The Darkness Within by Jaime Rush Page A

Elgin’s car pulled up in front of them. “He made us, all right. And he’s got a friend.” A shadow of fear flickered across his face, but that was the only thing that gave away what he was feeling. He reached over and squeezed her hand. “I’m going to leave the car running. Remember the plan. I’ll distract them; you get to Elgin’s car and see if your mother’s there.”
    “I’m not going to leave you.”
    He was taking in the two men who were approaching their car. “No time to get sentimental. Can you remember an address?”
    “Right now I can hardly breathe or think or anything.”
    He gave it to her anyway. “That’s where I live. I’ll meet you there. If I don’t, tell the others what happened. Get in the driver’s seat.”
    Her stomach cramped as Tucker stepped out of the car and closed the door. She hit the locks and climbed into the driver’s seat. The second man remained at the front of the car, his body tensed and ready. She saw the moment Elgin picked up the tremor, as Tucker called it. And the moment he recognized his own gray eyes looking back at him.
    The man was definitely Tucker’s father, though Elgin wasn’t as wiry or muscular. He had the same subtle ways of registering emotion. Tucker stepped away from the car, leading Elgin, who mirrored his moves.
    “You wanted to talk to me,” Elgin said to Tucker.
    This was going to start out civilly, but it wouldn’t end that way. She saw again the flashes of violence and blood—the black beast tearing at her father—that she’d picked up from the ring.
    Her fingers tightened on the wheel. He killed my father. Killed him for no other reason than he was with my mother. Now he had her, too. And Tucker.
    “No. No!” She put the car into gear and lurched forward, aiming for Elgin. Obviously surprised, he didn’t move fast enough to avoid the front corner of the car. It knocked him right into Tucker, throwing both men to the ground. The other guy grabbed for the passenger door but she jammed on the gas and dove to Elgin’s green car.
    He’d left his car running. She put the car into park and spilled out, stumbling as she reached for the door handle. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a black beast loping toward her. She jumped into the Buick as a smoky paw reached for her. Felt its coldness as a claw sliced across her wrist. She yanked the door closed, trapping the paw. The beast yowled, and then the paw disappeared. She jabbed the lock button and met the face of the beast on the other side of the window. He looked like a misshapen tiger, fangs unnaturally long. He smashed his paw against the glass; thank God it held.
    “Mom,” she called, having to push the word out of her throat.
    “Del? No, please tell me he didn’t get you.” Her mother’s voice, muffled in the trunk.
    “We came to get you, Mom. Me and Tucker.” She pulled away as the beast smashed at the window again, this time cracking it. “I’m getting you out of here.”
    Tucker! She frantically searched for him. He was racing across the dirt yard toward the moving car, Elgin right behind him.
    Something landed on the roof, and a second later she heard the sound of an object hitting the windshield. She spun to see the glass crackled in a large spiral, the dark thing coming at it again. She turned back to Tucker in time to see him leap toward the car. As he left the ground, he morphed from man to a black blur, and then she heard him land on the roof with a heavy thud .
    Elgin was right behind him, turning into a beast too as he jumped at the car. When he landed, there was a scuffle right above her.
    “Oh, God, what have I done?”
    The paw smashed through the windshield and grabbed her around the throat. She struggled to hold onto the wheel as it pulled her forward. He was going to pull her right through it and out. She clawed and pounded at the paw. It felt like an animal, hard and sinewy, but cold and smooth.
    Suddenly its hold on her loosened, and two beasts