Drake Sisters 02 - The Twilight Before Christmas

Matt muttered a string of curses and turned away from them, feeling impotent. Al of his training, his every survival skil , seemed utterly useless in the unfamiliar situation. Not wanting to look at Kate, not wanting to witness the strain and weariness on her face, he stared hard at the cranberry candle and the eerie flow of wax. He stared and stared, his heart suddenly in his throat. He took a step closer, stared down in a kind of terror. “Katie.” He whispered her name because she was his world, his talisman. Because he needed her.
    Kate put her arm around him, held him. He couldn’t take his eyes from the face in the wax, praying he was wrong. Knowing he was right. She looked down and gasped. “Danny. It’s Danny.”

Chapter
13
    My last gift now, is a special one,
    A candy cane for a special son,
    He watches and tends and knows the land,
    But not enough to evade my hand.
    MATT TOOK KATE BY THE SHOULDERS AND SET her aside. She made a grab for him, but he was already moving swiftly for the front door.
    “Danny’s at the pageant rehearsal,” Kate reminded him. She ran after him, tossing the journal onto the floor, trying to keep up with him. Hannah grabbed Kate’s coat and hurried after both of them.
    The fog obstructed Matt’s vision, but he could hear the women. “Go back, stay in the house, Kate. It’s too dangerous.” His voice was grim.
    Authoritative. It made Kate shiver. He didn’t sound at al like her Matthew.
    “I’m coming with you. Stay to the left. The path leads down the hil to the highway. If we cross right beside the three redwood trees, like we did the other night, we’l end up quite close to the shortcut to town.” Kate fol owed the sound of his voice. Hannah took her hand and held on tightly.
    “Kate, dammit, this one time, listen to me. I have to find Danny, and I don’t want to have to worry about what’s happening to you.”
    Kate wished he sounded angry, but Matt’s tone was chil ingly cold. Ice-cold. She tightened her fingers around Hannah’s hand but continued hurrying along the narrow path. “Hannah’s with me, Matthew, and you’re going to need us.” She kept her voice very calm, very even. She ached for him and shared his rising alarm for the safety of his brother. The features in the wax had definitely been Daniel Granite. She had a strong feeling of impending doom.
    Hannah pressed closer to her. “It’s going to happen tonight, Katie.” Her voice shook. “Should we try to clear the fog now?”
    Matt loomed up in front of them, startling both of them, catching Kate by the shoulders. “It has never gone after me. Only you. Go with your sisters and work your magic. Clear the fog out of town, and this time get rid of it. I’l do what I can to keep Danny alive. I’m safe, Kate.” His gray eyes had turned to steel. “I need to know you’re as safe as possible in this mess.”
    She clung to him for just one moment, then nodded. “We’l be up on the captain’s walk, where we can better bring in the wind.”
    Matt dropped a hard kiss on her upturned mouth, turned, and hurried down the narrow, wel -worn trail. His mind was racing, working out the route the actors in the pageant used. Had they noticed the fog rol ing in and taken shelter in one of the businesses along the parade route, or had they gone ahead with the rehearsal plans? Matt made it to the highway and stood listening for a moment in silence. He couldn’t hear a car, but the fog seemed capable of muffling every sound. Stil , he didn’t want to wait. He felt a terrible sense of urgency, of his brother in acute danger. He cursed as he ran, nearly blind in the fog. It was only his training that kept him from being completely disoriented. He moved more from instinct than from sight, making his way toward the town square. Most of the committee meetings were held at the chamber of commerce building near the grocery store. The players were supposed to be rehearsing, though, and he doubted whether Inez would let a heavy fog and some entity she couldn’t see change her plans.
    He heard a shril scream, the sounds of panic, and his heart stuttered. “Danny!” He cal ed his brother’s name, using the sheer volume of his voice to penetrate the cries coming out of the fog. He fol owed the sound of the voices, not toward the square, but away from it, back toward the park on the edge of town, where the river roared down through a canyon to meet the sea. The wal along the river was only about three feet