I gasped. The face looked exactly like Max, but as though he was etched in shadows. From afar or in a tense situation I would have sworn it was Max, and that he wore a dark suit.
Which was exactly how Alicia and Lana had described Max in their attacks.
The tendrils stopped pouring from the book, and the finished figure was separated from the book. It shuffled forward towards the door. I spun around and nearly decked the real Max with my elbow.
"What the hell is mphmp-" My frantic question was stifled by his hand over my mouth. He pressed a finger to his lips and shook his head.
The shadow Max, now more accustomed to its new legs, quickened its pace and strode out the door. The real max flung aside the covers and slipped on the remainder of his pants.
"Get on your clothes. We have to stop it," he told me.
"Stop it from what?" I asked him.
"Just hurry!" he insisted.
I leapt from the bed and hurried into my clothes. Max rushed from the room with me close on his heels. We reached the living room in time to see the shadow leave the suite, but not through the door. The shadow slipped under the door and into the hallway.
Max rushed forward and dove for the shadow. His hand wrapped around the last trailings of the creature. There was a garbled cry of frustration from the creature, and the shadow writhed and squirmed in his hold. Max sat up and pulled on the shadow. More of the creature was pulled back into the room, but all its struggling nearly forced the thing from his grip.
"A little help!" he hissed.
Oh! Right!" I replied.
I rushed over to him and grabbed a mess of shadow. We both pulled, and the shadow slipped out from beneath the door and back into the room. The easiness of our victory made us tumble backwards and stop a yard from the entrance. I righted myself and glanced over at Max beside me. He did the same and whipped his head to the door. I followed his gaze and my eyes widened as I beheld the Shadow Max resume its human shape. It towered over us, and the location of its eyes were tiny red coals of anger.
Max frowned and climbed to his feet so they stood face-to-face. "Why are you attacking these people?" he accused the shadow. "Hurting the losers of my love was never part of our deal."
The voice that spoke from the shadow was low and raspy. "Do not blame me for the consequences. I am merely an extension of your desires."
"I never desired this!" Max argued.
The creature turned its eyes on me, and I gulped. "You desired that your chosen one be protected, and that those who threatened her be driven away. I have fulfilled your desires."
"I can do that myself, and have no desire for you to fight my fights!" Max shot back.
"All other desires are subordinate to your need to protect her," it insisted. "However, I will perform this last deed and my task will forever be done." The figure dissolved to the floor and slipped beneath the door.
Max reached out his hand. "Wait! Stop!"
His hand missed the shadow by a mile as it disappeared from sight. He grabbed the door knob and flung open the door. The hallway was well-lit, and by its light we saw the shadow slink across the hall to Renee's suite. Max raced after it and I was close at his heels. The light under the door told us she was home, and the scream that happened seconds after the shadow's arrival confirmed our suspicions.
Max knocked down the door with his shoulder and fell into the room. I stopped at the broken doorway and looked in.
Renee stood at the far end of the room behind the couch. In front of the couch, with its back turned to us, was Shadow Max. Renee's face was a picture of horror more terrifying than anything Edvard Munch thought up. Her eyes bulged out of her head and all the color was gone from her face. She clutched the back of the couch and shook like a leaf. Her voice came out in one long shiver of fright.
"Max, please. I didn't mean what I said this morning about the girl," she stuttered. The Shadow Max took a step towards her. "Please don't hurt me!"
The real Max climbed to his feet and rushed over to them. "Stop!" he yelled.
Renee whipped her head to him and her eyes somehow grew larger. The other Max didn't even glance over his shoulder until Max caught one of them. The thing swung around and formed a block with its tendril hand. The block smashed into Max's cheek and he flew back.
"Max!" I cried out.
I rushed to his side as the shadow returned its attention to Renee. She shrieked and tried to dodge around the couch to the bedroom. The shadow was in hot pursuit.
I lifted Max into my arms, but he shook his head and pushed me away. "Get. . .get it," he wheezed. "I'll be fine, but Renee won't be."
The bedroom door slammed shut behind Renee, but that barely slowed the shadow down. I left Max's side and rushed to the doorway. Renee's terrified screams told me to hurry. I flung open the door and flew into the room.
Renee had crammed herself into the far left corner. The Shadow Max stood in front of her. She shrank down as he loomed over her.
"Please," she choked out. Tears poured down her face as she shook her head. I wouldn't have wished that kind of fear on anyone, even my worse enemy. "Please go away."
"Hey, shadow!" I yelled at the creature.
The thing didn't even pause in its stalking of her. I clenched my teeth and took a cue from Max when I rushed forward and slammed my shoulder into it. Its mostly-solid body was slammed into the wall close beside Renee. The thing splashed against the wall like a post-modern painting and I sank a couple inches into its writhing body.
Renee shrieked and covered her face with her hands. I pulled myself out of the soft black stuff and grabbed one of her hands.
"Come on!" I yelled.
I pulled her to her feet and past the reforming shadow. I'd slammed it face-first into the wall, but the front switched sides and its face came out like a Terminator. We stumbled from the room and Max met us at the couches. He pointed at the broken entrance.
"Out into the hall!" he ordered us.
He gave us a push on our way and brought up the rear. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the shadow race from the room. It noticed our flight and followed us. Max stopped at the doorway and stretched out his arms on either side of him to block the entrance. Renee and I stopped on the other side of the hallway. She took one look at our pursuer and her eyes rolled back. Her legs collapsed beneath her.
"Hey!" I yelped. I slipped my arms under her pits and lowered her unconscious form to the floor. "Just perfect. . ." I muttered as I returned my attention to the scene that unfolded before me.
"You really want to show yourself to the world?" Max challenged the beast.
The shadow came to a stop a few yards from him and its red eyes narrowed. "Move aside," it hissed.
Max grinned and shook his head. "You work in the shadows, right? That'll all be blown. You go out there and everyone will see you."
The creature stiffened. "I only wish to fulfill your-"
"My desires, I know, but I've got a different one now. I want you gone."
The creature swayed side-to-side like a cobra. "I still own part of you. Whether I am here or not does not change our agreement."
"That's fine. I don't go back on my word," Max agreed.
The creature stood at attention and bowed its head to Max. It was then its body began to unravel piece-by-piece, and each tendril slithered along the floor past Max. Max spun around and I clutched Renee close to me, but the tendrils passed us and slipped into my room.
Then there was nothing.
CHAPTER 18
I looked up at Max as he strode over to us. "Do you really think it's gone for good?" I asked him.
He knelt in front of Renee and me, and nodded. "It may be a monster, but it's a monster of its word," he assured me. He checked Renee's pulse and smiled. "It looks like in all the excitement Renee's decided to take a nap."
"Yeah, and she's really heavy," I added as I readjusted her body in my arms.
Max stretched out his arms. "Let me take-"
"Max!" We
both turned to look down the hall. The captain, Stuart, and a few more crewmen hurried down the hall towards us. "Is everyone okay?" Captain John asked as he reached where we knelt.
Max nodded. "Yes, and I can explain-" The captain raised his hand and shook his head.
"There's no need. I didn't tell you this, but we placed a camera in Miss Roster's room earlier today," he revealed. His eyes studied Max's face. "It showed us everything."
Max winced. "Everything?"
The captain gave a nod. "Yes, and it let us hear everything."
"Then you know-"
"That you saved this young woman's life from a stowaway? Yes," the captain confirmed.
Max blinked at his old friend. "A stowaway?"
"Yes, but let's save the discussions for later. First we need to get this young woman some help," the captain insisted.
The crewmen had a stretcher, and they lifted Renee and carried her to the infirmary. The captain turned to Stuart.
"Follow them and find out her prognosis, then return to me," he ordered him. Stuart nodded and hurried after the men.
That left us alone with the captain. Max studied his face.
"What exactly did you hear and see?" Max asked him.
The captain gestured to my room. "Let's go some place more private than the hallway."
I led the way with Max behind me and the captain at the rear. The captain shut the door firmly behind him, and we settled ourselves on the couch and chairs. Max was tense as he surveyed his old friend.
"Why was a camera placed in her room?" Max asked him.
"It was at the request of Miss Roster, and I couldn't refuse," the captain explained. He dropped his hand and looked from me to Max. "The camera and microphone picked up on everything that was seen and heard in the living room."
I gulped. "Everything?" I asked him.
"Everything," he confirmed.
Max's face looked pale. "Let us explain-" The captain raised a hand and shook his head.
"There's no need to explain because I don't want to know," the captain commented. He studied Max and pursed his lips. "I've seen a lot of strange things on these seas, so I won't bore you with any more lies about stowaways and more of that. What I want to know is if it's off my ship."
Max stood. "If it isn't it soon will be."
He strode past us and into my bedroom. There was a moment of silence, and Max reappeared in the doorway. He shook his head.
"It's gone."
The captain and I jumped to our feet.
"Gone where?" Captain John questioned him.
"The window in the bedroom is open. It must have escaped," Max told him.
The captain frowned. "To other parts of the ship?"
Max shook his head and wandered back to his chair. "No, I think it's gone for good. At least from our lives."
"Wait a minute," I spoke up. "It threw itself into the ocean. The only thing it should be is reading material for fish."
Max pursed his lips and settled his chin atop his clasped hands. He stared straight ahead of him and his eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't be so sure. Something like that doesn't just decide to commit suicide."
"But you're sure it's gone?" the captain persisted.
Max gave a nod. "Positively."
The captain stood and ran a hand through his graying hair. "After this cruise I'm going to need a long vacation."
"And I'm going to need a vacation from this vacation," I quipped.
"What about the camera and mic?" Max asked his old friend.
Captain John dropped his hand and sighed. "I can deal with those, but only this once. I also expect you to keep your word and get off at the next port."
"And the person who attacked Renee?" Max wondered.
"A stowaway, as I said, and one that just happens to resemble you," the captain replied. "Of course, after this last attack he escaped."
"And Renee?" I asked him.
"Hysterical after her earlier attack. She won't dare argue when I threaten her with filing a false report on the first incident," the captain told us.
Max stood and held out his hand to his old friend. "Thank you for helping us."
Captain John sighed, but shook his hand. "Just promise me to be one of the first ones off tomorrow."
Max smiled. "We'll jump ship if we have to."
"Good, now if you will excuse me I have cleanup work to do." He bowed his head to us and strode from the room.
I wrapped my arms around myself and turned to Max. "You really think it's over?" I asked him.
Max smiled and strode over to me. He set his hands on my arms and pecked a teasing kiss on my lips. "Yes, and no," he replied. "We're rid of the book, but not the consequences of my deal."
I winced. "You won't go crazy and attack anybody out of jealousy, will you?"
He chuckled and shook his head. "The creature changed what I am, not who I am. I'm still me."
A sly smile slipped onto my lips. "Dang. I was hoping it'd change you into more of a gentleman."
He wrapped me in a strong, warm hug and looked down at me with a heated gaze. "But think of all the fun we'd miss."
I cupped one of his cheeks in my hand and laughed. "Fun, indeed."
And we did have fun for many, many years. We never saw the book again, but it was never far from our thoughts.
Especially in the bedroom.
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