The Dark Rising

“I’m sorry if I made him mad,” Shelly apologized in a whisper.

  “Don’t even worry about it,” I said, guiding her toward the entrance. “You do what you have to do, and I'll take care of stuff on this end alright?”

  She nodded in agreement, opening the door to step out into the sunshine.

  “Be careful, okay, Portia?”

  “I'll be fine!” I laughed at her. “Things will get better I promise. Have some faith.” I added, wondering if she actually bought my optimistic line of bull.

  “I'll try,” she said with a slight shake of her head. I watched her cross the courtyard before I shut the door after her with a sigh.

  “Can I come in?” I called out softly to Vance when I approached the closed barrier between us.

  The door swung open.

  “Of course you can. Why would you have to ask? It's your room too,” he said with a perplexed look.

  His mood swings were going to drive me insane.

  “You've been a little unpredictable,” I said, hoping that wouldn’t upset him too much, but his frustration became immediately apparent.

  “I’m doing the best I can, Portia,” he replied and his eyes flashed at me his jaw flexing as he clenched his teeth.

  “I know." I placed my hand gently over his heart. “I just want you to let me help you, without all of the arguing.” I stepped closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Please let me.”

  He gazed at my face, several emotions flitting across his own, but then he leaned closer to me.

  Suddenly a loud explosion from outside rattled the panes of glass in the windows.

  “What was that?” I called out.

  We jerked away from each other, turning to run through the living room and out of the front door.

  A plume of black smoke billowed up from the back parking lot. Krista emerged from her bungalow, casting a glance over to me and Vance. The three of us took off running.

  I rounded the corner and stopped in horror when I saw Shelly’s mustang completely engulfed in flames.

  “Shelly!” I screamed, fearing she was inside and I ran full speed toward the vehicle.

  I found her on the far side, several feet away from the car, bloodied and unconscious. I dropped to my knees and I quickly began running my hands over her body, trying to locate her injuries.

  “People are coming!” Vance said next to me. “You can’t do this out here in the open!”

  “I don’t care! Get rid of them! I’ve got to help her!” I continued my examination of her.

  “He can’t!” Krista spoke up. “Someone might recognize him. You need to leave now Vance!”

  “I won’t be far,” he said and he stepped away from me.

  Krista turned and ran toward a group of onlookers that were arriving.

  “Go get help!” she called out, trying to give me some more time to work with Shelly. “Call an ambulance!”

  I located a spot in Shelly’s abdomen which was bleeding heavily, and I let the white light seep from beneath my hands into her stomach, feeling the magic begin to make the repair. I finished just as several more people started to rush onto the scene and sirens began wailing far in the distance.

  “Shelly can you hear me?” I asked her.

  She moaned a little and she tried to turn her head toward me.

  “Don’t move. I need you to lie still. Help is on the way,” I told her.

  “My car blew up,” she muttered.

  “I know, sweetie,” I responded. “What happened?”

  “I was starting it up with my keyless ignition and it just exploded,” she said, looking at me with fear filled eyes.

  “That guy was out here messing with it earlier,” a woman, who I didn’t recognize, spoke up.

  “What guy?” I asked, whipping my head up to glance at her.

  “I don’t know who he is. I've never seen him before,” the lady replied, pushing some strands of her red hair out of her face. “He was putting something underneath the hood when I came out here, but when he saw me, he ran off.”

  “What did he look like?”

  “He was around six feet tall I would guess. He had dark brown hair, kind of styled in a messy way, wearing a blue t-shirt and jeans,” she said. “I remember he had really blue eyes, because I thought they almost glowed as he passed me. He was very good looking.”

  My heart sank to my toes as I stared over at Krista.

  She had just described Vance to a tee.

  Chapter 12

  I waited until after the ambulance had taken Shelly to the hospital, before I gave my report to the police officer in charge. When he was done, Krista and I moved to make our way back to the bungalow.

  “Excuse me,” a voice called to us and we both turned to see the same woman who had described Vance earlier approaching us.

  “Yes?” I asked.

  “I’m real sorry about your friend,” she said extending her hand. “My name is Catriona, by the way, but most people call me Cat.”

  “Thanks,” I replied to her as she shook hands with us both. “Nice to meet you. Are you visiting?”

  “Yes. I was just arriving when all of this happened.”

  “Well, hopefully you'll have a better stay for the rest of the time you're here,” Krista said kindly.

  “I don’t mean to be rude Cat, but we have to go. Maybe we'll catch you around later?” I spoke up, looking at her apologetically.

  “No problem,” she replied with a smile. “I hope things turn out well for your friend.”

  “Me too. Thanks,” I said. Krista and I left to continue our way to the bungalows.

  “Is she okay?” Vance spoke as soon as we entered, pausing in the middle of his pacing.

  I stared at him, over his blue t-shirt, and down to his jeans before looking back up.

  “What’s the matter?” he questioned.

  “An eyewitness came forward saying she saw someone tampering with the car.” I watched his expression for any sign of guilt.

  “Who was it?” he asked, convincingly.

  “She described you perfectly,” I replied, not wanting to believe it had been him.

  “Me?” He sent a perplexed glance between the two of us before the realization suddenly dawned. “You don’t think I had anything to do with this?” he asked in amazement.

  “Did you?” I countered and anger flashed over his face at my question.

  “How can you even ask me that?” he said, his frustration growing. “Why would I want to hurt Shelly?”

  “I don’t know.” I stared him down. “But I do know a few minutes prior to the explosion, Shelly saw you head out toward the lot. You were also angry with her for not telling you where the coven is located. It's a little coincidental.”

  “That argument took place after I'd come back in from being outside. What could've possible been my motivation to hurt her prior to that?” he argued.

  I slowly eased into his mind, beginning a mental shuffle through his recent memories.

  “Get out of my head, Portia!” he yelled, taking a threatening step toward me. “Either you believe me because you want to, or you don’t, but my mind belongs to me!”

  He slammed his thoughts closed so hard against me it was if I'd run into a brick wall. He had definitely regained control.

  I took a big breath and released it.

  “Why won't you let me? We can clear this thing up once and for all,” I replied, not willing to let the issue go.

  His face flashed as the demon features took hold of him and he grabbed me by both of my arms.

  “You're going to have to learn to trust me,” he growled, staring down at me.

  I snorted at him. “It's kind of hard to when you look like that.”

  Krista stepped forward, gently placing a hand on Vance’s arm.

  “We want to believe you, son,” she said softly, trying to calm him. “Don’t we, Portia?” she added casting a glance toward me.

  I couldn’t say anything, but he released me then.r />
  “You may want to Mom, but Portia doesn’t,” he replied, continuing to stare hard at me. “She hasn’t trusted me for one second since the moment she met me in the graveyard.”

  “That’s not fair!” I said, my own anger rising to the surface. “You don’t remember who you are, and you're a demon now! I have no idea how these things are affecting the person you are today! Your moods are constantly shifting, and you’re completely different from one minute to the next!”

  “That might be true, but I'm not a killer of innocents!” he hollered back at me. “And until you realize that there's no reason for us to even pursue this relationship together!”

  He turned and stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him in the process.

  “That went well,” Krista spoke with a sigh.

  I flopped onto the sofa and I knew she was disappointed in the way I had handled things.

  “I’m sorry,” I replied, feeling lost. “I want to believe him, but at the same time I've seen exactly how dangerous he can be. His moods are so crazy right now it's totally believable he's capable of something like this.”

  “It doesn’t make sense though,” Krista said. “Think about it. That woman, Cat, she said she saw him place something under the hood. Why would Vance need a device to destroy a car? He's pure fire! He could blow his breath at anything and make it explode if he wanted to.”

  I looked up at her realizing she was right. I went over to her to give her a hug.

  “You're absolutely correct,” I said, before I released her. “I need to go fix things with him now.”

  She nodded and headed for the door.

  “Let me know how it goes,” she said to me, stepping through the opening out into the sunlight.

  I waited until she was gone, before I walked over to the bedroom. I knocked. The door swung open on its own, revealing Vance to my gaze where he was lying on the bed with his arms crossed over his chest.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, not moving.

  He didn’t reply. He only stared at me with his red eyes. The anger rolled off of him, and I was aware instinctively, he needed to feed again.

  I walked over and climbed up to sit next to him, extending my wrist out to him.

  “Please don’t take this gesture the wrong way,” I said, when he glanced between my face and my arm. “Think of it as a peace offering.”

  He only hesitated a second before biting into the limb, his eyes never leaving me as he drank. I knew he was really angry at me because he didn’t stop like he had before. He continued to feed even when I fell over, unable to hold myself up any longer.

  I was teetering on the brink of unconsciousness, when he finally pulled away.

  “Do you believe me, Portia?” he asked with a raspy voice while he wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, removing some of the blood that had dripped.

  “Yes,” I whispered faintly, trying to keep looking at him.

  “Good,” he replied, and he carefully dropped my arm. “Then go to sleep and we’ll discuss this later.”

  Something wasn’t right. I looked out over the parking lot where I stood shrouded in darkness while I watched the building ahead. I realized then I was looking at Grandma’s store.

  Grandma exited the shop along with Babs, turning to lock the door behind them. When she was finished the two of them walked out to their parked cars together.

  I noticed Grandma driving away and a satisfaction settled in my chest when I realized Babs had not yet started her car.

  The hunter in me jumped to the surface and I quickly, but silently, approached the vehicle. In the blink of an eye, I ripped the car door from its hinges, causing Babs to scream in terror.

  I reached inside and yanked my victim out before she even had the chance to try to get away. I sank my teeth into the side of her throat, ripping out a chunk of flesh before beginning to devour the hot blood spraying from the wound. The powers of her life force ran through my body while I drank, and I felt excited over how easy the kill had been.

  When Babs was dead, I let her lifeless body fall from my hands to the pavement beneath. I broke the rearview mirror off the window and brought it up to my face to check my appearance, only the reflection wasn’t mine. It was Vance’s.

  I bolted straight up in bed, with my chest heaving like I had run a marathon. I was alone in the bedroom, but there was the sound of pounding on the front door.

  “Vance?” I called out into the darkness, but he didn't reply.

  The incessant banging on continued.

  “Portia?” I heard my dad’s voice calling out to me. “If you are in there answer the door!”

  I crawled out of the bed, still feeling a little bit woozy as I made my way through the bungalow and opened it.

  “What’s going on?” I spoke groggily, and my dad barged past me.

  “Where is he?” He yelled as he rushed across the room toward the bedroom.

  “Who?” I asked, in complete confusion.

  He came back out and grabbed me by both of my arms, shaking me hard.

  “Where's Vance?”

  “I ... I'm not sure,” I said trying to process what he was doing. “He fed earlier and I went to sleep. He wasn’t here when I woke up. Why?”

  “Because, I just found Babs ... dead, Portia,” he said watching for my reaction to the news.

  My heart sank to my toes. No! No! It couldn’t be real. It had just been a nightmare.

  “What do you know?” my dad said, shaking me again.

  “He wouldn’t hurt her,” I said, wishing I actually believed what I was saying, but I had tiny doubts.

  “She's dead, Portia, and the attack was clearly demonic,” he replied in frustration looking hard at me.

  “He wouldn’t hurt her,” I repeated, the shock beginning to settle in. "I won't believe it. He isn’t capable!” I added trying to convince myself.

  “Then where is he, Portia?” he responded, gesturing to the empty house around us.

  I started crying. “I woke up and he was gone.”

  “This isn't good,” Dad said and he released me, running his fingers through his hair as he began pacing the room. “First Shelly and now Babs.”

  “He didn’t hurt Shelly,” I argued.

  “How can you be sure? Where you able to read his thoughts?” he asked pausing to glance in my direction.

  “No. He wouldn’t let me,” I replied, crestfallen.

  “Well, that’s a little too coincidental for me,” he stated angrily. “Don’t you agree?”

  “Yes,” I responded. “But I believe him all the same,” I added, refusing to budge on the subject.

  “When will you wake up and see that things aren’t right with him, Portia?” Dad hollered at me. “Is half the coven going to need to die before you realize your husband is now a monster?”

  I sobbed in earnest, sinking to my knees on the floor.

  “It can’t be him!” I cried, wrapping my arms around myself. “I don’t know how to explain, but it can’t be him!”

  My dad lowered down to my level, grabbing me by the arms once again, shaking me slightly.

  “Well, something is hunting this coven and if it isn’t Vance who could it possibly be?” he questioned roughly.

  I couldn’t think of anyone.

  “I don’t know. Nothing is making any sense. Why were Grandma and Babs out alone anyway?” I asked him.

  He looked at me hard.

  “I didn’t give you any the details,” he said, his gaze penetrating right though me.

  I winced, realizing I'd slipped up.

  “What do you know?” he demanded.

  I bit my lip, not wanting to say anything that would betray Vance.

  “Portia! Tell me now!”

  “I saw her die,” I whispered, trembling.

  “How's that possible?”

  “I had a nightmare. I was watching her through my own eyes and I felt the need to feed. I intentionally stalked her like prey. I ripped open the car be
fore I tore her neck open and started drinking her blood. Then you began pounding on the door and I woke up,” I swallowed thickly, watching for his reaction.

  “This proves it’s Vance. You two share a mental link. It would be natural for you to experience something like this through his eyes,” he said, determined he was right.

  “It didn’t feel like him,” I argued back.

  “You're letting your feelings get in the way of making a rational decision. Think! Did you see anything else in the vision that would lead you to the identity of the killer?” he questioned.

  “No!” I lied flatly. “There was nothing else!”

  “I don’t believe you,” he stated, staring into my eyes. “Come on. Don’t give me reasons to doubt you now. What did you see?”

  I sat with my jaw clenched hard together, not wanting to speak the words that waited.

  “Portia! I need to know! I've got to protect the others!” he demanded of me.

  “It was Vance!” I cried out. “Are you happy now? I saw Vance’s reflection in a mirror!”

  “I knew it!” he said and he abruptly released me to stand up.

  “It doesn’t make any sense,” I complained. “If he knew I could see him, why would he have shown himself to me?”

  “Who knows why he's doing what he's doing? I do know one thing though and that is you're coming with me!” He yanked me to my feet by my elbow, ushering me toward the bedroom. “Grab some things and let’s go!”

  “No!” I turned to face him. “I won’t leave him!”

  “You have to! It’s not safe for you here!” He threw open the closet to grab out a few items.

  “I won’t leave him!” I argued again, determined to put my foot down.

  “I’m taking you with me and nothing is going to stop me!”

  “I think I might have something to say about that,” Vance’s voice permeated into the room and we both turned to look at him. “Portia stays here.”

  Chapter 13

  “I’m not sure what's going on here Sean, but is there a reason you're trying to get my wife to run away from me?” Vance said and he folded his arms over his chest.

  My dad advanced threateningly toward Vance, and I placed a hand out to restrain him, not to protect Vance, but to protect him.