Page 56 of In Her Fears
Before Jenna could ask what she meant, the clearing around them dissolved like mist.The moonlight vanished, plunging them into complete darkness.For a moment, Jenna felt disoriented, lost in the void.
Then a small flame appeared, illuminating Lina’s face from below.She was holding a candle, its light revealing rough stone walls around them.They were standing in a narrow tunnel, the ceiling low enough that Jenna could touch it by reaching up.
“Where are we?”Jenna asked, her voice echoing slightly in the confined space.
Lina said nothing, just kept moving the candle to illuminate more of their surroundings.The tunnel stretched ahead of them, disappearing into darkness beyond the candle’s reach.The air was cool and damp, heavy with the scent of earth.
“Where does this tunnel lead?”Jenna asked, feeling a strange unease.The place felt important, though she couldn’t say why.
“It once led to freedom,” Lina said cryptically.“But now it leads to death.Unless you can stop it from happening.”
She turned and began walking away, the light from her candle creating dancing shadows on the tunnel walls.
“Wait,” Jenna called.“What do you mean?Who’s going to die?”
Lina didn’t turn back.Her form was growing more transparent with each step she took, the light from her candle dimming.
“Lina!”Jenna called again, more urgently.“Please!Tell me what’s happening!”
But Lina had already disappeared into the darkness, taking the light with her.Jenna was left alone in the blackness.
“Lina!”she shouted one last time, her voice bouncing back at her from the unseen walls.
Jenna’s eyes snapped open, her heart pounding.She was back in her bedroom, the sheets tangled around her still-clothed body.The dream clung to her consciousness, more vivid than reality, its urgency humming through her veins.
She sat up, the room spinning briefly around her.She saw from the digital clock on her nightstand that she’d been asleep for less than two hours, but her mind felt unusually clear, as if the dream had cut through the fog of her exhaustion.
The love triangle.The confrontation at the picnic.Elias discovering his wife’s affair with his friend.The pieces were falling into place, forming a picture she should have seen sooner.
Eric had never mentioned that he and Lina were lovers.He’d spoken of their friendship, of Elias withdrawing after Lina’s death, but never of the betrayal that preceded it all.Never spoke of any reason the two men had to hate each other.
Her hands trembled slightly as the realization solidified.Lina’s warning rang in her ears: “It can only end in death.Unless you can stop it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Jenna bolted upright with Lina’s warning echoing in her mind.The sheets twisted around her legs like restraints as she fumbled for the bedside lamp.Weak light flooded the room, revealing her still-clothed body and the disorienting glow of the clock—she’d been asleep less than two hours, but her mind blazed with terrible clarity.
“Phone,” she muttered, patting the rumpled bedding around her.The phone must have fallen while she slept.
She dropped to her knees beside the bed, scanning the floor.There was a faint gleam in the dust beneath the bed frame.She stretched her arm into the narrow space, straining until her fingers brushed against the cool metal case.
She dialed Delgado’s number.Her throat felt parched, her voice rough when the officer answered.
“Delgado.”
“Maria, it’s Sheriff Graves.”Jenna paced to the window, pulling back the curtain to reveal the full moon in the night sky.“Who’s there with you at Harrow’s place right now?”
“Just me and Mike Donovan,” Maria replied, her voice low and professional.“I’m covering the front entrance, and Mike’s watching the back of the house.”
Jenna pressed her forehead against the cool glass.“Has anyone entered or left the house since Eric Edwards departed?”
“No, ma’am.It’s been quiet—too quiet, honestly.No movement, no lights coming on or off.Nothing.”
“You’re certain?”Jenna pressed.“No sign of Elias at all?No one at the windows?No sounds from inside?”
“Nothing, Sheriff.”A note of concern entered Maria’s voice.“Is there something specific I should be watching for?”
Jenna hesitated, unsure how much to share about her dream-induced revelation.It would only raise questions.
