shut him up.

“Jeremy…” I muttered.

“Your brother?” Orion questioned.

“And Erebus’ son,” I added.

“What?!” they both called out in unison.

“I know, it’s a long story, but it’s true. He’s the link between my world and yours.”

“I don’t understand,” said Leyland.

“My brother…” I stopped midsentence and held my breath. I felt a heavy weight in the pit of my gut. Something wasn’t right. A surge of adrenaline shot through me.

“Alexis? What’s wrong?” Orion recognized the panic on my face.

“Something’s not right,” I whispered and darted my head around the room.

I felt as if someone was watching me. My hands started to tremble. Orion reached for my hand and it slipped straight through. His mouth opened and his lips were moving but nothing came out.

I jumped up in bed and snapped open my eyes, peering around the dark room. My eyes had yet to adjust to the darkness but I knew I wasn’t alone. I stretched my eyes open wide, blinking continuously to dilate my pupils. Something shuffled near the bedroom door. I held my breath and focused on its entryway.

My phone rang in the hall and I jumped. My heart was racing a thousand beats a minute. I ignored the phone and focused back on the doorway. Amongst the shadows, the silhouette of my intruder appeared. I gasped and jumped backwards off the bed, pinning my body between the headboard and wall.

The floor creaked as he walked out of darkness toward the center of the room. The lights from the courtyard shone through the windows and cast a dim light across the bed.

“Jeremy,” I choked.

“Hi, Sis,” he answered with a grin. He circled the foot of the bed and paused.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I snapped. I tried to sound threatening, but my voice came out shaking with fear.

There was an uncomfortable pause.

“Just came to check on you. I was worried about you - and the baby.”

The tone of his voice made my stomach twinge. I contemplated what my success rate would be if I tried to run.

He took a step closer.

I started to move farther down the wall, until my foot tapped against something hard. I reached my hand behind my back and felt the wooden bat that Mitchell had propped between the headboard and the wall the night after Jeremy’s attack. I wrapped my hand around the handle and waited.

“Next time a phone call would suffice. You can leave now,” I demanded.

“Oh Alexis, why must you be such a snob?”

“I must have gotten that from
my Dad
,” I shot back.