Page 47 of Glimmer in the Darkness

Please, no.

She tried to be very small and very quiet, hoping he’d forget he was angry with her. Hoping he’d leave her alone forever.

He walked back and forth on the stone floor, mumbling. “No. This is my sister. This is her. The other girl was the wrong girl, but this is Maryann.”

There’d been another?

“She was a mistake. A big mistake. Maybe…” He looked down at Ella, and his eyes looked all weird, like he was looking through her. He unlocked the cuff around her ankle.

She was too scared to even be happy not to have it scraping her skin. He lifted her and carried her under his arm through the entrance. It was the first time she’d been outside since he first put her in there, and she wanted to enjoy it. To take in the fresh air and sunshine. To never go back in that terrible, terrible cave. But with him holding her like…like Daddy held a folded-up newspaper…and mumbling about the other girl and how maybe he’d made a mistake…

She wanted back in the cave.

She wanted her daddy.

He set her on the ground, spun her around, and kept his hands firmly on her shoulders. She looked out at treetops in front of her. The trees must’ve been growing from a long way below. Their leaves and needles were dark against the fading light.

She dared a glance down. They were standing at the top of a cliff, a tall, steep cliff. At the bottom were rocks like sharp teeth, waiting to gobble her up.

“I have no choice.” His voice sounded funny, like he was hardly even there. “She isn’t my sister. I have to find Maryann.”

He lifted Ella, held her on his hip, and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry, little girl. My sister loved s’mores, and you don’t even know how to roast marshmallows. You must not be her.”

He grabbed her under the arms and dangled her over the cliff.

“No! No, please.” Her legs kicked beneath her, found nothing but air. “I am Maryann.” The words were a lie, but she shouted them again. “I’m Maryann. Please, don’t!”

He watched her a minute with those scary empty eyes. Then, he blinked and looked at her for real. He pulled her close and hugged her. “It is you. I knew it! You were playing a trick on me, silly girl. You almost fooled me.”

She held onto him, terrified to let him go. Terrified to be in his arms.

“Silly sister.” He backed up and pressed his nose against hers. “I want us to be happy. But we’ll only be happy if we choose to be. So let’s not fight.” He carried her back to the cave, humming a cheerful tune.

Chapter Sixteen

James forced his eyes closed, trying not to think about the root jabbing at his back through the thin pad he’d laid his sleeping bag on. Trying not to think about his conversation with Cassidy. He’d never tell her how his parents had blamed her, hated her, after Hallie’s death. He’d never tell Cassidy how his parents had cursed the day she’d walked into their lives.

But thinking about Cassidy wasn’t the only thing keeping him awake.

The noise earlier—the falling rock—had surely been caused by an animal. James had bundled their food and tied it on a branch a good hundred yards away, just in case it was a bear that had stalked them all afternoon.

Black bears weren’t usually dangerous to humans. They could be if they were hungry, but there was plenty of vegetation on this mountain to feed them. And if they’d spooked a mama bear and her cub earlier, the animals would have stayed as far from him and Cassidy as possible.

Could’ve been a bobcat. Thing was, he couldn’t imagine a bobcat inadvertently sending a rock careening down the hill. They were stealthy, careful on their feet. Unlikely to accidentally dislodge a rock and give their position away.

Honestly, if they weren’t so secluded up here, James would suspect a human had done it.

And since they were, theoretically, on the trail of a human—a kidnapper and murderer—the idea wasn’t so farfetched.

All his years of spurning God, and now, with Cassidy’s life in danger, he recited Psalm four, verse eight, reminding himself that God did indeed make them dwell in safety. Despite all his losses and disappointments over the years, he believed it. Old habits? Or had he always believed and only pretended not to, insulating himself from more loss?

Either way, God’s promises weren’t far from his mind now.

He reminded himself of Psalm ninety-one, which promised protection from danger. He’d memorized those scriptures as a child. After Hallie’s abduction and murder, he’d quit believing God was listening. Now, though… He needed God to be listening. Needed God to protect and guide them.

If someone was out there, someone who recognized Cassidy, someone who might believe she would recognize him…

If the killer knew she was here, she wasn’t safe.