Ice cold fingers of fear frissoned down Jonas's back. The black shape took on a face, a grinning skull with skin stretched back and bony arms stretching toward Damon. Jonas stepped in front of the other man instinctively. He heard the chant swell in volume, the voices much more clear, carried on the breeze. The sky turned blood red and the boom of the sea was louder as the wind rose to a shriek, ripping and tugging at the black shape in an effort to dislodge it from Damon's shoulders.
Weight settled on Jonas and he watched the black shadow on the rock as it stretched in an effort to encompass his frame as well as Damon's.
"I can't move," Damon said. "And I'm cold all the way through my body." He hunched his shoulders against a terrible weight, his hand absently rubbing his chest, right over his heart. "What's wrong with me?"
"I don't know," Jonas said grimly. But he feared he did know. The Drake sisters were fighting for Damon's life and because he had dared to step between Damon and that shadow, they were fighting for his life as well. He felt helpless standing there with the wind blowing on his face, afraid to move, afraid the shadow would take Damon. The claws seemed stretched with greed, the head of the thing leaning toward Damon as if trying to draw the breath from his body.
The voices swelled in volume--feminine, strong, united. Not just the four on the beach, but the three other sisters reaching from distant places to join so the seven had become united as one. Jonas felt the strength and power pouring through them into him. Small glittering colors sparkled and leapt with life. Small fireworks crackled as they formed a wall between the two men and the apparition.
The shadow drew back sharply, careful to avoid the sizzling lights. Jonas felt the weight on his shoulders lessen. Damon stood a little straighter. The gray lines etched so deep in his face faded.
Jonas drew in a breath as he felt a hand brush his. He looked down, expecting to see someone beside him, gripping his fingers tightly. The sensation was there. Soft. Firm. In control. Yet no one was there. He stood alone with the wind on his face, ruffling his hair and the feel of someone holding him tightly, a feminine body pressed close to his. Everything male in him roared with protest. One of the Drakes--it felt like Hannah--shielded him, and that was just unacceptable.
He made out the shapes of several women with long flowing hair, arms raised to the sky in the midst of the crackling fireworks, insubstantial figures wavering in the air as if they were spirit rather than flesh and blood. Behind him, Damon swore softly under his breath, the actual words unintelligible, but Jonas had the same strong sense of real danger. Damon didn't want to hide behind the women any more than Jonas did.
Jonas tried to move, to step forward, to push his way through that wall of glittering lights and transparent figures to get at the crouching dark shape that was retreating slowly, driven back by the women as they pushed him away from the cliff and out toward the ocean. The soft chant was clear now, the voices strong, blending with the wind and pounding sea, filling Jonas's head with a strange kind of music.
He turned his head to follow the movement of the shadow as it took to the air, the retreat painfully slow as it moved over the sea. A whale breached and three dolphins spun in the air, spraying droplets of water in an arc over the crashing waves, all four silhouetted against the bloodred sky. The shadow's mouth yawned wide as it looked back toward the beach where the four women danced, arms raised, bare feet following a complicated pattern in the sand, arms lifted toward the heavens.
The wind howled, rose to a shriek, and gusted toward the apparition, driving it so far away it was merely a spec on the horizon. Jonas stared at it, blinking. When he looked around, the glittering fireworks were gone and the wind had died down to nothing. He glanced at the beach below and saw Sarah, Kate, Abigail, and Hannah lying unmoving on the sand.
"Get in the car, Damon." Jonas yanked the door open. "Hurry."
Damon did as directed, the echoes of the strange terror still gripping him. "What the hell is going on? I didn't see anything but fireworks, but I was..."
"Afraid," Jonas finished for him. "I don't know what the hell went on here tonight and I'm not sure if I want to know. Just get in the car. I need to take you home."
"Where's Sarah?"
"She's with her sisters on beach. I'll go down to them, but the things I have to say are better said alone." Grimly the sheriff slammed the door and drove faster than he should have to return Damon to the safety of his home. "Stay inside and use that security system Sarah's always fussing over. I'll call later to make certain everything's all right. My deputy, Jackson Deveau, will drive by several times tonight."
Jonas would have used the siren to return to the beach if it would have gotten him there faster. He was so angry he was certain he shouldn't go, he should stay away from the Drakes until his temper cooled and the fear left his body, but he couldn't just leave them lying exhausted on the beach.
He strode across the wet sand, fury building with every step he took. "What the hell did you all think you were doing?" The sight of their pale faces, worn with fatigue only stepped up his anger. "You were playing with something you sure as hell shouldn't have been playing with."
Sarah lifted a weak hand and waved him away. Hannah didn't look up and Kate and Abbey stared at him, their eyes enormous in their pale faces. He dropped onto his knees in the middle of them, reaching out to run his hand up and down over their arms to rub warmth back into them.
"What was it, Sarah?" he asked.
"Do you really want to know?"
She sounded so utterly weary he nearly kept his mouth shut. For once, Hannah wasn't sassing him and all of the Drakes looked frightened.
"Hell yes, I want to know."
"Death. You saw death, Jonas. It's how you're connected to us, why you are." Sarah glanced at her sisters and then back at his face. "You have a gift, just as we do. You deny yours and we embrace ours. Death showed you his face and he'll be back. We weakened him, but he'll be back and soon. He has too tight a grip on Damon." She said the last with a small hiccup in her voice.
At once her three sisters put their hands on her in an obvious attempt to comfort her. Jonas moved closer to Hannah and lifted her slightly so she could rest her head in his lap. He dragged Abigail closer as well until she had her head on his thigh. Sarah and Kate followed suit. He listened to the sound of the ocean, allowing the familiar melody to calm his mind and think more rationally.
"Why is death after Damon?" He felt like a fool asking the question. When the Drakes did their magic he preferred to be somewhere distant. He knew what they did and he even accepted it, but he always rationalized anything too spooky. Tonight didn't fit into a neat box and he sure as hell was never going to admit to seeing anything or having gifts or curses or anything else he couldn't find a scientific explanation for.
Sarah shrugged. "I don't think it much matters who death takes as long as he has someone. I don't want that someone to be Damon--or you."
"Me?"
"You stood in front of it. You confronted Death. Why did you do that?"
"Damn it, Sarah. It was a shadow. A shape on the wall and it looked as if it wanted to consume Wilder. I was afraid for him. I just did what seemed right."
"You brought yourself to his attention. You never want to do that," Sarah said. "Some things are better left alone."
"Well, you sure as hell must have his attention. And don't ever protect me like that again. I don't want any of you hurt trying to keep something like that off of me. I don't even know if I believe in all this mumbo jumbo. And if I don't, it can't hurt me." He wanted to shake some sense into them and at the same time he wanted to hold them close where he could protect them. Give him a flesh-and-blood criminal any day of the week, one he could see and fight. He forced calm into his voice when his heart was still pounding in fear for them. "Just don't ever do that again. I protect you. That's the way it's always been with us and that's the way it always will be. I'm taking you all up to the house and making you tea. Unless I decide to drop one or tw
o of you in the ocean. I never want to talk about this again and if you bring it up, I swear I'm denying everything."
He wasn't making much sense but he didn't care. He just wanted them back inside their home where he knew they would be safe. And then he was going to think long and hard about getting drunk.
Chapter 8
"SO, SARAH," DAMON said, putting down his glass of iced tea as they sat on his porch. Damon and Sarah spent every minute they could find together. Taking walks on the beach. Working on a security system for his house. Lazy days of laughter and whispered confidences. Damon enjoyed every moment spent in her home, getting to know her sisters. He never ran out of things to say to Sarah and he loved her stories and open personality. There was sunshine in his life and its name was Sarah.
She took a handful of his chips and smiled at him. Overhead the seagulls circled, looking down with hopeful eyes. Damon had had no more unwelcome nighttime visitors and appreciated the regularity of the sheriff driving by to check the neighborhood.
Damon shook his head, dazzled by her smile. She could take every thought out of his head with that smile. "Sarah, are you afraid for me or for everyone else? It's occurred to me that there's always this buffer between everyone we run across and me. I didn't really notice at first, but last night I was thinking about it. I'm getting to know you and I think you prefer that your friends don't see you with me."
Sarah's breath caught in her throat at the hint of pain in his voice. The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to be with him. And the dark shadow surrounding him gripped him all the harder. "I don't mind anyone seeing us together. You're the one worried about gossip. I'm used to it and it doesn't bother me."
"Then we'll go into town together." It was a challenge.
Sarah let out her breath. The early morning fog had burned off, leaving the sky an amazing shade of blue. She could see clouds gathering far out over the sea. She looked carefully at Damon, inspecting every inch of him. There was no dark shadow around him and his shoulders weren't hunched as if carrying a great weight. "Sounds great, if you're really certain you want to brave it."
He stood up and held out his hand to her. "Come on."
"Right now?" She hadn't expected he would really want to go, but she obediently took his hand and allowed him to help her up.
"Yes, while I have my courage up. Walking with you through town should set a match to the gossips. The story will spread like wildfire."
Sarah laughed softly, knowing it was true. Once they had walked the short distance to the town, she started in the direction of the grocery store, determined to get it over with.
"I feel a little sorry for Harrington," Damon said as he walked with Sarah along the main street of town. "He drops by the house sometimes and he's very nice." He reached out and tangled his fingers with Sarah's.
"Are you certain you want to do this?" Sarah's voice was skeptical. "Holding my hand in public is going to bring the spotlight shining very brightly on you. Rumors are going to race through town faster than a seagull flies. I know how much your privacy means to you."
"That was before I retired. When I worked from morning until night and had no life." Damon laughed softly. He was happy. Looking at her made him happy. Walking with her, talking with her. It was ridiculous how happy he was when he was in her company. It made no sense but he wasn't going to question a gift from the heavens. "We may as well give them something real to gossip about."
Sarah's laugh floated on the breeze, a melodious sound that turned heads. "Not 'gossip,' Damon, it's 'news.' No one gossips here. You have to get it straight."
Damon listened to the sound of their shoes on the wooden walkway. Everything was so different with Sarah. He felt as if he'd finally come home. He looked around him to the picturesque homes, so quaint and unique. It no longer felt alien or hostile to him; the people were eccentric, but endearing. How had Sarah done that? Mysterious Sarah. Even the wind welcomed her back home. His fingers tightened around hers, holding her to him. He wasn't altogether certain Sarah was human and he feared she might fly away from him without warning, joining the birds out over the sea.
She waved to a young woman on a porch. "They're good people, Damon. You won't find more accepting people in your life than the ones living here."
"Even Harrington?" he teased.
"I feel a little sorry for him, too," Sarah answered seriously. "Most of the time, Jonas is a caring, compassionate man and very good with everyone, but he just refuses to see the truth about Hannah. He looks at her and only sees what's on the outside. She's always been beautiful. He was very popular with the girls in school, an incredible athlete, tons of scholarships, the resident dreamboat. He thought Hannah was stuck up because she never spoke to him. He made her life a living hell, teasing her unmercifully all through school. She's never forgiven him and he'll never understand why. He's a good man and he wasn't being malicious in school. From his perspective, he was just teasing. He has no idea Hannah is painfully shy and he never will."
Damon made a dissenting noise in his throat. "She's a supermodel, Sarah--on the cover of every magazine there is. She travels all over the world. And, I have to say, she appears very confident on every television and news interview and talk show I've seen her on. I would never associate her with the word 'shy.'"
"She hyperventilates before speaking in public; in fact, she carries a paper bag with her. Most of the talk show hosts and interviewers are careful with her. Because she's painfully shy doesn't mean she allows it to affect her life."
"Why wouldn't you just clue Harrington in?"
"Why should he judge Hannah so harshly, just because she looks the way she does? My sister Joley is striking as well, although not in exactly the same way. Jonas would never dare torment her. All of my sisters are good-looking and he doesn't use that sarcastic tone on them. He only does it to Hannah and in front of everyone."
Damon heard the fierce protective note in her voice and smiled. He drew her closer beneath his broad shoulder. His Sarah. Without warning, fear struck, deep, haunting, sharp like a knife. His breath left his lungs. "Sarah? Are we thinking the same thing? I've never wanted someone in my life before. Not once. I've only just met you and can't imagine the rest of my life without you." He raked his fingers through his hair, his cane nearly hitting his head. "Do you know what I sound like? An obsessed stalker. I'm not like this with women, Sarah."
Her eyes danced. "That leaves wide-open territory, Damon. You're talking about a family with six sisters and a billion cousins. I have a million aunts and uncles. You can't leave yourself open like that or they're going to tease you unmercifully."
They halted in front of the grocery store. Damon faced her, catching her chin in his hand to tilt her face up to his. "I'm serious, Sarah. I know I want a future with you in it. I have to know we're on the same page."
Sarah went up on her toes to press a kiss to his mouth. "Here's a little news flash for you, Damon. I don't compromise my jobs by getting involved with my clients. I don't, as a rule, kiss strange men and spend the night wishing they'd make the big move."
"You want me to make a move on you?"
Sarah laughed, tugged at his hand, dragging him into the store. "Of course I do."
"Well, this is a hell of a time to tell me."
Inez was at the store window with three of her customers, staring at Sarah and Damon with their mouths open. Damon scowled at them. "Is it fly-catching season?"
Sarah squeezed his hand tightly in warning. All the while she was smiling serenely. "Inez! We just dropped in for a quick minute. Kate and Hannah and Abigail are in town for a few days and they can't wait to see you! Joley and Elle and Libby send their love and told me to tell you they hope to get back soon." Her voice was bright and cheerful, dispelling an air of gloom in the store. "You do know Damon, of course."
Inez nodded, her hawklike gaze narrowing in shock on their linked hands. Her throat worked convulsively. "Yes, of course I do. I didn't know you two were intimate fri
ends."
Damon glared at her, daring the woman to imply anything else. Sarah simply laughed. "I snagged him the minute I saw him, Inez. You always told me to settle down with a good man and, well...here he is."
"I never guessed, and Mr. Wilder didn't say a single word," Inez said.
Damon forced a smile under the subtle pressure of Sarah's grip. Her nails were biting into his hand. "Call me Damon, Inez. I never managed to catch you alone." It was the best excuse he could come up with and sound plausible. It must have worked because Inez beamed at him, bestowing on him a smile she reserved for her closest friends. In spite of himself, Damon could feel a tiny glow of pleasure at the acceptance.
"How is everything lately?" Sarah asked before Damon could warn her it was a bad idea to get Inez started.
"Honestly, Sarah, Donna over at the gift shop is a lovely woman but she just doesn't understand the importance of recycling. Just this morning I saw her dump her papers right in with plastic. I've sorted for her many times and showed her the easiest way to go about it but she just can't get the hang of it. Be a dear and do something about it, won't you?"
Damon's mouth nearly fell open at the request. What did Inez want Sarah to do? Separate the woman's garbage for her?
"No problem, Inez. I'll go over there now. Damon and I are hoping some of our friends will help us with a small problem. There are some strangers who have been in town, probably for a week or two--three men. We'd like to know their whereabouts, their movements, that sort of thing. Unfortunately we don't have a clear description but one of them has a facial injury, most likely around his jaw. I'm hoping another might have gotten bitten by a tick." She paused, a wicked little grin playing around the corners of her mouth. "Maybe a lot of ticks."
"What have they done?" Inez asked, lowering her voice as if she'd joined a conspiracy.
"They tried to break into Damon's house. Jonas has all the information we could give him. He was going to check the hospital and clinic." She'd turned over the tranquilizer gun to him, too. "If someone spots them, or mentions them to you, would you mind giving me a call? And maybe it would be good to call Jonas, too."