DARK INTRUDER
DARK INTRUDER© nesciri
Part 4
"The poor boy." Rachel could not hold back the tears at the news of David's death. "I saw him in town occasionally. He was so thrilled with having that job. Who could have killed him?"
Silence followed on her last sentence. There was no one that could answer her and they were all abhorred by the news. It had been a long day for Teaspoon - a long day searching for answers that hadn't been there. Nobody had heard or seen anything. Nobody had been out during the storm and the thunder and rain had probably downed any sound. Nobody had seen the man Rosemary Burke said David had mentioned. Teaspoon had told the others of the murder before supper. Kid had immediately offered to help him in his search and Teaspoon had gratefully accepted.
"This remind me of something," he muttered as supper was over. "A few months back, one or several, killed a whole family, what was their name again? Greenwalds, that's it."
"The time when you almost got killed?" Lou asked. "Please don't remind us about that. I still get chills when I remember Noah returning with you."
"He saved my life," Teaspoon remembered and smiled softly at the remembrance of the black rider. "But what bothers me is that we never found out who the killer was."
Kid shook his head. "It's strange," he said. "I only vaguely remember that story. I can remember a few incidents before that as clearly as if they happened yesterday, but that part is somewhat dizzy. Wasn't there other murders?"
"They were not connected - or at least that what we thought then."
Lou sat in silence as a feeling of uneasiness crept through her and she edged herself closer to Kid. There was something sinister in the air, something she couldn't control. She looked up across the table and saw that Buck too was troubled. He knew something was wrong and it strengthened her feeling that there was something lurking in the shadows outside. Something awful. She turned her gaze to the window as if she expected to see a shadow or something appear outside. But the only thing she saw was the pale sunlight between the dark clouds that seemed to rush pass them on the sky. She shivered and suddenly she feared for Cody. He was out there somewhere and she had no clue to where. Out there with that - something - that managed to send chills down her spine. For a second she wished that he would burst through the door in his normal boisterous way, but the door remained closed. She snuggled closer to Kid relieved when he placed his arm around her. As long as he was there, everything would be fine, she thought, trying to dismiss the troubled look on Buck's face and the worried feeling inside herself. Don't be a child, she scolded herself, being scared of the dark. Everything is alright.
Buck tried to concentrate on supper but there was something wrong. Had he been able to put his worries into words he would have told the others, but as it was now, he wasn't even sure himself what he was feeling. A few months earlier he would have dismissed the feeling as being too imaginative, but not now. The meeting with White Feather and his introduction to the magic of his people had taught him to trust his feelings. Before that he admitted that he had not put much faith into the stories told to him as a child of spirits and obsessions. The stories were good for keeping children away from danger but nothing more. Well, he had been forced to change his mind of thinking when Camille was possessed. He knew the others would have laughed at him had he told them what had happened, so he kept it to himself. They had been confused enough when he tried to explain how he knew White Feather when the man obviously had been killed even before Camille and Ben had reached Rock Creek.
Finally he had given up and allowed them to think whatever they wanted to think. All of it had created a greater understanding and renewed faiths in his own beliefs and he felt stronger in it. Praying to the spirits was no longer done out of obligation, but out of faith. And now all of his being told him that there was something wrong - terrible wrong. It bothered him that he couldn't pinpoint it down. He could only think of one way to get guidance - he had to talk to the spirits. It still scared him to enter into the still unknown world of his believes - he had a feeling that he was treading on sacred grounds, grounds that were reserved for men of greater knowledge, shamans and medicine men, but the strong feeling of fear and trouble demanded it. And since there was no one around to guide or help him, he would have to do it on his own. As they rose from the table, he dragged Teaspoon aside.
"I need some time off," he said silently.
"What? Now? Buck, it ain't the best of times…"
"It's important, Teaspoon. I can't explain it, but there's something wrong. I need to find out what. I need," Buck hesitated, uncertain of how to explain it to Teaspoon, "to find some guidance."
"A spirit quest, eh?"
Buck nodded. "Sort of."
"Well, if you say it's important for you, I guess there's nothing I can say. How long will you be gone?"
"I ain't sure. Maybe a week."
Teaspoon looked troubled at his Indian rider before he nodded. "You got a week. When do you wanna leave?"
"Tonight."
"Tonight? Buck, that storm ain't over yet and from what I've learned about these quests it ain't something you should do easily."
"I know what I'm doing, Teaspoon. Trust me."
"That's what I'm gonna do. Can you tell me where you're gonna be, just in case there's trouble?"
Buck nodded. "Over by the Red Mesa. There's some sacred grounds there."
"Ain't that where you took Camille?"
"Yes."
"Alright, just take care, son," Teaspoon advised him. Buck immediately packed up a few things under the wondering eyes of the others. He briefly explained that he had to leave, knowing that none of them was content with his reasons. Especially Lou was upset with him leaving, but he assured them that he would be alright. He had no more than left before the door was opened again, making the others assume that Buck had changed his mind. But it was Jimmy that tiredly walked in through the door.
He nodded his greeting to them and declined Rachel's offer of warming up some supper for him. Hanging up his hat and coat by his bunk he sat down tiredly on the edge. Teaspoon brought over a chair and placed himself opposite Jimmy. He knew he wouldn't have ask Jimmy, if there was something he needed to know, then Jimmy would tell him.
"She wanted to be alone," Jimmy said silently. "The boy's death have her pretty shook up, Teaspoon."
"So I imagine. Did she say anything that might help us find out who did it?"
"No, nothing. She doesn't have a clue. I'm worried for her Teaspoon - she refused to let me stay and she's all alone out there with a murderer sneaking around."
"I'm sure she can take care of herself Jimmy," Teaspoon assured him. "Let's get some sleep and we'll see if we can't find anything tomorrow."
Rosemary was relieved when Jimmy finally left. As soon as he was out of earshot, she grabbed her coat and headed over to the stable. For a second she shuddered in the cold breeze that surrounded the yard, but determined to find Tad Brown, she quickly saddled one of the horses. A few seconds later she headed out towards Thunder Mesa where she knew Tad usually could be found. An hour later she spotted his fire and directed her horse over. Slightly out of breath from the hard ride, she slipped of the animal and stumbled towards the fire. She sank down on the ground as she reached her hands out towards the fire. Tad Brown looked at her with his dark eyes, not moving a muscle.
"Somebody killed David," she stated, waiting for his reaction. There was none.
"Tad, David's dead! You were the last one to see him. You promised to tell him what you had seen in the South!"
"I did. The lad was a very good listener."
"Did you tell him that awful story about the poles? Tad, what happened? You promised me that nothing like this would happen!"
"What I told him isn't really relevant now, is it?" Tad said coldly. "And for what I promised you, you got it. Do you remember what you asked for Rosemary? Power, the power that your late husband sought and never found. Wasn't that the reason you married him? It most certainly wasn't love. You don't know how to love."
"What are you talking about - I love Jimmy."
"Oh, the young man who shares your bed. But does he share your heart? I doubt it. You don't love him, Rosemary. I'll agree that he loves you and it flatters you. But do you love him?"
"Who - who are you?" Rosemary placed a hand protectively over her chest and throat.
"I'm the one you asked for in your dreams - the answer to your prayers. I'm here to give you what you want - the power you're craving for."
Rosemary stared at the man before him. There was something frightening about him and yet she couldn't turn away from him. He had been so right, even if she hated to admit it. She didn't love Jimmy. Nor had she loved Isiah. But he was wrong about one thing - she knew love and did love. She loved what she was fighting for and found it frustrating that she couldn't convince people or make them understand. She wanted, no needed, the power to do that. The power to change things. And if Tad Brown or whoever he was could give that to her then she would listen. So she sat there, pushing her fears aside for something war more greater. Tad Brown smiled sardonically as he saw her determined face.
"I know you were a strong woman. I want you to have something." Tad Brown reached around his neck and held up and old amulet, made of wood and ivory. Hesitantly Rosemary reached for it. It felt strange against her hand, soft, yet sharp, cold, and yet there was warmth emancipating from it. She could almost swear that she felt a soft heartbeat from it. She looked questioningly at the man opposite her.
"Do you have a gun?" he asked.
"Why, yes," she replied and reached for the gun Jimmy had lent her before he left, suddenly feeling an urge to have it close to her.
Tad Brown nodded and closed his eyes. When he opened them again they were filled with hatred and Rosemary instinctively backed away.
"I killed David." The voice was low but fearfully clear. "I chased him through that alley and ripped him open. He was still alive when I hung him to the hook outside the stable. He was unable to scream since I had removed his tongue. Didn't the marshal tell you that? I enjoyed killing him. And now - now I'll kill you." Tad Brown smiled evilly at Rosemary, who frantically tried to get to her feet. She stumbled to her feet, her gun in one hand and the amulet in another. Without thinking she aimed the gun at the man and pulled the trigger. The man fell backwards to the ground. Rosemary stared at him, when a sharp pain in her hand made her turn her head. The amulet had started to glow in her hand and she felt a strange warmth emerge from her hand filling her body, entwining her, caressing her, filling her with an intense feeling of control - of power. She turned to the man and walked up to him.
A terrified face stared up at her, eyes wide with terror.
"Please, don't kill me - I didn't mean it. I never even aimed at the nigger, never meant to kill him, please, help me.."
Rosemary had no clue to what the man was talking about. In fact she wasn't conscious of anything but the voice inside her head. "Do it now," it urged her, "kill him. You have the power to do that. Do it!"
Slowly she raised the gun until it was aimed at the man's head. He continue to plead to her, but his words meant nothing. Without thinking she pulled the trigger, ending the sobering as the bullet hit the man straight between the eyes. she felt no regret for killing him. all she felt was the intoxicating feeling of power rushing through her veins. The voice in her head laughed softly.
"We'll work well together, Rosemary," it whispered inside her mind. "I'm Baruk."
And I'm one step closer to my Louise, Baruk thought to himself as he felt the strength of his new host fill his senses.
