Page 104 of Marked By Shadows

“Maybe,” Alex said. “Doesn’t matter when it does what it’s supposed to, right? Scare us? Disrupt sleep which leads to more anxiety?”

“I guess?” I wasn’t ready to tell him yet that I suspected the marks that linked us to whatever paranormal, was feeding on us, especially the negative emotion part of us. Fear, anger, sadness, all those things fueled them. Of that I was certain.

I turned into the lot of the police station and let them direct me to a spot. We waited in the car as they pulled MaryAnn from the back of the squad. Her face was bloody. She hadn’t been that way when they put her in the car. Her expression was blank as they dragged her toward the door. She moved more like a rag doll than a person, the spirit seeming to have vanished from her. From being caught? Or something else.

She turned back our way for a brief second and I gasped. A dark shadow lingered over her shoulder, only a small hint of what we’d seen, but clear enough to know it was Death, that horrible monster, who stood beside her. Her eyes were blank, even with blood trailing down her face.

We got out of the car as Manning waved to us.

“Is she okay?” Alex asked him. “She didn’t look hurt like that on the beach.”

“She was banging her head against the window of the car. We’ve already called for an eval.” Manning held the door for us and we followed him into the station.

“Eval?” I whispered to Alex as we were led back to a room.

“Psych,” Alex said. I remembered she’d run through Death, the shadow version of it, and jumped into the water. Why?

“They could have shot her.”

“She’s a woman,” Alex pointed out. “Her hood had come down showing her hair, and her clothes were wet. We knew because Chad had confirmed it was MaryAnn, but seeing makes a difference. If it had been you and you’d gone running, they would have shot you, despite them knowing you weren’t the suspect. Bad training. Most cops just don’t see women as the same threat.” He was silent for a minute and I could tell he was working through something so I didn’t push. Finally he added, “I think her going through that Death thing…I think it made her suicidal. Her trip into the water, and fighting police, those were attempts. Psych evaluations don’t normally happen this fast. Not unless there’s something else going on.”

Now I had a lot to think about. Was that why Joe had been so broken? Had the Death thing killed or taken MaryAnn’s soul when she ran through it? Or did it just make her want to end it so it could take her? What would have happened if I’d hit it? For the first time since this mess started, I was happy I had actually seen it, even if it left a terrifying memory. At least I hadn’t touched it. Maybe I’d be lucky and never see it again.

Chad sat in a chair near a desk. He glanced up at us and flinched. His eyes were swollen from crying and he looked tired. “I’m so sorry,” he said. I wasn’t sure who he was talking to directly, but he looked at Alex and me. “I’m so sorry.”

We passed him and took seats in a small office. It wasn’t the sort of thing I’d expected from an interrogation room, since it had a real desk and pictures on the wall. Manning’s office, I realized after a moment. Not an interrogation room.

“I’ll be right back with you guys,” he said as he waved us to the chairs.

I took a seat and set my head on Alex’s shoulder beside me, breathing deep as exhaustion rolled over me. I really hoped this whole mess was done.

“You still want to go home after this?” Alex asked.

“Yes, please.”

He kissed my forehead, and I was grateful to not be alone.

By the time we got back to the hotel and into bed, it was after four in the morning, and I crashed like I couldn’t recall ever having done before. Alex woke me some time later with kisses and coffee. “Sorry, it’s just Starbucks,” he said. “They don’t have our normal stuff.”

I blinked at him and sat up to take the coffee, noticing the clock said it was after noon. “Fuck,” I said into the cup, which was hot, but not nearly as good as the coffee I made at home. Awake no more than five minutes, and my brain was already working at warp speed.

“You are beginning to sound like me. Cursing all the time. What would your mom say?”

I snorted. “My mom curses like a sailor, much to my father’s dismay. Did I miss anything this morning?” How long had he been up?

“Talked to Freya for a bit.”

“Oh.” A thousand things rolled through my head, ever the flowing tide. I sighed. “Did Freya know?”

“Doesn’t sound like it. Though I’ve only heard from her via text. She said she’s at the police station answering questions. Said MaryAnn has been here a lot to visit her, working on costumes and planning events over the past few years. She is pulling up a lot of records from the B&B and the group.” Alex crawled onto the bed beside me, and I scooted over until he could wrap his arms around me and we both could lean against the headboard while I nursed my coffee.

“Let me guess, those visits corresponded with missing group members?”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed. “They still aren’t sure how many. Freya mentioned she put a post-up in the group about missing members, but since it’s so large, it will be hard to locate who’s left and who vanished. Sounds like she’ll be going through the last few years of events.”

“That sucks. This is all insane. Was it some kind of obsession? I still don’t get it.” I sucked down half the cup of coffee despite the scalding heat of it. “I need more coffee.”

“Sounds like it was something like that. I’m not sure we’ll ever know all the psychology. People have odd triggers. I suspect Freya will need a good therapist. Can’t imagine how hard it must be to have someone so focused on you, they murder people just to try to keep you happy.” Alex ran his hands through my hair. “Car is packed. We can pick up more coffee on the way home. Unless you want to stay for the rest of the convention.”