Page 35 of From the Darkness

The deep beating sound seemed to crest. The spiral of pine needles and debris was about fifty feet from her, staying steady, in one place; and as she stared at the roiling current, her eyes widened. Through the curtain of the whirling matter, she thought she saw a human form. A man. The whirlwind obscured the outlines of his body. And he was shadowed by the mass of tree branches blocking out the sun, so that she couldn’t be absolutely sure that the image wasn’t some trick of the light—or the swirling debris.

She remained transfixed, straining her eyes, trying to make out details. As far as she could see, he was about six feet tall and well-muscled, dressed in jeans and a dark flannel shirt—like the clothing laid out on the chair in Troy’s room.

She called his name.

The only answer was the throbbing rhythm that remained as an underlying sound and the swirling of the air currents as they flung bits of debris against the tree trunks.

Then, all at once, the wind ceased—as though it had never been, and there was utter silence around her. Even the drum had stopped.

“Troy!” she tried once more. She seemed to be always calling his name, she thought—with uneven success.

Without conscious thought, she hurried farther under the canopy of trees, making for the spot where she’d seen him last.

Her eyes were focused ahead of her, and she wasn’t watching where she was going. Her foot caught against a hidden tree root, and she stumbled, pitching forward. She was going to hit the ground, and her arms came up to break her fall. But before disaster struck, strong arms captured her and set her back on her feet—the way he’d done when she’d almost stumbled into the pit.

Like the last time she’d been with him, he was standing behind her, and she caught her breath, leaning into the solid wall of his body.

“Troy.”

“Yes.”

She’d come out of the house thinking it was dangerous to trust him. Now she closed her eyes, resting quietly against him. He was strong, capable of defending her from all danger. At least it felt that way here in this secret grove.

Time had no meaning in this place. And it seemed that the ordinary laws of the universe failed to penetrate under the branches that blocked out the light above her. It might have been seven years ago. When they’d first met, first gotten close.

So much had happened since then. But here she could pretend for a little while that none of it had transpired. Because she desperately wished it were true. If only they hadn’t been torn apart all those years ago, everything would be different.

Troy drew her into an even darker spot, where tree trunks and low branches created a private place, just for the two of them. As he had before, he kept her close, his hands moving over her shoulders, down her arms, making her skin tingle.

Somehow, out here in the open air, he felt more real, more solid than he had at any of their previous meetings, and when he spoke, his voice was strong and decisive. His words broke the spell she’d let herself fall under.

“You’re safe in the grove. They’re afraid to come here.”

“Why?”

“They sense my presence in this place.”

“Troy, please, let’s get out of here. Away from the estate.”

His hands opened and closed on her arms. “I can’t.”

There was a kind of bleak anguish in his voice now. She might have tried to turn. But she knew from experience that he wanted her to stay where she was.

“You have to take Dinah and leave. Get her out of here—to somewhere safe. Promise me you’ll do that.”

“I . . .”

“Promise.”

“You’re her best hope,” he said, his voice firm.

“Why?”

When he didn’t answer, she pressed, “Troy, what’s going on? Did Nola and Abner Sterling do something to you?”

She dragged in a breath and let it out in what sounded like a frustrated rush. “I don’t know. There are still things I don’t know!”

Her heart turned over as she heard the frustration in his voice. But still, she needed as much information as she could get. “You told me about the accident, but something else happened,” she said. “Later. You were hurt, weren’t you? Can you tell me about it?”

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