Trouble no. 2 RavenCroft Collection

Bastion could see it all in his head.

Coming out of his study he’d been heading down the hall towards his bedroom when it happened. An ominous feeling gripped him causing him to reach out to the hallway wall for support. The air around him shifted and spun as though he were walking through a hazy dream. Panic surged within him at the vision before him and the sight of Ariana outside the safety and security of his ranch home in the middle of the night. He could see the figure strike her and she fell. Yanking her up from the soft earth, the stalker pulled her over his shoulder and turned toward the forest in time to see Kalabernus charging him.

“No!” Bastion choked out. Though he could not normally see them, when in this state of mind, he could often see what his son did. The sight of the demons which plagued him, having taken their true form, terrified him and he knew what that meant. Unable to break free of the vision till what he was being given was complete, he couldn’t move to do anything to stop what was happening.

He could see Ariana tumble to the ground as the stalker attempted to flee. Bastion gagged, choking on the tears filling his eyes, nose and the back of his throat. The book he held in his hands fell to the floor with a soft thud and he leaned against the wall, frozen in place, helpless.

He watched in terror as Kalabernus beat the man into the ground, breaking his left wrist. He could see the shadows taunt him, convincing him to murder the helpless woman and his child laying nearby.

“No! Kalabernus, no!” Bastion choked out, desperately attempting to move his legs down the hall.

If he could just get turned around.

Horrified he watched as Kalabernus lunged toward Ariana, gripping her roughly and the vision broke suddenly.

“Oh, please no!” Bastion sobbed. Stumbling back down the hallway he raced to the fireplace. Yanking the thirty-thirty Winchester rifle from above the mantle he leaped over the chair, charged through the kitchen door and skidded to a halt near the open patio door.

Raising the rifle, he shot from memory, hoping desperately he’d hit his mark before it was too late. The deafening sound of a rifle blast resounded within the kitchen, as the air filled with the strong smell of gunpowder.

Pitching forward Kalabernus sprawled across Ariana, the weight of his body crushing her to the ground.

“Oh, son, forgive me,” Bastion choked out. Keeping his gun raised and ready in case another shot was required, he stood watching the scene before him intently, terrified he might have to shoot again.

The echoing sounds of feet pummeling down the stairwell didn’t detract him from what he must do. His shrewd gaze never wavering, Bastion watched anxiously as Kalabernus struggled up from his prone position. He appeared confused, disoriented and in pain.

“Dad! What in the world is going on?” Kahner hollered, running into the kitchen, his Glock at the ready.

“Don’t move,” Bastion said in a deathly quiet voice.

Kahner stayed back but peered out at the sight before him. “Kalabernus! No!”

From his vantage in the yard, Kalabernus lifted his head slowly, peering up toward the kitchen patio. He could see his father standing with a shotgun in hand, and he could tell he was poised and ready to use it again if need be.

Dumbfounded and a bit disoriented, Kalabernus glanced back over his shoulder and saw the lifeless prone form of Ariana’s stalker, not even two feet away from him, with a knife lying limply in his grasp.

Anger and fear surged through Kalabernus at how close he’d come to getting killed and getting the woman he loved killed as well. Hearing her whispering fervently below him, he realized he still had her pinned where she couldn’t directly get up.

“Kill her!” screeched Zalman angrily at his side. “You must kill her, Kalabernus!”

“I think not,” he quipped.

“Why? You stupid human!” Veranke growled in a violent rage. The ‘Troublesome Three’ had retaken their shadowy forms and now floated restlessly before him near Ariana’s head.

“Because you want me to so badly,” Kalabernus ground out, shooting them a dark look that would have terrified them had they been a human man. “And because I love her. Stupid shadows. Who do you think was playing who here?”

The Troublesome Three shrieked in unison, howling in their rage as they fled. The bright warm light, which had come the instant Ariana had begun fiercely whispering her prayer, began growing in strength and size preventing them from tarrying longer.

“Ariana, Baby. Are you okay? Please tell me. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No. I’m okay, just frightened.”

The shadows were receding, no longer interested in a game that had ended badly, as far as they were concerned.

“That’s understandable considering what you’ve just been through.” Adjusting his position, Kalabernus scooped Ariana into his arms and carried her toward the house, ignoring his own aches and pains. His chest heaved from the exertion it had taken to get to Ariana in time, but he was starting to regain his composure. Relieved to be holding her safely in his arms he beamed down at her tenderly then back over at his dad.

He scowled as he came closer to the patio and shouted at his father. “You intend to shoot me, or what?”

“I’m still thinking about it!” Bastion growled, holding the rifle at the ready. “Don’t you ever do that to me again!” he demanded roughly, finally relaxing his posture. Resting the barrel of the gun on the kitchen floor he leaned on it slightly as though in need of support.

Though trying to hide it Kalabernus could see the fear in his father’s eyes. The thought of having to shoot his own son had terrified him.

“See now, you were supposed to shoot me if I got too close to her,” Kalabernus said irately, though clearly grateful he hadn’t.

“I was trying. The other guy just got in the way,” Bastion insisted with an amused glint. “Suppose we best be calling Sheriff RavenCroft and his deputies out here. They’ll want to be getting in the middle of this I imagine.”

“Suppose they will,” Kahner said with relief next to him. He’d never been so grateful in his life that his father had once been a sniper in the armed services than in that moment.

Ducking as he strolled into the kitchen Kalabernus continued toward the stairs.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Kahner hollered crossly at his brother.

“Up to bed of course.”

“Now?”

“Well yeah. I hear sex after an intense life threatening situation can be extremely good. I intend to find out.”

Gasping, Ariana’s shocked gaze flitted toward his father and brother. Covering her mouth with one hand she giggled into his shoulder. She didn’t argue but she hadn’t yet agreed either. Her eyes sparked.

“Kalabernus, you git! Don’t you think you should make sure she’s okay first?” Bastion asked crossly.

“Oh, right,” he responded, appearing properly chastised. “Ariana, honey. Are you all right? I mean, do you think we’d be okay if…”

Smiling Ariana leaned forward, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He shivered, a sound of pleasure escaping him as he groaned into her mouth.

Kalabernus responded with an elated shout. “Oh, yeah! Call me when Kalturek gets here. That should give us fifteen minutes or so,” he said heading up the stairs.

“In that case, give us a five-minute head start, then call,” Ariana yelled down the stairwell as they disappeared. She laughed, the genuine sound free of the tension and stress she had been experiencing for longer than she could remember. Would she let him, she wondered? It was a delicious notion either way.

“Oh, good grief!” Bastion vented angrily, rolling his eyes.

“Is everything okay down here?” Sable asked tentatively. Coming into the kitchen from the entrance hallway she missed seeing Kalabernus and Ariana exit upstairs.

“Yeah, honey. It’s over. Dad got the guy stalking Ariana. We’re about to call the Sheriff.” Kahner quickly turned his wife about so she couldn’t see the body in the yard.

“Oh, dear. Okay.” Sable was just grateful everything was all right. Catching sight of the book lying on the floor she reached down and picked it up. “Huh, that’s odd. I thought I left that upstairs in our bedroom.”

“Probably just dropped it on your way. Here, I’ll take it up for you,” Bastion said quickly, taking it from her hand while walking swiftly past her to the stairwell.

“Uh, dad?” Kahner called, forcing his father to turn around.

Bastion stared expectantly as though waiting for something else to happen. “Yes?” he prompted.

“The rifle? You’re taking it with you?”

“Yup,” Bastion quipped. Lifting the rifle, he looked at it then back at Kahner with a mischievous determined glint in his eye. “The night is still young. I might just shoot that son of mine anyway,” he said finally, then disappeared.