Eldren: The Book of the Dark by William Meikle Page A

immediately regretted it as her face seemed to fall into itself and heavy tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.
    “It’s just not fair,” she said for the second time in five minutes. “A wee laddie like that. And he was such a smart boy.”
    She didn’t quite succeed in keeping the tremor out of her voice.
    “You don’t think any of the rest of them would do it deliberately do you?”
    She went straight on, not waiting for an answer.
    “I mean, Tony Dickie wouldn’t do anything bad, he’s a harmless soul. A bit morbid maybe, but a lot of kids are like that.”
    Brian interrupted her, desperately trying to get the subject away from Ian’s death. As he spoke he put the cigarette packet back in his pocket...having them on the table was just too much temptation and he didn’t want to do anything that might drive her away from him.
    “How do you mean morbid? He’s been in my class for Elementary Biology, but I’ve never really noticed him much. He doesn’t ask many questions and keeps himself to himself a lot. I had him pegged for one of the middle orders...you know…bright but with no great drive to learn.”
    At first he didn’t think she would answer. She searched the brandy glass as if it held the answer to all life’s great mysteries.
    When she did start talking her voice was a dull monotone and for the first time Brian wondered if she was in shock. He was about to offer to take her home, but something in her words gripped him and made him pay attention.
    “Oh, things like asking about ghosts and whether dead people could come back to life. I had his class for religious education the other day, and all they could talk about was ghosts and ghouls.”
    Brian’s drinking arm stopped before it got his glass to his mouth but Margaret didn’t notice...she was lost in remembering.
    “I think a couple of them had been playing with an ouija board and they’d had the usual experience, you know the kind of thing…a few bits of possible information mixed in with stuff about your dear departed granny or some such.”
    She paused, and in doing so seemed to really notice her brandy glass for the first time. Leaning forward, she lifted her glass, and just at the same moment Brian gave in to an urge he’d been harboring for a few minutes, bent forward and brushed his lips softly across her cheek.
    She sat up straight, not exactly shocked but almost spilling her drink.
    “What was that for?”
    Brian could feel the red heat of a blush move up from under his collar. He didn’t know why he had given in to the impulse...it wasn’t his usual style...but it had felt right at the time and he wasn’t about to apologize at this stage. Besides...she hadn’t rushed out of the room screaming, had she? Not yet anyway. He decided to brazen it out.
    “Oh, I just felt like it. Anyway, to change the subject quickly. What about that drink I invited you out for?”
    He held a hand up as if to fend off her expected protests. He felt callous, but a part of him realized that he might never get up the courage again if he didn’t at least try now. He pressed on.
    “I know we’re having a drink just now, but this isn’t the best time for either of us to enjoy ourselves. Seeing as how we’ve been told to stay off work, we might as well make the most of it, so how about seeing me tomorrow night?”
    She looked hesitant, but didn’t turn him down straight away, so Brian pressed on.
    “Come on, Margaret, it won’t hurt. I’ll take you down the coast in my old banger; we’ll go to the pictures, then for a meal somewhere and watch the sunset from the top of a hill. I’ll promise not to make a pass at you until at least ten o’clock. How does that sound?”
    This time he did get a laugh, along with a peck on the cheek, and an address to pick her up at, at seven. She drained her glass quickly, almost choking as the liquor went down.
    “I’ve got to go. See you tomorrow,” she said.
    Brian sat, bemused, as she picked up her