The Shadows Trilogy (Box Set: Edge of Shadows, Shadows Deep, Veiled Shadows) (24 page)

Ellie recognized the observer dream now. She was standing in the corner of her bedroom in Linda’s house, but she knew that this was a much earlier time in the house’s history. She thought it was funny how it looked exactly the same, right down to the canopy bed and pastel, floral wallpaper.

She looked across the room and gasped. Emma was lying prone on the bed. The entire bottom portion of the bed was soaked in blood.

“There, there. There, there,” she heard a voice murmuring close by.

She looked next to her and saw Lillian standing in the doorway, coddling an infant in a blanket. Lillian was speaking in those hushed tones to the baby.

“Lillian,” Emma croaked from the bed.

Ellie had the distinct feeling that she had been screaming. Emma reached out, but her arms trembled. Ellie could see that she was weak from the childbirth.

“See, Emma. I don’t know what you were fussing about. I told you we didn’t need a doctor. Women have been doing this since the beginning of time,” Lillian said, but she didn’t look up from the baby in her arms.

“Lillian,” Emma said, more loudly this time. “Give me my baby. I’d like to hold him.”

Lillian ignored her, and took the baby over to the vanity table where a bowl was sitting on top. Ellie watched her gently wipe the birthing residue off of the child, and then rewrap it in another blanket tightly. Lillian had not stopped her cooing and caressing of the baby.

Emma tried to sit up. She swooned weakly and fell back against the pillows.

“Lillian, bring my child over here!” she said.

Her sister finally turned in her direction.

“Why, Emma, you look awful,” Lillian said, “You can’t be trying to care for a child in the state you are in. Let me take little Jack off for a nap, and then I’ll be back in to take care of you.”

“I want to hold my baby,” Emma said through clenched teeth. “I have spent the last two days in labor, and he is the last bit of Henry that I have. And his name is Henry Junior, after his father.”

Ellie had no idea what to make of the exchange. The tension in the room was thick.

“You are delirious, sweetie, and it’s no wonder. You’ve been in a lot of pain over the last few days. You’ll make a lot more sense after you’ve had some time to rest,” Lillian said. Without another word, she left the room.

Ellie could tell that Emma was stunned. Her stomach twisted in disgust when she realized that Lillian wasn’t planning to come back and help Emma get cleaned up any time soon. Emma looked pale and helpless in the middle of the huge bed. Her lips quivered, and even though Ellie was sure she was exhausted, she didn’t break down. Then she saw a glint of determination in the young woman’s eyes. Her next words raised the hair on Ellie’s arms.

“I know you’re there,” Emma said flatly. “I don’t believe in you, but I can feel you. I need help. Can you help me?”

Is she talking to me? Ellie thought. “Hello?” Ellie said tentatively.

Emma didn’t reply. Ellie slowly approached the bed. Emma sat waiting expectedly, but didn’t seem to see her.

“I need to get out of this bed,” Emma said. “I need to go find my baby. But I’m feeling pretty weak.” Her lips quivered again, but then she went still and pulled herself under control. “Dammit, help me!”

Ellie reached out and touched Emma’s shoulder. She watched the other woman jump. So she could feel her, but not see or hear her.

Emma’s breaths were coming in short gasps, “Okay. Okay. I can do this. God, I hope you aren’t here to hurt me.”

Ellie wanted to hug the girl and tell her how sorry she was for everything that had happened to her. No one should have to go through what she was going through alone. It was that thought that propelled her into action. She gently reached over and took Emma’s hand. She could see goose bumps fly up the girl’s arm, but she didn’t pull away. Emma’s breath was still fast and sharp, but she was cooperating.

Then Ellie sat down on the bed next to Emma and took her arm. Now it was time to wait.

Emma took a deep breath and then pushed herself toward Ellie’s side of the bed. She swung her legs over the bed. Ellie’s heart ached seeing the streaks of red up and down her thighs.

“I’m going to try standing up now,” Emma said. “I hope you are strong. Don’t let me fall, okay?”

Ellie waited patiently as Emma pushed herself off the bed and to her feet. Ellie watched Emma’s face contort in pain. No sooner had she settled onto her feet than Emma’s knees seemed to give out and Ellie quickly placed her shoulder under Emma’s arm and brought her back up.

“Thanks,” Emma whispered. Then she pointed toward the bathroom. “That way.”

Ellie slowly took each step with Emma and after a few steps Emma seemed more steady. They made it to the bathroom and Emma flipped on the light. “I think I’ve got it,” Emma said as she pushed herself way from Ellie’s solidness and crossed to the sink and mirror.

Ellie watched her slowly touch her face. It was drawn and gaunt. Her cheekbones stood out, and it looked like she had not eaten in weeks. Her nightgown clung to her slim form, and from the waist down was covered in dried blood. Emma braced herself against the sink and bowed her head.

“I’m probably crazy,” Emma said a few moments later. “My husband’s gone. I think my sister has hated me since before I was even born, and now she’s trying to take my baby away from me. And I’m asking for help from ghosts.” She shook her head and then turned on the faucet. It was obvious she didn’t expect a response, even if Ellie could have given her one.

Emma pulled the nightgown over her head and tossed it on the floor. Gently, she started to clean herself. Her face got pinched and red, but she did the task slowly and methodically. Ellie turned her head away, being respectful of her privacy even though Emma couldn’t tell the difference.  She wondered where the girl was drawing the reserve of strength to go on.

Then Emma started to speak again, and Ellie realized it was in an effort to distract herself. She said how happy she was going to be when she could hold Henry Jr. in her arms. She talked about Henry Sr.’s smiling face and how he had kissed her silly every time they had dissolved in laughing fits over something ridiculous. She spoke of her family’s home in Louisiana, and playing in the backyard with her younger brother and the kids from the neighborhood.

The water in the sink turned pink as she rinsed off the cloth each time, but she was somehow disconnecting herself from it, and finally she just started humming. Ellie thought she had heard the song before, but couldn’t place it.

After what seemed like an eternity, Emma seemed satisfied that she was clean enough for the moment. She limped past Ellie back into the bedroom, and pulled a clean nightgown from the bottom drawer of the dresser. Her dressing robe hung from the bed, and Ellie saw that she was avoiding looking at the bed itself as she pulled the pink terrycloth robe from the bed post. Emma found slippers underneath the foot of the bed and carefully wedged her feet into them. She ran her fingertips through her hair.

She took a deep breath and shuffled out into the hallway, which was dark. Ellie followed closely behind her. It seemed like the house was empty.

Emma cocked her head and listened and then Ellie heard it too. It seemed to be coming from Joseph and Lillian’s bedroom across the hall. Then Ellie heard a baby’s squall. It was Emma’s son.

Emboldened by the noise, Emma made her way to the French doors that opened into their bedroom. She paused and put her ear to the door. Ellie could hear mumblings and low voices, but nothing from the baby. Emma raised her hand to knock, when suddenly the door opened in front of her.

Something inside pushed Ellie off to the side and seemed to suck Emma into the room. All Ellie could see were bright auras of red and black and orange shimmering from inside the room and she raised her arm to block out the fiery light. She heard Emma screaming.

Then she felt her body lifted off the floor and slammed back down and felt blows all over her body, each one bringing a fresh hell of pain. Her screams joined Emma’s. Henry Jr. was crying. And, as her world went black, she thought she could hear Lillian laughing.

Ellie emerged from her dream like a person deep under water, searching for the surface when the air was running out. Her mouth opened with a gasp and she sucked in as much air as she could hold in her lungs, the exhalation bringing with it her first signals of consciousness.

“Ellie. Ellie, sweetie,” she heard an unexpected voice say. She opened her eyes and then bolted backwards on the couch.

“Linda!” she cried out.

“Yes, dear,” Linda laughed in reply. “Who did you expect? Ellie, you just scared me terribly there for a moment. Were you having a bad dream?”

Linda looked phenomenal. Her white blond hair had recently been done, and she was wearing an emerald pantsuit. An expensive bag sat at her feet, and as Ellie started taking in other details around the room, she could see another piece of luggage sitting in the doorway.

Ellie’s head swung from right to left. She had been lying on the couch, alone. The couch across from her was empty. “Where’s David and Jenny?” she asked anxiously.

“It’s all right, dear. They are upstairs,” Linda said, patting her on the forearm.

“Upstairs, why?” Ellie asked. The vestiges of her dream still remained, and she was horrified to realize that she was suspicious of Linda and her intentions. This wasn’t the Lillian of her dreams, she had to tell herself. After all that had happened in the last week, she should be delighted to see her old friend.

“Apparently that young lady was quite close to her due date, and that bump on the head sent her into preterm labor or something like that. David was quite concerned, so he wanted to move her upstairs to somewhere more comfortable.” Linda tsked. “What an unfortunate accident. I had no idea that Joe had such a violent streak. It's so scary to think how people can appear so normal but have such awful intentions. That poor girl.” Linda handed Ellie a cup of coffee that she had been holding.

Ellie took it in a trance. The parallel to her dream was uncanny. She wished again that she could see Linda’s aura. Linda seemed calm and serene.

“Shouldn’t we be calling an ambulance? I couldn’t find your phone, Linda,” she said.

“We did call, dear, as soon as Randall and I saw how serious things were. Unfortunately, we were quite lucky to have made it back here ourselves.” Linda pointed to the window at Ellie’s questioning glance. “Look for yourself. It’s nasty out there.”

Ellie got up and made her way through the office to the window at the front of the house. The window pane was covered in a thin layer of ice. Beyond it, she could barely make out tall snowdrifts. She couldn’t see the lake. It looked like a complete whiteout. She knew it had been snowing when she fell asleep, but this was ridiculous. She felt like she was on the verge of understanding, but she still didn’t have all the pieces.

“Winters in Minnesota are just dreadful, aren’t they?” Linda called from the library. “Come. Sit. David told me that you have had the most awful week. I’m so sorry that I wasn’t here for you. Drink your coffee too. It’ll help warm you up.”

Ellie felt the soothing tones in Linda’s voice more comforting than she remembered. As much as she had disliked it before when Linda fussed over her, today she felt like the mothering was exactly what she needed. She went back over and sat down on the couch where Linda had patted.

“Are they all right upstairs?” she asked. "Shouldn't we check on them?"

“Jenny is in very good hands with David,” Linda assured her. “Randall is keeping an eye on things. He’ll let us know if there is anything we need to be concerned about, but I just know that our David has everything under control. We are so lucky to have him here.”

Ellie felt odd listening to the intimate way that Linda was talking about David. She made it sound like she had known him for a long time. She felt anxious about the whole situation, but there was nothing that could be done but wait for the ambulance. She didn’t want to get in David’s way.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait then,” Ellie said out loud, sipping her coffee. Her words earned an approving nod from Linda.

“Yes, dear. I’m sure all will be well,” Linda agreed.

“Where have you been, Linda? I admit that with the way you left, I didn’t expect to see you back so soon,” Ellie said, wanting to deflect the conversation away from having to explain her story again. She was almost sick of it herself.

“We got to London, and had the most wonderful time there,” Linda said, apparently sensing Ellie’s reluctance to talk about anything at that moment. “Randall was so sweet, after he saw how upset I was after the party. I really feel quite silly now. Just an old lady who got a little depressed, and probably worried everyone around her,” she said, shaking her head.

Ellie absently patted her hand and encouraged her to continue. She felt surreal, after the wildness of her dream, and now the heavy snows. She sipped her coffee again and made a deliberate effort to keep her attention focused on Linda and what she was saying, although a large part of her just wanted to stare into the fire and try to digest the message that her dream had tried to tell her.

“But you really can’t cry over spilled milk, can you? So I found myself in London. Randall had it all planned out. We were going to go to Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and maybe even over to Rome and Venice.”

“That sounds like it would have been nice,” Ellie said vaguely.

“Yes, it does, doesn’t it?” Linda agreed. “But after a few days, I told Randall in no uncertain terms that as wonderful as that all was and as marvelous as it all sounded, I had responsibilities here that could not be ignored.”

“We would have managed, Linda,” Ellie said. “I hope you didn’t rush back for that. I would have taken good care of the house, and Jeffrey was doing a fantastic job at the shop, at least, while the shop was open this week.”

“That is one thing that is very good about Randall,” Linda said, standing up. “He is very good with the details. He always says that I’m the emotional one, but in all actuality I don't know how he'd get anything done without me.”

Linda went over to the fire and threw a few more pieces of wood into it. Ellie watched the flames climb higher before adjusting to the new fuel and coming back down to their original size.

Ellie was starting to feel sleepy again. “Man, I don’t know what this is all about,” she said out loud.

“What, dear?” Linda asked.

“It is so crazy. I’ve just been falling asleep lately without even trying. That’s what happened earlier. David told me to shut my eyes for a few minutes, and I fell into such a deep sleep that I didn’t even hear him and Jenny leave the room, or you and Randall coming back,” she said. She tried to keep her mouth shut, but it opened in a yawn despite her efforts.

“From the sounds of things, you’ve been through quite an ordeal over the last few days,” Linda said sympathetically.

“Yeah, but I can’t believe how tired I feel again. You would think that my body would recognize that I just had some good sleep. I feel like I could just drift off again right now.” Ellie stood and immediately sat back down again as she felt an uncomfortable head rush.

The effort of standing seemed too great at that moment, and she had wavered ever so slightly. “What’s the matter with me?” she said. Then she frowned. There was something behind Linda. She squinted to try to make it out.

Linda returned to her side and stroked her hair. “You shouldn’t fight it, Ellie. That doesn’t help anything.”

Ellie heard something new in Linda’s voice. It was…expectation. She looked up at Linda. “Linda?”

“You will be asleep in a few moments, and that is good,” Linda said. Ellie looked at her coffee cup in mortification, and then back at Linda, who nodded. “We can’t have you up and about, accidentally stepping into something that you wouldn’t understand.”

“Wouldn’t understand?” The words managed to escape Ellie’s lips with great effort.

“Don’t worry, dear. Slight change of plans, but you are still in them. That is a wonderful thing for you, don’t you think? I've grown somewhat fond of you, and it would have been a shame to have to toss away the planning that has been going on for the last several months, don’t you think?”

It was like all of her muscles were frozen. Ellie was unable to respond to Linda’s question, although she suspected it was rhetorical anyway. Linda tossed Ellie’s legs onto the couch and then pulled so that Ellie slid back down on the couch. Linda was surprisingly strong.

Then she knelt in front of Ellie, her face filling Ellie's entire view. “The sleep is coming. It should be pleasant. No more dreams,” she whispered as if talking to a confidante.

Ellie’s eyes widened. She finally could see who was standing behind Linda. It was Emma. And Emma was watching her and slowing shaking her head, as if in disappointment. Then she was gone.

Linda nodded. “I know about the dreams, yes. I know about everything. Poor Ellie, with all of your loneliness and all of your pain.” Linda’s words were tinged with a sarcasm that Ellie had never heard before. “Until I met you, I thought I was self-involved.” Linda laughed at her own joke.

“Darling?” Ellie heard Randall’s voice coming from the hallway, and then he appeared over Linda's shoulder in the space that Emma had just vacated. Ellie was terrified. She didn’t know what had come over her friend, and now she was frightened for David and Jenny as well. “Everything taken care of in here?”

Ellie definitely had hoped for a different reaction than the one she saw on Randall’s face. Not shock or outrage, but instead he looked…satisfied.

“Everything is fine here,” Linda said, standing up and turning to greet him. She put her arms around his waist and then they both looked down at Ellie. “It was actually easier than I expected. I believe she just came out of one of those dreams again, so I had no idea how she’d react.”

The emphasis on the word “those” confirmed that Linda knew the dreams that Ellie had been having were out of the ordinary. Ellie wondered how much they actually knew about her dreams.

“I thought she’d be asleep by now,” Randall commented, pointing at her open eyes.

“She will be,” Linda purred. As if Linda’s words were the reason, Ellie felt her eyes starting to shut. She screamed in her head that she needed to stay awake. She needed to understand. She was in hell. But the blackness overtook her, and Ellie had no choice but to surrender.