Chapter One #4
In that moment, as they were just being themselves, Michael saw it reach her soul, and he knew already that she was finding peace here.
“I mean, if you get puppies here, you know I’m not staying away. I love me some puppies. Now, if you happen to have German floofs here, I’m definitely coming. How could I stay away?”
Oh, he knew how she was when it came to those dogs. Apparently, it all started with a dog named Babylon. What she didn’t know, yet, was there would be dogs.
That was on the agenda.
“Deal,” he said. “I’ll work on it.”
That worked for her.
“Where to next?” he asked.
Considering what he’d asked, Elizabeth scanned the area in front of them. Finally, she pointed off into the distance, and down an incline.
“What’s down there?” she asked.
Oh, boy.
Of course, the curiosity would get to the best of her, or whether it was just her ability to pick up the energy of a place, he wasn’t sure.
“That’s the lake.”
She was honest.
“I feel like I need to go see it. You know, to get it out of the way,” she admitted. “I’ve heard so much about it, and I know that it’s waiting for me.”
Yeah, he understood that.
If that was what she wanted, they could do that. At least they were in the clear. Again, it was peaceful now.
Thank.
Freaking.
God.
“Absolutely, since I know curiosity killed the cat,” he admitted.
Oh, it certainly did.
Together, they began heading that way, as they traversed the path down to the water.
When they got there, Elizabeth checked it out. It was pretty big, and there were lights down there, illuminating it. All in all, it didn’t look like a scary place.
In fact, it was pretty calm.
“In the winter, apparently, it’s good for ice skating, and that hill is perfect for sledding. I don’t know if I’d skate on that water, though,” he admitted.
As they got closer, she checked it out. It was when they were about ten feet from it that Elizabeth felt it.
And it felt…off.
Immediately, her body tensed, and Michael could read a room. You didn’t work in security and not know when the person you were watching was reacting to something.
Especially her.
Immediately, he glanced over.
“What?” he asked.
Not speaking, Elizabeth scanned the area.
This was the first time she didn’t feel peace here. From the minute she pulled up, until now, it had been calm. Only, now, the hair on the back of her neck was standing up. Being this close to the water…
Yeah, she didn’t like the vibe, but she wasn’t going to sound like an idiot either.
“Nothing. I was just thinking about how people nearly died in here. How did Catherine die again?” she asked. “I know that Duncan killed her, but how?”
He shared.
“Well, he had her drawn and quartered then dumped in here in pieces.”
Yuck.
That couldn’t have been fun.
Give her a good old bullet to the melon any day to put the lights out. The last thing she wanted to do was suffer or be tortured.
Michael was to the point.
“Your body language changed. What are you feeling?” he asked, concerned.
Elizabeth was honest.
“Yeah, not a fan down here,” she admitted. “I don’t know why, but I don’t like it. It feels off to me, and when shit feels off, I know to avoid it.”
Spoken like a Marine.
They’d all said that to her more than a few times while doing protection duty. They relied on their gut instinct, and more often than not, so did she.
Scanning the horizon, he didn’t see anything off, but now, Michael was acutely aware that it was getting colder. Then, much to his surprise, he saw a mist coming across the lake.
Oh.
Fuck.
It was thick, and ominous.
That hadn’t happened since before the baby’s bones were put back with her mother. Now, it was again, and he didn’t want to stay down there.
If Elizabeth was picking something up, the woo-woo might be happening again. That he didn’t understand, simply because they’d solved everything.
Or they thought they did.
Only, now, for some reason, it appeared to begin picking up again.
And he didn’t like that.
Not.
At.
All.
It was time to abort this mission. Michael knew when to stay, and when to retreat, and this definitely felt like the latter.
“Well, then, let’s head inside the castle. I know that Graham is dying to meet my mom,” he said, wanting to get her out of there—and himself too.
At his suggestion, she patted his arm.
Honestly, leaving here was fine by her. Maybe it was the night air, or maybe it was the mist, but she had a chill—more than she had anywhere else.
And she didn’t like it.
“Works for me,” she offered.
Together, they tucked tail and got the hell out of there. As they were walking back up the incline, Michael saw something when he turned his head to look back.
Oh, and it horrified him.
Not far from where they stood along the bank, there were bubbles in the water.
Where exactly?
Well, right where they’d gone diving for Catherine’s remains. In that exact same spot, the water was churned up, and reacting.
But reacting to what?
Now, he had a problem.
Elizabeth was there, and they’d told her it was calm and that everyone had been laid to rest.
This place awas about to make a liar out of him.
Something was about to happen.
He could feel it in his bones.