Chapter Seven

Colbie hadn’t called her father. She had thought about it but she was still stuck somewhere between denial and dread. She didn’t want to think that what she had seen was real. If it was real, it would tear her uncle to pieces. For all her faults, Lydia was a daddy girl. She loved her father like Colbie loved her own.

She also didn’t want to tell her father because it would make it all the more real. And it would destroy him. She knew it. Her father was already pushing himself to the limits as it was. It only sped up the deterioration of his body. And yet, he would still be there on the front lines, fighting the evils in the dark despite his increasing frailty.

Sitting in the passenger seat of a beaten up but obviously well-loved Renault Clio, the young woman leant back in the seat. She allowed her body to relax back into the seat and smiled wearily to herself. Despite the darkness circling her life, Colbie resolved to enjoy herself.

And yet she felt uncomfortable. Her face felt heavy where makeup covered almost every inch. Concealer hid the dark circles under her eyes, an almost daily companion since the nightmares had begun all those weeks ago. Added to that, she also had thick makeup on her head to show a bruise where there was none. She had woken up that morning to nothing  more than a green mark on her skin so she had been forced to use the kit her father had supplied and recreate a bruise, one that was just beginning to turn green at the edges while the centre remained purple and angry looking. Trying to play the human card was exhausting.

Turning her head to the side, the young woman felt her forced smile turn into one of real happiness. For the first time in her life she was doing something for herself. Alex sat in the driver’s seat, his hands firmly on the wheel as he navigated through the peak hour traffic.

As soon as it had ticked past 9 am in the morning she had dialled his number. She was trying to play it cool. It was part of the reason she had waited until then.

Alex paid no attention her head as he drove. His face was strangely serious as he looked ahead, his attention so intensely focused on the road ahead that he wasn’t really aware of what was going on within the car. Nor did he seem aware of the black BMW trailing behind them. The vehicle had been following them since they had left the student village twenty minutes ago and had crawled out into the rush hour city traffic.

The young woman almost sighed. Even now when she was supposed to be safe, her father would not leave her unprotected. It was comforting to know that she would not have to look over her shoulder every two seconds to make sure there wasn’t some cold blooded killed just waiting to stab a wooden pole through her chest. Colbie knew that she would be looking anyway.

“What is it? Do I have something on my face?”

Colbie blinked and focused her gaze on the person smiling at her. Alex chuckled , his eyes twinkling as he started down at her.  She shook her head and glanced around, noting the absence of the engine sounds.

“No,” she answered absently her gaze looked out of the window.

Her eyes had made it halfway down the street before she saw the familiar BMW. She sighed and relaxed back into the chair before turning her attention back to Alex. He was no longer smiling. Deep creases had formed on his forehead and his mouth was pinched tight as he looked at her – truly looked at her.

“Are you okay?”

His concern touched Colbie somewhere deep inside, a place that belonged to her family and no one else. She had never had reason to care for someone, to feel even the slightest hint of emotion for someone outside of the close knit circle that was the house Carrington. And yet in the space of a few weeks she had been blown away by the selfless generosity of her adorable geeky housemate.

And then there was Alex. He was almost a complete stranger and yet there was just something about him. It was something that just drew her in. She tried to tell herself that it wasn’t because he was attractive, there was no denying that he was handsome in that dishevelled just got out of bed kind of way. But there was something more. He was a puzzle, one that she felt she needed to figure out.

She blinked. It took her a moment to realise that he was still waiting for an answer. She stretched her hand across car and took his hand in hers. She held it for several long seconds, noting the many callouses and the rough skin on his palms which had formed from the many years of hard work.

“I’m fine.” She squeezed his hand. “Now, hurry up so you can buy me dinner. I’ve been living off of microwave meals for the last few days because my housemate smashed all of the plates.”

She tried not to blush at the memory of her little tantrum the night before. It was partly the truth. The heiress had managed to salvage a few plates after her hissy fit but the majority of them now bore permanent reminders of her anger.

It will teach the messy cows not to clean up after themselves, Colbie thought as a smirk momentarily passed on to her lips.

Alex, who had been watching the emotions playing across his date’s expressive face, gave in to the temptation and leant across the chair. He stared deeply into her brown eyes that were like pools of melted chocolate. He heard her breath catch at his sudden proximity but when she made no sign of protest, he tilted his face closer, his eyes never leaving hers.

He paused just before their lips could touch, their breaths mingling as neither one dared to look away. Colbie’s heart was pounding. At first she had just stared at him. She could make out each of his individual eyes lashes because he was so close. There were dark brown, turning blonde on the ends. Her eyes hungrily took in every feature even as confusion swirled in the forefront of her mind.

She blinked and refocused her attention on Alex.

 And then she felt it – that charge which made her feel. Her mind couldn’t even come up with the words to describe the need that lingered within her. Colbie only knew that wanted it - whatever ‘it’ was.

Leaning closer, her eyes fluttered closed in acceptance. And then his lips were on hers. They were warm and dry as they pressed lightly against hers soft and moist ones as he kissed her once, then twice. With a groan, Alex brought a hand up to her cheek when his control snapped and he was unable to hold back any longer. With his eyes closed and fingers tangled in her curled hair,  he began to move his lips gently against her.

Colbie let herself go with it. Her hands twisted into the silky cloth of her top as she floundered or what to do next. She didn’t have the slightest idea what she was doing. Sure she had seen kisses in films happening but never had she been kissed, truly kissed. She didn’t know where to put her hands – Colbie wasn’t even sure if she was doing it right.

It made a flush course up her neck and her heart to skip a beat. She wasn’t a romantic, but the liquid heat coursing through her veins made her wonder if maybe - just maybe - some of those romance books she had read were telling the truth. They made her believe that there were such things as passion.

 Alex’s tongue darted out, tickling along her lower lip in a seductive invitation.

She couldn’t stop it. A giggle escaped Colbie’s lips forcing her to move away from Alex and his addictive kisses. Opening her eyes, she found her good looking date staring at her. She had expected him to be angry or annoyed. Instead his body shook as he chuckled.

“Sorry,“ They both spoke at the same time causing the pair to giggle. Colbie ducked her head, causing her dark hair to cover her face as she tried to hide from his penetrating stare.

“Was that your – first?” Alex asked, his fingers brushed a lock of hair out of the way before delicately lifting her head so he could see her face clearly.

She nodded and refused to meet his gaze.

“Don’t worry, we all have to start somewhere.” He leant forwards and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth eliciting a gasp from the startled heiress. “Besides I thought it was an amazing kiss.” 

Colbie’s brown eyes were wide as her mouth dropped open. It was unattractive but she couldn’t it in her to care. Alex chuckled again, pressing his lips to the end of her adorable small nose before letting his hands drop from her face.

“Come on, the film starts in an hour so we better hurry if we want to eat first.”

The door to the car clicked open. He slipped out the door and rushed around the other side as she was undoing the seatbelt. She had only just managed to free herself from the restraint when he was there at her side, holding open the door and looking down at her as if she was only one who existed for him.

Unused to such attention, Colbie was more than a little off balance as she pulled herself from the car and into the cold night air. The sun had already set even though it was just after five in the evening. The winter was well and truly on the doorstep, making it self known on the chill winds which whipped around her legs. It made no difference that they were protected against the elements by a sheer pair of tights under her black pencil skirt – the icy air still penetrated through causing goosebumps to form on her body from head to toe.

She shivered, watching as Alex locked his car and then relishing the warmth of his body as he tucked her underneath his arm.

Parked in the centre of the city, they walked past the large west gate of the old city walls. There was a man sat at the base of the large looming structure. His clothes were ragged and grime coated all o his exposed skin. He was cackling and laughing to himself between verses of crudely versed songs. The entire time he sung, his body swayed side to side as if caught up on his own rhythm.

The couple spared him a quick glance before ducking their heads and hurrying past him as fast as their feet would carry them without actually breaking into a run.

Colbie huddled closer to her date as she felt the weight of the homeless man’s eyes boring into her back. There was something of about him and the more distance they put between them and the homeless man was for the better.

“So what do you feel like eating?” Alex finally asked as they trailed down the high street.

Buildings loomed on either side. Most of the shops were closed up for the night so they sat there in darkness. But every now and then there were shop fronts gleaming in the darkness, the tantalising aroma of greasy food and light beckoning stragglers to wander inside and try out their wares. They stopped and looked left to right before Colbie’s eyes landed upon the familiar logo.

“That.” She replied with certainty, her feet already forcing her to take the lead, dragging her date behind her in the haste to get towards the food. She paused outside of the fast food restaurant, staring at the numerous posters covered with drool worthy burger.

The reality was much more underwhelming but when the pair found themselves sat at a table inside the busy McDonald’s restaurant a few minutes later, Colbie let out a sigh of delight as she bit into the burger.  Sauce oozed out of the sides and dripped onto her chin but she didn’t care – she was in heaven.

“So good,” She muttered through mouthfuls, choosing to ignore the look of fascination on Alex’s ace as he watched her eat over the top of his own food.

She placed the last bite of her burger between her lips and released a sigh as she chewed. It was a guilty pleasure. She knew that eating fast food was bad for her but when they made food which tasted like a little patch of heaven she had a hard time caring at all where she was eating and what she was eating.

“You’ve got a little bit of sauce” Alex gestured to his own chin.

Gasping Colbie desperately wiped at her face in an attempt to remove the offending stain from her chin. She was glad that she had chosen almost industrial strength make up to get her through the date. Otherwise she might have been faced with an attractively dirty napkin.

“You missed a bit.” Her date gestured at his chin again.

When she continued to miss with her heavy handed swipes with the napkin, Alex reached across the table and swept the drop of sauce from her chin with his thumb. His eyes twinkled at her – actually twinkled as he placed his digit into his own mouth and licked it clean.

Colbie supposed that the move would have been very creepy had she not been half in love with the guy already. Instead it just made her quiver in her seat. Her pulse thrummed through her veins as she watched his lips, the ones that had been kissing her. Her cheeks heated at the thought.

Turning her head away, she let her gaze roam out of the window. Street lights lit the high street quite well but shadows lurked between shops. Colbie squinted and leant closer to the glass. Something moved. She blinked and shook her head yet leant closer to the polished surface. Her breath misted up the glass quickly but not before she saw something flitting from shadow to shadow.

Colbie shivered and quickly dragged her gaze away. It may have looked human but something within her was shouting loudly at the top of its lungs that she needed to run. She needed to take Alex’s hand and run as fast as she could and as far as she could. Rolling her shoulders, the young woman tried not to feel like she was being hunted, that right now one of the unpleasant beings of evil was only a few metres away just waiting to strike.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Alex questioned, his hand stretched across the table so he could lay his hand on top of hers.

In her distraction her fingers had torn the napkin into shreds. The little white bits of tissue now coated the table top like confetti. Biting her lip, Colbie looked up at her date through her lashes.

“Sorry, I’m just a little distracted today.” Her eyes flitted towards the glass before settling once more on her dad. “My dad’s a little unwell at the moment so I’ve been worry about him all day.”

Alex relaxed back in his chair, turning over her hands so he could caress his fingers over the palms of her hand. She shivered at the soft tickling sensation and offered him a goofy smile.

“Is it serious?”

Colbie tilted her head back and looked at the ceiling tiles above, looking for the right answer to that question.

“Yes and no. He’s dying, no doubt about that. But it could take years before he finally gives in.”

The brunette allowed her gaze to fall back on her date and offered him the smallest of smiles. It quickly fell away when she could no longer maintain the energy and willpower to keep it on her face.

“It’ll be okay.” She murmured, uncertain whether she was trying reassure Alex or herself.

She didn’t get long to decide. A loud thud sounded from beside her.

Colbie screamed and leapt up from her seat, whirling around to glance at the window. She frowned at the glass. There were no marks and no signs of what had caused the noise. She could only see her reflection and Alex’s in the window. She thought she might have been imagining things like the night before, seeing and hearing things that weren’t really there. But then she noted Alex’s posture.

He was stiff, his eyes attentively staring trying to peer past the polished glass and into the street beyond.

Gulping, Colbie edged back towards the glass. She pressed her face closer, uncertain why she was even doing so when her heart was pounding so loudly that she could actually hear her pulse thrumming in her ears. Squinting past the foggy image of herself, she wiped her palms against her legs as she looked for something.

It was eerily quiet out there. She couldn’t even see a stray person walking down the street. It was unusual for a city that was a proud owner to three universities and was often a destination of tourists of all kinds. It wasn’t even seven o clock.

There was a movement out of the corner of her eyes. Colbie turned her head towards it and felt fear claw its way up her throat as the thing rushed towards her fast. Colbie yelped and scrambled backwards. In her haste to move away, she scrambled backwards and toppled over the top of the table and came down hard on the other side.

A loud thud came a second later. Pushing herself upwards, Colbie peered over the top of the table, ready to duck down at a moment’s notice.

There on the other side of the glass was the ragged man they had walked past earlier. Only now he didn’t just look dirty and unkempt. He looked evil. His eyes were dark. There were no whites to his eyes just whiteness. His mouth had dropped opened, hanging at an awkward angle that just looked wrong on his face as he salivated. His hot breath blew past crooked and rotten teeth, steaming up the windows.

The thing raised his left hand, his soulless eyes on Colbie as he stroked the glass.

“Princess.”

She couldn’t actually hear the words but she felt them like they were damning her very soul.

Someone save us, she pleaded inside her head while her heart continued to drum on inside her chest.

Over the beasts shoulder she saw some familiar figures. She breathed out in relief as the sight of the familiar muscle obsessed men of the guard. Dressed all in black they were a formidable sight. However, they were not dressed in the normal black robes and  but casual enough that they could look like members of the general public, the Black Brotherhood fanned out across the street, creating a perimeter around the evil without being too obvious.

The thing chuckled once more, sparing a careless glance over his shoulder. And then, with maniacal glee on its broken mouth, it threw itself once more into the glass, over and over. It even when the force of its blows drew blood it kept bashing.

Colbie felt her stomach turn at the violent and manic movement. All too soon both glass and skull gave way. The thing shuddered. Colbie felt the hairs on her neck stand on end as something dark and oppressive filled the air. She gasped as it swirled tightly around her, brushing over skin in a malice filled caress. The evil kept her bound, squeezing tighter and tighter until she struggling to even draw in a breath.

And then it was gone. Like the cords had been cut, Colbie feel to the floor, panting in an effort to get oxygen back into her body. Rolling her head to the side, Colbie noted that the staff on the other side of the fast food counters staring in their direction. Each had varying expressions of horror on their features.

Colbie swallowed loudly in an attempt to clear the lump that had formed in her throat. Slowly and unsure why she was even doing it, Colbie turned her gaze back to the window. Large cracks ran from top to bottom where the thing, the demon had struck over and over again. Thick blood smeared the spot where the body leant heavily against the glass. It just hung there limply, propped upright even though any life inside of it had now vanished.

Loud squelching sounded as the body slid down the glass, buckling under the power of gravity until it was just a broken and bloody heap on the floor.

Feeling queasy, Colbie turned her attention to her date. He was frowned at the body, a look of revulsion and utter disbelief on his face. She noted that he hadn’t even moved from his seat.

Slowly, with wide eyes, he turned his head away from the horror outside and met her stare. He opened and closed his mouth several times before he finally found the will to speak.

“What the hell was that?”