Dark Heart Forever (31 page)

Keep him there
, he told me, clear as a bell.
Just keep him there
.

L
uca leaped over the palace walls; lithe and strong, his cheekbones narrowing, his face changing shape. It was the full moon and the time for turning had never been more right.

He was conscious of someone behind him, but he had no time to stop and look. He was about to do something he had never attempted before. To turn in one world and jump to another.

His heart was speeding up and his skin grew tauter, then more elastic as it prepared itself for its cataclysmic change. Soon his organs would grow and his heart would enlarge to twice its size. His hair would turn thicker and the blood vessels in his eyes would explode with pressure.

He was familiar with this. He knew this. What he didn’t know was if he could save the girl he loved.

‘Luca!’

He heard the scream as he vaulted through the fields and he shook his head as he ran, wondering if she was calling for help. If Raphael had already …

‘Luca!’

The voice was close now, right behind him, and he turned to see his sister. A smaller neater, prettier version of him.

Dalya was wolf.

He stood up on his hind legs, which shook with the shock.

‘Brother, you can’t do this alone,’ she half panted, half growled, and then she lost her voice. Her slender jaws snapped together.

He met her gaze full on, silently communicating gratitude, and she pawed the ground, ready to run with him.

And as the moon held court above them, brother and sister bounded forward, heading for the Water Path.

I
t would be light soon, I thought, not knowing whether this would make things better or worse. I was both exhausted and wired; I didn’t dare drop my guard.

Evan was pitching stones into the filthy, stagnant water. I used the time to look around me, wondering how, if, I could possibly escape this.

Through some trees, I could see Dad’s truck, which Evan had made me drive, enjoying watching me as I’d nervously navigated the narrow roads. It had been one hell of a way to lose my learner plates. I didn’t think I would ever be able to drive again.

That was, if I didn’t die before I got the chance.

I tried to think of where my parents and Dot might be. Where he would have taken them. He had driven us to that creepy abandoned army training ground … He could have put them in one of those rusting old Nissen huts. He could have put them anywhere.

‘What is it with you and that place?’ I said to his back. ‘That army training ground?’

His arm was lifted, poised to cast another stone into the water, but he paused, turning part way back to me.

‘I like it,’ he said, then. ‘So cold and abandoned and bleak …’ He turned all the way to face me. ‘It feels like a place I belong. Somewhere a person could stay for years … and no one would find them. Not a soul.’

He turned back and hurled the stone aggressively forward. It didn’t even cause a ripple, it just landed on some rotting reeds.

‘But you haven’t been abandoned,’ I said quietly. ‘You have a family that … loves you.’

‘I don’t care,’ he snarled, and I jumped a little in fright.

He walked back towards me and grabbed my arm, leaning into me, his mouth next to my ear. ‘Let me show you what it means to be truly afraid,’ he said, ‘because really … you have no idea.’

I tried to control my breath, which was coming heavily, and allowed myself to be dragged over to the truck.

‘Get in,’ he said roughly, opening the door.

I climbed into the passenger seat and Evan started the engine, ignoring his seatbelt. I didn’t dare reach for mine, I just stared straight in front of me, feeling sweat forming on my body, even though it was the middle of the night and chilly. Evan drove fast, winding around the roads, scaring night-time creatures and birds.

There was no mistaking where the vehicle was headed. In spite of the speed I saw a sign, a familiar sign.

We were going back there.

The place was dank. Evan drove straight through the closed wooden gate and I put my hand to my mouth as it splintered apart and wood flew into the surrounding bushes.

‘Please,’ I heard myself gibber, ‘stop this.’

‘Shut up!’ he snapped, and the truck screeched to a halt. He opened the door roughly and I sat where I was, unable to move.

‘Get out.’ He pulled open the passenger door, and I somehow managed to get down on to the grass, though my legs were like jelly.

It was raining now. Nasty, spitting rain, and the grass was wet. Across from us, the eerie huts stood, as though waiting to receive us.

I didn’t care, I just wanted to see my family alive.

L
uca wrestled in the darkness. His whole body in pain, stretched and distorted, he opened his jaws and howled, pawing angrily at the ground.

Behind him, Dalya panted, looking to him for instructions.

Slowly he wound his way through the trees, shaking rain off his head, and she dutifully followed.

The sky was gradually getting paler, soon the moon would disappear. He growled, sniffing the ground, trying to find her scent. Jane’s scent.

They were near her house. Their silhouettes were shadows against the back wall and something made him stop, putting his snout to the ground again.

He could smell her.

Now all they had to do was get there in time.

He turned to Dalya and silently spoke to her, and she let out a low whine in understanding.

Together, the animals ran down the rough track towards the mountain road, headed for the other side of town
.

T
he entrance to the hut was hung with rusting bits of metal, hostile and creaking as they swung slightly back and forth.

I screwed up my eyes to see the back of the hut, but there was nothing there except shadows.

‘Mum!’ I called, my voice coming out as a sob. ‘Dad!’

Beside me, Evan laughed humourlessly.

‘They can’t hear you. Don’t waste your breath.’

‘Where are they, you bastard?’ I tore into his chest, hitting him as hard as I could. ‘You evil—!’

‘Calm down,’ he said, amused. ‘They’re safe … for now. They’re knocked out.’ He scratched his chin. ‘Your mum and the kid were easy enough, but your dad …’ He shook his head. ‘That required a bit more effort.’

‘Are they here somewhere?’ I said desperately, pushing past him.

He grabbed my arm, which hurt. I winced in pain.

‘Careful, Jane,’ he whispered. ‘Not so fast.’

‘You’d better not have touched them,’ I said. ‘Dot …’ I put my hand to my mouth, not wanting to think about what he’d do to my little sister.

‘Calm down.’ Evan sounded bored now. ‘They’re not far. You’ll all be together soon.’ He smiled nastily. ‘They’re incapacitated, that’s all.’

‘What did you do to them?’ I was shivering uncontrollably.

‘Tilly has her uses,’ he said mildy. ‘Irritating little wretch most of the time, but she mixes up a highly effective sedative. Strong enough to put a horse to sleep for six months.’

I gaped at him, standing so casually. So dismissive of other people’s lives.

‘So you avenge the death of your father by trying to destroy an entire family,’ I said in disbelief. ‘Can’t you just get the hell over it?’

His face snapped back into a look of pure hatred as his arm shot out and I felt his fingers straddling my neck.

‘Watch your mouth, freak,’ he said. ‘You don’t get to judge me.’

He paused, sniffing the air, frowning.

‘What are you doing?’ I glared at him.

He shrugged. ‘Nothing. Shut up for once, would you?’

I flared my nostrils. I felt nothing but hatred for Evan now. His once-beautiful face looked almost haggard. Bitter.

He moved around the hut, kicking bits of old rusting machinery on the ground. A rat scuttled out from beneath a tyre and I shuddered. Were my parents lying with rats?

‘How does this compare,’ said Evan leaning back against the wall, ‘in terms of pure misery, to your schooldays?’ He grinned unpleasantly. ‘Sarah not quite so bad now I imagine. Just a harmless kid.’

I stared at him. ‘You two are made for each other,’ I said, icily. ‘I mean … she knew all about this, right?’

‘Clever.’ He tapped his head patronisingly.

I felt disgusted. ‘You really are a piece of work.’

‘Thank you.’ He crossed his arms. ‘She was only too happy to help. Bored, spoiled … She was just itching to liven things up in her life. I studied her for some time before getting in touch.’

‘How?’

‘I spoke to her … in her dreams.’ He raised one eyebrow. ‘Does that ring any bells?’

‘Wait … You can do that, too?’

‘We all can … If we want to enough. It just takes a willing accomplice … You know what I mean?’

I turned from him. He’d told her to torment me. He wanted to make all of our lives hell.

Ironic, coming from an angel. I opened my mouth to ask another question, but shut it again. What did it matter any more?

‘So what are you going to do with us?’ I said instead, not wanting to know, still listening – but there was only silence in the hut.

‘Hmmm.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘I had wanted to drown you, one by one – but lifting those bodies … I am sure I can make use of some of these mortal weapons lying around here.’ He studied an old saw, lethally sharp and rusting.

I had no defence against him. I was all alone. Luca wasn’t coming. We were all going to die here. I let out a small sob.

Thunder suddenly rippled across the sky and we both jerked, startled, looking out to see a white fork split the darkness. It lit up the whole of the field outside, and for a second I saw the dark shape, moving across the grass. Two dark shapes…dogs, or…

It couldn’t be. Could it? My heart did a silent, hopeful cheer.

I forced myself not to react outwardly, and not to hope, but the animals were picking up speed and heading straight for us.

Evan pulled me roughly to him, putting an arm around my neck, pressing against my throat.

The dogs slowed and stood panting at the entrance. The bigger one’s eyes flashed at me.

Green eyes.

A little bit of fear left me.

Luca snarled, revealing his sharp teeth, his ears back, ready for attack.

‘I’m not afraid of you,’ Evan hissed at him, still pinning me to him. ‘Why would I be afraid of you?’

Luca rolled his head, pawing angrily at the ground. The hanging metal jangled in vibration.

‘Get back to your family …’ Evan spoke to him, tightening his grip on my neck and I whimpered slightly.

Luca shot forward, his jaws snapping, brushing aside the hanging metal as though it were nothing more substantial than a net curtain. He rocked his head from side to side, frustrated, but Evan didn’t even flinch.

‘Luca,’ I said, reaching out to stroke his nose and he nuzzled against me briefly, before turning to stare Evan headlong in the face. Behind me I felt Evan reaching for something in his pocket with his free hand and I wrenched myself out of his grasp, turning to see that it was a bottle.

‘Luca,’ I said warningly, but he was ahead of me. Rolling his head he quickly lunged at the bottle, which smashed on to the floor.

‘My friend,’ said Evan softly. ‘You wouldn’t hurt me … Remember, Luca. You would never even swat at a fly.’

‘Don’t listen to him,’ I bleated.

Luca shook his head and I saw that his body was contracting, shrinking.

I looked back at the wolf standing guard at the entrance, whose eyes glinted anxiously over at Luca.

‘Dalya?’ I said. ‘Is it you?’

She whined in answer.

‘You can’t hurt me.’ Evan shook his head at Luca. ‘You know that.’

Luca’s bodily hair was disappearing and he moved to stand upright. With a start I realised he would be naked once the process was complete. I wrenched off my jacket, wrapping it gently around Luca’s waist. He licked his lips and I saw those familiar pale cheekbones appearing.

‘How sweet,’ Evan sneered at us. ‘Enjoy your last moments together.’

‘Evan, this is not what Gabriel would want,’ Luca spoke at last, and his voice, low and calm sent ripples of relief through me. Relief … and something else I was starting to get used to.

‘What would you know?’ Evan’s face twisted with contempt. ‘You have no idea what I’ve been through. Gabriel would still be here if it wasn’t for her mother. And look at you … you’re destined for the same fate.’