Chapter Eight

 

"You sure you're all right?"

Heck no. Dakota nodded. "Yeah, like you said, I need to be strong."

Leathan frowned. "Nobody's that strong, lass. You've been to hell and back. I think we're all in agreement. You're allowed to vent, scream, whatever you need to do."

They sat in the living room. All concerned about her. But no matter where she went in this house…there was the vampire. There was no getting away from this thing. It wanted her. And, without doubt, it'd get her in the end. She looked into Leathan's concerned eyes. “Normalcy. Any normalcy right now please. Can we all just get wood and not talk about what happened downstairs anymore?"

Everyone eyeballed her, unconvinced.

"Please," she whispered.

Leathan watched her a few more moments before nodding. "Aye, let's get wood."

Thank God. A few minutes later, as Dakota propped the fourth piece of wood into her arms and headed through the cellar and up the stairs she felt like both a fool and a victim. A fool because of what she'd done in the basement with Leathan. The timing couldn't have been worse. Not that she disliked it, no, she'd flipping loved it! The man had a tongue on him. She bit her lip. She had to stop this because she was a target. What if every time she snuck a little fun with Leathan the vamp returned? What if it started going after Leathan because of her? She'd never forgive herself. Every turn in this blasted house meant she might again run into a vampire hiding in a wall. Every turn pushed her closer and closer to an ending she knew wouldn't be good.

I need to slow this thing down with Leathan.

A strange tightness squeezed her chest. He'd taken away all her worries for a few blissful moments. That's it. Not once in her life had she allowed any man to get too close. Perhaps, deep down inside she'd known that letting any guy get too close would be dangerous in more ways than one. She'd never been in love. Wasn't sure that sort of love even existed. How could it in a world full of vicious vampires?

Dakota placed her pile of wood down and headed for the bathroom.

She felt like she was in a fog.

She sat on the closed toilet seat, confused.

Numb, she stared blindly at the light brown carpet. A strong throb remained between her thighs. An overwhelming sense of misplacement ruled her thoughts. As if she didn't belong here. None of this truly existed. How could she possibly feel so confused and lost right now?

The memory of Leathan touching her breast resurfaced and Dakota ran her hand where his had been. She felt his tongue on her stomach and lower so put her hand there. Closing her eyes, she almost cried. Why, when it had only happened moments ago, did the memory come to her in bits and pieces?

A deep throb rocked her lower half and she leaned forward, arms over her midriff. Breathing deeply she closed her eyes and started to count from one hundred to one, as she had when she was a little girl.

Suddenly it hovered over her, the vampire who killed her sister, only now she was older. It leaned down, sniffed her, breathed her, and then leaned back. "I'll have you in the end."

Dakota looked away, anything to avoid its lecherous gaze. "Never."

Then horrible laughter echoed as the memory melted back into her past.

A knock on the door. "Dakota, are you okay?"

"Yeah, be right there." Standing, she walked to the sink, turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her face. When Dakota looked in the mirror she barely recognized herself. Not drawn and horrid as she might have thought but…fresh, younger than she'd looked in years. She ran her palm over her face and took five deep breaths.

"True hell is only as deep as you allow it," she said to her reflection. It was the same thing she'd been saying since childhood.

Another knock. "Dakota?"

She opened the door. "I'm all right."

Andrea, face etched with concern, looked past her before meeting her eyes. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"We've got all the wood we need and everything else. Leathan suggested it was time to take a lunch break."

That sounded good. Anything to get away from all she'd experienced in the cellar. Even as she followed Andrea to the kitchen, the sensations Leathan had provoked remained. He was different, better somehow. There was no denying she desired him more than any other man she had met. Every touch of his hand, mouth, tongue, had left a tingling trail on her skin that continued to sizzle and arouse.

When she entered the kitchen and his eyes found hers, Dakota's legs let go. Luckily a counter stayed her. His face, eyes, lips, body, everything, made her body inflame instantly. Hands firmly on the counter, she studied her short, unpainted fingernails. This was real. He was real life.

And he was human.

"Lunch will be different, but tasty," Devin declared.

"Without a doubt." Leathan smiled. But when he did, it was at her…for her.

Dakota stared back. Through his gaze she found strength. Not lust, as she would have expected, but simple strength. What was it about him that cut to her core? Yes, he was easy on the eyes, but it was so much more. It almost felt as though he'd been in the bathroom with her, had watched her count while sitting on the toilet.

Then again, hadn't he somewhat, though briefly, explained that downstairs when he'd held her in his arms and tried to sooth her. Eyes still locked with his, she thought of what he'd said. "I possess a gift, ability, to understand things about people and objects that most can't. I suppose you could call it a psychic ability."

"What does that mean, exactly?" she'd asked.

"All right. For example, when I first walked into this house, I could sense who had lived here before, what hung on the walls."

She had felt caught off guard, confused. "So you saw everything we see now beforehand?"

"Regrettably, no. But I saw the house go through a period of decay, then repair. No, in this case, this house has gone far beyond anything I envisioned."

Though she knew he'd done it to distract her from the vampire, she'd been grateful for his honesty. Without doubt, it'd taken her mind off the beast for a split moment. Dakota had no time to continue the conversation before everyone had entered their little corner of the basement. Now she and Leathan stood staring at one another, ten times closer than she would have ever imagined they'd be.

"Though not your modern breakfast nook, Dakota, this table is quaint. I kind of like it," Devin said.

Dragging her gaze from Leathan's, she eyed the aforementioned table. Round and somewhat small, its maple base was thick and well made. "Will we all fit?"

"Oh sure." Andrea pulled a tea kettle off the woodstove when it whistled. "Elbow to elbow."

Seth arranged five chairs around the table, plunked down in one, roamed the room with his twinkling blue eyes, and grinned. "We're on a grand adventure this time, eh?"

Dakota couldn't help but smile. Despite everything, if she had to go through something so horrifying and baffling, she couldn't have chosen a better group to do it with. They remained optimistic and encouraging through every last bit of oddity thrown their way. As she watched them, for the first time in her life, Dakota officially sent out a prayer to…God. Let them survive this. If it meant her not making it, so be it.

"Come, sit." Leathan crossed and took her hand. As he led her to the table it occurred to her, not for the first time, how little she really knew about him. A lot could be gleaned from his previous action, reactions. But what of the life he'd led up to this point?

"Tea time folks," Andrea said with a smirk and set five mugs on the table. "About all I could figure out to serve other than water or alcohol."

Devin chuckled. "Aye lassie, save the alcohol for later I say."

Wind gusted against the house and Seth cocked a brow at the window. "No doubt we'll need some."

Dakota sat down. Not a big drinker save a glass of wine on occasion, she found their conversation amusing. "You guys always travel with liquor?"

"You do know I'm from Ireland, aye?" Devin pointed a wide spoon at Leathan. "And he's from Scotland."

Everyone chuckled.

Andrea sat and smiled. "Usually we don't bring alcohol on investigations but when traveling overseas, it's best to be prepared for all eventualities. Good call this time."

Seated, tea in hand, they leaned back when Devin placed a steaming hot pan on a fabric trivet in the center of the table. They leaned forward in unison and sniffed with pleasure.

With a smile, she closed her eyes. "Apples, cinnamon, some sort of nut."

"Walnuts." Devin set plates in front of them followed by a small container of churned butter.

"You’re a wizard to the bone to have created whatever this is," Seth declared.

"Wizard? Not quite, but close." Devin grinned and sat down.

"What is this? How did you…" Dakota stared at the pan full of something un-definable.

"Made it up as I went along," Devin provided. "It should, with any luck, taste like apple nut spice bread."

"Apple nut spice bread? Never heard of it," Dakota said.

"Most recipes he comes up with no one's heard of." Andrea licked her lips. "But not once have we complained!"

"Nope." Leathan gave Devin a brief, affectionate pat on the shoulder. "He's a true talent when it comes to cooking and baking."

Devin nodded. "Yep, must be the Irish in me."

"That's your excuse for everything you do."

Andrea laughed. "Lucky for you, it's an endearing quality."

Dakota loved how they bantered. She couldn’t recall if that had ever existed with her family. The memory of a five-year-old didn't go far.

Devin dished thick wedges of steaming hot bread onto their plates. Surprisingly hungry, she padded a scoop of butter and smeared it over her slice. It melted into the thick baked batter. Knowing the bread would never hold up if she lifted it, she spooned a big chunk into her mouth. Heaven! She closed her eyes and relished its sweet, crunchy taste. "Mmm."

Opening her eyes, she found everyone staring at her.

"What?" Dakota licked her lips. "It's really good!"

The men seemed a little too entranced. Andrea shook her head and said, "We can tell!"

Her eyes shot to Seth first, shocked.

He held up his hands in defeat and laughed. "Hey, not interested but human."

"You're human?" Andrea countered.

"Barely." Devin winked at Dakota before saying, "Thank you. If you'd like to take another bite I know I wouldn't be offended by a second opinion."

"I agree." Leathan surprised her when he offered a mouthful from his plate.

Without hesitation she leaned forward and took another scrumptious mouthful of bread. This time she didn't close her eyes, but kept fixed to his dark chocolate gaze. Somehow, the bread tasted like him. Spicy. Hot. Close. Dependable.

Involuntarily, her eyes drifted shut. When she opened them he was pulling away the spoon. She felt odd, off. As though for a split second, her world had existed somewhere else. Reality seemed to have gone from too sharp to barely normal.

Everyone resumed eating; all equally thrilled with Devin's baking skills. For the first time in a while, hunger kept her busy, not worrying.

"This bread tastes wonderful. You really outdid yourself, considering what you had to work with." Andrea praised. "How'd you make this?"

"All in this place," Devin said. "Lots of ingredients."

"Shady." Seth chewed thoughtfully, and said, "So we're eating eighty-year-old food, maybe ninety years." Despite a mouth full of food, he still managed to shoot them a becoming grin. "Nothing like ancient food to get your blood rushing."

Dakota's mind suddenly went in another direction. The room seemed to shift. Her reality felt as though it warped. A strange otherworldly sensation settled over her. Something about Seth sitting across from her, saying what he had, enraged her completely.

Dakota barely recognized her own voice as she leveled a furious glare his way. "Screw you."

Seth stopped chewing and sat back.

"What?" She stood. "Isn't your blood rushing now?"

For once she felt whole. Seth was a jerk. Clear as day. "Move."

Leathan shifted, and she left the table. She turned back, eyed them all before her gaze once more settled on Seth. "You screw with my family, you screw with me, leave them alone."

Turning, Dakota knew where she needed to be. The minute she hit the hallway, she started to sprint. Two stairs at a time she didn't slow until Seth caught up and stopped her. His arms came around her and pulled her back. He held her kicking form away enough to protect himself. "What's your problem?"

"No!" she screamed and tried to gain her footing. "Let me go."

"No." He turned and pushed her shoulders against the wall.

Terrified, eyes so round and dry she could barely see, she pushed against him. "Evil."

"Me?" Seth held her tight. "Are you sure?"

Somehow, through her distress, she saw Leathan, Devin, and Andrea.

"Tell him to let me go!" she cried.

"Can't do it." Leathan leaned against the wall beside her.

"Yes you can!"

"No, he can't." Andrea fell on her other side.

She desperately wanted to kick, hurt, flail, and cause Seth pain. But she couldn't.

Dakota covered her face with her hands. He needed to die. Cease to exist. Evil. If they only looked closer they'd see the fangs. The want.

Everything shimmered and warped. Strong hands grabbed her arms and dragged her forward. "Open your eyes. Look at my fangs, see them."

See them? She saw them every day in her mind. No. She shook her head.

He shook her, the vampire. "I will have you. Mine." But that's not what Seth said at all. No, he'd said, "Open your eyes. Look at me, now!"

Caught tight in strong hands, Dakota opened her eyes. At long last, ready to face the monster.

"Do you know me?"

As she stared at Seth, a slow sort of peace filled her and drove back the darkness. Did she know him? Yes. Through all the panic and anxiety, Seth came through. She did know him. He wasn't the vampire from her past.

"How did you do that?" she whispered, petrified yet wanting to stay within his grasp until the end. He had made it go away.

He clenched and unclenched his grip on her upper arm. "I didn't do anything."

"But you did," she whispered.

"You," she said as a tear trickled down her cheek, "just fought off my worst fears because you could fight them…it. You can fight death. What are you? Who are you?"

Seth seemed to struggle internally, pulled back. "I'm a friend. And I did nothing. You pulled yourself free."

Their eyes held. At last, his clear gaze didn't reflect her previous pain, her past. His were the eyes of a mortal man. Innocent, curious, very strong and extremely determined.

Embarrassment flooded her.

"I'm so sorry for freaking out. You must think I'm entirely nuts. It's just…I'm facing things in this house that I've long since buried, as you know. And somehow, you triggered old memories," she said. "You became a vampire."

Holding her arms a fraction longer, he squeezed, then released. "It's okay. It was pretty clear to all of us you weren't quite seeing me correctly. But always remember, Dakota, I'm on your side. If I trigger another memory for you, I'll react the same way and help get you through it."

Appreciative beyond words, she offered a small smile and nodded. "Thank you, Seth, really."

Feeling considerably more comfortable with him, she gave Seth a heartfelt hug.

When Leathan cleared his throat she pulled away. Arching a brow at him, she said, "Dry throat?"

He grinned. "Just a tickle, minor irritation."

It was impossible not to return his grin. Though she should be scared shitless, somehow the bizarre experience with Seth had helped her release her past a small fraction more. These ghost hunters, mortal men all, possessed rare gifts. They might be going up against the Devil himself, yet she sensed they’d put up a hell of a fight.

And so would she.

"Come on," she said to everyone. "I feel like facing my fears and have a strange feeling we might find something upstairs."

Why, she had no clue. Just a strong suspicion.

Not waiting for a response, Dakota headed up the attic stairs. For the first time, she felt ready to return to her former prison. When the tiger striped kitten, Charcoal, zoomed past, Dakota sniggered. He was a little hellion. Reaching the attic, she strode with determination to the center of the room, crossed her arms over her chest, and looked around. If her hunch was right and someone were to hide something up here, where would they do so? C3, the calico kitten, rubbed against her leg and meowed.

Everyone else arrived upstairs.

"I need to tell you guys something." Devin ran his hand along one of the wooden beams.

Dakota listened in astonishment as he recounted what he had heard emit from his computer speakers earlier. A voice had told him that something was up here? Or had at least implied such.

Leathan frowned at Devin. "What the hell were you doing on the computer when you were supposed to be looking for wood?"

"Hey, it struck me a one man task so I left Seth to it and reviewed your notes on this place." Devin narrowed his eyes. "All of your notes."

Dark eyes contemptuous, Leathan stalked his way. "Pretty ballsy, Devin." He stopped within a foot. "You think I'm trying to hide something from you?"

"I know you are."

Leathan stood taller, fists clenched, jaw locked. "You arrogant little bastard."

"All right." Andrea stepped between them, faced Leathan. "Enough. You two have it out later. Right now we've got a storm bearing down on us and who knows how much time to find what we're looking for. Everyone needs to remember what we're here to do. Investigate."

Dakota crouched and patted C3. She ran her eyes along the floorboards. Could one of them be loose, hiding something? As everyone began to search, she started to study each and every board. Nothing looked irregular. Leathan appeared to have the same idea as her or simply wanted an excuse to talk because he fell in beside her, studying the boards.

"You doing okay?" he asked.

"Seems as if you have to ask me that a lot." Rubbing her lips together, she nodded. "Yeah. In fact, I'm doing better than I have in a while. I guess in that Seth reminds me so much of the vampire I feel haunts me, he's kind of a porthole to my past. A protective porthole."

"I saw that. Glad you two seemed to be able to get through it together."

Leaning over, she examined what she thought was a loose floor board. "Not jealous, are you?"

He stopped as well. "Not in the least."

Standing, she met his eyes. They gave away nothing. She wanted them to. "I wouldn't mind you know."

They continued walking, floorboard by floorboard. "Mind what?"

"If you were a little jealous."

Before he could respond, Charcoal darted across her path and tripped her. Leathan had no time to save her before Dakota fell to her knees. To make matters worse, as she went to slam her palms down to prevent totally crashing to the floor, C3 darted where she would've put her right palm. Not wanting to crush the cat, she arched sideways and landed on her side before rolling onto her back.

Everyone ran over and stared down at her, a semi-circle of faces that displayed both concern and a hint of amusement. To add to the visual, C3 walked onto her chest, plunked down and stared at Dakota, the little spotted face curious. Damn. If nothing else, this group was certainly seeing her at her most vulnerable moments.

"Are you all right?" Andrea asked.

"I'm good, thanks. Maybe a little embarrassed," Dakota admitted with a sheepish grin.

That's all it took. They started to laugh. Leathan had the nerve to grab his stomach he laughed so hard. As much as her pride felt bruised, she couldn't help but chuckle as well. It felt good. When Charcoal landed on her hand with a mad growl and sank his double claws into her hand she yelped. "Ouch!"

Sitting up, she pulled her hand away. When she did, Charcoal landed where her hand had been. He sat down, looked up, and meowed his innocence, tail whipping back and forth. Though she wouldn't have believed it, her hand was unmarred. With a sigh, she petted him to let the little guy know he’d been forgiven. As she scratched under his chin, her gaze fell to the floorboard he sat upon. She carefully moved him aside. "I think we've found something."

Leathan crouched beside her and ran his hand over the barely discernible irregular floorboard. "I think you're right."

"Is there anything up here we could use to pry this loose with?" Leathan asked.

"Here." Devin pulled a small metal device out of his pocket. "Try this."

Leathan frowned at Devin in disappointment for a few seconds before he shook his head and grabbed the object. "Glad to see you're so bloody prepared. Too prepared."

Nobody said a word as Leathan carefully wedged the object into a crack beside the wood. "This should be tacked down with false nails," he muttered as he worked and pried with the device.

Dakota couldn't help but notice how gentle he was with the edges of the board. She would have thought he'd rip and tug with blatant eagerness. But no, his hands seemed to revere the old material. Pop. The wooden piece loosened. Inch by inch, he pulled it up. Skillfully designed, it was not a floorboard at all, but the top to a wooden container about one foot deep. Leathan reached into his pocket, pulled out a small flashlight and shone it inside.

At the bottom, something wrapped in red material sat alone. He lifted it out. Setting it on the floor, he carefully unfolded the faded wool material.

"Look at that," Seth said.

Dakota read the words on the brown leather covered book. "Journal One."

Wind screeched. One of the windows broke on the far side of the room. Glass shattered all over the floor. A swirl of thin snowflakes twisted in like a tornado. Tense, Dakota watched, as they all did, expecting another strange phenomenon.

Nothing happened. But it felt spooky, overwhelming.

Leathan rewrapped the journal, lowered the board into place, picked up the package and stood. "I think we should head downstairs and resume reviewing the investigation, including whatever is in this journal."

He handed her the journal. "I'll get that window covered first. The elements will damage what's up here, including your computer."

After she glanced at her expensive computer, then him, Dakota said, "No, don't, come down with us. I don't want you up here alone. It's not worth it."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Something suddenly felt very wrong about this attic.

"Then let’s get this stuff out of here." Leathan nodded at her computer. "Everyone grab what you can of her equipment. We'll bring it down with us."

What a guy.

At breakneck speed, they worked with smooth efficiency. Seth unplugged and disconnected everything. Devin grabbed the tower, and two speakers. Seth scooped up the smaller monitors. Leathan managed the large monitor with the journal. Andrea and Dakota gathered up the keyboard, wires and any extras they could find.

By the time they'd made it down to the first floor, set up her computer in the corner of the room per Leathan's request, it was late afternoon. Low hanging, dark storm clouds saturated the sky and spit a variety of sleet, freezing rain and snow. Wind whipped off the ocean and battered the house with heavy, howling gusts.

"Did you lock the attic door?" Andrea asked.

"Yes," Dakota responded and plunked down on the settee next to her. The men were in the kitchen trying to whip up something to eat. Poor Devin, his delicious bread, though partially consumed earlier, had been rudely abandoned because of her behavior, however unintended it was.

Andrea grinned. "Have to say, this experience is already worthy of one heck of a book."

A book? Sure, why not? "Do you write?"

"Here and there, nothing published yet." Andrea sighed and folded her legs beneath her. "Been busy hunting ghosts with my cousins for the past few years so everything else was put on hold."

"So you've spent a lot of time traveling?"

Andrea nodded and rested her elbows on her knees. "Yeah, a lot. And I'm grateful. Don't get me wrong. I've seen the world but─"

When she trailed off, staring at the fire, it occurred to her Andrea wasn't entirely happy. "Are you glad to be back in the States?"

"Very." Andrea smiled. "I guess I was starting to feel a little homesick."

"I can understand that." Dakota felt the need to be completely honest. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss England on occasion."

"Really? Despite all the bad memories?"

"Yes, despite. I know, seems odd."

"No, not really." Andrea shrugged. "I think, one way or another, we're all inherently attached to where we were born."

"I suppose. But truly, I feel more American than British."

"As you should, you made your life here." Andrea nodded at the computer. "In a very successful way, I'd say."

The guys returned, Devin with a tray full of food and beverages, which he set on the coffee table. Seth set down mugs and sat on one of the chairs. Leathan sat beside her while Devin sat in the other chair. If she didn't know better, Dakota would've felt like she was sitting down for a pleasant evening with close friends. When Leathan set the journal on the table, he drove home how totally abnormal everything really was.

Just about to speak, Leathan stopped when someone knocked on the front door.

No one moved.

The knock came again.

Dakota stood slowly. "I suppose I should answer that."

Leathan stood. "We both will."

Grateful, she took his offered hand, and they walked into the foyer. Who would be visiting right now? She knew no one here. A thread of fear found its way into her heart. Would she open the door and be accosted by a vampire or some other supernatural creature?

Though fearful, this house had quickly taught her that running away wasn't an option. Open the door. See who had managed to make it to the threshold of her own little personal hell. Mind made up, she placed her hand on the knob.

And opened the door.