Viator (The Viator Chronicles Book 1) (7 page)

“Are you sure?” Erin asked.

The old woman spat out the words. “Of course I’m sure. She’s the one this is all about, and she won’t come anywhere near this house. It’s all a waste of our time, and I don’t like it one bit.”

“Ma’am, please sit down. I would love to hear more about this. What is your name?”

“My name? What do you mean? You don’t know my name? Wait a minute.” She backed away from Erin. “You’re not Michelle. Who are you? I thought you were Michelle. Get out of my house.”

Erin stood and looked directly into the woman’s eyes. She reached out and tapped her cheek and said, “
Videre.”

The old woman sucked in a breath. “What? Of course you’re not Michelle. How could I have thought that? I get a little confused lately. Michelle is upstairs. Yes, I am glad you could come. Can you help us find Franny?”

Erin heard several people whispering and walking quietly in the hallway, as if they were afraid to make any noise. In a moment the three of them glided into the room: two young men and a young woman. Erin stepped forward and held out her hand. “Please sit down.”

The first man, who was tall, thin, with a narrow face, and dressed in an ill-fitting dark suit, reached toward Erin. “I’m Roland, this is my sister, Michelle, and my brother, Lawrence.” Erin shook each of their icy hands. “I see you’ve met Mother already.”

“She was just asking me about Franny. Do you want to find Franny, too?”

“My lord, no. Why would we want to find Franny? Whatever she’s doing is her own business,” scoffed Michelle, who plopped herself into a chair, her long skirt flouncing as she landed. Erin could see that Michelle was very pretty, perhaps even beautiful, but her face was twisted into a severe pout.

“That’s so true,” Lawrence said. His black suit fit quite well. He turned and walked toward one of the windows, pulled open the curtain, and looked outside. Silvery moonlight streamed into the room, and Erin could see the pale faces of these people more clearly.

The mother sat down. “Nonsense, you two. You just don’t know how important Franny is to this household. We’ve got to find that girl and bring her back. We need her to stay with us. Dear, what did you say your name was? You’ve got to find that young woman right away and talk some sense into her.”

“Yes, we do need to find Franny. Can you help us?” Roland asked.

“I might be able to. But why do you want to find her so badly? Why is she so important?” Erin asked.

“Because without her, we’re all dead,” Roland said.

“Roland.” Michelle stood up. “How dare you say such a thing.”

“Really,” Lawrence said.

The old woman sat quietly and looked down at her hands. She shook her head.

“You know it’s true,” Roland said, looking from one to the other. “We’re nothing without Franny.”

“Where do you think she is?” Erin asked

They glanced at each other and shrugged.

“What does she look like?”

“She’s much taller than you, and she’s got lots of black hair,” Michelle said.

“All right. Why don’t you go upstairs and wait while I look for her,” Erin said.

They got up to leave the room and slowly made their way up the stairs. Erin sat still on the sofa, and when they had all closed their doors, she stood up and walked over to the fireplace. An unlit candle rested on the mantel.

“
Scintillare
,” she said, and the candle burst into flame, casting flickering shadows around the room. She picked it up and walked to a window. Holding the candle high, she pulled aside the heavy curtains and looked behind them. Standing there was a tall, beautiful young woman, with long, dark curly hair. She shrank into the corner, her eyes wide, staring at Erin.

“Franny?” Erin asked.

“Yes.” She breathed a deep sigh.

“Please come out.”

Franny bent her head and came out from behind the curtains. She walked to the sofa, collapsed on it, and covered her face with her hands, sobbing quietly. Erin sat down in the chair opposite her, put the candle on the table nearby, and leaned forward. The light from the candle wasn’t much, but it seemed to warm the room a little.

Franny lifted her head and looked at Erin. Her face was smeared with tears, and her eyes were pleading. “They keep me here in this house. All the time. And they are so cold. I have to get away from them.”

“You’ve got to let them go,” Erin said.

Franny looked at her sharply. “What?”

“They will go, if you let them. I know how hard it is, but they need to go. Tell them goodbye. They don’t belong here anymore.”

“What are you talking about? They’re the ones keeping me here.”

“It feels that way right now. But you know they’re only staying because of you. Please let them go.” A tear rolled down Erin’s cheek. Franny reached out and touched it with her warm hand, then sighed again.

“It’s hard to let them go when you love them so much,” Erin said.

Franny nodded. “You understand? But when they’re gone, I’ll be so alone.”

“Each of us is alone. But your place is with the living, and theirs is not. Free them.”

Franny rose, her long skirt rustling and shimmering in the moonlight, her dark hair like a cloud around her face, and she walked back to the window. She gazed outside and shook her head.

“I miss them already,” she said.

“I know.”

Franny came back and stood before Erin. “Will you help? Will you come back?”

Erin nodded. “If you need me.”

“I will let them go.”

They both rose. Franny squeezed Erin’s hand and walked to the door. Erin heard her climb the stairs and call out to her mother, sister, and brothers. “Come, my loves, I have something to tell you.”

Erin walked to the front door and went outside into the moonlight. She walked down the steps and along the flower-lined path to the narrow street, where she turned and looked back at the big, old house. “Goodbye,” she whispered.

From the corner of her eye she glimpsed a dark movement in the shadows of the shrubbery. She drew her sword from its sheath and was on it in two steps, but the mortifer rose from the bushes and swung his staff. She blocked his blow with her sword, and he stepped back, his fiery eyes gleaming with harsh laughter.

She stood straight and faced him. “You’ve lost this one.”

His hollow voice sent shivers through her body. “For now. But we will have her. Her loneliness will bring her to us.” He laughed and whispered, “Just as yours will.”

Erin lunged forward with her sword, but the shadow had already turned and fled into the forest.

*****

Erin woke with a start. Her heart was pounding, she was shivering, and she knew she had to hunt something. What? Something frightening, and she had to catch it. She climbed out of bed but was too agitated to do anything but pace in her room. The floor was cold, and her skin was like ice, but she didn’t care.

The white light from the moon shone through her window as it moved across the sky. She stopped pacing to gaze at the moon above and its reflection in the water below. Her garden shone with a silvery glow, and she leaned her forehead against the windowpane.
It was just a dream.
She went down to the kitchen and poured herself a mug of milk. She microwaved it and sat at the kitchen table, taking small sips until her heart slowed. When she finally climbed the stairs to bed, she lay awake until morning.

*****

A few days later Erin drove to work through a steady rain, the big drops splattering on the windshield. She flipped on the wipers and turned on the radio, thinking about the coming weekend. She hoped the rain would let up for their biking trip. Matt had been planning this trip for months to celebrate his twelfth birthday.

She’d slept fitfully every night for the last week, sometimes waking completely, sometimes just restless. The dreams disturbed her more than ever, but all she could remember were fragments. Every time she woke, she woke trembling. No details and no sleep. She looked in her rearview mirror and groaned at the circles under her eyes.

Five days had gone by since she had seen Gary, and she still hadn’t called him about the weekend. She wondered if he really wanted to join them or if he was just being kind. He might have forgotten all about it by now. She decided to quit putting it off, call him, and find out.

She pulled into the music store parking lot and pulled out her phone. She searched her purse for Gary’s card and punched in his number.

“Good morning. AB International,” a pleasant woman’s voice answered.

“Gary Arthur, please.”

“One moment.” Music came on the line.

“Gary Arthur’s office,” said a brisk female voice.

“Is Gary in?” Erin asked.

“Who’s calling, please?”

“Erin Holley.”

She was put on hold again, and the music was back. She looked at her fingernails and pushed back a couple of the cuticles.

“Gary is on the other line right now. May I have him return your call?” asked the woman.

“Sure.” Erin gave her the phone number of the music store and went inside, wondering if he would call her back. She decided it was just as well she hadn’t reached him. If he didn’t call her back, she’d know he wasn’t really interested.

By the end of the day, Erin collapsed into a chair and closed her eyes. She had given six lessons that afternoon, plus Ed had needed to run errands in the middle of the day, leaving her to attend to the customers, too. She was exhausted and had started gathering her things together when the phone rang.

“Anacortes Music. This is Erin.”

“It’s Gary. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. It’s been one of those days.”

“I’ve had one like that myself.”

“Is the bike ride still on?” Gary asked.

“Sure is.”

“I’ll be there. Should I meet you at your place?”

“My place is good. Say about nine o’clock?” Erin said.

“In the morning?” He sounded surprised.

“Of course.”

“Do I need anything besides my bike?”

“Just your helmet,” she said.

“See you then.” Gary hung up the phone.

So Gary would be there after all. Erin touched her lips, remembering the feel of his mouth on hers, and her heart started pounding.
Was this the right thing?
She shook her head, chiding herself for making such a big deal out of a bike ride. They would have a fun day with the kids and get to know each other a little better. All she hoped for was good weather and a good night’s sleep beforehand. The last thing she wanted was to look like a zombie on Saturday.

Chapter 9

Another wakeful night left Erin more tired in the morning than before she had gone to bed, but she drank an extra cup of coffee and got the kids off to school. Only two customers came into the store that morning, and Erin sat behind the counter, fighting to keep her eyes open.

“Are you awake?” Ed was looking at her with concern.

Erin lifted her head from the counter. “I’m so sorry. I guess I kind of drifted off. What were you saying?”

“I just wanted to let you know I’m going out for a bite of lunch now.”

“Oh, no problem,” Erin said.

“Good. Are you all right? You drifted off once last week, too.”

“It’s nothing. I keep waking up at night. I’m just not getting enough sleep.”

“Hmm.” Ed was heading toward the door. “I hope it gets better. See you in a bit.”

Erin went over some of the music for her lessons that afternoon. After a while she called Hannah.

“Bakery De Oro,” Hannah answered.

“Hi, it’s Erin. Are you still up for our walk?”

“Sure am. What time?

“How about a little after one o’clock? I’ll meet you at the bakery?”

“Sounds good.”

At one o’clock Erin buttoned her coat, stuffed her hands into her pockets, and walked the three blocks into the wind to the bakery. A few dark clouds scurried across the sky. Hannah had decorated the little shop in a Mediterranean style with rich colors, grape vines and trellises painted on the walls, and creamy white pottery on decorative shelves. Three small bistro tables with two chairs each sat in a corner by the windows, where patrons could enjoy coffee and a pastry with a view of her petunia-filled pots outside.

“Hi, Erin,” Hannah said when Erin pushed the door open. She pulled a worn leather jacket over her orange T-shirt and tossed her long, single braid over her shoulder. The two women hugged each other.

“Carlos, I’m going for a walk with Erin,” she called out.

Her husband came out of the back room, wiping his hands on his apron. “Hola! Que tal, Erin?”

“Muy bien. Como esta? Do you mind if I take Hannah away for an hour?”

Carlos grinned at her. “Only one hour. Mi querida has to make a special order cake this afternoon.”

“Okay, one-hour limit. Let’s go.”

As they walked down the street toward the waterfront Hannah said, “You’ve got to tell me all about your weekend. You saw Gary again? Tell me about him.”

“He’s a nice guy. He came over Saturday night and had dinner with us.”

“That’s what Aleesha told me. It sounds like you made a good impression on him. Does he have a chance with you?” Hannah said.

Erin gave her a sidelong look. “I’m going to see him again this weekend—we’re all going for a bike ride on Orcas,” she said. “I have such mixed feelings. I have to admit I do like him, though.”

“Is there anything wrong with that?” Hannah asked.

“I feel confused. He’ll talk about William, and I’ll feel so sad, then he changes everything, and I feel, um, like all I want is for him to kiss me.”

Hannah smiled. “And has he?”

“Yeah.” With her head down Erin continued, “I told him I needed to take it slow, but he said no, I didn’t. Then he kissed me. I was so surprised—it was so sexual.”

“Carlos was very physical right from the beginning. And you know how wonderful he is.”

Erin nodded. “There’s no denying that it felt good to be kissed,” she said, but she frowned as she thought about it.

Hannah laughed. “I’m not at all surprised.”

“In fact, part of what I don’t like about it is that it felt too good. I feel disloyal.”

Hannah gave Erin a brief hug. “But you’re not. It’s okay for you to enjoy being with someone.”