“Here it comes,” he heard one of the Elders say. “Brace yourselves.”
And then the dim leafy hut around him faded to nothing and he was standing somewhere else on an entirely different planet.
Earth, he thought. I’m on Earth.
He’d only set foot on the small blue-green planet’s surface once but he knew he was correct. Though how he could tell from his surroundings, he wasn’t sure. The room he found himself in was even darker than the hut he’d left. There were strips of dim white light—moonlight, he realized, from the Earth’s single moon—falling through the mostly shuttered window. The light helped his eyes adjust and he looked around.
Merrick had expected a scene of great violence, but it was quiet here—peaceful. There was a sleeping platform in the center of the room and the sound of soft breathing filled the air. From what he could see in the dim light, this area belonged to a female—possibly a little girl. There were small stuffed creatures that must be toys and a few dolls as well. Then he noticed the tabletop in front of the silvery mirror was covered in cosmetics and hair adornments. So, not a little girl, after all but a girl who was becoming a young woman and slowly leaving childhood behind her. Still, there was an innocence to the room and the sleeping figure in the bed that made his heart ache for some reason.
Suddenly there was a low creaking sound and a sliver of harsh yellow light appeared in the wall across from the bed. The sliver widened until it was a rectangle—a doorway, Merrick realized, his heart pounding against his ribs. And standing in that doorway was a huge, dark shape—obviously a male—who was watching the sleeping girl.
“Charles?” whispered the girl and Merrick recognized the soft, feminine voice at once—Elise. “What…what do you want?” she asked.
“Just wanted to check on you, princess.” The light shining behind the man turned his face to shadows but Merrick felt the threat of his presence anyway—felt those unseen eyes crawling over the young Elise’s skin in a way that twisted his stomach.
“Well, I’m fine.” Elise’s voice shook only slightly, but Merrick, who was so attuned to her, could hear the worried tremor at once. “And I have a big test tomorrow so please let me sleep.”
“Oh, I don’t think so.” The dark man-shape she’d called “Charles” stepped silently closer. “I thought I might tuck you in.”
“Stop fooling around and leave me alone!” The young Elise’s voice was high and frightened now. “This isn’t funny, Charles—I’ll call Mom!”
The man chuckled unpleasantly. “Your mother had to run to the store for a few things and you know how long she takes to shop. So I think we have time for a quick bedtime story, don’t you, princess?”
“Stay away from me!” Elise was sitting up in bed now, the covers clutched to her chest protectively. “I don’t like it—I don’t want to do…to do that with you.”
He laughed again. “After what I caught you doing last week? I think you’ll love doing ‘that’ with me.”
Merrick could feel the girl’s shame—her sense of outrage and violated privacy as well as a sense of choking fear. “That was private,” she whispered.
“Yes, I know.” The man stepped closer, into her room. “And this will be too. We’ll just keep it between the two of us, shall we?”
He reached for Elise just as Merrick lunged forward, shouting, “No!”
“You cannot help her—this is a memory. A pain long since past,” whispered a voice from the corner.
Merrick whipped his head to one side and saw the three Elders standing there quietly, observing. Why he hadn’t seen them before, he didn’t know. But they were here now and apparently not interested in doing anything but watching.
“You cannot touch her—you are a ghost here,” one of them said. “Besides, the girl already has a defender. Look.”
“What?” Merrick turned back in time to hear a deep, snarling growl. Then a large, furry shape rushed into the room and jumped onto the sleeping platform, insinuating itself between Elise and the dark man-shape. The animal’s mismatched eyes—one blue and one gold—blazed in the darkness and it snapped at the man warningly, its shaggy hackles raised in threat.
With a low curse, the man called Charles stumbled back just in time to avoid losing his fingers. “Stupid mutt!” he snarled as the dog continued to stand guard over Elise protectively. “Thought I locked you out of the house.”
“Buck always finds a way to me when I need him.” Elise spoke up, her voice quivering with emotion. “That’s why my father—my real father—gave him to me. To watch over me. To keep me safe from people like you.”