The Shadows Trilogy (Box Set: Edge of Shadows, Shadows Deep, Veiled Shadows) (46 page)

Ellie started to say something else, but Lucy held up her hand. “It’s going to be irrelevant pretty quickly though. That’s why I had to talk to you now. If that guy downstairs is as strong as I think he is, the energy the waypoint is pulling from you and David won’t be half as much as what that guy is bringing. Mikel is going to want you to take that as soon as possible.”

“I won’t,” Ellie said stubbornly.

“He will use David against you. Either way, he’ll get what he wants. We need to work fast, Ellie.”

All the information was coming too fast. Ellie was starting to feel helpless and she was angry about Lucy’s assumptions of how she felt about Mikel. But she needed to hold it together. Her fate and David’s were intertwined, and she needed to do whatever it took to save him.

“Okay, I’m in. Tell me what to do,” she said.

Lucy grinned and told her the plan.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Thirty minutes later, Ellie descended the stairs. Her mouth felt dry and her heart was racing. As she reached the last step, David stepped from around the corner. The moment of truth had arrived.

“There you are,” she said, smiling at him. “I’m not late, am I?”

Looking a bit uncertain, he smiled back. “Right on time,” he said, holding his arm out. Ellie took it and this time was prepared when the image flickered and she saw Mikel standing there. He led her to the dining room, where it looked like they were the first ones to arrive.

“Would you pour me a glass of wine while we wait for the others?” she asked. There were several bottles of wine on the sideboard. Apparently Jeffrey was expecting a repeat of the last time they had a group for dinner.

“Of course,” he said. He moved to the bar and Ellie looked away as she saw the flicker out of the corner of her eye. If what Lucy said was true, the next hour was going to be a painful one for the real David. She hoped that he would understand when she finally was able to talk to him again. In the meantime, though, she intended to touch him as often as possible because seeing Mikel’s face made it easier to think about what she and Lucy were about to set into motion.

A glass of red wine appeared around her and she felt his hand on her hip; his breath against the back of her neck sent shivers down her spine. The fact that the sensation wasn’t unpleasant made her worry that Lucy’s comments earlier weren’t that far off the mark. That was unacceptable and had to be nipped in the bud.

“Thank you,” she said, taking the glass from him and taking a deep sip. The alcohol was going to calm her nerves. Then she turned around and put her arm around his neck. She saw the surprise in Mikel’s eyes. “I’m so glad you are here. I was thinking that all of this would have been so difficult if I didn’t have you here to lean on. What we have makes all of this worth it.”

“I’m glad that you think so, Ellie,” he said. He reached up and touched her cheek. “Your safety and comfort are the most important things to me.” Then his eyes lit up. “We should dance.”

“What?” It was a suggestion that Ellie wasn’t prepared for. “There’s no music.”

Putting his hand on her hip and taking her other hand, Mikel started to slowly lead her in a circle. His head dipped down next to hers and he started to hum a wordless slow song. Ellie didn’t know what to do other than dance. She soon discovered that even without music, Mikel was a skilled dancer. They glided around the room. At one point he pushed her away for a small spin and she laughed. Ellie loved to dance, but it was one of those things that you had to have the right partner for. As he pulled her close again she thought how different he was from any man she had ever met. His complexities and darkness were things that could attract as well as repel. He was also very dangerous, and couldn’t be underestimated.

“I think that I’d like to have another drink,” she said breathlessly.

“I have always enjoyed dancing. It’s one of those things that I don’t often have occasion to do. But you’ve moved me, Ellie. Meeting you has been one of the best things that has happened in my life.” He stared deeply into her eyes and Ellie wished that he wasn’t so convincing in the way that he spoke to her. “I love you, Ellie Coulter.”

The words out of her mouth were automatic. “I love you too.”

A broad smile crossed his face and then he spun her again.

“Hey, what’s going on in here?” Lucy appeared in the doorway, frowning, and Ellie dropped Mikel’s hand. Then the flicker and she was looking at David’s handsome face again.

“I am declaring my eternal love for my girlfriend,” he said.

“I see,” Lucy said, looking at Ellie with a raised eyebrow.

Ellie blushed but she was annoyed at the same time. Part one of the plan was for Ellie to be so utterly believable in her affection for the faux David that Mikel would relax his guard. She thought she was doing a bang-up job of carrying it out to the letter. She frowned at Lucy and reached out to touch David’s arm.

“I was expressing the same sentiment,” she said. Mikel looked at her with a grin. Ellie grabbed the wine glass with her other hand and took another deep sip. As she hoped, the alcohol was working already. Sometimes being a lightweight had its advantages.

At that moment, the three visitors entered. Since they came single file into the room, this time Ellie knew exactly which one was the one that was her target. He was a smaller man and looked to be close to retirement age.

“This is Dan, traffic accident, Cam, heart attack, and Henry, stroke,” Lucy said, pointing to each. “Everybody, you remember Ellie. This is her boyfriend, David.” Lucy enunciated each consonant in David’s name as if she was drilling it into her own memory.

It was Ellie’s turn to raise her eyebrow. She leaned against Mikel and felt him slip his arm around her. “It’s very nice to see all of you again,” Ellie said. “We didn’t have a chance earlier for formal introductions. Please take a seat. I’m sure Jeffrey will be along in just a moment with dinner. Lucy, perhaps you can pour wine for everyone?”

She drew Mikel over to the side of the room as everyone was getting settled. “So you know that Henry is the one that I’m interested in, right?” she whispered.

Mikel nodded. Ellie wished she knew what the man was thinking. No doubt he was delighted at how easily he was playing her.

“Mikel told me that he was blocking his ability for now and I’m guessing that he isn’t going to be up for an after dinner party like the last crew was given how old he is. I’ve just got to figure out a way to keep him down here and get him away from the others. Any ideas?”

Mikel considered. “Lucy seems to be a ready distraction for the other two. I think we should just let her take them into the library and then we can maneuver him into the sitting room. Offer him coffee and make some kind of excuse. I’ll help you.”

She smiled up at him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Great idea. Thanks. C’mon, let’s sit down.”

Tonight she pointed for Lucy to sit at the head of the table so that she could sit next to Mikel. As she hoped, once they sat down, he slung his arm across the back of her chair and started to massage her shoulder. He seemed to be enjoying his role even more than she expected. But regardless, it made moving through dinner easier.

Mikel proved himself to be a charming dinner companion. He showed great interest in each of her guests. Unlike the last trio, the three men hadn’t known each other on the Other Side, so everyone was getting acquainted. Lucy was hanging on Cam’s every word, but it probably had to do with the fact that Cam was a thirty-year-old personal trainer. The other man, Dan, seemed annoyed that he couldn’t get Lucy’s attention.

Ellie saw Lucy cut glances in her direction throughout dinner, but each time she would just nod and turn back to Mikel. Every now and then she would lean closer to him and brush his knee. Soon he was clearing his throat and his chair had crept closer to hers. The plan was working.

Soon dinner was over and the men were grabbing their stomachs laughing and making comments about being rolled out of the room. Ellie and Lucy exchanged amused grins. Henry started to push back from the table, and Ellie could tell that he was getting ready to excuse himself.

She turned to Lucy. “Lucy, why don’t you take Cam and Dan into the library for an after dinner drink?” She looked at Henry. “My mother always told me that peppermint tea helped calm the nerves and ensured a good night’s sleep. I bet you’re a tea drinker, aren’t you, Henry?”

The older man smiled and wiped his napkin across his mouth. “I do enjoy a spot of tea on occasion.”

“Then maybe you’d like to join me and David in the sitting room,” Ellie said. In the meantime, Lucy was openly flirting with Cam while winking at Dan. “I think it will be quieter there.”

“I was actually thinking about retiring for the evening, but with such a kind invitation, how could I resist? I could use something to calm the nerves,” Henry said.

Ellie watched a frown cross his face. She knew what he was thinking and she knew what it felt like. He was feeling the emptiness of not being able to use his ability and it was bothering him badly. Ellie’s breath caught in her throat for a moment as guilt overwhelmed her. There wouldn’t be any going back for him, and if Mikel had his way, Henry’s future in the Afterlife was equally grim. She felt the hand on her shoulder squeeze gently.

Mikel looked at her with concerned eyes. She hated how easily he could act like a human being who cared. It made her job so much harder. “Great,” she said, recovering. “Why don’t you follow me then?”

She pushed her chair back and felt Mikel’s arm start to slide away. She grabbed his hand to hold the connection as she stood nodding to the remaining three. “Well then, if I don’t see the rest of you before you retire, I hope you sleep well. This way, Henry.”

The old man got to his feet and Mikel took her other hand as he stood up and leaned into her. “You are doing great,” he whispered in her ear.

Ellie tried to smile but it was too hard. She just nodded and then tugged to make him follow her out of the room. Henry was behind them and she heard him ask, “This is quite a place. It looks familiar to me. Where did you say it was again?”

“Its’ facade on the Other Side sits on the Lake of the Isles in Minnesota,” Ellie said. It made her sad to think that she may never see the lake again. “It was built by a man who made his fortunes from the iron mines in northern Minnesota.” She didn’t add that Joseph Bradford had added to his fortune in more unsavory ways.

“Ah, that’s it!” Henry said, snapping his fingers. He paused in the front foyer and looked up at the elaborate chandelier that hung above their head three stories up. “I did quite a bit of traveling when I was younger for work, and I used to study a lot of historical homes all over the United States wherever I went. I remember this one. That chandelier reminded me.”

“You like history then?” Mikel said. “We have that in common. Please, come into the sitting room and make yourself comfortable.” Ellie let him lead her to a settee that faced the chairs that sat under the window. She sat down, drawing his hand into her lap. She intertwined her fingers with his and then smiled at him. Her stomach was feeling tight, and she suddenly wished that she had skipped eating entirely. The evening was coming to a head.

Henry settled into one of the chairs. “Really? Is there a time period in particular that is your favorite?”

“The Crusades,” Mikel said.

Ellie looked at him in surprise. Knowing what she did, the religious relevance made the information even more enlightening.

“You don’t know everything about me, dear,” he said with a mocking smile.

“Fascinating time. Religious fervor and man fighting man for centuries,” Henry said, nodding. He crossed his hands against his chest and leaned back in the chair. “Both sides firmly convinced that they were right and the other was wrong.”

“It’s all in your interpretation,” Mikel said. “When I think about it, you had two sides that were so engrained and passionate about what they believed in that they would do anything to achieve their goal. That kind of conviction is admirable. Enviable even.”

Ellie was listening avidly to what Mikel said, and more importantly, to what he wasn’t saying.

“Think about it,” Mikel continued. “At some point, it wasn’t about who was right or wrong. It was about who was strong enough to dominate and win.”
“Interesting perspective,” Henry said, nodding. “Now, where’s that tea?” He looked back at the doorway as if willing Jeffrey to appear.

Mikel squeezed her hand then and Ellie knew what he was looking for her to do. Suddenly, Henry’s face swerved back to them with a look of horror. She’d been wondering when it was going to happen; Lucy just said that shortly after they parted ways, she was going to break Mikel’s barrier that was keeping Henry from his power.

“Monster!” he shouted, stumbling out of his chair.

Ellie stood up and holding out her hand said the words that Lucy told her to. “Anarebus col entracume,” she said in her most commanding voice.

Instantly, Henry collapsed onto the floor in a deep sleep.

“What did you just do?” The connection between them broken, Ellie saw that she was looking into David’s blue eyes again. He was alarmed.

“He knew. I could tell that somehow he knew what was about to happen and I had to stop him,” Ellie said. “I had to stop him before he alerted the others.”

“But you used magic,” he said, staring at her. His face was pale.

“Yes, I did,” she said. She made her voice tremble. “Lucy said that it could be a latent ability that I took before I came here that I didn’t even know I had. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to be mad.” Then she dropped the bombshell. She took his hand into hers and looked up at him. “Mikel.”

The face changed and she saw the shock in his expression. “How long have you known?” he said.

“Since the beginning,” she said. “I was confused at first, but then I figured out why you were doing what you were doing.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“I was new here. It took me awhile to figure out if you were trying to hurt me or use me some way, so I thought it was better to play along.”

His expression grew serious. “So why are you telling me now?”