The darkness surrounded Kylie the second her foot left solid earth, and she tumbled down the pit. She heard screams, tortured screams, coming from below. Or were they just inside her head? It was hard to tell. Then she was struck by a cold so intense that it almost stole her breath. She instantly knew the sounds were coming from hell. Was Holiday right? Had she spent too much time with pure evil and now she was paying the price?
And because of her, so was Perry?
Suddenly, painful little sparks hit her body from beneath her, jolts of what felt like electricity. It took two or three strikes before she realized what it meant.
Perry. Perry was shifting.
Then she slammed against ... something half-soft, half-prickly.
With a lot of feathers.
She bounced off it, flipped over, and screamed as she continued her descent, falling faster now into oblivion and going headfirst.
Huge, leathery-feeling handcuffs latched on to her right arm and yanked her upward. Her arm felt pulled out of its socket. She muttered a curse at the sharp pain.
"I got you..." Perry's voice reverberated through the hole.
It was meant to reassure her, but it didn't. What if he lost his grip on her arm? What if whatever it was that waited for them below suddenly decided to come up for a visit?
"Kylie!"
She jerked her head up to the entrance to the large sinkhole. Bright light spilled in from the opening, making it hard to see. Then she saw a body falling.
No, not just a body. It was Ellie.
"Shit!" Perry screamed, flapping his large bird wings as fast as he could. "I can't catch her. I can't."
An eerie sense of calm settled over Kylie. She reached out with her free hand just as gravity brought Ellie's body past them and latched on to the vampire's forearm. Kylie's hold was weak, though, and her palm started to slip. She tried to tighten her grip, lost it, and finally caught the girl by her wrist.
Ellie screamed and started to fight. Her eyes glowed a bright red in the darkness.
"It's me," Kylie said.
"Everyone, hang on!" Perry's voice bounced off the earthen walls of the pit.
Ellie struggled again, and Kylie pulled her closer. "I've got you."
And she did. Kylie put every ounce of thought and strength into not letting go of Ellie's wrist.
The sound of air whooshing and huge bird wings flapping filled the darkness, and in a few seconds, Perry lifted all three of them out of the hole. Once they were back in the light, he flew them about a hundred feet up the path before he descended and dropped them carefully on the solid earth.
He landed beside them, talons hitting the earth with a thud. As Kylie suspected, he'd shifted into a prehistoric-looking bird with dark gray feathers. He was about the size of a small plane. Then the rumble beneath the ground started again.
"Run!" he ordered.
He didn't have to tell them twice. Kylie and Ellie took off, flying through the woods, dodging trees, ducking under limbs, and leaping over thick bunches of thornbushes.
Kylie kept glancing up to make sure Perry was okay. He was still following them, gliding easily over the tips of the trees, making sure they were safe.
Once they were out of the trees, Kylie dropped to the ground and gasped for air, her pulse racing. She could hear her blood gushing in her veins. Ellie dropped down beside her, breathing not quite as hard, but still a little shaky.
Perry landed beside them and transformed himself back into human form.
"What the freaking hell were you doing?" he screamed at Kylie, his eyes blood red with fury.
She swallowed another gulp of air. "Trying to save you."
"I didn't need saving!" He flapped his arms up and down almost as if he'd forgotten he was no longer a bird. He turned his anger on Ellie. "And you? What the hell is your excuse?"
She coughed and then said, "I ... figured if I came back alive and you two didn't, the rest of your group would probably kill me. I didn't have a choice but to go in after you."
Suddenly Burnett, eyes in full protective mode and his fangs exposed, flashed onto the scene. "What happened?" he asked, his voice little more than a deep growl. "It sounded like an explosion."
"Earthquake, maybe," Perry said. "The ground just sank below us."
"But that's-" Burnett shook his head. "Is everyone okay?"
They all nodded. Burnett's gaze locked on Kylie. "You're bleeding. Go to the office and let Holiday check you all out." Kylie looked down at her arm. Ellie's nails must have scratched her when she caught her.
Burnett continued, "I'll check to see how bad the, uh, earthquake is." He turned to go.
"Wait!" Kylie called out, and Burnett returned in a blur of motion.
"What?" he asked, impatience clear in his voice.
"It wasn't an earthquake," she said. With clarity, she recalled seeing the eagle coming straight at her in full-scale attack mode. Now she understood his intention had been to make her run, but it didn't change the fact that it had been evil. She'd seen the darkness in his eyes. "The eagle was there."
And so was Jane Doe, although Kylie saw no reason to mention that.
At least not yet.
Burnett let loose another growl. "Go to the office. I'll see if I can get to the bottom of this."
As Kylie, Ellie, and Perry moved toward the office, Kylie looked at Ellie. "Thanks for going in to try and save us."
Ellie shrugged. "Don't give me too much credit. I really didn't know what would happen to me if I was the only one to survive." She chuckled. "Now that it's over with, that was fun."
"No, it wasn't," Kylie said, remembering how she felt when she saw Perry fall into the hole.
They took a few more steps, and Ellie's gaze, bright probably because of the blood, shot to Kylie's arm where the scratches ran down her arm, and she added, "I'm sorry. I'll bet I did that when I was fighting you. Thanks for saving me. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't caught me. I couldn't seem to get into flying mode. I owe you. You name it and I'll do it, no questions asked."
"No need. You're welcome," Kylie said.
"And what about me?" Perry asked.
Kylie and Ellie looked at Perry and spoke at the same time. "Thanks."
"Can I name it and you'll do it?" Perry wiggled his brows, his tone filled with humor once again.
"No," Ellie and Kylie said at the same time.
"I know, how about instead you two just tell Miranda how I was your hero."
"I can do that," Ellie said. "Who's Miranda?"
"My girlfriend," Perry said, and he looked at Kylie. "Well, she will be as soon as I convince her."
They took a few more steps and Ellie said, "I'm sorry I slept with Derek."
"Forget it," Kylie said, because she planned on forgetting it herself.
The next couple of hours were a blur of interrogations by Burnett, who questioned all three of them, separately, several times. Kylie realized he wasn't doing it because he thought anyone would lie about what happened. He just didn't want something one person said to influence the memory of the other. Kylie didn't care about that. What she wanted to know was what had happened. Had they really gotten sucked down into a pit that led straight to hell? If so, why? Was it because of Jane Doe? Or was this something conjured up by Mario and his pals to torment her?
More important, would it happen again?
Unfortunately, Burnett had questions of his own and no answers. Holiday was just as clueless. But the look of fear on the camp leaders' faces scared Kylie more than anything else.
The moment the interview was over and Kylie stepped out of Burnett's office, Lucas met her at the door and pulled her into another room. He didn't say a word; he just pulled her against his warm-so warm-chest and held her.
"I was running errands for Burnett." His cheek pressed against the top of her head. "I just got back."
After a good long hug, he set her back and asked, "What happened this time?"
It was the last two words that hinted at Lucas's true feelings. Kylie frowned. "You sound like you think this was all my fault."
He shook his head. "I don't think that. But damn it, I'd like to go at least a couple of days where I didn't think I almost lost you."
She smiled. "You didn't almost lose me." And then she gave him the quick version about the sinkhole opening up and their mad tumble down it.
He stared into her eyes. "Were there spirits involved?"
"No. Well, one was there, but..."
"But what?" he snapped. He shook his head and growled. "You've got to stop letting them hurt you, Kylie."
"They don't hurt me."
"Bullshit!" His blue eyes turned an anger-filled orange. "I saw part of your vision, remember? I had to stand there and feel completely helpless while those people dragged you away. Do you have any idea how that made me feel?"
Kylie knew Lucas's emotion stemmed partly from his werewolf instincts. Weres were known to have an intense need to protect those they cared about. And she liked knowing he cared about her.
But she had to make him understand that dealing with ghosts was as important to her as shifting into a wolf was to him. It was her destiny, her path.
Kylie put her hand on his chest. "The spirit didn't do this," she said. "It was probably Mario and his grandson again and their shape-shifter buddy. If anything, the spirit probably saved my life."
Okay, so she was guessing that was what had happened. But it made more sense to her than it did that Jane was somehow evil.
He inhaled. "Damn it. What's with that guy? Doesn't he know when to quit?"
"Obviously not."
Lucas pulled her against him again. "The timing of this sucks."
"What timing?" Kylie asked.
"I have to go away for a few days." He touched her face. "If it wasn't an emergency, I wouldn't go."
"What happened?" Even as she asked the question, Kylie worried he wouldn't tell her. Werewolves were also known to keep things to themselves.
"I told you about my half-sister. She was supposed to come here for school when the summer camp ended."
"Yeah?" Kylie said, thrilled he trusted her enough to share.
"Well, now my dad has her with his pack and is refusing to let her come. I'm going to have to go there and change his mind."
"I thought you didn't get along with your dad."
"I don't. But I don't have a choice. I shouldn't be gone more than a few days at most, though. I'm going to have Will keep an eye on you."
Kylie remembered Lucas introducing her to Will, another werewolf, a while back. But as with most of the weres, she hardly knew him and didn't particularly like the idea of having a stranger "keep an eye on her."
"I'll be fine," she told him. "Burnett has assigned me shadows. I don't need-"
"It'll make me feel better. Knowing one of my own kind has your back."
Kylie didn't like being reminded that Lucas trusted his own kind more than he did the others. But she had too much stuff to worry about without taking on another problem to chew on her sanity.
"When are you leaving?" she asked.
"Now. I should be back by Saturday, or Sunday at the latest." He kissed her again. The kiss went on longer than a typical good-bye kiss, and it involved a lot of passion.
When he pulled away, she heard the slight humming sound rumbling from his chest.
She grinned with a hint of warning. "You're humming again."
He arched a brow. "You bring out the wolf in me." Leaning down, he gave her another quick kiss.
Seconds after he'd left, Kylie realized he hadn't said anything about asking her out this morning.
Was he having second thoughts? Closing her eyes, she pushed that worry into the mental closet with all her other worries.
Holiday walked into the room and hugged her. "I think we need a trip to the falls, don't you? How about I set it up with Burnett and tomorrow we make it a date?"
"That would be good," Kylie said. "Really good."
The next day, Kylie and Holiday ran through the cascading water of the falls and dropped down on the rocky bank. Tiny pinpoints of water spilled over from the rush of the falls and splattered against Kylie's face. Her hair, already soaked from the walk through the sheet of water, hung around her shoulders and dripped down onto her legs.
She didn't care. The serene atmosphere seeped into her pores, and for the first time in over a week, she felt at peace. She knew this didn't mean her problems were solved. They were far from it. But for right now, for this moment in time, she felt everything in her world was going to be okay.
Burnett, unhappy about their being here, stood guard outside. He'd been extra concerned about them coming out here because of yesterday's incident. That's how they were referring to the giant hole that nearly swallowed up Perry, Kylie, and Ellie: as the "incident."
The geologist they'd called in to look at the pit was calling it a freak of nature, a sinkhole. Kylie knew better, as did most of the campers at Shadow Falls. Amazingly, the size of the hole had shrunk before the scientist arrived. Magic, bad magic, was involved. This much Kylie knew, and Miranda had confirmed it, too.
Because of the weather and the thicket of trees, the security alarm hadn't picked up on any intruders. Burnett had been over-the-top pissed about that, too. Not at anyone in particular, but at the situation in general. She'd heard him on the phone with the FRU, telling them he needed a better security system ASAP.
But since whatever happened apparently came from underground, Kylie didn't know if a system existed that would detect underground intruders.
Powerful underground intruders who, for reasons Kylie didn't understand, wanted her dead.
Kylie breathed in the serenity of the falls. Amazing. Even the thought of being on someone's hit list couldn't ruin her peaceful mood.
Leaning back on her hands, she studied Holiday, who was doing the same. "You know, we should bring all the campers up here."
Holiday opened her eyes. "I wish it was that easy."
"What do you mean?"
"You don't bring someone to the falls, Kylie. They have to be called. Remember?"
Kylie did remember and was suddenly curious. "So why does the falls call some people and not others?"
"Don't know," Holiday said. "But it's said that they call less than half of one percent of all supernaturals."
"Are all of the ones called ghost whisperers?"
"All of the ones that I know of are. There are legends of the falls that go back thousands of years. The Native Americans called it sacred grounds and decreed that only the chosen could enter."
"Burnett entered," Kylie said.
"I know, and that shocks me."
"Because you don't think he's chosen?" Kylie asked.
"No, because he can't see spirits."
"You should have seen him watching you when everyone was greeting you at dinner the other night," Kylie said, acting on impulse. "I think he loves you, Holiday."
Holiday arched a brow. "Still trying to play matchmaker, huh?"
"Maybe I'm just trying to help out a couple of friends."
"Or maybe you're concentrating on someone else's problems so you don't have to think about your own."
"Perhaps," Kylie said with a shrug, "but right now my problems don't seem very bad." She gazed at the rock ceiling, marveling at the beauty of the rock's patterns.
Holiday chuckled. "It's amazing what happens in here, isn't it?" She inhaled. "I wish I could bottle it up and keep it in my purse to take a shot of when I needed it."
"Too bad we can't live in here," Kylie said.
"Have you seen the ghost since the incident?" Holiday stretched out her feet.
Kylie nodded. "She woke me up last night. I did what you said and asked if there was another body in the casket with her."
"What did she say?"
"Nothing. But she got that look again."
"What look?" Holiday asked.
"Like I'd jogged her memory or something. Whenever that happens, she disappears on me."
"Maybe she doesn't want to remember," Holiday said. Kylie heard the implication in the camp leader's voice: that Jane Doe didn't want to remember because she'd murdered innocent children.
"I think she's scared to remember," Kylie said, "but not for the reasons you believe."
"Then why is she so scared?"
Kylie hesitated. "Maybe it's the same reason I'm scared."
Holiday glanced over at her. "What are you scared of?"
"Of discovering the truth. Discovering what I am."
"Why?" Holiday asked as if confused.
"Because it's the unknown. Because it's been kept a secret from me all this time. Because it will probably change my life forever." Kylie sat up straighter. "It's not that I don't want to know the truth. I do. I want to know it so bad I can taste it. Sometimes it's all I can think about. But I'm still scared. The day the Brightens, or the people we thought were the Brightens, came here, I was so scared my insides shook. I almost ran away. If Lucas hadn't come along, I probably would have."
Kylie swallowed hard. And that's when she decided to ask the question she'd longed to ask Holiday and hadn't had a chance to. "Have you seen any new spirits? Do you know if the elderly couple that came here that day died?"
"Their spirits haven't come to me, if that's what you're asking," Holiday answered.
Kylie bit down on her lip. "I can still remember how the old lady's hand felt on mine. For some reason, I don't think they were here to hurt me."
"Why else would they have been here, then?"
"I don't know." Kylie closed her eyes. "But just like I know that Jane Doe isn't a murderer, I kind of know that they weren't bad."
Holiday sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. "Maybe this is just your way of refusing to see the bad in people."
Kylie considered the theory for a second. Then she recalled the two times she'd seen the eagle and then the deer. She wasn't blind to evil. She could recognize it when she saw it, and it wasn't there with the faux Brightens. "Nope," she said. "That's not it."
Kylie's mind went back to Jane Doe. "Last night I remembered parts of the vision, and I recalled what the nurse told the doctor. That her husband-Jane Doe's husband-had just woken up and was asking about her."
"And you think that means something?" Holiday asked.
"Berta Littlemon was never married. And the vision makes me believe Jane Doe's husband had the same type of operation she had."
Holiday hesitated and then said, "Sometimes visions are hard to decipher."
"But all the other times I've had this type of vision, where I'm actually the person, they weren't puzzles that I had to piece together in order to figure out what they meant. They were scenes that actually took place."
"But the visions are from their perspective. And if Jane Doe is crazy, then..."
Kylie shook her head. "I don't think she's crazy. Or evil."
"I hope you're right," Holiday said.
"Me too."
They sat in silence for a long moment or two, just listening to the rush of water and the sound of calm. Kylie looked at Holiday again and felt the slightest bit of worry whisper across her mind. "What am I going to say to Sara when she comes here on Sunday?"
"You don't tell her anything, except how happy you are that she's well."
"It's going to be so weird having her here. She's from my old world, and my old world shouldn't be in my new world. It's like running into your Sunday school teacher at a kegger."
Holiday chuckled. "Or your gynecologist at the grocery store. I did that once. It was so weird." She reached over and rested her hand on Kylie's.
Normally, Holiday's touch brought nothing but calm, but not this time. This time, everything went black.
