Between (A Key Holder Novel Book 1)

  Between

  A Keyholders Novel

  AR DeClerck

  Published by AR DeClerck

  © 2016 AR DeClerck

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Between (Key Holders)

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  EPILOGUE

  About the Author

  I was twelve when the angels fell. The entire Earth darkened under a massive storm cloud, as lightning rent the skies. Thunder shook our house, the homes of everyone in the world. Instead of raindrops, the angels fell from the clouds. They landed in shattered pieces, crushed and bleeding in heaps of broken bone and torn flesh. Some rushed to try to save them, others were too afraid. Our human medicines couldn't heal their bodies and they all perished. It was rumored that some angels survived, and hid among us. No proof of this was ever discovered.

  The churches banned together, crying out that Armageddon had arrived. But the Christian Messiah never came, and the earth was not consumed in holy fire. Our fears gave way to a kind of deadened acceptance. God was dead. His angels had died with Him. We were alone.

  The world began to move on. Much as it had before the falling. Theological debates continued some saying that the war in Heaven had ended with the expulsion of the angel uprising. Others said that angels were merely aliens and that they had died in the midst of some terrible accident or disease. Most of us continued to live as we had before. The Earth began to slowly cool as its rotations slowed. Astrophysicists and other scientists were at a loss to explain the sudden dimming of the sun in the sky. The world grew darker.

  When I was twenty-four I rescued a man on a boat, floating adrift at sea. Nothing was ever the same again.

  Chapter One

  I hate the dark. Since the angels fell it seems like the skies are always cloudy, the sun hiding from us all in shame. The ocean is my refuge. When I'm in the water, with the waves pounding around me to drown out the noise of the world I feel free. My small sailboat carries only me, and that's the way I like it.

  On this particular day, the tide was high, and the currents rough as I made my way out to sea. I watched the shore disappear, and I let myself relax. I could forget that calculus was kicking my butt that my A average and, therefore, my scholarship were in jeopardy if I didn't pass the class with at least a C. I could forget that senior Jeremy Rhiner had just dumped me for some floozy freshman with bigger boobs and smaller brains. As I breathed out into the salty air, I let all that negative energy go into the gloom. The fog was rising off the water, not quite pea soup, but a murky broth at best. I was a seasoned sailor so a little fog never bothered me. I preferred the anonymity of passing other ships without ever seeing them. I sat near the boom, letting the ocean sounds and smells lull me into a mindless revere.

  I gasped as a small boat listed to the side. I fell into the bow, and shook my head to clear the sudden confusion. It seemed that the fog had thickened, grasping my sailboat in an even darker corridor. I sat up on my knees, letting my pounding heart calm. I froze when I heard the distinct sound of the hull of my boat tapping against another. I'd crashed into someone else.

  I was afraid to look over the bow and see the other boat. Certainly I'd been the one who wasn't paying attention, and whatever damage was done would surely be my fault. I brushed my hair back from my face and straightened my shoulders. Chester Larke didn't raise a coward. Whatever the consequence, I couldn't pretend this hadn't happened. I stood, and climbed to the bow of my boat, bending over and squinting into the murky depths of the fog.

  "Hello?" I called out. It was mid-morning, yet as dark as midnight around us. I could only barely see the outline of the craft I'd hit. "Is everyone okay?"

  The sea rolled in a particular rough wave, nearly knocking me down again as the smaller boat came closer to mine. It wasn't even a sailboat. I could see now that it was a raft. Or rather, what was left of one. The wood had roughened and bowed with time in the water, and patches of wear showed that it hadn't been sealed in a long time. I knelt, reaching for the edge of the raft. If I were lucky, I'd simply run into a piece of flotsam adrift in the ocean. I could push it away and continue my sail in peace.

  I reached out my hand, grasping the edge of the raft. I felt the splinters dig into my palm, but I held tight and pulled it toward me. Time stopped when a hand, strong as steel, wrapped its fingers around my wrist. I screamed, throwing myself backward in my boat.. I fought as my captor followed me tipping the sailboat and nearly capsizing us. I struggled as his body came down on mine, pinning me with suffocating weight to the floor. I screamed again, realizing now that I was trapped. My free hand hit him, pushing at his shoulders as I registered in some part of my brain that he wasn't wearing a shirt. His other hand came down on my mouth, and I moaned against his palm. I stiffened when I felt his breath against my ear.

  "Please. Stop. I won't hurt you."

  I bucked against him, throwing my hips into his and trying to dislodge him. So what if his voices was honey and wine made into sound?

  He pushed down on me, holding me still as he spoke again into my ear. "Please. I need help. I didn't mean to scare you."

  There was truth in his words. It bled from every syllable and pierced my panicked brain. I lay still as he sighed deep. I could feel his chest against mine as he let go of me and rolled away. He lay on his back, every large inch of him taking up most of the space in my small boat. I scrambled backward, still afraid. I grasped an oar in my hand, but he only smiled at me. In the thick fog, I could see his face only in shadow and light, but he was beautiful. Far too perfect to be real. I let my eyes wander from his face over his naked torso, and down to his legs. He was wearing only ragged pants. His feet were bare. I could tell by the dry, red appearance of his skin that he'd been at sea for many days without water.

  "Who are you?" I kept my hand on the oar, but he made no move. He only opened his eyes and looked directly into mine.

  "Who are you?" he repeated.

  I frowned. I don't like when people answer questions with questions. It means they're hiding something. "I'm Cassie Larke. This is my sailboat, the Mary Reilly. What were you doing out here? How long have you been drifting?"

  "I have no idea." His words were slow. He frowned, the skin wrinkling between his eyes as he thought. "What is today?"

  "May 20th." I kept my hand on the oar but pulled my sailing bag toward me. I took out a bottle of water, and nearly smiled at the painful expression of want that crossed his face. I held out the bottle and he grabbed it. He went to his elbow, opening the bottle and taking three long sips. I admired the way the muscles of his neck moved as he drank.

  "I don't know how I ended up here." He looked around at the fog. It had dissipated a little, but it still held us firm in its grip. "Wherever 'here' is."

  "We're thirty miles off the coast of the city." I tossed him a package of saltines.

  He studied it as if he'd never seen one, but opened it and carefully took a bite.

  "I'll take you to shore. They're sure to be able to help you there. Someone will have reported you missing." I kept my eyes on him as he sat up, shivering in the chill mist.

  I handed him my blanket, and he wrapped it around his shoulders with a nod to me.

  "No offense, Cassie, but I'm sure no one has reported me missing."

  "How can you say that?" I adjusted the boom and unfurled the sail, letting it take the wind and turn us about toward shore. "Don't you have a family? Someone who would miss you?"

  "Even if I did have a family, they won't come looking for me." His voice was quiet over the crash of the waves against the hull, but I heard a distinct note of saddened acceptance in it.

  "Are you the black sheep or something?" I joked my levity falling away as I turned to him. Our eyes met, and his were intense with some nameless emotion.

  "I'm dead, Cassie. No one is looking for me because I'm dead. You're the only one who can see me."

  ***

  I WILL BE HONEST. THE fi
rst thought that popped into my head is that he was crazy. I almost said it out loud, but something in those dark eyes stopped me. He was sure. Perhaps he was crazy, but he truly believed that he was dead.

  "Tell me everything you remember." I sat and let the wind carry us toward shore.

  He crossed his legs, leaning his head back against the side of the boat. "I woke up in the water. It was dark, as it is now. I couldn't remember how I got there, or even who I was." He rubbed his forehead with his hand, as if it hurt to try to remember. "Other ships passed. I could see them. I could hear the people on board. Several ships passed close enough for me to reach out and touch them.. I called out for help, but they all passed by as if they couldn't hear me." He raised his head. "One even plowed right over the raft and kept on going, as if it never even felt the impact. When I reached out and grabbed your arm, I was as surprised as you were that you could even feel my touch."

  I didn't speak for awhile. I tried to imagine his fear and confusion. The ocean is not a friendly place. Especially now, when the world seems to be slowly spinning to a stop. It's a treacherous terrain, to say the least. More often than not the waves are too wild and violent for a small sailing vessel like mine. I looked up at the sky. The fiery outline of the sun was barely visible through the clouds. We hadn't seen the full power of its beauty in years.

  I licked my lips. "I'll do my best to help you." I felt like it was something momentous, this statement. He raised his head and stared into my eyes. His were burning bright, and I began to worry that he was feverish. I'd never seen eyes so dark have such light inside.

  "Thank you, Cassie." He smiled a small smile. "I'm not sure how or why, but I have a feeling you're the only one who can."

  We came to shore without speaking again. He had closed his eyes and snored lightly as I moored my small boat in its slip. It was the one luxury I had, a gift from my father. He'd purchased my small space in the marina the year before he'd died. It had been he who introduced me to the ocean and all its wonders. I tied up the boat and put away all my things before kneeling next to my strange foundling. I shook his shoulder lightly, not prepared when he sprang upright. I fell backwards, landing on my backside.. He came awake quickly, realizing that he'd been dreaming. He looked down at his hands as if something important was missing.

  "That was some dream." I shook my head at his outstretched hand and stood on my own. I wiped off the seat of my jeans and crossed my arms. The wind whipped my hair around my face, obscuring him from my vision for a moment. I pushed away the curly strands with a sigh. "What were you dreaming about?"

  "I don't know." He looked again at his right hand. He rubbed the callus at the base of his thumb. "A weapon, I think." He clenched his fist as if around the handle of the thing he sought to remember. He shook his head and raised a shoulder in defeat. "But I can't remember for sure."

  "I'm sure we'll find some answers." I patted his shoulder as I passed, and stopped with my hand on his bare skin. He was hot to the touch, as if he'd just stepped from inside a flame. "Do you feel okay?"

  "I feel the same. Better, since I'm not so damned thirsty." He turned, helping me off the boat and onto the dock.

  I could feel the heat of his hand on my arm, even through the thin sleeve of my sailing jacket.

  "I guess I just run hot."

  I smiled. He wasn't lying. He was simply delicious looking, even in only a pair of tattered jeans. I let my smile die. I hadn't been this attracted to a man in years, let alone a virtual stranger. Even the gorgeous quarterback Jeremy Rhiner, didn't make my mouth go dry by just looking at him. I took my eyes off his physique and tried to return my brain to the mystery at hand. "My car is in the lot." I glanced down at his bare feet. "I'm sorry I don't have anything for you to wear."

  "I'm not sure it matters, Cassie. You're the only one who can see me, remember?"

  I stopped an idea coming to me. "Let's test that theory." I took his arm and pulled him toward the marina office. He resisted at first, but I frowned at him over my shoulder. I knocked on the manager's office, and the old man opened the door with a grin.

  "Well, hello Cassie!" He opened the door and ushered me inside to the desk. "What brings you in today? Are you going out?"

  "I just got back, thanks Mr. Abrams." I looked over my shoulder where my strange passenger stood by the door. "I found a raft about fifteen miles out. Did anyone report a boat missing?"

  Abrams opened his giant ledger and looked over the pages. I'd asked him several times why he didn't use a computer, like most businesses, but he only smiled and chuckled at me. He looked over the pages for several minutes before shaking his head at me. "Nope, Cassie. No boats reported missing. Did you tow it in?"

  "No, it was in bad shape. Looked like it had been out there awhile." I took a breath. "He was on it."

  Abrams raised an eyebrow at me. "He, who?"

  I threw a thumb over my shoulder. "The guy by the door. He said he has amnesia. Can't remember who he is or where he came from."

  Abrams took off his glasses and rubbed them on his shirt. He put them back on his long nose and shook his head at me. "Your castaway must have taken off, Cassie. There's no one by the door."

  I glanced over my shoulder to see the man still standing where I'd left him. He tilted his head, as if to say See? I nodded slowly, and turned back to Mr. Abrams "If you hear of anyone looking for a tall man with dark hair and eyes, can you call me?"

  Abrams nodded, closing the ledger and leaning on the counter. "Cassie, you be careful." he warned me. His cherubic old face looked up into mine. "There's all sorts of dangerous people around nowadays. With the angels gone, we can't be sure there's any good left in the world at all."

  I smiled at the older man and patted his hand. I hiked my sailing bag onto my shoulder. "I'll do that, Mr. Abrams. Remember, call me if anyone comes asking."

  "Tall man, dark hair and eyes. Missing." Abrams repeated. I nodded, waving to him as I left.

  I closed the door behind me and looked up into my stranger's dark eyes. "Well, that didn't go as expected."

  His eyes were sad as he leaned against the side of the marina office. "I have no idea why you can see me when no one else can." He tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

  "No time to wonder about that now." I looked up at the sky as the first drops of rain began to fall. It was already chilly out, and the rain would make it colder as the day went on. I reached out to him, taking his hand in mine. I'm not a mind reader, but if I feared no one could see me or touch me, I'd need as much contact as I could get. He tightened his fingers around mine and we ran, headed for my car. I unlocked the doors as we ran, the flash of my headlights the only light around us as the storm intensified. I grinned like a fool when he insisted on opening the door for me. As I buckled my seat belt, he slid into the passenger seat. His big frame made my small car feel smaller, but the odd warmth of his body licked away the chill in the air almost instantly.

  "Put on your seat belt."

  He grinned at me. "I'm already dead, Cassie."

  "That doesn't mean you're allowed to ride in my car without a seat belt." I waved him on, and he pulled it over him and clicked it as I started the engine.

  "What did the old man mean about the angels?"

  I froze, with my hand on the shifter. I looked at him. "You seriously don't remember?"

  He shrugged, and I sat back.

  "The angels fell. Twelve years ago."

  "What do you mean? Fell?"

  I rolled my eyes. "Fell." I made the motion with my hand and slapped my palms together.

  He flinched at the noise.

  "All over the world. A giant storm covered the planet, and then they started falling from the skies. Most of us tried to help them. Save some of them, but they were....messy." I closed my eyes against the memories of that day. Blood, bone and feathers covered the world.

  "What happened?"

  "No one knows." I opened my eyes and put the car into reverse, taking us toward my small apartment. "A lot of people thought it was Armageddon. Some thought they were aliens. When they died, and nothing happened after that, we sort of moved on."

  He was looking out the window, but I could see the tension in his neck as his hands clenched in his lap. "I don't understand. Angels fell. You just moved on?"