Alone in the Darkness Page 17
All three of them seemed to be holding their breath as they waited for some sort of sign.
Then Jacob shuddered and fell back towards the wall. Simon caught him in an instant and lowered him down slowly, trying not to focus on the way his skin kept flashing hot and cold. Would the serum kill him?
“You’ll be okay,” Simon told Jacob again and again. He kept his voice low and calm, almost monotone. Like he was reading a script. “You’ll be okay, and in about ten minutes I’m going to be driving you home. Dr. Stanton will fix you up. You won’t remember a thing. And everything is going to be—
There was a sharp crack as Jacob’s fist swung into his nose.
Nothing weak about that one. Simon felt as the bone snapped in two, sending a river of blood trickling down his chin. He stared up in shock only to see Jacob glaring right back at him, his dark eyes burning holes in Simon’s skin.
“I will always remember. And I will never forgive you.”
SIMON LEFT JACOB ON the floor of his cell, screaming in pain as his mind tried to save itself with yet another vision of escape. He left without daring to look back. Without daring to say goodbye. His mind was fixed on one thing and one thing only...
I’ve got to get out of here.
“Simon!” Cromfield called as he hurried after him down the hall. “Simon, I’m sorry that didn’t work out the way you wanted. We’ll try again. McAllister will get the serum right, and your friend will be free to—”
“He’s not my friend,” Simon replied robotically. “He wants me dead. I deserve it. I don’t deserve to call myself his friend.” He pushed the door open. “No matter what he remembers.”
Cromfield caught the stone before it could swing shut. “You’re leaving. I can see that, and after what just happened it’s not so surprising. But the question, Simon, is this...are you ever coming back?”
Simon’s feet stopped moving as he considered the question. But for once, all of his usual rationalizations and ethical maneuvers fell along the wayside. None of them measured up. None of them could erase what he’d just seen.
Was he coming back?
“No. I’m not.”
There was nothing but silence behind him and he slowly turned around, levelling Cromfield with his eyes. For once the man wasn’t smiling, but he didn’t seem particularly upset either. More like he had been waiting for this piece of the puzzle to fall into place.
“I’ll give you two days,” Simon continued. “Leave this place. Your test subjects, your research. I don’t care what happens, take it with you. But leave Jacob behind.”
Again, Cromfield said nothing. He merely stared at Simon with that same, unshakable calm.
“So you’ve decided then,” he finally said. “You’ve made up your mind.”
Simon pulled in a sharp breath, and nodded.
Yes. He had. He was leaving this place once and for all. Nothing could stop him.
Without another word he turned around and headed up the stone stairs, back into the outside world. The light in his eyes, the darkness at his back.
THERE WAS NO HESITATION in Simon’s mind as he hopped in a cab and headed back across London. Not a single doubt as to his destination.
A weight had lifted. A door had opened. A new life was about to begin.
And he wasn’t going to waste another second to begin living it...
“Beth!”
He pounded on the door to her shared apartment with Jennifer, feeling lighter and lighter with each passing second, abruptly relieved he’d remembered to wipe away the blood.
Jacob would be set free. Cromfield would disappear. And this darkness that had been chasing him? Well, he happened to have the perfect remedy to that right here.
“Simon?”
The door pulled open and she stared at him in surprise. Just behind her, Jennifer was sitting at the dining room table. There were two mugs of tea sitting on the placemats between them, and after his initial second of excitement had passed, Simon realized they had been in the middle of some sort of deep discussion.
A second after that, he realized Beth was in tears.
“Honey,” all his pre-planned words melted instantly away as he pulled her into his arms, “what’s the matter? What’s wrong?!”
Beth just stood there. Shaking. They were the same kind of tears she’d had when he found her in the park that night. The kind that came and went at will, with her having no control over them whatsoever. For a second she shook her head, but Jennifer cleared her throat sharply behind them and she gazed up at Simon instead, with a sigh.
“Simon...I have to tell you something...”
Jennifer vanished without another word, giving them privacy, and Simon braced himself where he stood.
What else could possibly happen today? How much more could he possibly take? Had Tristan been here first? Did Beth know he was working with Cromfield? Did—
“I’m pregnant.”
...I have to be dreaming.
“Whoa—Simon!”
Beth caught him in her arms as he sank abruptly to the floor. Not in a faint, per se. More in a move to prevent a faint. To heed his buckling legs before they gave out entirely.
“Simon, are you okay? Sweetie?”
He stared up into her sparkling blue eyes. While she had just admitted that her entire world had turned abruptly upside-down, it was him she was concerned for. Her fingers stroked lightly down the sides of his face while she gazed deeply into his eyes.
Because she loved him.
Because he loved her.
“Marry me.”
It took a second for the words to hit home. When they finally did, Beth simply shook her head quickly back and forth, like she was trying to shake it back into the present. “I’m sorry...what?!”
“Marry me.”
Each time Simon said the words, he felt stronger. He pulled himself up to his feet, grabbing her hands and taking her right along with him. He was a man who examined every possible angle before making a move. A man who strategized down to the smallest detail.
But for once, he wasn’t going to follow his head.
He was going to follow his heart.
“Marry me,” he said again, “and I promise I’ll give you the life of your dreams. I will love you every second from now until forever. And you and I will raise this child together. As a family.”
Beth stared back at him as tears began to fill her eyes.
Then he sank onto one knee. “Marry me.” His lips curled up in a twinkling smile. “Beth, I’m just going to keep asking until you say yes. We’re going to be amazing; nothing or nobody will stop us. I love you. Marry me.”
A burst of laughter escaped her lips, followed by a little gasp as she pulled him back to his feet. Those eyes held him for a suspended moment—searching into his very soul—before there was a blur of raven-colored hair and she leapt into his arms. “Yes, Simon Kerrigan. I’ll marry you.”
They shared a long kiss before she pulled back to stare at him, her lovely face shining with the trails of a thousand happy tears.
She grinned, her eyes shining. “I’d marry you yesterday. I’d marry you tomorrow. Hell, I’ll marry you right now.”
A bark of euphoric laughter leapt out of him as he spun her around and around, kissing every spare inch of skin he could find. They twirled around so fast that she grabbed onto his shoulders with a little giggling shriek, holding on for dear life until he anchored them back to earth.
“That’s good to hear,” he set her down and kissed her again catching her face between both his hands, “because right now is kind of exactly what I had in mind...”
THEY PICKED UP A DRESS on the way. The flowers were from the neighborhood park. Jennifer had been swept along as a maid-of-honor and a witness if need be. Things were moving so fast that Simon realized he didn’t even have a destination past the London courthouse. It wasn’t until he turned down a familiar street that he realized he had a better alternative in mind.
“What is this
place?” Beth asked as she gazed out the window. “It’s beautiful.”
Simon took her hand as he helped her out of the car.
He wouldn’t call it beautiful. He couldn’t, anymore. Not after what he’d seen. But in a way, it was the only place that he could imagine doing something like this. Taking this kind of step.
What better place to start your new life than the resting place of the old?
“It’s called—”
“St. Stephen’s,” Jennifer finished suddenly. She shot Simon a strange look before gazing back up at the church in alarm. “You’re sure you...you want to do it here?”
Simon couldn’t see anything past Beth. Couldn’t focus his mind on anything past her beautiful, beaming face. The love of his life. The light to his darkness.
The mother of his child.
“Yes,” he murmured, gazing down into her eyes, “right here. Right now. I don’t want to wait another second.”
Without another word, the three of them headed into the sanctuary. Father Amos was there, as Simon had predicted he’d be, lighting the last of the long, taper candles.
“Father,” he called as he walked towards him, pulling Beth by the hand.
“Simon?” Amos looked up in surprise. A surprise that melted into a warm smile when he gazed down at the trio of teenagers in front of him. “What a lovely surprise. I wasn’t expecting—”
“Father, I need you to do me a favor,” Simon said seriously, his hand tightening in Beth’s as he stared intently into the priest’s eyes. “And it’s kind of a big one...”
It was like walking through a dream.
The way Beth’s dress swished back and forth as she walked slowly up the aisle. The most beautiful bride in the world, beaming both inside and out. The way the Father’s soft, melodic voice took them through the paces, murmuring words that Simon never heard and would never remember as he stared down into her eyes. The way her skin felt as he slipped on a ring—the same one she’d given him for Christmas, to be replaced later.
The way her kiss anchored him, binding him to this bright new life with a strength and love and desire he had never before imagined.
They pulled away in silence, each one staring at the other. Each one overwhelmed with the magnitude of what they’d just done.
Mr. and Mrs. Simon Kerrigan...together, for the first time.
But such happiness is never meant to last...
It wasn’t until the door burst open that either of them looked up from their trance. The smiles were still lingering on their faces as the tranquil sanctuary filled suddenly with a host of armed guards.
As they looked on in shock Philip Keene walked through the center, lifting a paper in the air with a heavy heart.
“What’s going on?” Simon asked breathlessly, clutching Beth tighter against his chest as he gazed around in shock. Father Amos crossed himself behind them as Jennifer melted noiselessly away between the ranks of guards. “Keene, what—”
“I’m sorry, Simon.”
Then he raised his hands and the scores of guards descended, ripping Simon and Beth away from each other as she was whisked away, and he was placed in chains.
“Simon Kerrigan, you’re under arrest.”
Simon fell to his knees, pushed by some unseen guard behind him.
“On what charge?!” he demanded, yelling for all his worth. From the corner of his eye, he could have sworn he saw the figure of another man standing up on the balcony. A man who melted away into the shadows with a hint of a smile. “Why are you arresting me?!”
The cars were waiting outside, and in the distance Simon could hear the sirens of more on the way. Keene looked at him sadly as he was hoisted back to his feet. Their eyes met for a split second before he shook his head and headed back for the door.
“For the murder of your parents.”
THE END
Lost in the Darkness
Lost in Darkness Blurb
THE FINAL BOOK IN THE Chronicles of Kerrigan Prequel
After over a year of living a double life, Simon Kerrigan's lies have finally caught up with him.
Framed for the death of his parents and arrested on the spot, Simon sees his world shrink down to the size of a cage. No longer can he pretend to be on one side while plotting for another, no longer can he straddle both worlds. The choice is made for him, and suddenly, Simon finds himself waging war against the very people he's sworn to protect.
With nothing left to hold him back, Simon gives in to the darkness, letting it completely consume him as he spirals farther and farther out of reach.
Is it too late to save him? Is there anything left to save?
Does he have enough humanity left inside to guide him in the battle to come?
THE ENTIRE CHRONICLES OF KERRIGAN SERIES:
THE CHRONICLES OF KERRIGAN: PREQUEL –
Christmas Before the Magic
Question the Darkness
Into the Darkness
Fight the Darkness
Alone in the Darkness
Lost the Darkness
THE CHRONICLES OF KERRIGAN
Book I - Rae of Hope is FREE!
Book Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gILAwXxx8MU
Book II - Dark Nebula
Book Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca24STi_bFM
Book III - House of Cards
Book IV - Royal Tea
Book V - Under Fire
Book VI - End in Sight
Book VII – Hidden Darkness
Book VIII – Twisted Together
Book IX – Mark of Fate
Book X – Strength & Power
Book XI – Last One Standing
Book XII – Rae of Light
THE CHRONICLES OF KERRIGAN SEQUEL
Matter of Time
Time Piece
Second Chance
Glitch in Time
Our Time
Precious Time
The Chronicles of Kerrigan: Gabriel
Living in the Past
Present for Today
Staring at the Future
Kerrigan Chronicles
Book 1 – Stopping Time
Book 2 – A Passage of Time
Book 3 – Ticking Clock
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WHEN THE KING IS MURDERED, his only daughter, Katerina, must flee for her life. She finds herself on a strange and dangerous path. Alone for the first time she’s forced to rely on her wits and the kindness of strangers, while protecting her secret at the same time.
Because she alone knows the truth. It was her brother who killed the king. And he's coming for her next.
Alone and struggling she finds herself an instant target, until a mysterious protector comes to her aid. Together, and with a collection of the most unlikely friends, the group must navigate through an enchanted world just as fantastical as it can be deadly. But time is not on their side.
With her brother’s hired assassins closing in at every turn, Katerina must unlock a secret that’s hidden deep inside her. It’s the only thing strong enough to keep the darkness at bay.
Can she find the answers she needs? Will she ever take her rightful place on the throne?
Only one thing is certain...she’s running out of time.
Hidden Secrets Saga:
Download Seventh Mark part 1 For FREE
Book Trailer:
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LIKE MOST TEENAGERS, Rouge is trying to figure out who she is and what she wants to be. With little knowledge about her past, she has questions but has never tried to find the answers. Everything changes when she befriends a strangely intoxicating family. Siblings Grace and Michael, appear to have secrets which seem connected to Rouge. Her hunch is confirmed w
hen a horrible incident occurs at an outdoor party. Rouge may be the only one who can find the answer.
An ancient journal, a Sioghra necklace and a special mark force life-altering decisions for a girl who grew up unprepared to fight for her life or others.
All secrets have a cost and Rouge's determination to find the truth can only lead to trouble...or something even more sinister.
ONLY THE BEGINNING
BE PREPARED. THERE are werewolves in this story, and they are NOT friendly.
Peace comes at a price...
Rebekah and Jamie are happy, but discontent. Sometimes, it feels like everything important has already happened, that the peace their parents fought so hard to bring them is just a strange limbo they can’t break out of. They want adventure, they want to make memories of their own. When a pair of new kids shows up at their school, it looks like they might finally have their chance.
It isn’t long before the twins open up to the mysterious new strangers. Sharing secrets they thought they’d never tell. Asking questions they never could have imagined.
When a party in the woods leads to near tragedy, they find themselves caught in the middle of a fight they never saw coming. Trapped between two sides and put to the ultimate test.
Will they choose their family? Or their future?
Rouge’s adventure may have come to an end, but the twins’ is just getting started...
NEVER LOOK BACK
THE WISE LEARN MANY things from their enemies.
My name’s Atlanta Skolar, and I’m a huntress. No, not the vampire-slaying type, or like the ever-brooding Winchester brothers from Supernatural. I live a relatively normal life—during the day at least. I go to school, have friends, and try my best to survive Uncle James’ horrendous cooking.
However, the nights in the city of Calen are not always calm. There’s a thin veil between our world and the world of monsters, the good and the bad. I'm one of the few who stands between the two. With the help of my uncle, who’s taken me in since my parents’ deaths, I spend the nights making sure the balance is maintained and that each side keeps to their respective places.