Prologue
“I have nothing to do with these deaths,” I lie.
The interrogation room is dark, save it for a single naked bulb hanging above the desk. The chair is cold and metal, extremely uncomfortable. I suppose that is the idea, to make hardened criminals confess all of their sins and beg for forgiveness. The only issue is that they got it all wrong.
I am not a murderer, I’ve not killed anyone, but I am the reason why people died. Even if I don't know who killed them. But right now that doesn't matter, I just have to convince them that they got it wrong. Officers Morris and Aldo are sitting across from me, with poker faces mastered to perfection. Daniel Aldo and I used to be friends back in school, but I have no doubts about whether or not he remembers me. But Morris... Morris is the one I was worried about. I quickly learned that he'd do anything for praise and approval, and I struggled to think about anything that would get him more praise than catching the infamous Phantom Killer.
“I’ve only been here for a few weeks-“
“-which is exactly when the murders started,” Officer Morris cuts me off. “Don’t lie girl. Where have you been last night?”
Uh-oh. I cannot answer that question. Not because I don't want to, but because the answer is too impossible for anyone to believe me. Telling the truth is a sure way to receive a no-return ticket to an asylum. So I decide to stay silent, which only earns me an exasperated sigh from Morris.
"Listen, if you think-"
"That's quite enough," a deep voice cuts him off and startled both Morris and me. I knew that he was there, he must've sat in this room since before I came. After all, Sea Cove was a small town and crimes like this did not happen often. It only makes sense that a superior officer is present during the interrogation, but why out of all of them it had to be him?
“She was with me.”
He looks straight at the officers, completely ignoring me. I can’t say I am surprised. After last night I didn’t think that I’d see him again, much less that he’d help me. Yet here he is, putting his reputation on the line for me. I want to hope that he did it for me, but he made his feelings clear last night. It was duty, loyalty to my brother. Must have been.
"That's interesting, Donovan," Morris doesn't even try to keep his sarcasm hidden.
"That's enough, constable," he cuts Morris off, with that tone I loved so much, one that left no space for discussion. “I know that you have nothing to keep her,” he sounds tired, but the quick wince on the officers’ faces tells me that he was right. I knew it! I wasn't a murderer, physically I was not even near the crime scenes. However, I was there in spirit, which was not something they had any idea about or could prove in any way. I may be saved after all.
“Let her go.”
Officer Aldo gets up and makes his way to the door. Still silent, he opens it for me and nods. I get up, followed by Morris' hateful gaze.
"This is not over, you know?" he hisses to me.
"Say nothing," my saviour comes closer and grabs my elbow. "And you better get out and investigate Morris, not harass innocent people."
"She's a journalist, you know?" Aldo speaks up for the first time since they brought me in. "Imagine if she writes an article about us, how we held her and interrogated her when the real killer goes loose," a crooked smile lit up his face, making this cold man into an approachable policeman. If I was surprised about their pairing before, it was now extremely clear who the good cop was.
"I may do just that," I smile and with that, we leave the room.
Leaving the police station is like walking into an oven. The air is hot and thick, with no gusts of wind to make it bearable. The clouds are hanging low, with no sunlight coming through them. It seemed like the weather could sense the tension between us and decided to match the mood. I spent the last few weeks praying for the rain, for anything to get the heatwave to stop but now I pray for everything but. After all, if it wasn’t for the non-stop scorching summer, the lake would have never dried and I would never have gotten the visions. The visions that led us here.
I follow closely behind him, not speaking. I am still not sure what game he's playing, but I am not willing to forgive him that easily. He, the perfect gentleman, opens the door for me before getting into the driver's seat. We sit in silence for a minute or two, neither of us waiting to give up and speak.
I look outside the window, mindful of the time that was passing. Every minute I spend here was the minute away from the lake, from solving it for once and for all.
“Don’t for a second think that I’m not mad," his voice, sharp as a knife cuts the silence. His hands are clenching the steering wheel so hard, that his knuckles begin to turn white.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I sigh.
“Now’s not the time, Marissa. When you left… I saw it," I can hear the trembling of his voice, and when I look up I see the terror in his eyes. "I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”
And I feel guilty for bringing him into this, for introducing him to the darkness of my life. I have no doubts that he saw it, the monsters that haunted my dreams and every awake moment. But how can I explain to him, that I need to go back? I need to see it again because that is the only way in which I could get some answers. And after last decade of my life, filled with guilt and despair, I am desperate to know what happened.
He looks at me as if I can save him from the darkness that surrounds us, from the spells and magic, the visions. And then he moves, closing the distance between us. His lips are on mine, his hand in my hair pulling me even closer, and another cupping my face. He is whispering my name, and for a moment I let myself go. He kisses me with passion and urgency I’ve not experienced before. It’s desperate, it’s primal… it feels like I’m his life raft, the only thing that keeps him afloat. I kiss him back, no longer able to hide my feelings. He and I, we're one. I pull back and look into his eyes. We are both panting, his pale skin flushed and I can only guess that I look the same.
"We have to go back," I whisper, and his pupils dilate. For a moment he sits in silence, looking at me like he's hoping that I was joking, but I am not. With a deadly determination, he nods and starts the car.
"I really hope that you know what you're doing Mari. Because if not..."
"We end up in jail?" I put my arm on his leg and squeeze it, trying to reassure him.
"If we're lucky," he laughs, but it was not a happy sound, it is a dark, defeated laugh. "If not, we're just gonna wound up dead. Because whatever that was, the thing that killed your family, that killed those girls... That cursed all of us? That was not human. And I don't know how we can fight it."
