DARK INTRUDER
DARK INTRUDER© nesciri
Part 2
The rain smattered against the small cottage's roof. Rosemary Burke paced irritated the tiles of the small room. She hated the rain, it kept her from thinking. And she needed to think. When Isiah had died, she had sworn that she would continue his work no matter what and she intended to keep that promise. But it was not as easy as she had expected. There was so much that had to be taken care of, so many people that needed her guidance, so many yet to convince. And then there was Jimmy Hickok. She loved him, or at least she thought that, but his reluctance to join her and to see things the way she did made it hard for her to accept him as a part of her life. He claimed he loved her, and his outspoken honesty only served to confuse her more. Thank God for Tad Brown, she pondered as she tried to ignore the sound of the falling rain. He had been a source of understanding and help when she needed it most. He had been there with new tales about he atrocities done upon slaves and horror tales about slave owners. If it wasn't for him, her cause was most surely have been lost. She was a bit confused about the man's behavior - he was reluctant to join her on meetings and refused to meet anyone else. But she wasn't to be bothered by that. The man had brought her more power than she could have dreamed of. For once she felt she could influence people, that she made a difference. And his time without resorting to violence. Not that she would hesitate should it become necessary, but for now she preferred a more subtle way - as long as it got her where she wanted to be. If only Jimmy had shared her vision, she would be completely satisfied. If only she could convince him... and with Tad Brown's help, she would. Tad Brown had promised her that and she believed him. There was something about the man that scared and yet intrigued her. And in her long struggle for what she believed Rosemary Burke never noticed when she stopped listening to Tad Brown and begun following his orders.
Jimmy burst in through the door in a pool of water. Rosemary couldn't help looking disapprovingly at him as he shook the rain off his coat and hat.
"You had to bring in every drop of rain you could," she said with a grudge, only to have Jimmy looking up at her with a tired look in his face.
"I'm tired, Rosemary," he mumbled and hung up the coat and hat on the peg by the door.
"You're late," Rosemary chided, regretting the words as soon as they left her mouth.
Jimmy shook his head. "Well, there's the small matter of handing over the pouch or have you forgotten that that's what I do?"
"No," Rosemary admitted, "it's just that I could have used your help these last couple of days."
"Dammit, Rosemary, we've been through this. That's my job!"
Rosemary was about to tell him that he could always quit, but the exasperated look on Jimmy's face made she shut her mouth. She had no wish of getting into another argument with him. There had been too many of those lately. And Tad Brown's words echoed in her mind, Keep him by your side, Mrs. Burke, you'll need it. Biting her lower lip she approached the wet and tired rider.
"I'm sorry, Jimmy, I didn't mean that." She placed her arms around him and looked deeply into his eyes. "I've missed you."
Jimmy smiled faintly at her, placing his arms around her waist. "You've missed me?" he mumbled into her neck.
"Yes," Rosemary whispered back as she turned her head allowing his lips to meet hers. "I've missed you."
Jimmy wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him as he kissed her deeply, forgetting the arguments and the differences they had experienced. He loved her, no matter what the others told him. A soft laughter caused him to lift his head.
"Rose?" he mumbled, using his nickname for her.
"You're wet," she whispered back with a soft smile. "I think we better get you out of those wet clothes before you catch a cold."
"You're right," he sighed with relief and looked at the beautiful woman before her, letting himself getting lost in her dark eyes.
"And maybe I know a way to get you warm," Rosemary mumbled as she started to unbutton his shirt.
"Bet you do," Jimmy muttered huskily as he lifted her chin up to place another kiss on her lips as his hands softly explored the soft fabric of her dress until they found the buttons on the back. For this moment in time, there was nothing else in the world than the cottage and the warm woman before him. No conflicts with the others, no harsh rides through a country that became more hostile, no thoughts of war. Only love. Outside the sky blackened as the storm gathered itself, sounds of thunder echoing between the dark clouds as if heaven itself raged over the country.
Tad Brown lighted the cigar and drew in the familiar smoke in his lungs as a sudden flash of a bolt of lightning enlightened the small room. Another man was sitting by a small bench eagerly writing down every word he said. Tad Brown allowed a sardonic smile to flutter his lips as he witnessed the rages of nature outside.
"Mr. Brown, did this - this awful thing really happen?" The young man looked abhorred at him, re-reading the text he had written down for the bulletin. "Did they really stuck those people up on poles - alive?"
"Yes." Tad Brown replied as he continued to gaze out the window where the Mrs. Burke's cottage barely was visible through the rain as it whipped the building. He turned to the boy. "Yes, it happened, and I was there to see it."
He smiled at the scared face staring at him. He was telling the truth, he had witnessed those atrocities, although it was a long time ago and in another part of the world. Allowing the memories to flow he could remember it as clearly as it had been earlier the same day. He had worn another name, spoken another language but he had still had the same goal then as now. And it had been a good place, torn by a war that put friends and families against each other, killing each other in the most brutal ways ever invented by humans. It was more than 600 years ago but time didn't matter to him. The bridge over the small river, the green hills surrounding it, the fear in the people that met him, the sight of the men staked on poles by he bridge, some of them still alive, moaning and pleading for death to come, all of that was clear in his mind. It had been a good time for him. Maybe one day he could return to the place called Balkan. He had left when the peace had settled and moved to more violent parts of the world until a greedy sailor brought him to this new land. He had been weak here at his arrival - too weak to do anything but rest. Until he finally had found his strength again and run into her. The young woman with the strong soul, the one he must have. She had defeated him then, but he had grown stronger since their last meeting and he would not allow himself to be defeated again.
And the woman in the cottage on the other side of the road had been perfect for his purpose. She had been easy to use, her craving for power easily fed. Now she was his. And in her hand she held the heart of one of his opponents, Jimmy Hickok. Clasping the amulet around his neck he stared out into the darkness as he found strength in the pulsating feeling from it. "This time you're mine, Louise," he whispered softly as a frightened scream interrupted his thoughts. The young boy that had been working with him rose hastily, knocking over the chair in the process. Staring at the red glow emancipating from Mr. Brown's chest the boy slowly backed to the door before he lifted his eyes. Staring into a pair of dark eyes that seemed to nail him to the ground, the boy felt the hair on his back rise. Filled with an intense fear, he bolted towards the door and run screaming out into the street, haunted by the evil laugher of Mr. Brown behind him.
Mr. Brown, or Baruk as some would know him, stopped laughing and slowly put out the cigar before following the boy outside. It was time for another kill and he almost felt pity that it would be the boy. He had enjoyed telling the lad the stories, but it was of no importance. His death would mean nothing to Baruk. There was only one thing that mattered, that kept him here instead of taking part in the war as he intended. Louise. When he had her soul, he would take himself into the battle. Only then, only after Louise.
"I hate his!" Lou exclaimed and rose from the window where she had been sitting, staring out as the rain begun to pool in rivulets on the yard. The rain created a steady, constant drumming on the roof of the bunkhouse. She turned to the others who were sitting by the table, doing various small chores in waiting for supper. "Doesn't it bother you?"
"What?" Kid asked, looking up from mending Katy's bridle.
"The rain!"
"Doesn't bother me as long as I'm not out in it," Kid replied lightly, causing Teaspoon and Buck to try to hide their smiles from the other side of the table.
Lou sighed and joined them by the table. "I don't understand it - it was a perfect sunny day this morning. Where did this storm come from?"
Teaspoon frowned. "I must admit that it was a bit sudden," he said, shaking his head. "There was no warning of this storm."
Buck shrugged. "Sometimes there aren't. And we need the rain."
"True," Teaspoon admitted, then he looked around. "Jimmy's gonna be here for supper?"
"Don't know," Lou replied with a frown, "he left without tellin'."
Teaspoon muttered something under his breath before continuing cleaning his gun. He knew the boy was old enough to make his own decision but he also wished that he wasn't so stubborn and at least once could listen to his advice. But he would not argue with Jimmy over his decisions. Teaspoon had learned from his mistakes. His efforts in convincing Cody had only resulted in hard feelings and a break-up. He wished he could have undone it but it was too late now. Cody was on his own, fighting for what he believed, and Teaspoon could only hope that the boy would emerge safely from it.
"There's something wrong," Lou insisted as she placed her head in her hands., leaning her elbows on the table. "I had this strange dream last night…" She frowned. "I was running somewhere and" - she shook her head - " well, I don't remember much of it, but there was something menacing about it."
Kid laughed softly at his wife. He loved the way she looked, sitting by the table with the worried frown in her beautiful face.
"You're worried because a dream?" He smiled. "It was only a dream, Lou."
Lou shrugged. "I know - I just didn't like it. And now this rain - something ain't right." She suddenly shuddered as she could feel a cool breeze enter through the room. She stared around at the others. "Did you feel that?"
Teaspoon and Kid looked at her with confused looks in their faces, none of them understanding what she was talking about. Lou turned to Buck. "Buck?"
Buck was staring through the window with a rapt expression on his face.
"Buck, you felt it too, didn't you?" Lou was beginning to feel uneasy. Something was wrong and she had this strange feeling that she had felt it before. "Buck?"
Buck returned to her with a worried expression on his face, an expression that quickly disappeared but not before Lou saw it. He shook his head. "I didn't feel anything," he said. Lou knew he lied, but before she could voice her concerns, she felt Kid's arm around her.
"Don't worry Lou, I'm here. And I promise that you won't have any more nightmares as long as am right by your side."
Lou frowned at him, but seeing his gentle smile, she sighed and leaned into his embrace. But the feeling of uneasiness lingered inside her as Rachel announced that supper was ready. Lou dismissed all feelings of that something was wrong as the smell of stew made her realize just how hungry she was. They helped Rachel set the table under amiable small talk as the rain kept pouring down outside. They assumed that Jimmy was not coming for supper, especially when the rain was so heavy. Far off in the distance the sound of thunder reached them only seconds before a lightning struck in the distance.
"That's some storm rising," Teaspoon muttered as he seated himself at the head of the table. "Buck and Kid, we better see to that the horses are alright for the night."
The boys nodded as the food came on the table and interrupted further discussions. Rachel lit a few candles to enlighten the dark room, and somehow it fitted with their surroundings. The storm slowly came closer and when supper was over and they were ready to turn in the rain had become a downpour, with lightning flashing and thunder crashing all around them as the storm was over them with its fury. Somewhere in the distance the wind and thunder drowned out a cry of fear and pain.
