Free Tara The Great [Nuworld 2] by Lorie O'Claire Page A

There
    was no one in sight. She absently fingered the necklace Darius had given her a long
    time ago, knowing it matched the symbol on the ground. The circle was drawn outside
    a closed door. Tara took her foot and quickly wiped the evidence away.
     
    “Come on,” she said, reaching for the handle.
     
    The heavy stone door opened slowly into a dark room. Once inside, the two closed
    the door. Tara reached inside her cloak and fumbled through the pockets of her clothing
    until she found the small beam she’d brought with her from the trailer. Pulling it out,
    she flipped the switch and a dull bluish light illuminated the room.
     
    In the corner, surrounded by many candles, stood the dog-woman.
     
    * * * * *
     
    Darius had seen her in dreams after Tara had disappeared in the southern
    continent. The dreams had stopped after he’d raped Tasha. He’d never seen her in
    person and was stunned. The old woman looked up and smiled, but her eyes didn’t
    appear to see them.
     
    She seemed smaller and more fragile than in his dreams. He had seen her as a
    vibrant old woman, with a calm demeanor that soothed him when he had experienced
    her presence. But now, as he faced her for the first time, Darius felt nothing calming
    about this person. She appeared disconnected with them somehow, and he admitted a
    small amount of disappointment that she wasn’t the spirit of peace and reassurance that
    his dreams had conjured.
     
    “Come children, beg forgiveness from Crator.” She opened her arms to them and
    bowed her head.
     
    “Beg forgiveness for what?” Darius stood tall and his voice sounded cool.
     
    “For your greed, child.” The old woman didn’t look up.
     
    Tara stepped closer to the old woman. Something was odd. The candles
    surrounding her didn’t appear to let off any light. “Why were we greedy?” She watched
    the old woman warily.
     
    “Child, you have come here to steal a weapon. Crator knows that.”
     
    Tara studied the old woman. Her head was lowered and she appeared to be looking
    down at something. Tara saw nothing but the ground. The old woman wore the same
    clothes she had on the day she died. Her hands appeared to be doing something but
    there was nothing in them.
     
    “No one is here to steal a weapon,” Darius barked. “Gothman doesn’t need a
    coward’s weapon!”
     

 
    The old woman didn’t speak. In fact, she didn’t move. Tara looked closely at her,
    then placed her hand on Darius’ arm, instinctively trying to make him read her
    thoughts. Something was wrong here. The old woman still hadn’t moved.
     
    “Come, kneel and tell Crator your sins.” The dog-woman spoke without focusing
    on either of them, but kept her gaze on some unknown object on the ground.
     
    “What have we done wrong?” Tara asked.
     
    “You know what you’ve done wrong,” the old woman said.
     
    Tara realized the woman’s mouth hadn’t moved. She knelt and Darius stood firmly
    behind her. Surreptitiously, she picked up some small pebbles and tossed them at the
    dog-woman. The pebbles brushed against the dog-woman, and sparks appeared as the
    small rocks disappeared into nothingness.
     
    Tara jumped back quickly and pulled her laser.
     
    “Why did you do that?” The dog-woman lifted her head and looked at Tara with
    her unseeing eyes. Her mouth moved this time, but it didn’t match the words that came
    out. “Crator didn’t like that.”
     
    “Crator knows why we’re really here.” Tara pointed the laser at the dog-woman.
     
    “You need to come tell Crator why you’re here. He wants to hear you confess.”
     
    “Crator has nothing to do with this,” Tara said and shot the dog-woman. The laser
    hit her in the chest. She didn’t move. The laser went through her, filling the room with
    sparks, and hit the wall behind her. The old woman remained positioned as she had
    before.
     
    Tara backed up; her beam now attached to the top of her laser. She scanned the
    entire room with