The sun was rising when Faith opened her eyes. Just as the morning before, she didn’t know when she had stopped hearing the creaking and had fallen asleep. Suzie’s door was closed when Faith headed for the kitchen. Everything seemed to be where it should be. She had almost finished her coffee in the kitchen when the phone rang.
Faith picked it up quickly. “Hello?”
“It’s Holtby. We’re still looking for your girl. We have no leads and haven’t found anything yet.” He was silent for a moment. “I thought you should know.”
They had found nothing.
“Thank you,” Faith said quietly.
“Of course,” Holtby said. “I’ll call if we find anything.” He hung up.
Faith set the phone down and sank into the desk chair. They had nothing to go on. It was as though Suzie had just vanished. Faith didn’t want to think about that. Neither did she want to be alone in the house after last night. She knew where she had to go this morning.
Gray Lake was still. There was no sign of the tossing waves of the night before, or of anything moving below the surface. Faith stared at the glass surface, the water too murky to see far. Another moment and she turned away. The water would remain still, at least until night came. Faith headed back along the path, not knowing what to do.
She reached the green park and sat on the same bench as before. There was no one else in the park. She stared at the stretch of grass between the two big trees until Daena sat beside her. Daena stared out at the grass too. Dark clouds had moved in, making the grass and trees much less cheerful. The trees were at opposite ends of the park, their branches reaching toward each other but not coming close to touching.
Daena looked at Faith. “Do you know what this park is called?”
“No,” Faith said.
“Destiny Park,” Daena said. She looked back out at the park. “Destiny Crass was seventeen when she went missing. She went missing the last time things happened.”
A cold feeling settled over Faith, prickling along the back of her neck. “Did they find her?”
Daena frowned, turning her gaze back to Faith. “Would we have named this park after her if we found her alive? She was never found. The lake took her.” Her eyes were distant for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice shook. “My daughter, Lily, was found. Her body was found by the lake, along with Riley’s sister, Corisa. Suzette is the youngest to go missing in Silverfield. I believe something else has happened.”
“How do you know the lake took Destiny?” Faith asked. “And what do you mean something else happened to my daughter?” What had happened to Lily and Corisa?
Daena reached up and absently touched a pendant that hung around her neck. The pendant, glass surrounded by silver, hung from a silver chain. Was that glass? There was some sort of red liquid inside. Daena let go of it.
“I saw something at the lake last night,” Faith said.
“Be careful, Faith. You’re already too involved to be safe anymore.” Daena stood and walked away.
Faith didn’t call after her. If Daena was going to tell her more, she would have. Riley walked past. Faith got up from the bench and followed him. He walked faster, not looking at her. Faith stopped, letting him go. Clearly he didn’t want to talk to her. Wind had picked up, bringing frigid rain with it. Faith headed home.
An eerie silence hung in the house. She didn’t know what made it eerier than any other silence, but it was. Faith shivered in the unnatural cold of the living room. She had so many questions, and where could she find answers? She took a blanket from the couch and sat at the desk, pulling the blanket close around her. The phone didn’t ring. Faith didn’t look at it much. She watched the rain outside the window. It slowed and stopped, the clouds parting just in time for the sun to set.
Faith didn’t move from that spot. She admitted to herself easily that she didn’t want to go to bed. Things always started happening when she went to bed. She moved to the couch, sitting in a corner by the arm. From there, she could see the kitchen and the hall. Nothing moved. The light in the kitchen was dim, barely lighting the living room and the edge of the hall.
Despite her efforts to stay awake, Faith drifted into sleep. She woke up with a shiver. Even with the blanket, the room was freezing. She opened her eyes, thinking for a moment she was in bed and had left the window open. The darkness of the hall stared back at her. The light in the kitchen had gone out. A bad feeling settled over her, the hair on her arms and the back of her neck standing up again. The darkness of the hall shifted, a shape pulling out of it.
The shape moved from the pitch black of the hall into the gloom of the living room and kitchen. It was the shape of a person, the same one Faith had seen outside Suzie’s window. Cold spiked in her veins. She stood, dropping the blanket. The shape stopped. Though Faith could see no eyes, she could feel it watching her. It took a step closer. Faith glanced at the kitchen, at the knife block next to the sink. The thing moved closer again.
Faith ran for the kitchen, seeing a blur of darkness out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t stop, grabbing a knife and turning. Something wet slammed into her, throwing her to the floor. She got to her feet quickly, holding the knife in front of her. There was nothing there. Faith looked toward the living room. Nothing. When she looked back, it was there. The person shaped thing was staring at her, she could feel it.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Who are you?” Faith asked, her breath ragged and her heart beating wildly.
It said nothing and didn’t move. Faith tried to steady her breathing and her shaking hand. Her hand had gotten sweaty on the handle of the knife. The thing came toward her again, moving fast. She still couldn’t see it clearly in the gloom. Faith thrust the knife into the darkness. It felt wet. She pulled the knife out and took a quick step back. The thing reached for Faith, but the darkness collapsed in on itself, becoming a puddle of clear water on the floor. Faith stared at the puddle, but it didn’t move.
She set the wet knife on the counter and grabbed a towel, wiping up the water. Slowly, she moved toward the hall. The darkness was somehow less dark now. She could see Suzie’s door, still shut. Nothing came out of the darkness of the hall. What had just happened? That hadn’t been a person. It had been water in the shape of a person. She needed answers, and she knew who had them. Faith pulled on her jacket and set out into the night, toward the bed and breakfast. If Riley was visiting town, that was the only place for him to stay.
Faith was relieved to see the lights on. A woman sat behind the counter inside the warm house. She smiled sleepily when Faith approached the counter. In the light and seeing another person, what had happened at the house felt like a bad dream. Faith pushed that from mind. She had not imagined what happened. The downstairs of the bed and breakfast was empty other than Faith and the woman. There hadn’t been any cars outside.
“Is Riley Gault staying here?” Faith asked.
“No,” the woman said. “I imagine he’s at his house.” She stared at Faith as though she were strange.
Faith felt a bit strange at the moment. “Can you tell me where that is? I need to talk to him.”
The woman frowned, then she sighed. “Alright. She wrote it on a piece of paper and slid it across the counter. Here you go, Mrs. Corwell. Have a nice night.”
Faith hadn’t expected that. She had never met this woman before, as far as she knew. It didn’t matter now. Faith took the paper, thanked the woman, then went back out into the cold night air. She knew where the street written on the paper was. Silverfield was small. It didn’t take her long to find the small house. The wooden shingles were hanging off in places, and the yard was overgrown. Overall, it looked like no one had lived there in a long time. An old car sat in the driveway.
Faith hesitated, then approached the front door. Hopefully this was the right place. She knocked. The door opened a moment later and Riley looked out. He looked a bit confused, but then he seemed to recognize her.
“I won’t tell you more,” Riley said.
What hope Faith had rushed out of her. “Something was in my house. It was in the shape of a person, but I don’t think it was a person. I…I stabbed it and it became a puddle of water.” It didn’t sound at all believable.
Riley frowned. “Come inside.”
Did he believe her? He let her in, closing and locking the door behind her. The only furniture in the room was a table with one chair. Another chair sat in the corner, covered in dust. A lit candle flickered on the table. There were folders, books, and papers on and around the table. A coat hung over the back of the chair. Riley took the chair from the corner and set it by the table. He used his coat to wipe the dust off, then they both sat at the table.
“What you saw was a messenger,” Riley said.
“A messenger of what?” Faith asked. She had to keep an open mind, though it wouldn’t be hard after what she’d seen.
“The thing you saw in the lake is Ninivus, a being that’s been sleeping there,” Riley said. “He’s not awake yet, but he’s waking up. He sent the messenger after you. You’re too involved for me keeping you out of this to keep you safe.” He seemed to prepare himself. “I and a few others have been tracking other beings like Ninivus, as well as Ninivus himself. Others are waking up, but it’s not like it was before. We’ve tried to put them back to sleep, but we can’t. I don’t know how Ninivus was put to sleep before.” He dug a map out from under other papers and folders. “I’ve circled places where we’ve found others like Ninivus.”
Faith leaned closer to look at the map. Silverfield was circled, as well as several other towns and cities near lakes or the sea. Gull Bay had a bigger circle than the rest.
“Gull Bay?” Faith asked.
Riley seemed reluctant to say something. “Collin was working with us. He knew something was happening out there and he went alone. We couldn’t find him.”
Faith’s heart clenched. Out of everything, this was the most difficult to accept. “How long was he working with you?”
Collin had never said anything about this.
Riley frowned. “I think it best I not say. I’m sure he had his reasons for not telling you.” He hesitated. “There’s nothing to be done about it now. Last time Ninivus started to wake up, Destiny Crass went missing.”
“Daena mentioned that,” Faith said. “She said something else has happened to my daughter.”
Riley nodded. “It’s possible. I still think the lake took her, but things are different this time.”
“Is Daena working with you?” Faith asked.
“No,” Riley said. “I don’t know how much she knows. I wasn’t sure if she knew anything about this. Her daughter, Lily, may have had to do with things stopping the last time.” He looked away. “My sister may have been helping her. Lily and Corisa were found by the lake, and things stopped happening after that.” He looked at his piles of notes and folders. “I want to know why.”
Faith didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t doubt Ninivus had to do with their deaths.” Riley stared at Faith for a long moment. “We’ll do what we can to find Suzette and stop Ninivus from waking up.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Faith asked.
Riley seemed lost in thought for a moment. “Not yet, but maybe soon. I know you want to help.” He stood and put on his dusty coat. “I’ll take you home, but be careful, and stay away from the lake. I don’t know when or if Ninivus will send another messenger.”