Chapter 1
1
Sebastian
THEN
.
October 4 th , 2004
The monster was back.
His black claws scraped the lip of the cave as he crept forward, a deep growl rumbling from his matted belly. I could smell his foul breath and feel the horrible heat of it, drawing closer and closer by the second.
“Mom!” I screamed. “Mom, help!”
Footsteps thundered up the stairs. In an instant, my mother was in my room, the bedside lamp casting a soft light over her concerned face. “What happened, Seb?” she asked, her voice steady but laced with worry.
I sat up straight, bottom lip trembling. “I had another bad dream.”
“Oh, honey.” She rubbed my back soothingly. “I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”
“There was a monster in a cave. He wanted to eat me. It’s the same dream I had last time we were here.”
“Would you like me to check under your bed to make sure he’s gone?” she asked, brows lifting.
“No.” I shook my head and crossed my arms defiantly. “I want to go home!”
Her face fell. “But you love Pinecrest Falls. You wanted to come here.”
That was true. I’d always loved spending time at our family’s vacation home. My friends back in the city vacationed all over the place, and I often had the opportunity to do so as well, but nothing ever matched up to the fun I had exploring the woods and mountains around here with my mom and dad. I loved the trees and the animals, and the way everything seemed so peaceful.
I knew my mom loved it here too. Even though the house belonged to my father’s side of the family, she spent more time here than anyone else. Like me, she loved nature, and she said the peace and quiet made it easy for her to concentrate on her work.
“I do like it here,” I said sullenly, looking down at the bedspread. “I just don’t like bad dreams.”
“How about this?” Mom said, leaning forward. There was a tiny smile on her face, and her eyes were crinkled at the corners. “Because you’ve had a rough night, you can come downstairs and hang out with me for a whole hour, even though it’s way past your bedtime. We can have some tea with honey. Maybe even a cookie or two.”
My eyes widened. “I can stay up late?”
“Yes.” She nodded, smile broadening. “Besides, it’s your birthday tomorrow, so we might as well have an early treat to celebrate the big eight. What do you say?”
“Yes!”
I leapt out of bed and raced down the stairs. Mom went into the kitchen to make the tea, and I busied myself on the living room floor with my Lego set.
“One tea with honey, coming up,” she said, stepping into the room with a tray a few minutes later. “With a special treat on the side.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I jumped up and perched on the couch as she placed the tray on the coffee table. “Did Dad talk to you yet? Is he coming?”
“I’ll check.” She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and glanced at it before shaking her head. “Nothing yet. But you know how busy he gets at the hospital.”
“Will he come in the morning?”
“Maybe. But it might just be the two of us,” she replied, sliding into the seat next to me. “I know he’s really hoping to join us for your special day, though.”
“I hope he can. I want to go hiking again.”
“We can still go together, even if he can’t make it. And we can get ice cream sundaes afterwards,” Mom replied. Her eyes glimmered, and she leaned forward. “By the way, I thought of something cool when I was making your tea. Do you want to know what it is?”
I sat up straight. “Yes.”
“Well, I know you really don’t like having bad dreams, but in some ancient cultures, dreams were considered to be a connection to a spirit realm. That made them very significant, and those who dreamed frequently and vividly were often considered to be shamans. It was a very important role. You play a shaman in that new computer game of yours, don’t you?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “It’s fun.”
“Well, if you were born in a different time or place, you might have been a real shaman, because of all the dreams you have. Pretty cool, huh?” she said.
“Wow, really?”
“Yup.”
“That’s awesome!”
She winked. “I had a feeling it might make you feel better.”
She was right. I felt much better now. The monster from my nightmare seemed like it was a million miles away now, hiding from the light in its dirty cave. It couldn’t reach me anymore.
I munched on the cookie she’d left on my saucer. “I think I know why I keep dreaming of a cave when we come here,” I said, looking back up at her.
“Oh?”
“It’s because of something you told me a while ago. About those people you’ve been working with for your anthrofology stuff.”
“Anthropology, sweetie.” Mom gave me a tight smile and cocked her head. “What did I tell you?”
I took another quick bite and swallowed. “You said something about a cave that you wanted to look inside. Somewhere on their land.”
Her smile faded, and a flicker of worry crossed her face. “I… I didn’t say that.”
“Yes, you did.”
Mom clasped her hands in her lap. “No, honey. You must be mistaken,” she said. “I was probably talking about another place I researched. Remember I told you about that desert I visited when I was still in college? There were caves there. Huge ones.”
I pouted. Why were adults so silly sometimes? They all knew they had worse memories than kids, but they’d still say they were right and we were wrong, even when we knew we were remembering things properly. It was so annoying.
“You said it was those forest people that live near here. The ones people in town call witches,” I said stubbornly. “Last time we were here, you said you wanted to research a cave on their property, but you couldn’t find it.”
Something flickered in Mom’s eyes. She leaned closer and grasped my left shoulder. “Seb, I need you to promise me something,” she said in a hushed voice.
“Okay.” I frowned, wondering why she was suddenly in such a weird mood. “What is it?”
“Don’t ever talk about this to anyone else. Not even your best friends or your dad. No one.”
“Why?”
“Because I shouldn’t have said anything about it. I didn’t know this before, but it’s meant to be a secret,” she said hurriedly. “So now it can be our secret, okay? Won’t that be fun? To have something just to ourselves?”
I shrugged and took another bite. “Okay. I won’t say anything.”
She exhaled and dropped her hand from my shoulder. She looked happier now. “When you finish your drink, do you want me to help you build something?” she asked, gesturing to the Lego pieces scattered on the floor.
“Yes. I want to make a cas—” I stopped midsentence when I saw headlights out of the corner of my eye. “Dad’s here!”
Mom frowned and got up. “Oh, that’s odd. He didn’t call or message to say he was on his way,” she said, stepping over to the closest window.
I ran over to the other window on the right. This one had the curtains drawn, but I always liked to lift the corner and peer out like I was a spy. It was fun.
I picked up the edge of the curtain and peeked outside. An old car was slowly making its way up the long, winding driveway. “Oh,” I said, shoulders drooping with disappointment as it drew closer. “That’s not one of Dad’s cars.”
Mom was standing rigidly now, lips set in a thin line. “Maybe a neighbor needs some help,” she said. She didn’t sound sure of that. She sounded worried.
The car finally pulled up at the front of the house. Two men in strange clothing got out and walked around to the hood before stopping to talk with their heads bowed close together. There was a small girl strapped into the back seat. I wasn’t very good at guessing ages, but I could tell she was younger than me. Maybe four or five, like my best friend’s little sister.
I rolled my eyes, hoping the men didn’t want me to play with her. I hated playing with younger kids. They were so annoying.
“Who are they, Mom?” I asked, looking over at her.
“They’re from the Covenant,” she said. Her voice sounded strangely thick now, like she had a cold. “The forest people I’ve been working with. The ones we were just talking about.”
“What are they doing here? I thought they didn’t have cars.”
“They do, but they only use them sometimes, when it’s absolutely necessary.”
“What are they doing here?” I repeated, looking back at the old brown car. The two men were still talking to each other in the driveway, and the little girl was looking at me from the back seat, eyes wide. Even though I didn’t like younger kids, I thought she looked nice. Maybe she could help me build a castle with the Legos. As long as she did what I told her and didn’t try to boss me around, it could be fun.
“I don’t know why they’re here, honey,” Mom said, clasping her hands together again. “But… maybe you should go and hide.”
“Why?” I asked, staring at her with wide eyes.
“It’ll be a fun game. You go and hide, and I’ll come and find you when I’m finished talking to the men. They probably just need gas, or something like that.” Mom smiled, but it was the same sort of smile she gave me earlier. A tight one that didn’t meet her eyes. “Don’t come out until I find you, okay?”
“Okay…” I let the curtain fall, still eyeing her warily.
“Sebastian, I’m serious. Go and hide right now.”
I didn’t want to upset her, so I turned around and ran across the living room. I knew a good spot from the last time we played this game. In one corner of the room, there was a small table with a large wooden deer figurine sitting atop a white tablecloth that went all the way to the floor. If I crawled under the table, that cloth would hide me.
I dropped to the floor and positioned myself under the table. There was a small gap between the floor and the bottom of the tablecloth, so I could see a few inches in front of me. I could hear everything from here, too.
I jolted with surprise as someone loudly rapped on the front door. The two men had finally decided to approach the house.
I heard Mom unlock the door and open it. “Augustus. Jean-Pierre,” she said. She was using the voice she always put on when she talked to people she didn’t know very well, or people she didn’t like. Friendly, but a bit high-pitched. “What are you doing here so late? Is there a problem in Alderwood?”
“Oh, you could certainly say there’s a problem, Miranda,” one of the men replied. He had a strange accent, one I’d never heard before in movies or TV shows. “But I think you already know all about that, don’t you?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.” Mom sounded flustered now. “Are you having some sort of emergency? Should I call someone for you?”
“No,” the other man said. He had a strange accent too. “We need you to come with us. Now.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. My husband is on his way. He should be here any minute.”
I frowned. Why was Mom lying to these people? Dad wasn’t on his way here. He was still busy at the hospital back in the city. Unless he forgot to message Mom to let her know he was on his way.
“It’s for your own good, Miranda. Come with us right now.”
“I really can’t do that. Why don’t we talk tomorrow?” Mom replied. There was a creaking sound, and I realized she was closing the door.
“I’m afraid we must insist,” the first man said. He must have stuck a foot out to block the door. “As I said, it’s for your own good.”
“Augustus, I can’t possibly imagine what you’re talking about. I really cannot—”
He cut my mother off. “No more pretending. You know exactly why we’re here,” he said. His voice had risen, and he sounded angry. “You tried to let the Darkness out, Miranda. We must work to contain it before it’s too late.”
“I don’t—”
He cut her off again. “Come with us right now ,” he spat out.
From my hiding place, I spied a mixture of shadows and lights dancing over the floor. More headlights.
“There, see?” Mom said shrilly. “My husband is coming, just like I said. Now, I think it’s best if you leave.”
“Grab her!” Augustus said. “There’s a backroad leading out of here. We’ll take that. He won’t see us then. But we have to hurry!”
“Augustus, please—” My mom’s voice was abruptly cut off, replaced by a scuffling sound.
Heart racing, I flattened myself on the ground and peeked through the tiny gap between the tablecloth and the floorboards. One of the men had grabbed my mom, and his big hand was covering her mouth. She was clawing and kicking at him, but he was huge, like a bear. She couldn’t fight him off.
I wanted to run out and help her. Hit the man with my fists until he left her alone. But I couldn’t move. Something was keeping me frozen on the floor, like an invisible force had locked my body in place. The more I tried to move, the heavier I seemed to become.
My mother let out a muffled cry through the man’s fingers, and her feet scuffed on the floor. She was still trying to escape his grip.
Tears welled in my eyes, blurring my vision. Cold sweat was trickling down my back. I could hear the pounding of my own heart echoing in my ears, almost drowning out the sounds of my mother’s cries and the gruff voices of the men as they held her down and restrained her arms and legs with a rope.
I had never felt so ashamed and helpless. Why couldn’t I move? I knew I should be brave, that I should run out and help, but the fear was too strong.
A few seconds later, I heard tires crunching on gravel. The men were leaving. I couldn’t see them, but I knew my mother was with them, bound and helpless.
Soon, the sound of tires on gravel resonated in the air again, followed by a familiar voice a moment afterwards. “Miranda!” Dad called out, feet pounding up the steps that led to the front entrance. “Miranda, where the hell are you? We need to—wait, why is the door open?”
“Daddy?” My paralysis seemed to be gone. I tentatively crawled out from beneath the table. “Daddy, what’s happening?”
“Sebastian!” His eyes widened, and he hurried over to me, scooping me up in his arms. “Why on earth were you under there? Where’s your mom?”
“She went away. I was supposed to hide.” My throat felt like it was closing up. “I wanted to help, but—”
He cut me off. “Where did she go?”
“The forest men took her.”
“The forest men?” Dad looked taken aback for a second, and then his eyes narrowed. “Is this a new game you’re playing?”
“No. The men she was working with took her away.”
His brows shot up. “You mean the Covenant?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“When? Where ?” His voice had thickened, and the look in his eyes had turned wild and frantic with fear.
“I don’t know where they took her. They left just before you got here.”
My father set me down and lay a firm hand on my shoulder, crouching to meet my eyes. “Try to remember, son. Did any of them say anything about where they were going? Something that could help me find them?”
I swallowed hard. “I… I think one of them said something about another road that leads away from here. They were going to go that way so you wouldn’t see them when you came down the driveway.”
“Okay. Good boy. I need you to do something for me now,” Dad said in a low voice. “Go back to bed, close your eyes, and go to sleep. Don’t leave your room until I come back. Got it?”
“Yes.”
With that, he dashed outside. His tires squealed on the gravel, and I was alone again.
I did as I was told and trudged back upstairs, a heavy feeling in my stomach. I was bad tonight. I did everything wrong. Now my mom was in trouble.
I crawled back into bed and yanked the blankets over my head, squeezing my eyes shut. Maybe this was just another nightmare. Maybe I’d wake up in the morning and Mom would be right there with a plate of blueberry pancakes and tea with honey. Our favorites.
I smiled at the thought, but then I remembered the sound of her cries through the big man’s hands. The smile instantly dropped. This wasn’t a nightmare with a monster in a cave. This was real.
The monsters had come right into my house, and now my mother was gone.