An Inner Darkness Book 5 Bay City paranormal

readily agreed that Bo’s plan was for the best. To Sam’s relief, Lee decided to go downstairs with the rest of the crew. Adrian was as well protected as humanly possible, and in spite of his strained relationship with Lee, the child would never get over it if Lee was harmed. He would blame himself, and the guilt would swallow him whole.
    Back in Adrian’s room, Sam found Bo seated at the desk, out of the camera’s line of sight. The overhead light was off, and Bo had switched on a nightlight. He looked up as Sam entered. Rising, he went to stand beside the bed, where Adrian lay staring at the ceiling. “Sam’s going to sit with you for a little bit, son. I’ll be right outside, watching the camera displays on the laptop.”
    Adrian’s eyes cut toward his father. “So we’re starting now?”
“Yes.” Leaning down, Bo kissed his son’s forehead. “Just relax, and let your thoughts flow like they usually do.”
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Ally Blue
    Nodding, Adrian shut his eyes. Bo straightened up and met Sam at the door. His hand closed around Sam’s wrist, clutching hard enough to hurt. He didn’t say anything, but the fear in his eyes spoke for itself.

    Sam dipped his head to plant a light kiss on Bo’s mouth. “It’ll be okay,” he whispered. “I love you.”

    Bo’s lips curved into the slightest of smiles. Letting go of Sam’s wrist, he strode out into the hall, leaving Sam alone with Adrian and the possibilities of what he could do.
    After a few minutes of fidgeting, Adrian sat up with a sigh, rubbing his eyes. “This sucks. I can’t get comfortable.”
“That’s okay. You don’t really need to be comfortable for this part.”
“Dad said I had to relax.”
“I know. But only enough to kind of let your thoughts and emotions go. We don’t want you going to sleep just yet.”
The boy leveled a mulish glare at Sam. “I wasn’t going to.”
“I’m sure you weren’t.” Leaning forward, Sam rested his elbows on his knees.
    “Listen, why don’t you try some of those breathing exercises I showed you? That should relax you enough to let you stop trying so hard and just let it happen. Okay?” Adrian looked skeptical, but didn’t argue. Plopping backward onto his pillow, he shut his eyes and began the slow, rhythmic breathing Sam had taught him. Within a couple of minutes, the furrows smoothed from Adrian’s brow. Not long after that, his fingers began to pick at the quilted comforter.
    With a quick glance toward the desk to make sure he wasn’t blocking the camera, Sam slid to the edge of his chair, his gaze fixed on Adrian. The child’s nose wrinkled.
    One small fist bunched the material of his pajamas. He seemed to be almost in a trance.
An angry trance, Sam amended, watching the boy’s top lip curl in an unconscious sneer.
He wondered what Adrian was thinking about.
    Something flickered at the edge of Sam’s vision. He whipped his head around. Amid the shadows of the open closet, a deeper darkness swirled and vanished before Sam could determine its shape.
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An Inner Darkness
    Sam stared into the clutter of books, toys and clothes. Nothing moved. Cautiously, he let his mind ease open. The fracture he’d noticed before remained unchanged, though it was easier for him to pick it out this time. He took a slow, deep breath, then another, allowing his senses to expand. Tendrils of his thought sifted through the normal energy of the house, searching for whatever might lie beneath.
    A cold alien presence brushed Sam’s aura like icy fingers. Startled, he grasped at it with his mind. It slipped away from him and was gone as swiftly as it had appeared.
Heart hammering, Sam leaned back in his chair. He felt dirty, as if the thing which had just slithered through his consciousness had left an oily residue behind. He had no idea what to do now. Should he tell Bo what he’d felt? Should they cut their test short?
    Or was he letting his past experiences with the portals skew his objectivity?

    As if in answer to his question, darkness coalesced into a near-solid mass in the depths of Adrian’s closet. Something shifted and clattered to the floor.
    Adrian shot to a sitting position, breathing hard. “What was that?” The boy’s voice shook.
“I don’t know.” Jumping up, Sam flipped the switch to turn on the overhead light.
Was it his imagination, or did the churning blackness linger for a moment before fading in the brightness? “Did you see