In Shadows by Chandler McGrew Page B

there in her own. What terrible wedge had driven them apart? She’d been over their last night together so many times that she wondered if she even remembered it correctly any longer. There was just no reason for him to suddenly wake up and insist that he was leaving. But that was what had happened.
    The toilet flushed, and the bathroom door rattled as Pierce headed for his bedroom. She heard him digging for his pajamas, and she strolled over to the bedroom door. Hewas standing beside the bed in his briefs, neatly folding each item of clothing before setting it on the bedside table. Then he slipped on his pjs and tucked himself in. She waited until he’d signed his prayers, then took his hands.
    Nothing bad’s here
, she signed.
And nothing bad’s going to happen to you. Not ever again.
    He nodded slowly.
    Good night
, she signed, holding one hand against her cheek.
    Love you
, he signed back, smiling.
    You, too.
    She left the door open a crack and flipped off the light.
    As she climbed the stairs she noticed that the moon had disappeared behind the clouds, making the night dark as pitch, and the window was covered with a thin mist.
    Pierce could still feel the residual touch of his mother’s fingers in his palms.
    Nothing bad’s here. And nothing bad’s going to happen to you. Not ever again.
    But as much as he knew that she loved him and would die to protect him, he wasn’t sure what she could do. He lay stiffly beneath the covers, sensing the dark presence on the other side of his window.
    But instead of just quivering in fear, he let his mind roam, trying to understand what it was that stared through the window, and what it wanted. Once again he discovered tangled almost-thoughts that made no sense, and then something beyond
thoughts
, almost like something he
could
understand.
    Suddenly he experienced the all-too-familiar and terrible feeling of being alone in some darkness where there were no smells, no vibrations, no tastes, just a horrible empty void. And then into that emptiness came the same presence thathovered outside his window. He could feel it reaching out for him, testing him in some way that he couldn’t quite understand. It wanted something from him, and he knew that it would kill to get it. But he didn’t know what it was that the thing needed. And he knew that there was no way his mother or anyone else could protect him.
    It was up to him to protect them.
    And suddenly he felt very small and alone.

FTER BREAKFAST , Pam asked what he and Cramer had planned, and Jake shrugged. “Why not run into Arcos and say hello to Mandi? Her office is right downtown.”
    Jake shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
    “She missed you, Jake.”
    He hadn’t gotten that feeling last night. More than likely she hated his guts and just covered it real well. It was probably better that way.
    “You just gonna hide out here all the time?”
    “I’m not hiding just because I don’t want to pester an old girlfriend.”
    “I thought you two were a little more than that.”
    Jake frowned, but she was right. He and Mandi had been a lot more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. He wasn’t surewhat to call it, but soul mates had always sounded too feeble to explain what they’d shared.
    “What did I say that finally caused you to cave and come back?” Pam asked, surprising Jake by bringing up the subject in front of Cramer. And Cramer seemed to be enjoying the conversation
far
too much this time to let something like simple etiquette force him to leave.
    “Respect for Albert,” he muttered.
    “I can appreciate that,” she said, letting him know with her eyes that she knew there was more to it than that. “I really am glad you came.”
    “You aren’t acting like it.”
    “How do you want me to act?” she asked, setting a pan in the drainer.
    “I don’t know why I said that. I’m sorry.”
    “Are you gonna visit his grave?”
    “I guess I should. Is he in the family